Bandai 1/72 Falcon

Well, Bandai uses lidar scanning to get the geometry and proportions correct, something missed by Fine Molds (from what I understand the hull is too flat and the foward mandibles don't angle in).  So yes, Bandai's rendition should be more accurate.  One big difference is that Bandai is doing the 1977 Star Wars 5ft hero prop, while Fine Molds based theirs on the 3ft prop built for ESB and ROTJ.  The 5ft model lacks the additional forward landing gear that appeared in ESB.  This was probably a practical solution to supporting the full size prop.  In Star Wars, you can see a pipe support disguised as a fueling rig or something like that when the Falcon is docked at Mos Eisley and the Death Star.

Bandai's kit will include lighting and it looks like the battle damage will also be in the kit.  Not sure if it will be pre-painted like their Star Trek stuff.  Based on Bandai's other SW kits, this one should be very accurate and be mind bogglingly cool.  The $400 price tag gives me pause though.  Yeah, I'm not a TRUE SW fan, as I never bought a single light saber or Kenner action figure!

JMorgan

Is the new Bandai Millennium Falcon better than Finemolds? For $391 it ought to be.

 

The video of it looks awesome, but I passed on the Fine Molds kit when it was $130 something back in the day. This one looks even better, but I wished it would include options for the Force Awakens radar dish as well as pilot figures of Finn, Rey and BB-8.

http://www.taghobby.com/archives/196470

 

Here's a longer video recently posted:

https://youtu.be/Xng3thTHiRg

I've gone back and forth on this subject, whether I should sell my Fine Molds kit to put towards the Bandai kit, and how imperative is it to get the Bandai kit.

As Real G pointed out, each kit is a copy from a different studio model, which themselves have different proportions. The 32" studio model is flatter, less chunky than the 5' hence the Fine Molds kit looks flatter than the 5' model. The Bandai version is the New Hope version, which differs significantly from the Fine Molds Empire Strikes  Back version. Even so, the Fine Molds kit is a bit flatter than it should be, the mandibles don't toe in as they should and they may be a bit too long. On the other side of it, I took out my Fine Molds kit and dry fitted the upper and lower halves to get a general impression of how it looks completed and, to me, it looks fine. The detailing is excellent - again, there are some flaws, but only to the eye of a Falcon expert - and the flatter look makes it sleeker looking to me.

The other consideration is if you don't buy when it's released, what will availability be like later? Is this a "once in a lifetime" opportunity? Considering the price point, I don't think it will necessarily fly off the shelves and I think so long as they keep making Star Wars movies, Bandai will keep cranking them out. This is speculation, of course.

So, what I decided is I'm keeping my Fine Molds kit. I'll have an Empire Strikes Back version more closely matching the 32" model. If I happen upon $500 CDN in August (or later) and I can get the Bandai kt, I will. If not, I'll still sleep well at night.