Let me be honest, the last magazine wasn’t a sprint of excitement of fun and enjoyment, but a marathon of stress and anxiety. Having to add details to one of the Millennium Falcon mandibles while trying to avoid the delicate details already added, while struggling to place the thing down without adding to stress to said details… it got a little too much! My nine-year-old daughter – Ember – and I were able to make it through, even if it was a slog. It did have us feeling a little drained. The issue was unnaturally long however it wasn’t just that, it was the fact that with a little reordering of the last few installments, all that stress and worry could have been taken away.
This is perfectly emphasised by when I got the next installment out. I pulled the parts pack that comes with the magazine and what do I find, the parts of the jig that fit not one but both mandibles. Where was this last issue, or in that fact two issues ago! With just a rearrangement in when this was sent, I would have something to place the mandible safely on and not have to worry about damaging all the details. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t even wait for Ember for this part, I quickly raced to the jig, assembled it, placed the mandible (that I’d had resting carefully on some foam I’d thankfully had lying around) and let out a huge sigh of relief. The mandible was safe!
Accepting that the order of the magazine needed a little refining – to say the least – it was time to move on and look forward to what Ember and I would be doing for this installment. I wasn’t going to rush and try and do two magazines this time around, the previous issue had zapped a little too much of both of our energies and I needed us to just sit back and have a bit of fun. Because at issue eighty, we were officially in the last fifth of the entire build. It was hard to believe. And I wasn’t going to let some silly mandible spoil what an enjoyable and bonding time for my daughter and me has been. So, with fresh eyes, I looked at what we would be doing this time around.
First up would be adding details to the top side of the mandible. Now while this would have caused me a lot of stress, with the jig, I felt a bit happier getting the rest of the details on. I should probably note that the instructions for the jig come at the end of the magazine, obviously, I would build that first! I know that with these details, Ember would be wanting me to cut the pieces, as many of them are very fine, but I think I could coax her into some gluing. We’d also be starting on the other mandible, lots of screwing which Ember is now a pro at. This should be a fairly straightforward installment, one Ember and me can relax into and enjoy. With nothing to prepare, well aside from jumping ahead and getting those two jigs set up (I’m still basking in the afterglow of relief), it was time for Ember and me to sit down and get on with part eighty.
Looking at the details Ember looked instantly at me and said this was a me job. She grabbed my phone and started taking photos. I couldn’t coax her to take any part in the actual construction, but she was following along with everything I was doing. I also love getting so hands on with the project. And adding the details? With the jig set up, it was a really pleasurable experience. There was no worry, there was no having to think about how I was holding the mandible, I could just relax and enjoy the experience, which is what the whole project should be about. There was one part that needed some extra light, and it was so helpful having Ember there, she held the torch while I added the part, feeling like we were Han and Chewie trying to fix the Falcon.
After all the details were added, it was time to switch places and have Ember do some work. When she saw it was screwing the frame together her eyes lit up. She went through it quicker than I expected. Her transformation since starting this project is startling and she soon had the frame completed and we were attaching the first plate. While there are no details yet, having the jig there ready to take the mandible is another welcome relief, one huge difference right from the start, that means building the left mandible is going to be a very different experience to the right.
With the magazine done we both looked at each other and were a bit surprised that it was already over and done. Yet it was also the length of the issue we needed. The last magazine had been too long, too complicated and too stressful. We needed to get back to the relaxed, joyful experience that we had had for so long and that is exactly what we got. We both smiled at each other and commented that we really enjoyed that. We were back in our good place with this project! And the Falcon… it should not make too much of a difference with a mandible lined up on half of a completed hull but goodness me it does. It looks like it could be in a construction hangar somewhere! It really is starting to take shape. With only twenty issues left, I imagine this is a feeling that is only going to increase – not monthly – but weekly as we get nearer and near to that finish line.
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