Today I went out and bought most of the materials I anticipate needing in order to assemble this puzzle.  Here’s what I got:

1.  Forty-two 20 x 30″ foam boards — I anticipate I will need a few more since each board holds a little less than 1,000 pieces, but this will be plenty to get me started for sure. ?

2.  Three packages of thin foam sheets ( each package contains 12 sheets).  I love these for laying out pieces I am working on as they stay put.  I have a bunch of these already so between these , the ones I already have, and my awesome Vencer puzzle trays, I should be able to lay out most of whatever sorted section I am working on at any given time.

3. A few big plastic containers for holding some of the larger sorted categorized pieces.  I already have a bunch of tupperware that I use for sorting so this will just add to it.  I may need more big ones as I begin to have large piles of sorted pieces, but for now this will do.

4.  I took the two posters that came with the puzzle to Office Depot and had them laminated.  I did this with the Life poster when I first started it back in 2010 as well.  It is quite helpful for preserving the quality of the poster since I know it will get a lot of use throughout this project.

Now I just have to finish my current Star Wars puzzle so I can get started.  I am so excited about digging into that ginormous box of pieces.