Here is an exciting update for the Clockwork Aquarium Lego Ideas project: a second alternative theme inspired by the Disney/Pixar movie “Finding Nemo”! Since the Clockwork Aquarium is of course, made out of Lego, it can be modified to the extent of the builder’s imagination. The “Finding Nemo” theme is another demonstration of how Lego fans could customize the Clockwork Aquarium to their liking.
This project is on a long journey to reach the Lego review board. Your free support at the Lego Ideas Project page would be greatly appreciated!
Lets start with the video which shows the Theme in Action:
Now lets break down the specific elements of this Aquarium theme:
- The “Printed” Swimming Fish: It was a hope for this project from the start that if it was picked up by Lego, that the set would include colorful printed fish, even if the set was not Finding Nemo Theme. I have carefully hand painted 3 Lego fish (to the best of my ability) to resemble they type of fish that “Finding Nemo” characters were based on. In other words, the fish are meant to be more like real world fish, as opposed to cartoon fish.
- Clown Fish – Nemo and his dad Marlin were both Clown fish
- Blue Tang or Surgeon Fish – Dory (She was never in the fish tank in the movie Finding Nemo, but this theme is of course, only inspired by the movie and not meant to recreate it.)
- Moorish Idol – Gill (from the fish tank in the dentist office of Finding Nemo)
- The Treasure Chest: This moving feature replaces the jumping crab in this theme. The treasure box opens and shuts as it does in the movie fish tank to release bubbles, which are of course closely guarded by the Yellow fish named Bubbles. The treasure box can fully close, but last second before filming, I stuck two gold coins inside it which make it not fully shut. I think I will leave those out from now on.
- Spinning Starfish: Representing Peach from the movie, the spinning starfish continues to add another motion to the life-filled aquarium. It is not the exact right color for Peach, but will have to do for now.
- Scenic Elements:
- Mount Wannahockaloogie – Potrayed in all its glory is the Volcano from the movie aquarium. I would like to mention that when I first started working on this theme, I tried to make the Volcano the centerpiece and have it look like Lava was bubbling up at its top. Even though I have a working version of just that, I was more impressed by the treasure box’s motion that I used it instead. The Volcano is once again a hand painted Lego piece. If this set was picked up, I would hope Lego would print a volcano pattern onto the sloped piece. I did try the similarly sized craggly wedge pieces in trans orange with black printing. It looked perfect, but the studs prevented the fish from swimming by smoothly so I had to use the sloped piece with no studs.
- Jacques and Helmet – The shrimp and helmet from the original theme came over as well since they represent Jacques and his dive helmet quite well.
- Tiki Mask – The movie aquarium featured tiki mask decorations. This mask comes from the collectible minifigure series 11 Island Warrior. It takes the place of the Easter Island head from the original Clockwork Aquarium theme.
- Lots of Plants/Coral – the fish tank in the movie “Finding Nemo” was abundantly populated with lots of coral and plant life. I squeezed in more plants and added more Pinks and purples to create the illusion of dense plant life.
- Blue gravel – Some people may notice that I changed the sandy bottom for blue in this theme which is of course to represent the aquarium from the movie. My “gravel” is in normal blue but ideally it would be in more of a teal blue color.
The original version of the Clockwork Aquarium continues to be my primary push for the Lego Idea. This Finding Nemo them, and the previous Spongebob theme are mainly intended to demonstrate some flexibility and the capability for customization. Of course, if Lego picked up the project and decided to package it with two or more themes in the box, then I’d have no objections at all.
Do please follow this Link to Lego Ideas and click the support button for the Clockwork Aquarium. It is on a long Journey to 10000 supporters and could very much use your support!
