[MOC] Minifig-Scale Millennium Falcon

[Chrome Vader]

Hello everyone. I am new to Eurobricks but wanted to share a 1/40 scale Millennium Falcon MOC that I scratch-built over the course of the last two years, off and on. I chose the scale by building the smallest cockpit I could that was perfectly cylindrical, structurally stable, and open enough through the elbow to accommodate a minifig walking all the way down the tube--then I scaled the rest of the ship off of the cockpit. It is just about exactly scaled to 1 stud=1 foot. I incorporated as many of the odd angles and slopes as I could, including the gentle slopes to the landing gear boxes, the taper of the upper and lower "jaws" between the mandibles, and the dome-shaped hulls. The model has a full OT interior, including all rooms from the official cross sections book, with a small trade-off of making the forward cargo bays slightly smaller than they should be to accommodate technic support for the mandibles. There are fully detailed maintenance bays below the floor of the main hold, and there are two escape pods under the floor in the engine room (I know there should be five, but I didn't feel like rebuilding the main frame to make room for three more). Two smuggling compartments--one in front of the boarding ramp, the other in front of the cockpit tube entrance--hold a total of five minifigs with the covers on. The central gunner positions are removable, as is the entire central core and gunner turret access ladder. Some scaling magic was necessary to make a replica of the movie set fit in this small space, but I am happy with the result, as it is true to layout and orientation seen in the movies. With the central core removed, the model can be picked up through the hold in the center of the main frame. The main frame itself is entirely housed in the lower dish of the hull, below the "sandwich center" of the cross section. I am pleased with the strength and rigidity of the model, as it has zero flex when picked up, and the mandibles have no sag. The model is entirely Lego, with no modified parts (other than some pneumatic and flex tubes that I cut to shorter lengths to save money over buying rare and expensive short lengths). Nothing is glued, either on the ship or the technic stand. I will continue to tweak some things a bit as I have time and interest, but at the moment I am considering this MOC complete and have moved on to other projects.

(Edit: The details, proportions, and shaping were largely based off of the 32" ILM model from ESB)

Some stats:

Part count: I have not counted, but based off of some known numbers (like the roughly 1,000 technic pins in the main frame), I estimate it is around 20k parts, give or take.

Weight: I have not weighed it, though my best guess is roughly 30 lbs.

Dimensions: It measures 34.5 inches long, 24 inches wide.

Play features: The boarding ramp is functional. The right-rear cargo bay doors slide in and out of wall pockets. Two escape pods under the floor each hold a mining. Two smuggling compartments. Maintenance bays under the floor. Gunner turrets and articulating cannons. 

 

IMG_0773 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0763 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0766 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0770 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0771 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0768 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0776 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0779 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0781 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0789 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0790 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0791 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0792 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0793 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0794 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0795 by Z W, on Flickr

C930001A-60C8-4410-B45A-3597AC282166 by Z W, on Flickr

 

Edited April 11, 2023 by Chrome Vader

[Mandalore_The_Indomitable]

Incredible. On some of those low-light shots it could almost pass off as the screen-used model.

Hats off to you.

[ScottishDave]

I love a good Millennium Falcon model, and this one is gorgeous. I'm excited to see how closely you've followed the 32" plans (my favourite Falcon) and the results look amazing.

So smooth! So detailed!

Even the underside has all the correct details and areas of colour right where they're meant to be.

I love the way you constructed the mandibles: they look really, really neat.

The interior looks awesome as well. I especially like that you've included inner airlock doors on the docking rings: something I've always thought should be there even if we never see them.

Did you build landing gear as well, or is it meant to be displayed only on the technic stand?

[MBricks]

This is really impressive! The hull texture is great, along with the interior.

[McMurder_them_softly]

Wow. That's really all I have to say. 

[Chrome Vader]

6 hours ago, Mandalore_The_Indomitable said:

Incredible. On some of those low-light shots it could almost pass off as the screen-used model.

Hats off to you.

Thank you! I'm still learning how to photograph MOCs, so hopefully I'll get some more photos to flickr soon.

4 hours ago, ScottishDave said:

I love a good Millennium Falcon model, and this one is gorgeous. I'm excited to see how closely you've followed the 32" plans (my favourite Falcon) and the results look amazing.

So smooth! So detailed!

Even the underside has all the correct details and areas of colour right where they're meant to be.

I love the way you constructed the mandibles: they look really, really neat.

The interior looks awesome as well. I especially like that you've included inner airlock doors on the docking rings: something I've always thought should be there even if we never see them.

Did you build landing gear as well, or is it meant to be displayed only on the technic stand?

Thank you so much! Yes, I like the 32" model best myself. Some details of my MOC (mainly on the interior corridors and rooms we don't see in movies) I took some creative liberty with, such as the wall texturing in the straight hallway left of the gunner positions and the interior of the cargo bays. But I tried to capture most of the canon details as best I could. At some point I will place minifigs for some movie easter eggs. 

I did build landing gear--added a photo of one in the OP. It stood on the landing gear for many months as I built the interior, but I always intended to have the model on a stand for the most part. I left connection points inside the landing strut holes to attach covers, but I haven't built them yet...one of those things I will eventually putter on more. 

1 hour ago, MBricks said:

This is really impressive! The hull texture is great, along with the interior.

Thank you! 

34 minutes ago, McMurder_them_softly said:

Wow. That's really all I have to say. 

Thank you!

[TeddytheSpoon]

Stunning work. Love how the stand intentionally gives it that dynamic, in-flight look.

I assume it can support its own weight on the landing gear?

[Chrome Vader]

26 minutes ago, TeddytheSpoon said:

Stunning work. Love how the stand intentionally gives it that dynamic, in-flight look.

I assume it can support its own weight on the landing gear?

Thank you! Yes, it's actually sturdier on its feet than it is on the stand. I just like the elevated display better.

[neroart]

Holy cow..... 

[muhkuh]

Nice! Did you copy sone stuff from MB?

[mcphatty]

Very impressive! I really like the mostly tiled exterior but with some visible studs and antistuds, the overall look suits the Falcon very well. All the pipes contrasting with the smooth surfaces works beautifully too. The interior is just brilliant, there's so much detail that its hard to take in, just fantastic stuff. It's wonderful to see so much effort go into the underside too, such a shame the Lego sets don't get this kind of attention. I love the way you've photographed and lit the Falcon too, it works really well. I had a look at your photos on Flickr, I'm a complete amateur at photography but if it's of any help to you I was told to try a much smaller aperture, something like f/16 for a hint of depth to f/22 for as much sharpness as possible, and then a much lower shutter speed like 0.5 to 2s. With my Canon 1300D I'm getting much more of the Lego looking sharp, but I still struggle with lighting. Anyway, fantastic job, very well done!!

Edited April 11, 2023 by mcphatty

[Chrome Vader]

16 minutes ago, muhkuh said:

Nice! Did you copy sone stuff from MB?

No, not deliberately, anyway. To some degree, I am just adding to the great run of MOCs that have come before. There are some obvious parts usages that are a staple of many MOCs, such as the 4x4 modified plates for the engine flaps, curved slopes in a SNOT fashion for the gunner turrets, flex tubes for much of the tubing, etc. But I specifically tried to avoid using any signature techniques already employed by other builders, as I wanted to do my own from the ground up. There were a few areas where I found an existing technique to just be the best look, such as the circular maintenance holes on the mandibles and the exterior cylinder of the cockpit access tube--both of which are very similar in outward appearance to what TLG used on the UCS set. However, everything "under the hood" throughout the model, and most of the outer shell, is scratch-built from the ground up. In hindsight, some things are probably over-engineered, but this was my first large-scale MOC, so I've learned a few things along the way.

[Chrome Vader]

29 minutes ago, mcphatty said:

I love the way you've photographed and lit the Falcon too, it works really well. I had a look at your photos on Flickr, I'm a complete amateur at photography but if it's of any help to you I was told to try a much smaller aperture, something like f/16 for a hint of depth to f/22 for as much sharpness as possible, and then a much lower shutter speed like 0.5 to 2s. With my Canon 1300D I'm getting much more of the Lego looking sharp, but I still struggle with lighting. Anyway, fantastic job, very well done!!

Thank you! This one was a labor of love, for sure. 
Thank you for the advice on the photography! This was my first time photographing a MOC. I agree, a smaller aperture would have been better. I was up late photographing it, and I had lost my remote shutter trigger, so I was getting some camera movement from pressing the shutter button on long exposures. I would like to take some better pictures of it and replace these posted ones, maybe use a flash instead of just the overhead ceiling light. In any event, the model was completed a couple of months ago, so I was just wanted to get it shared. 

[OCD_Chad]

Yeah, that's the best Lego Falcon I've ever seen.

[Chrome Vader]

I took some better photos of the interior. Still not great photography, but at least they're brighter and clearer.

IMG_0796 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0810 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0814 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0816 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0817 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0818 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0820 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0821 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0822 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0824 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0825 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0826 by Z W, on Flickr

IMG_0829 by Z W, on Flickr

 

[ScottishDave]

Thank you for the extra interior photos: they look perfectly fine to me. It's good to see the hatches in place in both the cargo holds.

Thank you also for the photo of the landing gear. That 5-wide throwing disk piece is the perfect size, and it's clear that you modelled the landing gear closely on that of the miniature.

[Shiva]

Wow!

[l0renZo]

Impressive. Most impressive.

I especially like that the top panels of the hull are in 2 slightly different angles instead of being flat. It gives a more rounded look than the previous models I've seen.

Edited April 13, 2023 by l0renZo
Typo

[Chrome Vader]

18 hours ago, OCD_Chad said:

Yeah, that's the best Lego Falcon I've ever seen.

Thank you!

3 hours ago, l0renZo said:

Impressive. Most impressive.

I especially like that the top panels of the haul are in 2 slightly different angles instead of being flat. It gives a more rounded look than the previous models I've seen.

Thank you! I tried really hard to capture that dome effect with the hull--it was one of the main things I wanted to challenge myself with. I used ball joints to get the minute angles between the different hull plate sections and was able to get three different angles for most of the top-side hull to achieve the effect. The doming effect is somewhat obscured by the landing gear boxes on the bottom, but I still got the two different angles on some of those plates. The ball joints do make the hull plates a bit more delicate than just flat wedges, but they hold their shape well and nest together so they don't fall off or shift when the model is tilted up on the stand.

[stifos]

Awesome! The details all over look extremely good! 

[Vouatch]

Fantastic work, really amazing, congratulations, one of the most impressive I've ever saw.

[Daddy_Stardust]

 

Seriously though... holy wow

Edited April 15, 2023 by Daddy_Stardust

[Schneeds]

God I love it when a masterclass build just bursts onto the scene completely out of nowhere, especially when it's something as iconic as the MF.

This is world class. The exterior is on par with MB's, maybe even a bit better for my personal tastes. It has a look of real grit to it, while still having perfect lines and curves. Like you just stole the prop from the studio archives.

The only thing I would consider altering is the black grills in the engine vents. They look a bit too blocky compared to the rest is so perfectly sculpted. Just my two cents :)

[Chrome Vader]

7 hours ago, stifos said:

Awesome! The details all over look extremely good! 

Thank you!

4 hours ago, Vouatch said:

Fantastic work, really amazing, congratulations, one of the most impressive I've ever saw.

Thank you!

4 hours ago, Daddy_Stardust said:

Seriously though... holy wow

Thank you!

1 hour ago, Schneeds said:

God I love it when a masterclass build just bursts onto the scene completely out of nowhere, especially when it's something as iconic as the MF.

This is world class. The exterior is on par with MB's, maybe even a bit better for my personal tastes. It has a look of real grit to it, while still having perfect lines and curves. Like you just stole the prop from the studio archives.

The only thing I would consider altering is the black grills in the engine vents. They look a bit too blocky compared to the rest is so perfectly sculpted. Just my two cents :)
 

Thank you so much for the kind words! 
I see what you mean about the grill tiles having that blocky border. I tried to reduce the appearance of it by using the black 6x6 plate underneath, but the grill pieces unfortunately still have a profile that is about half a plate higher than the light gray "collar" of the vents--something I couldn't avoid due to the fact that I needed a 6x6 round plate underneath them for the vent assembly. Without the grills, the engine vents would have studs on top, which I didn't want. If Lego ever makes a 6x6 round tile in black, PDG, or flat silver I could eliminate the grill tiles and correct the profile all in one go. The engine deck vents were challenging, as I need a seven-stud diameter design to be proportionally correct for the scale of the ship, and I only figured out one solution that was low profile enough.

[PedroJ]

Absolutely impressive MOC, really amazing how the details are resolved. Congratulations. Thanks also for sharing the new photos of the interior, they look great!