gunpowder Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Well here i am again with another FM Falcon. This time i have refined all of my lighting techniques. I will also be building this as my model not as the studio miniature , so it will have washes etc and the clear windows instead of the frames only. This Falcon came from ebay for £150. Now i know that sounds alot but the ones i have had in the past have all been £200 plus so i was well chuffed when i won it. I plan on having an internal battery that will go in the boarding ramp compartment. There will also be 2 hidden switches. One for the engine , cockpit and gunwell lights , and one for the headlights. These will be under the docking ring which will be held on with magnets. On to some photos. Heres the box with that fantastic artwork. Heres what i will be using to light it. Wide angle LEDs with resistors. A measly £3.75 from ebay. Heres the turrets and gunwells with the quad lazers. I will be adding some fibre optics on the back wall to light it. I will be posting more photos this evening of the lit cockpit and engine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigasshammm Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 This will be awesome. I need to bite the bullet and find this kit. Even though it's expensive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunpowder Posted November 17, 2011 Author Share Posted November 17, 2011 Its the best injection molded kit i have ever owned and that includes the Tamiya Spitfire Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigasshammm Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 I've got the 144th and the old MPC MF which is probably close to 1/72nd. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunpowder Posted November 17, 2011 Author Share Posted November 17, 2011 Heres the engine. I have tried normal LEDs in the past but you get light hotspots and its not solid enough. The next one i used electroluminescent sheet and that looked great , but the invertor hum was too annoying. Sooo wide angle LEDs seem to the way to go. There are 13 in the engine. I then fixed a white piece of plasticard over the front to diffuse the light into a soft glow. I want to keep it white without the grill as that is how it looked in the original untouched films. So thats the engine done. The cockpit was simple. Ive used fibre optics in the past but to be honest theres no need. I scribed some panel lines on the bulkhead and then drilled holes of various sizes. You wont see some of these once the seats are in. I then glued clear plastic on the rear and painted various glass paint colours on. i wide angle LED lights it , simples! Thats the cockpit done apart from the figures. I have done some work on the forward parts adding the details too. The simplest most effective mod to the kit is to cut the notches out around the edges. It looks 10 times better. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 FREAKIN AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Av8fan Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 This is just amazing. the cockpit is just wild. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 The pit looks like it would be straight from the movies! Great work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mriccio Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Yummy Thread! Good work Mr. Gunpowder. Could you explain why you use a resistor for each light, instead of one resistor for the whole series? What is the spec on your LED's and Resistors? Thanks for the great pics. Marco Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunpowder Posted November 18, 2011 Author Share Posted November 18, 2011 Yummy Thread! Good work Mr. Gunpowder. Could you explain why you use a resistor for each light, instead of one resistor for the whole series? What is the spec on your LED's and Resistors? Thanks for the great pics. Marco Thanks guys. The only reason i have done it the way i have is because thats the way i always have. Im sure there are other ways. I also figured that if for some resistor went then just 1 led would go out instead of the whole lot? Im no electronics expert! Taken from ebay where i got them. WHITE FLAT WATERCLEAR 5mm LED’S TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS INTENSITY600--1000mcd FORWARD VOLTAGE 3.0—3.6v FORWARD CURRENT 20m/a DOMI WAVELENGTH nm HOUSING WATERCLEAR VIEWING ANGLE 120 degrees Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Madhatter Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 man that's some awesome work! I am in awe! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Karl Sander Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Can't wait to see more! How big does a 1/72 Millenium Falcon come out to be? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PetarB Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 This is amazing - not only do I have the same kit, up to the same steps as you are, but also lighting in an extremely similar fashion! However, I'm clear casting the engine inserts so the light can diffuse from them, but I don't think I will bother with the grille either, it looks horrible. I'm also using 'Madman Lighting Tramp Freighter kit'. I'm hoping to finish mine up in the Xmas Holidays. How do you plan to mount/display the beast? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunpowder Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 This is amazing - not only do I have the same kit, up to the same steps as you are, but also lighting in an extremely similar fashion! However, I'm clear casting the engine inserts so the light can diffuse from them, but I don't think I will bother with the grille either, it looks horrible. I'm also using 'Madman Lighting Tramp Freighter kit'. I'm hoping to finish mine up in the Xmas Holidays. How do you plan to mount/display the beast? Clear cast parts will look awesome. Would you imbed an LED into the resin before it sets or just light it from behind? I have a display case for mine that i had made years ago for my old finemolds falcon. Im not using the stand its ugly. I have a plan with an old Slave 1 stand. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunpowder Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 Heres the next stages. Lots of parts to go on these , especially the rear deck. Heres the easy shot , the before one! A couple of hours work this evening and here are the results. I havent done the rear deck yet but heres the docking tunnels. Some of these parts are so ridiculously tiny they make your eyes bleed!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunpowder Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 Heres the first 2 steps done on the rear deck. Lots more to add yet. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunpowder Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 Another hour or so later.....still loads to add to this area. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
2qwik4u Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Looks awesome! I love the lit up engines. I've got the smaller MF, as well as mst of th other 1/72 kits from Fine Molds, but I haven't splurged on this one yet. One of the things I love about these kits is being able to try and figure out what random model kit pieces the original builders used as greebling on the studio model. In your very last shot I think I see three Tiger or Panther engine decks and maybe two truck grills. Thanks for doing the build log, I can't wait to see it finished! -Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 WOW !!! SO COOL...!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kasatka Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 Fine Molds re-releasing the MF in December!! http://www.hlj.com/product/FNMSW-06 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 (edited) Nice work so far. BTW, I uploaded a pair of youtube videos that discuss some of the work I did to my FMMF when I built it a couple years back. It might give you some ideas for tackling the greeblies, or the weathering. I kind of wish I had lighted mine, but I can always do that in a future project. BTW, if you leave those black "solar collector" screens off until the very end, you have an easier time with painting and weathering the model's rear deck IMHO. Part 1 Part 2 Edited November 26, 2011 by Jay Chladek Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunpowder Posted November 28, 2011 Author Share Posted November 28, 2011 Thank you. OK rear deck finally done. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TonyT Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Blimey you have sneaked away from BM, good for you :) TT Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LA2019 Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Lookin' good! Your interior lighting for the cockpit is brilliant! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PetarB Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 That rear deck is a killer isn't it! My 8 year old daughter actually helped me - I would call out the number, she identified it, trimmed it off the sprue and then handed it to me. I would do some minor cleanup work and glue it on. She was really happy to help too, which made it a lot of fun. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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