In recognition of the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the historic luxury liner the Titanic, one Kansas City, MO, senior living resident has spent hours constructing a nearly 5-foot Lego model of the ship.
Bill Fields, 90, has built more than 250 Lego models since his son bought him his first set approximately 45 years ago. The hobby developed out of Fields’ love for jigsaw puzzles, he said, and he attributed his Lego building to helping him age well, given the hand dexterity and patience it takes to construct these types of large models.
Now, the Senior Star at Villa Ventura resident even has his own exhibit space for his models. Senior Star staff members recently converted a two-bedroom apartment within the community into a venue for Fields to showcase his work to other residents. There, Fields will display the newly completed Titanic model, as well as 50 other models he has built, including his “pride and joy,” a 7,500-piece model of the Millennium Falcon, from the “Star Wars” movie series.
Fields said he’s most drawn to complex models, as evidenced by the 9,000-piece model of the Roman Colosseum he built during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Colosseum, along with Lego models of the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben and the Empire State Building, all are on display in his new “Lego Room” at Villa Ventura. Voluntary donations from visitors to the showcase will be given to the Alzheimer’s Association in memory of Fields’ wife, who passed away from Alzheimer’s disease.
“It’s been a great hobby that helps keep me young,” Fields said.
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