Answer Me This! AMT416: LEGO Titanic, Curried Whale and World Book Day
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Mar 26, 2026 They discuss who might buy £530 LEGO Titanic sets at airports and the ethics of brickifying disaster. There is a dive into Nelson’s Column cleaning, scaffolding and pigeon maintenance. Wartime curried whale and how whale meat was rationed come up. They also explore the stress of World Book Day costumes and whether a 12th birthday meat fondue was bougie.
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How Nelson's Column Is Maintained
- Nelson's Column is cleaned infrequently with targeted spot cleans and major restorations roughly every 20 years.
- Major restorations used scaffolding (1968, 1986, 2006) with sandblasting then steam and light abrasives to avoid damaging stone.
The £530 Lego Titanic Is Mostly A Billboard
- Olly and Helen discuss spotting a £530 Lego Titanic at Gatwick and whether airport display pricing drives purchases.
- Olly calls big airport sets 3D billboards meant to tempt buyers, not real impulse purchases due to size and cost.
When Tragedy Becomes A Collectible
- Disaster-themed merchandise timing depends on cultural distance and brand risk, not a fixed rule.
- Titanic kits exist because it's an iconic ship; some events (e.g., 9/11) remain too sensitive for corporate brickification for now.
