The LEGO USS Virginia SSN-774 MOC - The Biggest Submarine in the Collection!

SubMayRine 2026 ends where American submarine power is headed next. The LEGO USS Virginia (SSN-774) is the lead boat of the most advanced nuclear attack submarine class in the world and the final reveal of the most ambitious SubMayRine yet! At 391 pieces and 49 cm long, it's the largest LEGO submarine MOC Bobby Brix has ever built!

SubMayRine 2026: A Big and Bold Month

SubMayRine 2026 set out to be broader and more ambitious than any previous edition of the event. This year's submarines focused on two navies and two generations of nuclear propulsion technology, beginning with the Argentine TR-1700 diesel-electric pair of the ARA San Juan and ARA Santa Cruz, moving through the Cold War-era USS Los Angeles (SSN-688), and closing with the boat that replaced her class entirely.

 

The LEGO USS Virginia (SSN-774) is the finale. She is the lead ship of the Virginia class, the nuclear attack submarine that the United States Navy is building right now and will continue building through the 2040s. The US Navy is planning to operate them until 2060. While the Los Angeles class defined Cold War American submarine power, the Virginia class defines what comes next. And at 391 pieces, she is also the largest LEGO submarine MOC in the Bobby Brix catalogue to date, surpassing even the Los Angeles MOC!

The Virginia Class: America's Future Attack Submarine

The Virginia class, formally designated SSN-774, is a series of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines developed for the United States Navy as a cost-effective successor to the Seawolf class. Development began in 1991, and the programme was notable from the start for being the first US Navy warship class designed using 3D visualisation technology and computer-aided engineering. Construction is shared between General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut and Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, a massive industrial arrangement designed to keep both facilities operational and competitive.

U.S. Navy photo by General Dynamics Electric Boat - This image was released by the United States Navy with the ID 040730-N-1234E-002 (next).

The class replaces the Los Angeles class as it retires and represents a fundamental rethinking of attack submarine design for the post-Cold War era. Where Los Angeles boats were optimised for deep ocean anti-submarine warfare against Soviet nuclear submarines, the Virginia class is designed for flexibility, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence gathering, land attack, and special forces support in both deep water and shallow coastal environments. The design uses a modular construction approach that allows each production block to introduce new capabilities without requiring a complete redesign.

The US Navy plans to operate 66 Virginia-class submarines, with procurement continuing through 2043. Following the decommissioning of USS Helena in 2025, the Virginia class became the most numerous active submarine class in US service. 

The Lead Boat: USS Virginia (SSN-774)

USS Virginia (SSN-774) was ordered on 30 September 1998, laid down on 2 September 1999 by General Dynamics Electric Boat, launched on 16 August 2003, and commissioned on 23 October 2004. She carries the motto Sic Semper Tyrannis ("Thus Always To Tyrants") which is also the motto of her name state, Virginia. She is the tenth US Navy vessel to carry the name Virginia.

She is homeported in Groton, Connecticut, and has served in the Atlantic Fleet since commissioning. As the lead boat of her class, her operational record has been foundational to the development of the entire Virginia programme as each subsequent block of Virginia-class boats has built on lessons learned from her and her early sisters.

USS Virginia displaces 7,800 tons and measures 115 m / 377 ft in length, with a beam of 10.4 m / 34 ft and a draft of 9.8 m / 32 ft. She is powered by a single S9G nuclear reactor and armed with 12 VLS tubes for Tomahawk cruise missiles and four 530 mm torpedo tubes for Mk-48 torpedoes.

The Bobby Brix LEGO USS Virginia MOC

The LEGO USS Virginia MOC closes SubMayRine 2026 as the largest and most piece-intensive submarine in the Bobby Brix catalogue. There are 391 pieces in this model, surpassing the 344-piece USS Los Angeles that held the record just weeks ago. The two models make a natural pair on display: consecutive generations of US Navy attack submarine, the same scale in the same collection.

A Note on Scale: The 1:260 Problem

Every Bobby Brix submarine in the 1:260 collection is designed to share a consistent scale, the goal being that the finished models can be displayed side by side as a coherent fleet. The USS Los Angeles, the ARA San Juan, and the ARA Santa Cruz all follow this scale faithfully. The Virginia, however, presented a specific problem that required an honest design decision.

The Virginia class has a significantly wider beam than the Los Angeles class, 10.4 m versus 9.7 m in the real world. At 1:260 scale, using the same LEGO elements as the Los Angeles MOC, the hull came out proportionally too wide relative to its length. The model simply didn't look right. Following the blueprints closely, the length and width were corrected to 1:235 scale to achieve accurate proportions. The stated scale of 1:260 reflects the collection it belongs to and the approximate visual relationship to the other boats, while the true length scale is 1:235, the a margin of error of approximately 10%.

This is the kind of decision every scaled MOC designer eventually faces: physical brick limitations mean that perfect scale fidelity is sometimes impossible, and visual accuracy has to take priority over mathematical precision. The Virginia looks like a Virginia, and that's what matters most to me as a MOC designer.

Want to run the numbers yourself?
The free Bobby Brix LEGO MOC Scale Checker lets you input the real-world dimensions of USS Virginia and compare them to the MOC at any scale ratio. This is a practical way to see exactly how the 1:235 correction plays out against the stated 1:260 and understand where the margin of error sits.

Design & Build Notes

The Virginia class has a rounder, fuller hull cross-section than the Los Angeles, the wider beam is immediately apparent when you look at the two boats side by side. Recreating that fuller profile at a miniature scale while keeping the model structurally solid over a 49 cm length was the central challenge of this build.

The interior uses a dense SNOT structure (Studs Not On Top) techniques that allow bricks to be oriented in multiple directions to fill the hull form. However, this time, I used fewer central filler bricks than the Los Angeles MOC. The approach reduces redundant internal mass while maintaining the rigidity needed over this length. It significantly reduces the final cost of the model too. The result is a model that is slightly more efficient piece-for-piece than the Los Angeles despite being longer and wider.

The conning tower is compact but detailed. Two prominent green periscope masts rise from the sail which is a deliberate visual reference to the photonic masts of the real vessel, even though the actual Virginia class carries no traditional periscopes. The sail also features the retractable side wings that the Virginia deploys for certain manoeuvres, rendered as fixed wing elements on the MOC. If you don't want those wings on display, you can always replace both sides with 2x4 curved tiles instead.

A Word on Display

The standard Bobby Brix 1:260 scale display stand which was used on the USS Los Angeles, ARA San Juan, and ARA Santa Cruz will not hold the Virginia. The wider beam and greater weight of this model requires a different stand design, and one is in development. For now, builders will need to be creative: a flat display surface, a custom stand built from your own parts, or a temporary solution until the dedicated Virginia stand is released. Details will be announced soon when it's ready.

Who Is This For?

The Bobby Brix LEGO USS Virginia MOC is the natural close to the SubMayRine 2026 US Navy pair alongside the USS Los Angeles and the most technically ambitious submarine in the 1:260 collection to date. It's a strong fit for LEGO naval and submarine MOC builders, US Navy and modern military history enthusiasts, fans of the Virginia class and anyone building a 1:260 scale submarine fleet display. 

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