# Lighted Bandai Falcon- WIP



## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Now that the T-70 is done, I figured I'd jump right into the Falcon. The Falcon will be lit. For the engines I'm using a leftover LED light strip from one of our aquariums. I removed it from the plastic housing and discovered the tape is mounted on thin strip of aluminum. I was easily able to bend this to the right curvature of the engine panel. It may be an LED or two too long, but it fits and looks great so I'm leaving it as is. What do you guys think? Oh, and no hot spots!!


























A quick video
View My Video


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

:thumbsup:I like it!:thumbsup:
-Jim G.G.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Would it be wrong to say that seems perfect?


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## Neverendingmods (May 31, 2006)

*Wow!*

Looks great! I may have to try the same thing! Er, do you mind telling us the brand and style of aquarium lights. . . ?


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## crowe-t (Jul 30, 2010)

With some light blocking the extra length of the LED strip shouldn't matter much. Excellent job so far!


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks guys. If I remember correctly it was a GloFish 8 inch light strip.


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

There are a ton of places to get LED strips, such as http://www.paragrafix.biz/product_detail.asp?PPartNum=PLD-B-HD-0.6

:wave:


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## JeffBond (Dec 9, 2013)

BTW, if you go to any Dollar Tree store and look at the Christmas items in the front of the store, you will see tons of 10-LED battery light sets like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Hou...3&keywords="Christmas+House"+10+LED+light+set

At Dollar Tree they cost ONE DOLLAR. They come in white, yellow, blue and red. The battery box is a bit too large to fit in the Bandai Falcon but you could replace that with a 2-AAA box pretty easily and the LEDs are EXACTLY the correct size to fit into the Bandai Falcon light mounts. Don't buy the sets from Amazon--they're like 7 bucks a piece plus almost as much in shipping. They had HUNDREDS at my local Dollar Tree. Much better deal than paying $40 to ship a Bandai light kit from Japan...


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## Neverendingmods (May 31, 2006)

*Thank You!*

Thanks, everybody -- lots of options!:thumbsup:


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Yes guys, this is just LED tape like Paulbo linked to. I just happened to have this on hand and it worked. The bonus to what I used is that the tape was already stuck to a strip of aluminum which allowed me to bend it. I would recommend buying the tape from paragrafix or similar.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I stock up on the cheap LED sets each Christmas- best way to light on a budget. I would love to have one of the better aftermarket kits available, but quite honestly I can buy another model kit with the money those cost. One day I will be able to get a Jupiter 2 fusion core lighting kit- no shortcuts for that for sure...


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Did some more work on the Falcon. I got the back wall and dashboard drilled for fiber optics. Back wall also got painted up and fibers installed.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Man, that's gonna pop. 

So, how are you feeling about the cockpit canopy and the frame thickness? Gonna thin it, rebuild it or go with the 'glass'?


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks Steve. I'm hoping Tony comes out with a thinner 3D printed version. If not, I'm not sure which canopy I'll go with....


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

robiwon said:


> Thanks Steve. I'm hoping Tony comes out with a thinner 3D printed version. If not, I'm not sure which canopy I'll go with....


Let me make a couple of uninformed suggestions 

1. Give the clear canopy a dip in Future and see how that looks. With those lights you're putting into the cockpit I think it would 'bounce' the light a little and put more 'fill' in the cockpit tub and be very nice to look at. 

2. You could try thinning the glassless canopy frame, if that fails you still have the clear part.

3. This is radical and old school. Pull a vacuum form copy off the clear canopy part and use that. Conversly, use the vac form part as a tool to make a new canopy from thin brass strips. (SUPER Old School. I mean that's '60s show car model stuff.  )


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks for the tips Steve. Oh, and I always dip my canopies in Future! I have a bottle permanently attached to my desk, LOL. I think I even have a stickied tutorial of future dipping around here somewhere on HT.


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## edge10 (Oct 19, 2013)

Love the cockpit so far. Keep it up!


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Just ordered from Shapeways, Tony's new semi translucent and opened engine baffles. These will replace the kits clear blue strip. The kits engine baffles are solid plastic and would have to be drilled out. Now we have a nice diffuser for lighting and the detail of the baffles in a semi clear part!!!
https://www.shapeways.com/product/R...ine-nozzles?li=shop-results&optionId=58507343


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Got the cockpit completed over the weekend as well as Han and Chewie.

Chewie with pre-shading. Looks a bit like a Clone Trooper!









With some different browns mixed in and some silver for his belt.









Han was a little easier.









Now, problem one. After placing them in their seats it was pointed out on FB by a friend that the seat backs are far too large and squared off.









Also Han sat very low in the seat. I broke out the Dremel and rounded the seat backs, reducing their height. I also made Han a scale phone book to sit on...









Now it looks much better.

















I also tried my hand at thinning the canopy frame. Looks pretty good.


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

More work done on the Falcon. Fibers ran for the landing lights. These will be red as they are in the new movie.

















More detail added to the rear deck. More to add still.









More lighting tests. The cockpit will be lit with various color LEDs.


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## INVAR (Mar 28, 2014)

Absolutely excellent! This kit will be the first I light in (roughly) the 35 years of Star Wars modeling for me. Though I probably will not be as extensive in the lighting with the fiber optics as you have been. I do like the red running lights - so I may attempt to do those. Probably will not light the cockpit except for a single light or the 'fluorescent' white bars that run on either side. For my first lighting experience at this scale - a man has to know his limitations. So for me, I think less is going to be more.

My problem is that I would prefer to have all the electronics and batteries inside the Falcon itself rather than from the base running the wiring up the supports. I still like to sail my ships through the air. Will have to troubleshoot that even before I get into the build.

I have finished my Y-wing, so I will get pics up sometime this week. I'm re-doing the Death Star base because the wash on the gray has made it look 'dirty' as opposed to simply bringing out the recessed details.

But thanks for the WIP Robiwon! They do help us out here tremendously!


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Glad to help out a fellow Kentuckian! Mine will also be powered by a 9v battery. I'll need to open the rear access bay a little bit to get the 9v battery to fit in. I'll also have that panel held in place with rare earth magnets.

Check out Modeltrainsoftware.com. They have all kinds of LEDs, that's where I get mine. They are all pre-wired with resistors. I got mine to run on 9v. Easy as pie.


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## INVAR (Mar 28, 2014)

Awesome! Thanks! I will be interested to see how you did yours - as I might attempt to follow suit and do likewise for what I will light.


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## Fernando Mureb (Nov 12, 2006)

Fantastic!!  Thanks for sharing. :thumbsup:


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## Fernando Mureb (Nov 12, 2006)

Hobiwon

In your opinion, is this the Falcon's most accurate kit?


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

I'm no expert, but from what the experts have said, Yes, this is the most accurate Falcon out there. Now, that means its the most accurate to the Force Awakens Falcon. If you want to model one from the original trilogy you will need to do a few mods like replace the dish with a round one from Shapeways. The consensus is that the Force Awakens Falcon was highly based on the 5 footer. The main thing is the hull shape is the correct fatty or hamburger shape, not squashed like both of the FM kits.


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## electric indigo (Dec 21, 2011)

You'd also need to rework the piping along the sidewalls & airlocks for an OT Falcon.


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

I ordered a strip of "Easy LED" from Paragrafix on Thursday morning. Tracking showed it was to arrive today or tomorrow, it showed up Saturday! That's some quick shipping!!!


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## MLCrisis32 (Oct 11, 2011)

Looks awesome so far. Always amazes me how people manage to fit so much into a tiny space.


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## robiwon2 (Jun 26, 2016)

Well now that the Salzo Galactica is done and WonderFest is but a distant memory, I figured it was time to get back on the Bandai Falcon. This has turned into a sort of commission build for a friend of mine. 
Finished painting with my new cans of Tamiya AS-20. Lights are all done, assembly has been completed and two nights spent on decaling the upper hull. Turning out pretty spiffy me thinks.

















Partially decaled, job was finished last night.


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## robiwon2 (Jun 26, 2016)

Topside done...


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## robiwon2 (Jun 26, 2016)

Finished the decals Friday and started the weathering. I'm using oils (first time) and pastel powders. The first few in progress shots shows how easy it is to over weather a Falcon. The weathering has been toned down. Far too many I see, imho, have gone a wee too far. I wanted mine to be more subtle. Still need to do the bottom after the top dries.


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## robiwon2 (Jun 26, 2016)

Weathering is now done on the top side. I think it came out pretty good.


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## Fernando Mureb (Nov 12, 2006)

Extraordinary work!! Congratulations!!


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## robiwon2 (Jun 26, 2016)

Thanks. My first time really working with oils. I'm using Turpenoid and NOT turpentine to avoid any stress crack issues. Really liking them. I have not touched it since Sunday. I'll check tonight to see if it's dried yet.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

That's really turned out well. I like your more subtle use of the 'blue-gray' panels (as opposed to the 'on-model' look where they stand out and shout "look at me!').

Now Bandai can bring on the original 'Star Wars' Falcon, hah?


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## robiwon2 (Jun 26, 2016)

Thanks Steve. Subtle is what it's all about. None of the colored panels really stood out on film. I just hope the owner is happy with it.


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## robiwon2 (Jun 26, 2016)

The bottom is now finished and the ship is done. A few days for the oils to dry and then some dull coat. I'll do the base tonight. Should be done so I can show her off at this weekends club meeting. Then off to her new owner!

A few dots of Burnt Umber.









Nicely smeared and streaked.









Some pastel chalk action and she's done!


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