So what the hell exactly HAPPENED to the Falcon between Solo and A New Hope?

[Turd Ferguson]

I was at the gym today and amongst the TVs, I couldn't help but notice Solo was on. There was no sound, so I wasn't really paying attention to what was going on. Now, I've seen the movie exactly ONCE between two viewings (fell asleep through the first half watching it in IMAX and fell asleep through the second half on my 4K Blu-ray viewing), so I have the gist of what's going on. One thing stuck out to me, though.

The Falcon looks brand-frigging-NEW in Solo. I'm talking straight out of the space-dealership new. Everything is shiny and clean. All the deck plates and wall plates and blinky lights look PRISTINE.

By the time A New Hope rolls around, the Falcon looks like a piece of shit. Everything is banged up, the floors are scuffed up, the walls look dingy and filthy. Literally looks like some of the shitbox cars that drive around southeast Kentucky.

What the hell did Han do to it? You'd think winning it from Lando, he would have had some pride in the thing and kept it up (especially considering it houses a droid's consciousness). I'm aware he was wanted by Jabba and various crime lords and other assorted villainy, but would it have hurt to run it through a space car wash every once in a while? Maybe Armorall the damned thing? Jeez!

Edit: I looked up that Solo takes place approximately 20 years after The Phantom Menace and around 11-14 years before A New Hope. I guess the Millennium Falcon just aged as gracefully as Uncle Owen, Aunt Beru, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi

 

[fireproof78]

He considers the scars a matter of pride.

 

[Ithekro]

Makes people underestimate it. I'm sure the grime thrown off a few customs inspectors due to disgust.

 

[Tuskin38]

Lando heavily modified the Falcon into a yact kinda of deal. The way it looks under Han is actually closer to how the base version of the ship class actually looks in the lore. Obviously a factory fresh one wouldn't have all the scaring and missing paint.

Here's how the Falcon looked before Lando got it. The ship itself is actually 56+ years old by the time of A New Hope. (the old canon gave a specific year of 60 years before yavin, but the new canon just has a estimate of 56)

 

[Tosk]

Half the damage is actually done within the timeframe of Solo. They lose some landing gear and a whole heap of exterior plating, they really busted the hell out of it. The interior damage seems about right for 15 years of constant use. (It's not just their car, they live there.) Plus, never underestimate the wear and tear of a Wookiee.

 

[fireproof78]

Plus, never underestimate the wear and tear of a Wookiee.

That's why Han doesn't carry insurance. The Death Star pulled him over due to no insurance after running his tabs.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Lando heavily modified the Falcon into a yact kinda of deal. The way it looks under Han is actually closer to how the base version of the ship class actually looks in the lore. Obviously a factory fresh one wouldn't have all the scaring and missing paint.

Here's how the Falcon looked before Lando got it. The ship itself is actually 56+ years old by the time of A New Hope. (the old canon gave a specific year of 60 years before yavin, but the new canon just has a estimate of 56)

That's actually even worse If the ship looked brand new 45+ years into its run and looked like shit after Han having had it for only 11 years, he's even rougher on it than I originally thought!

 

[valkyrie013]

Lando.. Emaculate white interior..
Solo.. White walls looks like a smokers place that smoked a carton a day.. Yuck..

 

[fireproof78]

That's actually even worse If the ship looked brand new 45+ years into its run and looked like shit after Han having had it for only 11 years, he's even rougher on it than I originally thought!

He is running for one of the biggest gangsters in the Outer Rim. It's not like cleanliness matters when you are just trying to make ends meet.

 

[Tuskin38]

If the ship looked brand new 45+ years into its run and looked like shit after Han having had it

It only looked brand new because Lando fixed it up and modified it.

 

[RandyS]

Han and Chewie just stopped cleaning it.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Lando is more fastidious

 

[Turd Ferguson]

It only looked brand new because Lando fixed it up and modified it.

But if you live in a remodeled 100 year old house, the house isn't going to automatically look like shit after a few years unless you're continuously smoking in it and dumping trash everywhere. You're going to be mopping the floors, using Scrub N Bubbles in the commode and painting every few years or so. It doesn't look like Han and Chewie did even the basic amount of upkeep in trying to keep the Falcon looking good.

 

[Nerys Myk]

But if you live in a remodeled 100 year old house, the house isn't going to automatically look like shit after a few years unless you're continuously smoking in it and dumping trash everywhere. You're going to be mopping the floors, using Scrub N Bubbles in the commode and painting every few years or so. It doesn't look like Han and Chewie did even the basic amount of upkeep in trying to keep the Falcon looking good.

Scruffy isn't just for nerf herders

 

[fireproof78]

But if you live in a remodeled 100 year old house, the house isn't going to automatically look like shit after a few years unless you're continuously smoking in it and dumping trash everywhere. You're going to be mopping the floors, using Scrub N Bubbles in the commode and painting every few years or so. It doesn't look like Han and Chewie did even the basic amount of upkeep in trying to keep the Falcon looking good.

One, why would Han care? He isn't trying to impress on looks but speed and reputation. Two, having a nice ship was him and Qi'ra's dream. That dream was shot through the heart, as surely as Beckett. Why hold on to nice things when they'll just betray you?

 

[Ithekro]

If the fires that broke out in battles like in A New Hope (just without R2 there to stop it), that smoke would damage the walls over time. And Han and Chewie likely got into a lot of scraps as a smuggler for a decade. Its going to get messy in there. And he doesn't seem interested in cleaning up.

 

[fireproof78]

If the fires that broke out in battles like in A New Hope (just without R2 there to stop it), that smoke would damage the walls over time. And Han and Chewie likely got into a lot of scraps as a smuggler for a decade. Its going to get messy in there. And he doesn't seem interested in cleaning up.

Every scar tells a story.

 

[JD]

Scruffy isn't just for nerf herders

Sorry, but with the context of the thread, this was all I could think about after you posted that.

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[Tosk]

It doesn't look like Han and Chewie did even the basic amount of upkeep in trying to keep the Falcon looking good.

Exactly. You just answered your own question.

 

[Reverend]

Han literally grew up in a sewer. His standards for a domicile cleanliness is VERY low. Chewie on the hand grew up in a tree. Any home that isn't mostly brown with a slightly damp earth aroma is bound to just feel wrong.
As for the exterior, looking like beat to buggery pile of scrap barely welded together does two things: 1) makes it easier to disguise all of the probably illegal after market mods 2) makes the competition underestimate it just long enough to choke on it's space dust.