Step 1. Feasibility Study
Most of the bits were there. But the worst part of MPCs design was the engine outlet. It was just a two piece clear polystyrene piece that could be illuminated. So I decided to try some 21st century LED lighting. A simple LED strip stuck on a piece of curved plain polystyrene sheet, and stuck in the engine aperture to see what it would look like.
Oooooh yeah! It’s feasible.
Step 2. If it ain’t broke…
It was clear that I’d need some replacement bits to rebuild it “properly” (a very dangerous concept, that). So it was off to eBay for the first of many times.
I found an unsealed later (RotJ) edition of the kit for a reasonable price (under A$50), and so set about disassembling the Falcon.
When we originally built the kit, my mate and I each painted one half of the hull. I was never happy with his bit; it was too dark and too weathered, the result of using India ink for the streaking. So I was always going to repaint the bottom half, and having a brand new hull to work with opened many new possibilities.
When Star Wars was released in 1977, the studio and the producers never anticipated the runaway success of the film, and had entered into very few merchandise arrangements. So the kit I built was actually released in time to support The Empire Strikes Back.
Ironically, the screen Falcon seen in ESB is quite different to the Falcon from SW.
The full scale Falcon in SW was actually just the right hand half, with just the front and RHR landing gear, and the loading ramp was fixed and bolted to the ground.
After SW was filmed, all the sets were struck and scrapped along with the studio scale models. When a sequel was announced, all of these had to be built again. And since ESB called for a Falcon that could be filmed from both the right and left sides. But it was obvious that you couldn’t just have 3 sets of landing gear; the whole set would’ve been very unstable.
So it was redesigned with new forward landing gear and new pods to suit. Which also involved relocating the access “holes” in the lower hull:
Back to the kit. The MPC kits were all based on the SW Falcon, with 3 feet, not 5. Couple that with a few other quirks like:
I) Sidewalls that are too tall and out of proportion.
II) A rear cockpit wall that looked like it was lifted from a submarine kit
III) The “blank” engine aperture
IV) The loading ramp had only one set of lowering rams
V) Poor detail on the sidewalks, hull, etc….
And the more I looked at the kit, the more I wondered how I could rebuild it to my satisfaction.
Chris' Hunk O' Junk 