We were heading towards the end of our current delivery. Because of delays with magazines, it has actually led to a six-issue delivery but it in some ways felt a lot smaller. My copilot – my eight-year-old daughter – Ember and I had constructed lots of different pieces for the Millennium Falcon. However, none of that construction could be seen of the two halves of the ship that had taken over my small study. Yes, we’d been busy, but our efforts weren’t visible – yet.
I suppose it is worth noting that these next set of issues mark the three-quarter mark of the project. With two halves pretty much assembled, the innards of the ship complete (at least as far as I’m aware) it makes sense that we would be sorting out the extra parts that needed constructing, ready for the final sprint to the end where it all comes together. Maybe it was my impatient self that just wanted to see this come together a bit faster. Why couldn’t we put the two halves together and then attach the mandibles? It would take up less space and then I could gaze on most of the beauty of the Falcon. I’m sure there is a very good reason, one that will make sense to me when I see how these different pieces come together.
So, onto the penultimate installment of the current delivery. Last time, the two magazines that Ember and I had constructed were very small, so small in fact that even Ember wanted to do more. I had a peek into part seventy-five to see if this one would be meatier. Now these are the magazines I like, a few little pieces here and there to keep things a bit more interesting. It also means there’s a lot less chance of a certain eight-year-old getting bored. We would be assembling more mandible frames and adding some detail to the recesses. While I looked in horror at the tiny pieces, I also grabbed the next magazine to realise that adding two plates and more recess detail could be done at the same time. The second recess had a lot less smaller parts… but that first…
While there was nothing that really needed planning (apart from getting the parts from the previous magazine), I could already see how those recesses would go. Ember would see the tiny size, remind me that she now likes to take photos of us working on it together and laugh at my growing frustration at trying to get all these tiny pieces to fit. Maybe I could coax her to do it with those modelling tweezers she so loves? I guess it was worth a shot!
With nothing to do but imagine the problem getting bigger, and bigger in my head, I sat down with Ember to work our way through the remainder of this delivery’s magazines. Assembling the mandible took no time at all. Ember very quickly – and efficiently – got the correct screws and placed them all in correctly to first attach the two-hole connectors and then to connect the plates together. I was already realising how this would eventually fit onto the halves we had constructed. I showed Ember where the joins clearly were and her face lit up, realising how all of this would fit together.
Low and behold, when it came to adding the first set of details, she quickly took charge of the camera and told me, in no uncertain terms, that she would photograph while I completed. Thanks, kid! While I want to say that most of the details were not too bad, the very first detail was a bit of a nightmare. It does fit into the groove, but you will need to use tweezers to make sure it stands up at the correct angle, that the other side of it attaches to where it should go. While I was getting frustrated, Ember was smiling away taking photos – figures! After that one piece, the rest proceeded without incident, and we were done before I knew it.
While we could have stopped there and I think it would have been enough for Ember, I showed her the second magazine and she agreed, there wasn’t enough there to have it on its own. We started to add the plating, with me back behind the camera and Ember doing the work. She has come so far in making sure the screws were tightened enough, it was a proud dad moment. She still insisted I check her work, even though I could see she had done as good a job as I would have done. With the plating on, it was four more small details. This took no time at all, with no aggravation. Before I knew it, we were done.
All these little pieces, the mandibles and the four recesses, don’t feel like much; they didn’t take anytime to really do. Knowing what I do of the Falcon, I know that visually, they are going to be crucial parts. It’s enjoyable to have a more relaxed pace, even if I am impatient for getting to the finish line. Ember is still coming on leaps and bounds, her growth since we started this project three years ago, is immense. Not only that, but with her now taking photos as well, it means we are both involved in every step of the process. It’s a new rhythm we seem to have settled into and one that I think will see us out to the end of the project. This has been a very fun delivery, and I can’t wait for the next. I mean if we could put the two halves together… soon… ish… that would be, you know… great!
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