Following the completion of my
Empire Strikes Back version of the Bandai 1/72 scale TIE Fighter, work resumed on the 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon. Work-in-progress up to this latest stage has seen paints and decal applied on the cockpit and two forward mandibles sans final weathering.
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| Bandai Millennium Falcon, progress so far - cockpit and forward mandibles sans weathering |
For ease of handling particularly when applying decals and washes/panel lining, I decided to work on the separate individual parts of the forward mandibles before assembling everything together. It's important to note that doing it this way will likely lead to a higher amount of spray paints being used as well as run the risk of damaging either some of the fragile parts and/or the paint work/decals.
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| Top plating of the Millennium Falcon's left forward mandible |
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| Bottom plating of the Millennium Falcon's left forward mandible |
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| Top plating of the Millennium Falcon's right forward mandible |
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| Bottom plating of the Millennium Falcon's right forward mandible |
An example of the attention to detail that Bandai has showered on its Star Wars model kits can be seen on the Falcon's equipment access bays and the sides of the forward mandibles. That the former comprised three-layered sections while the latter had additional tiny piping, etc. glued to it meant the parts projected depth before any wash was even applied.
And after a combination of a dark grey and sepia wash, applied one after the other, the results looked great. Brilliant design by Team Bandai!
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| Three-layered parts for the equipment access bays allows for ultra realistic shading |
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| When assembled together, the equipment access bays' three-layered parts display amazing depth |
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| Left forward mandible's equipment access bays, bottom and top views |
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| Right forward mandible's equipment access bays, bottom and top views |
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| Already awash with detail, the forward mandibles' side parts actually had additional mini-parts glued to it |
Undoubtedly, the pace slowed from working on the forward mandibles in their separate constituents. Putting it all together before painting may have been faster but I highly doubt the results would've been as good, especially for the equipment access bays. Those bays were too deeply recessed - due to their three-section structure - for paint to adequately reach the lower regions via spray paint.
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| Bandai 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon, right forward mandible |
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| Bandai 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon, right forward mandible (view from opposing side) |
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| Bandai 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon, right forward mandible (bottom section) |
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| Bandai 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon, right forward mandible (bottom, view from opposing side) |
As I alluded to earlier, my main worry in adopting this order of doing things (i.e. paint individual parts before assembly) is damage to the paint work as well as fragile side parts of the forward mandibles. Sadly I did snap a few of the side part's tubing/piping. But on the whole, the paint/decals/parts (which had a final matte clear coat on it) were fairly resilient to semi-rough handling. And the level of control I had while painting/decaling the individual parts made the few snapped parts well worth it. Moreover the broken parts were easily glued back together with Mr.Hobby's extra thin glue.
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| Bandai 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon, left forward mandible |
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| Bandai 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon, left forward mandible (view from opposing side) |
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| Bandai 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon, left forward mandible (bottom section) |
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| Bandai 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon, left forward mandible (bottom, view from opposing side) |
Soon I'll be starting on a new shorter-term Bandai Star Wars project to complement work on the Millennium Falcon. In addition, I also plan to resume normal service for my long neglected miniature figurine painting projects. Just which model kit/figurine is the million-dollar-question. And there's that nagging feeling urging me to pick up a pencil and draw, like an itch that won't go away. Well, it's time to calm the mind and choose ... errr ..... uhm ... ahhh ... I'll have to get back to you on that.
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The detail on this really is amazing, great progress too!
ReplyDeleteThanks you Michael. :) Yes, Bandai did a good job on the Millennium Falcon.
DeleteRealistic and superb details!
ReplyDeleteMerci Phil :)
DeleteAnother great project, waiting to see more!
ReplyDeleteGrazie Luca. More to come soon!
DeleteI think you've really found your stride with these kits :)
ReplyDeleteVery kind of you Zab, thanks! :)
DeleteReally impressed by the attention to detail on display here. This will be a corker of a space faring craft, once finished.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Moiterei. Finishing it won't be easy that's for sure. She is huge even at 1/144 scale especially for a vehicle noob like me. :)
DeleteI am just amazed on these kits! I have to start putting mine together!
ReplyDeleteDo it! Give in to the dark side and posses unlimited power (spoken in the Emperor's voice of course). ^_^
DeleteKudos to you! The level of detail here is insane!
ReplyDeleteThanks Suber! :)
DeleteHats off to Bandai for this great kit.
Wow. More fine work, sir. You're clearly in your element.
ReplyDeleteThank you sir. Thank you. :)
DeleteNice work on picking out the detail like that. This will be another awesome piece.
ReplyDeleteThank you Simon. Hopefully it will all turn out well in the end.
DeleteLooking awesome already. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you pulpcitizen. If all else fails I will just 'weather-the-hell-out-of-it' and pretend I meant it that way i.e. all dirtied up. XD :)
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