New Spirit of Tasmania Lego ships sailing into Brixhibition

The Launceston Lego enthusiast has created replicas of the state's two new Spirit of Tasmania ships, which are expected to arrive from Finland sometime this year.

The ships took months of painstakingly intricate work and will be among many Lego creations on show at this year's Brixhibition - Tasmania's biggest showcase of Lego builds.

The Spirit V build measures 2.12 metres-long.

"I decided to build the new Spirit IV and V ships, as a bit of a prelude to what's coming probably later this year or next year," Mr Draeger said.

"And also because I built the original Spirit to the same 1/100^th scale; I thought it would be a nice way to promote it and for everyone to get a sneak peak of what's coming in the future."

He said the Spirit of Tasmania V took him around 100 hours and roughly 10,000 Lego pieces to complete.

"From the Spirit of Tasmania website, you can actually get a 3D model of it and get dimensions and schematics [of the ship]," Mr Draeger said.

"There's a lot of homework involved, you work out how long and wide it is then lay out a concept, like a bit of a floor plan."

Mr Draeger said he built the ship in two halves so it would be easier to transport.

"I start with the entire base and get a working shell going, and then start from the back and moved my way forward," Mr Draeger said.

Mr Draeger said next weekend would be Brixhibition's biggest Launceston event to date.

"We have 31 exhibitors and 174 tables of Lego ... we're expecting 4000 to 5000 people over the two day weekend," he said.

"We've tried to squeeze everything in, along with the Lego Brixhibition competition that we've run throughout 46 primary schools and libraries throughout Northern Tasmania.

"That included 2300 children, so the winners of every single school will be at Brixhibition, and they'll go into a grand prize to maybe win a $300 Lego voucher from Toyworld."

Two Lego mosaics will also be on display, one built by Mr Draeger's wife, Debbie Draeger, featuring the 12 Doctors from hit TV series Doctor Who.

He said it was encouraging to see more original creations at each year's event, rather than predesigned kits.

"We're getting more custom things like dioramas and mosaics ... it's [about] the variety of different interests coming together, and building something creatively to show it off to the public and children to then inspire them to do similar things," Mr Draeger said.

Brixhibition returns to Launceston April 20 and 21 at 50 Glen Dhu Street, with tickets available online.