Revell Sanptite MAX Millennium Falcon WIP

[Lubitz]

It has been a long time (42 years) since I put a model together. It was straight out of the box, with minimal paint and the included decals. As I got older, my hobbies shifted and ended on woodworking...but there has always been the desire to build models once again. I have read many of the posts in this forum, in the hopes of getting the nerve to go beyond the basics of my youth. To that end, I have selected the Revell Snaptite MAX Millennium Falcon (not sure if I will use the round or rectangular radar dish).

It is a simple model and I figured it would be any easy model to begin the journey of learning new skills and produce a model better than what came in the box. I know that the model is not screen accurate and with some work can be made to look like the source material. I choose to not to really do to much as far as modification. I am going to try an add some lights to the model and mount it on a custom base with a brass rod. This is something out of my wheelhouse, but each journey starts with the first step.

Straight out of the box the lower and upper hull pieces are pre painted for those wishing to assemble the model and either display or let a child(ren) play with it. The edge pieces were not any better. The paint look like is was an after thought. In my opinion, this is the bottom of the barrel for this model, so I can only go up from here. I sprayed all of the parts with Rust-oleum Inspire Flat Grey Primer. This was followed up with a base coat of Rust-oleum Inspire Flat White Paint + Primer over all of the pieces.

Brass rod and the Base after grey primer coat is applies. The brass rod will allow me to pass the light string through with no issue. The base is a simple box lid from my local craft store. It has been sanded smooth and the first coat, as you can see, still shows the wood grain. I am not sure if I want a simple display base or build something to add a little more story to the static model. I was thinking about having the Millennium Falcon just flying level, but she needs to be shown in a "action pose". I have decided to angle the Falcon, just not sure in what manner at this time.

I am attempting to post the pictures in some sort of order.

The pictures below are from left to right:
1. Picture of the Box
2. Lower Hull out of the Box
3. Upper Hull out of Box
4. Paint used for Primer Coat and Base Coat
5. Lower Hull after Primer and Base Coats are applied
6. Upper Hull after Primer and Base Coats are applied
7, 8 and 9. Remaining parts after Primer and Base Coats are applied
10. Focus shot on the mandible parts after Primer and Base Coats are applied
11. Brass Rod used to support the model in it's action pose and as the wire conduit
12. Box from the craft store
13. Lid of the aforementioned box removed and first coat of primer
14. Battery powered Blue light string (4.5v DC)
15. Battery powered Soft White light string (4.5v DC)

My apologies for the lengthy initial post. I look forward to any hints, tips or opinions.
Thank you for taking your time to look at my first post of my first model build.

 

[Scarecrow Joe]

I think that covering up that horrible out of the box paint is the most important step into really improving this model. My suggestion is to find good reference pics (which are plentiful here in the RPF) and try to replicate the look as much as you can. Post progress pics so the guys can give you proper advice and take your time. Good luck!

 

[Lubitz]

I agree, the paint does need some work. While I was test fitting the pieces, I noticed that the left and right escape pods don't really fit like they should. I am contemplating making a "few modifications myself" and fix this issue. I have pulled the reference pics as well as the pics I had taken of the falcon from The Force Awakens while at Disney MGM. The more that I look at the reference pics, the more I want to make the model more accurate. I will however, just repaint, add some lights (mostly the engine and a few along the back of the cockpit) and fix the escape pods. Small steps to develop skill and confidence is the way that I am going with this model.. I will post progress pics as I will be working on the engine lighting and painting some of the panels on the upper and lower hull next. Thank you for your suggestions Joe.

 

[Lubitz]

For the engine lights, I was trying to figure out how I was going to mount them without drilling holes in the substructure of the model itself. I used double sided adhesive tape to secure the light in place. I know, a very low budget approach, but I just trying to figure out different techniques. I read a post, where someone did something similar for a USS Enterprise. The first pic is the light string looped to place the lights between the top and bottom tape strips. The second is basically the same, but the loops are bent down to allow the top and bottom halves of the hull to seat properly. The last pic is with the blue engine piece that came with the model and the lights turned on. Not movie accurate, but it adds something to the model.

 

[Lubitz]

So the engine test looks alright for my first time. Decided to put some time into the build and get some painting and weathering done. I used Scotch Blue painters tape to mark off the areas and painted the red, grey and yellow panels on by hand. I used 502 Abteilung oil paints and odorless turpenoid for the weathering. I followed Ficten Foo's YouTube six step process to weather the Falcon. After the sidewall were painted and weathered, I attached them to the model. To prevent light leak, I glued and filled the seams to provide a more solid form. I also decided to glue in the bottom half of the cockpit as there were some alignment issues that were rectified by using glue, rubber bands and some masking tape to hold everything in in place until the glue sets.

 

[Scarecrow Joe]

That looks very nice.

 

[Lubitz]

Joe,

Thanks again for commenting on the post. I am almost done with the build. I am looking for another simple model to work lights and paint before tackling something a little bit bigger.

 

[d_jedi1]

Not bad at all.
I might have to look for one of these.

 

[Lubitz]

d_jedi, thank you for your time looking at my post.

 

[Lubitz]

I applied the final semi gloss coat of black for the base. With the base dry, I secured the battery box and the brass rod.


Then it was time for test fit of the model to figure out how I want it displayed. I settled on an "in flight" position with an upward climb to show a little action.


I did forget to take pictures of the wiring, but it was pretty straight forward (the positive of the engine and cockpit lights, and the negatives of the same soldered together and then tied to the positive and negative wire from the battery box).

Below are the pictures of the finished model.


It was a good model to build my techniques for weathering and lighting. I will spend some time to figure out the next model. I am looking for another a simple kit, not going for accuracy...just something to refine my techniques. I am looking towards another Star Wars model.

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you that visited my first post and for taking the time to leave a note/message.