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1/48 Millenium Falcon or 1/48 Y-wing?


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I'm thinking about buying the Fine Mold 1/72 Falcon model. I just read a site mentioning that a 1/48 Falcon is planned for next year. Has anyone heard of this rumor or can confirm? I would prefer to get a 1/48 model of the Falcon than a 1/72, but if there's not one planned... I will go with the 1/72. This Summer I saw the 1:1 studio model of the Falcon, X-Wing, Y-wing, Blockade Runner, AT-AT, AT-ST, etc. I would love to get some of the models in a scale closer to the studio models even if it's paying a ton for them.

Thanks!

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I'm thinking about buying the Fine Mold 1/72 Falcon model. I just read a site mentioning that a 1/48 Falcon is planned for next year. Has anyone heard of this rumor or can confirm?

What is the site in question? This is the first I've heard of a Millennium Falcon in 1:48.

I would prefer to get a 1/48 model of the Falcon than a 1/72,

That would mean a Millennium Falcon approximately 29" long.

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SMT did a Falcon in 1/48, but as soon as LFL got a whiff of it, they slapped it with a C&D faster then Yoda with a lightsaber. Rumor has it the masters are floating around somewhere, but anyone who has it has to keep dang quiet as LFL is very protective of that licensed property. Resin Y-Wings have been done by SMT and a couple other resin firms. I believe the second SMT Y-Wing formed the basis for the "Wishbone fighter" kit that Starshipmodeler.com has sold from time to time when SMT folded.

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What is the site in question? This is the first I've heard of a Millennium Falcon in 1:48.

That would mean a Millennium Falcon approximately 29" long.

I would have to dig up the website. I think it was speculation due to Fine Molds limited run of the 1/72 again that they are working on something else. I would love to have a 29" long Falcon. It would work great in my game room :thumbsup: !

I wouldn't want to shell out $400 for the model... but I'm sure I would. Seeing the studio model was awesome... having a similar size model (well 29" is still along way from studio size) would be great!

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In that scale you're better off scratch building from styrofoam and other light materials. the only benefit from doing styrene plastic would be to mold on tiny details, but in 1/48th you'd have a much easier time finding scratch-built parts.

That would be like wishing for a 1/48th Space Shuttle... Sheer madness!

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In that scale you're better off scratch building from styrofoam and other light materials. the only benefit from doing styrene plastic would be to mold on tiny details, but in 1/48th you'd have a much easier time finding scratch-built parts.

That would be like wishing for a 1/48th Space Shuttle... Sheer madness!

If a person was going to scratch build a 1/48 scale Falcon, what would be the best options for material?

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Mind you I've seen more of this done, than I have done myself.

I have done some paper models and seen how folks do various large spaces...

They take laminate or cardboard (or just heavy card stock) and make a frame, and then cover the frame outside of that with more cardboard, or shaped styrofoam, or whatever.

I had the Puz3D puzzle of the Falcon. Even it had to have a bit of a support, but then it was a puzzle (and would fall apart without it) so perhaps not the best example.

In fact, now that I think about it, there are a few Millennium Falcon papercraft models out there... You might be able to figure out the dimensions, work up the scale, and then just print them off at a certain % to come up with an end result in 1/48th!

Check out www.paper-modeler.com and www.zealot.com. A couple of decent forum communities with many downloads available (may need to register to download? I can't recall).

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I'm thinking about buying the Fine Mold 1/72 Falcon model. I just read a site mentioning that a 1/48 Falcon is planned for next year. Has anyone heard of this rumor or can confirm? I would prefer to get a 1/48 model of the Falcon than a 1/72, but if there's not one planned... I will go with the 1/72. This Summer I saw the 1:1 studio model of the Falcon, X-Wing, Y-wing, Blockade Runner, AT-AT, AT-ST, etc. I would love to get some of the models in a scale closer to the studio models even if it's paying a ton for them.

Thanks!

Just read this... Personally I think the chances of a Millenium Falcon in 1/48 from Fine Molds (or any other platic kit manufacturer) are somewhere between "forget it" and "not a chance in hell". The tooling costs for this would be enormous and a price tag to boot ($400 is on the low side, I think... more likely $600-$800). So with that price tag on a main line release, the market would be so small that sales would not allow them to recover costs. The business reality is that if you can't make a profit on something, you don't tool for it or market it.

Anyway, the rumour sounds like just that... and wishful thinking to boot.

Honestly, if you've seen the 1/72 Falcon, there is no need to go to a bigger scale, it is incredibly well detailed (over 800 parts!). So, if you have any interest in getting a highly detailed Falcon, I wouldn't wait. Once this run of the FM 1/72 Falcons is gone, they will not likely be offered again for some time, if ever, and waiting for a rumour that won't materialize means you'd be left high and dry with nothing. Strike while the iron is hot, I say.

Just my 2 cents...

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See if you can get your hands on a paper model, then scale it up to whatever size you want. Start hacking foam or balsa, then sheet it with thin styrene so you can add the detailing later to the general form. Its quite doable. I'm taking a break from building a 1/32 scale Dornier Wal that started off as a 1:50 paper model. Scaled it up, and started making subassemblies from styrene sheet. Its a simple slab sided model, much like the Falcon so this method would lend itself well to the process.

Don't be bashful, look in the yellow pages for a plastic supplier. You can get .030 and .040 for about $15-25 dollars for a 4ft x8ft sheet. Knock your self out and have some fun. Its a serious learning experience and I highly recommend it.

Sabre

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With a $100 price tag?

I don't see the reason Fine Molds is charging so much. I mean... WOW.. That's a lot of money for a 1/48th large fighter jet.. .but.. wait! It's a 1/72nd small-size snub fighter!

The other Fine Molds wares are equally expensive. Anybody ever held a 1/72 Bf109 in their hands? I'm talking SMALL... Very petite. They're charging over $20 for their 109 kits in some cases (and thes aren't even the ones with fancy pre-printed decals!) It's really overboard for their entire line.

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If Fine Molds were to do a 1/48 Y-Wing, I would expect its price to be about that of the X-Wing or about 30% higher at most. Even when they did the Slave One kits they weren't pushing $100 necessarily and those are BIG models. The Falcon was somewhat unique due to the high parts count. While the FineMolds 1/72 Y-Wing has a fair number of parts, it doesn't approach the complexity of the Falcon.

As for the prices on FM's airplane kits, heck even Hasegawa 1/72 WW2 fighter plane kits tend to be pushing those prices as well for some subjects. Of course, part of it is due to a strong yen vs a weak dollar right now.

Edited by Jay Chladek
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I think part of it is intentionally driving the price up for pure profit on the Hasegawa issue. For Fine Molds I'm willing to give some lee way because I understand these are NEW molds (Not 25-year-old rehashed kits) and they are also paying Lucas for rights....

But ... STILL! A 1/72 Y-wing is a tiny thing. How can they cost as much as a RESIN kit of the same size? They run nearly $40. Even the little "jedi starfighter," which was a tiny scrap of plastic with some blaster mark decals thrown in the box, was running this much!

It's definitely NOT going to raw materials. There's no materials in the kits! It HAS to be a judgement call somewhere to offset the price of initial capital required to make these kits. IMO that's robbing Peter to pay Paul, because the higher prices drive a lot of people away (people that fall underneath the middle upper class, or even the upper middle class).

But I won't judge too harshly... I don't know their economic situation. I can only lament the horribly high prices and wish they were lower. I certainly can't afford kits like that! Almost worth their weight in pure gold!

Edited by Mark M.
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The yen rate to the dollar has A LOT to do with the price. In yen pricing, FineMolds kits haven't gone up in price hardly at all. About 10 years ago, not long after the asian market crash, 1000 yen was equivalent to about 10 dollars. So a FM X-Wing kit selling for 2400 yen was going for under $30 US. These days, HLJ is selling them for about 2030 yen (15% off) and the price is still a little over $25. So a full price FM kit is going to be a bit more expensive since the yen is about 15% higher in value then it was a decade ago. The Y-Wing is NOT tiny as it is a little bigger then an X-Wing. As for the Jedi Fighter, they offset the size of the main ship by also giving you the hyperdrive ring sled. That bulked out the size a bit. Of course, they still didn't sell too many of those because the main ship is so small. I believe this is the main reason why FM has yet to do an A-Wing. You want tiny in 1/72, THAT is tiny. As such, only alternative for a 1/72 A-Wing is resin.

All things considered, for what you get in a FineMolds Star Wars kit, the quality is excellent. Have you ever built one? I have done several. They fit, they have a certain scale fidelity I have yet to see with any other company's kits (Revell of Germany included) and the price of an equivalent quality resin kit is typically TWICE the price of a FineMolds one for equivalent detailing. I've purchased many of the resin kits out there and I have yet to find one that matches FM detailing in styrene. So you've got such features as sprue channels that end on the bonding surface, NOT the side of the part so you don't have to file down excess plastic as much on a surface that will be painted. You get optional gear up or down configuration with gear bays and doors sometimes held on by polycaps, so you aren't necessarily forced into one configuration or another. You also get them done in a constant scale instead of all over the map as the Revell of Germany kits STILL are (putting aside that FM has to use LFL's scale data, which doesn't always seem right).

Somebody has to design the kit too. Taking a design that was made partly of kitbashed model kit pieces and scratchbuilt work and translating it into a 3D CAD image is not easy (made more difficult if multiple studio models of the same subject have different features). For the 1/72 Y-Wing, they engineered the center section with about 10 pieces if I recall correctly. Sure you've got the top, bottom and sides, but there are layers of greeblie bits that fit over the top of one another to get the right appearance in 1/72 scale. It is almost like looking at a piece of jewelry sometimes. The cost of the molds can also easily be in excess of $100,000 (probably double that for Japanese labor rates). The company has to recoup that investment somehow. The subject being popular will offset that investment somewhat, but LFL has to get their royalties as well. FineMolds is NOT a large operation by Japanese standards, so they can't cut costs like say Tamiya or Bandai (and Tamiya's prices lately have been pushing insane for some subjects, but they fit together as well).

I've fought with crappy styrene and resin kits. Sometimes I feel like the challenge, but other times I just want to enjoy the build. With FineMolds, I get what I pay for.

Edited by Jay Chladek
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I tend to agree after having built 3 FM kits (TIE, TIE interceptor and the Y-wing)

The fit and quality of the FM products are exactly what you pay for... only thing that could impress me more was if they came clad in velvet! The fit is simply unprecedented...later Tamyia models comes close but not quite as good a FM!

Same goes for the quality of the molds! Simply astonishingly good quality!

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With a $100 price tag?

I don't see the reason Fine Molds is charging so much. I mean... WOW.. That's a lot of money for a 1/48th large fighter jet.. .but.. wait! It's a 1/72nd small-size snub fighter!

The other Fine Molds wares are equally expensive. Anybody ever held a 1/72 Bf109 in their hands? I'm talking SMALL... Very petite. They're charging over $20 for their 109 kits in some cases (and thes aren't even the ones with fancy pre-printed decals!) It's really overboard for their entire line.

As others have said, the price of FM's SW line seems pretty much in line--not even accounting for licensing fees. When I first heard about a new tool X-wing, but it would only be in 72nd scale, I was a little let down. But when I saw one close up, both built and unbuilt, I understood what could really be accomplished in that scale. That kit is as good as--and some say even better--than most modern, new tool 72nd scale model planes. And the price of 2400 yen is very comparable to those other kits where the size is also comparable. And you get extremely good fit. The accuracy has to be qualified when discussed. It's not the same as comparing a particular modern jet or WWII aircraft, because the SW ships have all kinds of different details depending on which particular studio model--or full size mock up--you're looking at. And still, in the case of the X-wing, they tried to cover several variations. Based on the price of the 48th scale X-wing, I would expect the price of a 48th scale Y-wing to be about 6000-7000 yen, and I'd buy at least a few. Considering I recently sold a SMT Y-wing on e-bay for something like $130, I'd much rather have a FM Y-wing.

Now, a 48th scale MF? I'm a freak for the MF, but I passed on several chances to get a resin 48th scale MF. That was at $600 or so. And I know some people don't like to hear about this, but if this (never-gonna-happen) 48th scale MF from FM keeps the shape issues of the 72nd scale kit--forget it. They ever so slightly tweaked the mandibles on the 144th kit, but that ain't gonna work for me. If they go back to the CAD drawing board, they might get $400 out of me. Crap I might by two. But it just won't cover their costs. They gotta charge $600, but then they lose more customers, so they gotta charge $1000, but then they lose more customers, so they gotta charge $1500, but then they lose more customers, and pretty soon it's like, "How much to those MR Falcons go for on E-bay?" So how much money you got?

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