gt350pony66
Master Member
No, I guess I'm not done...use 308 Bits docking collars (the ones with the nice taper), not the ones in the HH set...that's just a matter of preference though.
MPC Falcon builders of the galaxy unite!
- Thread starter davidvaradyszab
- Start date
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- Tags
- star wars
i am leaf
New Member
So now that I know where the bar has been set, I'll throw my name in the mix.
I've had my MPC falcon since high school and have been collecting upgrade kits since, savoring the journey of watching some amazing and talented artists bring life to the ship. In 2007 I bought a turret-well upgrade kit from a sculptor in Germany, followed by the Blue Moon sidewall kit in 2012 (once it was no longer sold out on Starshipmodeler!) I bought the cockpit & dish upgrade from 308, and I plan to buy an engine grille kit in the near future and will take your scratch-build kitbash list into consideration, HH.
Right now I'm doing some heavy lifting on a Revell 1/50 T-70, followed by a Hoth vingette of a Shapeways dish turret & Bandai 1/48 Snowspeeder, to be followed by the falcon. Looking forward to participating in this thread and gleaning knowledge from some amazing builders.
Tyler
gt350pony66
Master Member
:thumbsup looking forward to it, I love watching other guys builds...I always learn new and better ways to do things and a lot of times much easier than the way I did it :lol
gt350pony66
Master Member
By the way, rest assured that Haystack and Tony 308 know everything and I mean everything about the MPC Falcon, vast wells of knowledge and super cool guys to boot! 
thumbsup
thumbsup
gt350pony66
Master Member
Hey I Am Leaf...
let me know if you need another kit at some point...I got a closet full I'm never going to get to. I might do another one or two (regular), but I got like 8 including a couple cut aways. I will tell you, regarding cut away kits...I did one, JUST one, with short walls and lit the whole inside, turned out pretty good, but good LORD what a difficult build that was. The short walls throw everything off...everything. But, it can be done. I'd never have the patience to do it again though!wacko:facepalm
let me know if you need another kit at some point...I got a closet full I'm never going to get to. I might do another one or two (regular), but I got like 8 including a couple cut aways. I will tell you, regarding cut away kits...I did one, JUST one, with short walls and lit the whole inside, turned out pretty good, but good LORD what a difficult build that was. The short walls throw everything off...everything. But, it can be done. I'd never have the patience to do it again though!
wacko:facepalm
Tan Djarka
Sr Member
I've built two so far (in my youth! Sorry no pics available). The only mod I did was adding the missing cockpit frame elements. Years ago I picked up an ROTJ box version for $5 at a thrift shop (still sealed!). It's sitting on the shelf waiting to be done.
gt350pony66
Master Member
Yeah, 5 bucks is awesome. I think I found my first one (that ended up sitting in the closet for 20 yrs) on consignment at a hobby shop for like 20 bucks. Once you get into them you realize all the GROSS inaccuracies and horrible disproportions. It takes a few bucks (sarcasm about FEW) to get one looking correct. But, for what you'd spend on a FM (200) or now, a Bandai (350-400) it doesn't seem so bad. Just depends on what you want. I'm of the thought that my last MPC looks better than a FM, but not as good as the PG will be once I do it. Building Falcons is fun stuff. The mods to an MPC can be a challenge though, but that's part of the fun in my mind :thumbsup
Archive&Future
Sr Member
The moulds for my Mk.II MPC upgrade set are shot to bits, literally disintegrating now! Must've pulled well over a hundred casts from them, they've ended up on some great builds.
I'm going to make new moulds from the masters but update a few details, also more accurate docking rings as you're right Scott- the last design wasn't tapered enough.
So keep your eyes out for the Mk.IIa in the near future....Looking into getting the production cost down too to make it more affordable for you guys
I'm going to make new moulds from the masters but update a few details, also more accurate docking rings as you're right Scott- the last design wasn't tapered enough.
So keep your eyes out for the Mk.IIa in the near future....Looking into getting the production cost down too to make it more affordable for you guys
gt350pony66
Master Member
Sounds like I'm not done doing MPC's yet...thumbsup
thumbsup
The moulds for my Mk.II MPC upgrade set are shot to bits, literally disintegrating now! Must've pulled well over a hundred casts from them, they've ended up on some great builds.
I'm going to make new moulds from the masters but update a few details, also more accurate docking rings as you're right Scott- the last design wasn't tapered enough.
So keep your eyes out for the Mk.IIa in the near future....Looking into getting the production cost down too to make it more affordable for you guys
gt350pony66
Master Member
Well now...you're quite a crafty one there, aren't ya me buckolol That's looking very promising, excellent!cheers
lol That's looking very promising, excellent!cheers
alad61
New Member
I'd be happy too. My first one bounced too close to a supernova a long time ago ( See what I did there) So I've started my next one almost forty years later... It is a mix of the old blue moon, MMI, and 3D printed parts from 308 Bits via Shapeways. Of course by the time I'm finished it probably would have been cheaper to by the Bandai version.:rolleyes
gt350pony66
Master Member
Ah yes...been there myself...but bear in mind one important thing...while it does take above average skill to tackle a nearly 1000 piece kit (BandaiPG) In my estimation it takes something special in a builder to want to take a seemingly lame kit like the MPC, heavily modify it with aftermarket stuff from multiple sources, and carefully blend it all and make the seeming lame MPC actually look like something. It took me 5 tries to get one looking decent, and while I'm not particularly tootin' my own horn because each one is better than the last and I've still got a few in the closet to go. Personal satisfaction in a job well done. Not everyone wants to bother with taking the "ugly duckling" and transforming it into a swan. :thumbsup
alad61
New Member
5 tries!!! Not sure I could deal with that. I may not get this sows ear into a silk purse, but I'll give it my damndest to get at least a purse made of satin.
In the four weeks or more since I started, I have been brutally reminded this project will be longer than planned, more taxing and frustrating than planned but in a masochistic way, more enjoyable than I planned. Especially since it has been almost four years since I built a static model. To date, I have worked mostly on the top hull section replacing some of the softer piping detail and doing my best to get things closer to the five-footer by reshaping, thinning and adding extra greeblies. My original goal was to do a straight ANH version but with the abundance of pictures etc on the web, my purest wants have drifted along with the understanding my skills won't get me the "Grail" finish.
Cheers,
AJ
gt350pony66
Master Member
I just kept noticing things I coulda done different or better after it was too late, so I just kept building. The first one was all box stock parts except for a cockpit 308 upgrade and a lot of lighting (I'm a lighting freak). of course it was hideous. So I started researching stuff and found tons of stuff that was wrong, way wrong. I think my last attempt was pretty good. I saw where another guy had made a plastic tube 6.6cm tall to spread the hull halves apart so it didn't look so flat. I went 5.7cm so I wouldn't have to cut the seams on the docking corridors, and used rubber bands, masking tape and the wife's hair dryer to reshape the hull.
Heck man, it sounds like you're already doing just as much or probably more to this than I did the 5th one :lol
Heck man, it sounds like you're already doing just as much or probably more to this than I did the 5th one :lol
alad61
New Member
I guess my problem is starting a project and not going a tad manic and obsessive about it. my only saving grace being clever enough - most of the time - and knowing when to put the brakes on what I can do. So far though, apart from a couple of small glitches, all seems to be progressing on a steady flight plan.
Between grinding and tweaking, I decided to test out my painting and detailing on the cockpit and sensor dish and adding some lighting to the cockpit.
Cheers,
AJ
Between grinding and tweaking, I decided to test out my painting and detailing on the cockpit and sensor dish and adding some lighting to the cockpit.
Cheers,
AJ
gt350pony66
Master Member
What are you doing with the side walls? HH? 308 Bits? to me, that's the biggest mod challenge on these. Getting the stock hull pieces trimmed properly to accept the short walls and have upper and lower come together just right. Also, short walls give me a hell of a time with the cockpit tube :facepalm
gt350pony66
Master Member
Well at least the 3008 walls aren't as short as the HH walls. personally I like the shorter ones, BUT, the shorter the walls, the more trouble the cockpit is. I think I mis-spoke before, the walls aren't the biggest head ache, it's the cockpit tube for sure. one thing I did do though, I have a Blue Moon kit I never used and I took the small filler piece and made a mold of it so I could make more. the thumb nail looking thing for underneath, tube to the hull. you've seen them I'm sure. But...the filing and sanding, little bits at a time till it fits right. take off too much and you're screwed. You know...I'm surprised Tony hasn't designed a correction lower tube piece to eliminate the hassle. I'll have to mention it when next I email him. I've been bugging him to do some ESB front landing gear boxes for the Bandai PG. He's started the design but he's been a way busy fella this year. The gear boxes for the MPC are really super close. I've got a set of the FUD's and sized them up to the PG hull. sooooo close, they could be massaged to work though but I'd just as soon wait for the "right" pieces.
- - - Updated - - -
I meant "308" ha, fat fingers :lol
- - - Updated - - -
I meant "308" ha, fat fingers :lol
alad61
New Member
Fitting the lower tube piece was a nightmare in itself. Poor molding and serious misalignment issues. And yes I do have the blue moon set but I went with Tony's due to the side wall resin castings from Blue Moon filled with air bubbles to the point one piece is wafer thin. And I may have cut too much away on the tube. Noyhing irreparable just frustrating. Oh well, live n learn.
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