The LEGO Millennium Falcon: a real must-have, not just for Star Wars buffs
8.1.2020
Responsibility for translation Eva Francis
With 7,541 pieces, the Millennium Falcon is currently the largest available LEGO set. Over the Christmas holidays, I took some time to assemble the Star Wars spaceship. A trip back to my childhood in 17 acts.
84 centimetres long, 56 centimetres wide and 21 centimetres high – those are the whopping dimensions of my finished LEGO Millennium Falcon after I’ve attached, folded and screwed together over 7,500 pieces. To bring the 13-kilogram heavy box home, I had to drag it behind me on a trolley; I did enjoy all the envious looks I got on the bus and train. This might sound like a lot of work – and trust me, it is. Is it worth all this blood, sweat and tears? You’ll find out, at the latest when putting the last LEGO parts into place. But there’s a long road ahead of me. May the force be with me.
Where should I begin?
My holiday project begins with a LEGO matryoshka surprise: the large, cardboard-coloured package with LEGO print holds another box. It has an elegant black packaging, which comprises – besides an instruction manual – four additional white boxes. There’s no writing on these boxes. They sport pretty grey sketches of the Millennium Falcon, but that’s of no use to me as I later search for, and start presorting, the pieces. I have to open all boxes to notice that the over 7,500 pieces are distributed over smaller and larger bags, which are sequentially numbered from 1 to 17.
Over 1,300 steps should help me assemble my very own falcon. My heart is racing and I’m overcome with joy to finally play with LEGO again, after what feels like a quarter century. I place the bags with the same numbers together and get a small and large container to store the pieces which I’m currently assembling. At this point, I have to admit with some shame that I only found two cake tins to serve as my LEGO holders.
I sit at the dining table – the largest open space I could find in my apartment – and gaze at a mountain of plastic bags, filled with countless LEGO pieces. My great anticipation makes way in part for insecurity and doubt: will I actually manage to do this? Can I see this through to the end? I’ve seen many, but not all, Star Wars movies, and know quite a bit about them, but my fandom is far from obsessive. The reason why I’ve chosen this set is because it looks cool and doesn’t seem to be as repetitive as the Taj Mahal, for example. And because it’s the largest set out there.
The first steps: physically and mentally demanding
It’s been ages since I’ve last put together a LEGO project. Nevertheless, the first few steps in the instruction manual instantly bring back childhood memories. I recollect the most joyful hours I’ve spent with LEGO and feel just like a child again. Although I used to be quite a free spirit and usually decided to create my own buildings, I still remember the instructions of LEGO manuals pretty well. Not much has changed in all those years: the individual pieces, how many you need and where you should put them – everything is described in the minutest detail. It’s virtually impossible to make mistakes. Of course, with a set of this size, one might forget a piece here and there.
In the beginning, my trembling hands have difficulties holding on to the pieces. When touching the little plastic pieces, a familiar feeling returns to me. I shudder – in a positive way – as I experience flashbacks to the good old days. Therefore, it takes me quite a while to complete the first LEGO structure, which also serves as the basic foundation of the Millennium Falcon. It looks colourful yet expressionless, but I remind myself that it’ll grow into something more meaningful and I forge onwards.
After two hours, I’ve completed the first step... just 16 more to go until my Star Wars speedster is finished. The structure could just as easily have been the base of the Taj Mahal, the chassis of a racing car or a throwing star made of LEGO. It doesn’t inspire a lot of Star Wars or Millennium Falcon magic just yet. This dampens the fun a bit because there’s a lot of work left to do and my fingers already ache from piecing together so many edgy bricks.
War of the LEGO bricks: there’s no end in sight
With each piece I put into place, I grow more efficient. The third step still took me over one and a quarter hours, but then I settled into a pace of around 50 minutes per step. In the meantime, my girlfriend helps me find and put together pieces. Even though she feels like she’s slowing me down, her assistance offers some much-needed support and distraction as I make my way through a sometimes exhausting mess of LEGO bricks. It’s not only more fun tackling this challenge together, but also speeds up the Millennium Falcon project considerably.
Every now and then, one or two LEGO figures from the Star Wars universe pop up in the set. Like Han Solo and Chewbacca. We also get to meet Princess Leia, C-3PO, two porgs and a Mynock. But before making their acquaintance, I need to put them together from a mess of little pieces. They do bring a welcome change to the sometimes greyish task of assembling the spaceship. You might think that I’m bored at this moment and that I struggle to keep motivated. Nothing could be further from the truth! Yet, I think you’ll understand that assembling seven identical supporting columns can be a bit tedious.
Of course, I sometimes wonder if I’ll actually see this thing through till the very end, fully motivated and exuberant. But I never give up nor deciding to let the work rest for a bit. On the contrary: I’m making better progress than expected. I often notice that I say to myself: «only one more step, and then I’m off to bed.» In the end, this turns into two or even three steps, before I can actually tear myself away from my smugglers ship.
No pain, no gain – the Millennium Falcon starts to assume shape
On the third day, my fingertips start to hurt, already having put, clicked, and screwed together over 3,000 LEGO pieces. Some back aches remind me that I’ve spent quite some time in a less-than ergonomic posture and on an uncomfortable surface. I’m much too focused on the little plastic pieces with their round dots.
The longer I’ve worked on the project, the more fun I’m having. The Millennium Falcon and its dimensions get more visible with each step. Inside the spaceship the first rooms are created, on the outside I can see fine details of the fairing and some weapon systems. The entire thing starts to quickly resemble the ship I know from the Star Wars universe.
The devil is in the details
With many pieces, I find myself wondering: what's up with this? No, seriously, what in the world is this supposed to be? Or: how am I going to fit this into the Millennium Falcon? Nevertheless, I discover that my skepticism is unwarranted each and every time, as the piece actually does fit in the end. And in the few cases in which I can’t make a piece fit, it’s one from a structure that gives the Falcon its stability, and won’t be visible later. LEGO did a great job.
I marvel at how imaginative structures, which seem to be designed at random, seamlessly fit the spaceship’s appearance. Something I already noticed as a kid and early LEGO adopter is the stability of it all. The LEGO pieces are made to last, also when picking them up or moving them. Sure, you won’t be playing a lot with the Millennium Falcon, but not because you don’t want to, just because you can’t. The entire thing weighs over five kilos. By the way: the instruction manual also weighs more than three kilos.
I get goosebumps flipping from page 466 to page 467. It’s the penultimate page, the penultimate step. I’m almost done – with not only my mind playing tricks on me, but my fingers going numb as well. Yes, my hands really hurt after all that work. But the end product quickly soothes all my little aches. I made it... after 7 days, 17 steps, 18 hours of work, 468 pages, 1,379 building sections and 7,541 pieces, I’ve done it: the Millennium Falcon is completed.
Verdict: a LEGO set from a different planet
I'm amazed. The Millennium Falcon has everything my LEGO heart desires. I wanted a huge set with thousands of parts. I wanted to have hours upon hours of crafty fun, amusement and distraction. I wanted to have a wide range of colours, shapes and pieces. I wanted to have pain, sweat and crises. I wanted to experience pride, fun and relive childhood memories. I wanted to experience the best LEGO and Star Wars have to offer. And I’ve gotten all that, in a single set.
To work on your own Millennium Falcon, you not only need lots of time on your hands, but also quite a bit of cash: it costs over 700 Swiss francs or euro (as of: 8 January 2020). This means that the set costs a bit more than nine rappen, or cent, per LEGO piece – which is not exactly cheap. But it’s worth it. I will remember this project for a long time to come. All those flashbacks to my childhood, to times when life was just that much simpler and more care-free, are priceless. Thank you, LEGO, for this unique experience. LEGO not only helped shape my childhood, it also played its part in making me who I am today. Creativity, logical thinking, foresight and patience are just some of the soft skills I was taught with the help of the sets of colourful pieces.
I can warmly recommend the Millennium Falcon to all LEGO fans. Even if Star Wars doesn’t exactly interest you much, you will have a blast with this set. Small wonder that they decided to publish the Falcon as part of their «Ultimate Collector Series». As a collector, you’ll tear up when you see the set, Star Wars aficionados will literally jump for joy and LEGO lovers will above all have tons of fun putting the spaceship together.
The Millennium Falcon by LEGO: An incredible experience, it is.
Header image: LEGO bricks as far as the eye can see: the Millennium Falcon is out of this world.
Raphael Knecht
Senior Editor
raphael.knecht@digitecgalaxus.chWhen I'm not stuffing my face with sweets, you'll catch me running around in the gym hall. I’m a passionate floorball player and coach. On rainy days, I tinker with my homebuilt PCs, robots or other gadgets. Music is always my trusted companion. I also enjoy tackling hilly terrain on my road bike and criss-crossing the country on my cross-country skis.
