BrickLinking a UCS Millennium Falcon

[Runamuck_28]

can anyone recommend a spray paint i can use that replicates light bluish gray (medium stone gray) that i can buy in Australia?

I have just finished my parts ordering for a UCS 10179. 21 Bricklink orders, 1 Lego pick a brick order, 1 Lego bricks and pieces order.

Total parts cost $917, postage $170. I live in Victoria, Australia.

I found shipping from UK is barely any more expensive than Aus. Shipping from USA was a bit pricey.

You can read about my part substitutions, etc., here: http://merigan.tk/lego/blog.php

Last delivery should arrive tomorrow YAY!

One thing I did to find the cheapest price was use Brickficiency. After the first run I removed all parts which were available in less than 80 stores. That then gave me 3 stores where I could order 3/4 of the parts.

I have drawn the radar dish sticker in Adobe Illustrator but am not sure where to get it printed yet, since the aim is to be printed on a clear sticker.

have you printed your clear sticker yet? i have bought 7 clear sheets off of ebay so im going to see how that goes

[bmerigan]

I used plastic modelling paint; Humbrol #196 satin enamel. It comes out very close.

I painted small black levers rather than buying the grey. Took forever, 2 coats of paint then cleanup so they still hinge nicely.

Stickers are great. My printer doesn't have a transparency / sticker setting so was having lots of trouble getting it to print on the sticker sheet during testing without becoming blotchy. Luckily the radar pattern is a fairly light grey so doesn't need much ink, so it didn't blotch anyway.

I printed the other cockpit images on normal photo paper and glued it on the bricks.

Large version: http://merigan.tk/lego/images/stickers.jpg

[Runamuck_28]

That looks good :) the paper should be delivered soon so hopefully it turns out! 7 sheets of it I might have to sell them to make some cash back haha. Cheers for the paint suggestion really appreciate it :) will post pics once I have started everything. Got 3 orders to go.

[mdelleman]

Hoping I could get some help on this project.

I have used BrickStock to modify the 10179 inventory with some part subs that @bmerigan recommended on his blog - (http://merigan.tk/lego/blog.php) and am now ready to start ordering.

I have read that buying some parts from LEGO Bricks & Pieces and Pick a Brick could be less expensive at times but it seems quite the undertaking to check each and every part on the list. Is there software that can help me out with this? I am about to try the Brickficiency application but understand this is only for Bricklink. Does anyone have a list of parts that should be ordered from LEGO directly?

Any help would be much appreciated!!

[JayCal]

Well this thread is as good as any to tell you about my 10179 story. It all started a little over a month ago when I was visiting Dubai to see my father in law. I found out that Dubai isn't my kind of holiday destination so I decided to visit a shopping mall.. And there was a 10179 on display. They even had one boxed edition right below the display. Quick calculations put the boxed falcon in the 4000 Euro pricerange (yep, Dubai-esque). That was way too much cash for me to spend on any Lego set. So when I got home, I decided I had to get me one... cheaper. So I started to print out the inventory and because I love new Lego pieces, I decided to get most of the parts directly from Lego. 1 PAB and one BNP order and I allready got about 97% of all the pieces I needed. Some internal pieces were replaced by other colors.

So after one remaining BL order and a couple of small bits from a local seller, my Falcon was complete!

I replaced the most expensive stuff with the usual: black rigging (painted grey). 6L bars with stops, classic grey levers on LBG bases and so on. I modified the standard lego dish by using a waterslide decal with a homemade print of the original. Because the waterslide decal is extremely thin, it doesn't show any "stickerlines". It gave quite good results. The 6x14 red plate was replaced by a 6x4 and a 6x10 red plate.I'm pretty happy with the model and have 3 BL orders on the way to replace the internal off-colored bits. It wasn't cheap, but it was a lot cheaper than a new one and I still got most parts brand new.

Here's a pic ;-)

[ScottishDave]

JayCal, that looks awesome. Well done! It takes a lot of time and effort to get the parts and to build this beast, so I'm impressed at you getting it all done in a single month.

Your radar dish looks impressive - very neat and clean. I created my own earlier this year on clear vinyl. The biggest frustration I had with the thicker vinyl is that it did not follow the curve of the dish very well, so I had to cut around each printed element, making a star shape. The resulting lines are clearly visible.

Did the decal film stretch to follow the curve of the dish? Did it wrinkle or tear? Did you have to cut around the elements?

Thanks in advance for any answers.

[JayCal]

Hi Dave,

I'm extremely impressed by your falconmods and hope to make some similar mods to my own someday. I actually used your dishdrawing as a template for my own rendition in coreldraw. The use of decalpaper was quite simple because I use a lot of decals for DIY guitar effect pedals. The decal paper is quite stretchy and therefore does not wrinkle. It's also just as shiny as regular bricks when fully cured. The only drawback was that I had to cut out the square in the centre of the decal, but I imagine you had to do that to yours too. The finish of the decal is a little less durable than a vinyl sticker, but because it's not a very playable model... I don't care too much about that.

Ps. My first mod to the falcon will be your engine mod... I just love that round shape at the back! Does it take away a lot of rigidity?

Edited November 19, 2014 by JayCal

[ScottishDave]

Hi Jay,

Many thanks for the answer - that all sounds good, and when I get my hands on a spare dish, decal paper and free time, I'll give it a go.

By the way, did you use any additional products, like decal softeners, fixatives or protective sprays?

The rigidity of the engine mod is quite good. Mine is strong enough to withstand the most destructive force it is ever likely to meet: a seven-year-old boy .

If you are looking for a clean and simple modification of the UCS design, I suggest that you take a look at bmerigan's excellent blog. At an educated guess, I'd say that his design is as rigid as the original.

[Darth Zekee]

Wow, this is an inspiration. Nice Job!

[Runamuck_28]

just placed my last order!!!!!!!!! now to receive everything. it has taken me 4 months to order all the parts, im so so happy all the ordering is done. i have started sorting out the parts into individual lots. i haven't printed the dish sticker yet, i got sent laser printer sheets when i ordered ink jet. so will wait till i have the dish to test out the printing. i am so so excited about starting this project. will do a run down on price once i receive everything.

[Cyberfounder]

I also order the LAAT/c in pieces on bricklink, its a lot of work and when you place that last order its really a relieve.

And then... Then you can start building!

[JayCal]

Dave,

Thanks a lot for the info, it's just what I needed. I'll make a partslist for this weekend. I love those engine mods!

The only things I needed to apply the decal were: the decal (duh), a bowl of warm (not hot) water and some tissuepaper/kitchentowel/toiletpaper or similar.

Th trick is to apply water to the surface of the dish, then slide the soaked decal into place and afterwards gently dip with the paper towels to push out excess water underneath the decal and to push out any small wrinkles. Remember that as long as there is water between the decal and the brick, you can replace at will. By pushing out the water underneath, the decal stays permanently put.I always let the decal cure for a full day. If you want, I can make you one (free of charge ofcourse).

You could probably use a protective spray afterwards, but because of the concave shape, I didn't bother.

Anyway, thanks again for all the great tips!!! I'll show my progress when the new parts arrive.

[H_Solo]

Reading about everyone great experiences with building the UCS Falcon and seeing the fantastic results pushed me over the edge in picking up this task myself.

(I'm a total newby to Lego (just your avarge readily bought small model here and there) and Bricklink, but why not start right here with the ultimate challange!)

I'm especially fond of Dave's great mods, the engine, the baffles the mandibles and redisigning of the hull... all this looks like studio model quality!

The blog about the engine design will surely help me with altering my bricklink orders to the new needed parts...

is there something similar to your (Dave) other mods?

Thanks a bunch

Michael

[AndyRiley8]

I've been following this thread for a while now........ and finally took the plunge and placed my first bricklink order of just over 2,000 pieces. Very excited to kick this off and finally own my own UCS MF

[bmerigan]

I have read that buying some parts from LEGO Bricks & Pieces and Pick a Brick could be less expensive at times but it seems quite the undertaking to check each and every part on the list. Is there software that can help me out with this? I am about to try the Brickficiency application but understand this is only for Bricklink. Does anyone have a list of parts that should be ordered from LEGO directly?

Any help would be much appreciated!!

I have put together a list of what I ordered from the Lego shops for you, as well as the prices for all the parts they carry.

http://merigan.tk/lego/lego-parts.htm

You can see what I ordered.

You may end up with a slightly different list depending on availability via Bricklink at the time you want to order.

I also added extra to Pick-a-Brick to get the total above $150 for free shipping.

[ScottishDave]

Jay,

That is an excellent answer: thank you once again. I think I have all the info I need to try this for myself. Thanks for the offer of a completed decal, but I think I can spring for the cost of a few sheets of inkjet decal paper myself. I have some other, non-lego projects which are suddenly looking like they need decals, so it's all good :-).

Reading about everyone great experiences with building the UCS Falcon and seeing the fantastic results pushed me over the edge in picking up this task myself.

(I'm a total newby to Lego (just your avarge readily bought small model here and there) and Bricklink, but why not start right here with the ultimate challange!)

Go for it. The basic UCS Falcon clone was my first project out of my dark ages (started March 2009) so I know it can be done. I wish I'd had bmerigan's blog posts in front of me when I started it all those years ago.

I'm especially fond of Dave's great mods, the engine, the baffles the mandibles and redisigning of the hull... all this looks like studio model quality!

Thank you! I was attempting to replicate the detail on the 32" studio model, so I'm pleased by your reaction.

is there something similar to your (Dave) other mods?

I'm afraid that there are no full-on step-by-step guides for the rest of my mods. The closest I have are the pictures in my flickr album, which ought to get you started.

I do fully intend to take the time one of these days to pull the entire thing apart and photograph it to death - right after I've done the 101 urgent DIY projects I keep getting presented with...

[JayCal]

Dave,

Don't forget to use a clearcoat after you printed your decals before you submerge them. Inkjet decals are not waterproof after printing! I use laserprints, so I don't have to take that extra step. Good luck and let us know how it works out.

[ScottishDave]

Don't forget to use a clearcoat after you printed your decals before you submerge them. Inkjet decals are not waterproof after printing!

I use laserprints, so I don't have to take that extra step.

Absolutely: and this is also a good tip for anyone using the thicker vinyl stickers with an inkjet printer: I smudged several of my stickers before working this out. Then again, I was using the soapy-water technique to position the stickers properly.

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

Will do. I'll try to post some nice side-by-side photos!

Edited November 21, 2014 by ScottishDave

[hachiroku]

Hey guys, I'm in the business

I have part of a 10179 built now:

As a diorama in a shelf. It's cool.

But I want a full 10179, like everyone. So, before order anything, I started to built as much as a I can.

Today I built two more sections of the hull:

My plan is buy an AT-AT 75054 this Christmas (a store in my city has sales of the -40%, I will buy it around 70€) and order aroud 50€ in bricks.

Edited November 22, 2014 by hachiroku

[H_Solo]

Dave, can you tell me about your custom Radardish design? I try to mimic that but cant find the round part, that combines the 90 degree mechanical arms to the center...

On top is a light bley inverted 2x2 dish and a 20 Technic gear Tooth Bevel, right? but whats the pin connecting it all together?

Thank you very much for your help!

[ScottishDave]

Dave, can you tell me about your custom Radardish design? I try to mimic that but cant find the round part, that combines the 90 degree mechanical arms to the center...

On top is a light bley inverted 2x2 dish and a 20 Technic gear Tooth Bevel, right? but whats the pin connecting it all together?

I'm guessing you mean this?

This is the design I used before getting stuck in - so to speak - with the clear vinyl.

You got the parts I used correct. The technic gear is this one. I used an octagonal frame - this or this, either will do - to hold the 90 degree mechanical arms in place.

The bar through the entire lot was a 4L "lightsaber blade" in lbg.

I copied elements of the design, along with the dish stand, from Mike Psiaki's Falcon.

Good luck with your mods!

Edited November 22, 2014 by ScottishDave

[H_Solo]

Thank you Dave, you're photos are an inspiration to me!

I've gone through our old Legos last weekend (mostly 80ies and 90ies stuff) and found about 500 or so parts are already in my possesion...

I've then updated my Brickstock and put in the first orders for parts... (3x BL and one from Lego) those should add up to something around 4000 parts. (of course I fell for the old cheapish parts but damn high shipping costs trick, but as I found almost 1.9k new parts for about half the price as from Lego I bit the bullet...)

I also bought a hole lot of stuff used from another seller, and even did throw in a few off-colored parts in the old light/dark grey, as I think Daves Falcon looks so perfectly weathered with all the older and sometimes slightly discolored parts.

I plan to get the missing parts on (hopefully) not more than two additional BL and/or Lego orders. But first I have to do a checkup on what I got after the orders arrive...

I promise I'll then start my own thread documenting the progress and show my own modifications to the set...

Edited November 24, 2014 by H_Solo

[bmerigan]

To store the Lego for this project I decided to make a box as close to the original box as I could get.

There are no high quality images of the 10179 box online that I could find so I made my own using a lot of sample images from around the web of the Lego logo, Darth Vader, mini-figs, matched the font, etc. The only section I didn't do was the barcode and country of origin stuff on the bottom edge because I couldn't find a reference image to know what it should look like.

Images are at my blog if anyone wants to download them and do the same, or just see the result of the work.

[H_Solo]

Amazong work! You took a lot of effort to re-create this so perfectly!

[atlas]

That is extremely impressive.