An Eiffel Tower. Made of Lego

So before I went away, there was one thing I absolutely had to do.

Build an Eiffel Tower out of Lego.

Sounds easy, doesn't it?

It wasn't.

For a start, there were 87 different types of brick, and a total of 3,428 to be put together.



There were a total of 184 instructions to be followed. Helpfully these were divided into 3 A4 instruction booklets.

There was so much because the model was 1:300 scale; 108cm high, and 50 cm wide at the base.

Oh, and Treason and Treachery fancied being assistant project managers. Which meant that I couldn't sort the 87 different types immediately. Instead, I had to count as I went along. And only use the kitchen table rather than the living room floor.



I started at 10am, and progress at first was electric.



From base to patio plate was completed in no time.



But then things started to get tricky, as supporting columns needed to be built. Which meant some intricate building. And by this stage, brick finding was already getting complicated.



So when stage 1 was completed, it was with a real sense of achievement. And a break for lunch. But only 30 minutes.



Stage 2 started far too easily.



The difficulty soon re-asserted itself, however.



And by this stage I had started to get despondent. It was nearly 10 hours in, and even with a break for dinner, it was looking as if there was no way it could be finished in one day.



Admittedly, that hadn't been an ambition. But with my feline project help, it wasn't really realistic to leave pieces out. So, what else could be done, but to start stage 3.



By now, extreme building fatigue had set in. My fingertips were hard and red from the constant searching and assembling. My eyes were tired from the constant staring at the pieces, to check that they were correct. And, as the cliche has it, the finish never seems so far away as when you're closest to it.



But dammit, I would not be beaten. Even at 2am. And I was not.

Voila! (The picture's wonky because, frankly, I was by that time.)



Ms Beta is at the moment tolerating the model in the living room, and we have high hopes of capturing Treason and Treachery in a Godzilla moment and using that on our Christmas cards.

Did I learn anything from such a mammoth undertaking? Frankly no. But by god, it was worth it.