I mentioned making a slight detour on my way home from Hampton Court Palace the other day. The reason was to collect a purchase made on Ebay at the end of last week, when a conversation with some friends on Friday night prompted another internet search for something seen in a shop window last November and referred to in this post.

Lucky chap James had been given a Lego camper van on Fathers’ Day and had proudly shown the build progress to a group of envious friends after dinner, prompting my Hero to recall that Lego shop window in Berlin and the magnificent ship that was there. On the way home, he thought he’d have another look for it when we got back - it seems as though he’d thought about it a few times since November, too. He didn’t know, but since then I have tried time and again to find that Titanic model for birthday/Christmas but discovered it to be constantly unavailable. Luck was on our side though, for late on Friday night there it was, available on Ebay at more or less list price, factory sealed box and all. Not only that but it was “collect only” from an address that was within a few miles of my route home from the show on Monday.

Did I say it’s my Hero’s birthday today?

Incredibly heavy, it was immediately apparent why this was a “collect only” purchase.

I had taken a great deal on trust when I collected it, noting the Lego logo but only thinking to check the details on the label when I arrived home. All appeared ok, thank goodness.

It sat for a while, there in the brown box for most of the next day before curiosity got the better of us both. I had not kept the purchase a secret - not only was I keen to check that he really did want to make this thing but also I didn’t intend to collect a box from a stranger at an unknown address without him knowing where I was going - Suzy Lamplugh’s disappearance left many of us mindful of our personal safety in such circumstances, I’m sure. (There was absolutely no need for me to worry, needless to say, as all was well and perfectly in order)

But he could not sit and look at that big brown box any longer. It was time to open the box.

I’m not sure when “unboxing” became a bit of a ceremony and worthy of YouTube videos? We didn’t quite take it that far, but this was something to savour, for sure. The detail was impressive - that davit, shown top right hand corner is actual size, giving an indication of the overall dimensions. Huge.

His reaction when spotting the number of pieces in this box was priceless. I think we both envisaged needing rather a large table and several trays on which to do the sorting!

Anyway, outer lid opened, the inside lid offered a line drawing of the model.

Opening that one revealed three boxes. It was with some considerable relief that he realised that the model was to be built in three parts, each one packaged separately.

There was no doubt about which one to investigate first.

More beautiful design features (and this was still only packaging!) I’m not sure how many of these sets are produced but the quality and detail of every aspect is so very impressive.

The first thing to be taken out was Book 1. No folded model sheets here, but a half-inch thick book of building instructions for this section.

Looking deeper into the box, there were a dozen or so bags, each one numbered and with the pieces for each stage of the construction. I believe there was an audible sigh of relief all round here upon the realisation that he would not be faced with a tabletop filled with pieces to search through.

Bag # 1 was identified and retrieved…and set on one side for now. A deep breath was needed before beginning this project - and I had a few photos to take ;-)

This morning, with a workspace identified and cleared ready, the bag was opened, the building instructions opened to the correct page, the pieces checked and finally the first pieces were put in place.

Giving a present that “hits the spot” is always a pleasure, but really, this one beats them all. The delight expressed at every stage of the process was priceless! I’m not sure that my Hero has ever been a particular fan of Lego; I don’t know that I’ve ever been aware that a Lego kit appealed so much, but there was something about seeing that ship in the shop window on KuDamm, Berlin on that November day last year that struck a chord.

I’m thrilled that I was able to make that little dream come true. Happy Birthday sweetie!!