detailing the MPC-ERTL Falcon

HIGHWAYMAN9674

HIGHWAYMAN9674

New Member
hello all,I always was a Falcon fan,so after a few years building models under my belt..I want to built the most super detailed Falcon I can afford..I so want a Fine Molds Falcon but its a no go..600$ for a model is a rent payment...so I got a few kits off the bay...2 Falcons,1 A-wing,1 Y-wing and 1 slave one...so far I collected a nice 12 inch piece of lite tape and a lot of greebies,,but the big thing I am looking for is LEDs ..I was thinking a one of those 7 color turning LEDs,a few red and white one,,but where do I buy my LEDs from??and does any one whew what size computer fans I can use under the engine grills.I always wanted to see them spin on power up...just a idea..any others i would love to hear from you guys..thanks
 
Ive made a few Ertl Falcons, both in New hope styles and Empire Strikes Back) styles, (Empire had two extra landing pods and Hull lights plus various other little differences)

I have never used fans but have used Leds, Must admit I have used a combination of Fibre optics and Acrylic Rod used with the LEDS for things like cockpit lighting and nav lights etc, works well and cuts down the amount of LEDS you need. If you get 12v Leds you could easliy use PC fans aswell and run of a suitable 12v supply even a PC power supply if needed.
 
$600? :confused

Try in the $200 range. $600 was during the time it was out of production, but not now.

$600? :confused

You can get something in Brooklyn for that little?

BTW, I've used Allied Electronics, I think, for my LEDs and associated stuff, but I've also used Radio Shack. There are a couple of good "how-to" articles here or at Starship Modeler. I've got a thread about detailing the MPC Falcon (still not finished) at zone-five.net if you search for threads by my user name dedalus5550. I tried not to focus too much on accuracy, but just on adding lots of detail. You'll probably want to use the Blue Moon or Falcon Kits sets for the sidewalls, if not anything else.
Mike Todd
 
I found a few places online for around 600$ some bids started at 300$.there is no hobby stores that I can find around Brooklyn any more,alot of train stores and comics..I dont mind making a super detailed kit not movies accuracy...I had this idea in my head for years..:)
 
I am not sure about finding any "real" fans to go under the engine vents since this a 1/72 scale kit. There used to be resin parts that were like real fan blades but I never seen them spin..... it would indeed be a really cool effect.

As far as $600 for a Fine Molds Falcon... keep looking. I saw a bunch in that price range but I was able to score one off of eBay for 300 (unopened, in the original container and every piece intact and still in plastic wrap with ZERO defects)....

There is a lighting kit made for the Falcon. VoDooFX has them in stock.
 
Oh, boy.

What the heck is going on? You made me look around at the usual places. SSM doesn't even list the FM kit, neither does HLJ. Lucky Model does, but it lists it as "available" and that doesn't mean much. So are we back to the $600 dollar madness? About 6 months after it went out of production last time, I still found one at my LHS (California) at a fairly normal price of $200, and the store had a Holiday sale of 33% off everything. I got the MF and about 5 other FM kits. And you know what, about 2 weeks ago, the last time I was there, that LHS had a FM MF kit reasonably priced.

So what now? Two years of $600 (and up) for the FM MF until it's re-released and people feel stupid again?
 
JCByrdman said:
I was able to score one off of eBay for 300 (unopened, in the original container and every piece intact and still in plastic wrap with ZERO defects)....

There is a lighting kit made for the Falcon. VoDooFX has them in stock.
Click to expand...

Uno momento. Unopened? How would you know? ...oh, "still in plastic". How'd that happen? Kits in Japan are not shrink wrapped. That happens by importers, but the traditional importer is not how Fine Molds Star Wars kits get to most places outside of Asia (don't know where you are or where the person who sold it to you was). Because of that, I've never seen a FM kit shrink wrapped. I've bought from HLJ, SSM, Lucky, E-bay, and the LHS. I have 29 kits in the stash and two built up (pics upon request). For security and QC, the LHS tapes them shut, and another LHS, a few years ago, told me they had some in stock but they were in the back getting shrink wrapped (but I didn't technically SEE them that way). The issue is moot in your case as you say it was in perfect shape upon inspection.

But I bring this up as I see it as an issue in the sale of model kits. Japanese model companies don't (as far as I know) shrink wrap kits. I would be suspicious of anyone selling a "sealed" FM SW kit because of the distribution network for that particular line of kits--it just isn't normal to be shrinkwrapped without a normal US importer (and this is a result of the licensing restrictions placed on FM). And it's more than that. It's just not hard to get a hold of shrinkwrapping supplies. Anyone can do it. And sellers (I'm thinking specifically of e-bay, here) like to make a kit sound in perfect, complete condition by saying "sealed." And buyers like to think they are buying in confidence when the kit is "sealed." A lot of this is for kits that are long out of production, so if something's wrong, good luck on replacement parts. The seller is mostly protected on ebay, and that now opened kit is somehow regarded as less valuable. (Okay, it IS less valuable if it's missing parts, but I mean less valuable just because it's opened.) I open every kit. If it's in the store, I open it before I leave. Same if it's at a vendor's table. When I bid, or think about bidding, at e-bay, I send a message asking if the seller is willing to open the kit for inspection and guarantee if I win. They are usually fine with it. Just something to think about before you think about the value of "sealed" and "unopened". Are they worth more? Or less?
Mike Todd
 
I would never buy nothing from Voodoo...1st of all I have a vast knowledge in electronics and electrical engineering ,2nd of all I hate how some company's charge people a arm and leg for really cheap components..also I would love to see you picture's on your Falcon..as the opening thing ,years ago they,meaning ATM,ERTL and a few other plastic model company's still used shrink wrapping as a sealer..which now I learned some dishonest seller's opened the product made a mold and re-sealed it..like the 1:12 scale Y-wing I got..140$ in 1998 was a steep rip off for some crappy resin..thanks
 
astroboy said:
what is this acrylic rod and how are you using it???
Click to expand...

if you get some acrylic rod ,( alot of model shops have it in small quantities or you can get it from plastic suppliers, ) cut it to lengths you require for the falcon in the pic below I cut sections to about 15mm long polished both ends and drilled holes in the hull of the falcon so it was a good tight fit and slotted them in, i then used cold cathode tubes to illuminate the whole of the inside giving a good spread of light through the rod.
 
HIGHWAYMAN9674 said:
the pc fans seem like a great idea,but the size I have no clue about .I seen 4 diff on the lights..can you show me the placement of yours??
Click to expand...

laptop fans would probably do, take a look on rsonline and search for fans i would think something like 40mm x 40mm would do (may be slightly large but not too bad) .
re light placement I looked at several views of the falcon and took best guess really, i have some pics of the falcons on the star wars page of my site kitshed .net , feel free to take a look.
 
cool site...you said 40mmx40mm for the PC fans??OK I will start to looks..BTW..I have the light tape from evil bay..and I have a problem..it works when it wants to work,stays on about a min.then it goes off..what a bummer..I think its the inverter...got some LEDs collected,now I am looking for some greebies to make it pop to life...:)
 
Anyone know if there still exist a place to order MPC-ERTL Falcon accurizing kits?

 I recall the kits came with a corrected cockpit, and side panels, but I have not seen them in years...
 
propsculptor said:
Anyone know if there still exist a place to order MPC-ERTL Falcon accurizing kits?

 I recall the kits came with a corrected cockpit, and side panels, but I have not seen them in years...
Click to expand...

I think you're thinking of Falcon Kits.

Here's the site:

Falcon Kits Home Page

I'm not sure whether he's still filling orders, but the site appears to be up and running, so I think there's a good chance that he is. It's worth inquiring, anyway. :)
 
Their PE Grille Details set is incredible!

MMI-77771_206.jpg


Gatekeeper said:
There's also the Blue Moon conversion kit, though its been out of stock for a while now.

I have a spare MMI photoetch landing gear detail set if anyone's interested...
Click to expand...
 
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