Bandai 1/72 PG Millennium Falcon (also the Revell Germany rebox)

[astroboy]

Re: Bandai (& Reboxed as Revell) 1/72 PG Millennium Falcon

Actually, I want one more Solo film because I don't think he's quite the man he is by the time of ANH. He's nowhere as cynical and world-weary as Ford's character. He's still the "I have a good feeling about this," guy. But it's a moot point because we'll never get that movie. So, as a one-off stand-alone origin story, I'm glad it ticked off enough boxes that it left me satisfied.

I'd love another solo film. I really liked the character a lot. (The only character thing I hated was lando's costume. In ESB it's established that he's dressing like a businessman, not the scoundrel that he used to be)

I'm literally talking about the rammed in iconography. Falcon? Dice? Blaster? Chewie? Lando? Job with the hutts? Kessel run?

All those very basic things about han were established in ANH and ESB.

And they felt that they had to throw them all in here.

I think it would have been a much better film if they didn't do any of it. Did that need to be the Kessel run? If it wasn't, then we would have a larger character with a larger story.

But chosing to ram it all in actually strangles the story somewhat.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[korben44]

Re: Bandai (& Reboxed as Revell) 1/72 PG Millennium Falcon

I'd have to disagree... These are things we wanted to know 'how and why' they happened. I mean, what would a Han Solo origin story be without the Kessel run? Who would Han be without Chewie and Lando? Yeah, we knew about them in the OT, but we didn't really know how they happened or why... I think there will be at least one more Solo movie, or at least a tie in with the Jabba the Hutt in some other movie.

The issues you have with Solo are what make the movie, and the character, great... At least from my point of view. People like to throw out, 'well this is a movie that didn't need to be made...' You know what? That can be said about any movie, ever. No movie has to be made. Star Wars never had to be made. But I'm grateful that it was and that we have had the movies we have. I'm looking forward to Episode IX next year and the Mandalorian tv show... Exciting stuff!

 

[Hunk a Junk]

Re: Bandai (& Reboxed as Revell) 1/72 PG Millennium Falcon

I'd love another solo film. I really liked the character a lot. (The only character thing I hated was lando's costume. In ESB it's established that he's dressing like a businessman, not the scoundrel that he used to be)

I'm literally talking about the rammed in iconography. Falcon? Dice? Blaster? Chewie? Lando? Job with the hutts? Kessel run?

All those very basic things about han were established in ANH and ESB.

And they felt that they had to throw them all in here.

I think it would have been a much better film if they didn't do any of it. Did that need to be the Kessel run? If it wasn't, then we would have a larger character with a larger story.

But chosing to ram it all in actually strangles the story somewhat.

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Definitely see your point. I think this was a case where Solo was the first screenplay commissioned after the sale to Disney. Kasdan was hired to write it before he was brought on to TFA to redo it with JJ. So Disney's mantra at the time was definitely "give the fans what they want." Honestly, I can easily imagine the reactions if there wasn't a Kessel Run in the film. Or the Sabacc game. Or Lando. I'd bet there would be fans complaining that Disney was ripping them off by not having a Han Solo film with those elements. As an unapologetic prequel fan, I like when Star Wars is unconventional and breaks the mold (TLJ notwithstanding), so I too wish they could've stretched the story a little. But we're stuck with a loud, dysfunctional fan base that has zero tolerance for risk.

 

[JoeCS]

Re: Bandai (& Reboxed as Revell) 1/72 PG Millennium Falcon

View attachment 850258

That interior looks familiar.... Nice work by the way, I'm thinking I didn't need to go through all that work, you would have found a way to make the interior anyway!

 

[Hunk a Junk]

Re: Bandai (& Reboxed as Revell) 1/72 PG Millennium Falcon

That interior looks familiar.... Nice work by the way, I'm thinking I didn't need to go through all that work, you would have found a way to make the interior anyway!

Oh, I was going to make the original cockpit, but you saved me a ton of time and work -- and yours is hands down better than mine would've ever been! In fact, I don't think I did your work the justice it deserves.

I did run into some trouble when it came time to fit it into the cone, though. Your instructions call for assembling the components as a single unit and then inserting it into the cone. I did that, but I made myself a problem because I thinned the frames on the windows to be more in scale with the 5-footer. This resulted in gaps on the sides and at the top. So I disassembled the pieces and glued the two sides in directly to the cone walls to make them flush. Unfortunately, I still had a gap at the top above the overhead control panel decal. I decided to live with it. I did manage to glue an amber micro-chip LED behind the upper control panel. With some fiddling, I got it to show through the gauges similar to how it looks in ANH.

 

[thorst]

Re: Bandai (& Reboxed as Revell) 1/72 PG Millennium Falcon

I totally agree with astroboy that they should not have tackled all of Han's past in one movie.

Especially for the Kessel run and the Falcon, the approach they chose didn't fit with why I liked the character before. I always imagined that he relied on luck with his smuggler business, but when it comes to being a pilot and owner of the spaceship, he was a skilled and experienced man who knows more than anyone else. He would have managed the Kessel run faster than anyone else because he modified the falcon to what we saw in ANH for some years, making it visually to the hunk of junk we all know but adding a lot of capabilities to it. It was a labour of love for him. And he must have been a cold blooded pilot who planned the trip carefully.

What we saw in Solo made me think that he had neither of those skills, but that he was only lucky. The Falcon we see in ANH is nothing special but they only ripped off the outer shell. And to make it run fast, they only incected some special fuel... could be done with every X-wing. No need for a special engine pack as in TLJ!

The story I would have preferred was a long development and not an exciting ride of a few days.

 

[Hunk a Junk]

Re: Bandai (& Reboxed as Revell) 1/72 PG Millennium Falcon

I totally agree with astroboy that they should not have tackled all of Han's past in one movie.

Especially for the Kessel run and the Falcon, the approach they chose didn't fit with why I liked the character before.

Well, those are two different things. Either too much was tackled in one movie or the way they handled Han's past didn't happen the way you'd would've liked for the character you imagined. If it's the latter, then no movie would've satisfied your expectations unless you were the one making it.

And to make it run fast, they only injected some special fuel... could be done with every X-wing.

You're forgetting that it was Han's idea to plug L3's memory into the ship's navi-computer. It wasn't just the fuel. Han made an on-the-fly modification that made the ship itself better. So, over the entire sequence, you saw Han proving his boast that he was a great pilot, modifying the ship to do what it couldn't have done before, and then threading the needle using his skills to get them to safety. I'd argue the movie showed it was more than just luck.

The story I would have preferred was a long development and not an exciting ride of a few days.

I think the argument could be made we haven't seen all of Han's past -- which is what would make at least one more movie an exciting option. Yes, fans knew about the Kessel Run and the Sabacc game. Did we see Jabba? No. Did we see Han dumping his shipment of spice that put him on Jabba's hit list? Nope. What did we get that was new: Did anyone know about Qi'ra? Or Beckett? Or Enfys Nest? Origin stories about beloved, iconic characters are often a no win scenario. You have to hit most of the things people expect, but at the same time offer something new, but do so in a way that matches every fan's imagined past for the character. Really, it's an impossible task (just ask George Lucas). Given how Han is a lightening rod character for many fans (especially when and how he shoots), I think Solo did about as good of job as could possibly be expected.

I'm definitely not saying everyone needs to like or praise the film, but personally I'm enjoying the heck out of it.

 

[thorst]

Re: Bandai (& Reboxed as Revell) 1/72 PG Millennium Falcon

Well, those are two different things. Either too much was tackled in one movie or the way they handled Han's past didn't happen the way you'd would've liked for the character you imagined. If it's the latter, then no movie would've satisfied your expectations unless you were the one making it.

It's linked. They tried to tackle all of our expectations at once, and I absolutely don't want to argue against people liking it. But while trying to deliver answers to everything at once (at least the three most important attributes of Han, the Falcon, his friendship to Chewie, and the Kessel run) and in a very short time, they left out the opportunity to provide a different set of explanations to the character which would have served those who didn't like this one. In the way I see him at the end of Solo, he and his story lacks depth and development. I liked Rogue One much more as they didn't try to squeeze too much fan-service in it. It worked very well I think.

You're forgetting that it was Han's idea to plug L3's memory into the ship's navi-computer. It wasn't just the fuel. Han made an on-the-fly modification that made the ship itself better. So, over the entire sequence, you saw Han proving his boast that he was a great pilot, modifying the ship to do what it couldn't have done before, and then threading the needle using his skills to get them to safety. I'd argue the movie showed it was more than just luck.

But I still don't see what is so special then about Han's Falcon. He could have taken any ship for that. The way it was presented in Solo, I don't see the meaning of Han's labour of love-wise words in ANH.

It's just my personal opinion, but for me the movie was just not a labour of love. It was produce to get us into the cinema, and for me, it shows, just like TFA and TLJ. Rogue one was different. And I always liked the prequels, too (now beat me ;-))

 

[Hunk a Junk]

Re: Bandai (& Reboxed as Revell) 1/72 PG Millennium Falcon

But I still don't see what is so special then about Han's Falcon. He could have taken any ship for that. The way it was presented in Solo, I don't see the meaning of Han's labour of love-wise words in ANH.

Well, we learn a few things in the film. First, his initial awe at seeing the ship doesn't just come out of nowhere. He tells Lando that his dad worked on the YT assembly line on Correllia -- a fact I don't think any fan knew about Han or the Falcon's backstory. In fact, the moment he mentioned his father I thought to myself: "Okay, in the sequel I bet we're going to meet Han's dad somewhere and it could be the Star Wars version of the Indy/Henry Jones Sr. relationship in Last Crusade." That's something the film doesn't cover that could be important to the character. So Han has a personal affinity for the YT model based on his family history. We also know from jump that the Falcon is already an "incredibly fast ship." That's why they specifically sought it out for this particular mission in the first place. What made it so fast? Well, Lando made some modifications (more for comfort than speed, granted) but the difference maker is L3. Traveling fast in space is as much about math as it is about speed. "Without precise calculations..." So combine Han's personal connection, the Falcon's previous modifications, L3, the coaxiom, and the fact that Han modified it to save their bacon, and I can see why he quickly develops a deep love for the ship.

 

[DerfOnarged]

Re: Bandai (& Reboxed as Revell) 1/72 PG Millennium Falcon

Well, we learn a few things in the film. First, his initial awe at seeing the ship doesn't just come out of nowhere. He tells Lando that his dad worked on the YT assembly line on Correllia -- a fact I don't think any fan knew about Han or the Falcon's backstory. In fact, the moment he mentioned his father I thought to myself: "Okay, in the sequel I bet we're going to meet Han's dad somewhere and it could be the Star Wars version of the Indy/Henry Jones Sr. relationship in Last Crusade." That's something the film doesn't cover that could be important to the character. So Han has a personal affinity for the YT model based on his family history. We also know from jump that the Falcon is already an "incredibly fast ship." That's why they specifically sought it out for this particular mission in the first place. What made it so fast? Well, Lando made some modifications (more for comfort than speed, granted) but the difference maker is L3. Traveling fast in space is as much about math as it is about speed. "Without precise calculations..." So combine Han's personal connection, the Falcon's previous modifications, L3, the coaxiom, and the fact that Han modified it to save their bacon, and I can see why he quickly develops a deep love for the ship.

Something else I found cool about L3 being plugged into the Falcon was C-3P0 saying he doesn't "know where your ship learned to communicate, but it has the most peculiar dialect” in ESB.

 

[astroboy]

Re: Bandai (& Reboxed as Revell) 1/72 PG Millennium Falcon

The thing is, I'm always looking for narrative creativity.

One of the reasons that both doctor who and stargate could last forever are that they both offer a tool that creates infinite stories. They have a literal open door

The problem with "the hand solo checklist" is twofold.

#1 they checked them all off.

#2 by even creating the checklist, they have told the audience that these are the only things that matter


And both of them tell us that we don't need any more stories about Han Solo. They closed the door. And that has come true. Disney has already said that they need to slow down and rethink how they do stuff.

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[Hunk a Junk]

Re: Bandai (& Reboxed as Revell) 1/72 PG Millennium Falcon

The problem with "the hand solo checklist" is twofold.

#1 they checked them all off.

#2 by even creating the checklist, they have told the audience that these are the only things that matter

There is no actual checklist. That's a term WE, as fans, create for the purposes of discussing the film. The filmmakers definitely had things they felt a Han Solo origin film should cover, however, and they surely assumed there are things the fans would want/demand to see. How Han and Chewie met, how he got the Falcon, the Kessel Run, etc. There ARE things, however, they didn't cover and clearly were planning for the next film, like Han's encounter with a "big time gangster putting together a crew." But in introducing things fans didn't know about -- like Qi'ra, Beckett, and Enfys Nest -- they are saying there ARE other things that matter in the backstory than just the stuff on fans' "checklist." Who knew Darth Maul was part of Han's backstory? Maybe one more Han Solo film would provide the narrative creativity you seek? They could bring in Han's factory-worker father. They could show Han's first encounter with Boba Fett. They could resolve the romantic subplot with Qu'ra. They could resolve Maul's involvement with Crimson Dawn. I think there's still a sizeable gap between the enthusiastic Han we see at the end of Solo and the dismissive Harrison Ford version in ANH.

Disney has already said that they need to slow down and rethink how they do stuff.

That's as much about the TLJ backlash as it is about Solo's box office. What they say is public is mostly spin, but money is definitely the bottom line. Rogue One had to reshoot it's entire third act and Solo was essentially filmed twice after they changed directors. Those production problems cost big time money -- and Disney does not like to lose money. So no, we won't get any more Solo theatrical movies.

 

[korben44]

Re: Bandai (& Reboxed as Revell) 1/72 PG Millennium Falcon

The thing is, I'm always looking for narrative creativity.

One of the reasons that both doctor who and stargate could last forever are that they both offer a tool that creates infinite stories. They have a literal open door

Are you looking at just Han Solo with what you said in mind? Because if you look at Star Wars as a whole, the same thing can be said. There are infinite stories to be told. But, if we look at just Han, then there is a finite amount of things that can be done because we know so much about who he is and what happens to him. We are all entitled to our own opinions, of course, but I feel that Solo was very creative and enjoyable.

 

[Dedalus5550]

I know we have kinda gotten off the beaten path, but while we're still here, I am curious about the many Star Wars novels. I haven't read any of them as reading sci-fi isn't my thing. (Also, I'm an English teacher and an avid reader, so my stack of books of to read is always high, so I never have that extra time.) First, is Solo based on one or a few books in particular? But more so, are there some really good books that would make for good stories? Are there books that people can't wait to be made into a movie?
Thanks,
Mike Todd

 

[korben44]

I know we have kinda gotten off the beaten path, but while we're still here, I am curious about the many Star Wars novels. I haven't read any of them as reading sci-fi isn't my thing. (Also, I'm an English teacher and an avid reader, so my stack of books of to read is always high, so I never have that extra time.) First, is Solo based on one or a few books in particular? But more so, are there some really good books that would make for good stories? Are there books that people can't wait to be made into a movie?
Thanks,
Mike Todd

I did read about 20-30 of the EU books back in the day, but they are no longer canon. As far as I know, Solo is not based on any of these books. There are some new ones out now, but I haven't been following them or read anything since Disney took the reigns. I was always a fan of Timothy Zahn's Thrawn series and the ones with the Yuzan Vong. I'd consider them the alternate universe stories now, though... Much like Star Trek and the new movies compared to the old.

 

[Jaitea]

Re: Bandai (& Reboxed as Revell) 1/72 PG Millennium Falcon

BTW, before things get too far into the weeds on Solo, here's the nonsense I did to my PG lower gunport compared to the 5-footer.
View attachment 850254View attachment 850255

Yeah, that's faux internal wiring I scratched up using left over electrical wire and brass tube sections. Doing my best to duplicate the 1977 5-footer, warts and all.

Wow H a J, this is fantastic....love the paintwork also

J

 

[Sent]

tl;dr disney removed old books, and right after that started to rip them off, reusing whole characters and subplots in their "new" movies and shows. I was never big fan of Expanded Universe because it's often lazy and unimaginative (how many superweapons and TIE fighter variants Empire could create?) but Disney proved to be even worse, especially with their tendency for killing off old characters and bringing them back constantly for marketing purposes, because their new characters aren't interesting enough to carry on the movies/books by themselves. Whole Ray-Kylo thing is just shallower version of Jaine-Jacen Solo story, for example.

I could spend hours and hours bashing disneys SW, especially for The Last Jedi and how disney reacted to feedback, but I dont think it's that interesting - lets just say that my interest in Disney SW was killed permanently. What I find amusing, is how RPF is the only place I saw, where new SW is considered good by the majority of the community lol

 

[Hunk a Junk]

Re: Bandai (& Reboxed as Revell) 1/72 PG Millennium Falcon

Wow H a J, this is fantastic....love the paintwork also

J

Thanks, J! The lower gunport window and quad gun mount also slot into place so that the model can be displayed on the regular Bandai stand.
Or, the model can be flown around the room by making "RRRRROOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH" engine noises. Not that I do that.

 

[Hunk a Junk]

What I find amusing, is how RPF is the only place I saw, where new SW is considered good by the majority of the community lol

The current Solo comments in this thread notwithstanding, RPFers are generally interested in the vehicles and in modeling/recreating those vehicles. IMO, Rogue One had some cool ships, so I'm happy to make those and talk about them. TLJ had gorilla walkers that I think are silly, lazy designs and, consequently, I don't model them nor talk about them (except on rare occasions like this). So, there's a mixture of good, bad, and indifference. As for the films themselves, the praise/criticism is similarly back and forth as it is in the rest of fandom. At least from my perspective.

 

[korben44]

tl;dr disney removed old books, and right after that started to rip them off, reusing whole characters and subplots in their "new" movies and shows. I was never big fan of Expanded Universe because it's often lazy and unimaginative (how many superweapons and TIE fighter variants Empire could create?) but Disney proved to be even worse, especially with their tendency for killing off old characters and bringing them back constantly for marketing purposes, because their new characters aren't interesting enough to carry on the movies/books by themselves. Whole Ray-Kylo thing is just shallower version of Jaine-Jacen Solo story, for example.

I could spend hours and hours bashing disneys SW, especially for The Last Jedi and how disney reacted to feedback, but I dont think it's that interesting - lets just say that my interest in Disney SW was killed permanently. What I find amusing, is how RPF is the only place I saw, where new SW is considered good by the majority of the community lol

To be honest, the majority of people who like Star Wars like the new movies. I'm one of them. You can't argue that they are bad movies because they killed off your favorite characters. Luke is my favorite, but I don't hate Disney or Rian Johnson for what happened. I was also sad when Chewie died in the EU books.

You want to see terrible SW movies, then look no further than the Ewok Adventures films...lol... Sure, some of the new ships may seem lazy, but these are good additions to the greatest sci-fi adventure of all time!