Millennium Falcon Variant Build

[Constantine]

Hello,

Here is my version of a Millennium Falcon. I wanted to do something a little different with it since I have the Fine Molds 1/72 and the Hasbro Falcon, both will make for very nice movie displays.

At first I was thinking of a Falcon just off the assembly line all shinny bright and for the most part that will still be a part of the plan. I really want to change the gribbles and tone it down a bit as well. I was very inspired by Jaitea’s work on his MPC Falcon and his Ralph Mcquarrie’s Falcon as well. So I am incorporating all the above into my build.


Man, is there a lot of preliminary work to do, a lot more than I thought. So far its just a lot of cutting, sanding and gluing styrene in for support. I have done a bit of design with the sensor dish and some gun work. The grills on the back are from some sort of electrical substation model for train hobbyists. I thought the “grills” would look great on the back so, they’re just loosely set on for now. I am also going with the cockpit style of the McQuarrie falcon and following Jaitea build on it. I just made a simple facsimile of an inner cockpit with some seats form the MPC kit.

Well here are a few construction pics so far.

Over all hull work so far

Cockpit

Ramp work & Landing gear

Guns and Top of the Turrets

Oh and my Uberchair as I call it.

Thanks for looking, any thoughts or suggestions would be great!

 

[Junkie]

Hi,
I think it looks really cool. Nice custom details.

Edited your post to show pics inline.

 

[Jaitea]

Good to see you are making progress.....great progress

The choice of using RMcQ's design & customising it into your own is brilliant

I'm really looking forward to seeing how this turns out

Cool craftsmanship with the cockpit etc

J

 

[Quaralane]

Definitely looks like what should be an interesting project

 

[Constantine]

Update on my Build

I worked on the engine grill. I used square hollow styrene about 4.5 mm thick and styrene strips about 2 mm in between as spacers. I cut them on “the chopper” lighted sanded them when they were glued into place to even them up better. It simple but I think it works and is a reasonable facsimile of some type of emission for the ship.

Did some work on the mandibles the gribbles will be more simple mainly plating type pieces. They come from train modeling parts, they have nice sharp detail and are casted very nicely. I attached the mandibles to the top of the hull and been dry fitting them to the bottom with tape. I would normally finish all the detailing first then attach them, but I want to make sure I can get this back together half way square before I waste a lot of nice gribbles and time so far so good.

I did a bit of hull plating to the cockpit tube, a little at a time so I don’t rush it and keep a nice pattern to it.

Thanks for looking. If there’s any thing you may think will help please let me know.

 

[Quaralane]

Definitely looking good.
Also looks like you're doing just fine so far

 

[JohnSimmons]

Cool, lotta Falcons getting built!

 

[jake]

Cool Falcon! Nice uberchair too! ;D

 

[YOULI]

Really nice project. It prooves that the old MPC kit can serve you right with a bit of imagination

Keep on the good work. Will follow it witth great interest.

 

[Constantine]

Thanks guys its really nice to have the input. This build has been a lot more monkey business then I thought, but those are often the most rewarding. A lot of head-scratching and trying to think 2,3 and 4 steps ahead. You have to think,"hmm if I glue this in now will it get in the way of fitting another part in down the road?" A lot of dry fitting to be sure.

Have a good one all!

 

[Constantine]

Hello again here’s an update on my Millennium Falcon Variant Build.

I decided to make another cockpit tube. I wasn’t happy with the size and some of the creases in the first one. I use a part from a Saturn or Apollo rocket I had for some time. There is no tapper to the tube this time like in the Ralph McQuarrie design, but frankly I don’t care this is turning into quite the project and I am happy with it as is. I will either add some thin plating and some scribing. I did some in the front but its hard to see in the light.

I also made some seats and console of sorts and a backing with a door, nothing fancy just something to give an impression of a little more going on instead of an empty tube. I have never really built an interior before on a model so its good practice.











I started adding hull plating but wasn’t really happy with the results, so I decided to scribe instead. So I am gluing 4 mm styrene to the hull and scribing from there. I am starting on the bottom first as trail. I did the mandibles and I think they turned out alright. When I add some accents strips to some ot the lines and pre-shading and paint I think I should have the look I am going for.

Any thoughts or ideas, materials, or techniques styles you might think would help I would be happy to hear them.

Thanks for looking.

Have a good one!

 

[Quaralane]

Some excellent work here.
Definitely liking the look

 

[Jaitea]

Lovely work there Constantine,......the cockpit looks brilliant,.....nice & sharp

J

 

[Senorjacob]

That is amazing! I don't know how you're doing it, but you're doing it really well.

 

[Constantine]

That is amazing! I don't know how you're doing it, but you're doing it really well.

I am not sure how I am doing it either. Just basically "grandfathering," the pieces of styrene in and sanding to taste. Sometimes I think it would have been easier just to scratch build the whole and have a blank canvas to start with. But in the wise words of Chuck Berry, "that's too much monkey business for me to be involved in."

Thanks guys for the good words.

 

[Constantine]

Hello a little update on my MFVB.

I finished the ramp. Just a very simply working feature, there be no real interior to look up and see. I just wanted to have a semblance of the real thing for displaying it. It can go up and down, that’s about the extent to what I wanted. Plus I was afraid to cut into the hull anymore, this kit has been sliced and diced so much I was concerned it might just fall apart trying to put in a corridor going into the ship.

Some work to the top of the turret. I added a better pic of the turret.

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa25/Ludwig45/Vrnt%20Flcn%20Bld%20II%20023.jpg

Cutting into the hull to fit the cockpit tube.

Some scribing work on the cockpit tube.

So far I am happy with the build, its pretty much what I expected it to be except for the amount of time it took to get this far, much more than I thought. I really think it might have been easier to have built the whole thing from scratch. As far as getting everything to be square and straight goes, plus to have a blank canvas so to speak for scribing and gribbles would have been better.

 

[Quaralane]

Looking good so far.
Liking how this is looking

 

[Junkie]

Looking great. Very cool.

 

[Junkie]

Just went back thought this thread, gotta comment again. That cockpit looks awesome. Love how you put those grills on the sides.

 

[Jaitea]

Beautifully built, nice & clean

J