The Millennium Falcon is one of the most famous spaceships in the world. Its unusual shape and look make it instantly recognisable. Let’s be honest, tribes of people in far off places who haven’t even heard of fire have heard of Chewbacca and Han Solo, such is the power of those movies (and Disney’s guiding hand). It’s also one of the must-have toys for this Christmas (and pretty much any Christmas since the ’70s) and there are seemingly countless versions of this Star Wars spaceship out there. But few are a toy, book and rainy day activity all rolled into one.
The Star Wars Millennium Falcon Book and Mega Model is a thick looking book, but this is sort of deceptive. It’s mostly filled with pop out and build pieces made of foam card. This may be a bit flimsy for tiny hands but the whole thing is well worked out and comes together fairly easily. It’s enough of a challenge for younger people to be fun. For grown-ups it’s a welcome distraction and also fun, though it’s not without a few problems.
There are a few misprints in the directions, but nothing a little pre-planning won’t circumvent. This is mildly annoying, however, if you’re using this to keep the more juvenile Star Wars fan in your crew quiet – you’ll almost certainly have to help them. Otherwise they will jam the wrong tab into the wrong slot and this will result in a premature end of adventure for Chewie and chums. Older types who aren’t paying attention can fix mistakes with a little patience and a craft knife, though this is foam card, so be careful. It’s not the sturdiest material in the galaxy.
Along with the models is a pamphlet sized book which is mostly filled with instructions. We get a light pictorial history of the Falcon, just in case you’ve forgotten what this is. There are the usual activities (word search, maze, scribble pad) and the panels of the model itself have some fun facts printed in the underside, to make the ‘learning about Star Wars’ experience more fun.
A great idea let down by slightly lacklustre editing and testing. A fun throwaway toy.
STAR WARS MILLENNIUM FALCON BOOK AND MEGA MODEL / AUTHOR: LUCASFILM / PUBLISHER: EGMONT / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
