National Museum of Scotland recreated with 90,000 Lego bricks

BRICK by brick it was painstakingly put together with such care that it will last for years to come.

Warren Elsmore with his LEGO National Museum of Scotland. Picture: Neil Hanna

One of the country’s most cherished buildings, the National Museum of Scotland is a stunning sight – capturing the attention of visitors for hours on end.

And the real thing isn’t bad either . . .

But all eyes yesterday were on a spectacular Lego model of the attraction – made up of 90,000 tiny bricks and having taken 350 hours to build.

Welcome to the Lego National Museum! Picture: SWNS.com

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Created by renowned Lego artist Warren Elsmore and his team, the new 3.5-metre wide replica – which would have cost in excess of £7000 in bricks alone – features both the old and new parts of the building and many of its exhibits.

Warren 39, who has been building Lego models full-time since 2012, said it was one of his most challenging projects to date.

The artist, who has had a passion for Lego since he was four years old, said: “It has been a very interesting project but very complicated and challenging – there was so much detail we had to get in there.”

Detail shot of the model. Picture: SWNS.com

The model features tiny version of racing legend Jackie Stewart’s Formula One car and a statue of steam engine inventor James Watt.

Work began in January, with Warren building his model in the Chambers Street museum two days a week so that members of the public could keep an eye on its progress and ask questions.

It was then taken to his studio in the south of the city where he applied the finishing touches ahead of yesterday’s unveiling.

The stunning model now has pride of the place on level three of the museum, next to the Balcony Cafe, and will be stationed there for the foreseeable future.

Picture: SWNS.com

Warren said: “While we were building it, a lot of people were stopping to watch us and were asking questions.

“I think the most challenging part was building some of the artefacts and the sculpture gallery – for example the Tyrannosaurus and the Formula One car.

“We’re very pleased with the results and we can’t wait to see what the visitors think now that it is on show.

“When it was unveiled it was lovely to see the expressions on people’s faces.”

Warren Elsmore puts the finishing touches on his model. Picture: SWNS.com

Stephen Allen, head of learning and programmes at National Museums Scotland, said: “Our visitors have enjoyed watching Warren and his team build our model museum as part of Build It! Adventures with Lego, and we’re delighted to now unveil the finished article.

“From the Victorian architecture of our Grand Gallery to the crisp, clean lines of the modern Scottish Galleries, the bustle of the Balcony Cafe to the wonder of our Natural World galleries, the museum has been rendered perfectly in miniature.”

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