Star Wars 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon [WIP - Side hulls incld. escape pods & exposed lower hull innards]

Having sorted out all the mislabeled and misplaced parts of my Bandai 1/144  scale Millennium Falcon project, I am now able to go full speed ahead with a focused aim of completing of this iconic Star Wars ship. This task began with the assembly, painting, and weathering of the ship's side hulls, escape pods as well as exposed lower hull innards. All had required lots of work at the assembly stage because each individual section started off as separate pieces which would then go on to combine into a bigger whole (shown in the following photos except of side hulls).   

Bandai 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon port side hull including escape pod (circular structure)

Millennium Falcon starboard side hull including escape pod (circular structure)

Exposed innards on the front right quadrant of the Millennium Falcon's lower hull

On the opposite side of the Millennium Falcon's lower hull is a mirror image of exposed innards

Apart from these three main sections - i.e. the side hulls, escape pods and exposed innards of the lower hull - I also attached a previously completed Lower Laser Turret as well as front nose section onto the lower hull (see two photos immediately below). And for the former, if you look really, really closely you might just catch a glimpse of Finn seated on the gunner's seat.

Nose section that's located in between the future positions of both forward mandibles

Look closely and you'll see Finn seated inside the laser turret (sans quad cannons) on the lower hull

As mentioned earlier, there was actually two parts to the exposed innards. This is an ingenious design that achieves a realistic end results of three dimensional depth and detail. As it is the individual parts are all already excellently molded with fantastic details. So to have an added 'depth factor' certainly ups the realism factor. This design was also used on the side hulls (not shown) and escape pods (see photos of the starboard side escape pod assembly). The only negative to this design is the frailty of parts that form the outer shell, especially on the side hulls. When full assembly of the Falcon itself is underway, it'll be important to handle these 'two-part' pieces with care lest I break them.

Clockwise from top right: pieces of the port side hull, exposed innards, nose section and escape pod

Mirror image pieces of the exposed innards actually come in two separate sections

Combined together, the separate sections of exposed innards showcase an impressive level of depth

Sections of the exposed innards prior to being attached into the Millennium Falcon's lower hull

Both the mirror image exposed innards after being attached into the lower hull

On the port side of the Falcon's side hull, the various components comprising the nose section, side hull and escape pod attached to the lower hull without any fuss. It snap-fitted so securely that no glue was required to ensure the pieces fit together properly. This was even before the upper hull had been attached on top of the said components, which will further secure all the pieces together.  

Pieces comprising the nose section and port side components of the Millennium Falcon's side hull

Millennium Falcon lower hull's nose section, port side, and escape pods attached and assembled

Over at the starboard side, I was able to show the escape pod in its original two-piece-setup (see below). Like the side hulls and exposed innards before it, the escape pod benefited greatly from this design in terms of an increase in three dimensional depth and end result realism. With the exception of one of the side hull pieces near the nose section (i.e. half of it was smooth with no details in order to accommodate the cockpit later), the starboard side is almost identical to the port side hull. 

Components of starboard side of the Millennium Falcon's hull (note escape pod is in two separate pieces)

Said starboard side hull components just before they are attached to the lower hull

Starboard side of the Millennium Falcon side hull (fully assembled and attached to lower hull)

So the sides and lower hull of the Millennium Falcon are largely completed. That leaves the Upper Hull, Cockpit, Forward Mandibles, Sublight Drive Exhaust, Upper Exposed Innards, Radar Dish and Upper Laser Turret on the to-do-list. And if you had been following the progress of the project way back when, you would note that the first three items in the list have already been completed sans weathering. So that leaves just the latter four items to be primed, painted and assembled. Once all the items have been ticked off, there is still the weathering to do and the final assembly process.

Millennium Falcon work-in-progress: side hulls, escape pods, nose section, exposed innards and turret on lower hull

In addition to all the sections mentioned above, the Lower Hull also needs to be weathered. My first attempts at weathering the Falcon will actually begin on this lower section because any mistakes won't be as visible compared with the upper section. Subsequently, any hard lessons learned while weathering the Lower Hull/Lower Laser Turret will then be used to weather the Upper Hull, Upper Laser Turret, Cockpit, Radar Dish, and Forward Mandibles. Only after this can the final assembly process begin. And while there is still a ways to go, the Millennium Falcon project has finally reached critical mass and I'm now confident it'll be completed ... sooner rather than later.       

Redzone in more ways than one

In motorsports and motoring in general, the red zone (or redline zone) denotes the maximum range of revolutions-per-minute (RPM) an engine can attain. Essentially the RPM indicator (see below) on a vehicle's tachometer measures how many times the engine's crankshaft makes one full rotation every minute. Arguably the pinnacle of motorsport engineering, Formula One (F1) cars tend to frequently rev up to a red zone that's high as 18,000 rpm to generate peak performance. This then gives you the iconic high pitched engine roar or whine that's synonymous with the F1 sport.

Why am I talking about F1 cars and the red zone? Well the reasons are twofold. Firstly, right before the Covid-19 lockdown was initiated in Malaysia, I already had a strong inkling of what was going to happen. And while stockpiling of food and supplies were already slowly starting amongst the general public (yours truly included), I made a slight detour to a nearby hobby shop and 'panic' bought two 1/20 scale F1 model kits to my already overflowing pile. Inexcusable in these times I know. Oh, and secondly the district I live in has been designated a Covid-19 redzone. At last count, which was a few days ago, there had been up to 24 positive cases reported in my area. Oh well.  

1/20 scale Formula One racing car model kits by Aoshima/Beemax and Tamiya

I first got into the sport as a 10 or 11-year-old. Staying up late into the night to catch F1 races that saw battles between Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Nikki Lauda, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna throughout the mid-1980s up to early '90s. After this golden period, I stopped following the sport closely although I still read enough of it to be aware of exceptional drivers like Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. But I'm starting to follow F1 again hence the kits you see now.

1/20 scale Aoshima/Beemax McLaren MP4/2 plastic scale model kit, sans photo-etch parts

For non-Formula One fans, let me regale you with some background info on both the 1/20 scale F1 model kits. Let me start with the McLaren MP4/2 (see above) that was powered by a 650 bhp V6 TAG-Porsche turbo engine encased in an all carbon fibre chassis. To a young boy new to the sport way back then, the iconic red and white McLaren racing car was F1. The actual car I was in awe of all those years ago was probably a later iteration i.e. the MP4/2B driven by Alain Prost to the driver's championship in 1985. That car wasn't in stock at my local hobby store so the MP4/2 had to suffice.  

1/20 scale Tamiya Ferrari F60 plastic model kit with the photo-etched parts included

In 2009, the fairytale story of the season involved constructor Brawn-Mercedes team's first-and-only participation in the sport; and their journey to go on and win the Constructor's Championship. In that year, Scuderia took part with the F60, a car powered by the Ferrari Type 056 V8 engine. Unfortunately Ferrari achieved only one victory with Kimi Räikkönen in the Belgian Grand Prix. They also only had six podium finishes that year so it stands to reason that the F60 wasn't high on my to-do-list. But it was the only F1 car from the main three constructors of Mercedes-AMG Petronas, Scuderia Ferrari and Red Bull Racing that was available at the local store. It's still a Ferrari. So all good.

Formula 1 cars of today usually have digital RPM indicators that display the revs in numbers

As I finish this blog, the Covid-19 lockdown in Malaysia has been extended another two weeks. I actually expected the lockdown to go on for another month but the Malayiasian economy has already taken a huge beating as it is. So hopefully the situation will improve by mid-April not only here where I'm at but elsewhere too. Sadly many governments around the world are still not taking this pandemic seriously enough. I can only look on in utter despair at the lives soon to be lost in the coming weeks. Wherever you may be, dear reader, keep your social distance and please stay safe.

Covid-19 Lockdown in Malaysia; a miniature painter's thoughts and perspective

Unless you have been living under a rock, you should be aware by now we are facing a global pandemic. And while I despair at sheer stupidity and ignorance of some fellow citizens during these trying times, I honestly cannot blame them for their reaction. Science as a body of knowledge seems to have become less of a priority in the education system and results are all too predictable.

Light traffic during rush hour near the Petronas Twin Towers (Source: Straits Times)

A spike in Covid-19 cases here came about as 16,000 people - some unaware they were already infected with the virus - attended a religious event in Kuala Lunpur, and then subsequently dispersed all over the country and South East Asia. To date not all have been accounted for. Following this, a perfect storm then arose when a well intentioned interstate-movement-restriction-order resulted in massive amounts of citizens congregating in police stations all over the city to obtain exemption permits before dispersing back to their hometowns all over the nation. To make matters worse, many seem to be ignoring the lockdown due to confusion, ignorance or plain stubbornness. 

Highways in Kuala Lumpur are bizarrely empty (Source: Malaysian Reserve)

And then you have the Health Minister coming on air saying drinking warm water prevents Covid-19 infection. Seriously? Sigh. Personally, I believe practicing good hygiene and maintaining social distance, among others, is our best bet to flatten the curve of infection rates. Science matters! 

Empty roads in downtown Kuala Lumpur (Source: Straits Times)

Being a biochemist by training I was already highly attuned to the horrors of this pandemic at its early stages. But even then the seriousness of it all didn't really hit home until I had to get in line to get my temperature tested and hands sanitized before I could enter a local grocery store for supplies. Thankfully queues were orderly and not overly long; shoppers largely calm and courteous i.e. no toilet roll fights that have become viral (no pun intended) memes; food stocks adequate; traffic light due to it being largely restricted to essential movement like medical emergencies, supply runs, etc.

More empty highways in Kuala Lumpur during what would've been peak hours (Source: The Star)

With many citizens seriously affected financially by this pandemic, it might seem scant consolation to note that pollution levels have decreased. Irony dictates that the problem of Global Warming should be solved by a Global Pandemic which may lead to a Global Economic Downturn.  

Yet more empty streets of down town Kuala Lumpur (Source: EdgeProp.my)

On a less dire note, this lockdown means I no longer have any credible excuse to further delay work on my huge pile of miniature and scale model kit backlog. In fact just prior to the lockdown I went ahead and added to this pile - I know I shouldn't have - two new F1 kits to work on during this self-isolation period. However, that's a story for another day. Lastly in a period where it's essential for Science to triumph Fake News, I leave you with a quote from astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson ... Knowing how to think empowers you far beyond those who know only what to think.

Star Wars Millennium Falcon [WIP - Heat Exhaust Vents on the rear section of the Upper Hull at 1/144 scale]

Continuing a long neglected project is turning out to be more difficult than I had first anticipated. It had gotten off to a good enough restart with the base-coating, panel lining and decal application on both the Upper and Bottom Hulls. Then the issues started trickling in: mixed up unlabeled parts that had been removed from the sprue ages ago; a horrifying realization I had glued shut an armor panel providing access to the LED power unit thus removing the lighted-engines-display-option; frustration at having also glued away the landing-gear-display-option leaving me with just the Millennium Falcon flying-with-its-engines-powered-down-display-option; etc, etc, etc.      

Bandai Star Wars 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon Work-in-Progress: Heat Exhaust Vents

So until I can sort out which-part-belongs-where based on the only display option I have left to me, I did the next best thing. This involved working on clearly defined parts that could be attached to an existing section that had largely been completed i.e. the six Heat Exhaust Vents on the Millennium Falcon Upper Hull. Unlike the Perfect Grade 1/72 scale Millennium Falcon kit which had photo-etched Heat Exhaust Vents, the 1/144 scale kit I'm working with provided only plastic ones. Despite this, one can still achieve a high level of realism. Clearly molded details on the plastic pieces help; coupled with an application of metallic paint on black primer and topped off with a black wash. 

Plastic molded pieces of the Heat Exhaust Vents

Heat Exhaust Vents primed with Mr.Hobby Mr.Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black

Gaia Color No.020 Gun Metal Metallic was then airbrushed onto the black primer

Mr.Weathering Color Multi Black was later applied to enhance vent details as well as reduce metallic shine

With the fit of the Heat Exhaust Vents onto the exposed Hyperdrive Engines being rather loose, I chose to utilize the adhesive properties of Blu Tack rather than glue the vents onto the engines. The finality of the latter wasn't an attractive option to me. Instead I preferred to retain the possibility of having exposed engines for future display options. After attaching the vents onto the engines using Blu Tack, I proceeded to do some weathering to showcase exhaust stains trailing from the vents.     

Millennium Falcon Upper Hull with the exposed Hyperdrive Engines before the Heat Exhaust Vents were attached

Fully painted Heat Exhaust Vents attached over the Hyperdrive Engines, and exhaust stain weathering completed

Millennium Falcon Heat Exhaust Vents on an Upper Hull placed against a black background

There's still a lot of work to do with regard to weathering the rest of the armor panels located on the Millennium Falcon's Upper Hull. But that's a task for another day. And in the current pandemic that is the global COVID-19 outbreak, I wish you safe days and remember to wash those hands! 

Bandai LM-HG Neon Genesis Evangelion EVA 01 Test Type [Unboxing and Pre-Assembly Review]

One of the reasons a project in my hobby pipeline gets the go-ahead is because its color scheme has been sorted out. On this basis alone logic dictates I should've started work on a lot of projects seeing that most kits include recommended color guides. But there are times when I want to do something different. So I've to first visualize and then test out colors I believe will take the kit to another level. This I've done so here then is an unboxing and pre-assembly review of the Bandai Limited Model High Grade (LM-HG) Neon Genesis Evangelion EVA-01 Test Type Unit plastic model kit.

Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type plastic model kit

While there are newer Evangelion scale model kits on the market, I decided to go old school by grabbing a kit that is essentially a 20-year-old design. First hitting the market in 1991, this kit is not expected to have the high level of joint articulation and freedom of movement of the newer designs. But it does contain one iconic piece of equipment that later kits for some reason chose to exclude i.e. the gigantic Positron Sniper Rifle. The EVA-01 unit wielded this weapon in one of the coolest scenes of the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series. To me this awesome weapon is a must-have, so starting my journey into this franchise via this old kit was just a no-brainer.

Bandai Limited Model High Grade - Neon Genesis Evangelion EVA-01 Test Type

Shinji Ikari features prominently in the box art for good reason as the kit includes a non-scale figurine of him

Model kit gimmicks together with a fully painted figurine are shown on this side of the box art

Box art showcasing a fully assembled EVA-01 posing in a variety of vignettes

At a glance, the box seems packed to the brim with sprues

Being an older model kit, the instructions are in Japanese only. Despite this, I don't foresee any problems during the assembly process because the steps are well laid out diagrammatically. And if all fails, I can still rely on my favorite Japanese-to-English anguage translation app Google Translate. From the color center-spread, the EVA-01 unit looks rather underwhelming when posed standing up straight. For this kit to shine, the mecha needs to placed within a diorama or vignette and posed accordingly. Moreover, the terrain or building piece would give the kit a sense of scale too.

Front and back cover of the EVA-01 Test Type kit instructions

Colored center-spread of the EVA-01 Test Type kit instructions

Black and white spread containing background information on Neon Genesis Evangelion

Being an old kit, the instructions are in Japanese only ...

... but with the assembly process being largely diagrammatic with minimal wording ...

... it shouldn't be too hard to figure out; worse case scenario there's always Google Translate

Parts already come molded in mostly the correct colors ... mostly anyway. In some sections this isn't the case - the most prominent being the light teal spine armor on the EVA-01 unit's back that comes molded in all black. This is also the case for the Positron Sniper Rifle which comes molded in all gray, whereas in the anime the weapon has violet, white and red hues (see below).

A composite photo showing the EVA-01 Unit wielding the Positron Sniper Rifle

A drawing that shows off the size of the rifle in comparison to a human

For hobbyists who intend to paint their kits, this issue of mold color is largely irrelevant as it is for me. This brings us back to the EVA-01 unit's color scheme. While I do not intend to change the colors of the EVA-01 unit, I do plan to change the nature of those colors from non-metallic flat/semi-gloss to a candy paint finish where applicable. For a recap on candy paint finishes, please click here.

Sprue A contains the iconic violet armor pieces of the EVA-01 unit

Sprue B has the pallet rifle, appendage joints, umbilical cable connector, miscellaneous armor 

Spruce C holds the unique fluorescent armor sections of the EVA-01 kit

Sprue D comprises orange pieces of the feet as well as neck/clavicle armor

Sprue E has the other violet armor its of the EVA-01 unit including its hands

Sprue F is the smallest sprue available comprising the EVA-01 unit's jaw and breast plate in light teal

Sprue H includes the black armor pieces of the shoulder fins, knee caps, and torso

Sprue PC-118 has internal joint and connector parts 

Sprue L contains a two-tone, single mold of the arm/elbow section

Accessory-wise, this scale plastic model kit has the aforementioned Positron Sniper Rifle. Also included are the Umbilical Power Cables and Connector. To understand the significance of both accessories you would've to have watched the anime series. In short, the former was a humongous weapon that required almost all the generators of Tokyo-3 city to power it. The latter was part of some memorable action sequences in the series that highlighted the EVA-01 unit's need to be connected to a power supply in order to function. Once disconnected, the EVA-01 unit had only five minutes of emergency backup power to accomplish what it needed to do before shutting down.  

Sprue I holds parts for the Positron Sniper Rifle and the corresponding support accessories

Umbilical power cables that connects the EVA-01 unit to its primary power source

Sprue G: Non-scale figurine of Shinji Ikari, the pilot of EVA-01 and protagonist of Neon Genesis Evangelion

Sticker foils and water decals for use on the EVA-01 Test Type model kit

Going forward this project won't be done in isolation i.e. it should be accompanied by a diorama or vignette that shows off the scale of the EVA-01 unit in a real world environment. Because this kit is essentially a non-scale model, it is unlikely I'll find an exact match - in terms of scale - of any terrain or building accessory. Undaunted, I still did the research and discovered that Z-scale (i.e. 1/220 scale) model train accessories come close to mimicking the scale of this EVA-01 unit. Not an exact match but pretty close. With things looking rosy for my Evangelion project, I just have to start ... soon.