4' (AKA 5 foot) Falcon build

[Shamon]

It would certainly seem easier to cut the Centurion part than the bridge although, if the ILM guys are gluing bits into the pit well, more or less at random, would they have started with the bridge part? It seems to me they would have started with the Centurion deck, and if so, why cut it?

Maybe they just placed various bits into the well, figured out what they were going for, and then cut the parts as required.

You're very likely correct, I'm just trying to understand the thought process that was involved here in creating the original.

This is a very difficult problem. You have to look at the back of the bridge to see which one they chose. Probably the correct answer remains a mystery.

This is a story of possibility, but what if the McLaren pit had been completed first? If so, it's no wonder that the first parts they prepared for Chieftain pit were bridges and Payhauler frames. And the installation position of these was determined before the Centurion engine deck was glued.

 

[Shamon]

Also, according to my guess, the connecting part of the bridge is here.

 

[RealDaveWinter]

I'm beginning to think that the 'floor' of the pit is not level to the ground plane, but is sloped.

On the right is a rough, but full sized, laser scan of the mechanical pit I have made, underneath a laser scan of the Bandai kit hull that has been scaled up to full size. The Bandai pit is too deep and has the wrong spacing between parts, but the hole in the hull should be correct.

As you can see, there's some interference on the forward end. That goes away if I do one of two things;
1. Set the depth of the pit to that of the Bandai kit, which I think we have settled on as being incorrect based on the back wall.
2. Or, slope the forward end of the pit roughly 3 degrees.

I've double checked the heights of the forward Chieftain parts, and they seem correct to me. So I do not think that is the problem. Making the large assumption that my mechanical pit assembly is correct, and the hole in the Bandai kit hull is correct, then I think the floor needs to be inclined slightly for the forward portion to fit under the dome shells.

This is the pit with the 3 degree slope added to the floor. Everything seems to be in the right place more or less, there will always bee some tweaks. The orange outline is the perimeter of the pit floor, which is basically the same as the Bandai kit scaled up.

Anyway, given the lack of reference materials of the original lower pits, at some point I'm just going to have to call it and move forward with what I have, even if I'm not happy with it.

 

[RealDaveWinter]

Also, according to my guess, the connecting part of the bridge is here.

It certainly could be! It would be easier to do that than to cut off the ends and glue them together.

Also, you feel the flat side of the bridge parts should face inwards?

 

[Shamon]

It certainly could be! It would be easier to do that than to cut off the ends and glue them together.

Also, you feel the flat side of the bridge parts should face inwards?

It is true that there is a question about why I chose a flat side, but I couldn't find a shadow or feature that showed that it was the opposite side. I don't know if my choice is right.