Star Wars - "Millennium Falcon Cockpit" - 1/12 Scale Illuminated

[zathros]

Being that this is you making this model, I didn't have to say "Greeble" the crap out of it because UHU pretty much just went with the flat graphics route. Greeble it you surely did!! I doubt that UHU works too closely with exact scale, none of his models ever have figures, a lot of stuff he just makes up ("BSG" Vipers under "panel parts") none of that stuff is shown anywhere, the only pictues I ever found were concept ones, but they were so small and useless, same thing with his "X-Wing", I believe he did the only thing you can do, wing it. This cockpit is going to really be an eye catcher , especialy lit up at night. Fantastic job!

 

[Revell-Fan]

Its hard to explain in words but the legs would protrude through the sides of the body they are so long.

So it is exactly like on the original mockup!

I have found this on Google:

HotToys figures in cockpit. That must be gigantic!

I'm very sorry for your wife. I really hope that she'll be better soon.

 

[micahrogers]

The upscale required appears to be not quite that straightforward. It appears after more checking and testing with the Hasbro characters that there are areas that may be needing significant changes such as the leg area around the control console inside the cockpit. The characters legs are very long and the minimum width that the joints will allow is still way more than will fit... Its hard to explain in words but the legs would protrude through the sides of the body they are so long. I think it would be necessary to maybe redesign the body somewhat to accommodate these characters. It is unfortunate that they were not available when UHU02 was originally designing the model. The contours and size/spacing of some of the key items would need to be changed in relation to one-another I think. If it was up-scaled based on the size of the legs, then other areas would look too large. If the model was up- scaled based on the seats, then the legs would still be way too long to fit, unless the legs were cut down, or off altogether . It wouldn't be a case of course just doubling the size of the model as a quick fix as that would make it way too big overall. It's gonna take some effort to make the combination with Hasbro figures work. I think that the model as it is from UHU02 is more like 1/12.75 scale.and some of the areas inside are 1/13 scale or thereabouts. The Hasbro characters are also pretty darn heavyweights too! The model would be easily crushed on the sides when it was lifted without substantial strengthening to the outer shell, flooring, seats, stand, and so on. Yeah, if anyone is thinking of buying these Hasbro Black Series characters to decorate this model in its original form, don't waste your money... and these figures are expensive and difficult to get as they are collectors items generally! If you wanted to go the whole hog, and add Princess Leia, C3-PO, and R2-D2, to the mix then WOW!! That would be REALLY heavy! There are also some 3.75" figures from Hasbro out there but the detail is not good, and they of course are too small

Thanks for the kind feedback as well Revell-Fan! I appreciate your support! thumbsup

actually the set cockpit dose not fit in the filming miniature, or the full size set piece. it suffers from Sci Fi Scale Effect.

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

You are doing an AMAZING job on this model!
Both you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. I hope that your wife makes a strong and speedy recovery.

 

[mtrappett]

Now we are really getting into the lighting of the model.

Now all the fiber-optic cables are clearly marked, I bundled them together accordingly using heat-shrink tubing. Shrinking has to be done with care as it can cause damage to the fibers in the form of melting completely or bending into a crazy-straw looking thing . Another problem that happened along the merry-way was that if the fiber is inadvertently tugged a bit too much, it could be pulled right out of its plug-hole . Dang, it sucked when that happened! I then had to find out where it came from, re-drill the hole, feed the fiber back in (not an easy task) and then glue it a few times to the surrounding stuff to get a good strong anchor for it. It only happened about 20 times .



There were several ways I was going to tackle the fiber-optics before settling on the method actually used for this model. I was thinking to start with of just making the fibers all very long so they all land in one place. Maybe at the bottom of the model? This would mean there would be a huge bundle to deal with, trying to figure out any mistakes or issues with a broken fiber would be hard to say the least. Also, routing the fibers through the bulkheads and other stuff could get ugly especially if they all needed to change due to a update in the structure of the model. You would also need probably 4 or 5 times more fiber, and I already used about 150 feet so that would be about about 600 feet of fiber needed to do it that way! .



Each bundle of fibers has its own light source. This is in the form of a colored LED. Each LED has its own resistor based on the DC power that I wanted to use.



You really have to make sure to use a bunch of the white Elmer's Extra Strength glue to hold these fiber puppies in.



I found that the springiness of the fiber-optic cables and the wires in some areas made them protrude from the insides. This won't be any good because the outer skin of the body needs to be able to freely slide over the cylinder shape of the main body. There cannot be any protrusions or that just ain't gonna be an option! So, I made some of these little tie bases to hold down the goodies where needed. They work really good! I just glued them on, and then wrapped the wire around the bundle in question. I think I used about 20 of them.



I also spent time strengthening and aligning all the frame parts as I went along. I used some 3mm round spruce wood to brace the sides of the bulkhead. Man, that made a super difference in the alignment, and the strength overall. It also doubled at keeping the guts of it all inside the model as can been seen in the picture below.

Clamping is also a necessity using various methods such as paper-clips, tiny clothes pins, plastic clamps, masking tape and so on.



Here's the control console being retro-fitted with the fiber-optics. There was really little advantage to drilling the holes prior to assembly as it was better to make those judgments on the fly! It may not be possible to light every single lamp on the models cabin, dashboard or whatever, and when its built, you can be sure it will be seen.



I made it so all the fiber-optics and associated stuff would be contained inside the console as a single unit. The console still swings as usual with no interruption.



I couldn't resist making the display on the dashboard glow as on the actual M. Falcon. It was a bit intricate to make it happen, but it turned out pretty nice I think.



The semi-transparent screen appears green, but when powered up is a light-blue color.







Just some pre-installation testing to make sure everything works as it should. Some of the lights flash too to add a little contrast to it all. Oh, yes, and the what looks like some kind of "flux-capacitor" item at the back of the console, I just couldn't resist making slowly pulse blue with a heart-beat rhythm. I have a tiny video of that somewhere.



None of the fibers or wiring details can be seen to give it all away. Just two thin wires coming out of it is all.







Time to attach the console to the main body of the M. Falcon. By the way, you might be able to see how little clearance there is in comparison to the Black Series Star Wars characters body and legs. There is just way too little room.



The side panels. They also have fiber-optics installed in various locations.



Another quick test to make sure all is working. Each LED, fiber-optic is checked for correct operation, color, brightness, and so on.











We have light! The sides of the cabin at the front have not yet been completed in this picture.

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

WOW The lighting really brings the model to life!!!

 

[SteveKirkman]

Dang dude! That is beautiful! I like how neat your fiber installation is too. Patiently waiting for more..

 

[mtrappett]

Being that this is you making this model, I didn't have to say "Greeble" the crap out of it because UHU pretty much just went with the flat graphics route. Greeble it you surely did!! I doubt that UHU works too closely with exact scale, none of his models ever have figures, a lot of stuff he just makes up ("BSG" Vipers under "panel parts") none of that stuff is shown anywhere, the only pictues I ever found were concept ones, but they were so small and useless, same thing with his "X-Wing", I believe he did the only thing you can do, wing it. This cockpit is going to really be an eye catcher , especialy lit up at night. Fantastic job!

Thank you zathros. I much appreciate it! I would be nice to see the actual under-panel parts for the BSG Viper 2. BSG was a great series! I would really like to build the Viper one day, as well as the Enterprise from ST.

 

[mtrappett]

WOW The lighting really brings the model to life!!!

Thank you Rhaven! I'm glad you like it.

 

[mtrappett]

Dang dude! That is beautiful! I like how neat your fiber installation is too. Patiently waiting for more..

Much appreciate it Steve! Thank you for the kind words.

 

[mtrappett]

So it is exactly like on the original mockup!

I have found this on Google:

HotToys figures in cockpit. That must be gigantic!

I'm very sorry for your wife. I really hope that she'll be better soon.

Thank you Revell-Fan! thumbsup Ah, these are some fine photos you have located! I have copied these down for reference. That's a really nice one from HotToys! The characters are fantastic too! A real live furry Wookie!

Oh, that's really crazy with the studio mockup! Same issues! That is going to be a hard problem to resolve then!

I appreciate the thoughts for my wife too! That is a nightmare for me right now.

 

[mtrappett]

actually the set cockpit dose not fit in the filming miniature, or the full size set piece. it suffers from Sci Fi Scale Effect.

Wow, that's interesting! Hmmmm... I just did a search too and found this site. Oh, it makes me wish I had been around it all back then. The CG stuff is awesome, but I don't know, there is just something about working with things you can feel in your hands. That was the stuff that dreams were made of!

"Roger Christian, hired by Lucas to build and decorate his sets, is generally credited with coming up with the ingenious idea of going to scrapyards, buying piles of old airplane parts and the like, stripping the parts down to interesting-looking small modules, and then applying the bits over the set in a visually logical and believable fashion. Lucas dubbed these random parts "greeblies" (sometimes shortened to "greebles"). "

My brother used to say to me, way back in day, fourty years ago or more, "Mark, you need to be working at a place that does special effects for movies..." "That's how you would be able to do the things you like to do..."

I'm still working on it!

 

[Revell-Fan]

Your work is jaw-dropping! :Bravo: :Bravo: :Bravo:

 

[bigpetr]

Site you found is best reference I know of. Your model is fabulouse. It is pitty that some photos are blurry.

 

[mtrappett]

Site you found is best reference I know of. Your model is fabulouse. It is pitty that some photos are blurry.

Thank you for your comments. Sorry for the blurry photos. I will be taking better ones of the finished model using the tripod. The lighted shots need a very steady hand.

Thanks again! thumbsup

 

[mtrappett]

Your work is jaw-dropping! :Bravo: :Bravo: :Bravo:

That's very kind of you Revell-Fan. A kind word is so valuable these days the way everything is. I feel somehow like I'm racing against time.... it's strange?

 

[mtrappett]

I found a few more photos that I took that aren't quite so blurry of when testing the lighting on the M. Falcon.




The sides that lift up that allow you to take photos of the inside of the model, now do not require paper-clips to hold them in alignment in the closed position. I braced the doors/lids so they are more solid with glue-gussets, and pieces of cardboard in the corners where needed for added rigidity.



This is the top panel that goes above the heads of the pilots. There is a nice touch that UHU02 added of a pair of furry-dice that hang on a string from above. Trouble is though it's very delicate, and I will need to re-attach them again at the end of the build.



With the upper panel in place, it makes it very awkward to experiment fitting any kind of figure in the cockpit. Everything clashes with those round hoses that hang down as you try and wiggle the figures into place. Oh, also, the ends of the upper panel are a bit too long and needed to be trimmed just a little on my build.




This is where I started testing the attachment of the nose-cone onto the main body where it slides into place. At least it is supposed to . This required a lot of finessing to get it to fit right. I took a photo of one of the typical issues below where the edge was being forced upwards away from the bulkhead. I had to trim away in a few places. There seems to be no quick way around this. You just have to slowly go around the edge fixing each point working on about an inch at a time, cutting, trimming, and sanding the area where the two join. The problem will be is if this is not corrected, the main outer skin will not slide over into place accurately. It will snag on the edge(s) sticking out, and will buckle, and possibly tear the paper if you don't notice what's going on, and that will be a disaster!! It would likely mean re-making the outer skin over again. The outer-skin is very delicate being only a single thickness of paper. Ideally, it could do with being strengthened by layering it at least on another sheet of paper. The only problem then of course is that it wouldn't slip over the main body into place being to thick!




This is another area I decided to modify. Its where the tops of the side panels are supposed to slide into an area that was left unglued in the frame at of the bottom of the windows. If you accidentally didn't leave them unglued, then it will be tough to separate the pieces without damaging them! Then again, if you want to put "glass" in the windows, then this design would make it hard to do so!

The clear plastic sheet would have nowhere to be fixed to, and would conflict with the operation of sliding the tops of the panels into the window frames, So, I re-designed this area of the model because I really wanted to add windows to the nose. My wife said it doesn't look good without windows, and I think she was right!



You will need to spend some time carefully familiarizing yourself with how and where the pieces are supposed to contact one-another. This is where your work with aligning the main frame will be evident. The more accurate you were, the easier this will be. I would say this is definitely the hardest part of building the model.



Here's a pretty good view of the sides in question. I cut and folded pieces of stiff card into a 90 degree angle and tapered in size accordingly.

Also, you can see the fiber-optics starting to be installed into the side panels.



Another view of the modified nose-cone "guides". The nose-cone should slide into place nice and easy without "popping" forward on its own when the model is moved about. I was thinking of using some kind of retention device such as magnets or otherwise, but so long as its all aligned properly, its not needed.

It looks like a cat's whiskers sticking out at the sides!



I designed templates for the windows on paper. This is the one for the front windows. I always knew my drafting interests would be useful one day... wow, that was before computers were the norm! :Computer: :Smartass:



Here are all the windows glued into place. I was originally going to cut out individual windows but I found it better to just make one big wraparound window for the large "side" windows area. The windows do seem to add something to the appearance of the finished model .They just need cleaning with a little Windex and Finish to complete the job rinks:



Here are all of the window templates. I used overhead projector film for the actual window material. It seems harder to get the 100% clear stuff any more?



It is a large model for sure! "Star Wars theme song going in the background.... de, de, de, du, du da......".



There are a bunch of details to add to the outside of the model to greeble it up! Yes, sir! That's gonna keep ya busy for week or too!!



The nose-cone slides on real nice now! Snug-as-a-bug-in-a-rug!



Pre-rolled to match the contours of the main body outer shell. If you don't do that, it will crease up in a nasty way!



Lots of detail added to the undersides towards the back. It looks like some kind of sensor the scoop looking deal on the front? Is it supposed to be a light one wonders?

The bottom area of the nose-cone is straight at the back. It slowly tapers into a flat section. It does make it harder to seat the thing properly, and can easily cause a situation where you want to pull your hair out!


I used a fairly thick cardboard to laminate the details to as I wanted the embossed effect to be easily noticeable. (Waiting for the glue to dry!)

 

[Revell-Fan]

"Like a tree on Christmas morning..."



Awesome work on the windows and wiring! :Bravo:

My wife said it doesn't look good without windows, and I think she was right!

The wife is always right, they say. I can neither agree nor disagree with that since I'm still single. :Grin:

Here are all of the window templates. I used overhead projector film for the actual window material. It seems harder to get the 100% clear stuff any more?

The sheet I get at the local store has a slightly blue tint. Till I have found something else I use the PP from blister packagings.

The bottom area of the nose-cone is straight at the back. It slowly tapers into a flat section. It does make it harder to seat the thing properly, and can easily cause a situation where you want to pull your hair out!

I had a similar experience with the nose hull of the Viper Mk. II. I enlarged it to 1/32 scale and that darn thing would not fit. Either it was too long or it had the wrong diameter. I printed four different versions till it "sort of" fit. Not perfectly but fine for the time being.

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

This is coming together beautifully!