starks
Sr Member
Hi everyone,
I just recently finished up on this build and posted my progress over on the Fine Scale Modeler Forums but am going to re post it here. When I was initially trying to find reference to guys building this model and especially the painting I struggled for information and sent a few messages to people questioning on base colours etc and did not get a response which I found frustrating so I hope my build, although basic, may be of help to some others.
I have found quite a few threads on building the FM falcon over here that I didn't see originally and man are there some great builds and I take my hat off to the guys that really go to the effort for altering the kit for accuracy to the studio model. Unfortunately that is not me and I just wanted a good representation of the falcon so things like trying to get colours and weathering close were more of a big deal to me.
22 years ago at 14 my dad bought me the MPC falcon which I built but never painted successfully. In a hobby store some years ago I saw a completed build which I'm not sure of the make but were these sold through sideshow? MR perhaps? and thought gee that's cool but I can not afford it so maybe I will build another. I bought another MPC kit and soon realised how inaccurate it is. I tried purchasing upgrade parts but after paying the vendor he never made or sent the parts and stopped replying to my messages so that put a stop to that dream. There was no Bandai falcon at that time and personally I prefer the Empire Falcon and I soon learnt about the Fine Molds kit and although expensive I made the purchase.
I wanted to have a couple of things. engine and cockpit lighting, a detailed cockpit and upgraded engine fans.
I started with buying A PE set that had an upgraded cockpit allowing for lighting and had engine grilles which I wanted. The PE cockpit was good but the printing of the provided decals were terrible. They showed a brown and beige cockpit.... which is far from accurate and the supplied FM figures for the cockpit were terrible. feeling a bit dissapointed in where this was heading I shelved the project.
Fast forward a few years I decided it is time to look at this again. I bought an upgraded cockpit from 308 Bits on shapeways and some clear engine nozzles. I had my PE grills and some engine fans. and I purchased a Madman Fast Tramp freighter lighting kit.
This is a big kit with over 800 pieces so slowly going together. The engine fans are not accurate to the studio model but that's ok, we will see a fan that will give the build some life.
Here are our engine fans, some clean up required! These require you to cut, in my case dremel, out the fan housing which had a molded mock grille in place to place the fan inside.
With the body having most of the greeblies attatched, it is time for me to look at lighting and building a light box.
I built a light box to fit in behind the engine nozzles. I first built the box. I drew the pieces out in Corel and cut them in 3mm clear acrylic. the kit has a box the engine nozzles sit in so I measured the length of the meeting face to the lighting box and was able to hold the engine box up to the screen to get the correct curvature.
Next I cut the pieces out on the laser, curved the front and rear walls with a heat gun and glued them together. The lighting box needed some holes drilled to clear locating holes inside the falcons body.
I dremeled out the back of the engine box and then fitted the lighting box in place and secured everything with foil tape. This will give some reflection inside the box.
Time to do some wiring. Now as much as I want a super bright engine it needs to be a scale light I suppose and I dont want a flash light shining out the back so to speak. I am building this as a flying model so no landing or red marker lights underneath.
The Madman lighting kit allows 6 engine LEDs and I used 2 for the headlights and 3 to light the cockpit circuit
The original films show just a white light coming out the back of the falcon but further films and marketing material show a blue band around a white light or all blue. The kit provided all blue LEDs for the engines. I dedcided to run 4 central white LEDs and 2 blues on the outside to give the engines a blue hue on the ends
Our LEDs fitted into the engine and test
Wiring on the inside. I ran a cable and plug for a transformer that sits inside the docking bay door, I drilled a hole underneath to allow plug access. The glue to fix in place is still drying so the tape is still securing the plug here. I mounted it here as I plan on eventually displaying the model with that side of the ship back into a wall with the cockpit side facing out so to me it seemed sensible.
Engine Test!
and a light altered closeup allowing you to see the 308Bits clear engine nozzles in place
I just recently finished up on this build and posted my progress over on the Fine Scale Modeler Forums but am going to re post it here. When I was initially trying to find reference to guys building this model and especially the painting I struggled for information and sent a few messages to people questioning on base colours etc and did not get a response which I found frustrating so I hope my build, although basic, may be of help to some others.
I have found quite a few threads on building the FM falcon over here that I didn't see originally and man are there some great builds and I take my hat off to the guys that really go to the effort for altering the kit for accuracy to the studio model. Unfortunately that is not me and I just wanted a good representation of the falcon so things like trying to get colours and weathering close were more of a big deal to me.
22 years ago at 14 my dad bought me the MPC falcon which I built but never painted successfully. In a hobby store some years ago I saw a completed build which I'm not sure of the make but were these sold through sideshow? MR perhaps? and thought gee that's cool but I can not afford it so maybe I will build another. I bought another MPC kit and soon realised how inaccurate it is. I tried purchasing upgrade parts but after paying the vendor he never made or sent the parts and stopped replying to my messages so that put a stop to that dream. There was no Bandai falcon at that time and personally I prefer the Empire Falcon and I soon learnt about the Fine Molds kit and although expensive I made the purchase.
I wanted to have a couple of things. engine and cockpit lighting, a detailed cockpit and upgraded engine fans.
I started with buying A PE set that had an upgraded cockpit allowing for lighting and had engine grilles which I wanted. The PE cockpit was good but the printing of the provided decals were terrible. They showed a brown and beige cockpit.... which is far from accurate and the supplied FM figures for the cockpit were terrible. feeling a bit dissapointed in where this was heading I shelved the project.
Fast forward a few years I decided it is time to look at this again. I bought an upgraded cockpit from 308 Bits on shapeways and some clear engine nozzles. I had my PE grills and some engine fans. and I purchased a Madman Fast Tramp freighter lighting kit.
This is a big kit with over 800 pieces so slowly going together. The engine fans are not accurate to the studio model but that's ok, we will see a fan that will give the build some life.
Here are our engine fans, some clean up required! These require you to cut, in my case dremel, out the fan housing which had a molded mock grille in place to place the fan inside.
With the body having most of the greeblies attatched, it is time for me to look at lighting and building a light box.
I built a light box to fit in behind the engine nozzles. I first built the box. I drew the pieces out in Corel and cut them in 3mm clear acrylic. the kit has a box the engine nozzles sit in so I measured the length of the meeting face to the lighting box and was able to hold the engine box up to the screen to get the correct curvature.
Next I cut the pieces out on the laser, curved the front and rear walls with a heat gun and glued them together. The lighting box needed some holes drilled to clear locating holes inside the falcons body.
I dremeled out the back of the engine box and then fitted the lighting box in place and secured everything with foil tape. This will give some reflection inside the box.
Time to do some wiring. Now as much as I want a super bright engine it needs to be a scale light I suppose and I dont want a flash light shining out the back so to speak. I am building this as a flying model so no landing or red marker lights underneath.
The Madman lighting kit allows 6 engine LEDs and I used 2 for the headlights and 3 to light the cockpit circuit
The original films show just a white light coming out the back of the falcon but further films and marketing material show a blue band around a white light or all blue. The kit provided all blue LEDs for the engines. I dedcided to run 4 central white LEDs and 2 blues on the outside to give the engines a blue hue on the ends
Our LEDs fitted into the engine and test
Wiring on the inside. I ran a cable and plug for a transformer that sits inside the docking bay door, I drilled a hole underneath to allow plug access. The glue to fix in place is still drying so the tape is still securing the plug here. I mounted it here as I plan on eventually displaying the model with that side of the ship back into a wall with the cockpit side facing out so to me it seemed sensible.
Engine Test!
and a light altered closeup allowing you to see the 308Bits clear engine nozzles in place
