After bringing so many of the different pieces together in the last issue for the hold, I was really looking forward to finishing it all with my seven-year-old daughter Ember. She had been amazed last time at almost completing a whole room, something she could physically see and hold. What was even better, since issue thirteen, we had watched The Empire Strikes Back, and she had been picking out the different details on the ship that we had assembled! It was a proud dad moment!
Looking through issue fourteen, I realised just how short the issue was. Assembling the final wall and attaching it. Straight forward and something Ember and I could certainly do relatively quickly. This looked like a two-issue build. Moving onto a quick glance through issue fifteen, this was bringing the several pieces of the lower frame together, again, a simple straight forward issue. This would be easy enough for Ember and me to do in a single sitting but actually offered a lot to keep her interest. Not only would we be finishing the hold, but we’d also be doing her favourite part: screwing the hull pieces.
During the break in the issues, I had done something that I’d been putting off: tidying up all the pieces. With several deliveries of issues, I realised that there were a lot of pieces that were just floating around. Hull plates, the quad guns, screws, I was keeping box after box to store it all. I took some time to remove any unnecessary packaging and most importantly, place all the screws into a single, secure place. It’s got to the point where the project is starting to take up some serious space. With hull pieces coming together, rooms being assembled, this is only going to get worse. Completed assemblies I now have a place in my study to place and screws, the screwdriver and any pieces that haven’t been used I’ve put into a separate box. It makes things a bit more manageable. With the screws separated by colour, there’s little worry about getting them mixed up, so storing them in a fully sealable box as opposed to floating in numerous bags, made much more sense.
The other thing I had done was some painting. I had already painted the floor of the hold using Archive X paints and I was very happy with how it looked. Originally, I was going a bit to town with the painting for the hold as the floor had come out so well but there was something stopping me. It has always been my plan to paint the Millenium Falcon when it is complete with Archive X paints and try to match it as close as possible to the studio colours. Seeing the floor of the hold has only cemented that resolve. To be able to do it with Ember, makes this even more exciting. We can paint it and then the completed ship will be mounted onto the wall… mounted… onto… the… wall. My ultimate goal is to have the ship mounted on the wall, above our heads or at least in line with them! The hold, while I am really enjoying completing it with my daughter, isn’t going to actually be displayed. Yes, the Falcon will be able to be opened up to have a look yet, mounted on the wall, is that really going to happen? As I sat looking at the almost complete build of the hold, I realised that it wasn’t worth putting too much effort into the paint work as it would never be seen.
Now that’s not to say that I didn’t want to do anything. The floor is a large section that when Ember and I would look back (and perhaps even future generations – I can hope!) is very easily visible. This having been painted was perfect. But what else to do? The answer was not too much, but I did want to highlight the details. To be able to do this I used some washes from Citadel paints, mainly because it’s what I know could do the job quickly and effectively. The box of wires near the doorway, and the panels on the back of the chairs I washed with Nuln Oil and the beige areas I gave a light wash of Agrax Earthshade. It just helped to allow the details to pop a little more and was definitely good enough for an area that is rarely going to be exposed. Now for other fans who are going to display the Falcon with the interior exposed, I can definitely see the appeal of taking your time on the piece. There are a lot of details here and I think when they are all painted up properly, the hold must look absolutely incredible. I had to keep my focus on what the plan with my Falcon was, so I didn’t spend too long on the wrong areas.
With these little bits and pieces done, it was time to start on issue fourteen and get the hold finally complete. Ember loved bringing the hold to its conclusion. The construction of the last wall was fairly straightforward. As we were doing it, Ember remarked how this was exactly like the last one. The build is almost identical, with the steps referring back to the previous instructions several times. For Ember it meant that she had a lot more confidence this time around, as she’d already done it. With the parts that needed clipping and glueing, it was time to attach the wall to the hold. This was the part that I had to step in. You must place the wall and then line up the grooves for the pipes that you will have added last issue. The pipes do need a bit of cajoling to get into place, although Ember thought it hilarious, and she watched me try and manoeuvre this way and that to get them to fit.
Once they were, I quickly got Ember to add the screws to secure the whole thing. I mean after spending all that time trying to get the pipes to fit, the last thing I needed was them to fall out! Ember has become a dab hand at using the screwdriver and even at making sure she is selecting the right colour of screw. With everything secure, I sat back as she took the hold and marvelled at it. There isn’t another word for it. I could see her looking at all the details that I knew she recognised from the movies. With a grin she looked at me and said, “Daddy, this is so cool!” What more could you really ask for!
With issue fourteen done it was time to do issue fifteen. This was extremely easy. You are connecting four pieces of the structure of the hull together, using the exact methods that have come before in previous issues. Ember quickly joined everything together. One of the metal rods in our issue was slightly bent, but it took little effort to straighten it out and for it to fit perfectly to the rest of the build. If we had done this issue as a solo build, I don’t think there would have been enough for us for one evening. Along with issue fourteen, it was perfect. Ember looked at the structure and thought it was looking rather large… I was there thinking, this isn’t even a quarter of it yet!
Although it does bring up a good point: storage! Admiring what we had achieved, I couldn’t be proud and very happy with how far we’ve come so far. Yet I am now looking at where to store the parts we’re working on; they’re getting quite sizable and we’re not even a fifth of the way through the issues! A problem for another day. These two issues were very relaxed. Bringing different parts together, going over old skills and just generally a feeling of relaxation while my daughter and I were doing them. Just one more issue to go from this delivery.
