Our Collective 5-Foot Millennium Falcon Build

There, I fixed it...
1740411629636.jpeg

1740411673140.jpeg

1740411703870.jpeg

1740411741075.jpeg

Still not "super-thrilled" with placement/spacing of certain greeblies, but think to perfect the spacing this might require a 3.75" ring instead of a 3.5" ring. Any pointers greatly appreciated, even though I'm not sure I have the stomach for a 6th version of this thing.
 
How to NOT make 6 versions of the same mandible pit: plan your steps carefully.

Step One: Attach this landing gear greeblie underneath the tank deck like so:
1741016605669.jpeg


Step Two: Add the other greeblies to the top of the tank deck:
1741016655023.jpeg


Step Three: Use the rounded-back tank deck as your placement guide (without gluing it in) for the sidewall 8rad and Aurora Munitions carrier greeblies, and for the spacing of the Handly Page engine greeblies:
1741016757621.jpeg


Step Four: Do the same thing for the sidewall greeblies on the opposite side:
1741016827181.jpeg


Step Five: Still without gluing in the tank deck, use it to figure out spacing and permanent gluing location of the spoke/wheel greeblie in the center, that receives the landing gear pipe:
1741016912971.jpeg


Step Six: Do the same thing for the Nagato greeblie and then permanently glue down the Handley Page engine greeblies:
1741016997181.jpeg


Step Seven: Now lay your pipes out, while the tank deck is not "in the way" of all that cutting/filing/sanding/angling of the pipes.
1741017049587.jpeg


Step Eight: Once you're happy with your pipes, go ahead and glue in the tank deck, and clamp the landing gear greeblie to ensure a strong bond to the tank wheel greeblie it connects to:
1741017141424.jpeg


Step Nine: Attach the other identical landing gear greeblie to the sidewall, next to the Bandai 1/48 tank deck section greeblie, and the Bristol Beaufighter engine greeblie:

1741017242073.jpeg


Then cut and trim to desired appearance:
1741017301308.jpeg


Step Ten: Add final landing gear greeblies and photograph from all sides to document your work:

1741017365096.jpeg


1741017388415.jpeg


1741017405651.jpeg


1741017430147.jpeg


1741017472967.jpeg


In my experience, this was the hardest and most complex of the eight mandible pits, and is the only one you have to build in a very specific sequence to avoid tragedy.

But now, at long last, the pits are done:

1741017624025.jpeg

Lower Pits

1741017686748.jpeg

Upper Pits

1741017770629.jpeg

Light shot with flash

1741017834364.jpeg

Shadow shot without flash
 
Wow...amazing work and love the tuto on how to place all of those greeblies without having a heart attack:p:cool::cool:(y)(y):love::love:
 
Excellent set of pit photographs. Now to check my work. Experience in the Falcon pits is hard earned. In spite of good reference homework and greeblie acquisition success, there is lots of back and forth manipulation required.
 
Thank you for posting these..I love a good build bloga
they look great

Stupid question? are all you maintenance pits the siame diameter and depth
sorry if i missed it in the thread but can I ask the diameter and depth?
 
The mandible pits are various heights and diameters. Mine are completed but I don't have them handy. I can post my dimensions later tonight when I'm out of the hangar.
 
Looking forward to Dave’s reply, but it is true as he stated. Each pit diameter and height will indeed vary.

While I recall using a set of standard available pit tubs at the time, my mandible pits resulted in a nominal span of 3-1/8 “ inside diameter with a wall height (depth) of 7/8” from top of skin. In any case, these were tight given what appears to be smaller mandible armor/skin hole diameters.

Unless you have won the kit part “greeblie lottery” for each circular pit, construction demands tolerance. 1. As-built dimension diameters depend on a perfect layout of all specific pit floor greeblie lengths including greeblie wall thicknesses. Cutting, bending and placement of certain kit parts is critical. This includes judging the space in between if those lengths do not touch. 2. Depth depends on the tallest wall pit greeblie for that specific pit. Interestingly, each pit’s true maximum wall wall height seemed to have one as a bench mark. This goes from pit foor plate to the bottom of the mandible skin above. 3. Piping runs on mandible armor needs to match greeblie penetration locations when dropping into the pits.
Needless to say, some adjustment, rotation and shifting will be required as needed in the real world of industrial pipe fitting.

The above may sound complex. It is.
 
I posted my dimensions in my build thread just to sort of keep things organized

 
Thank you for posting these..I love a good build bloga
they look great

Stupid question? are all you maintenance pits the siame diameter and depth
sorry if i missed it in the thread but can I ask the diameter and depth?
Dave Winter's answer is correct.

My build, however, is using all identical 3.5" OD rings for the diameter, but does use greeblie-adjusted height differences on the various rings.
 
The hummel plates have a slight inward camber on the upper section, and you HAVE to sand these "flat" as much as possible BEFORE you glue them together with a 1.5mm spacer plate to get the right look to the 4 upper and 4 lower fin blades that sit at the back of the upper and lower engine sections.

1744591089084.jpeg


I, of course, learned this lesson the only way possible: the hard way. If you look at #6 from the left, you'll see I now I have to sand the upper/inside section flat from INSIDE an existing subassembly, a much harder task:
1744591183898.jpeg
 
A historical marker placeholder post.

After completing the Y-Wing in August 2019, I turned my attention to collecting additional original kits to build the Millennium Falcon. I began this thread in January of 2020.

Today, June 9, 2025, some six years later, I received in the mail the final original greeblies needed to complete the model, which happened to be from the Hasegawa 1/450 Yamato, a kit I did not know was needed until several years into the build itself.

This is both a joyful occasion of celebration, and a fair warning to other builders who are just starting out: if you're going to do this, you'll need the patience of Job.
 
Back
Top