Scratchbuilt 32" Millennium Falcon

Scale Geek, thanks!  I couldn't even count the number of old ERTL/AMT Falcons I've built & destroyed over the years!  Most of my old models would wind up exploding or on fire somehow.  (Mostly due to blowing them up or setting them on fire! )

Mikey, I really don't remember who the Wing King's crew chief was back then. . . it's been too long.

And to Cygnus, sorry, don't have any idea what happened to Jason.  He was a cool guy!  We were deployed together during Desert Shield/Desert Storm.  I remember he was kinda tough on his load crew, but he sure was a good loader!  That was when he was in the 27th AMU.  One guy on his crew was Eddie Myers. . . can't remember the other guy's name.  I knew several folks in backshop, but I'm a lot better with faces than names. 

This is the best thing I have ever seen.  I built one of those Ertl's back in the day, I remember using my dad's shoe polish to try to weather it all up. 

Your model is beautiful, your skills are awesome.

superjedi wrote:

Did he work at Armament Shop?  I worked the line and really only knew a couple of guys who worked there, and they were lower ranking guys.  Maybe that's why it doesn't ring a bell. I know there was a guy named Jason Brosam who was in the 27th and some time after Desert Storm he went to work Armament Shop.  Another guy was Evans.  Sheesh, that was a long time ago. . . can't think of any other names.

Do you remember who was the Wing Commanders crew chief back from 1992 to 1993. (the Wing Commander I am talking about is Rick Meyers)

Hello.

I will admit that the only reason I signed up on this forum is because I was looking for Jason Brosam's name on google to see if he might come up by chance. This site came up as a result. Jason was my supervisor and I left 1ST EMS before in April 99 before Jason retired. I last saw Jason in 2000, and haven't heard from him since. I was just wondering if anyone might have any info about the whereabouts of either himself or anyone else in the armament shop between 95 and 99. Thanks!

Matt

Geez. . . that's really not ringing any bells.  Dang this old brain of mine! 

But I really enjoyed being in Hampton Roads before, and looking forward to being back in VA.  All my wife's family lives around NN and Gloucester, so she's really excited to get back to the east coast.

I'll actually be there for a month on leave before I fly around to the other side of the planet.  Man, that's gonna be one. . . long. . . trip.   

Did he work at Armament Shop?  I worked the line and really only knew a couple of guys who worked there, and they were lower ranking guys.  Maybe that's why it doesn't ring a bell.

I know there was a guy named Jason Brosam who was in the 27th and some time after Desert Storm he went to work Armament Shop.  Another guy was Evans.  Sheesh, that was a long time ago. . . can't think of any other names. 

Dan Mitchell?  Hmm. . . I'm trying to remember. . .

I was in the Weapons section (I'm a 462, not one of those "newfangled" 2W1s! ) and I think our Weapons section chief at that time was Jack Cavanaugh.  At the time of Desert Shield/Storm I was an A1C or SrA. . . man, that was ages ago! 

After I get back to VA from Korea, I'm not sure which unit I'll be going to.  So far, my orders just say "Maintenance Group" so I could go anywhere. 

Ummm Actually this is wierd Im Msgt Dan Mitchell's oldest son. You knew my father he was NCOIC of the 71st AMU during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. We have been at Langley from 1982 to 1993. and he was with the 94th 27th and 71st.

And I still can't believe the modeling community never even knew about the 71st's Air to Mud kill back during Desert Storm.

Mikeym_us wrote:

So ACC is sending you to Langley eh! So what Squadron you going to 94th 71st or 27th?

 Not sure yet.  I'm actually heading to Langley by way of Kunsan.  So it'll be a little over a year before I get there.  But my wife will be setting up house in VA while I'm in Korea. 

I was stationed at Langley before, from 1987 to 1995.  That was my first base.  I was with the 71st the whole time I was there and deployed to Dhahran for Desert Shield/Desert Storm.  We were the first land-based U.S. unit in the Gulf Region.  (We beat the Army Airborne in by almost a day.)  So I love your signature! 

Hi all, hadn't had a lot of time to check these forums lately. 

Thanks again for all the kind words.    I have no plans to do a Death Star docking bay, Cloud City landing pad, Super Star Destroyer or Space Slug base for the Falcon.     I did however buy a nice acrylic display case and built a "cube" type pedestal out of MDF.  It's 36" high, and comes out to 34" L x 26" W.  A VERY substantial display base.  I've left the back of the pedestal open so the entire volume can be used for storage.  Right now I have a lot of boxes from other hobby stuff stashed inside.

But. . . now the Air Force is getting ready to move us again, so the Falcon will have to survive another trip across the country to Virginia.  Nothing, and I mean nothing else I own gets me more nervous during a move than the Falcon.  All I can do is pack it up as well as I can and hope for the best. 

As long as everything goes OK, it'll definitely be the centerpiece of my new display room. 

sumpter250 wrote:

So, will the next project be a superstar destroyer.....in the same scale??

My God.. you need to get an article published on this quick. It's marvellous.

Terry.

Stunned and AMAZED! Thanks for sharing your incredible build!

I too have seen the Art of Star Wars in San Francisco (2001 in think).

 Your build is more comprehensive with the interior and all... They had multiple models of varying sizes for the movie for various shots.

Timing is everything!, I don't get to this forum too often, and I just happened to get here while your "Falcon" thread was near the top.  "Moving Gremlins".....I was 21 years Navy, moving gremlins are "lowest bidder movers". Your Falcon is a superb piece of art. It's good to see that scratchbuilding of this quality still exists.  So, will the next project be a superstar destroyer.....in the same scale??

Dupes, yes, I'm in the Air Force.  The Falcon has moved about 4 times with me, and we're getting ready for (hopefully) our last move before I retire.  Got my fingers crossed! 

M1964, well, this was my first large-scale scratchbuild.  But I've been building models ever since I can remember, and I had done some accurizing on kits before.  So I had a good working knowledge of the uses of sheet styrene and other "minor" techniques.

I hear you about some of the stuff available from the manufacturers out there.  AMT had the first license for SW kits, and they were great back in the late '70s!!  But like a lot of the folks on this forum (and others) grew in their skills and quest for ever more accurate models, they just weren't enough to satisfy me after a while.

For example, compare one of the old Monogram Sherman or Panzer tank kits with what's available these days from companies like Dragon.  Worlds apart!

But for sci-fi, the selection is a lot more limited.  And I'm sure a lot of you realize that Star Wars or Star Trek "geeks" are some of the most uber-accuracy nuts around!  Of course I'm one of them. 

If you've never scratched anything before, just find something you're interested in and grab a $4 sheet of plastic and try it out!  It's so much fun and extremely rewarding in the end. 

So let me get this straight. With no previous scratchbuilding experience you build this??? Man you have given me a shot in the arm to jump in to the scratchbuilding arena myself. I am so sick of lackluster offerings from the kit manufacturers its not funny.

Amazing job on the falcon! Bravo!

superjedi wrote:

So just by coincidence that works out to almost exactly 1/35 scale (1:35.033+).  Maybe I should build a nice WWII armor diorama and have the Falcon screaming over a European battlefield!

Ahhhh, too funny. You do, however, need to do it just for the shock value!

superjedi wrote:

I'm in the Air Force and we've moved several times, and it seems that the "moving gremlins" have decided I don't need to have my old drawings anymore.

You're in the military and pulled this off? I know that I for one moved 27 times in my 40 month Army career - and can't fathom how you managed to get this from place to place without it being reduced to a pile of scrap plastic! "Moving Gremlins". Hehhehehe.

A-mazing. That's all I can think to say.

Hi Dupes,

Thanks!  As far as scale goes, mine's not built exactly to the size of the 32" ILM bird.  My model wound up being just about 30" long.  From what I've read the most commonly "accepted" length of the Falcon is 26.7 meters, which comes out to 1,051".  So just by coincidence that works out to almost exactly 1/35 scale (1:35.033+).  Maybe I should build a nice WWII armor diorama and have the Falcon screaming over a European battlefield! 

For plans/blueprints, I started with a plan view I found somewhere on the web.  It was many years ago, and with computer swaps and changing websites, I have no idea where I found it.    From that plan view, I extrapolated the elevation based on pics of the 5' ILM model and kind of went from there.  The actual construction techniques I used were inspired by Tim Ketzer, who has a great website showing how he built his 32" replica.  Someone on another site asked me a few months ago if I would be willing to share the plans and drawings I used, and I'm perfectly willing to do so. . . unfortunately I couldn't find any of my drawings except one!  I'm in the Air Force and we've moved several times, and it seems that the "moving gremlins" have decided I don't need to have my old drawings anymore. 

For all the detailing on the hull, that was pretty much done to match photo reference as closely as I could.

Kykeon wrote:

Pfffftttt.....(sound of blowing coffee all over monitor)

Not only is this hilarious, but also what I almost did upon opening this thread! I just checked...there's no emoticon for spraying coffee. Damn!

Superjedi, this is really just...amazing. Not enough adjectives to describe what I'm seeing here. It would be one thing if this were a kit - a spectacular build! But to do this from scratch is just mind-boggling. Just the sheer magnitude has me wondering where I would even start on something like this...and I'm coming up blank. Did you manage to find some actual plans to work off of? Or is this exclusively by photo reference? How long did it take you from start to finish? Also, do you have any idea what actual scale it is?

Hats off to you, my friend. Colossal project.

Now I never have another reason to complain about a kit again.

Wow!  Thanks again for all the comments, guys. 

Adam, I do have some in progress shots, but they're horribly bad quality.  They were taken with our first digital camera. . . which was the equivalent of the Flintstones' camera with the little bird inside. 

I could put some of them up if you're interested in straining your eyes!

As far as sending pics to ILM goes, honestly I've never even considered it.  I'm just happy to have my Falcon!

Good grief. What a fabulous posting. Not just the incredible photographs, nor the outstanding model (all you need now is a mo-cap setup, a fake starfield and a John Williams score!), but a superb breakdown of it's construction. I was considering doing a scratchbuilt Star Destroyer, but might just take a breather for several years for my skills to even begin approaching yours! I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind - do you happen to have any photo's from during the construction? Have you thought about sending an email over to the folks at ILM? (Im being serious here, as I understand Mr Lucas seems to have a soft spot for fans who do things based on his films)

Anyhoo, wow. What more is there to say?

Adam