December Status for Falcon

Through Step 69

After waiting nearly 3 weeks for all the parts for the Oct/Nov order, I was happily surprised that both sellers filled my Christmas Eve order inside a week!
 
She doesn't look much different right now because the both 68 and 69 add to the underside, but I have turned the Falcon around to get a better view of 68.

Step 68 was more of the underside hull but with a new bit of functionally I was not expecting: a working gangway! There's even some nice detail with what look like hydraulics to rise and lower.

Step 69 was the top and bottom quad laser mounts that set on full working gimbals so they swivel around in all directions. Someone at LEGO really spent a lot of time working this really cool feature out.

It is nice touches like these that can really bring a model to life and up the "WOW" factor.

Bonus!

One of the more unexpected gifts I received this year was this:

One pound of LEGO parts, 13 of which were ones I still needed for the Falcon rebuild! I felt my inner 12 year old rejoice as I dumped the box over and started sorting through this trove. Thanks!

Falcon Progress for Nov/Oct (and Sept)

The last shipment arrived yesterday afternoon so I spent the evening/night anxiously waiting to go into work early and make the additions.

First, I finished the steps left over from the September order where I miscounted a critical part and could not finish. That left me with something that actually looks like the Millennium Falcon:

Progress through step 60, finally!

With that out of the way, I jumped into my main goal: building steps 61-67. Two hours later I'd finished up!

These are all bottom hull coverings and detail steps. The large triangles cover the bottom side of the mandibles, the smaller wedges attach just behind them to provide a little angling for the hull and the tube to the far right is the covering for the bottom half off the starboard access. The four assembles in the middle are detail parts that viable through the circular openings in the hull.

It was not all Skittle-Pooping-Unicorns though: it seems that every month I am destined to either miscount or just plain forget to order a part. This month is was the lowly 2x4 Light Gray Brick, about the most common part in the entire set. Oh well, I improved and have them slated for December's order.

Finally, here is the progress for the Millennium Falcon through step 67:

Progress through step 67!

A long time ago ... (since my last post)

I was pretty excited back in September at receiving two shipments that I thought would allow me to finish up through step 60. Step 60 is important because that is the point that the set goes from looking like a big blob of bricks to looking like Millennium Falcon:

Step 60: Outer Frame Done

Step 56: Blob of Bricks

Turns out that at some point that I miscounted a piece I needed for step 60. As in I had 30 fewer than I thought. 30?! Ug. I have no idea how I screwed up that badly.

"No problem" I thought, "I'll just pick up the missing part in October's order and wait until then to post the update."

It was a great idea, right up until the "Great Daycare Plague" of 2016 (official name, look it up) hit my house and wrecked the chances of me doing anything for a month. If I wasn't sick myself, I was tending to a sick wife and toddler.

Anyway, November rolled in and I decided to just combine Oct and Nov orders not realizing the effects on shipping the impending holidays would cause. Of the 3 orders I placed on Thanksgiving weekend, I have received 2, with promises by USPS that number 3 may arrive today.

Yup. 3 weeks. It is nearly time to make December's order I am still waiting for the last of Oct/Nov.

The good news is that the shipment I got yesterday contained the part I missed counted in September! If all goes well I will finally have pictures of a completed step 60 by lunch!

September Order 2: The Netherlands Strike Back

Not exactly an impressive pile....

I received the second half of the September order direct from DeenseSteentjes in The Netherlands.

I am still amazed that I live in a time when I can place an order on Saturday to a small shop on a different continent and receive the package the following Saturday. I have trouble fathoming the logistics of trying to quickly and efficiently route mail through two postal systems!

This is how I knoll...now the order looks better!

The exciting thing are those 46 1x2 dark blue transparent tiles, they are going to be the Falcon's engine exhaust. Previously I bought 20 or so of the light blue transparent 1x2 tiles because of an error (or discrepancy) in the Peeron listing for the UC Millennium Falcon. While they list the light blue transparent color, both Bricklink and Rebrickable list the dark blue version. :/  

Also, I managed to snag 3 more of those gray control hinges! Only 48 to go...



So that is all of September's order: 497 total parts of 23 unique types. If I have all my math right, I should be able to finish the frame and landing gear tomorrow when I get into the office!

Current stats:
I have 4167 of the 5196 parts on hand (80.2%)
Ihave all of 182 of the 287 parts needed on hand (63.41%)

September Parts Order (Happy Birthday!)

Straight from Toy Brick Brigade comes the bulk of my September order! 338 Lego arrived (slightly damp due the two days of rain) at my door this afternoon ready to be inventoried and verified. Turns out they actually sent 339, I got an extra 1x12 light gray plate. No complaints, I needed one anyway.

Zoe, who's paws are in the top-right of the shot, was so excited that she proceeded to try and help me count by first swatting at the piles I was making, then when that did not prove helpful enough, simply laying on the "to sort" pile.

I went over my normal monthly budget this time so I could get enough parts to finish the landing pads (Seven? The Falcon has SEVEN landing pads? I don't remember that!) and complete the main framework. This should take me to step 61 when it is all done. I'm kinda hoping that family and friends took me seriously when I said I wanted cash for my birthday to get a jump on the next steps of the Falcon! :)

Unfortunately, being Friday and the Falcon being at the office, I now have to wait until Monday before I can add these new parts. Ug! Starting off a new year with an exercise in patience...

If I get really lucky, the second half of the order will arrive (form The Netherlands!) tomorrow and I can slip into the office early on Monday and get everything added before work.

Falcon Progress

I threw in the towel at having a place at home where I could leave a half-completed Lego project and all the pieces laying around for months on end. Having a one-year-old always and large, semi--permanent piles of of Lego do not mix.

So I've drug the entire thing to work, cleared off a spot in my cube (that is now dubbed "Corellian Engineering Corporation YT-1300 Restoration Center") and made space in a file cabinet to the parts bins.

To give you some idea of how big this set is, find Chewie minifig along the horizontal middle, towards the left. The picture is from the front where the "mandibles" attach, once they are on (hopefully soon!) she'll be near her completed length. My guesstimate is that will about 20% longer.

I'm going to have to stand farther back for the next pictures.