I was actually thinking about the same thing with the '52s, but then decided to just go to the beach and count the grains of sand. Figured I'd finish that off sooner.
Good luck.
I've actually have thought about this a couple of times (probably just the low numbers), but haven't gotten to a good stopping point on my other projects.
Maybe your idea of a lifetime project might work for me though. It could sort of just sit in the background and grow slowly without feeling a constant need to feed the fire.