My 2011 birthday was one of the best I can remember. I got to eat 20 crème eggs in 20 minutes. I got to go to Think Visibility and I had a pretty amazing weekend (see http://www.beingadad.co.uk/random-rants/good-rants/think-visibility-20-creme-eggs-and-my-birthday/ and http://www.beingadad.co.uk/random-rants/good-rants/think-visibility-20-creme-eggs-and-my-birthday-part-2/).

On top of all this craziness I also got one of the best birthday presents ever EVER. The Lego Death Star 10188. 3803 pieces of engineered gold that all fit together to make a marvel of the modern world. To people not familiar with Lego and specifically Lego designed for a single purpose, 3803 pieces may not seem a lot. But creating a single model from 2 instruction manuals each about A3 in size with 60+ double sided pages, is actually a pretty epic undertaking, especially if you do it my way

My Way

Ask any pro Lego building what they do at the start of a build and they will probably say something along the lines of “preparation is key”. Sorting into piles of size, shape, function etc. can all lead to a simplified build. I know @dannysullivan and I think Mr Graywolf both sort Lego into bags labelled appropriately. THIS IS NOT MY WAY.

My way is a way of purity. A way of challenge, of conviction, of endless stress trying to find 1 single piece out of 3803. My way involves (yes you guessed it) finding a tub (a moohasive tub in this case) and tipping it all in. That’s it. No gimmicks. No need for expensive plastic bags and Sharpie pens. Just you, a Lego Bible and a tub full of bricks. Bring it….

So, that was how I spent 20+ hours of my life. I can highly recommend it and anyone who says the Lego Death Star 10188 isn’t worth £275 is talking utter tosh. WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!!

Just put it out of the way if you have a 3 year old.