Halfway through, plating on the lower half and finally work has started on the upper hull plating. It is crazy to think how much my eight-year-old daughter Ember and I have achieved in working on this project so far. We’ve learnt skills, brought new equipment and – most importantly – had fun doing it. A huge scale replica of the Millennium Falcon that I’m hoping we can be proud of for years to come. Having finished the last delivery, we had been waiting eagerly for the new box of five issues to arrive. It didn’t take long. Having completed fifty-one issues, I finally needed to use a new divider to house the new installments that arrived with the delivery. We already had three, but I could see that two should be able to comfortably get us through this project.
The box was slightly smaller than usual but was full to the brim with issues, most of them containing a new piece of jig for the upper hull. I still wasn’t quite sure where this was going to live while we were building it. I’m very much hoping that it won’t take long until we’re attaching the upper hull to its lower counterpart, so it doesn’t take up too much room! With the magazines and parts taken out of the box, it was straight into looking at what Ember and I would be doing. The last few issues we’ve been able to do two issues at once, the installments seamlessly flowing from one to the next. As I glanced through part fifty-two, I found that not only would we be adding to the hull frame, but we would also be adding to the passage tube.
I quite like installments that have two different tasks to do. It breaks things up for Ember which means her concentration is much more focused. While there was a part of me that thought we might be able to do two issues back-to-back, when I looked at issue fifty-three, I realised it followed much the same format but with even more to do. If I had been doing this solo, I would have perhaps done both. However, the last delivery had taught me that I still needed to be mindful of Ember. Yes, she was enjoying the project, but she was also eight years old. She couldn’t go for hours without getting bored and disinterested. It was the last thing I wanted to make this project feel like for her. Being sensible, it was one issue.
As has been the pattern for quite a while now, I didn’t need to do any preparation. In the early issues, there were frequently parts that needed painting before me and Ember sat down. With most of the interior parts already done, I no longer needed to really worry about this. Another pattern that has started to emerge with these latest installments is the paint guides by Stephen Dymszo. For someone who is just starting on his journey with airbrushing, these look like they will be immensely helpful. While I’m using different paints and a different guide, the explanation of techniques, like there is for this part, looks like it will be a godsend for Ember and me for when we come to paint. This issue is all about distressing the surface – what I would call weathering. While we have a long road until we paint the Falcon, I am planning on Ember and me using the airbrush a fair bit this summer and these guides will be invaluable to practicing these techniques before we work on the Falcon itself.
With nothing to worry about in terms of prep, and no hunting for parts that we have to do very frequently, Ember and I could sit down and get straight into the build. The confidence that Ember shows every time we sit down to do an installment still surprises me. Within moments, she had the screwdriver, selecting the correct screws and identifying what part needed to be done first. We flew through adding the turret ring and another metal frame to what we had done previously. I was surprised to have the turret ring so quickly into the build. However, there were a few plates that just weren’t sitting right; attaching the ring at this stage levelled them all out. I could see why it was already being attached. There were no problems with this part.
The final part of the issue was adding magnets to the passage tube cover. Fairly straight forward, add some spots of glue (four in all) to attach two pins and two magnets – what could possibly go wrong? Well, the pins are fiddly, trying to fit them into such a tight spot. I was thinking this would be fun with an eight-year-old. Ember however, had clocked onto the fact that this was going to be rather fiddly and just sat back and let me get on with it. I looked to her and explained her smaller fingers might manage this far easier, to which she giggled and told me she wanted me to do it! Thanks very much kid! After some fallen pins, cursing, moving the panel to weird angles, more cursing, I eventually got the pins in. In comparison, the two magnets were simple and fitted in seconds!
With that, part fifty-two of the build was complete. Ember was rather surprised that the issue was over so soon. It was short but I was well aware that the next issue would be too long if we had done it back-to-back. This way we left the project wanting to do more, which when you have an eight-year-old flying co-pilot, is the best way to leave things. I’m excited for this delivery. I feel this first part has been the calm before the storm, where we will be doing a lot more things to get this top hull sorted. A great, relaxing start to this new delivery.
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