I’m pretty sure I’ve said this here multiple times (and at some point I should post the blog I wrote about it), but once upon a time I was totally going to be an astronaut. In the past two years, I’ve also become completely, hopelessly addicted to LEGOs, so it was only natural that I would snatch up the NASA Apollo Saturn V set as soon as I was able.

Except that I save my LEGO sets to build under very specific circumstances. Luckily, one of those events came up again pretty soon — my husband is out of town for work, so it was Netflix and LEGO (and wine) time for me for a few evenings! (After I got my writing done for the day, of course.) 

The first evening, I completed the S-IC stage, including the five F-1 engines at the bottom:

(Sorry for the weird color differentials in the pictures. My den looks very different with natural lighting versus overhead lighting as afternoon turned to night each evening.)

The next evening, I completed the S-II stage, including the five J-2 engines at the bottom (first stage shown for scale):

And finally the rest of it! S-IVB stage with J-2 engine, instrument unit, lunar module, Apollo service module, Apollo command module, and launch escape system.

And here’s the full set displayed in my newly reorganized LEGO room!

It’ll probably be a few months until I get to build the next set, but I already have the Parisian Restaurant and SHIELD Helicarrier to choose between! I anticipate finishing the first draft of Steel Shadows in either November or December of this year.