1.2.8: More repetition, but interesting
Nov. 25th, 2021 11:48 pmOk, getting this out of the way: yes, this is my second post in one day. I actually built 1.1.7 last night, I just didn't have time to post until after I got home from Thanksgiving dinner. Then immediately after posting, I went on to this evening's build.
This was a fun stage. As the title says, we're still doing some of the more repetitive elements of box 1, but we're getting back to some of the more interesting bits, and I think we're done with the boring bits for the rest of the box.
For this mise-en-place, I decided to arrange the small pieces as well. I'm not sure why I never thought to do this before; it's great and I wish I'd been doing it all along. I'm also laughing at myself for saying I was too impatient for good knolling and then almost immediately spending more time on it than I have in the past.

The build started with these orange pieces. In the final boat, only the edge of them will be visible. Hubris and extravagance aside, the actual Titanic must have been a beautiful ship, and I love the ways this set is incorporating little details like this. Using the edge of plates to get this effect is delightful, and while the plates are kind of obnoxiously orange, just the edges contrasted against the black is quite nice (as you'll see below once the tops of them have been covered up).

Next I added another layer of tiny rooms.

I'm intrigued by the small ways that the non-symmetrical pieces are affecting the build, which will be difficult or impossible to see in the completed build but are apparent here. E.g., you'll note that on the starboard side, the bed has a 1x1 golden round stud that I'm thinking of as a nightstand next to it, but on the port side, because the doors are all the same piece with the hinge to the left of the door from this angle, there's no room for that, so the port cabin has just a bed and no other furniture.
Trivia time!

I'm just now noticing the choices the translators appear to have made in this passage. I wonder, given these particular choices, and especially given that the Spanish translation includes a clause that isn't at all present in the other two ("en este primer viaje", "on this first trip"), whether rather than translating from a pre-written text in one language, the authors for each language were given something like a bulleted outline of facts to convey, or something like that. Now I want to get copies of the build instructions from foreign markets and see how they were localized.
Anyway, back to the build. After adding another layer on top of that one (which you'll see in a moment), I made these eight identical things.

Which I then added to the main build, along with some other stuff.


Remember this gap between the white portholes and the top layer; it will become important in a few moments.
Another layer next.

And now my favorite part of this stage. I built these four identical tower things...

...which I then turned on their sides and slid into that gap from before to create little windows.

I did the same thing again with two shorter towers for the remaining gap.

And here's the final picture of this stage, with the shorter towers inserted.

Like I said, I think this is the last of the repetitive stages of this box; next I'll build the bridge and funnel, then put the two pieces together, add side panels, and make stands for this third of the ship. I hope this continues to be as fun to read as it is to build.
Discussion prompt: What's your favorite use of (or intentional lack of) symmetry in art? I think my favorite (or maybe I just have ships in danger on my mind because of this model) might be Hokusai's The Great Wave, with the way the wave takes up almost the entire left side and none of the right, and Mount Fuji in the background acting as a sort of pivot between the two sides. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, definitely click the link; it's a beautiful print, and you almost certainly have seen it before, whether or not you recognize it by name.)
This was a fun stage. As the title says, we're still doing some of the more repetitive elements of box 1, but we're getting back to some of the more interesting bits, and I think we're done with the boring bits for the rest of the box.
For this mise-en-place, I decided to arrange the small pieces as well. I'm not sure why I never thought to do this before; it's great and I wish I'd been doing it all along. I'm also laughing at myself for saying I was too impatient for good knolling and then almost immediately spending more time on it than I have in the past.
The build started with these orange pieces. In the final boat, only the edge of them will be visible. Hubris and extravagance aside, the actual Titanic must have been a beautiful ship, and I love the ways this set is incorporating little details like this. Using the edge of plates to get this effect is delightful, and while the plates are kind of obnoxiously orange, just the edges contrasted against the black is quite nice (as you'll see below once the tops of them have been covered up).
Next I added another layer of tiny rooms.
I'm intrigued by the small ways that the non-symmetrical pieces are affecting the build, which will be difficult or impossible to see in the completed build but are apparent here. E.g., you'll note that on the starboard side, the bed has a 1x1 golden round stud that I'm thinking of as a nightstand next to it, but on the port side, because the doors are all the same piece with the hinge to the left of the door from this angle, there's no room for that, so the port cabin has just a bed and no other furniture.
Trivia time!
I'm just now noticing the choices the translators appear to have made in this passage. I wonder, given these particular choices, and especially given that the Spanish translation includes a clause that isn't at all present in the other two ("en este primer viaje", "on this first trip"), whether rather than translating from a pre-written text in one language, the authors for each language were given something like a bulleted outline of facts to convey, or something like that. Now I want to get copies of the build instructions from foreign markets and see how they were localized.
Anyway, back to the build. After adding another layer on top of that one (which you'll see in a moment), I made these eight identical things.
Which I then added to the main build, along with some other stuff.
Remember this gap between the white portholes and the top layer; it will become important in a few moments.
Another layer next.
And now my favorite part of this stage. I built these four identical tower things...
...which I then turned on their sides and slid into that gap from before to create little windows.
I did the same thing again with two shorter towers for the remaining gap.
And here's the final picture of this stage, with the shorter towers inserted.
Like I said, I think this is the last of the repetitive stages of this box; next I'll build the bridge and funnel, then put the two pieces together, add side panels, and make stands for this third of the ship. I hope this continues to be as fun to read as it is to build.
Discussion prompt: What's your favorite use of (or intentional lack of) symmetry in art? I think my favorite (or maybe I just have ships in danger on my mind because of this model) might be Hokusai's The Great Wave, with the way the wave takes up almost the entire left side and none of the right, and Mount Fuji in the background acting as a sort of pivot between the two sides. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, definitely click the link; it's a beautiful print, and you almost certainly have seen it before, whether or not you recognize it by name.)
no subject
Date: 2021-11-26 11:08 pm (UTC)A bit of symmetry I like, too is that the Canadian band Klaatu has a song, "Silly Boys", from their "Sir Army Suit" album, that has lyrics in both directions. The forwards lyrics are interspersed with backwards lyrics from an earlier song of theirs. a link with more info