Fan-Built Falcon

[2takesfrakes]

Star Wars Fans Spent Six Years Building a Full-Size Replica of the Millennium Falcon Cockpit:
https://laughingsquid.com/millennium-falcon-cockpit/

Does anyone else know about this Labour of Love, or heard of other attempts by SW fans, perhaps, to construct their own Millennium Falcon, in its entirety? I'm guessing it was built, actually, for STAR WARS Fan Films and ... and so forth. Fan Films like this one, perhaps:

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[Refuge]

I'm impressed. I reckon without a jot of experience I could actually fly that thing.

 

[David cgc]

There's a ton of research on the Falcon (used as a source by this particular project) on this blog.

 

[2takesfrakes]

hmmmBOY!!! The practical prop of the Falcon's so cool looking in the first 2 SW movies, it makes you wish you could own one just like it, that really works. To have one built for fan films, holy crap ... the production value would shoot through the roof on some of these things. I'm not exactly sure what happened to the Falcon used in the movies. It's my understanding that there were actually 2 of them built. The one used in ANH, I believe, is actual size, or damn near. The one used in ESB is actually smaller (!!!), which I don't understand why they would do that. I don't see what advantage it is, except if there was some issue with not being able to get larger stages, or something like that.

And both of these Falcons were dismantled and destroyed, which shocks the hell out of me, because they're so detailed and I can't imagine the Smithsonian not wanting it parked out front. From what pictures I saw of its construction, it looks like its bulk is made out of plywood! Me ... I'd have absolutely no idea what to do with this prop, I really wouldn't. I'd feel like a fool sitting in it, like what do I expect it to do ... take off? It defies common sense. But that someone would actually duplicate the Falcon prop is still kind of impressive in an unhealthily obsessive kind of a way ...

 

[Prax]

They built a half of a millenium falcon for A New Hope(the half with the boarding ramp where you can see the cockpit from outside). The partial prop was destroyed after filming.

Then for Empire Strikes Back, they built a full size Millenium Falcon. The frame of this prop was made by a ship building company so that it could be disassembled and stored, which it was, then used for Return of the Jedi.

Unfortunately, the scenes that featured the exterior of the ship in RotJ were cut from the film. There's a later scene in the film that used a Matte painting of it, as it cost something like $40,000 just to move it to a different part of the studio.
Eventually it was destroyed.

Interior shots were filmed on a separate set in all 3 films.

In A New Hope, a 5 foot miniature of the MF was built, and for ESB, an additional 32 inch model was built. I believe both were used in ESB and RotJ.

 

[Tuskin38]

For Solo, they actually built the interior as one a single set, so you could actually walk from the ramp to the cockpit and in between.

 

[2takesfrakes]

They built a half of a millenium falcon for A New Hope(the half with the boarding ramp where you can see the cockpit from outside). The partial prop was destroyed after filming.

Then for Empire Strikes Back, they built a full size Millenium Falcon. The frame of this prop was made by a ship building company so that it could be disassembled and stored, which it was, then used for Return of the Jedi.

Unfortunately, the scenes that featured the exterior of the ship in RotJ were cut from the film. There's a later scene in the film that used a Matte painting of it, as it cost something like $40,000 just to move it to a different part of the studio.
Eventually it was destroyed.

Interior shots were filmed on a separate set in all 3 films.

In A New Hope, a 5 foot miniature of the MF was built, and for ESB, an additional 32 inch model was built. I believe both were used in ESB and RotJ.

Wow ... how about that? I always figured that Return of the Jedi was just looking to cut costs, so it used the matte paintings instead of the lifesized model. I don't see where the benefit went of destroying the prop, though, when so many options were open for having it sold, or put in a museum somewhere, or who knows what. I just don't get that, when the thing is so uniquely etched into the world's collective imagination. Somebody surely wanted to buy it ...

 

[Prax]

"It belongs in a museum!"

ANH/
ESB:

I would just live in it.

 

[2takesfrakes]

Haha! "Live in it ..."

I'm just fascinated by it. I can't explain. It's just this gigantic Pop Art icon. None of the shuttles I've seen on STAR TREK looked even half as cool. And yes! Good job with the Indy "museum" quote, by the way ...