Legoland Florida Resort has unveiled the latest creation in its Lego brick build fleet, a life-size Ford F-150 Lightning truck.
Built to mark the launch of Ford's all-electric pickup truck earlier this year, the exclusive, life-size model is the result of a partnership between Legoland Florida Resort and Southern Ford Dealers. Some 320,740 Lego bricks were needed to build the Lego Ford F-150 Lightning, with the team of 15 Master Model Builders spending more than 1,600 hours to assemble the 3,730-pound (1,692-kilogram) build.
That's a little over half the weight of the real truck, which tips the scales at up to 6,500 pounds (2,948 kilograms). A honeycomb-like skeleton helps keep the structure in place, with a steel frame embedded within preventing the truck from collapsing on itself due to the weight of the hundreds of thousands of Lego pieces. The skeleton and frame account for much of the weight.
Work started in July at the Lego Group's US headquarters in Enfield, Connecticut, and builders were assisted by computer software in reproducing the Ford truck's shape as accurately as possible using Lego pieces. Looking at these videos, they did a pretty good job of it.
At more than 19 feet (5.79 meters) long and nearly seven feet (2.1 meters) wide, the F-150 Lightning made of Lego bricks is the first and largest electric vehicle model at any Legoland park in North America, according to the Legoland Florida Resort.
Modeled after the Ford F-150 Lightning Lariat, the 1:1 replica features a four-door crew cab design, a full-size truck bed, runner boards, as well as working headlights and taillights. The latter are made possible by on-board power unit with wiring that helps illuminate the lights and turn signals to mimic those of the real vehicle. Check out the video above for more details on how the life-size F-150 Lightning replica was made.
The Lego F-150 Lightning is on permanent display in front of the theme park's Ford Driving School, an attraction that lets visitors ages 6-13 drive around the Lego City as police officers, firefighters, taxi drivers, or any driver they choose. Kids can even get a personalized Legoland Driver's License at the Driving School store by passing a driving test.
Tickets at Legoland Florida Resort start at $84.99 per person for a one-day pass, which can be purchased in advance. Prices per ticket vary by day and by ticket type.
