1:1 Millennium Falcon Cockpit Replica - Group Build

Hi Gang,

Photos from Dallas, TX are beginning to trickle in! ENJOY these photos and look around at all the goodness!
Photo%20Aug%2022%206%2042%2010%20PM_zpsbwwnf1jw.jpg


A palette of PVC sheet arrived for the exterior skin!
Photo%20Aug%2007%205%2002%2022%20PM_zpsm9qmwmkb.jpg


The guys added some sturdier casters for mobility
Photo%20Aug%2002%204%2004%2043%20PM_zpstscm1u34.jpg


New sturdier panels were cut and adhered into place
Photo%20Aug%2014%205%2001%2013%20PM_zpsbxsr8hig.jpg


Photo%20Aug%2014%205%2001%2024%20PM_zps3d94aanp.jpg


And new latches! I'm VERY excited to see how these work and where they install them!
Photo%20Aug%2017%203%2001%2038%20PM_zpsnnsxqark.jpg


More to Follow!
 
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Lt Washburn said:
Sofa, thanks for the update!

The decals look good. I seem to remember people used to buy special printers (Alps) just to get high-quality decals. I don't know if you have the best inkjet for them or not. I'm sure ther are people here who are much more insightful on that. But as an idea, what about leaving the black areas of the decal clear so they show the underlying paint? Also, I'm sure just like shapeways, there are places that can print them for you, so long as you are very sure on the final dimensions. Also, have you considered dry-transfers for the graphics too?
Click to expand...

Hey Lt,

Thanks! The decals are FAR from perfect but I have to work with what I have. I've read a few articles where people are replacing the black ink cartridge with white allowing to print white. As you know, the paper "IS" in fact the white so with all the white pinstripes I HAVE to print on white paper leaving the clear decals somewhat useless - unless I can successfully print white.

All the vendors I've contacted want an exorbitant amount of money to print these decals. I'm having to use 11x17 paper due to the sheer size of the panels. I'll figure something out.

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Stormy320 said:
So impressive about the found greebly. What’s the back story?

The captain chairs look amazing!

The NAV chairs and parts are semi-gloss black [emoji6]
Click to expand...

Hey S,

Is that greeblie not the most beautiful thing you've seen next to your real MB chair?! :) Wavey was able to identify and locate the part. Kudos to him for his tireless efforts!

I've been having real problems using the semi-glass black. I dont know if it's the humidity or just the paint but the flat doesn't seem to ever crack or collect dust the way semi-through gloss paints do. Of course, I'm not in the cleanest warehouse in the world! lol
 
Katuna said:
Ditto the above. I haven't made any myself (which makes me a self declared expert) but I have heard the same about the ALPS printer. However, just use clear decal paper and let the black paint be your background. Cut the decals as close to their edge as you dare then spray the completed panel with whatever type of clear finish you're looking for.

Also, cut your holes before you wet the decal. MUCH easier to control your cuts. You might even want to sharpen some HF hole punches to get (relatively) round cuts.

Of course, you could always hand stripe the panels (hee hee). Remember how much fun that was in 1:1 scale ?!?
Click to expand...

Hey K,

It looks like the ALPS printers run between 500 (used) and 2K new. Unfortunately, I just dumped over 1K on a new tube and power supply for the laser cutter and did just buy a new printer with the hopes this would satisfy the decal need.

Unless I can print white, the clear decals wont work at all. I even tried printing "Red" on the clear and I was NOT impressed at all. I dont know how vibrant the ALPS printers are but that doesn't mean I can't look into it especially if I'm going to offer up kits of the console(s) and perhaps the cockpit.

Also, pre-cutting the holes doesn't always work as the print is NOT 100% true to the laser cut panel. I've found slight alignment issues so I held off against pre-cutting. As with everything, I'll figure it out. :)

Hand pinstripes? NO WAY! lol

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Fuzzual said:
OMG!!!!! That warehouse is a hangar of GOLD!!!!!
Click to expand...

I KNOW! And i will be there in 2 weeks to see the ol girl and see all the other SW related goodness!
 
Just an idea Sofa as I have no experience with decal creation, but I DO have experience in the screen printing industry...

Maybe you could print the decal on the clear in a vibrant color, such as yellow (would be white but most can't print white) as an underlay, then send the same sheet back through the printer oriented the same way and print the red directly on top of the yellow? Adds a sort of "blocker" between the dark black surface and the final vibrant red color you're going for...

Sent from my LGLS775 using Tapatalk
 
I like SimplyTim’s suggestion. I was talking with my girlfriend over the weekend about screen printing, and reading your update made me think about it. You can get a kit at hobby lobby to do screen printing, or maybe contact one of the local shops about setting up a couple screens for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
MastahBlastah said:
Have you looked Into dry transfer vinyl decals? You could get well-saturated reds, dark blacks, white whites etc. and you wouldn't have to worry about the negative space. You could just keep your painted surfaces.

Something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1lhVBEy8zg
Click to expand...
These are awesome! 30 years building models and I've never seen these! Given, Im not a Gunpla guy, but still...

Given how they are applied, I assume they are made more similarly to vinyl graphics done on a vinyl plotter, vs. the standard water slides being made on an inkjet?

Sent from my LGLS775 using Tapatalk
 
SimplyTim said:
These are awesome! 30 years building models and I've never seen these! Given, Im not a Gunpla guy, but still...

Given how they are applied, I assume they are made more similarly to vinyl graphics done on a vinyl plotter, vs. the standard water slides being made on an inkjet?

Sent from my LGLS775 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

They are not vinyl at all. They transfer ink from paper to surface.
 
SimplyTim said:
Just an idea Sofa as I have no experience with decal creation, but I DO have experience in the screen printing industry...

Maybe you could print the decal on the clear in a vibrant color, such as yellow (would be white but most can't print white) as an underlay, then send the same sheet back through the printer oriented the same way and print the red directly on top of the yellow? Adds a sort of "blocker" between the dark black surface and the final vibrant red color you're going for...

Sent from my LGLS775 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Hey ST,

HMMMM... I thought about that but most printers, in my experience, dont align very well when sending paper "back" through the feeder. I'm not saying it wont work - please dont think that! I'm still unsure how to get the best print possible with the InkJet printer(s).

Does ANYBODY know if printing with toner on the decal paper works?

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Wimismith said:
I like SimplyTim’s suggestion. I was talking with my girlfriend over the weekend about screen printing, and reading your update made me think about it. You can get a kit at hobby lobby to do screen printing, or maybe contact one of the local shops about setting up a couple screens for you.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Hey W,

HMMMMMMM... I wonder if outsourcing the decal sheets is the way to go? Do you know any shop(s) in particular I could reach out to?

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MastahBlastah said:
Have you looked Into dry transfer vinyl decals? You could get well-saturated reds, dark blacks, white whites etc. and you wouldn't have to worry about the negative space. You could just keep your painted surfaces.

Something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1lhVBEy8zg
Click to expand...

Hey MB,

WOW! The dry transfers look awesome but again, it goes back to having the ability to print "white". If I can print a vibrant "white" onto a clear decal, that would essentially solve all the issues. I might have to buy an white ink/toner specific printer
 
Lt Washburn said:
Yes, dry transfers could avoid a lot of your issues.
Click to expand...

I'll try anything! ;)

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joberg said:
Keep up the great work Sofa...as for the skinning of the cockpit, the wait is killing me:D
Click to expand...

Thanks, J! Images from Dallas are slowly trickling in! I chatted with the guys last night and, time permitting, there will be some real changes! :)

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Snow Builder said:
Looks good to me.
Click to expand...

Thanks, SB! It really is cool seeing it all come together. Now to figure out a few more issues and then we can get actually finishing it up!

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trainman said:
Those buttons are begging to be pushed... Go strap yourselves in!
Click to expand...

Thanks, T! You get it! ;)

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IzzyMel said:
I also note that black in the dimm light looks good. Love the progress.
Click to expand...

Hey Iz,

I'm hoping that there will be enough shadow(s) over the console to hide the current decals. If not, that's ok. There is always 1/4 Scale Cockpit V2!

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Jediseth said:
I will say I’m very impressed. Excellent work! I’ve enjoyed looking at this thread.
Click to expand...

Hi JS,

Thanks so much! There are/have been a lot of amazing and talented folks all contributing to the project. And welcome to TheRPF!
 

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