Before we show what Sean is working on, please allow me to thank him for all he is doing, and has done for this art form. His work has contributed to the forwarding of this art form greatly… and we here at Modeler Magic at grateful of him, and all who participate in making these beautiful creations, and re-creations real. This 5 foot Falcon in no different. We viewed Sean create many beautiful pieces over the past few decades, including the studio scale Battlestar Galactica Fleet, as our jaws hung in awe. Sean is again inspiring the world with his great creative ability. Thank you once again Sean.
Kurt Kuhn
Kuhn Global Incorporated
Modelers Miniatures & Magic

Now on to Sean’s amazing work…

“I have been on a mission to recreate part for part, detail for detail, the original, 5 footer Star Wars Millennium Falcon Filming Miniature exactly as it looked when it was filmed back in 1976. What makes this model unique is the lack of the forward landing gear boxes that we’re used to seeing on the ship since Empire Strikes Back. I also have worked hard to add back in numerous parts that are/have been missing on the original since originally built.

A few years ago during a ‘GeekFest’ of fellow Sci Fi model builders, I was shown a ‘blueprint’ at 1:1 scale of the and a 3D print of the top gun platform. I was taken aback at the impressive size of this thing – well over 5 feet long from front to back, I decided I had to build it. There was a TREMENDOUS amount of teamwork, research, development and design that went into this initial blueprint – so I met the folks ‘behind the curtain’ – Andre Bustanoby, Joshua Maruska, Doug Maio and Stu Brown. Through lots of discussions, they helped steer me in the right direction to get started. Craig Underwood helped me get started on construction by assisting with 3D prints of the docking ring and cockpit frame structures.

The first thing I had to do was gather ALL the model kits needed to make this thing super accurate. This included acquiring well over 150 unique model kits (many very rare and out of production), and in many cases, multiples of the same kit. The variety of Tanks, Ships, Planes and Cars is incredible, and a testament to the original model builders unique skills. I did not want to use any castings or substitutes unless there was not choice.
So I then began the Journey in mid 2016 to construct this monster from scratch. I started by building the core ‘hamburger patty’, getting the internal support going and having the huge, nearly 4 foot diameter discs laser cut. All this got bonded around a 2″ steel pipe and ABS pipe. Next up, I decided I wanted to stay as true to the original construction, and had the acrylic domes “Buns” blown to shape to a very tight tolerance by a skylight company. This was the key to getting the initial shape to accurately reflect correctly. One thing I couldn’t do was to make the ‘edges’ of the dome to match the tapered effect of the original. This is where I got help from Steve Neisen, who designed a section of the proper dome extension, 3D printed it, and cast the parts up to create a perfect edge. He also 3D printed the landing gear ‘doors’ for me. And Mike Salzo has saved the day for me several times, casting up several signature kits where multiples were needed.

I then moved on to build ‘masters’ for the side walls, trying to accurately get all the little parts in there, mold them, and cast them. I then proceeded to make the acrylic ‘mandibles’, and then added the styrene plating and the dozens of model kit parts. I then attached the mandibles to the main core. Next was construction of the ‘walkways’, which took a lot of manual hand sanding to match the curvature of the domes. They got attached, and the styrene plating added and then all the dozens of model kit parts for those placed. After that, I figured out how they routed the ‘radar dish’, and added parts for that. Then moved on to building the ‘docking rings’ adding the plating and kits. Next was building the numerous maintenance ‘recesses’, trying as accurately as possible to recreate every little detail in there. The big construction really got going on the underside with the addition of the rear underside landing gear box. This was a fairly complex area to build, and again required a lot of hand sanding to get the right shapes. Next up was the gun platforms and the ‘jawboxes’. I got those built up, and started putting the sub assemblies together. The last big construction assemblies was the engine deck, which has a significant amount of parts, and if the design had been off, the parts would never have fit. After that, the upper and lower engine ‘lips’ were built, designed to be removable if the lighting ever needs maintenance. As final construction was nearing, there was the matter of building in all the details like the hull damaged areas, the plating, the little ‘chips’, more kit parts, all culminating in final assembly ready for painting.

As of July 2, 2018, the model is now undergoing the white base coat paint on the underside. This will give me opportunities to test/learn the weathering techniques so when I move to the top, that’ll all be even easier.

There are so many more folks that have helped me out with this project! I could not have gotten this far without them, and I plan to highlight all the contributors. But the ‘Behind the Curtain Gang” has been key to helping me get this far with their ongoing support and information sharing.

And a Huge THANK YOU to Kurt Kuhn for letting me share this wonderful journey! When it’s all built and painted, the final beauty pictures will be shared here. When? Hopefully by the end of 2018, but this project seems to never end!”

Sean Sides

Primer

Basic Construction

Bottom

Bottom Deck

Cockpit

Dish & Gun Area

Engine

I am loving the ‘Sean Sides is MF BIGGEST FAN’ he placed on… FANtastic!

Jaw Box

Recesses

Top

Walkways

Sean Sides

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