We have finally come to the last issue of our current delivery. There has been a lot of constructing, a lot of learning new skills and a lot of fun with this delivery for my seven-year-old daughter (Ember) and myself. It has marked the passing of two-fifths of this project and we’re both now starting to see just how big a project like this is. The last installment was short, simple and just what we needed after a very full issue, but I was eager to sink my teeth into something more.
With the weather bitterly cold, I couldn’t get any practice with the airbrush. That said, I have been looking around for painting guides, particularly because I know that painting is surely going to start soon, and I wanted to be very particular about what paints I used. For me, I only wanted to use Archive X paints, a range created by Guy Cowen that replicates exactly the paints used by Industrial Light and Magic in the seventies and eighties. I wanted our Millennium Falcon to look as close to the real studio model used back then as was possible. Thankfully in my searching I stumbled across a man called Josh Wraith, who has not only done this entire build, painted it using Archive X paints but has also created a guide for fans to buy who are looking for that authentic look. It came out at the end of November. Talk about good timing! I will update you when we get to the painting stages! If, however, you are further along than myself or want to look at his guide before the latter stages of the build, then I suggest you contact him by email and get your copy!
With the ‘homework’ for the project done, it was time to look at issue forty-one. As always, I scouted ahead before completing anything with Ember. As any parent will tell you, making sure that any complications that might arise are dealt with beforehand makes life a bit easier! Looking through the construction pages, we were going to be constructing a completely different part to the Falcon this time. We would be assembling the control platform, although for me, I just call it the gunner seat! It would involve clipping and filing – which Ember enjoys and is confident with, and then gluing small pieces to the seat. Maybe not so easy to do! After that it would be assembling the turret well with some electronics involved. It would certainly be varied and yet a quick payoff as Ember would be able to see exactly what we had constructed, without waiting weeks to see it completed.
There was thankfully no painting that needed doing beforehand. While the main body of the Falcon I want to do with Ember – she can learn to airbrush with me – the interior is a different matter, particularly as it won’t be on display. Rather than slow us down, I’ve been painting these bits. For this part though, I didn’t think there was anything that really needed repainting. With nothing else to do, it was time for Ember and me to sit down and start this installment.
We started easy enough, with Ember very happy clipping and filing. She always leaves the gluing to me as we’re using superglue and – if I’m being honest – she has seen me glue my fingers together too many times during this project to feel confident doing it herself. As a responsible parent, this is the sensible option I chose to go with, yet the irresponsible hobbyist in me wants to tell her that her smaller fingers would be far better than mine at doing all this detailed work! This was going absolutely fine until we came to the firing grips, control mount and everything after. These parts were finicky, and Ember wasn’t comfortable clipping these out – heck, I didn’t know if I was comfortable with it. It ended up with Ember having to give me some time to take over, which was a shame but even I had to agree, this was part of the build I needed to do.
Let’s start by saying that I hate the pivot and pedals that finish this section of the build. They go on after you’ve fitted everything else, even though they are the smallest pieces. If you are yet to build yours, may I suggest you put these pieces in first and then go back to steps four to six. I imagine this would be far simpler and create a lot less stress!
With that complete, I could move onto the turret well. I hate stickers, whether it be models or Lego, trying to get them lined up and straight really stresses me out. The stickers for the well were actually a delight, in fact, they were the easiest thing of the whole build this installment! With that done, it was time to add the LED light. When I mentioned it to Ember, she was back in a flash, wanting to help. Lining it up and then gluing the two well sides was simple enough as Ember was able to hold the wires for me (as opposed to using modelling clay that the issue suggests). We then come to the turret ring, and I would suggest you skip this and screw the chair in first. This part I had to do myself as the fit was so tight Ember wouldn’t have had a hope in doing it. Not only that but trying to hold onto the chair while not damaging what you have glued onto it is… challenging. Thankfully the glue on the turret ring hadn’t set and I quickly removed it so I could screw it in. After that, gluing the ring on was easy enough.
While it might have looked like a simple installment of the Millennium Falcon build, the small, intricate parts made this anything but simple. Ember could only help me with part of it and the rest I had to struggle with and try and keep my patience. While it was fun to do the turret well, it isn’t something I’d like to do again (and I’m presuming I most certainly will!). It’s not quite how I’d have liked to have finished a delivery, with Ember relegated to the sidelines but I guess that’s just how the issue for this delivery had fallen. The delivery as a whole has been a very mixed bag, some very detailed issues, some straightforward and simple ones. While we’re still enjoying the project, I’m really hoping our next delivery will allow us to sink our teeth back into the project. Until then, I better start reading the painting guide and see just what is in store for Ember and me.
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