Supernova Fairground Ride

As with all stars up in the sky, eventually each one must give way and become something new, but for a brief while before they become nothing but a black hole, they shine brighter than ever. I make the comparisons to each Meccano model I have built over the years that for a moment in time may have shone bright, but that invariably had to make way for something new.

The dismantling of any model you have poured your affections into is never the easiest of things, but after some time you have showcased it as much as you want to and there is nowhere left for it to shine and no matter how much you might cling onto each model, eventually they all disappear into the black hole of just loose individual parts.

The radiant light of each such new Meccano model must shine as bright as it can, for there is only so much life in each Supernova.

The new Supernova model started being built using part of the base and tower of a previous model called the Pinnacle, a model that has now been swallowed up into the black hole.

The new fairground model is a 16-armed wheel, but so far in this first incarnation it is only fitted with eight passenger pods, with scope to double that capacity later should the dying star eventually need to shine even brighter.

As with all stars, once finished I stood back and stared at it from a distance and was happy to see it shine, and was very satisfied with its performance.

The rotating wheel is detachable as has become the norm and also its passenger pods come off just as easily, ensuring transportation from home galaxy to exhibiting galaxy is as easy as possible.

As bright as a Supernova may be, I still decided to add more lights to it. A ticket kiosk invites riders to become would-be space invaders of their own.

I cannot remember how many of these wheel-based rides I have built over the years — the black hole of time has swallowed them all up — but just like the stars in the sky, they have numbered many, and it’s not about how many or how long they even shone for, but to revel in the moment they shone!