Roll Along Narrowboat

Young children love to relate their toys to the things they see day by day whether that is a car, a pony, or even something from a favourite film. Here we have a roll along narrowboat. It is keeping with the same idea though currently not available through the Lego brand or its competitors. Narrowboats are becoming ever more popular and with each boat holding a beauty of its own its time for LEGO to explore this avenue more.

The first and most important point to remember is, once competed, this is a roll along toy or model. It has been designed with children in mind.  It has been built with currently made LEGO bricks and characters, and also brings a new dimention to the minifigures as they are now children on a holiday with their family.

With this in mind, the size of the boat has increased to accommodate a less temperamental structure which in turn allows for easier handling and construction.  The inside of the boat has been furnished however on this model it is not accessable because the space inside is too small for the adults, but there is good reason for this.  Firstly, a real narrowboat's internal floors are below the water level outside the boat, but also on this toy the space is mostly taken up by the wheels. The boat is also higher at the front than the back, this is in keeping with how Narrowboats appear sometimes in the water.

The movement of the boat is made using two 'Bogies' (set of four wheels) at each end of the boat.  The front bogie is in a fixed position and the rear is attatched via a turntable.  This allows the boat to be steered from the back as they would normally along the canal or river.  The rear bogie is fitted with two slik tyres to ease movement.  There are also stablising wheels midway along the boat however these are positioned higher and are only to help rather than an importance. The boat moves easily on carpet and solid floors.I

The design of the boat will allow the childs imagination to flow.  The use of standard blocks means the design for the build can remain the same but the colours and patterns can be changed. There is also in my design a Mooring which can hook onto the boat and hold it in place with enough string to attatch more than one boat when doubled up as pictured.

The model is made up of approx 565 pieces including the Mooring.

I hope you like the my Roll Along Narrowboat and if you can think of other people who may like this reconmend they have a look and give their support.

Thank you everyone