John Simmons
West Mersea, Colchester, Essex, England
John writes: “Here’s my 1/72 scale FineMolds Millennium Falcon. I tried to stay as faithful to the 32" studio model as I could, trying to replicate every stain, scratch, blast mark, etc. The model is lit by 17 LEDs, and the cockpit has fiberoptics — even C-3PO’s eyes!” Two 9-volt batteries supply the power; the switches are hidden inside the bottom turret, held in place by magnets. John base-coated the exterior with a mix of Humbrol camouflage grey and light gray enamels, then detailed panels with various Tamiya paints and weathered with powdered pastels. He says, “I fabricated a few greeblies with brass to the cockpit walkway and engines, added the missing ‘fins’ on the bottom, and filed away notches along the sides. The blast marks and a long tear on the bottom of the hull were created with a Dremel minidrill. Resin engine fans and photoetched-metal grilles are the only aftermarket extras.”