Millennium Falcon - 1:241 Revell

[Paul A H]

Millennium Falcon

1:241 Revell

The new Star Wars film, currently breaking box office records around the globe, marks the return of the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy and perhaps the most widely recognised and space craft in the universe The Millennium Falcon. The customised Correllian cargo ship was last seen participating in the destruction of the second Death Star with Lando Calrissian at the controls, but now it's back with Han Solo and Chewbacca in the latest edition of the franchise. To coincide with this major release, Revell are pushing our Star Wars kits like nobody's business at the moment. We received a glut of kits to review a few months ago, but chasing up the rear is this diminutive iteration of the most famous Star Wars space craft of them all.

Inside the familiar end-opening box are four sprues of grey plastic and a single sprue of clear plastic which together hold a total of twenty parts. If you're thinking 'that's not very many' then you're absolutely right. Despite being labelled as a series three kit, this model is simplicity itself and construction should take no longer than half and hour or so in other words, perfect for the casual or younger modeller. The kit is well moulded as there is no flash present and, as far as I can tell, no flaws in the plastic. There is plenty of surface detail, although it is pretty clunky for the scale.

As you might expect from a kit with just twenty parts, construction is pretty straightforward. In short, all you need to do is fix the parts that form the vertical edges of the craft to the lower fuselage plate, insert the cockpit and seal everything up by adding the upper fuselage. Parts such as the docking area, escape pod and loading bay are present and correct, and the engine area is moulded from clear plastic which you can either paint or tint blue with the appropriate Tamiya acrylic. An optional stand is included too, which is a nice touch and opens up the possibility of using this kit as a neat little desk ornament (thinks: 'what would it look like under a coat of Alclad chrome?'). The radar dish is the old style version from the original films rather than the new version from The Force Awakens.

A comprehensive decal sheet is included which should minimise the amount of masking and painting that would otherwise be required. The decals are well printed and, unusually for Revell, are a semi-gloss finish, which should help to control silvering.

Millennium Falcon Model Set

1:241 Revell

This palm-sized kit is also available in Model Set guise. This means you get a handy double-ended paint brush, a selection of Revell's own acrylic paint and a pot of Revell's superb contacta adhesive (my personal choice for sticking kits together). In common with the regular edition of this kit, this set might be of limited appeal to the serious modeller (if there is such a thing) but would be an excellent introduction to the hobby for youngsters. As above, part count is low, detail is good, ease of assembly is... er, easy, and you get everything you need in one box. I made one with my four-and-a-bit year old son and he absolutely loved it.


Conclusion

While this is neither the most detail nor the most refined model of the Millennium Falcon, it should look pretty good if assembled and painted with care. Alternatively, younger modellers will have an absolutely blast chucking the thing together before engaging in an epic space battle with some of the other kits in the range. Recommended.

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

[GordonD]

Millennium Falcon

1:241 Revell

This palm-sized kit is also available in Model Set guise. This means you get a handy double-ended paint brush

I wonder if Darth Maul builds models...

[John_W]

My Son built this one a few years back, it was pre-painted and in the "Pocket Kit" range at the time.