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Old vintage MPC Millennium Falcon

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  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Old vintage MPC Millennium Falcon
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Wednesday, April 7, 2021 4:28 PM

As I was digging through my stash of old Batmobile kits, I stumbled upon this old build. It was completed and in the original box. A few pieces had come loose, the radar dish and top laser gun. The landing gear were loose in the box and half of one of the rear gear was broken and missing. Nothing that will prevent it from being displayed once I have room for it.

Not a great build, but quite the snapshot into my building skills at age 20.

The sales receipt was still in the box dated July 28, 1984 so this would have been built shortly afterwards. The price of the kit was $5, it was on clearance and I purchased several of the Return of the Jedi snap kits for $1 each (TIE Interceptor, X-Wing).

  • Member since
    August 2019
  • From: Brisbane Australia
Posted by Josh_the_painter on Wednesday, April 7, 2021 11:38 PM

Very cool to see! They were a good kit for their day, too bad the sidewalls weren't that much shorter. Based on the 5ft model.

I have a parts MPC falcon here so if you need any parts to replace let me know and I will see whats there. 

Will you finish it i.e. paint, or leave it as is? 

Cheers,

Josh

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Thursday, April 8, 2021 10:24 AM

That's so cool Rob! 

I still have some of my stuff from back then... but in pieces- it all ended up in the spare parts bin.

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Thursday, April 8, 2021 10:55 AM

Josh_the_painter

Very cool to see! They were a good kit for their day, too bad the sidewalls weren't that much shorter. Based on the 5ft model.

I have a parts MPC falcon here so if you need any parts to replace let me know and I will see whats there. 

Will you finish it i.e. paint, or leave it as is? 

Cheers,

Josh

I painted it like AMT/Ertl suggested for their later Enterprise kits (1701-A); spray paint it silver and then give it an overspray of flat white.

I am tempted to try to repaint it. I know any deconstrution will result in the old plastic falling apart.

I am missing a few parts; one of the rear landing gears has broken in half and that half is missing. It's strange because the kit's been inside the box for 30+ years and there's no where for the parts to have vanished to.

While I would prefer a complete rear landing gear, all I really need is part #54, 55, 57 and 60. Basically, if you snap this assembly in half, I still have the right hand side.

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Thursday, April 8, 2021 11:20 AM

It just looks so clean for the Falcon... and for a kit so old. I do hope that you get her fully restored. 

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Thursday, April 8, 2021 12:19 PM
Well, the broken landing gear isn't noticeable really. It still stands; the landing gear was designed to be removable and the landing gear doors are hinged to allow in flight and down positions. The cargo ramp can be lowered and it still has three unbuilt figures of Luke, Han and Chewie. I need to open the canopy and get those two inside.
  • Member since
    August 2019
  • From: Brisbane Australia
Posted by Josh_the_painter on Thursday, April 8, 2021 2:03 PM

I will pull the box out on the weekend and have a look for you bud.

Cheers,

Josh

  • Member since
    August 2019
  • From: Brisbane Australia
Posted by Josh_the_painter on Sunday, April 11, 2021 6:08 PM

Rob Gronovius

 

 
Josh_the_painter

Very cool to see! They were a good kit for their day, too bad the sidewalls weren't that much shorter. Based on the 5ft model.

I have a parts MPC falcon here so if you need any parts to replace let me know and I will see whats there. 

Will you finish it i.e. paint, or leave it as is? 

Cheers,

Josh

 

 

I painted it like AMT/Ertl suggested for their later Enterprise kits (1701-A); spray paint it silver and then give it an overspray of flat white.

 

I am tempted to try to repaint it. I know any deconstrution will result in the old plastic falling apart.

I am missing a few parts; one of the rear landing gears has broken in half and that half is missing. It's strange because the kit's been inside the box for 30+ years and there's no where for the parts to have vanished to.

While I would prefer a complete rear landing gear, all I really need is part #54, 55, 57 and 60. Basically, if you snap this assembly in half, I still have the right hand side.

 

 

Hey Rob,

I seem to have it all there. 54 is one piece, 57 is one piece. 2x 60s and a 55 and 56.

Just get in touch with me and let me know where theyre going.

Cheers,

Josh

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Sunday, April 11, 2021 7:59 PM

Message sent, thanks in advance!

  • Member since
    July 2009
  • From: North Carolina
Posted by Back to the bench on Sunday, April 11, 2021 8:10 PM

Now that is a cool time capsule! I suspect you can remember exactly where you were when you built that kit.

Gil

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Sunday, April 11, 2021 9:13 PM

Back to the bench

Now that is a cool time capsule! I suspect you can remember exactly where you were when you built that kit.

Of course. Based on the date of the sales receipt (7/84), I was at my parents' house in Vermont. The kit was bought at a nearby store called Ames in New Hampshire (no sales tax). As a college student, National Guardsman and ROTC cadet, it is rather easy to extrapolate my location during any particular span of time from 1982 to 1987.

From September through December, I'm at college on Long Island. Home in Vermont from mid-December to early January. Back in college January through late May. And back in Vermont May through August.

I know I still have my National Guard annual training pay statement for the summer of 1984 and could look up the exact dates for that 2-week span. It was most likely in June or July when I would have been at Fort Drum, New York.

Anyway, I would have been in my room or building it on the dining room table. It might have taken a day or two. I built it, put it back inside the original box, put the box in my closet and it sat there for almost 20 years.

I was stationed in Massachusetts from August 2001 to January 2005, only about 100 miles from home. My parents were planning on moving to Florida so I collected up all my old model kits from their home to my quarters in 2004.

All of those kits were in a moving box from Hanscom AFB to Fort Knox to Elizabethtown, Kentucky. I dug it out when I was looking for an old Batmobile model.

  • Member since
    March 2004
  • From: Kincheloe Michigan
Posted by Mikeym_us on Tuesday, April 13, 2021 11:18 PM

Used to go to Kentucky alot when my grandparents were still alive  as my dad is a born and raised Kentuckian from Northwest Kentucky. Once in a while we got the SOAR birds out of Campbell flying over my grandfathers house in Calvert City.

Rob Gronovius

 

 
Back to the bench

Now that is a cool time capsule! I suspect you can remember exactly where you were when you built that kit.

 

 

Of course. Based on the date of the sales receipt (7/84), I was at my parents' house in Vermont. The kit was bought at a nearby store called Ames in New Hampshire (no sales tax). As a college student, National Guardsman and ROTC cadet, it is rather easy to extrapolate my location during any particular span of time from 1982 to 1987.

 

From September through December, I'm at college on Long Island. Home in Vermont from mid-December to early January. Back in college January through late May. And back in Vermont May through August.

I know I still have my National Guard annual training pay statement for the summer of 1984 and could look up the exact dates for that 2-week span. It was most likely in June or July when I would have been at Fort Drum, New York.

Anyway, I would have been in my room or building it on the dining room table. It might have taken a day or two. I built it, put it back inside the original box, put the box in my closet and it sat there for almost 20 years.

I was stationed in Massachusetts from August 2001 to January 2005, only about 100 miles from home. My parents were planning on moving to Florida so I collected up all my old model kits from their home to my quarters in 2004.

All of those kits were in a moving box from Hanscom AFB to Fort Knox to Elizabethtown, Kentucky. I dug it out when I was looking for an old Batmobile model.

 

On the workbench: Dragon 1/350 scale Ticonderoga class USS BunkerHill 1/720 scale Italeri USS Harry S. Truman 1/72 scale Encore Yak-6

The 71st Tactical Fighter Squadron the only Squadron to get an Air to Air kill and an Air to Ground kill in the same week with only a F-15   http://photobucket.com/albums/v332/Mikeym_us/

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Thursday, April 15, 2021 11:32 AM
You know, I've never been down to the Fort Campbell area, and it's not too far away. I definitely did not see myself staying in Kentucky during my first assignment here (July-Nov 87), nor my second assignment (April 91-May 92). Even when I was assigned as permanent party at Knox in Jan 2005, I expected to move at least twice before retiring and hadn't considered returning here to retire. tbh I thought I'd retire in Florida and just be mowing grass.
  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Saturday, May 22, 2021 11:56 PM
Shout out to Josh who got me the landing gear parts for my ancient Falcon. I want to try to repair this kit and actually put it on display.
  • Member since
    August 2019
  • From: Brisbane Australia
Posted by Josh_the_painter on Tuesday, June 22, 2021 6:08 PM

Rob Gronovius
Shout out to Josh who got me the landing gear parts for my ancient Falcon. I want to try to repair this kit and actually put it on display.
 

 

Sorry, Ive been busy on my walker project and not catching up over here on the forum. 

I hope you get a chance to repair and display your falcon Rob. Interesting to see this kit is planned to get a re release with more correct side walls. No word on updating the engine area however.

 

Cheers,

Josh

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