1:1 Millennium Falcon Cockpit Replica - Group Build

Hi Gang,

Quick morning update! Work continues on the foot well greeblie!

Still lots of sanding and minor filling to do






I found two old Harbor Freight LED flashlights to use as the handles. I like it!






More sanding






UGH


This is the basic look of the greeblie minus the second handle and paint








Stay Tuned! More to Follow!

rubble said:

UGH... I hate coming to the end of these updates! Fantastic work so far!

Love the updates SF and crew.

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Hey R,

Thanks so much! Yeah... I don't like coming to the end of a productive day. I always feel I can squeeze out a few more minutes here and there...

joberg said:

Well, those Volvo panels were certainly a PITA for sure:behave

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Hey J,

My friend... you have no idea! To this day, I do not think a full scale interior/exterior combination cockpit has been built. There was a full scale interior cockpit and 1/3 scale exterior MF prop built. And with our working with zero sets of blueprints or plans it makes the adventure all the more frustrating! In a positive sense of course.

I'm kind of in love with the foot well greeblie.

mattkelly said:

I'm kind of in love with the foot well greeblie.

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Hey M,

It's turning out better than I had hoped. I should have some paint on her by this evening and maybe some pin stripes. Fingers Crossed!

mattkelly said:

I'm kind of in love with the foot well greeblie.

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I'm looking forward to see how it looks when installed.

Friendly flyer said:

I'm looking forward to see how it looks when installed.

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Hey FF,

It going to be mounted in the foot well area along side its little brother greeblie - need to finish up the design and then laser cut. The second one will be slightly smaller with some familiar greeblies attached.

mattkelly said:

Someone at your shop should really have a button rigged to play the "stalling hyperdrive" sound effect whenever something doesn't work! It's not your fault!

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Longtime listener, first time caller. I posted Falcon sound effects here, have at it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zbyhx3a1i25gp3w/Falcon Sounds.zip?dl=0

Hi Gang,

Small morning update! I managed to get a quick layer of paint on the foot well greeblie


I know that the main body will be painted black. But I'm not sure if the base, leg and top acrylic piece should also be painted black or silver to match the greeblies?


Decisions...


And then of course it wouldn't be right NOT to have a greeblie crack midway through the build...


I have a 4 day weekend ahead of me so stay tuned!

Hi Gang,

I HATE these dang Volvo Panels... With a Passion!

This shows 4 out of the 5 separate attempts to cut the FINAL upper board for the upper Volvo panel on Han's side


FINALLY! It fit! This panel took me 5 hours...


BUT!!!!!!! And this is WHY I hate the Volvo panels... Over the years the cockpit has seen flexing, warping, and so many changes that many of the panels don't match up to others anymore. The panels match to the ones they are immediately attached and associated with but... The cockpit had settled 3/4" too high on Han's side... So, once again I had to remove the upper panel and recut to find where everything finally aligned




The lower pencil line shows how much of the new Volvo panel had to be removed!


When compared to the other side


Once the the panel was cut to fit we used the straightest piece of 1x4 and used a level




UGH! Finally


And then... naturally just before the laser cutter stopped working I was able to cut a new upper panel tray. I'll be cutting two new trays total


Basic shape




Glued together


Added primer... filler to come!


This has been the most frustrating 24 hours this build has seen in a LONG time!

Honestly, its things like this that make me question going forward. I am so frustrated! But life goes on.

I guess there will be more to follow... :facepalm

Just make sure the hyperdrive works. Don't sweat the small stuff.

Sofa, just know that whenever you're having issues, you have a whole pack of people rooting you on. Every time you get frustrated by something like this, remember those of us too far away to help in person who are supremely confident that you'll figure it out, and any progress you make, no matter how small it may seem to you, is like a little bit of Christmas for the rest of us.

In the moments of greatest frustration, you might need to stop, take a breath, turn around and walk out the warehouse door, take another breath, imagine it's your first time standing there, then turn around and look back in with fresh eyes and realize:

YOU'VE BUILT A MILLENNIUM FALCON COCKPIT!!

The only other people on the planet to have done so have been a part of a massive team of people with an essentially unlimited budget, and in many cases, complete freedom to stick this thing here and that thing there. You're friggin' amazing, my friend. You're a source of inspiration to makers and fans around the globe. Never forget that.

Hi Gang,

It was a frustrating 4 day weekend. We managed to get the laser cutting limping back to life and some forward progress was made so let's ignore the negative and just jump into it!

Work continues on the foot well panel - I scored a line in the filler to create a seem but also keep the filler from cracking




Nice




Need to do a little more work and then I can paint and add pinstripes




It was time to address the exposed wood on the window


Took the window off


Added filler around the edges






First pass with the sander then added more filler




Added black - this allows me to see those few areas that need more attention.




Yeah... Just a few areas


Sanded smooth and added another layer of black


I then address this area of concern on the nose where the skin was warped - added spacer and counter sunk the screws




Then added filler and now waiting for it to dry


Samantha stopped by to help sand and paint a few pieces - the vertical supports that sit between the nose and body were removed and trimmed, sanded and filler added






Filler was added to the exposed wood and left to dry


This was the first time Samantha had added any filler and she did it better than I did!


As I mentioned we were able to get the laser cutter limping back to life so I took advantage and cut a bunch of greeblies!


One of those greeblies was the second upper panel tray




Primer / Filler added


These two are close to paint and then mounting


I jumped back and forth from greeblie to greeblie to include the foot well greeblies... This guy is almost finished


Laser cut a new detail ring


We then test the new lamp. It was a bit bright but I'm not sure if I like the effect




Time to add some color


There are a BUNCH of different color combinations I can do. Which do you guys like best? We're looking at a black or silver base, leg and top trim piece in diff configurations








Decisions Decisions


I took these flashlights and prepped them for mounting but I didn't have a long enough bolt - DANG!


Let's get back to more greeblies!


I cut these pieces




HMMMMM


What the heck is this thing?


The new foot well greeblie!




Side by side comparo






Not sure I like this


That has the look I'm going for!


I also cut new black boxes for the cockpit entrance capstone panel






That's a lot of filler needed


Time to adhere and add filler and primer to all these greeblies! From this point forward its going to be a bit random... Enjoy!




















Samantha and I spent a good hour sanding and priming all these new greeblies








Still need to add filler to those little holes








And this is where we are!


A HUGE thanks to both Scott and Samantha for their continued help! You guys are awesome!

More to Follow so Stay Tuned!

Freakin' awesome!

trainman said:

Just make sure the hyperdrive works. Don't sweat the small stuff.

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Hey T,

It was a rough start to the weekend but I'll get the hyper drive in good working order! Thanks for the continued support!

- - - Updated - - -

BigBigDave said:

Sofa, just know that whenever you're having issues, you have a whole pack of people rooting you on. Every time you get frustrated by something like this, remember those of us too far away to help in person who are supremely confident that you'll figure it out, and any progress you make, no matter how small it may seem to you, is like a little bit of Christmas for the rest of us.

In the moments of greatest frustration, you might need to stop, take a breath, turn around and walk out the warehouse door, take another breath, imagine it's your first time standing there, then turn around and look back in with fresh eyes and realize:

YOU'VE BUILT A MILLENNIUM FALCON COCKPIT!!

The only other people on the planet to have done so have been a part of a massive team of people with an essentially unlimited budget, and in many cases, complete freedom to stick this thing here and that thing there. You're friggin' amazing, my friend. You're a source of inspiration to makers and fans around the globe. Never forget that.

Click to expand...

Hey BBD,

I don't know what to say other than thank you for the very kind words of encouragement! As I mentioned, it was a rough start to the weekend but I was able to catch up. Again, very kind and very much appreciated! Thank you!

- - - Updated - - -

Snow Builder said:

Freakin' awesome!

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Thanks, SB!

Hi Gang,

Time for an update... Didn't have much motivation this weekend but I did get somethings finished up and some much needed things started! And away we go...

Finally finished up the new black boxes for the cockpit entrance capstone






Bolted in place and painted the bolt heads black


And done...






I like them!


I was close to finishing up the new foot well greeblie. I like how it turned out but... Purchased a nut coupler for the handles




Finally bolted into place!




Slightly weathered with a dusty paint brush




MDF spacers on the backside


Bolted into place




Time to mount the LED lamp


Closer


Painted the base silver




Thumb screws


I thought these would add some visual interest - they're just a bit too big




Plus it split the wood


I've decided to move away from the two large foot well greeblies. As I mentioned, they are too big for the area so I'm focusing on something smaller and slightly resembles the coils that I created for the cockpit entrance.


The sister foot well greeblie base




In its basic configuration. I really like how they turned out but just too big...


I think I'm going to focus on this shape for the foot well area! I have a few ideas working in my head




A few images of the panels Samantha finished up!




I then used a Allen bolt to keep the Kirby Hoses in place - sometimes you gotta keep it simple.






It was then time to tackle an area I was NEVER really satisfied with - the upper greeblie panel. There are so few images of this panel from ESB that I decided to take advantage of the TFA 360 Pano and use that for reference. So... I removed all the greeblies... YUCK!




Out to the trash! Most of these greeblies were broken from the dogs playing and jumping on the panel...


As I mentioned there has been a lack of motivation. As a result, the trays I made were slightly messed up so I made new ones using 1/8" MDF instead of the 1/4"






Filler


Primer


Its all in the details














I was just about to add paint when I realized... I messed up again! UGH... I have to redo one of the trays. However, the look of these trays got me thinking what the originals might have been. The hole looks VERY similar to a small TV tube and the basic shape reminds me of the old portable TV / Radio combos from the 70s. I wonder?


I cut 2 LARGE panels that will fit over the ugly looking upper panel. These panels also serves as practice - all the mounting holes are there for most of the new / existing greeblies and all the new LEDs


If I do this right... Cockpit Ver 2 will have everything done on the laser cutter (and CNC) and there is NO MORE guessing These screens are a perfect example. I laser cut these and the mounting holes are already cut not only in the screen but in the new main panel as well


When the laser cutter works... she works!


As you can see... no more guessing and everything aligned. However, I really should have made the two large panels into one... I'll take new measurements and recut


Holes for LEDs


More round 5mm LED holes


The panel will cover that mess! I'll sand, paint to match, drill the holes necessary for the LEDs in the old panel, add pin stripes, clear coat and then mount! Sounds easy, right?


New screens getting primer and paint


I really wasn't sure whether the laser cutter would cut all these holes without issue


Upper panel screens


Love the details!


I then cut 4 new Volvo panel screens (these screens took 1 hour and 10 min ea to cut on the laser cutter!)


Speaking of the laser cutter... We've realized that the laser cutter controller board memory is questionable (among many many thing). We can't cut simple files like a circle and square. The file has to be extremely large and complex enough to purge the controller board memory. It's really odd! But at least we found a work around until the new controller arrives.


Still lots to do... just need to dig deep for motivation.

That's it for now... Stay Tuned for More!

I saw some old glass railroad signal lenses (and lenses for old illuminated switches and marker lights) at a railroadiana collectibles show yesterday. Not that you need lenses anymore, but they sure are pretty. Too big though for your purposes anyway, but if you look in the upper right corner, you'll see four small red ones. I still don't think they would work, but it sounds like you're good to go with the repros anyway.

Hi Gang,

Quick morning update...

I laser cut a few new things after work to include a new upper panel tray


Larger upper panel cover


And a new foot well greeblie - similar to the other








The upper panel cover has several of these round edged rectangles


Does the upper panel cover fit? Nice


Marked out the holes that I'll cut this afternoon


More LED holes


I have a few more greeblies to fabricate...






Awesome! I'll try to add paint and pin stripes this evening...


More to Follow!

trainman said:

View attachment 673826
I saw some old glass railroad signal lenses (and lenses for old illuminated switches and marker lights) at a railroadiana collectibles show yesterday. Not that you need lenses anymore, but they sure are pretty. Too big though for your purposes anyway, but if you look in the upper right corner, you'll see four small red ones. I still don't think they would work, but it sounds like you're good to go with the repros anyway.

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Hey T,

Those lenses are gorgeous! It must have been tempting not to buy them all!

It's all looking great and technical SK. I have a feeling that the movie prop peeps may have looked at this thread for ideas on the overhead greeblies and the general layout of that area, unless they had the actual photos of the ESB setup. In amongst their tray greeblies is a near perfect mock up of the part seen in the Snowspeeder but this is very hard to spot just going by the usual reference pics. Even with the best resolution photos (of the commonly found reference material) I'm not sure they would've worked it out, as the rest of their actual greeblies around that area are just a little bit off. So I'm thinking you are referencing your own work lol!!!

The two trays could well be something along the lines of those portable JVC type TV/radio combis, they used to turn up in everything from The Professionals to Space 1999 - or, a cassette deck hifi chassis, x2. There's a TV or oscilloscope tube next to where Luke gets a defrosting - I wonder....