2014 Disney Millennium Falcon sidewalls

[Viper78]

Hi, I'm finally looking to paint my Disney Millennium Falcon (large toy model) and I was wondering if anyone knows where I can buy the replacement sidewalls at a reasonable price?

 

I've seen some sites selling these part but they are around £100 for both sides. I'm not looking to recreate a screen accurate model but if anyone knows of any cheaper alternatives then that would be helpful.

 

Thanks

 

Edited September 6, 2019 by Viper78

[j_holtslander]

Perhaps somewhere on Shapeways?

[Viper78]

52 minutes ago, j_holtslander said:

Perhaps somewhere on Shapeways?

Thanks, I'll have a look.

[Viper78]

Okay, I haven't found anything suitable at a reasonable price so I'm going to try and find some kit parts to make the sidewalls.

 

I've heard that car and tank kits are the best for parts, does anyone have any recommendations?

[Madmonk]

Shapeways will cost you over £300 to get the parts needed!

 

Randy Cooper does a set for about £170 but the toy needs major surgery to make them fit.

 

scratch built is the only way to go on a budget.

[CT7567]

On 9/17/2019 at 7:49 AM, Viper78 said:

Okay, I haven't found anything suitable at a reasonable price so I'm going to try and find some kit parts to make the sidewalls.

 

I've heard that car and tank kits are the best for parts, does anyone have any recommendations?

A substantial amount of the original "studio scale" greeblies came from 1/35 armor and 1/24-25 car kits. For relatively smaller scale models, although you can find car kits in comparatively smaller scale it's tough to find them with separate engine & drivetrain components that you're looking for.  1/72 or 1/76 armor is a better parts source, and you can even find some kits in 1/144 scale (Dragon produced an extensive line of very well detailed kits, some of which even include photoetched parts and/or metal barrels).

 

Another good source of smaller scale kitbash fodder is warship kits and accessory sets. You can often find older kits secondhand that can be a goldmine of useful plastic.  Also look for separate weapon & equipment sets, which can give you a higher concentration of usable detail parts for the price.

 

In the sci-fi field, there are customization sets made for Gundam-type models (mecha and such). Some of these are specific to a kit or scale (weapons, robot hands, etc) but others are more generic shapes and parts that can be extremely useful in kitbashing.  Look for "options" sets from companies like Wave and Kotobukiya.

 

Last but by no means least, model railroading sets include a multitude of structures, equipment, and accessories that can represent the kind of "guts on the outside" mechanical aesthetic the Falcon is famous for.  If you have a good railroad shop in your area, stop in and browse their selection to see what you might want to use.

 

It sounds like this may be a one-time project for you, but if you think you might do more - or need more than one copy of a particular part, if for example you want it to appear on both sides of the ship - it might be worth picking up a basic resin casting set.  This allows you to duplicate your favorite parts and reuse them (even cut up and rearranged) in more than one place or on on multiple models.  This is actually exactly what ILM did when building the originals, for example with the "droid strip" on top of the X-Wing also found on various other miniatures including some of the Death Star surface tiles.

 

Hope that's helpful - keep us posted and share your progress!

[Viper78]

2 hours ago, CT7567 said:

A substantial amount of the original "studio scale" greeblies came from 1/35 armor and 1/24-25 car kits. For relatively smaller scale models, although you can find car kits in comparatively smaller scale it's tough to find them with separate engine & drivetrain components that you're looking for.  1/72 or 1/76 armor is a better parts source, and you can even find some kits in 1/144 scale (Dragon produced an extensive line of very well detailed kits, some of which even include photoetched parts and/or metal barrels).

 

Another good source of smaller scale kitbash fodder is warship kits and accessory sets. You can often find older kits secondhand that can be a goldmine of useful plastic.  Also look for separate weapon & equipment sets, which can give you a higher concentration of usable detail parts for the price.

 

In the sci-fi field, there are customization sets made for Gundam-type models (mecha and such). Some of these are specific to a kit or scale (weapons, robot hands, etc) but others are more generic shapes and parts that can be extremely useful in kitbashing.  Look for "options" sets from companies like Wave and Kotobukiya.

 

Last but by no means least, model railroading sets include a multitude of structures, equipment, and accessories that can represent the kind of "guts on the outside" mechanical aesthetic the Falcon is famous for.  If you have a good railroad shop in your area, stop in and browse their selection to see what you might want to use.

 

It sounds like this may be a one-time project for you, but if you think you might do more - or need more than one copy of a particular part, if for example you want it to appear on both sides of the ship - it might be worth picking up a basic resin casting set.  This allows you to duplicate your favorite parts and reuse them (even cut up and rearranged) in more than one place or on on multiple models.  This is actually exactly what ILM did when building the originals, for example with the "droid strip" on top of the X-Wing also found on various other miniatures including some of the Death Star surface tiles.

 

Hope that's helpful - keep us posted and share your progress!

Thanks you for all this information! It will be a huge help with the Falcon, I had heard that WW2 tanks and cars were a good source for parts but I hadn't considered the other kits you have mentioned. 

 

You are correct that this at the moment will be a one time project, as a child I often built model aircraft and then as a teenager I was more interested in sci-fi kits like the ERTL Star Trek series. I haven't built a kit since before my eldest child was born so that's probably about 15 years. I do have some kits still waiting to be completed such as the Cutaway Millennium Falcon, ERTL Enterprise-D, Moebuis Battlestar Galactica and now this Disney Falcon so I am hopeful that I will get back into model building.

 

I have no experience with kitbashing as every model I have built have used the standard or manufactured replacement parts. I did once light a ERTL Enterprise-D which took forever to drill out the windows but I am looking forward to sourcing parts for the Falcon, I'll hopefully find some bargain kits on ebay as there are no longer any decent model shops in my area.

 

Thanks again!

[Viper78]

On 9/18/2019 at 9:37 PM, Viper78 said:

Thanks you for all this information! It will be a huge help with the Falcon, I had heard that WW2 tanks and cars were a good source for parts but I hadn't considered the other kits you have mentioned. 

 

You are correct that this at the moment will be a one time project, as a child I often built model aircraft and then as a teenager I was more interested in sci-fi kits like the ERTL Star Trek series. I haven't built a kit since before my eldest child was born so that's probably about 15 years. I do have some kits still waiting to be completed such as the Cutaway Millennium Falcon, ERTL Enterprise-D, Moebuis Battlestar Galactica and now this Disney Falcon so I am hopeful that I will get back into model building.

 

I have no experience with kitbashing as every model I have built have used the standard or manufactured replacement parts. I did once light a ERTL Enterprise-D which took forever to drill out the windows but I am looking forward to sourcing parts for the Falcon, I'll hopefully find some bargain kits on ebay as there are no longer any decent model shops in my area.

 

Thanks again!

Does anyone know where I can source kitbash parts for the Falcon? 

 

I'm not looking to make a studio accurate replica so I'm not too fussy, but I'd rather try and find a job lot of parts rather than spending money on individual kits.