Lego Falcon

[fbhjr]

One of my friends in Australia, saeble, is starting a world wide Lego building group.
I was lucky enough to be picked to get the first installment of this, a Lego Millennium Falcon.
The other day I got a big package and that’s what was in it.



It is an impressive kit with a lot of pieces.


So, I called most of our Game Night friends and had them over for a “Falcon and Furniture party” to see our new furniture and help build the Falcon.

blue_micha & perrin_o_ravnos where the first to arrive and we got straight into construction.


palusbuteo soon stopped by and jumped right into it.


Soon after cissa & cosmicirony arrived and joined in.



yebo & zosh came by, and our living room was pretty full.


We seemed to make the most progress when the parts were sorted before we tried to put them together.


So, we’d all swap in and out of different positions as we progressed.



In addition to being a good builder, blue_micha was also good at encouraging people to work on it.


As she is a Quality Control person at her job, she was very good in determining when we had missed things.


And, that is easy. There are a lot of places where two thin pieces are put together to make one thicker one. And, that is easy to miss in the pictograms.


But, no major hurdles were found.


There was a debate about who should be the pilot...


And, after a good bit of work, it still did not look very Falcon like.


I set my sound activated lightning disk up, and as you can see there was lots of talking going on.


Most of it “have you any idea where this piece is supposed to go?”


There were supplies, but eventually we stopped for more real food.


But, we didn’t stop for long.


palusbuteo spent a lot of time assembling. He’s very good at it and has a good eye for how things go together. We guessed that was his art training. Some of us with technical training were more stymied by the instructions.


But, we all took turns working on it.


Things started to slow down when we hit the landing gear bag.


Making 7 of the same thing was able to get more of us involved.


But, in our fairly small living room it did mean some Lego Twister too.


A lot goes into that landing gear.


With the landing gear on, it was starting to look more like the ship we all knew.


But, by then it was after midnight. And, most of us had been at work pretty early that day. So, we decided to hold at this point and continue later.


It is VERY cool. And everyone had a good time doing it. So, great thanks to saeble for the idea, and letting us be the starting point of this.

Comments

[endlessblush.livejournal.com]

How do I not know about a worldwide Lego
Building Group??? How can I get involved?

And by the way - great photos and a great way to get friends together :)

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

This is just the start of it, so you're hearing about it at the beginning...

Saeble is mostly organizing it on Google+.

[endlessblush.livejournal.com]

That's a pretty cool idea Frank! I can't wait to follow more stories about it - you know how I feel about Lego :)

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

It is a VERY cool idea, but the credit all goes to Saeble. I'm just the beneficiary of his great idea.
He's got a link to his google+ where he talks about it below.
He's only 700km from you. To me, on the other side of the planet, that practically next door neighbors...

[endlessblush.livejournal.com]

He actually lives in a suburb of the city I grew up in so we have more in common than just Lego.

Yes, I saw his Google + link - I have a google + but I never go there.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Google+ is the one I use the least. Usually he sends me a facebook message to go look there and that's what I do...

[endlessblush.livejournal.com]

So this parcel got sent to you from Australia? It must have cost a fortune - who pays for all the postage costs?

And do you know where you are sending it next?

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

He bought it over the internet from someone here in the states. I'm sure it will cost a bit to send it back home to him. But, I'm willing to spend it to be part of it.

I don't know where he's planning next. i'm not sure it has been decided.

[palusbuteo.livejournal.com]

It is very very cool. I was having Legogasms left and right (mentally)

I quite literally grew up with Legos. From my very first kit (a dump-truck) it was clear to the family I had a particular knack for assembling the kits
and at a particular speed / proficiency. My brother seemed to be marginally interested for a while, but didn't amass the collection I had.
I had a card table overfilling with a "lego town" and about 2 large tupperware tubs [mostly] filled with them (as the parts were in use of course).
Kits and sets rarely stayed together as I'd regularly take them apart and make all sorts of other things.

Tim could "break" a video game in about a week. I'd have a lego kit assembled and re-assembled (to the other "possibilities" seen on the back of the box)
and then kit-bashed in about the same time.

Transitioning to plastic scale models wasn't much of a change....Just less ability to re-arrange and re-assemble....And paint....glue...you get the idea.

Although I have handled some completed lego kits now and then since a kid, I haven't opened up and assembled a kit in some 17 years.
I'm glad my 'skills' came back pretty easily.

So I had a LOT OF FUN, and look forward to the next night. Thanks so much for inviting me.

[angelamermaid.livejournal.com]

I want a Lego Millenium Falcon!!! :-D

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

It's going on a world wide tour. Get in touch with Saeble below and you could be on the list!

[saeble.livejournal.com]

glad it went down so well guys

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Everyone had a REALLY good time. This was a great idea. Thank you so much for letting us be part of it!

[saeble.livejournal.com]

my distinct pleasure

[saeble.livejournal.com]

https://plus.google.com/u/0/104369934272293891974/posts

I'll hook you up with all the LEGO goodies there :)

[angelamermaid.livejournal.com]

Hello [Bad username or site: saeble* @ livejournal.com]! :-)

[saeble.livejournal.com]

hello fellow LEGOnaut

[chris-warrior.livejournal.com]

that is simulatneously the most awesome and the most frustrating idea i've ever heard of. it looks like it was a whole heck of a lot of fun, and yet cripes!

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

We had some folks with lots of experience at it.
(Palusbuteo used to be a Lego addict...)

[brickhousewench.livejournal.com]

Heh, some people are just better at assembling puzzles than others.

[Tangent story] I was working at Barnes and Nobles when the Phantom Menace came out. There were a TON of tie in books, and DK books sent a bunch of cardboard robot displays that came packed in flat boxes and needed to be assembled. We had the little mechanical droids from Tatooine, and the tall Imperial soldier droids, and the rolling droidekas that chase Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. I put all of them together myself (Except for the droideka, it was as big as a VW Beetle and we didn't have room for it). It took me maybe 4 or 5 hours to punch out the pieces and assemble them. I found out later that 1) there were instructional DVDs to watch and 2) it had taken the staff at another store two DAYS to assemble them, even after watching the DVDs.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Wow, a droiddeka as big as a VW!?!?
That's cool!

[palusbuteo.livejournal.com]

...Is that with the force-field activated or not?

although the size seems to be about right...

[brickhousewench.livejournal.com]

OMG, I may be exaggerating a little about the droidekas. But only a little. Those things were enormous. The soldier droids were life size (i.e same height as a person) but at least the were skinny.

[evrgreen.livejournal.com]

Wow - Very Cool Indeed!
I think that I am *most* impressed by the fact that it was shipped in a genuine Pelican case - those are really good quality cases that many touring motorcyclists and musicians use to keep stuff safe and undamaged.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I didn't put you on the facebook for finishing it next Friday. But, if you want to drive down you are 100% welcome.