Falcon cockpit: inside customization

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Why extending the cockpit interior?

The interior of the cockpit in the ESB movie appears longer than in the ANH. Here is

the extension of the cockpit (yellow) as seen on the two movie sets.

How much should the extension of the cockpit be? The Deagostini depth of the back part of the cockpit is 23.6 mm. Based on the picture from the ESB movie set and the blue prints, the extension (yellow) should be about 12.5 mm (+- 0.5 mm) at the scale of the model.

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How to extend the cockpit using the Paragrafix set?

I decided to use and customize the very nice Paragrafix cockpit set and add the extension using styrene or customed photoetched brass sheets of the same thickness as the Paragrafix set as shown below in green.

Below is a 3D view of the Paragrafix cockpit (yellow) with proposed extension (green).

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Cockpit backdoor

I decided to change the order in which the different parts should be stacked together. This should produce a more realistic depth in the doorway.

Below is the template for modifying the Deagostini back wall cockpit, which is slightly different than the modification Paragrafix is suggesting. It should add more strength to the structure without blocking the light from behind.

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Cockpit extension features:

Based on various shots of the ESB cockpit interior one can have a good idea of the features (graphics, lights and greebles) that must be added to the extension.

Port side

Starboard side

Top

Based on these pictures, I created home made decals that must be added to the extension.

Below is the Paragrafix flower view of the unfolded cockpit with Paragrafix decals and custom decals for the extension.

For information, below is the comparison between the Deagostini decals and the Paragrafix decals for the cockpit archway.

Stay tuned as there will be MORE TO COME...

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Falcon cockpit: cone customization

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Comparison of the two Deagostini cones:

As others have done it before, I first start by looking at the differences between the initial and the revised Deagostini cones. Both cones provided by Deagostini do not really look like the cone from the movie sets.

Based on this comparison I decided to customize the initial release of the cone as it should, in my opinion, require less work to reach the "ideal" cone. Below are the main corrections that must be done to the initial Deagostini cone.

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Upper cone customization:

I first started by filing the gaps with 0.3 mm thick styrene sheet, white putty for filling the small gaps and smoothing/leveling with sand paper to prepare the upper cone part for customization.

I did extra scratch building with styrene to consolidate the longitudinal window frame and to fill the gaps on both sides to prepare the upper cone part for customization.

Below is the technical drawing I did for the template used to draw and build the new windows of the upper cone. Templates can be found in the download page.

Now that the main pre-customization to the Deagostini upper cone is done, I used the above template to reshape the window frame using files and sand paper.

I then added the small relief around the windows using styrene square section rods.

Finally, I decided to add the inside greebles along the window frame. This is inspired by movie set and the work by Antonio Regidor available on Shapeways. I might not keep them if I decide to add clear styrene sheet to simulate the glass shield.

Views of the inside greebles along the window frame with different lighting. This is not very detailed but that will do the job as it will not be seen that much anyway.

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Lower cone customization:

I then worked on the lower cone customization. I used white putty and sand paper to prepare the lower cone part for customization.

Technical drawing for the template used to draw and build the new features of the lower cone. Templates can be found in the download page.

The upper and lower parts are then glued together and lower features are built with a 0.3 mm sheet of styrene that is cut according to the template and glued on the lower cone. I also added the small greeble at the base of the cone using styrene rod with correct diameter.

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Cone nose customization:

The next and final step is to work on the cone nose. The Geometry of the front cockpit (nose) displays 8 flat facets creating a peculiar shape for the cone as seen on movie sets. I know it is not on both Falcon models (5 foot and 32") used for the movies but I wanted to add this feature in my Deagostini version.

I used careful filing and sanding to recreate the eight facets of the nose.

Below is the final result, which still needs to be primed and painted.

Here is a nice back-light view to highlight the overall look of the customized cone from the inside and compared to the same view from the movie set.

Stay tuned as there will be MORE TO COME...

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