Millennium Falcon Build Journal No. 07: Issues 21-24

The Arrival

This month’s box arrived in pretty bad shape. Fortunately, nothing was lost. There was some minor damage on one of the hull plating pieces, but it looks like it occurred during packing. That’s DeAgostini‘s fault, and the replacement part took only one week to get here. Instead of sending just the replacement part, they sent every part that came with issue 24. So, I have several extra screws, and a few extra metal pieces.

Despite the many complaints about DeAgostini‘s customer service, they appear to be localized to the European distributors.

Supplies

To help with light blocking, foil tape was recommended. It comes in a large roll, and I plan on using it to light block the seams of the hull panels and the cockpit.

Painting

I’ve been getting more active on the ModelSpace forum, getting tips from fellow (and more experienced) builders. If you’re building this model, or plan to, I highly recommend joining the forum. At the very least, read them, and stay up-to-date on the various discussions.

I went ahead and light-blocked the inside of the cockpit access tube. The primer blocks about 95% of the light; the LEDs are so bright that they still penetrate the hull in a few spots. But, one tip that was recommended for light-blocking is to use foil tape.

Cutting pieces down to size, I was able to seal a good deal of the leaks. The problem areas that remained were the seams where the two halves of the tube meet, especially in the area where the LEDs are.

By folding sections of foil tape, and overhanging them past the edges, I created an overlapping lip that covers the seams. After putting the two tube halves together, I pressed the foil to the contours of the tube walls. Because the adhesive is contained within the fold, the overlap doesn’t stick to anything, and I can still disassemble the tube halves as needed.

Running another folded piece of foil tape around the back edge of the cockpit panel blocks even more of the LED light. I was careful to make sure that the foil did not come into contact with the LED circuit board. Some foil tape is designed to conduct electricity, and I didn’t want to risk shorting out the LEDs.

With the extra piece of hull plating, I practiced some painting techniques and learned a few valuable lessons. The hull is overdone, but it was good practice, and I now know what not to do.

The damage was roughened using a wood-burning kit, painted black in the center, and pastel powder brushed on for burn marks. To make the gouge look deeper, the edges were highlighted with paint.

Assembling

There was really not much to do this month. The primary focus was on completing the hallway from last month and assembling more of the lower hull, both being pretty straight-forward.

Even though there was nothing to paint (aside from the cockpit access tube), I washed every plastic part. The hull framework is now halfway completed, and the whole model is roughly 25% complete . . . sans painting.

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