Brynjar Karl Birgisson with his Lego model of the Titanic. Photo / Titanic Museum, Pigeon Forge TN
Brynjar Karl Birgisson with his Lego model of the Titanic. Photo / Titanic Museum, Pigeon Forge TN
A boy who built the world's largest Lego Titanic replica when he was ten has opened up about how the process has helped him with his condition.
Brynjar Karl Bigisson, from Reykjavik, Iceland decided to build the gigantic model liner having just hit double figures - after being inspired bya trip to the seaside with his grandfather.
Bigisson, now 15, spent over 700 hours (11 months) making the masterpiece - using a remarkable 56,000 lego bricks in the process. It is also 26 feet long and 5 feet tall, the Daily Mail reports.
Brynjar remembers playing with Legos for hours when he was 5. "I sometimes built from instructions, and sometimes, I used my own imagination," he said.
"When I travelled with my mom to Legoland in Denmark and saw for the first time all the amazing big models of famous houses and planes, locations and ships, I probably then started to think about making my own Lego model.
"By the time I was 10, I started to think about building the Lego titanic model in a Lego man size."
Photo / Titanic Museum, Pigeon Forge TN
To complete the project he managed to rope in his grandfather Ogmundsson, an engineer, to help.
Ogmundsson scaled down the original blueprint of the Titanic to Lego size and helped figure out how many tiny toy bricks would be needed to create the model.
And family and friends donated to help him buy the bricks.
His mother, Bjarney Ludviksdottir, said: "When your child comes to you with an interesting big crazy dream, mission or goal, he or she would like to reach and needs your help.
"Listen carefully and make an attempt to find ways to support the child to reach that goal. It might be the best investment you ever make for your kid.
"Dreams keep us going. That is something nobody can take away from us.
"It's something good to have when you are feeling a little bit stuck or sad. You can always dream."
Before starting the project, Brynjar said he had difficulty communicating, which he says made him unhappy and lonely. Now, he has confidence and is giving interviews about his accomplishment.
"When I started the building process, I had a person helping me in school in every step that I took, but today, I'm studying without any support," he said.
"My grades have risen, and my classmates consider me as their peer. I have had the opportunity to travel and explore and meet wonderful people."
The replica is so remarkable it is currently being shipped out to the US - where it will go on display at the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee starting today.
The Lego replica was shipped from Iceland in three large pieces and then carefully reconstructed before its American debut. And it is set to remain as one of the main features of the museum until December 2019.
"Autism does not have to be scary. Many great scientists and national leaders had and have autism," Ogmundsson said.
"What matters is that such individuals get understanding and support, because everyone can learn from these people if they listen to what they are saying."
"When Brynjar was growing up, I often helped him with projects that called for thought and hard work that I thought would be good for him.
"Then he got this crazy idea to build a 6-meter ship from Lego cubes. Today he speculates a great deal about complex things that require technical understanding."
