How Do You Move An X-Wing Fighter? With A Giant LEGO Brick Crane?

I am going to LEGOLAND's Star Wars Days this weekend to check it out.

Built by 32 Master Model Builders, it used 5,000,000 LEGO bricks and more than 17,000 hours to make.  It weighs almost 46,000 pounds. That's a lotta zeroes.  It's over 2x as tall as I am, and many times longer than I am wide.  In fact it is 11' tall, 43' long and a wingspan of 44'.

LEGO Star Wars X-wing starfighter model fun facts:

    Contains 5,335,200 LEGO bricks
    Weighs 45,980 pounds
    Height: 11 feet / 3.35 meters
    Length: 43 feet / 13.1 meters
    Wingspan: 44 feet / 13.44 meters
    32 builders spent 17,336 hours to construct – about 4 months
    Built in the LEGO Model Shop in Kladno, Czech Republic
    Is a one-to-one replica of LEGO Star Wars set #9493; The model is 42 times the size of the retail building set


I have a question.  How on earth did they move it from New York?  Via a massive container ship going through the Panama Canal then a Giant Crane unloading it from the massive ship that plucks it off of the ship, turns towards Carlsbad then gently lowers it into place at LEGOLAND?

Well, much as we would like that to have been the scenario, I suspect it was not the case.  I'll have to ask some of the Master Builders when I get to LEGOLAND this Saturday and Sunday.  I'm curious.  Who do I know that worked on the ship?  How do they know it's a 1:1 scale?  A model of a fictional ship is to scale if the original designer of said fictional ship said it is, I imagine.  When said fictional ship is this X-Wing Fighter... now THAT's power!

I have another question.  Can I have the bricks when you take the model down?

From the Press Release:
"The X-wing is making its debut at LEGOLAND California at 9 a.m. on Thursday, June 13 following a brief ceremony featuring members of the Rebel Legion and 501st Legion inside a special air hangar in the Imagination Zone. Pass Members are getting exclusive access to the X-wing starfighter between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 13 and after 2 p.m., it will be accessible to all Park guests through the end of 2013.

The X-wing was built in honor of LEGO Star Wars™ The Yoda Chronicles, a new action-packed story on Cartoon Network, featuring Yoda, the Jedi Master."

LEGO Star Wars™ Days Info:
June 15 and June 16, 2013

The Force grows even stronger at LEGOLAND California with the addition of the LEGO X-wing starfighter for guests to enjoy during LEGO Star Wars™ Days.  The annual event features out-of-this-world fun activities including a Droid Hunt with the 501st Legion, Star Wars Costume Contest, Jedi Trivia, LEGO Star Wars Building Competition, LEGO Star Wars T-shirt Contest and more."

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