I’ve been working for a while now on a motorized boarding ramp for my 1:144 and 1:72 Bandai Millennium Falcons - a surprisingly tricky exercise. Partly because the ramp design wasn’t engineered for operation from the start - the original Star Wars set had static decorative hydraulics.
Put simply, as the ramp pivots down, basic geometry means that the “hydraulic pistons” will have to move laterally. That, or they tilt or move, or the ramp changes length. I’ve managed to get working designs, but they never looked quite like they do in Empire, which is the first time we see the ramp moving.
Anyway. The other day I came up with a simple idea which I think replicates the Empire look, combining a pivoting ramp with lateral post motion. I’ve discussed the idea with the amazing Stinson Lenz, and he built a 3D model which shows the theory is workable.
Maybe this is already a known solution, but it seemed new enough to me. So I’ve added a page to my Falcon info site, describing details of the ramp. Hope this is useful to someone!
- nkg
Put simply, as the ramp pivots down, basic geometry means that the “hydraulic pistons” will have to move laterally. That, or they tilt or move, or the ramp changes length. I’ve managed to get working designs, but they never looked quite like they do in Empire, which is the first time we see the ramp moving.
Anyway. The other day I came up with a simple idea which I think replicates the Empire look, combining a pivoting ramp with lateral post motion. I’ve discussed the idea with the amazing Stinson Lenz, and he built a 3D model which shows the theory is workable.
Maybe this is already a known solution, but it seemed new enough to me. So I’ve added a page to my Falcon info site, describing details of the ramp. Hope this is useful to someone!
Part IIb: the Boarding Ramp Sets - 3dsf.info
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- nkg
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