
Rain… rain… rain… it just didn’t want to go! Then when I was at work, sunshine. But I was at work! Racing home… to rain! Oh, there was a pattern here and it was very frustrating. Why am I talking about rain so much when I’m reviewing the next installment of the Millennium Falcon build from Fanhome? Because my nine-year-old daughter (Ember) and I had to stop the last magazine because we needed to undercoat the recesses for the latest mandible we were working on. It meant that before we could start this installment, we had a bit of homework to do!
When we had a (very) brief respite in the rain, the sun was shining and the air was slightly cool. I didn’t hesitate. I quickly undercoated the recesses in black and – once dry – dry brushing them with Archive X Lark Dark Grey. If you have read some of my other reviews, you know that the only paint that I will be using when it comes to painting the Falcon is Archive X. These are exact paints that were used by Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) in the original films and are the closest you can get to getting the ‘true’ colour of the Falcon. Although I plan on repainting the ship, I can see these recesses causing me some trouble, so preparing them now, so I don’t have to be too concerned with a black undercoat later, I think it will help me greatly.
With that, it was time to finish the magazine. This meant screwing in the recesses and adding a couple of other pieces. Fairly straightforward and short, I didn’t bother getting Ember for this small bit. I was glad of that. Everything was fine until piece 15, which for the life of me, I couldn’t work out how it correctly went into the groove. I would strongly suggest using the photos in the magazine to help as there should be a gap where you glue it and to give you some clue to the orientation of the piece. It puzzled me for a while, if Ember had been with me, I could easily see me rushing and getting it wrong. With all the steps finally complete, it was time to move onto the actual installment for this review: part eighty-four.
As always, I looked through the magazine to check if there was anything that might cause Ember and I any problems – or if we could manage two issues. Looking through, this seemed like a very simple issue. Add plant on details to both sides of the mandible and then add the side frames. We weren’t even going to bring the two pieces together. I was almost reaching for the next installment when I suddenly remembered what had happened with the last mandible. One of those parts had seemed short yet the details had taken a lot longer than I had anticipated. What had ended up was Ember and I both been a bit frustrated having done two issues rather than playing it safe and just completing one. Forewarned by our past experience, I didn’t want to make the same mistake twice and decided to keep it to the one.
With nothing to prepare for the actual issue we’d be working on, it was time for Ember and me to get to work! The plant on details were actually a joy to do. I had been a bit worried that Ember would hand this completely over to me as the parts were pretty thin and I know she worries about snapping them. However, she didn’t even bat an eyelid. She was straight to the clippers, taking the pieces out. She did hand them quickly over, wanting me to file them as she was sure they would snap. To be fair, they were thin and to the untrained hand, I could see the pieces shattering if she had tried to do it. What I loved though was her confidence rising enough to at least clip them out (and not take any photos of me doing it!). She might not be ready to file them yet, but I have a feeling it is only going to be a short while till she works up the courage. Gluing the pieces onto the mandible was such a pleasure. After the problems that we have had previously, everything fitted as it should, the instructions were clear and I wasn’t worried about damaging anything. I could feel myself relaxing into this, knowing this is what a build is supposed to feel like.
With the details on and the glue drying, it was time to screw the side frames on. I was reading the instructions out loud, ‘six countersunk screws’ and as I looked up, there was Ember having already identified said screws, ready to go. As much as I loved building things at Ember’s age, I don’t think I would have been able to identify a countersunk screw without some help! I was really seeing what a positive impact this project has had on her development. With the screws ready to go, the frames just slotted into place, Ember screwed them in and we were done!
It was a relatively short installment. Everything went right. With hindsight, and knowing we weren’t going to run into problems, I’d have probably opted to do two issues for this review. Yet the problems we have faced with the other mandible had made me overly cautious. Perhaps that’s why this time it went so well – lesson learnt and all of that – yet I can’t help but think that maybe a shorter issue, not being faced with so much to do in a sitting made both Ember and me more relaxed and able to enjoy the moment. In either case, we both really enjoyed this magazine. It was short but certainly sweet. Looking at the parts left over from this issue, I imagine we’ll be finishing the mandible and bringing the two sides together for the next two magazines. It really is a copy of the first mandible. I don’t mind this at all. But… I really, really want to know what comes after. Will it be finally time to bring the two halves of the entire ship together? Guess there’s only one way to find out.
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