Imperial Star Destroyer

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...

Well, May 29, 2006. Following a hard Bank Holiday shopping expedition, Wedge and I head back to the car, weighed down with several heavy bags. Opposite the stairs to the car park is located the LEGO store, the inner child in both of us called out loudly and we unanimously decided to have one final browse, little did we know what they had in store.

Knowing LEGO had produced several Star Wars related models we aimed straight for it. There we regressed further into our child personas, gawping at the large array of Sand Crawlers, X-Wings, Tie Fighters and Character figures. Then our jaws dropped! There standing proudly next to a gleaming Exclusive notice was a box with an image of an Imperial Star Destroyer emblazoned upon it. Not seeing any prices displayed near the box we wandered over to the three shop assistants who busy playing with their own products.

"Prices are on bottum o' the boxes"; was the terse response when we disturbed their work.

Without time to retort we lifted the large box from it's shelf intending to turn it over our hearts racing in anticipation of the hidden price.

LEGO Box

"There ain't no price on tha' un"; came a shrill voice from the direction of the play pit. Feeling fully justified with our earlier mental cussing of their ineptitude, we were surrounded as they realised the potential sale. Having already made the decision to buy it on impulse we simply allowed them to go through the motions of the sales pitch.

Grinning from ear to ear we were soon on the way home with our very own LEGO Imperial Star Destroyer.

June 03, the Day of the Build

12:45, Day 1

3100 pieces you say!? Opening the box and browsing the oversized instruction manual, the task ahead looked daunting. We agreed from the outset that we would work together, not fighting for who made which bit but assist each other, one gathering pieces while the other constructed. Where sections required to be double up we would both build at the same time.

Framework

Being people of the intelligent variety we decided to start from the start and set about building the sub frame of the Star Destroyer. We knew from the side of the box that it was a big model but as the frame grew we got more excited at the shear scale of the thing. Quickly the familiar triangular shape materialised and soon the basic outline was complete. Next came the detailing, around the rim of the triangle a repetitive pattern of Goblet, Tap, Plate 1x1 with Clip Light, Tile 1x1 with Clip and Cone to give the appearance of infrastructure and pipe work. The design required the pattern to be asymmetrical along the longitudinal axis of the frame, Wedge soon took a disliking to the rules and suggested his own scheme, making the pattern symmetrical along the long axis. With both of us being lifelong LEGO fans a short yet fierce debate took place, I stood for following the instructions to letter, Wedge argued LEGO is about making it your own work. Not surprisingly Wedge won out and we completed the detailing to his rule.

Backbone

Not having time to admire our work so far we turned the page and constructed the two foot stand, we were a little dubious to whether it would support the final weight of the model. The feet secured we discovered the placement and spread of the stand seemed perfectly balanced. Continuing with the frame we added the spine structure onto the rear centre section thereby completing the sub frame and giving the partly built model a three dimensional form.

Engines

After a little under three hours of construction we found ourselves starting on the exterior bodywork. Working well together we soon had the three main engines and four auxiliary engines mounted on the rear of the frame. The Star Destroyer was beginning to show it's true form.

Due to pesky social commitments we had to down our tools and head away to a BBQ and enjoy a coupe of hours catching up with good friends.

16:10, Build Time 3hrs 25mins

20:00

Lower Body

Feeling stuffed with food and drinks we settle into our chairs for the evening shift. Once again Wedge sticks his neck out and flouts the LEGO code by assuming the lower sections of bodywork are a mirror image of each other. I put in my objection only to give the illusion I still believe I can win an argument. I begin to build one half of the lower body while Wedge collects pieces and constructs a mirror image of everything I do. It then dawns on us that this thing is going to be massive, soon it takes over the table, we have have to stand up and walk to the opposite end just to add parts to it.

Once complete we offer up the lower body panels to the frame. They fit snugly, the magnetic connections making it a simple six point attachment. Wedge became intolerable smug upon turning the page to find we had already constructed the piece by using his 'mirror image' technique, allowing us to skip twenty-three pages and save around an hour of work. We decide to take a short tea break to let Wedge bask in his cleverness.

21:15, Build Time 4hrs 40mins

21:35

Upper Body

With the mugs still warm from their hastily drank contents we got right back into the swing of LEGO building, once again we used the tried and tested Wedge method of construction. Like the lower body panels, I followed the instructions for the upper body panel while Wedge mirrored my build. Before we knew it we had filled the table with the complete upper body panels and gleefully clipped them onto the frame. The main body of the model was complete and it was huge! Not to mention it was gaining some weight too. With our energy fading we opt for another revitalising tea break to gather ourselves.

23:05, Build Time 6hrs 10mins

23:15

Top Structure

Carefully placing the main body aside to give us room to work we move onto constructing the superstructure of the craft. Once again the outer edge of the section required detailing to be added giving the appearance of pipe work and infrastructure. We soon had new respect for the guys that design the kits at LEGO, never mind getting the craft to be scaled correctly and the triangular body angled perfectly but the entire superstructure folds over the ridge of the body section very neatly with the complex use of hinged pieces.

At this point we start seeing LEGO blocks floating around in front of our eyes and everything we looked at took on the square edge appearance of being made from LEGO, we soon realise we are beyond tired and desperately need some sleep. Off we trot to bed with the plan of getting up bright and early to complete the masterpiece...

00:35, Build Time 7hrs 30mins

12:25, Day 2

Having overslept a little we stumble down to finish off the Star Destroyer. Page followed page, block followed block as the superstructure began to rise upwards. At one point we started to question how tall the tower would get. Eventually we got to the top as we added the radar domes to the upper surface of the command structure, to our horror we spot that the instructions tell you to place the radar domes asymmetrically! As we pick ourselves up off the floor we firmly agree to throw the instructions out and place them correctly.

We retrieve the main body, placing it on the table, slotted the superstructure into it's recess and stood back to admire the perfection that is a fully formed Imperial Star Destroyer.

14:20, Build Time 9hrs 25mins
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