Bandai 1/72 Millennium Falcon
- Thread starter Roboted
- Start date
Hunk a Junk
Sr Member
Bandai has to be thinking ahead to a TESB/ROTJ (maybe even a TFA) version of the kit if they molded the bottom hull in two separate pieces. Smart on their part, but there's part of me that thinks for a little more they could've just added the extra hull and gear pieces and given modelers the option of the version they want to build now. Not that I'm complaining.
Jaitea
Master Member
Hmmm.....got me thinking.....how hard would it be to mould & cast that part......& make mods on the copy.....hmmmm......it might just work
J
Hunk a Junk
Sr Member
Replicating the surface details may be the easiest part of that project, J (not that it would actually be easy). The hard part would be engineering the piece to attach to the rest of the kit and make it so the lower jawbox would fit perfectly.
You know, I'm not really sure that Bandai engineered the bottom for future products in mind. Nowadays these kits are all designed on computers, and until the final tooling used to produce the mould is created, everything is virtual. It's all cut and paste. And you're not going to cut a tool in half for future use - you're going to make a brand new tool for each set of parts for a given kit.
So they could easily redesign an ESB-era bottom piece with a few mouse clicks, basically. (okay I'm exaggerating a bit but you know what I mean) I suspect that moulding the saucers in smaller pieces was for mold production reasons more than anything else. When they're ready to produce a revised version of the Falcon for another round of sales, I'm sure they will.
But then, I'm hardly an expert in injection moulding technology, so this is just me sitting back in my virtual armchair, waving my hands about.
So they could easily redesign an ESB-era bottom piece with a few mouse clicks, basically. (okay I'm exaggerating a bit but you know what I mean) I suspect that moulding the saucers in smaller pieces was for mold production reasons more than anything else. When they're ready to produce a revised version of the Falcon for another round of sales, I'm sure they will.
But then, I'm hardly an expert in injection moulding technology, so this is just me sitting back in my virtual armchair, waving my hands about.
I think additional landing gear released by Bandai are high hopes. They would have to approach it one of two ways:
1. Release another perfect grade millennium falcon kit which includes the landing gear, different radar dish, lighting for the front mandibles. But then what do they call it? How do they market it? Bandai Perfect Grade Millennium Falcon #2? Not likely.
2. Then there's the option of Bandai releasing a kit specifically for modifying the PG falcon to make it into the ESB configuration. I don't think Bandai has done this for any other models yet, they seem to prefer releasing complete products.
Also, I imagine Bandai is more focused on their 3ft star destroyer than making PG falcon #2. But I could always be wrong, I may be eating my words in the future.
1. Release another perfect grade millennium falcon kit which includes the landing gear, different radar dish, lighting for the front mandibles. But then what do they call it? How do they market it? Bandai Perfect Grade Millennium Falcon #2? Not likely.
2. Then there's the option of Bandai releasing a kit specifically for modifying the PG falcon to make it into the ESB configuration. I don't think Bandai has done this for any other models yet, they seem to prefer releasing complete products.
Also, I imagine Bandai is more focused on their 3ft star destroyer than making PG falcon #2. But I could always be wrong, I may be eating my words in the future.
Toadmeister
Sr Member
Did you say 3 foot Star Destroyer? Is this the NEW rumor?
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Toadmeister
Sr Member
Go to 3:40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMaGSO-sNp8
You can also find other images of it online. It's certainly a real model, whether it becomes a kit is different. Though my conspiracy theory is the destroyer has been held off for a while to give the PG falcon some room to breath. Once the falcon's run is over, the PG destroyer will take its place. Just theories though.... and personally I like the 1/72 falcon more because of its size and its the falcon vs a potential 3 ft star destroyer that will cost A LOT of money
This is only my imagination, but whether Bandai could produce a 5-landing-gear version has more to do with Disney's licensing policies rather than pure demand. It is common practice for licensors to maximize profit by making their licenses exclusive, which also has the effect of minimizing unwanted cannibalism between similar merchandise and diversifying the product range. The reason Bandai produced the ANH version, may have been due to decisions by Disney, or to do with contracts between Disney and other parties which produce large models of the ESB version.
Again, only my imagination.
Again, only my imagination.
Roboted
Well-Known Member
I doubt the license they have excludes ESB models as they have AT-ATs,Slave 1 and a snowspeeder which are all ESB.
The PerfectGrade falcon is in direct competition with the Revell Fine Molds kit.
Its definatly going to happen in regards to the ESB falcon later down the road but this PG falcon is about to be milked for every doller possible.
Im thinking it may be two years or even more before they release an altered version.
I could buy that more easily if they hadn't done the upper saucer-hull as a single piece (not counting all the add-on bits, obviously). Doing the lower hull so noticeably differently -- and in a way that would allow easy replacement of that lower-forward section -- puts me in the "they intend to do an ESB piece as an alternative part" camp.
My hunch is that they did as much as was not directly contradictory to the ANH 5-footer as possible (not getting into a rear grille debate here), with the intention of reworking the lower hull pieces and mandible tips for a future release (holes for all the ESB running/landing/head lights). Those holes would require material added to any existing dies, rather than milling more out, so I'm going to say they make new dies for the ESB versions of those parts, but the rest stand as they are. Whether they also do a TFA rectenna or put all the parts options in a single box, I couldn't guess.
Me, I'm mentally girding myself for the full interior and removable top plates that I want to do. Everyone's expertise on display so far is a tremendous help and inspiration.
--Jonah
Hunk a Junk
Sr Member
That's my thought too. By separating out JUST that section, they can replace only that one sprue in a future release to get the 5-gear version. Of course, we'll have to see where the mandible caps are located on other sprues to get a better idea, but the way they've engineered the kit certainly makes the job of releasing an TESB version easier. It was mentioned earlier how Bandai could release another version when they're calling this one "Perfect Grade." Simple: "Perfect Grade Millennium Falcon, The Empire Strikes Back Edition." Ka-Ching.
If you can pull this off you'll be a God! Bandai's internal engineering is going to make adding an interior virtually impossible, I think. Just the jawbox connection points on the upper hull piece alone would go right through the middle of the main hold area. Nothing is impossible, but...
Thomas Guycott
Active Member
Considering that they regularly churn out 4-5 versions of a base mobile suit model from the Gundam franchise, I wouldn't worry at all about how Bandai names an ESB variant.
If you can pull this off you'll be a God! Bandai's internal engineering is going to make adding an interior virtually impossible, I think. Just the jawbox connection points on the upper hull piece alone would go right through the middle of the main hold area. Nothing is impossible, but...Me, I'm mentally girding myself for the full interior and removable top plates that I want to do. Everyone's expertise on display so far is a tremendous help and inspiration.
I was waiting for the unboxing pics to start turning up. The shots of the instructions have helped, too. I'm already starting to see where I can use that to my advantage, by cutting carefully-shaped passthroughs and recesses and such to help support -- and support the supports for -- the interiors. I admit I'll be utterly dependent on Shapeways artists for things like the chessboard, couch, chair, consoles, walls, and so forth. But the less of that I have to do the better, since I'm taking an "idealized" approach to actually make the interior and exterior make sense.
If I'd been thinking I would have gotten one of these and started chopping up the dorsal saucer for when I get a (theoretical, at this point) ESB version, so as to not have to deal with even the minimal material removal from a jeweler's saw blade. At this point, I'm still figuring out what/how much I want to try to show, and the method of doing so. I already know ceilings and corridor tops will come off with the outer hull so the corridors and rooms underneath can be seen into, otherwise what's the point, right? I know I'm going to leave the top gunwell, cockpit tube, and jawbox spine perma-mounted. Unsure about the engine-vent wedge and the airlock tubes. It's a fun mental exercise.
--Jonah
Bones_68
Sr Member
This does look like a beautiful, well thought out kit. Some of those photos look so clean I thought they might be computer renderings at first. As a novice, I don't trust myself with a $400 model but if they do make the Empire version, it would definitely increase the temptation.
In the meantime, it'll be fun to see what some of you do with this beauty in the coming months. I.P.'s idea for a cut-away version sounds especially cool.
In the meantime, it'll be fun to see what some of you do with this beauty in the coming months. I.P.'s idea for a cut-away version sounds especially cool.
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