Millennium Falcon Cockpit chairs 1:1 scale

[grahama]

I am new to the RPF and got inspired by SofaKing's 1:1 scale cockpit thread and the wider Full Scale Falcon Project. I decided to have my own go at building the console. A few messages later and I was deep into greeblies and offers of help. However, the first thing that I wanted to tackle was the pilot/co-pilot chairs. This was mainly because the original 1970's Cobra chairs (thank you again to SofaKing for pointing me in the right direction) came up on eBay the very first day I searched for them. Plus I can sit on them which is pretty useful and may help me get them past my wife.

So I'll break this into a few posts to show how this progressed.

Firstly, I have looked at a lot of pictures of the chairs and cannot work out a consistent colour scheme between all the films. And the latest shots show a real contrast between the back and the front. I decided to try to match the styling from the latest cockpit shots....



Other shots show the front of the chairs being brown and the back a grey colour. No doubt this is mainly due to lighting on the set, so the only thing to do is have a best guess.

 

[grahama]

Here are the seats I purchased. I was told that the 1970's Cobra seats were either the ones actually used, or as near the shape as they could be. Amazingly these were put on eBay the first day I searched for them.



They were in pretty rough shape but beggars can't be choosers. The Full Scale Falcon crowd had a set in much better condition, but after searching I couldn't find any other examples available (particularly as a pair). I'd definitely need some help restoring these.

 

[grahama]

In terms of the colours, I had read a bit about the front of the chairs having a faux-suede finish. The back was harder, as there was a texture but no consistent colour. I changed my mind on them a few times, and ran my ideas past a couple of people who found a better solution for the back.

For the back: http://warehousefabricsinc.com/DEABUN.html
For the front I used a faux-suede called Raffia

 

[grahama]

With help they were broken down, repaired, new foam created and wooden back panel replaced



The innards were pretty bad so most of it needed replacing. Having the template though was the most important part.

Then the recovering began, with an awesome guy who really helped me out and knew what he was doing



You'll notice some wheels on the bottom. Cobra offer these office chair wheels for their entire cobra range (presumably the mounting points haven't changed over the years). This makes them something I can use in the office at home or as a gaming chair.

 

[grahama]

The final result...



The tuck and roll effect has come out really well and I'm pleased with the colours.

You will notice that the foam you sit on is a lot bigger than the falcon chair in the film. This was reduced when actors wanted to make it easier to get in and out of the seats (due to the lack of space). I can't tell you how comfortable these things are to sit in right now, so I will make a replaceable base which can be swapped at will to either be movie accurate or comfy. Best of both worlds!

 

[SofaKing01]

Those are GORGEOUS! I am SO jealous and happy for ya at the same time!

The covers turned out amazing. Def worth the LONG wait.

 

[grahama]

Those are GORGEOUS! I am SO jealous and happy for ya at the same time!

The covers turned out amazing. Def worth the LONG wait.

Yeah I'm really happy with them, but only thanks to your help and advice! The material for the back is perfect.

If it hadn't have been for this amusing balls up it would have been a little quicker...

 

[Apollo]

Wow those turned out beautifully!

 

[Fuzzual]

fantastic!

 

[grahama]

Wow those turned out beautifully!

Thanks! The fact they are comfortable and usable as well is an added bonus

 

[Captain Dunsel]

Outstanding work!

But one question--how on Earth did Peter Mayhew comfortbly fit in chairs with that look to be ergonomically designed for a pretty tight fit?

 

[grahama]

Outstanding work!

But one question--how on Earth did Peter Mayhew comfortbly fit in chairs with that look to be ergonomically designed for a pretty tight fit?

Thanks! But yeah, evidently not designed with wookies in mind! To make it movie-correct, I need to make another base pad which is much thinner and shallow, flush to the front of the chair. That will make a huge difference (particularly for super tall people) to be able to get in and out easily. Then I can swap between them depending if the chairs are in front of a cockpit console or my ps4.

 

[Solo]

I've been looking for a new office chair and thought it would be cool to have one that looked like the pilot seat. And there they are! Got any tips on how I can make one of these for myself? What's it gonna cost me?