I’ve only been building Lego seriously for about a year. One first things I discovered was the massive AFOL community on Flickr. Since I am a big sci-fi fan, it wasn’t long before I was drooling over pictures of Lego spaceships from the annual Shiptember competition.

I wasn’t nearly ready to do any building on that scale last year. There was a lot of sorting and organizing to do. My collection had been in the basement for years. So I spent months studying other people’s work, learning from their techniques.

Joining PortLUG gave me a great big kick in the pants. I started building and getting feedback, which has helped me grow as a builder. Through drafts, I have deepened my collection. Larger supplies of specialty elements gives me the latitude for more eccentric creations.

All of this has been getting me ready to tackle larger models, not just in skill, but in confidence. Like most creative mediums, there is always a time when building that I look at the thing in my hands and decide that it is crap and that I shouldn’t bother. Getting past that point can be hard.

With my mental game in pretty good shape, I turned to the elements themselves. I’ve had the basic design of my ship in mind since last year, so I’ve been able to slowly stockpile the elements that I’ll need in the largest quantities.

I made a bulk purchase of large plates and tiles earlier in the year. By watching for useful parts in the Pick-a-Brick wall, I’ve gotten a number of other parts cheaply. For this, wallofbricks.com has been terribly useful. I’d encourage any AFOL to use it and keep their local store up to date.

Beyond that I’ve been setting aside anything else that I might want to use while I sort. I have a bin full of parts that has been steadily growing. I know that I’ll need more, but that is inevitable. I suspect that I’ll need to place more than one bricklink order before September is done.

The first of September is just around the corner. Luckily for me, my son starts first grade on the 2nd. This will give me a nice window of time to work every day without distraction. I’ll post regular photos to show my progress. I am really looking forward to seeing how the images in my head translate to the bricks.

Keep building!