1:1 Millennium Falcon Cockpit Replica - Group Build

Markas1976 said:

Would that help with prop making etc would u say

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I think so. As an artist I see things (props, objects, etc) much differently and find it much easier to create something from scratch than the normal person can (not to discredit anybody) and immediately know what steps to take - if I have the material and tools to accomplish the task.

Hope that makes sense?

I can relate I to seem to have a gift everything I make is from scratch and with no 3d printer help r anything like that and I've made every build so far on my own but that's not to say if I made one big enough that I'd be to proud to seek help.
My family and everyone I know nearby think they r epic they all make the Scotland papers and a couple of the big ones too and I've been on national radio Live due to them.
I just see what I've to do and Im off if anything it's the materials that holds me up if I could get my hands on anything I wanted I'd hate to imagine what I could do ☺.
This all came about July 31st last year with 0 training or anything in any type of field like this whatsoever it's a natural gift so I can relate to what ur saying ☺.
It's a shame it took me till age of 41 last year to figure it out

Markas1976 said:

I can relate I to seem to have a gift everything I make is from scratch and with no 3d printer help r anything like that and I've made every build so far on my own but that's not to say if I made one big enough that I'd be to proud to seek help.
My family and everyone I know nearby think they r epic they all make the Scotland papers and a couple of the big ones too and I've been on national radio Live due to them.
I just see what I've to do and Im off if anything it's the materials that holds me up if I could get my hands on anything I wanted I'd hate to imagine what I could do ☺.
This all came about July 31st last year with 0 training or anything in any type of field like this whatsoever it's a natural gift so I can relate to what ur saying ☺.
It's a shame it took me till age of 41 last year to figure it out

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Hey M,

As long as you're having fun, learning new and exciting things, exercising that creative muscle and making others happy there is no shame whether you're 21, 41 or 61! Enjoy what you do and keep doing it!

Enjoying it is important pal that helps u to do well in anything in life if ur enjoying it eh having a talent is a bonus makes it a bit easier mabye or makes the end product a bit better but en do the day ur right it's having a go and actually making the effort and enjoying it that's what it's all about ☺

Hi Gang,

Part II! Enjoy

When the cockpit fell over I found a BUNCH of little cracks that will DEF need fixing


But... Let's move onto the panels. I sprayed a layer of black primer






And grey primer



















Painted the floor


Larger bolts are now being used to hold the main body and door section together


I then worked on the console - laser cut these upper panel parts




For those who have a laser cutter... save any/all interior pieces where the outer edges of your cut might be too thin to freely hand sand. Insert the interior pieces back into place and this gives a solid base in which to sand without breaking those delicate edges


Lower and upper panel edges cut and in place


Perfect fit


Nice and snug


Removed the interior pieces - this is the space I have to play with for the electronics




The instrument panels want to move around and stay misaligned. I laser cut these little pieces


Adhered them to the interior side of the console


When the panels go back they have a small shelf to rest and keep them from sliding up and down




Primed the main body


I then laser cut these 1/16th acrylic instrument panel "lower" and "upper" armrest panel faces


Dry fit


Note the holes for the illumination PLUS a simple guide to simply drop the blue and white tiles in place




That working space gets tighter and tighter


Adhered the 1/16th pieces to the instrument panels




I used the scrap interior pieces to help hold the shape and help keep the edges from deforming




Now she's looking like a proper console


For scale... In my hand (before I painted the cockpit panels grey)




Time to get these edges cleaned up




Console base


I designed and laser cut these outer edge trim pieces to help me locate center when I slide the instrument panels into position - also keeps them from sliding left to right


Adhered to the underside of the instrument panel


Nice and snug up against the edges


The cover panel will somehow be attached AND have the LED strip attached


Upper instrument panel gets the same treatment






Snug fit




A little sanding to ensure fit and finish


Nice tight fit!




Time to add the upper panel face to the rest of the console - cut the upper panel face and dry fit






Adhered in place


Lets add the rest of these surface panels to the console






Sanded


Ah... filler


1st round of sanding


So... the upper instrument panel faces are 1/16th inch thick. I laser cut 1/8 inch acrylic into .25 inch square pieces




And did a dry fit of the blue and white tiles. Turns out that I need to laser cut them just a bit larger than .25" to fill in the small gaps and keep them straight


Note the wonky tile...









The armrest panel saw a MAJOR change - had to find a way to permanently adhere the panel, sand the tab on the side smooth but still have access to the wiring - I simply followed the full scale version and laser cut a trim piece with a large opening


Filled and primed the armrest area


Laser cut these new armrest pieces




Adhered the 1/16th inch acrylic to the 1/8th inch MDF




Pops and stays right in place


Lets address this area


Added the 1/16th inch acrylic


Trimmed to fit and adhered to the panel with E-6000


Gotta fill and sand that ugly edge


Filler


Light sanding




Back side vertical panel












Front nose panel




Can't wait to add all the greeblies!


Lots of filler to sand


And this...








Is where we are!


Hope you guys/gals enjoyed Part II! I'm really excited to get back to the shop and get back to it!

More to follow!

Great update! I like how quickly this model is going together, you get a lot done at a time! Cool idea on having the buttons inset like that, I look forward to seeing how the comes out.

It's also interesting to see which methods you use to build with. Obviously you have the laser cutter and you seem to get maximum use out of that. And the 3D printed parts you use as well. If you had a CNC router or a lathe, would you find yourself using those alot, or would it still mostly be the laser cutter?

Great update SK, so much work completed in such a short period -you make me feel like I'm standing still on my projects

Markas1976 said:

Enjoying it is important pal that helps u to do well in anything in life if ur enjoying it eh having a talent is a bonus makes it a bit easier mabye or makes the end product a bit better but en do the day ur right it's having a go and actually making the effort and enjoying it that's what it's all about ☺

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Hey M,

Absolutely! If you're not enjoying it then why do it?

Talent is what people have naturally - they are born with a talent for "something". If someone works hard they can, over time, turn that talent into a skill. Once that happens... anything is possible!

Beautiful work Sofa, beautiful:thumbsup

Lt Washburn said:

Great update! I like how quickly this model is going together, you get a lot done at a time! Cool idea on having the buttons inset like that, I look forward to seeing how the comes out.

It's also interesting to see which methods you use to build with. Obviously you have the laser cutter and you seem to get maximum use out of that. And the 3D printed parts you use as well. If you had a CNC router or a lathe, would you find yourself using those alot, or would it still mostly be the laser cutter?

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Hey LtW,

Thanks! Many of the files I finished a while back so it was just a matter of scaling down. The basic frame and door housing was the most work so far. I'm hoping to have a nose frame this weekend - no Volvo panels yet!

The laser cutter is amazing! At 33x55 inches it allows me to do some pretty amazing things! The 3D prints are a combo of Starkiller, Izzy, Maruska and Jake. They have all contributed so much!

As far as the 1/4 scale, a CNC wouldn't be much help as the laser cutter does most of the work. A CNC plays a MUCH BIGGER role when it comes to the full scale cockpit. A CNC can rip through 3/4 ply in no time. I just have to make sure I have ALL the files correctly configured before cutting. I do have access to a 5ft x 9ft CNC but it's not assembled right now. But that's ok. I'm having fun with the 1/4 scale.

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Snow Builder said:

Great update SK, so much work completed in such a short period -you make me feel like I'm standing still on my projects

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Thanks so much, SB! 1/4 scale versions of anything will always by a little faster than full scale. I think I'm going to start the 1/4 scale process first before leaping into the full scale.

Now get out to the shop and start having fun!

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joberg said:

Beautiful work Sofa, beautiful:thumbsup

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Thanks, J! Thank ya!

Hi Gang,

I do have a few images to post but I wasn't able to do much fabrication. I did a LOT of design work on the nose but had to turn to Opera Scot for help. I worked on the Nav Computer and that's almost ready for a 1/4 scale debut!

BUT... the weather was just too much to bare. 95 degrees and 95% percent humidity all but wiped me out!

Yeah we've been trying to clean up the property a bit the past week but this weather has been intense. Drink a bottle of water and before you get the last drop out, you sweat out three bottles worth.

SofaKing01 said:

Hi Gang,

I do have a few images to post but I wasn't able to do much fabrication. I did a LOT of design work on the nose but had to turn to Opera Scot for help. I worked on the Nav Computer and that's almost ready for a 1/4 scale debut!

BUT... the weather was just too much to bare. 95 degrees and 95% percent humidity all but wiped me out!

Click to expand...

Sent from my LGLS775 using Tapatalk

Love that weather! It's the same here in Ottawa As for painting: too much humidity is bad for my spraying! Hang in there Sofa

Hi Gang,

Good News... Bad News... and Worse News...

Good News is that work on the new 1/4 scale front nose continues and we're really close to laser cutting the new parts. Bad news is the laser cutter is acting up and might need either a new tube or control unit.

Worse news... The 28" outer diam I came up with might NOT work with the new nose. The nose will look like its been smashed in. For all intent and purposes... the outer diam should be around 26" not the 28" I originally came up with. So... I might have to redo everything I have done so far!

Stand by... :facepalm

EDIT: If I redo the build (which I should), anybody want a less than accurate cockpit of the MF?

Well, not great news all around, but I'm sure that I can see all those hands in the air asking for that "less than accurate MF cockpit"!

Oo,oo,oo, Mr. Kotter, Mr Kotter, oo oo!

I don't know why I wrote that. Dork!

Hi Gang,

Great news! The laser cutter appears to be working and is now back to 100% (fingers crossed). D spent several hours cleaning the lenses, focusing and aligning the laser (the later hadn't been done). D says that 1/4" MDF, which used to take 100 power at 4 speed is now 100 power and 10 speed and is a nice clean cut - no kerfing. 1/8 MDF (my favorite) had always been 7 speed. That's now been bumped to 20 speed - almost 3 times the speed! She's rocking and rolling and I can't wait to take it her out for a test drive! Thanks, D!

Redesign of the new 26.25" outer diam for the 1/4 scale continues. Thankfully, ALL the interior panels are fine and dont need to be changed. But the entire model does have to be recut...

Forward progress!

Great news SK!

See, nothing to see here...moving along