After two relaxing issues, finishing off the last delivery, the next batch of issues showed up very speedily. My daughter – Ember – who has joined me for this crazy journey of building the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy, was eager with excitement as soon as she saw the box! On opening it, it wasn’t the issues I was first greeted with, but a Millennium Falcon cap. I wish I could tell you it fitted my head brilliantly, that it felt comfortable on my adult size head… but alas, Ember staked her claim to it immediately. It’s a great looking cap with a proper metallic adjuster at the back. Although I’d love to wear it, I love that Ember wants to. The hat adjusts brilliantly to fit Ember’s seven-year-old head, although it would fit adults too… she’s already worn it out when the sun shone (which in England, isn’t very often!).
Delving into the rest of the box were the next five issues: twelve to sixteen. Having a scan through them, I realised that rather than do two issues back-to-back this time, I would be better sticking with one. Issue twelve added parts of the outer frame, using the screwdriver and being very mechanical. While issue thirteen also had these elements, it was focused on the internal parts of the Falcon. It made sense to keep them separate. Also, it looked like there would be a lot of work for Ember to do this issue; not complicated, but lots of it.
Issue twelve is all about the bottom hull. Where the first few issues built up to building a module of the Falcon, issue twelve you are building the whole thing in a single issue. A great build up, particularly if you’re doing this with children. Ember had learnt the skills, now she could be let off the leash a bit and crack on with a much bigger part of the project. With everything that we have done so far, Ember’s favourite piece has been assembling the hull pieces. The last few issues have concentrated on the internal workings, while she has enjoyed this, I knew she was eager to get back to using the screwdriver and assembling the frame. Her face lit up when I told her what this issue was all about!
First was to get all the pieces together. I joked in my last review about not even opening the bags for issues ten and eleven. Not opening them did make it much easier to get the parts we needed for this issue. Along with some extra parts from part nine, you will find everything you need. There are a lot of pieces here and thankfully the assembly guide begins with a very clear layout of everything you need. Just in case this wasn’t enough, each frame is actually numbered, which made assembling even easier.
We started with the assembly, and it was instant to see how much Ember enjoyed lining up the parts and connecting them altogether. There’s not too much that can go wrong, the instructions are very clear. If you’re ever unsure, refer to the parts map at the start of the instructions. The only problem we did have was when joining the radial ribs (a phrase I never thought I’d hear myself say). Step two will explain that the inner radial needs to be aligned and screws placed into frames ten and fourteen. It should read eleven and fourteen, as these are the two next to each other (either that or our Falcon is going to crumble apart!). This was our only problem amongst some extremely clear steps.
It was fun to see how this all came together. Explaining to Ember why there were joining ribs and why the connectors were needed to add support. She loved using the brass screws to tighten these. Although most of the steps are align, screw, tighten, she didn’t mind the repetition at all. In fact, having it this way meant her confidence grew even more as we progressed through the steps, to the point where she knew what was needed next and which screw type to use.
And the finished frame? It’s rather sizable and gives a good sense of the scale this Falcon will be by the end of the project. For Ember, there was that instant gratification of seeing what she had achieved. It’s clear it’s a big structure, it’s very clear which part of the Falcon (roughly) that it’s going to be. It also relied on skills she had already learnt and could put back into practice. She wasn’t needing me to explain anything, she already knew what to do. I imagine as the issues progress; this confidence will grow more and more. Let’s be honest, that’s exactly what I want a project like this to do for her.
It seems an odd break to have now, particularly when the next issue is finishing the hold that we’ve been working on for so many issues. However, the break is actually very welcome, particularly with Ember. She loves these types of issues more than most, to see her approach it confidently with skills she’s already learnt is fantastic. In terms of storage, using up several issues worth of contents also makes storing everything a little easier. A great issue that both Ember and I thoroughly enjoyed building. I must confess, I can’t wait to do more sections and connect them altogether, the fan boy in me is waiting to see that Falcon shape. Now, I just need to see if I can claim that hat back.
