Rebuilding AMT/MPC Millennium Falcon Again

Scratchy

Looking good Ozzy! It'll just look better with each piece added.

Captain Han Solo

Looks great my friend!!!

ozzyguanche

Thanks guys,

I have a few days off, so I should be able to get an outer mandable wall done, or somthing to show on the engine deck. I am not sure what to do about the messerchmit wing. As per usual there is nothing the correct scale. There is a kit that a little too big, although the one rodmart used looks close. I found a paper model today, so maybe out of styrene or bolsa.

Hay!!! wileI am on the subject of bolsa, has anyone got any ideas on how to smooth the bolsa over once I have carved it so it casts smooth. Still getting a #%$ lod of bubles etc in my casts. "Keep on swimming" (Dori the fish)

Ozzy

Scratchy

Steel wool is pretty good to smooth down wood.

ozzyguanche

Thanks I will try it.

Ozzy

crackerjazz

Excellent job, Ozzy!

crackerjazz

Your rebuild has rekindled my desire to build a 1/72nd. I debated whether to get a Finemolds or build the AMT but the pull of the 5-footer design is greater, aside from the difference in price, so the AMT it is. I'm preparing myself for the heeeavvy modifications required.

Anyway, I've got a question, Ozzy. I used Rodmart's ultra-clear enhanced classic top-view (hope you don't mind, Rodmart) to compare the AMT with. Rodmart might be able to help, too. Is there a need to cut the jawbox and mandibles a bit on the AMT? I know it's slight but it kind of throws the sillhouette off.





Did an overlay to see how much to cut. Even the positions of the holes would be affected
though. Think it's worth the trouble?

ozzyguanche

Mate, I dont think its worth the trouble, In fact that plan view of the 5 foot keeps giving me pain as it is slightly off itself. I realy dont think there is that much difference. And also when i plan my side walls out and jaw box inserts etc it works out prety much spot on the way they are. The holes are in the right place as well.

Up to you though. I had though of it, but the more I look the more I think it should be left alone. At least there is a slight toe in LOL.

Captain Han Solo

I am really looking forward to your sidewalls Ozzy!!

ozzyguanche

Hi Beatlepaul,

I have taken a break from the side walls, as I have had some setbacks with sizing the individual parts, and having to start again on some of them. So I moved on to the engine deck. I made the wheel first and have been sizing eveything against that. The wheels in the top are only there for spacing, they will be copies of the one central with some added height to represent the 2 F1s they come from.

Here is a pic of were I am at with the engine deck.



I have accepted the fact I will not be able to reproduce these parts identical to the originals in smaller scale with the skills I have at the moment. So I hope "looks like" quality is acceptable.

The scribe lines of the Hurricane wing are a bit too wide at the moment, Not sure how to fix that or just do another one. What do you think?

Thanks for looking

ozzyguanche

Hi took some closer shots of the pieces. Not finished as you can see,





My casting is getting better, so some styrene tubing a kit base and a press stud top turns into an F1 wheel. Learning heaps as I go.

Ozzy

Captain Han Solo

AWESOME! AWESOME MY FRIEND!!!

crackerjazz

great job, Ozzy! Looking forward to this too, and buying some parts from you

ozzyguanche

Thanks guys.

A question for you both. The engine deck!!! what would be more convienient for you to work with? 1. individual parts and build the deck yourself. RE: sand down the original engine deck (I am planing to make mine removable) or a complete new one/ cut of old replace new? And I suppose the same question for the side walls.

Ozzy

crackerjazz

Hi Ozzy, individual parts for me. I'd probably sand down the deck. Your detachable deck sounds good, too, though. I don't plan to make any change to the hull curvature - would your detachable deck have the same curvature as the original?

Jedi Dade

when I did this for mine i cut the old deck off and made a new semi-removable piece.

Jedi Dade

ozzyguanche

Dont leave it there JD, more info!!!! HOW!

Ozzy

ozzyguanche

Hello,

I am still struggleing with some of the parts for the front madable walls and the engine deck, so no updates till i get something I am not embarrassed the show. I am hopeing to be less crap at it in the near future.

In the meantime I have hacked away at the body of the falcon to see if the new measurments I am comming up with (based on the parts I am making that are used muliple times around the ship) to see if it looks right.

First of all I cut the parts that would be most affected by the "hambergering" of the body. The docking ring halls, and the cockpit tuble.






Then I cut off the fin section at rear (I will be replacing with new ones) and the lower front landing bay (which is tooooo shallow), and the engine exausts on the engine deck. I had planed to reuse these, but I am going to make some new one with actual moving mini electric fans inside them ( ya ya I know dream on LOL.)





this is the correct size for the tank deck. Landing bay box to be sized around it.



Next sanded down the engine deck.



Undecided as to whether to do the drop on engine deck, removable or just greable this. Anyone been here before have an opinion?

Ok next I put in the burger spacer and some electrical conduit for attaching the falcon in different possitions. I used 20mm2 heavy duty conduit so I can put what ever I can find as the side/bottom attachments. I dont have a clear solution yet.



I only attached it to the bottom for the moment so I can figure out what wiring is going into it.

Next (after24 hours waiting for the apoxy to dry) I lowered the height of the spacers around the body to mach my new side wall height of 1.6cm. This is an increase of 1 cm from my original falcon. Ohh and the spacer is 5cm. The spacer is also a change and represents the docking ring size (which I have estimated) matching the walkways being level (does that make sence?)



OK, fitting top and bottom. With the cockpit as well to see how it looks against the side wall height.







Well thats it, even though I have made estimates to try and ensure I get the right sizes for the falcon to be a good representation of the 5 foot falcon, I am also relying on phot reference to see that it has the same look against my own photo's. Not science I know, but the ultimate end result for me is a falcon that "looks" like the 5 foot.

Thaks for looking

Ozzy

tek2graphics

Love your idea with PVC! Thanks!

Captain Han Solo

Awesome my friend!

ozzyguanche

Thanks tek2graphics and BP.

I know I should be concentrating on one part of the falcon at a time and finish something and not be a bit all over the place, but I have done it again anyway.

while sanding down the engine deck, I realised that the engine inserts I had planned adding to the inside of the 6 rear vents would not fit with the current engine light box I had made. So I decided I should at least make one so I can arrange them in a way I can fit it all in the rear space.

Here are the engine vents I have been working on. Purchased some mini fans some time ago, and broke off the blades around the electric motor.



Also had an old engine piece from a plastic toy plane of my sons. Its a little larger than the size of the engine vents, so it should flush under the vent holes. And fits perfectly over the electric fan motors, so as not to hinder its rotation.


From the leftovers of the toy plane I made and fan piece to glue to the electric motor. (all pieces still need to be cleaned up)



Put all those together.



Looks pretty cool spinning away, will try and do a vid.

I used the top part of the toy plane engine that I cut off, which turned out ot taper a bit, and be the right size for the engine vents and made an vent. I used the PE. a member here sent me years ago to finish it off.



I need to raise the PE Heiger in the vent I know!



Should fit spot on once I get the old holes filled and new ones cut on the engine deck.

Now that i know how much room these things are going to take. I have pulled the old engine lights apart to the bare box and clear parts, and will try and incorporate LED's into it instread whch should use less room.





As a memory jolt, I used cardboard for the box, and foil to light proof it. The clear engine vent things are from Plasterers screw gun strips. RE: The plastic strip that actualy holds the screws. It used to have a Fluro in it.

This is what it used to look like with the fluro in it. It had 2 modes, low!


And Hi



So I would like to do something simular.

Here is an idea. Has anyone tried sticking leds into silicon? (I mean the industrial type) If I made an LED strip and imbeded them into block the lenght of my engine jet (vents) would it refract the light around the silicon?

Suggestions?

Ozzy

Captain Han Solo

The Fans look fantastic Ozzy! I need to get a set of those PE Covers!!

The engine lighting looks great, however, I will be going a different route. I think I'll have the Light, but no detailed engine..Like I saw it back in 77!

ozzyguanche

Hi BP, you just going to put a piece of defused plastic like the original?

It a hard call for me with the engine lights and the internal cockpit. Having sen your cockpit with studio scale detail in it, has me rethinking what road to take. Either studio scale all the way, or add the movie feel, of the engines, cockpit, gunn turret etc.

It shouldn't be too hard to frost the plastic strip that came with the MPC kit. may have a go.

Catch ya

Blade90

Most impressive indeed!

ozzyguanche

Thanks Blade90.

Cut and past post today, from SMA forum, didnt have time to re-type.

Back to the body of the falcon. Have filled in the engine holes. Sanded it back and marked it out for the new holes. Made some adjustments to the engine rings as well.





While thining the edge plating I realised that the raised areas inside the plating were the side walls attach were no were near as far back as the should be. The inner walls around the ship should be the same as the inner circle.



So I sanded them down so I could cut the walls and space the ship the right height.



I have marked how far in the walls will go.



I did the same around the mandables as I found the greebles I have made become too high when including the raised parts.



My new wall hight for this build is 1.6cm. So for the mandables it is a 1.2cm spacer, as the thikness of the kit top and bottom are 2mm each.



I have debated with others as to the hight of the curved side walls being the same as the mandables or slightly larger. I of the opinion that the spacers have to be higher, as they are further back in the body of the ship and therefore are higher by 1mm in this build. (sorry didnt take pic).

Other areas worked on are the front mandable strips, both top and bottom. (first pic) they have been lowered to the correct hight. And the piping all over the ship has been removed. I used a sanding disk in a hand drill. The hand drill on low worked much better than the rapid spin of the dremil.





This one needs a bit of work though.


Sorry its a long post.

Lastly after doing a dry fit with the walls in place (spot on 1.6cm) I tried the placement of a few scale parts I have made (none finished) to see if the side wall hight works. I think considering I did these parts from measurments of the real things and scaled them down against the AMT size, that 1.6cm is pretty close. Could actualy be higher, what do you think? Sorry bad pic.



Well thats it. Thanks for looking.

Ozzy