Haystack Hair's MPC Falcon Upgrade Kit Thread

Archive&Future

Sr Member
With the absence of Falcon Kits recently, and my own need for an accurate sidewall set for my MPC, I have decided to embark upon a very ambitious project, and that is to create the most comprehensive, screen-accurate MPC upgrade kit since Jack Smith's, and sell a limited run of these kits.

I have been studying the 32" falcon and all the excellent resources available on it, including part ID maps and kit lists put together by fellow Falcon builders. To those people: thank you

Naturally, I could easily cast the parts off the Finemolds Falcon (which I finally have) but I don't want to run into legal issues and so instead I'm hand making most of the parts you'll need, and casting a few parts from donor kits. (For the sake of preserving my work, I won't be releasing the list of kits I've used until later on, sorry if that seems like a dick move on my part but hey.)

Some of you will have already seen my photo etch kits:

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And here are a couple of photos showing what I've been doing as far as side walls and engine deck parts goes:

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It's early days, but I hope to have a full kit available by the end of the year.

Good luck to all you Falcon builders!
 
Thanks guys! I'm working on the port side mandible wall as we speak. I'll have to 3D print the Entex transmission parts....can't use the FM parts I don't think....might have to check legalities on that one. Actually there's a question to anyone who knows,

Is it legally questionable to use the Finemolds parts as part of a larger cast piece? For instance the Entex transmission part from the FM....cast as PART of the sidewall?
 
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Here are the results of today's work on the preliminary portside layout

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In comparison to my version 1 sidewall (totally inaccurate)

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The length is an issue actually, the standard MPC mandible length is too long for my custom styrene mandibles....I'm going to have to find a compromise. I'm thinking maybe make the wall in sections or something so that it can be lengthened and shortened? Not sure yet.
 
Not sure, but any kitbash parts have the same issue, weather it's for a studio scale x wing or this project.

I am still waiting to get my FM Falcon, but isn't there a pretty significant size difference? I thought the MPC came in at around 1/58 or something like that from what i have read. Just thinking the transmission part is going to be too small, but i don't have the FMolds in hand so not sure.




Thanks guys! I'm working on the port side mandible wall as we speak. I'll have to 3D print the Entex transmission parts....can't use the FM parts I don't think....might have to check legalities on that one. Actually there's a question to anyone who knows,

Is it legally questionable to use the Finemolds parts as part of a larger cast piece? For instance the Entex transmission part from the FM....cast as PART of the sidewall?
 
Not sure, but any kitbash parts have the same issue, weather it's for a studio scale x wing or this project.

I am still waiting to get my FM Falcon, but isn't there a pretty significant size difference? I thought the MPC came in at around 1/58 or something like that from what i have read. Just thinking the transmission part is going to be too small, but i don't have the FMolds in hand so not sure.

My FM falcon arrived today (very exciting!!) and it's around 5%-10% smaller than the MPC. As far as I'm concerned, it's a fictional ship and they're both aaaaboout the same, so I'm calling my MPC 1/72. The parts from the FM fit to the MPC without any noticeable difference.

The main reason I'm more wary of recasting FM parts is because Star Wars is now Disney property, and Disney are infamously brutal when it comes to people using their intellectual property for any reason. Finemolds comes under that licence so yeah....I don't have the money to be taken on my Disney!!
 
Cool project & good luck with the upgrade set.
I'm confused though as to why you are trying to make the MPC Falcon into a 32" ESB version, when
the Finemolds is already the 32"?. I mean the MPC is based upon the 5 footer, its never going to come close
to looking like the 32".
If you're going to the trouble of doing a super accurate upgrade set for the MPC, surely you would follow
the 5 footer detailing?.
Is the Finemolds so bad that the MPC needs to be upgraded to 32" detailing?.
Stu
 
Not sure, but any kitbash parts have the same issue, weather it's for a studio scale x wing or this project.

I am still waiting to get my FM Falcon, but isn't there a pretty significant size difference? I thought the MPC came in at around 1/58 or something like that from what i have read. Just thinking the transmission part is going to be too small, but i don't have the FMolds in hand so not sure.

My FM falcon arrived today (very exciting!!) and it's around 5%-10% smaller than the MPC. As far as I'm concerned, it's a fictional ship and they're both aaaaboout the same, so I'm calling my MPC 1/72. The parts from the FM fit to the MPC without any noticeable difference.

The main reason I'm more wary of recasting FM parts is because Star Wars is now Disney property, and Disney are infamously brutal when it comes to people using their intellectual property for any reason. Finemolds comes under that licence so yeah....I don't have the money to be taken on my Disney!!


They are nearly the same size. While the Fine Molds is supposed to be 1/72, it is actually a bit smaller. I've seen people say the MPC is anywhere from 1/58 to 1/67, but I think it is closer to 1/72 than the Fine Molds one (at least based on comparison to the cockpit and 1/72 figures). At any rate, whatever scale they happen to be, physically they are close enough in size that you could co-opt parts from the Fine Molds one and not have them noticeably out of scale for most people except maybe to those Studio Scale guys or rivet counters that are sticklers for every minute detail

The biggest difference I think between the Fine Molds and MPC falcon is that the MPC has a lot of details and shapes based on the 5 foot falcon while the Fine Molds is much closer to the ESB falcon. The MPC suprisingly matches many areas of the 5 foot in the placement of things and greeblies, just with extremely soft/simplified detail molded on instead of molded as separate parts to glue on

as far as an upgrade kit. I would love to see a good one. I've got two of these in my stash (1 cutaway version and one regular ) that have not been built and one from the original MPC release that I built as a kid and used a toy that could use some serious reworking
 
I obviously prefer the 5 foot Falcon, she was the version that I fell in love with, the many differences in the 32" ESB version I've grown used to & you don't spot those differences in the actual movie due to motion blur,.....any resting or take off & landing shots in the movie are the 5 foot, but back in 1980, still images of the 32" in magazines & books, really stood out to me and she looked like an entirely different ship.

.....but the upgrade kits out there don't represent the 5ft or 32", so what HH is doing is definitely a great idea, making the MPC easier to look more detailed,

Cant wait to see how it all turns out

J
 
Cool project & good luck with the upgrade set.
I'm confused though as to why you are trying to make the MPC Falcon into a 32" ESB version, when
the Finemolds is already the 32"?. I mean the MPC is based upon the 5 footer, its never going to come close
to looking like the 32".
If you're going to the trouble of doing a super accurate upgrade set for the MPC, surely you would follow
the 5 footer detailing?.
Is the Finemolds so bad that the MPC needs to be upgraded to 32" detailing?.
Stu

IMHO I don't think the differences between the 5' and the 32" are big enough for the average fan to care overly about, and by the time I'm finished scratching all the parts I'm hoping it will hit somewhere between the 32" and the 5'.

A lot of is is also personal preference, as the primary reason I'm making this kit is to upgrade my own MPC, and the 32" is my preferred ship (despite the fact that I prefer the 5' curvature)
 
I started creating the Entex transmissions in Sketchup but.....honestly?? Fiddly as it'll be, scratch building the parts by hand is going to be easier for me

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I'm keeping the file of course
 
I've made a lot of molds but two of them went a bit haywire so i've been powering through the issues. Here is this evening's work on the rear portside sidewall, 50% of the parts are donor-accurate and the rest is kinda botched together. I've no idea how I'm going to mould all these curves....

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Obviously it's not finished yet
 
Since my original fans went totally wrong, I made this new design today and got it moulded. First cast was perfect aside from 1 bubble, I'll cast 6 more and mould those in turn

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The bevelled edge allows for a thick glue to be used with attaching it on the inside of the MPC hull
 
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