Painting on a booger-sized miniature ... Bandai Millennium Falcon's BB8, Finn and Rey at 1/144 scale

With a width of 3 mm and a height that extends an additional millimeter, the Bee-bee Ate 1/144 scale miniature is admittedly larger than most boogers. Nonetheless, painting something this small has been a hobby experience bordering on the insane. That a photo of the resulting paint job was even possible is due solely to a DSLR camera equipped with the Tamron SP AF 90 mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 lens (an entry-level budget macro lens). Alas the use of the macro lens clearly highlighted any painting errors I made, errors which are actually barely visible when viewed with the naked eye.  

Beebee-Ate from the 1/144 scale Bandai Millennium Falcon model kit

While not as small as Beebee-Ate, both Finn and Rey at 1/144 scale were still noticeably smaller than the previously completed pair of Han and Chewie. I should have compensated with slightly more diluted paint and a whole lot more patience when applying the layers of colour. But I did neither. Coupled with an overconfidence borne out of my previous success with Han and Chewie, I didn't - unsurprisingly enough - do as well with the paint job on Finn and Rey.  

Close up front view of Finn (left) and Rey (right)

Close up back view of Finn (left) and Rey (right)

Also as with my experience with Han and Chewie, the sculpted details on the standing figures were much better than the seated ones. This was especially true for the miniatures' facial features. If I had to hazard a guess, this could be a conscious decision on Bandai's part because any eventual view of the seated figures will probably be obstructed by the cockpit and lack of lighting. In contrast, the standing figures would be outside the ship and in clear view hence the need for greater details.   

Finn and Rey at 1/144 scale (front view)

Finn and Rey at 1/144 scale (back view)

Previously I compared the scale of these tiny figures to a 31 mm paperclip and a 28 mm heroic scale miniature from Games Workshop. This time around, I compared them to a five sen coin which is the smallest denomination of the Malaysian currency. As you can see, Beebee-Ate is barely a twinkle in the small coin's eye. Without a doubt the smallest miniature I have ever painted so far.

Bandai Millennium Falcon's crew as compared to the five Malaysian sen coin 

So the gang is now more or less complete with four seated and five standing figures at 1/144 scale. Logically speaking, next up should be the interior of the cockpit. As I won't be lighting up the cockpit with any LEDs, I will have to simulate the panel lights using bright colours instead. Having a background (sans lighting) littered with hues of black/dark grey, the cockpit area is very gloomy and dim when not lighted up. Whether bright colours will suffice in lieu of lighting is a conundrum for another day. For now, I'm just happy to have completed the tiny 1/144 scale figures.