Two installments into the latest delivery of the Millennium Falcon build from Fanhome and I couldn’t be happier with what we had done so far. I say we because with me – as she has been throughout this whole project – is my eight-year-old daughter Ember. Ember and I started this project when she was six and it has been amazing to watch her grow alongside this build. The last magazine had seen us create the dish for the Falcon, it was so full of nostalgia for me, a perfect time for Ember to practise all the skills she had learnt and generally just have an enjoyable time with it all. Which let’s be honest, is what a project this size should be about!
I was really unsure what we would be doing next. I had a look through the seventy-third magazine to prepare myself for what was to come. Although most of the time now, I don’t need to do preparation before I bring Ember in, old habits die hard. It also allows me to see whether we will do a single issue or a couple. Looking through the magazine, I could see that the blueprints that were sent with this delivery would start to be used. We would be assembling the mandibles. The blueprints allow Ember and me to see where pieces would fit, forming a compliment to the first blueprints that were sent so long ago with the very first issue. Having twelve steps for this entire installment, I knew this would take us no time at all. I reached for the next magazine. That only had six steps! I always want to make sure that I don’t make Ember do too much during a sitting, as at eight years old, she can start to become restless. However, with only eighteen steps for both magazines, I did not see that being a problem at all. Both were focused on assembling the mandibles, so flowed easily into one another. It is perhaps one of my few complaints about this entire series, that the magazines aren’t consistent with how much you have to do. Obviously with multiple issues sent at a time, you can double up, just like we do.
With nothing more to do, I could sit down with Ember and begin construction. Last time I had seen Ember become a bit more confident, taking charge of the camera to take photos of the parts that I was doing – that was never part of the deal! I’m hoping she’ll forget about that little development.
It shows just how I’m a little too into the project, when I’m excited by a whole lot of new screws for us to use. Of course, at this stage, we actually have enough. Ember and I are both very careful, so we still have all the spares, we’ve never come close to running out. Still, I always appreciate a restock. We started with issue seventy-three and the two frames needed joining together. I had to hold all the pieces together so Ember could screw them into place, but she did this with practised ease. The frame was soon together, bringing the shape of the mandible easily to the mind. After this, it was just a matter of adding on a single plate.
This would be the time when Ember decided that she did want to switch places, to have me adding the plate and her taking the photos. Oh, what a joy – I hope you can hear the sarcasm dripping out of that sentence. I will apologise about my nails, not only does Ember do work with me on the Falcon, but she also makes sure that my nails are at their… er… best. The plate went on with no problems. It snapped into place. If you have added a few of these plates, you’ll know the snap I mean. It requires some force, the loudness of the snap makes you think you’ve broken the plastic when in reality, everything is fine. When I looked at the time, it had taken us a total of ten minutes to complete the magazine. Thank goodness we were doing another.
Ember and I were going to switch roles when we realized that the second installment merely needed a few screws to attach a second plate and… that was literally all. The magazine comes with another piece of the frame, but it’s not attached in this issue. There were some other pieces – a recess – that wasn’t used. We completed the attaching of the plate in two minutes. Ember was rather surprised and frustrated that there weren’t more photos to take – that’s a shame!
With this small task done, we had completed this part of the mandible. Now don’t get me wrong, it looks fantastic and I can’t wait to do more. And more I would have liked to have done now. That said, Ember was still enthusiastic, smiling and feeling like she could have done more. There is that part of me that said this is the perfect way to leave it, her wanting to do more as she’ll be more excited when we come to the next magazine. This is of course fine for children for adult builders, I imagine these are two installments you will fly through and already be reaching for issue seventy-five.
The post Build the Millennium Falcon: Part 73 and 74 appeared first on Jedi News.
