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Re: ANH 5 Footer Millennium Falcon Miniature Filming Replica.

Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 9:13 pm
by oota goota
look at the size of that thing!

Re: ANH 5 Footer Millennium Falcon Miniature Filming Replica.

Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 9:23 pm
by MattG
eagle1 wrote:...Funny thing, sections of the Falcon that were cobbled together from kit parts were cast & used on other Star Wars miniatures & also, these same cast sections can be found on the Galactica miniature as well...
I didn't know that the Galactica shared some pre-cast assemblies that originated from the Falcon. That's quite cool that they have a common heritage.

Re: ANH 5 Footer Millennium Falcon Miniature Filming Replica.

Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 10:32 pm
by Harvey Mushman
Given that Dykstra left ILM to go work on that show, that doesn't surprise me...

Oh, I've been told some of the stories of him leaving ILM (from someone who was there), but I can't share them (but let's just say, it is jawdropping).

Re: ANH 5 Footer Millennium Falcon Miniature Filming Replica.

Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 10:39 pm
by MattG
Harvey Mushman wrote:Given that Dykstra left ILM to go work on that show, that doesn't surprise me...
No, can't say I'm surprised, but it is cool to hear the trivia and history.

Re: ANH 5 Footer Millennium Falcon Miniature Filming Replica.

Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 12:46 pm
by eagle1
MattG wrote:I have a lot of respect for modelers who scratchbuild from styrene and kit-bashing!

Your pics so far are fantastic. The detail photos are quite beautiful, but this sort of one is also very cool, as it starts to show the scale you're talking about.

Image
DSCF1959 by falconbuilder, on Flickr
eagle1 wrote:...I want to show off this Falcon when she's completed, so who knows, hey, a Falcon party, how does that sound?...
Personally, I'd love to see this in person when you've got it finished. If you need help finding or organising a way to show it in public, do shout out!
Thanks all for the comments, I will post regular updates here as much as possible.

Cheers Matt, I'd very much like to display it here in NZ upon completion for folks to enjoy, maybe even from the point of view of getting some commission work, I'm open to that idea. Your help mate would be very much appreciated.

When you see the various sections of the Falcon in subassemblies, such as the cockpit, you do really appreciate just how big this miniature actually is!. The cockpit tube is 5 3/4" ABS tube. The gun turret for example is 11 1/2" diameter at the base.
There is a serious amount of plastic sheet stock used on her. All that lovely armour plating on the hull, with all those lovely notches cut out of each panel, is 1.5mm thick styrene!. All those notches by the way were cut out using a tool called a 'nibbler', used in the panel beating industry to cut metal, one bite at a time. I have the tool & its amazing how it makes a precise 6.5mm x 2.4mm cut, perfect!.

Stu

Re: ANH 5 Footer Millennium Falcon Miniature Filming Replica.

Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:19 pm
by Buzz Bumble
eagle1 wrote:... maybe even from the point of view of getting some commission work, I'm open to that idea. ...
Unfortunately most professional model-making these days is done on a computer. The arrival of cheap 3D printers for home use means computer-created models will become even more popular, even though there is a physical object at the end..

Re: ANH 5 Footer Millennium Falcon Miniature Filming Replica.

Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 10:33 pm
by Anaria
Wow, what a project! Looking great so far, looking forward to seeing your progress :)

Re: ANH 5 Footer Millennium Falcon Miniature Filming Replica.

Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:36 pm
by eagle1
Buzz Bumble wrote:
eagle1 wrote:... maybe even from the point of view of getting some commission work, I'm open to that idea. ...
Unfortunately most professional model-making these days is done on a computer. The arrival of cheap 3D printers for home use means computer-created models will become even more popular, even though there is a physical object at the end..
Yes, you are right regarding 3D modelling & cg-created models.
You would be surprised though, just how many collectors still want a physical model, made from the original kit parts & essentially made 'old school' style!. This is how my Falcon will be made, building a blank hull from plastic/metal, a metal armature & covered in actual/cast accurate kit parts.
A friend of mine in the U.S. is planning on a CNC milled hull, expensive, but can be done, in a medium of your choice.

A 3D-printed Falcon could be done, probably for the same price as a conventional one, but you still have to have access to all the donor kit parts to copy & print off. I have worked with printed parts & find them a pain to work with, in the sense that a lot of clean up needs to done, especially trying to get smooth, removing all the 'layers'. Yes, the parts were ultra hi-rez too!.

Stu

Re: ANH 5 Footer Millennium Falcon Miniature Filming Replica.

Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:38 pm
by eagle1
Anaria wrote:Wow, what a project! Looking great so far, looking forward to seeing your progress :)
Thanks Kristy (it is Kristy isn't it?), glad you like it so far & great to be back, I really don't know why I absconded for sooooo long?.
Stu

Re: ANH 5 Footer Millennium Falcon Miniature Filming Replica.

Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 1:29 am
by Buzz Bumble
eagle1 wrote:[I have worked with printed parts & find them a pain to work with, in the sense that a lot of clean up needs to done, especially trying to get smooth, removing all the 'layers'. Yes, the parts were ultra hi-rez too!.
There was an article recently in the local North Shore Times freebie newspaper about someone who is using 3D printing at home to build a full-size replica of an old Aston Martin. Apparently he sets it up to print a part, then leaves it printing for the week, then cleans up the part which takes a while. At the moment he's got the plastic parts laid out on a wooden frame, but once he's got all the plastic parts made, he's planning to use them to create a mould to make fibreglass panels, and fit those onto a chassis with a Nissan Skyline engine. It's probably on the newspaper's website.

The NZ Herald website crashes my old computer, but I think this is the same story: 3D Printed Replica Aston Martin.