The Lego Star Destroyer Project
(Fact #2: 3104 pieces)
The Beginning
I had known that this item was in the works at Lego, but I didn't pay it much attention. That is until I spotted it on the SWFIGURES.COM site. I was already spending way too much money at their site and yet I still thought it was worth checking out this new toy.

I loaded up the Lego site and found it quickly with a simple search on the word "destroyer". I guess I shouldn't be too surprised by the quick search. The words "Lego" and "destroyer" are not likely matched very often, unless we are talking about a wild five year old boy. The site indicated that the product was in stock.

I'm not one to shy away from ordering products online. In this case, I know that there is a Lego Store in town; so why wait? I call them and confirm that they have the Star Destroyers in stock. Thirty minutes later, I'm in the store and laying down my plastic to add this toy to my collection. I think it had to be the biggest box in the store. Judge for yourself (those are DVD boxes on the shelf below it):

It's a toy, but it's a big boy toy. I can act like I am 16 years old now, instead of 12!

I am thinking that I'm going to find dozens of bags of blocks, loose in the box, when I open it. Surprise! It is a well organized package. Four smaller boxes and the huge instruction manual tucked in between.



I can't leave them in the boxes, though the thought had crossed my mind. So, I pile all the bags on to my coffee table and drop the manual on them to get a feel for the task at hand.


Oh, boy...

I also thought about just opening bags and dumping everything into the bottom of the big box, then realized that I'd go nuts trying to find all the parts in a huge pile. I figure the best way to do this is to get the parts organized and stored in zip lock bags to keep them together and easy to manage. Started to load blocks into bags during that same afternoon I had purchased the kit. Couldn't finish the first task that night, though. I had to take a break for the night and attend the "Weird Al" Yankovic concert (great show, by the way).

 
Nice and tidy. There should be no problems finding all the pieces, right? ...right?
Other thoughts about this kit:
  • Will I ever dismantle it? If that is a possibility, I should keep the smaller boxes to store the blocks.
  • Should I look into a way to glue the pieces together and commit to a permanent finished product? Looking back at other Lego projects I've had, I know that backing up and reassembling some part of it is bound to happen - glue might be a bad idea.
  • Hang it from the ceiling in the Living Room?
  • Try to assemble it over one weekend? Nah, I'll take my time. Besides, it's going to take time to figure out where to assemble this thing. Do I use the coffee table or clear the other Star Wars toys off the table and use it?
  • Maybe I should take the model to work.
  • Maybe I should assemble the model at work.
  • When will I be able to pass all these toys off to my Nephew? Let's see...he is almost 6 years old now...
Day One...