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Fine Molds : Millenium Falcon |
| First Look : Build Diary : Gallery |
| General Assembly : Customization : Lighting : Painting |
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January 1, 2006 |
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Some of the parts were so small that no mortal hand could comfortably and safely hold them. I used small strips of masking tape to secure the parts while I removed them from the sprues and to aid in moving the parts around during the assembly stage. |
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The masking tape handles also helped when I applied the glue and stuck the parts on. At first, I tried using Bondene, a low viscousity plastic "welder" produced and marketed by Plastruct. I thought with the narrow application that a syringe needle affords and capulary action drawing the solvent into the mating surfaces of the parts things will be pretty easy-going. NOT SO! It was mostly a mess! The surface tension caused the fluid solvent to well up around the part and then dribble down the surface of the model, ruining the surface! After half and hour of this, I switched to Plastic Weld, a higher viscousity, stronger welding glue also made by Plastruct. I used a microbrush to apply the solvent to the back of the part, then applied the part to the hull before the solvent evaporated. Works like a charm! |
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Here is what the back-end of the hull part looked like, fresh out of the box. |
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6 hours and 336 parts later... WHEW! Now that's beginning to look like the fasted hunk of junk we all love! I really tried to avoid making glue smears in all that, but it was unavoidable in some instances--for my skill-level. I think out of all the parts, maybe I got a little glue squeez-out or smears on 10 percent of the parts. Most of those mistakes were repairable with a bit of sanding or with a seam scraper. But some were just too hard to clean up without making it look messier so I left them. I figure after the primer, base-coat, weathering, and grimey wash, who would can tell? I wonder if anyone would notice if them smears? |
| January 7, 2006 |
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Mostly worked on the sub-assemblies but also finished adding on all the "turkey feathers" to the engine exhaust port. 26 parts on top. 26 parts on the bottom! I love the way FineMolds did these parts. They were glass smooth and had barely visible part lines. After all 52 parts were trimmed from the sprues I used a hobby knife and a diamond flat file to clean up the part lines. They were then all glued into place. I think this is one of the most distinctive features on the Falcon, and FineMolds makes it look great! |
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Here are the finished sub-assemblies, ready for paint! They consist of the radar dish and mount, the 2 cylindrical structures that flank the Falcon port and starboard (What are they? Docking ports?), the inner walls of the loading mandibles, the inner walls of the box structures that sit between the mandibles, and 5 of the exposed equipment bays that ring the Falcon's hull. Including the turkey feathers, that's 115 parts trimmed, prepped and applied! |
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Here's a close-up of those docking rings. Lot's of detail! |
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FineMolds did a fine job squeezing in lots of crisp detail in the various equipment bays. The radar dish's detail, I think might be a bit too heavy. Also, there's talk that the dish may be too small. I'm not sure about it, but my impression is that a bigger dish might better match the look of the 5 foot miniature, which to me looks relatively larger. |
| January 9, 2006 |
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Spent 2 hours tonight working on the bottom hull. Glued on 58 parts. There's tons of detail on the back just below the engine port! I think this will look excellent with some weathering and a good, beat up paint job! |
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Nice bits under here too, just behind the lower gun turret. |
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More detail in the lower box structure near the gun turret. |
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The front of the lower box structure between the mandibles. |
| January 12, 2006 |
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Assembled most of the "guts-on-the-outside" panels plus the detail on the top of the tunnel leading to the cockpit. Approximately 3 hours spent. 101 parts applied. |
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Only 5 additional parts were added to the detail that is molded into the top of the cockpit tunnel, but the end result is fantastic. The to trench as shown in the photo at the left is simply brimming with detail! |
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The level of sharply rendered detail is immense! The Falcon's side panels are just screaming out to be heavily weathered! I'll am only too happy to oblige! |
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Here's a "guts" feature that isn't on the 5 footer! What is that? A toilet tank float?! |
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Many tranny housings gave their lives for these Falcon "guts". |
| First Look : Build Diary : Gallery |
| General Assembly : Customization : Lighting : Painting |
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