It feels like we are on a constant countdown at the moment. Six more magazines to go until this project – building the Millennium Falcon from Fanhome – will be complete. My daughter, Ember, and I have been doing this for the best part of three years. Both of us have grown more confident with the skills that a project like this entails and we can finally see the finish line. The Falcon model itself has never looked better. It is almost all there with a few little bits being obvious omissions. The engine cover needs some detailing, a few more side panels and the airlocks. Not to mention the quad laser cannons that we constructed in the very first instalment.
There are times where the project has seemed to have gone on forever, with the ending feeling a little too far ahead. With the ship itself looking more complete, with the countdown having started, it has really given Ember and me a renewed sense of excitement. For me, I think this is because I want the completed ship. For Ember, she has been working on this since she was six. Some of the things that we have done she has forgotten about in that time, and it is wonderful to see her excitement over things we did years ago in their final places.
Last magazine we had fitted some side panels, with a few small mishaps. With more side panelling needed at some point, I know I need to keep a close eye on the instructions to make sure they are in the right order. Ever since we started this project, I have always made sure to look through the magazine in case I needed to do any preparation before Ember sat down with me. As any parent will tell you, it saves a lot of aggravation and upset if you can predict what might go wrong before it actually does. As we have moved forward with this project, I’ve had to do this less, and less, yet I was caught out a few instalments ago and I don’t plan on making the same mistake twice!
The first thing I noticed was that the instructions were in the unusual position of the front of the magazine. When this has happened in the past, it signalled a lot of steps – hopefully not as many as when we put the upper hull on top of the lower hull! Looking through, we would be preparing and fitting the rest of the side panels – something that we started last time. Then it would be preparing and fitting the airlocks. These are the most noticeable things missing from the Falcon, the thing that means the shape of the Falcon isn’t quite right. To say I’m excited to get these last few pieces onto the ship would be an understatement. Once this is done, the bulk of the look of the Falcon should be done, it will just be detailing and the quad lasers. If part ninety-four was any indication, Ember would be clipping and filing, and I would be doing the gluing.
Nothing looked like it was going to need any preparation, so it was time to get started! We started with the side panels, and as I had guessed, Ember was finding the part, clipping and filing. This left me to do the gluing, which was fairly straightforward. We quickly had the two side panels for this issue complete, and it was very simple to attach them to the Falcon itself. Having learnt from the last magazine, these weren’t things that you could dry fit, you had to push caution to the wind, glue them and go for it. Thankfully there were no problems. This left just one detail to put on, part seven. This is a part that has two holes to fit into and then the instructions say it then fits to the edge of the lower hull. This was a bit vague for me, did it mean the edge, slightly inside the lip? I had to use a photo further on to help guide me and it looked like the edge for anyone looking for advice!
With the two side panels attached it was adding detail to the airlocks. All of this was very easy. Ember was able to find the parts and be far speedier than I was, making sure everything was glued in the correct place. Then came to the fitting of the airlocks. Before you actually attach the airlocks, you must fit side frames that cover up the gap between the airlock and the side panels. You will most certainly want to dry fit these first. The preexisting hull will fit over the edges of these pieces and will require a ‘snap’ sounding fit to know you have it in place correctly. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Dry fitting them first allowed me to see where the pressure needed to be applied first, as it was different for all four of them. Once you are happy with it, glue away!
With these in place, it was then time to fit the airlocks themselves. Much like the side panels, this is a glue and go. Something, goodness knows what, made me pause at this bit when starting with the port side airlock. Thank goodness I did. The airlock holes did not line up perfectly. Whether that is because the frame was slightly out or something to do with the manufacturing, I don’t know. But what I do know is that I needed a tremendous amount of force to try and get that ‘snap’ situation I had with the side frames. Because this needs to fit in between the hull plates. If I had glued it, I could guarantee the glue would have set before getting it into the correct position. As it was, I was pretty sure there was no way that this was going to come out by itself. To make sure, I did add glue between the joins to keep everything in place. On the other side however, things lined up beautifully, so much so, that I felt confident adding glue straightaway. It snapped like a charm. It is something to watch out for, I imagine others will have this problem but maybe not on the same airlock. With the two added, there were two final details to add, and everything was done.
Done, it looks close to it. The airlocks just add that extra weight to the Falcon, particularly when you have the covers on. This is looking almost ready to fly. This magazine was fairly straightforward, at least till the end. Be careful with step nine of the airlocks, the page number is wrong! Other than this part, the detail just adds to the amazement of this piece. I really can’t stop looking at it. Ember is equally impressed, thankfully, and she can see the improvement to the overall look. Five more magazines to go.
