# [What was initially going to BE a] Small time fix for my Seventies big MPC Falcon build. *Completed



## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

I never worked harder on a model in my life than I did on this back then. It kind of still amazes me what I accomplished based only on magazine photos. Now I will do a proper George Lucas upgrade... & fix the dish... 
No, it will never be perfect, but it WILL satisfy my inner teen.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Scratch build? cannibalize? 3dprint?


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

mach7 said:


> Scratch build? cannibalize? 3dprint?


A dude on eBay sold me a replacement dish, I just gotta fabricate some parts & stuff...


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Cool! Is it from the old kit?


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

mach7 said:


> Cool! Is it from the old kit?


No, it's from a guy that made parts to accurize Falcon models. $15 at the time I bought it years ago.
So basically I'm gonna do four things:
A) build a new lower gun from scratch & attach it.
2) Fix up the dish & build up the base of it just a bit.
C) Shave down the atrociously high 'fins' on the upper & lower front extensions (wow, I never noticed how big those are until now).
4) Repaint a LOT of it. I did a great job for my age back then, but I missed some spots, and hadn't yet grasped painting in layers.
Thankfully, I did a fairly nice job of painting the cockpit, 'cause I'm not _about_ to open up any part of this beast. 
Any other suggestions, anyone ?


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Jumping right in here, taking these off before I lower the 'fins'.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Having never built a Falcon I can't be of any help, but I'll enjoy watching you fix the old girl up!


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

mach7 said:


> Having never built a Falcon I can't be of any help, but I'll enjoy watching you fix the old girl up!


Cool!
I lowered (sanded) the upper & lower forward 'fins', & sanded down the 'top caps' a LOT to fit again. Result? A much sleeker look to the front.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

The overall look of this model just improved by like 100% with this one small change.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

1st layer on the sides. 
Needs a warmer 2nd layer, then the whitish parts. But. Ran out of thinner. More tomorrow.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

More sanding. These go out a little too far...


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Got a couple of more layers in there (it's kinda like photoshop that way)- pretty subtle, I don't even know if you can notice what I did... and before that I dug out some blast holes. Quite a bit more to go on the 'small fix'.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

I don't know if anyone's noticed, but this Falcon is distinctly on the ivory or cream side of white-ish gray.
Yep, that means I give it a light white wash before I proceed. Hopefully it will give it a realistically textured look. Then I re-do all the streaky weathering mess.
Have I done this before? No. That's why it's going to work (A Neo thing  ).
Once I get the overall look right, I can tend to the dish & the lower gun.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Wash on top went well (better than I expected, actually), the bottom will be easier because it's dirtier.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Bottom finished just now. When it's all dry I'll be onto the streaky stuff (but a lot is visible through the wash so it won't be as extensive as from scratch) and the atypical panel colours.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

All atypically coloured panels painted. Mild weathering done. Tomorrow the fine streaks, rust & other little details.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Prepping for the physical fixes- sanded the replacement dish, set up the dish-holder by gluing the two movable sides together (should have done that back when I built it), and began fabricating the missing lower gun out of leftover coat hangar pieces & epoxy putty which I will carve down to shape when hardened.
Also in the process of fabricating gun turret enablers as one was missing & the other broke during detailing. I will be using my super-taped-together glasses for this small work stuff tomorrow after the glue sets on these tiny babies....


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

After an hour I got to this with the lower gun replacement. Filing epoxy putty is not fun.  
More later...


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Annnnnd, I suddenly realized that I'm starting to kill myself over one little part that will be constantly unlooked-at on a model that isn't (& really _can't_ be) perfect anyway.

Let it go Chris, no one will notice. The model as a whole is more than the sum of its bits of intense accuracy.
Oh yeah, Chris? Then what was all that nonsense during that X-Wing build, eh?
That was different.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Finish model will he


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Finish model will he


He will model finish.
When I am through arguing with myself.
And I have another day off.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Your sculpted parts look great. And yeah, once they're painted, they'll blend in and no one will be nit-picking on them except for you


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

StarshipClass said:


> Your sculpted parts look great. And yeah, once they're painted, they'll blend in and no one will be nit-picking on them except for you


Thanks. Yeah, I gotta ease up on the OCD for this one.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

I glued in the parts, strange combo- styrene glue for styrene, epoxy for epoxy putty. Paint will make it look better.
Gonna paint the streaks & rust & blast points tomorrow, then save the dish reconstruction for last since it's the most fragile part of the model.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Nice work, But I've said that a lot.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

mach7 said:


> Nice work, But I've said that a lot.


LOL, thanks. 
Thing I always try to balance is the look between the filming miniature & what I see onscreen. I basically want what I see onscreen, but then I sneak details in from the filming miniature that don't distract too much....
This particular kit is different with me- I loved it so much when I made it as a kid, I don't want to change too much, but I also want to overhaul a lot. Again, I think I'm finding a balance.
Also, I can't afford a Bandai Perfect Grade kit.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Had to order styrene rods (No LHS in my neck of the woods). Delivery by March 15. I guess this will be the last thing I do on it- completion date: March 16. 
Edit: Found a hobby store 45 minutes from me, got the 1.6 mm rods, work will resume.
(This place even had Bandai X-Wings, Walkers & a Death Star II- whoah...)


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Just fabricated this small part I noticed was missing. Prepping the dish assembly for re-building (mostly scraping off paint).
And here I'll take the opportunity for a *proper rant*.
In researching for this re-do of my old build, I've come across many images & videos of the Perfect Grade Bandai kit. Which reminds me of my Moebius Viper & Galactica kits (which I had to work hard on to get to look 'organic' again).
It's all computerized now. Design/scan it in virtual, clean it up & spit it out with digitally created molds.
When you see these filming studio models for real, they are SO not perfect.
My recent MPC X-Wing kit was a joy because I had to add interesting/missing detail, not chip away any 'perfection'.
This MPC Falcon kit I'm re-working will not be perfect. The Perfect Grade Bandai kit is not perfect.
Perfection is an illusion.
Art is interpretive & fluid.
Unless you want to take a filming miniature & encase it in clear resin the moment it's done being filmed for a movie, you will never have perfection.
My MPC Falcon was sculpted by a real person who made a few errors that I will attend to & not completely fix because, MY errors, & it will still be cool in the end.
I hope. 
*







End rant.*


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

I've seen a lot of these MF's that, with a few mods, look really close to the filming miniature. You're right--no such thing as "perfection." All you have to to do is hit a few of the key features just right until it gels for you.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Adding _somewhat*_ accurate greebles to the sidewalls before the pipings....

*Okay, not 100% (or even 70%) accurate. So Force-choke me. I'm just havin' fun.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Chrisisall said:


> Adding _somewhat*_ accurate greebles to the sidewalls before the pipings....


Just gotta make the details look _*busy*_, man! 
(And yours do.)


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

so, ? the Millennium Falcon is basically a giant horseshoe magnet ?


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

alpink said:


> so, ? the Millennium Falcon is basically a giant horseshoe magnet ?


Ha!  That's what I've always thought.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

After 4 1/2 hours at it today I'm almost done. Just gotta attach the dish after the assembly is dry. All the tubes & greebles are on. Then a quick paint, streak & detail job- that won't be today though. My next post will be when she's finished.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

I meant my next post after _today. _
Dish is attached!
Last minute greeble & piping additions done.
Yeah, I know, I'm not even trying for any semblance of mm by mm perfection anymore. But it will be nice to look at from 2 feet away.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

_slips a quick pre-rust effects pic in_


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Okay, another accidental post I can't delete, so instead I give you the X-Wing's eye view...


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Yes, if you make a double post or an accidental one - the system will allow you to edit it - as above, but you cannot delete it yourself. If you dont want to do what @Chrisisall did - you can instead flag it with the report button or just edit it to say please delete or remove and one of us will delete it for you.

The problem is due to what is called 'lazy loading' and has been happening for quite a while now. And is currently being addressed.

When you submit a post now your mouse icon should turn into the little 'do not' red circle with the slash through it - letting (?) you know your submission is being processed. And I guess this is it to remind you not to click again - until it clears back to your own mouse icon. It does seem to be processing faster now as well, so you shouldnt have to wait to long or not be able to tell the submission was being processed anymore.

🤙


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Just to let folks know, painting is going slow. No days off, so that means only an hour here & there of work on it in between drying time & days. It's like doing an impressionist mosaic. No pictures now, I wanna show it done.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Can't wait!


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

StarshipClass said:


> Can't wait!


Tease picture. Still have to do rust & streaks, just a couple of hours should do it.... may be done by Sunday...


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Stay calm! But, I think there is someone behind you!


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

I finished ahead of schedule. Here she is.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

pretty darn cool.
congrats


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

alpink said:


> pretty darn cool.
> congrats


Thanks! Here it is in sunlight:


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

WOW, the sunlight pic is very much how a space ship would appear in space!


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

alpink said:


> WOW, the sunlight pic is very much how a space ship would appear in space!


Yeah, but as well as this turned out, I still need an ESB/ROTJ version.
1/144 TROS Bandai take me away!!!


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

Great job improving the look while respecting the nostalgia factor. Thanks for the step-by-step details as your rework progressed.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Trekkriffic said:


> Great job improving the look while respecting the nostalgia factor. Thanks for the step-by-step details as your rework progressed.


Thanks so much!
One tiny trick I forgot to mention in my documentation was the addition of 1.6mm rods along the upper edge of the mandibles (on both sides), and painting a permanent 'shadow' on the upper & lower inside edges of the sidewalls, all to give the visual impression of them being thinner. From a distance it seems to have worked...


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