Bandai PG Millennium Falcon

[FG2Si]

I've been working on a ZM 109 and it's been a bit of a challenging build to do. It's not quite done yet but I decided I needed something that will just go together without much thought. I picked up the original release of the Perfect Grade Millennium Falcon when it first came out and haven't done anything with it. Mostly the paint job I felt would be a tough one. Recently my LHS got me to try the new Aqueous Mr Surfacer 1000 for a primer. It's practically odourless and easy to use so with that and my desire for a straightforward build the Falcon is hitting the bench. 

 

 

It's a big one alright. 

 

 

With the ZM 109 for a size comparison. 

 

 

AM will be an absolute minimum if any at all. 

[FG2Si]

With this being such a large kit, I felt it was best to approach the paint with it still in sections. I'll then blend things together once I have a complete assembly.  So I've started with one of the mandibles. I'm using the recently available in Canada Aqueous Mr Surfacer for the pre-shading. This has a much lower odour and easier clean up than the regular Mr Surfacer. 

 

 

Here's the start of applying paint. 

 

 

And one side done. 

 

 

I then started on the circular pits in the mandibles. 

 

 

 

 

[Neil Lambess]

Nice weathering

[FG2Si]

I started adding the sidewalls to the mandible. 

 

There's a fair bit of detail to these parts and more to be added to them. It's also fun identifying the original kit parts that were used on the filming miniature.

 

 

 

With the maintenance wells in place.

 

 

I glued the two halves together just to be safe. 

 

 

[FG2Si]

With the main assembly done, I started adding all the detail bits and plumbing. These are moulded in ABS so are a bit more durable compared to styrene. 

 

 

Please ignore my cat's paw. He wouldn't move for the pic. 

 

 

 

 

 

With that one done, I started on the second mandible. 

 

 

Same as before, I pre-shaded the parts. 

 

 

Onto the first coat of paint. 

 

 

More to come I hope. 

 

Carl

[k5054nz]

After seeing the box contents - especially with the 109 - I finally understand the price of this kit. WOW!

[81-er]

Nice work so far

 

James

[FG2Si]

Sorry for the complete lack of updates. Time to fix that and get caught up. 

 

I finished assembling the second mandible, it basically went together like the first one. 

 

 

 

 

Next up I worked on the engine nozzles. I used a brown base for them but it didn't stand out as much as I'd hoped. 

 

 

 

 

 

Bandai include some large diffusers for the engine lights. These were assembled and installed next. 

 

 

 

 

 

[FG2Si]

Flipping the lower hull over, I started the paint work there. 

 

 

I jumped back and forth between the upper and lower hulls while the paint dried. 

 

 

 

Next up was the various open sections of the hull. 

 

The lower jawbox was painted and assembled and added to the lower hull. The LED is for the NLG bay. 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by FG2Si
Fix pic.

[FG2Si]

The front and rear halves of the lower hull were joined together.

 

 

I then added the mandibles as well.

 

 

Next up are the docking ports on either side. There's a bunch of parts for these and they build up in layers. 

 

 

Installed onto the hull.

 

 

 

[FG2Si]

Cockpit time. Mostly a cost of black paint and decals. 

 

 

For the crew, I decided to have Chewie and Princess Leia in the front seats with Han and Luke in the gunner seats. I also painted C-3P0 for one of the rear cockpit seats. 

 

 

I'm not the best at figure painting but these will stand up to viewing through the window glass. 

 

 

 

I missed out on taking pics of some steps but the cockpit was installed and the sub-assembly completed.

 

 

This was then attached to the upper hull. 

 

 

Finally both hull halves were joined together.

 

 

 

[Thom216]

Some nice paint on the figures.

[FG2Si]

3 hours ago, Thom216 said:

Some nice paint on the figures.

Thanks @Thom216! I'm more than happy with the way they turned out. 

 

[FG2Si]

Continuing with the update, I finished the upper jawbox.

 

 

It was then attached to the main assembly.

 

 

I then started on all the little greeblies and other details all over the hull.

 

 

 

 

 

Once installed, I blended them in with paint and some light weathering. 

 

 

 

[FG2Si]

Here's Luke in the lower gunner's seat. 

 

 

With the quad cannon installed, you really don't see much. 

 

 

Finally got all the details in place except for some around the rear which require decals be applied first. 

 

 

[81-er]

That's looking absolutely fantastic!

 

James

[modelerdave]

Just wow. I will be building this later in the year and this is definitely going to be a reference thread. Excellent work. 

[Fletch0311]

Fabulous work, and well documented. I can't wait to start on mine, had it for a while now but not started it yet. 

 

 

[Mike]

Looking good I've got one of these staring at me from a shelf above my head, and although I've built a smaller one, I'm a little nervous of doing this one.  Probably because they cost so much

[FG2Si]

2 hours ago, Mike said:

Probably because they cost so much

That was my same conundrum and why I didn't start mine until now. 

 

Here's my Bandai 1/144 one. This was the practice run for the bigger kit. 

 

 

 

I still have a Fine Molds 1/72 kit so I can do the later ESB version but that'll be another day. 

[Cklasse]

Very nice build. The price is stopping me from getting one although I would like to build this. I only have a 1/48 X-wing with movable motorized wings. 
 

Is there any interior details for this 1/72 MF?

Edited March 1, 2023 by Cklasse

[FG2Si]

7 hours ago, Cklasse said:

Very nice build. The price is stopping me from getting one although I would like to build this. I only have a 1/48 X-wing with movable motorized wings. 
 

Is there any interior details for this 1/72 MF?

 

Thanks!

 

Unfortunately the only interior detail is the cockpit and gun bays. The rest is empty. 

[FG2Si]

Time for a belated update. I've started on the decals. There's about 300 of them to apply. I've started with the larger coloured panels and then onto the small stencils. 

Here's the placement guide to give one an idea of how many decals there are.

 

 

Some of the  panel decals are done with a chipped pattern to them which is finer than I could do with paint and chipping fluid which is why I've stuck with them. 

 

The decals themselves are a bit of the stuff side but I've managed to get to them work using Tamiya Extra Strong decal solvent and a hair dryer. 

Here's one right after application.

 

 

 

 

Then I apply the decal solvent, wait a bit and use a hair dryer to further soften the decal. Using a wet cotton bud, I press it into the contours. 

Sometimes it takes a second or even third pass to get it to fully conform. 

 

The rest of the ship as I work my way around. 

 

 

 

 

On the engine deck I airbrushed a very thinned coat of flat black with a touch of brown for the exhaust stains. On the filming model, the stains are in a radial pattern as opposed to being in line with the airflow(spaceflow?).

 

 

I used the same mix to add some scorch marks around the damaged sections on the hull.

 

 

 

At this point the top is pretty much done and then I'll flip it over and do the underside. 

 

[Dermo245]

On 11/13/2022 at 12:45 AM, FG2Si said:

With this being such a large kit, I felt it was best to approach the paint with it still in sections. I'll then blend things together once I have a complete assembly.  So I've started with one of the mandibles. I'm using the recently available in Canada Aqueous Mr Surfacer for the pre-shading. This has a much lower odour and easier clean up than the regular Mr Surfacer. 

 

 

Here's the start of applying paint. 

 

 

And one side done. 

 

 

Very nice work. 
What paint are you using for the top colour?

 

 

[FG2Si]

10 hours ago, Dermo245 said:

 

Thanks! 

I'm using Gunze HUG 01 RX-78-2 Gundam White. Talk about a mouthful.

 

 

It's their aqueous version. I found that it thins nicely with Tamiya X20A and let's the pre-shading show through.  It's also available in their Gundam Color lacquer line and is UG01 MS White. 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 22, 2023 by FG2Si
Fix typo