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Bandai 1/144 Melenium Falcon


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I had the privilege of work sending me to Japan last month and visited a couple Tokyo hobby shops on my way home. Picked up this treasure at Yellow Submarine:

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There were a lot of great kits to choose from there but I only had room for one.

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,

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I was a little hesitatant on the small scale, but seeing a finished one in the store told me I had to have this kit. I was NOT dissapointed after opening the box.

Easily one of the most enjoyable kits I've put together, falls together like a dream and so expertly designed and engineered. Amazing detail for 1/144 scale. Had it put together in 2 evenings ready to paint.

I started with doing some pre-shading of Tamiya dark grey, almost black.

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Edited by toadwbg
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I took some time in the Quad Laser turrets and cockpit to add some extra details. I kit-bashed my spare decal box for all sorts of control panels, light panels, and various trinkets. I did try to replicate some references I found in books and pics online. The end result came close and adds some hidden visual interest if you look for it.

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I masked the cockpit and quad laser turrets and started the basecoat. I did a lot of online research here and settled on a Tamiya mix of about 5 parts white to 1 part deck tan. Loved the result! Dusted this topcoat over the dark basecoat and the effect was near-magical.

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This is pretty light in person but it will get toned down yet with the colored panels and weathering.

Edited by toadwbg
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Decal time. I was concerned about the decals ability to soften and conform over the many details, tiny features, and several small squares on the panels or even the carrier film on the edges settling down. So I tried some tests.

Started out with a test decal on a typical panel with a raised square. I brushed on a gloss coat of Future ahead of this for a smooth surface. I used some Mr. Mark softener initially but this wasn't strong enough. Broke out the Solveset and had some better success. The decal was still having trouble melting down over the small raised square so I scored the edges with a knife and applied more Solvset, finally it melted down enough. I knew if I went the decal route I'd have a lot of work ahead...

Tried painting some panels next. I started with some easier medium grey ones and it went OK. Problem is the panels are fairly small and have a tooth-like feature on the edges. Getting this masked well in 1/144 is a challenge, in a larger scale it might be no problem. Than I tried some red panels but had some ugly overspray, red seems to get everywhere! Hmm, touch ups required...

So I made the executive decision going back to decals. I'm glad I did. Decaling went fairly rapidly once I found my groove and after a few evening sessions had it all covered. The "busy" effect of the mismatched colored panels is a beauty in itself.

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In 1/144 the decals gave sharp edges. They are a bit on the bright side and I'm hoping weathering will tone them down some.

Edited by toadwbg
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Next I'm going to add some battle-scars, blaster hits, and impacts per some reference books of have of the studio models and other reference pics. Than some significant weathering.

I'll use many weathering techniques, pastels, oils, washes, airbrushing.

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I put down another layer of Future to seal in the decals and let that dry overnight. Now time for a good sludge wash to weather the Falcon and add some depth. I used ProModeler wash, it's water-based and a dark grey color. Simply slop on with a brush, let dry and wipe off with a damp cloth.

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This only takes about an hour to dry and than the fun begins. Watching all your recessed detail pop out and come to life with a little bit of smudging and overall-grey affect is a small victory:

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more photos:

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Looks a little heavy to me in person, so I might go back tonight and wipe a little more away. It takes a cotton swab with some scrubbing to get into tiny areas.

I'll be headed back to the access bays and landing gear to do more weathering with some pastels and oil washes. The Falcon has several prominent leaks, streaks, and color stains out of these areas.

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Showing off some of the blaster and battle damage. I used some liquid cement to soften up the damage area and then applied some pressure with a toothpick to create the scars. Worked really well in this scale. Darkened them in and weathered a little:

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Showing off the cockpit, which is hard to see with the canopy on. Like the studio model I think I'll leave the transparency off. Note Bandai actually includes 2 different parts here, one clear part you can mask thE windows or this framed version without windows:

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Edited by toadwbg
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Your Falcon looks great! Nice touch with these laserhits.

The Bandai kit shows high level of detail, just 1/144.

When you look at the real model its been made up with bits and parts of tank/plane/ship modelkits. Just like the Battlestar Galactica.

I haven't examine the MF this good but somewhere on the BG a large king tiger tank part is used.

:thumbsup:

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Nice work - I was wondering about the decals - wasn't looking forward to all that masking...

I'll be using them on mine :)/>

The only complaint I have on the decals is they are very bright, almost pastel, in color. The Red and light grey are OK, but the darker grey is very blue-ish and the yellow is intense. Also, get some Solveset decal solution if you don't have any.

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I thought it amusing to compare the Bandai 1/144 model to the old AMT 1/72 (approximate) kit. I built that AMT kit about 25 years ago!

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By comparison, the old AMT kit is devoid of much detail or accuracy.

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I did some paint touch-up and finished the boarding ramp today, calling this done! Most fun kit I've done in years.

I'm not much of a photographer, so some weak attempts here outdoors.

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