Hello everyone,
Thanks for your support. Will be presenting my biggest build so far, The Millenium Falcon UCS edition.
First things first, the box is huge and I mean huge with over 5200 pieces. So the first thing you have to do is to sort the pieces out first before building the kit.
With such a big and heavy kit, the base is the most important bit. And here the construction is firm and looks sturdy enough to take the weight of all the add ons.
Now comes for the base pieces that attached on after building. The only problem I see is that the connection does not have many cross pieces which makes for a stronger connection. The only thing holding the base piece is the clutch friction in many places.
All the base pieces fixed on and I feel have the same issues of a secure connection. Mind you, there is nothing loose or flimsy. It is just that I feel that with the weight of the kit, the connection should be more sturdier. So for those, who plan to glue things together, I can understand why.
The leg pieces seem a little flimsy and most of the weight rights on the axle in the middle so make sure the axle piece is well grounded both at the base and when it fits above so that the axle does not buckle under the weight. The good thing is that there so many of the leg pieces so I dont think one piece will have too much of the weight on it.
Now coming to the rear portion. And my complaint so far. After building the curving rear section with the "exhaust", the rear portion needs to be fixed with those grill type of things. The only and the biggest problem is that the plastic used is too strong for it to curve along the surface, so you have to try to bend it gently to give it a little curvature. However too much bending and you end up breaking the piece like I did. So to balance out, I broke the other piece as well haha.
My suggestion to builders...try using a heat source to soften the plastic a little before trying to curve it. My suggestion to Lepin...try using a softer rubbery kind of plastic that will bend and hold its shape since you dont really a sturdy plastic type for construction there.
The close up of the bottom platess for the pointy segments (Sorry I dont know what its actually called lol). There are some issues with fixing them to the main body which I shall try to point out in the next picture.
Added detailing for the circular slots. (Please disregard the mouse in the background. This thing is so big, I cannot display it properly.)
If you notice the blue circled part, you shall those white pegs which are holding the bottom plates to the main frame. The connection with the pegs is very good..so good that getting the pegs into the slots can be tricky especially if you are holding the completed segment in one hand and managing the bulky main frame with the other. The heads for some pegs are a little bigger than the slots so they need some manipulation to slot in, which is not ideal when you have both hands full.
What I did was to remove the white peg pieces from the completed segment, then slotted it into the main frame then I fixed that segment into place with the white peg pieces. I found this to make it more easier. to join them together.
One of my favorite parts of the Falcon. The gun turrets. I was initially confused to see two of them and had to scan through the book to see why I was making two of them. LEPIN as usual does not give much detail about the why.
Anyway after scanning through, I found that one turret goes on the bottom and the other on the top of the Falcon. Duh! So basically, I used one turret to fix on the bottom While the other waits for its time.
Next post shall be for the other parts of the Falcon. Please keep visiting.
Thanks for your support. Will be presenting my biggest build so far, The Millenium Falcon UCS edition.
First things first, the box is huge and I mean huge with over 5200 pieces. So the first thing you have to do is to sort the pieces out first before building the kit.
With such a big and heavy kit, the base is the most important bit. And here the construction is firm and looks sturdy enough to take the weight of all the add ons.
Now comes for the base pieces that attached on after building. The only problem I see is that the connection does not have many cross pieces which makes for a stronger connection. The only thing holding the base piece is the clutch friction in many places.
All the base pieces fixed on and I feel have the same issues of a secure connection. Mind you, there is nothing loose or flimsy. It is just that I feel that with the weight of the kit, the connection should be more sturdier. So for those, who plan to glue things together, I can understand why.
The leg pieces seem a little flimsy and most of the weight rights on the axle in the middle so make sure the axle piece is well grounded both at the base and when it fits above so that the axle does not buckle under the weight. The good thing is that there so many of the leg pieces so I dont think one piece will have too much of the weight on it.
Now coming to the rear portion. And my complaint so far. After building the curving rear section with the "exhaust", the rear portion needs to be fixed with those grill type of things. The only and the biggest problem is that the plastic used is too strong for it to curve along the surface, so you have to try to bend it gently to give it a little curvature. However too much bending and you end up breaking the piece like I did. So to balance out, I broke the other piece as well haha.
My suggestion to builders...try using a heat source to soften the plastic a little before trying to curve it. My suggestion to Lepin...try using a softer rubbery kind of plastic that will bend and hold its shape since you dont really a sturdy plastic type for construction there.
The close up of the bottom platess for the pointy segments (Sorry I dont know what its actually called lol). There are some issues with fixing them to the main body which I shall try to point out in the next picture.
Added detailing for the circular slots. (Please disregard the mouse in the background. This thing is so big, I cannot display it properly.)
If you notice the blue circled part, you shall those white pegs which are holding the bottom plates to the main frame. The connection with the pegs is very good..so good that getting the pegs into the slots can be tricky especially if you are holding the completed segment in one hand and managing the bulky main frame with the other. The heads for some pegs are a little bigger than the slots so they need some manipulation to slot in, which is not ideal when you have both hands full.
What I did was to remove the white peg pieces from the completed segment, then slotted it into the main frame then I fixed that segment into place with the white peg pieces. I found this to make it more easier. to join them together.
One of my favorite parts of the Falcon. The gun turrets. I was initially confused to see two of them and had to scan through the book to see why I was making two of them. LEPIN as usual does not give much detail about the why.
Anyway after scanning through, I found that one turret goes on the bottom and the other on the top of the Falcon. Duh! So basically, I used one turret to fix on the bottom While the other waits for its time.
Next post shall be for the other parts of the Falcon. Please keep visiting.
