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Whew, I can finally update. Long weekend.
So I said I would post progress pics and a full description, and here they are:
I planned a full build - that is, I would build the entire thing from the
ground up. Luckily, a saner part of me left the engine section whole, along with
the bases of the wings and belly, which were plate sandwiches for stability.
This way, I’d have something to show when I first started.
Here’s the site at 9 am:
You’ll probably notice the surprising... scarcity of parts in the back there;
that’s everything I brought, and everything that had been a plane the night
before (plus a few spare parts). Amazingly, that’s all it took to build the
thing.
The site at about 4 pm:
A bit of a gap in the photos, as my (lovely assistant) brother and I were
distracted from photography by the complete disaster that was the GeeBee. I was
much more frustrated than that photo would have you believe - Murphy’s Law was
in full effect for this build. I was careless in a few spots out of impatience,
and when I tried to sandwich the two upper layers the structurally-weak points
gave way and the whole thing exploded. This was around 3 pm, and it took a lot
of willpower to resist throwing the remains off the balcony and just keep
building.
Luckily, things went much more smoothly from then on, and using the spare bricks
I had brought I strengthened everything well enough to stay stable.
Eventually, around 5 pm, everything went together for good:
I am victorious!! Notice the leftover bits to the right - none of those had
been in the spares bin. I’m still confused by that.
I visited the Air Zoo with my family today, and of course I checked on the
GeeBee. I realize now I should have left an informational page or something to
prove that the GeeBee actually existed; people seem to think I’m making it up.
Also, I should have left instructions on rebuilding the propellor; visitors
invariably want to spin the thing, and apparently someone tried, as the prop was
in pieces when I got there :(
Overall, this has been a great experience, and I’ve learned a lot about the
business. Thanks to everyone who’s supported me in the last couple of weeks, and
special thanks to my brother, who endured a ridiculous amount of trouble for me
when he should have been partying with his friends. As for the future of my
little venture, I’m not sure. I’m hoping I get some more offers, since the
businesscard holder was almost totally empty after two days of display, but I’ll
be sure to refuse on-site building next time :) Also - point of warning - don’t
wear a LEGO shirt to do one of these things. I couldn’t get folks to understand
that I didn’t actually work for TLC, I was just a fan.
Full photo gallery, including some other stuff from the event, can be found
here.
Oh, one more thing - my brother’s rather Star Wars-esque shot of the beloved
SR-71. Just imagine those are Stormtroopers hanging out at the cookie table.
-jeremiah-
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