First Class Scout constructs impressive Lego World War II battleship 

Eli Cox loves Legos. The 14-year-old First Class Scout of Troop 514 in La Grande, Ore., hopes to be a Lego designer one day.

Every year, he comes up with an original project to work on, researches how to make his vision come to life and organizes his building blocks. As a World War II buff, he decided this year to build a model of the USS Nevada, a battleship that served in both World Wars.

“I like to make my models to scale so that everything is the size it would be in real life but in Lego size,” he says.

This project required about 10,000 Lego pieces — none of which came from a kit with instructions. After researching how the ship should look, he organized his Legos by color and started putting it all together. It took about 60 hours over the course of six months to complete.

He submitted his finished project at the county fair, where he won a first-place blue ribbon and the judges’ choice award.

Eli says planning and organization are key for making original Lego creations. Here are a few of his building tips:

• Think of an idea that you are interested in. Brainstorm what you can create from that idea.
• Do your research. Decide how big your build will be.
• Organize your Legos by color and piece.
• Dedicate time to commit to a goal for working on your build.

Share with ‘Scout Life’

Scout Life magazine regularly features hobby tips from Scouts and interesting collections that Scouts accumulate. Does your Scout collect baseball cards? Legos? Seashells? Hiking stick medallions? Encourage them to share with Scout Life.

If they have figured out a technique for better enjoying their hobbies, they can share them here. Other Scouts can use those tips to better enjoy similar hobbies, too.

Plus, these tips and ideas can inspire Scouts working on the Collections, Stamp Collecting or Model Design and Building merit badges as well as for Cub Scouts working on certain Elective Adventures.