carbon copy

As you probably already know, Noah requires his LEGOs to be exact copies of their movie or TV character. But he doesn't stop at characters. Even their weapons need to be an accurate copy of the movie weapon. 

So obviously, the standard-issue LEGO gun of Han Solo didn't cut it after he saw Han Solo's gun via a Google search.

A month ago, using 2 standard-issue LEGO Han Solo guns, cardboard, a portion of a LEGO staff and Sharpies, he custom-built a carbon copy of the gun from the old Star Wars movies.

Okay, okay. I know Noah won't understand what "carbon copy" means anymore, with carbon paper and typwriters obsolete. But one old thing that hasn't gone obsolete is Han Solo's gun. Turns out, he still uses the same gun in Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

When Noah told me he spotted the gun that looks like his custom LEGO in the movie, he said, "I was so happy when I saw it because he still uses it after 30 years!" Now isn't that a moment worth making a copy of?

Noah's age when he created this: 10 years, 10 months

my craftsman

Recently, I came across a video at work. It was about The Craftsman. As I listened to the narration, I couldn't help think that it described Noah so perfectly. 

"What is a craftsman?

Is it an obsession with detail?

Or the ability to see the details others cannot?...

... We believe that the difference between something good and something great is attention to detail. 

Every last TINY,

INSIGNIFICANT,

UNIMPORTANT,

UNNOTICED,

CRUCIAL detail."

Yes, Noah is indeed a craftsman. 

The standard issue LEGO bow & arrow is good. But Noah cannot settle for good. And as the video said, "The difference between something good and great is attention to detail. Every last..."

"Tiny detail" - The standard issue LEGO bow & arrow is made completely out of the plastic that most LEGO weapons are made of. This is good. But Noah felt he could make the bow great with a piece of embroidery thread because it would be more realistic than the hard, unpliable plastic.

"Insignificant detail" - The bow is not made to scale. It is quite big in size versus a minifig. So when Noah customized his bow, he cut out the circular & squarish hinges at the bow's corners. Noah says the resulting bow is still too big, but at least, he shaved off a few millimeters.

"Unimportant detail" - The standard issue LEGO bow is just one piece.The arrow is stuck to the bow; they cannot be separated. And while unimportant to most of us, separating the arrow from the bow was important to him. So he snipped off the arrow from the bow and glued the two tiny arrow parts together. 

"Unnoticed detail" - The standard LEGO arrow is just one color. But Noah felt the arrow head needed to be a metallic color.  So silver Sharpie to the rescue!

"Crucial detail" - Because the fletching or feather end of the arrow was thick, the minifig could not hold the arrow. So Noah, added the tiniest rod at the end so his minifig could grip the arrow. 

Indeed, Noah has the ability to see details others (including me) cannot see.  He truly is a Craftsman. 

Noah's age when he created this: 10 years, 9 months