Aircraft Carrier Graf Zeppelin: A LEGO® creation by P. Voranc : MOCpages.com

Aircraft Carrier Graf Zeppelin

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About this creation

“In this war, which broke out some eight years before the point in time at which we could have built even 35% according to the fleet treaty of June 18, 1935- in this war, the little bit that is finished or can be made ready for service, can only go down fighting honorably.” This was written by the Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy, Grand Admiral Raeder two days after the German invasion of Poland. I guess you don’t have to be a professor of history to know that he was quite right… Graf Zeppelin actually managed to survive the war, but only because she never became operational. Laid down in 1936, launched in 1938 accompanied with great ceremonies, she was 90% complete by the time the war started. Early course of war did not show real need for the German aircraft carrier, Luftwaffe did not put much effort into carrier planes needed, so the work on the hull was halted, and by the time when German leadership realized how valuable aircraft carriers are, war was already raging for three years. Hitler’s ideas about uselessness of existing large surface units and cancelling of all in build, sealed the carrier’s fate. Even the Allies knew it was pointless to bomb her, because she was just a floating mamooth. After the war she was transferred to Soviet Union and sunk as a target ship. She proved to be a tough one, having survived all together 23!!!! explosions, only to be finished off by torpedoes. Köln on the other hand was a K-class light cruiser, launched in 1928, with pretty much uneventful operational career. She ended up shooting on tank groups in Varel area just before capitulation, lying on the bottom, with only turrets clear.

Graf Zeppelin is often overlooked in naval history books and we are still waiting for a decent plastic model. I am personally a big fan of what-if projects, and even though Graf Zeppelin does not fit in this category completely, it is still a fascinating looking ship. Sometimes they say; ’think big’ and so I’ve ended up with approximately 120 cm/4 feet long aircraft carrier, weighing a little bit over 5 kg/ 11 lb. So the scale used is around 1:215. LEGO purists will be terrified, because mega bloks are unfortunately included in this MOC. Creations like this include thousands and thousands of bricks as you all know, and when forced to use a single-color scheme, it becomes very hard/ impossible to gather enough LEGO pieces from your childhood collection. Probuilder sets produced by megabloks are therefore dream solution for brick ships lovers. And beside this, some of the megabloks parts are invaluable for ship building, and are not there to replace LEGO, but to add some extra flavor. I will always say: ‘Even though LEGO will remain my first choice whenever possible, it’s still all about the bricks. And we are here to put them together in order to create something that will all make us happier.’

My personal fav. I think that Graf Zeppelin is one of those ships that you either love or hate. It was a strange combination of designs popular in mid-thirties. Courageous and Akagi spent an unforgettable night together…

Port view with Bf-109T-s and Ju-87 Seestukas lined up on the flight deck. Bf-109s notorious landing gear was a headache in all theatres of war, and one has no problem imagining, what would have happened during a rough landing on a rolling carrier. It is true that the Germans strengthened not only the landing gear but also the whole airframe for this role, but still…

Starboard view exposing the long island.

Light cruiser Köln. Notice the Ar-196 seaplane and torpedo tubes.

I wanted to add some extra depth to the creation, so I built a fictional north German port. I used the LEGO train shed (10027) and then added some basic buildings. Looking back now, I know that I could have put more effort into them, but I still think they create some special atmosphere. Pay special attention to the cranes, there is also a drydock, power plant, and a small rail yard with typically colored German locomotive. Hospital ship is moored aside to serve as an accommodation vessel. Probably for tired U-Boot crew...

Had the Graf Zeppelin been finished early enough, she could have been a headache for the Royal Navy. It is not hard to imagine what would have happened to the Swordfishes attacking Bismarck, if they had been attacked by Bf-109s. But nevertheless, it is also quite clear, that sooner or later she would have been caught up by superior force and destroyed, a fate similar to majority of German capital ships. The cost in terms of allied shipping probably remains the only open question here.

Comments

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I like it

Sam Sanister

May 6, 2013

Nice. I made a Fieseler 167, which was supposed to go on the Graf as well.

I like it

Gabriel Pontillas

December 15, 2012

I love WWII Aircraft and Aircraft Carriers,Well done!

I like it

Michael Rutherford

August 24, 2012

Those massive cranes along the birth are excellent! Really a cool collection of ideas. That tiny sea plane, the fighters on the deck...excellent. Attack!

I like it

jordan29 leverger

July 11, 2012

whaou

Marty Fields

May 23, 2012

Wonderful work. You are very versatile. I have to admit, I have never heard of the Graf Zeppelin and I thought I knew a lot about warships! Thank you for the lesson. This scale certainly suits your building style very well.

I like it

Matthew McCall

April 16, 2012

Awesome work!

I made it

P. Voranc

March 23, 2012

I would like to thank you all for the comments and ratings you have given me, it is really great to see that your work is well accepted in the LEGO community.

I like it

arwenromel hanna

March 14, 2012

EXCELLENT

I like it

John Stahlman

February 29, 2012

This is brilliant! This is one of my favorite "what if..." ships along with the Soviet's Adm. Kuznetsov super carrier of the cold war era.

I like it

Anders T

February 13, 2012

Those scenes, the harbor and the rescue are real masterpieces.

I like it

Douglas Schoener

February 12, 2012

Impressive work. Really well done!

I like it

Locutus 666

February 1, 2012

A very nice ship!! I also like the presentation and especially the last picture.

I like it

Chris Melby

January 28, 2012

I love it, it is not too big, and the mini scale planes are too cool, great scenario you have going on here. Chris

I like it

vincenzo Sciortino

January 27, 2012

WOW! Dude why so few comments?! This is awesome! You got a masterpiece!! Can you come see my u-boat?

I like it

Lego 4 Life

January 23, 2012

Wow! That thing is huge!

I like it

Josh Guilbert

January 3, 2012

Awsome work and the BF-109T didnt use the standard landing gear on the other BF-109s it used the FW-190 style landing gear,However no picture's or model's exsist only written info

I like it

El Barto !

January 3, 2012

Awesomeness!

I like it

João Eínon

January 3, 2012

Very good! I like it!

I like it

manthanboeing AKA 'MAD'

December 30, 2011

OMG!!! Truly EPIC build and nice sinking pic too, with all the sailors jumping over

I like it

greyhound 2011

December 29, 2011

very nice ships

I like it

The Lego Animal (Jay Rhum)

December 27, 2011

This some serious and really good microscale! Great work!

I like it

The Lego Animal (Jay Rhum)

December 27, 2011

This some serious and really good microscale! Great work!

I like it

Kevin Alarcon

December 25, 2011

Great creation, I think it came out very accurate and very realistic. I was browsing around your page and you've become one of my favorite builders. Keep up the good work!

I like it

Alex Charbonneau

December 20, 2011

Love it! Always good to see more WWII naval ships! I absolutely love the Koln as well.

I made it

P. Voranc

December 20, 2011

Quoting michael k. Very nice job on this. It's one of the best carrier MOC's I've ever seen, and you're probably the only person to make a Graf Zeppelin. Keep up the great work.

Actually, to be honest, I'm not the only one who has ever built the Graf Zeppelin and post it on MOCpages. We have to give credits to Joao Einon, there is one 'hidden' in the Battle of the Azores, even though in a slightly smaller scale.

I like it

Jack Riveorput

December 19, 2011

Very nice.

I made it

P. Voranc

December 19, 2011

Quoting Mitchell Long How many pieces did it take and how long did it take,LOL, very nice!!

It took me some month and a half altogether, beacuse I was building it in several phases. I don't know exactly how many bricks were used, but I guess the carrier itself includes well over 2500.

I like it

Mitchell Long

December 18, 2011

How many pieces did it take and how long did it take,LOL, very nice!!

I like it

Ben Indy

December 18, 2011

Nice! You've got every detail! It goes great with the port!

I like it

JS Can

December 18, 2011

nice work

I like it

DeTomaso Pantera

December 18, 2011

Some very impressive builds here, I've always wanted to build an aircraft carrier, but I don't have enough bricks. Very well done and those cranes are brilliant!

I like it

michael k.

December 18, 2011

Very nice job on this. It's one of the best carrier MOC's I've ever seen, and you're probably the only person to make a Graf Zeppelin. Keep up the great work.

ariklego ...The Director!

December 18, 2011

Mega Bloks?!?! how dare you!!! ...just kidding. :P yes, I happen to be one of those LEGO purists, but I'll let it slip just this once. :P amazing work on this. I'd have to work really hard to make something even close to this. hmm, I wonder how the war would've gone if Germany had used aircraft carriers? I don't know my stuff nearly well enough to say for sure, but I bet the Battle of London would've gone differently if the Germans hadn't relied on long-range bombers for the attack.