5 Foot Falcon Replica - ANH

Quick minor update. Getting the plating on the docking walkway, and mocking up on paper the layout of the hull plates. This is gonna be a bit of work to get proper alignment for the huge maintenance pits. But it's a Fun challenge!!
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And here's a few shots of the maintenance pit plates that will go inside the hull, and test fitting the 8Rad plate on the lower inside jaw.

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Swappable cockpits - that's a great plan!

If it makes it easier to swap, perhaps you could build both cockpits with their own window frame canopy "cone".
 
Thanks Joeberg and SK!! Appreciate it.
Hopefully have a few updates this weekend. The Bandai kit is a treasure trove of accuracy-reference cross checking. There is some awesome extra detail in the bottom big pits that you just can't make out in refs, but thanks to them, the inside wall structure and floor extension can easily be reproduced.
EE89 - Yeah, good thinking. Just gonna have one cone at this point, but an extra may be needed to swap out.
Sean
 
Quick Update - The underside Port Maintenance Pit - Final assembly, then primed with most of the remaining greeblies down.
Note the Bandai Perfect Grade maintenance port - really helped with some of that under the dome reference. I had to fudge just a few parts that won't even bee seen once mounted, so that's a concession I can live with.

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Dry Fit testing the front access cover between mandibles.

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Thanks for the nice comments!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So a couple updates. Over the holiday break, finished up the bottom, here are some progress pics:

Port Pit in place and most of the plating down

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Here is the starboard pit with the walls added
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And now the Pit is installed
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Finishing up the Starboard Plating and tried out white primer in pit
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Plating done on Starboard side
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Since I'm getting up close while putting together the bottom of my PG Bandai at the moment, I feel like I can really see your details in a way I couldn't before. Really beautiful!
 
I'm loosing my mind over this...it's so good, it gives me anxiety because I know I want to do this someday and I just can't wrap my head around the scope of the project.

How much does it weigh at this point?
 
Most sincere thanks guys! Much appreciated! :cheers

SteveSK, Thanks! Yeah, it's amazing the level of detail Bandai put on that PG Falcon, and it's been a godsend in the 'hidden' areas like in the pits!
Carnet - Not exactly sure, but it's heavy - I'm guessing it's currently around 40-50ish lbs, maybe more.

So here's a few more progress shots, have primered the entire bottom now, looks pretty darn cool in person, it's hard not to just sit there sometimes and just stare at it, so damn impressed with the original model makers with this thing. It feels so 'real' now that it's coming together.

Primered up
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And flipping a few photos orientation to show the actual bottom as it'll look once mounted.

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I won't be painting it until after I get the top done, then I'll hit it with a black coat, then the white, then the thinner gray overspray and colored panels. Ohh, then weathering and decals - just a few minor things to get to the finish line! :eek

Here's the comparisons of the pits - it shows warts and all! The cool thing about this is it helps me see and understand what didn't quite match up so I can fix. For example, the piping in a few places is undersized on mine, so I'll rip them out and replace them. Also, I find several of the larger 'chips' are too big on mine, so again, I'll pop them off and fix them.

Here is the port pit, gives me a view that I need to fix some pipe sizes, and some chips. Pretty happy with the overall overlaps compared to the original on this one though. (Note the truck frame that fell over on the original - when filmed, it was clearly 'upright' as seen in some freeze frames in ANH, so I matched to that.)

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On the Starboard side below, just using an iPhone gets quite a different view than as viewed in person, so due to not having the right angle/height/distance, the alignment at the back perimeter looks a bit off.

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Regardless of the minor detail shortcomings I'm hitting, I am more than thrilled at the level of detail/accuracy the model is coming out. It's one of those things that I hoped to make a model that looks like the original, and feeling it's already farther ahead in accuracy than I could have ever hoped for. Such a joy to try and replicate the amazing work Lorne Peterson and team did on this beauty! This is due to, and thanks to the several amazing folks that have done so much spectacular/tireless research, ID's, plans, etc, that I could never have built this without them!

And ya gotta love the FULL SIZE PIT! It's actually pretty cool how much they tried to match up! They actually made the tank body parts and the piping very similar, as well as the 'nibbles'. That the set builders paid that much attention to the full size set details to emulate the filming miniature for just the few seconds we see in this area is amazing. Feels like the TFA and TLJ full size falcons didn't go to this much effort.
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Thanks again for looking!

-Sean
 
Simply amazing! I hope to aspire to this skill level some day. She truly is the Holy Grail of all replicas and you are absolutely nailing it!

I was looking through your thread last night trying to find the answer to this so not to repeat, but how did you come up with the proper curvature of the hull? Even with your wide angle shots it looks spot on based on all the angles of the jaw boxes and airlock tubes.

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Thanks Mike! VFXSup64/Maruska's plans - that simple, out of the box. Those two amazing chaps' plans are the best 'starter set' around. I simply measured it up, went to a skylight company, asked them to blow mold 3 domes, and as previously mentioned, after 12 attempts, they got the 3 I needed! The domes definitely are a key player in getting this thing to come together! Those fellas' research is Gold and gave me a huge leg up!

This is the initial drawing I made - I later realized the thickness needed to be 3/16, which was the final blown material. Also, note the diameter, I went with the 'core' of 45.5, but the 'lip' extends 1", therefore adding 2" in diameter. After they realized they could not sand flush as I needed, I had the 1" routed off to meet flush to the core. As you may have seen in my earlier posts, I then re-add the 1" extensions to the dome, and skin over that. This gives me an exact replica of the 'inside lip' bevel detail.
I think there is a new prevailing opinion the filming miniature diameter (CORE) may be 46" even (Cardinal measures are common on this ship), but I can live with that minor deviation if it is indeed.
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