Scale: 1cm = 32cm
The Shinan ship set sail with a lot of cargo. The main items were pottery, coins and sandalwood, plus the crew’s belongings. Archaeologists studied these things for clues to uncover Shinan’s story. They found:
- Most of the pottery was brand new and packed in wooden crates, ready to sell – The Shinan ship was a trading ship.
- A bronze weight named the port of Ningbo – the ship sailed from China.
- The crew’s chopsticks were made in Goryeo, an ancient Korean kingdom – the crew were Chinese and Korean.
- Many of the bundles of coins had wooden tags giving their owners’ names – the ship was hired by Japanese temples in Fukuoka.
- The tags and the coins give the year the Shinan ship sailed – 1323.
We know where it was going, why it was going and when it went, but we’ll never know exactly what happened to it.
Builder’s notes
Designed by: Ry Catania
Built By: Ry Catania, Jordan Hocking and Luke Cini
The bulkheads are one of the Shinan's main features, so making sure we were able to showcase how these would have looked, was important in the design process.
We decided to make some of the cargo boxes into cutaways, so viewers could see all the items being transported. The panels along the top of the deck have been removed so you can see down into the cargo hold from two different angles.
Instead of having the ship flat on a base, we raised it up so it was easier to look inside. These stands help the ship’s structure and stability, but also add a layer of charm, making the LEGO® look like a "ship in a bottle" type model.
The top of the deck and the outside of the hull are covered completely in tiles. This creates a nice smooth look to the ship’s design, with lots of curves and slopes to follow the unique shape of the ship.
The sails are constructed using a blend of textiles and LEGO® to achieve the unique shape. The long flowing flags on the top are built using a series of clips and bars to make it look like they are blowing in the breeze.
Model notes
- This model took 80 hours to make
- It uses 10,345 bricks
- It weighs 18 kilograms