USS Intrepid (In-trep-id adj: fearless and resolute; persistent in the pursuit of victory)
It's not certain you have to be fearless to build one of the World's largest LEGO ship models, but you certainly have to be resolute! Ed Diment (Lego Monster) will be bringing his largest creation to date, a most enormous LEGO model of the World War II aircraft carrier USS Intrepid (CV – 11), to this year's show. At just under 7 metres (22ft) long, weighing 250kg (over 400lb) and using around 250,000 LEGO bricks, the USS Intrepid model will be a truly monstrous sight.
Ed says: "After building a minifig scale model of HMS Hood for the 2008 Great Western LEGO Show, the only way was up – to build bigger! After much debate and discussion with fellow Brickish members project Intrepid was settled on and work began. From the start this project was a collaborative build with all the aircraft and deck vehicles being designed by fellow member Ralph Savelsberg and much of the hard work of building shared with my wife Annie. The project became an even larger collaboration after a conversation with new member Chris Lee, who agreed to build a Fletcher class destroyer (USS Haggard) to escort her. Yet another member, Gary Davis, will be bringing a third ship to complete this task force – but I'll leave what he is brining as a surprise!"
USS Intrepid was an Essex Class carrier in the United States Navy, launched in 1943, the same year as USS Haggard, and served with Pacific 5th fleet until the end of the war. She could carry upwards of 90 aircraft and displaced around 40,000 tons when fully loaded. Intrepid was involved in some of the most famous battles of the Pacific during 1944 and 1945. After the war, the ship was converted to allow jet aircraft to operate from the ship and served through the Vietnam war, finally becoming an auxiliary carrier and helicopter carrier before decommissioning in 1974. In 1982 the USS Intrepid opened as a museum in New York, where she still sits today with a great collection of military aircraft from the World's aviation history, including one of the decommissioned Concordes.