Mark4700 Posted October 14 Posted October 14 Since going to the cinema back in the 70's to see the original Star Wars I've always loved the Millennium Falcon. I loved the look of it, that it was well used and had obviously seen some action, and I loved the name. Back then, I wanted to be Han Solo and own the Falcon. Fast forward 40 odd years and I was in a position to do just that, at least in 1/72 scale. I wanted to build it as accurately as possible so it had to be the Bandai kit. This is easily the most expensive and most complex kit I have ever built, and I have built 100's over the years. Not that it is a difficult build. As long as you follow the very detailed instructions and take your time it goes together very nicely. For me, the difficulty came with painting and weathering. This is where a kit costing over £300 could become an embarrassing mess. I got hold of as many images of the actual studio model on which it was built and stills from the film as I could. I used many methods that I had never used before, airbrushing smoke effects, oil paints, pastels and water colour pencils. All in all I'm very pleased with the result. Some poetic licence was used, as the effects on the original model are more basic as it is a much larger model. Anyway, this is the result of my efforts. And some pics of the underneath. Obviously if you weather the Falcon you have to remember that the weathering streaks of rust and crud run outwards on the upper surfaces and inwards on the lower surfaces. Here's some pics of the underneath. And finally some pics with it in flight on the stand. 30 14 1
Pete in Lincs Posted October 14 Posted October 14 Well that hits the spot. Solo said it was a piece of junk. I beg to differ. Certainly in this case. Great weathering. It's a well detailed model too. I always enjoy playing spot the greeblies on Star Wars ships. 2 1
scautomoton Posted October 14 Posted October 14 There's not much to be said about this which doesn't undersell how impressive the end result is. I aspire to this level of realism, both in skill and patience! 1
donkeychomp Posted October 14 Posted October 14 Fantastic. Is the swan in the background to scale? 😁 Alex 2
Pete in Lincs Posted October 15 Posted October 15 13 hours ago, donkeychomp said: Fantastic. Is the swan in the background to scale? 😁 Jedi Flamingo's 🦩 2
Uncle Monty Posted October 16 Posted October 16 brilliant work, one of the best I've seen. I love the different coloured panels from all the bodged (if I may use that word) repairs. Or perhaps Han would say 'upgrades'. Anyway, an excellent build. 1 1
nicholas mayhew Posted October 21 Posted October 21 Looks very eye-catching and the weathering makes me feel like I'm in a hangar with Han and Chewie working on the Falcon arguing over repairs! I like pretty much everything about your rendition, but highlight would probably be the engine grills. The only thing i don't much care for are the figures - in terms of moulding they look like they came from a box of Cornflakes in 1978, or from a low budget Christmas cracker; not a criticism of your painting btw Bandai fit may well be the best in the entire modelling business (surpassing even Kōtare), and their detail is up there with Tamiya and HKM in my view, but the £300 price tag for this kit has always just made me grit my teeth; I feel like if this wasn't Star Wars it would be around half the price...who knows? I'm interested in your use of oils for the weathering... what were they thinned with, because I know whilst Bandai may be masters of moulding technology, that mastery does not extend to not making models that just melt if you use the wrong paint, the wrong thinner, the wrong weathering product etc?! thanks for sharing 1
Alan R Posted October 23 Posted October 23 Once the canopy is in place, those figures won't look so toylike. Cheers, Alan. 1
Mark4700 Posted November 4 Author Posted November 4 On 21/10/2025 at 12:01, nicholas mayhew said: I'm interested in your use of oils for the weathering... what were they thinned with, because I know whilst Bandai may be masters of moulding technology, that mastery does not extend to not making models that just melt if you use the wrong paint, the wrong thinner, the wrong weathering product etc?! Sorry I haven't got around to answering you sooner, and thank you for your kind feedback. The basic answer is..... The plastic was well protected under layers of undercoat, top coat and sealant. Then only small amounts of oils were used. The more in-depth answer is below. After I built it I sprayed it all over either Mr Surfacer in black. When I was looking at a totally black Falcon I was definitely worried about whether I'd done the right thing, but I wanted the black to give some definition of shadow in the recessed areas. I then mixed a colour with Vallejo Model Air paints that looked an acceptable match to the reference pictures I could find. After a coat or two of that, depending on the shading I needed I gave the whole thing a coat of Pledge floor polish. Then came the weathering, building up layers of grime and rust. This is where I used my oil paints. I mixed the colours needed for the rust and grime streaks then used a cocktail stick to dap a small spot of oil paint at the source of the streak, then with a soft brush, barely damped with some Daler - Rowney oil thinner I pulled over the dot to create a streak.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now