Just to set the scene for those new to the Cool Beans Blog, my chum John is constructing a LEGO Ultimate Collector Series version of the A-Wing Starfighter from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. In order to build the suspense, John is limiting himself to only 19 instructions a day. Since there are 570 instructions in all, this means the full build will take 30 days.

The heart of the beast (Click image to see a larger version — Image source: John Alflat)

Accompanying today’s image from John was a note saying: “We have a joystick, and it moves!” I don’t know why, but this immediately reminded me of Dave Bowman’s final words in 2001: A Space Odyssey: “My God, it’s full of stars!”

John went on to say, “I’ve done more work on the cockpit, not that it’s that easy to tell. There are lots and lots of small bits filling in and fitting in small spaces. The overall frame has been extended forward a bit too. There are two more ‘sticky out bits’ with the yellow curves on. This is all very enjoyable as there are now quite a few places where I wonder what on earth is going to happen. The fun increases…”

The last time I played with LEGO myself was when I was a kid. I must admit that I was tempted to return to the fray when LEGO Mindstorms appeared on the scene, but I had too many things going on and I never took the plunge.

I started to become more interested when John first told me he was building a LEGO Millennium Falcon (see also Savor the Day and It’s Not the Size of Your Starship…).

I’m not sure, but I think John’s Millennium Falcon is model 75257 with 1,351 pieces (22.91″ long, 14.88″ wide, and 3.43″ tall). I was just looking at a column on ScreenRant about The 10 Biggest Star Wars LEGO Sets. All I can say is “Wow!” If I had my choice (and a bunch of cash to spare; I just saw that this bodacious beauty is $1,179.95 on Amazon Prime), I would splash the cash for the Millennium Falcon model 75192 with 7,541 pieces (33″ long, 22″ wide, and 8″ tall), as seen in this video on YouTube.

Watching this video, I just now discovered that this model is a twofer in that you can either go for the Star Wars Episodes VII (The Force Awakens) and VIII (The Last Jedi) version, or you can opt for the classic version from Episode V (The Empire Strikes Back). As part of this, you get ten mini-figures, thereby allowing you to pick the crew from The Empire Strikes Back or the crew from The Force Awakens.

I can’t speak for John (I’m sure he will send me his thoughts to include in my Day 6 Build Blog), but I for one am drooling with desire. I would really love to build this little rascal. Maybe I will do so when I win the lottery (which should be any day now because goodness knows I’ve waited long enough). Until that frabjous day, as always, I very much appreciate your comments, questions, and suggestions.