McQuarrie Falcon in 1/144

[TX1300]

Hi all! I’m new to the forum, and sort of new to modifying kits and scratch building. Inspired by a recent trip to Disney’s Galaxy’s Edge and a visit to the Shapeways website, I’ve started a new model of the Millennium Falcon based on the Bandai 1/144 Solo kit, augmented with (quite a few) parts from Shapeways.

I’ve also never done any lighting before, but this project has me motivated, and I’m really liking how it is coming together. I plan to post updates, and probably questions, as I go- I hope this might be interesting to some.

First series is my first steps with a 3D modeled cockpit from Shapeways (by 308 Bits).

 

[Analyzer]

The solo Falcon was not my favorite design so seeing it turned into a McQuarrie Falcon will be fun to follow along

 

[TX1300]

At this stage, everything is very rough, it’s a lot of cutting apart, and pondering. The pondering is the hard part. I’m very into the idea of modeling a great deal of the interior, and opening as many views inside as I can. I’m not trying to capture any one particular image or version of the ship, but rather a certain feel. Since this model is based on concept drawings, I like the flexibility that gives me for a first project while I build skills.

 

[TX1300]

I have so much sanding ahead of me...

 

[thegnome]

I like it! Good job and welcome to the world of RPF!

 

[moffeaton]

Neat! He ported my model down to 1/144! I had no idea.

McQuarrie/Johnston Millennium Falcon – Mystery10

 

[TX1300]

Jason, that is truly tremendous work. Most impressive.

 

[3Dsf]

Hey awesome - really great to see my interior parts being used.

How are the sightlines? I designed them specifically to have only enough corridor and wall to be seen when viewed through the rather small hole in the Bandai kit's roof. If the hole is bigger I wonder if the edges of the corridors and stuff are visible.

 

[TX1300]

Thanks for making them available! Even with the roof ripped open, the corridors still look pretty great. I’m posting several poor photos, in the absence of fewer good ones. I’m still testing out paint colors, too. Lighting the corridor closer to the doors with the interior of the saucer painted black will probably make the sharp ends of the corridor to disappear. I’m toying with the idea of opening the cockpit corridor area, which will be a different story. If I can make that work, I might toss a closed bulkhead door into the end, or maybe graft some styrene on to extend the corridor out of view. I’m not 100% sure I’ll be able to do it yet.

 

[3Dsf]

They're looking pretty good!

The initial version of the Landon Falcon corridor model extended all the way up to bulkhead doors. I ended up editing those out since you can't see them when peering through the tiny Bandai roof opening.

 

[Atlast93]

I love how this is turning out. I believe I'll have to gather the funds and do one of these up myself!

 

[TX1300]

Hey all, brief update on progress. I still haven’t figured out how I want to do the cockpit corridor, but it’s coming along slowly (holidays slowed things down more than I expected). I obviously still have a lot of filling and sanding to do, and especially filling along the mandibles. Right now the cockpit is held in place with a few magnets, and will probably stay that way to make access for the lighting down the road. I’m also trying to psych myself up to cut the two extra landing gear wells out of the bottom saucer. !!

 

[Constantine]

Very nice work looking forward to more.

 

[TX1300]

A little closer...

 

[3Dsf]

I did a bunch of work on a 1:144 cockpit corridor part but never released it as it has such fiddly geometry. Are you looking for the cockpit end of the corridor, or the bit that joins the circular internal hallway?

 

[acesh007]

Looking forward to your progress. I just got my kit in the other day and hopefully starting a McQuarrie build in the coming weeks.

 

[TX1300]

I did a bunch of work on a 1:144 cockpit corridor part but never released it as it has such fiddly geometry. Are you looking for the cockpit end of the corridor, or the bit that joins the circular internal hallway?

That’s an excellent question, NKG! For awhile I thought I could find a way to make the whole corridor work, but I need the post that’s right in the middle to hold the two halves of the hill together. I might cut into it a little bit to make space for a panel that closes off the corridor that’s you’ve already modeled. I love all the detail that you put into it, and I really want to be able to show it off. But... I might have to err on the side of practicality for the present. Meaning, err on the side of getting much coffee table clean again.

 

[Talaris]

Looks really great, looking forward to seeing it painted.

 

[TX1300]

Thanks everyone for the support and encouragement. I started experimenting with the exterior paint job, and I’m finally feeling pretty confident that this will turn out close to what I was hoping for at the beginning.