Woohoo! Just got back from vacation, so time to introduce my build plans!
As the title states, I’ll be building Bandai’s 1:144 Millennium Falcon from The Force Awakens.
The general consensus is that these kits “build themselves”. So, the challenge will be to do a competent paint and weathering job AND add some interesting “special effects”.
As expected, the sprues are just gorgeous! Throughout the build I’ll try to get some good closeups to show off the wonderful details.
Here they are in order, first spruce A:
Then B and C:
Next up D1 and D2:
E1 and E2:
Two F’s:
And a base for an in flight display (I won’t be using this):
Finally, in order to add the lighting special effects, an assortment of electronic components. You should be able to pick out, a 9v battery and connector for power, a couple of small push button switches, 30 wired SMD LEDs (I plan to use 20 of them!), JST connectors, an Arduino Nano to control the effects, a custom PCB board to drive the LEDs (more on that in a future post), various SMD diodes, resistors and transistors to populate the PCB, headers to connect the PCB to the Nano and resistors for the LEDs:
This will be my first attempt to add custom lighting to a kit, I’m really excited about my plans. I’ve been inspired by the work of several others, so as I get into the lighting I’ll include links to their work.
Well, I’m not sure where I’ll start, but I hope to get to it tomorrow!
Twokidsnosleep wrote: Sun Jun 02, 2019 7:11 am
Oh sweet another awesome Bandai kit with lighting to boot
Great stuff Bob, really looking forward to it
Hope you have been feeling well bud
Thanks Scott, I'm doing well and looking forward to this build!
Modelfreek wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 1:13 am
Ya know, I’m not a fan of the Disney Star Wars movies but I do like me an alumin....
Illumin.... alumium.... the falcon. Front seat for this one.
OK, this was probably a mistake, but I decided to start with the most exciting part first; the electronics. Basically I want to see if my plans would work out, and so far, so good.
There is a lot of detail below about how I arrived at designing a custom PCB board. Even so, I left quite a bit out and there probably isn't enough detail to use this as an electronics design tutorial. I did want to include enough information to show that someone who has never tackled something like this can do it if he puts his mind to it.
While waiting for the SIG to start I investigated lighting kits so I could spice things up a bit. After researching, the kits I found were either disappointing, unavailable, or expensive. So I started looking into a DIY solution. I found several build videos that really inspired me; I'll link to those when I get to actually installing the lights. During this research, I also decided to control the lights with an Arduino, something I've not done but that should be in my wheel house. This is not something I've seen others do for this kit, but I've been searching for an Arduino project to get my feet wet and this fit the bill. Of course, more research was required and some experimentation. I purchased an Arduino Nano kit off Amazon (as some of you may have seen in the "Postman" thread) with the hope that it would fit inside my Falcon (spoiler, it does!). I quickly came up to speed on programming the thing to control some LEDs, so I'm confident I've got that part down.
The next thing to learn was how to string together multiple LEDs, I was concerned about overloading the Nano's output pin's 10mA limit, so I found some info on using an Arduino to control a series of LEDs through an NPN transistor. Well, having studied a little electronics in college some 30+ years ago and never actually put that to practice, I turned to software to help me out. After some investigation into various free EDA (Electronic Design Automation) programs, I settled on KiCad. KiCad is a very powerful and widely used OpenSource EDA program that includes schematic capture, circuit simulation (LTSpice) integration and, as it turns out, PCB layout tools.
Well, my main goal was to be sure that I connected appropriate components together and I hoped that I would be able to simulate them to make sure they worked as expected. Using KiCad I came up with this simple design to "drive" a series of LEDs powered by a 9v battery and controlled from an Arduino PWM output.
+9V and GND are the battery connections. 3(**) is PWM output pin 3 from a Nano. LED+ and LED- can then drive any combination of LEDs in series and/or parallel up to about 9v with the current to the LEDs limited by the NPN transistor. This will draw a minimal current through the output pin, using current "directly" from the battery to power the LEDs. The NPN transistor basically uses the output pin's current to turn the LEDs on and off. After more research on simulating transistors, etc with LTSpice, I finally was able to prove that this would work as expected.
I should note here that this is an iterative process. The schematic is drawn in KiCad. Then specific components must be selected in order to get their LTSpice models for simulation. Then you can run a simulation and check the behavior. If it isn't what you expect you can update the circuit and/or components and their models; then simulate again. If for whatever reason, the components change (and you'll see an example of why below), you need to update the models and simulate again.
Well, this was all fun, but how was I going to wire this up inside the Falcon? I supposed that I would solder transistors, resistors and LEDs together somehow and heat shrink things together... sounded messy. Well I thought, this seemed like something that someone may have created a board to attach to the Nano to do just this... So I searched, and searched, but nothing... Hmmm... Hey wait, KiCad does PCB layout, and I think I came across some info on places to get PCBs manufactured relatively inexpensively... Hmmmm...
I found that KiCad has a template for building a Nano shield! Well, since the Nano has 6 PWM outputs, maybe I can squeeze 6 of the above circuits with some sort of small connector for the LEDs onto that template. And maybe add another connector for the battery and also use that to power the Nano. Sure enough, I was able to! But I was concerned about getting the battery polarity correc; I knew if it was wrong I could damage the Nano. So I looked into polarity protection circuitry and came up with this:
This basically disables the battery if it is connected backwards and guarantees that Vin is either 0v or about 9v. If you want to see how I arrived at this, I learned from a video similar to this one:
During all of this I needed to select appropriate, available components which I did at digikey.com. As I found components and changed the circuits, I updated the LTSpice models and re-simulated as mentioned above.
To get an actual PCB manufactured for this I used oshpark.com. Here you can get three 1 square-inch prototype PCBs made for a total of $5, including shipping! I uploaded the appropriate file from KiCad; my board was just over 1 square-inch, so it cost $5.95. Ten days later my PCB arrived!
All the SMD components (transistors, resistors, diodes) were ordered from digikey.com; during component selection above, I searched for the cheapest components that matched the specs for my circuit. I ordered enough to populate all three boards with a few spares, even though I only need one for this build. This order, with shipping, came to $19.12. All in, this portion of the project cost me $25.07 or about $8.35 for one board...not bad!
All of this was done during the couple of months leading up to the SIG. During this time I also ordered other items like the actual LEDS, resistors, switches, connectors and so on. I also did some breadboarding to test the circuits and practice soldering SMD components. However, no assembly of the parts to be used for this build was done... That is until today!
I started with the transistor, resistor and diode for the polarity protection circuit. An Exacto blade is included in the photo for size reference; these part are tiny! They make PE look like a cake walk!!
Then the transistors and resistors to control the LEDs were added to the backside:
Finally the headers to connect to the Nano and the connectors for the LEDs and battery were added:
There is a perfect spot between two posts inside the Falcon to locate this assembly; unfortunately the spacing is a little small so I used a Dremel to make some room. I think you can see the modification in this photo:
I wanted to at least get the major parts located and sorted out today, so the next item was the on/off button. I found some small button toggle switches used for flashlights on Ebay. To mount it I drilled a 3/16" hole in a flat spot behind the front landing foot. This allowed the button to just pop through and it doesn't look too out of place.
This was CA glued in using lots of glue and baking powder:
Next, I worked on locating the battery. Bandai sells a lighting kit that includes a AA battery holder (I think). There is an area to locate the holder and a hatch to access the battery. The opening was just too small for a 9v battery and there are a few supports that are in the way. I cut out the supports with a Tamiya photo-etch razor saw and was able to flip the cutoff piece over and use it to help support the battery; hopefully you can make it out here:
The opening was enlarged using, you guessed it, a Dremel:
Those are the major pieces. After a little bit of wiring and arranging some connectors, I ended up with this:
You should be able to see the power light on the Nano, so yup, it's working!!! No lights yet, I'll start on some of that next time. But I think I may need to do some assembly and painting first.
Looking forward to this I like the thought of putting lights in my creations buy always been scared to give it ago. Not really good with anything electronic but hopefully I can watch and learn from your one.
great subject, love me a memeium falcon thanks for the info on the lighting. ive blown a few too many led's in the past. ill be saving this post for reference!
Before I get much further, I thought I’d post some reference and inspiration for this build.
First some Millennium Falcon Notes... This site has lots of info on the various Millennium Falcon miniatures and sets from the movies. It also reviews several of the available Falcon kits.
Today I got a start on the engines. I ran across the method I used a while back when researching ideas for my build; unfortunately I have not been able to find the posts and/or videos where I first saw this...
To start, I first cut a strip of styrene to box in the translucent blue engine. I drilled 6 holes where I’ll eventually mount the LEDs. Then I masked the inside front of the engine so I could prime the inside top and bottom along with the mounting strip. This was followed with Vallejo Metal Color Aluminum. The goal is to capture as much light as possible and reflect it out through the front of the engine.
Next, I mounted the LEDs with a little CA glue.
This was then glued to the back of the engine.
I then temporarily wired the LEDs to a bread board for the first test.
And with the engine grill in place.
As you can see, there is currently a lot of light leaking out the back; before I put this in place, I’ll fix that, probably with liquid electrical tape.
The LEDs are wired in 3 groups of 2, within each group the LEDs are in series along with a 150 ohm resistor. Like this:
My plan is to control each of the groups separately with the Arduino in order to create some “engine effects”. Now that this is built, I can start experimenting with that...
Twokidsnosleep wrote: Mon Jun 10, 2019 7:09 am
Sweet stuff, this is a great project
Somewhere in my book marks is a calculator/ circuit designer for LED’s that does all the resistors and such too
Awesome can't beat a falcon I built this kit last year (kit got finished but awaiting a dio for it)and added lights to it I used fibre optic which while it worked was a pain to bend so watching with interest
The next thing to light is the cockpit. In order to get an idea of how I would do this, I first primed/painted the interior with Stynylrez Black; most of the interior will be black, and is there a better black? I then tested putting one of the SMD LEDs behind the "door" where the standard kit would have you put it; that didn't seem to do anything useful. So, I devised a way to create a dome light! Just a small hole through a small support behind the rear wall...
This seems to be a reasonable result; I'll also hook this up to the Arduino, which should provide ample control over the brightness. Eventually I'll stick it in place with a dab of CA, and maybe recess it, but not until after detailing the interior, just in case I need to strip it!
The great thing about this "snap together" kit is that you can easily assemble, test fit, and pull apart, just about as often as you wish! Also there are a lot of places to grab on to for painting.
Now I'm just waiting for some artist acrylics to show up; I'm going to experiment with those for detailing the cockpit and weathering the exterior.
Thanks Scott! I’ll be taking a break tomorrow, exciting game to watch!
Update 3a
Right after the last post, I couldn’t resist attempting to recess the dome light. So I countersunk a small hole for the LED and scribed a channel for the wires. I went just a tad too deep with the hole and barely broke through. I reinforced the area with some shaving and TET. It should be OK.
Thanks again to all those few have been following...
Update 4 - The Mandibles
The next thing to light is the Mandible headlights. There is one obvious spot in the end that is easily drilled; an SMD LED will fit nicely in the back. Then it’s just a matter of drilling holes and making some channels to route the wire though the interior walls and into the main body.
With that figured out, it’s time to start priming so I can move on to paint. Unfortunately, after my last priming session I somehow forgot to cleanup and left Stynylrez in the airbrush! Well I soaked it in hardware store lacquer thinner and scrubbed and picked and... that got most of it, but there was still a bit in the bottom. So even though they say not to use Windex in your airbrush, I did; I’ve had good luck cleaning cups and things with it so... Well, it didn’t do much. Then I remembered Paul saying that Ultimate Cleaner works great and I have a bit left. Wow! It does work great! I was amazed to see just how much I had missed! Guess I’ll need to get some more!
A quick update. Got the first bit of base color started. As you can see I’ve chosen MRP Insignia White; I’ve been wanting to give MRP a try and I had found a suggestion for this color somewhere during my research. I ordered it some time ago (late March) from Hobbyworld-USA and just received it not long ago (mid May); apparently there was some issue getting orders through the EU... But the wait was worth it! The color looks great and MRP sprays like a dream. A little pricey and difficult to get, but I suspect I’ll be ordering more for future projects.
This stuff is really thin and transparent. I’m hoping to get some subtle variations across the surface. It’s hard to see in photos, but you might be able to tell the one of the Mandible pieces near the center has a rather dark area. That was a bit too dark so I’ve since gone over it.
I also mixed in a touch of black which I used for the recesses details and piping.
There is recessed details on the Mandibles that is made of of several layers. I painted each layer with slightly different shades before assembly. Here is one area during a test fit, before weathering.
Next each was weathered with a combination of Tamils Black Panel Line Accent, Ultimate Rust Wash and Tamiya Rust and Silver Weathering Powders. I’m really happy with the result. This shows the separate layers and the final effect.
Of course before final assembly of the Mandibles, I needed to install the LEDs.
I still need to weather the outside and add some greeblies to the sides, oh and maybe some decals... all of that will be done later.
A quick update, tonight I took a stab at painting Hans and Chewey and also detailing the cockpit. Here’s the result:
Chewey is looking a little shiny, hopefully a flat clear coat will fix that. For Hans and Chewey, I experimented with artist acrylics. They seem to be a bit thick and hid a lot of detail. I mainly bought those to try weathering with them; I did a quick experiment and that turned out real nice, check back for when I weather the exterior.
The cockpit details were done with various Tamiya colors, but with a twist. Along with the artists acrylics I bought Liquitex Slow-Dri Blending Fluid. I mixed this with the Tamiya paints, about 50/50 or less, and it kept the paint wetter and more brushable for a considerably longer time.
Well, it isn’t the best, but it’s mine! It still needs some flat coats, dry brushing and weathering...
jmurphy18 wrote: Fri Jun 21, 2019 10:13 pm
Excellent build so far Bob! Love your detailed work and all the electronics you have added!
Thanks John.
Update 8 - Priming Party
Well, with the cockpit detailed, I decided to prime, paint and assemble it. First, Stynylrez (this is only the start of the party)...
This kit comes with two cockpit “windows”; one clear, one just the frame. I chose the latter hoping it would allow the best chance of viewing the interior. This allowed me to use the solid clear one as a “paint mask”; I temporarily glued it in place with PVA glue.
This was followed with several coats of MRP Insignia White:
Once assembled and lights temporarily hooked up, it’s not looking too bad:
With this settled, I decided it was time to dive into priming everything else. But before that, some prep work was needed. The first thing I tackled was masking the turret windows. For this I carefully measured the windows and “modeled” their shape in Fusion 360. This allowed me to dimension the shape and then tweak the dimensions after cutting out some tests. After 4 or 5 attempts, I got something pretty close. I printed out the patterns, laid out some blue painters tape and used double sided tape to attach the patterns. Because of the way I laid out the pattern, I was able to cut diagonally across and cut the sides of two masks at once (after removing the center circle!).
Before applying to the window, it was fairly easy to remove the pattern and double-sided tape. I’m happy with the result, though it would have been nice to have had a circle cutter. Oh, and after I was done a thought occurred to me; I think there are stickers for the frame so you don’t need to paint it. I wonder if the “holes” could have been used for the masks? I don’t know, and I’m afraid to look!
The next thing I wanted to do was mimic some of the major damage that can be seen in the original Falcon. Using some reference photos and various dremel bits, here’s what I came up with.
At this point, it was time to dive into the real priming party. I decided to leave most of the small parts on the sprues since Bandai has done a great job of locating the spruce gates in places that won’t be seen.
Wow, that was a lot of priming. I think that was the most Stynylrez I’ve sprayed in one sitting; I think I need to order another bottle. Oh, and based on this, I need more MRP Insignia White!
As I write this, I’m realizing I forgot to drill holes for the landing lights, so that’s probably the next task!
I like how you painted your details here. I used the decals today. I just want to bash my head against the wall. To much like crap as they will not sit right. Seeing what you have done gives me new ideas.
I must say though, after seeing the work JoaquinGM is doing, I’m really hesitant to post anything! But here goes...
Update 9 - Base Color
What’s after priming? Well base color of course!! This MRP paint I’m using sprays really well, but it takes many coats, especially over black primer. I’ve already gone through two bottles and I may need a third! Anyway, I think I have everything painted, for some of the details (sides and recessed pieces) I mixed in a little black to get a gray color. I’ve even started some of the weathering for the damage and engine exhausts.
Next will be the colored panels; I’ll be attempting some chipping techniques for those.
I decided to mask the main colored panels instead of using the supplied decals or stickers. There are many of them... four different colors... I’ve finished one color on the bottom. Once I finish this color on the top, I’ll spray chipping medium followed by the color. Then chip it and spray with a clear to protect it. Then remove masking, mask he next color and repeat... repeat... repeat...
Looks good BobM! I get to do the same on the Lando model as mine are Blue and I do not want to use the stickers also. I think I will go for the cutting board as free hand cutting just sucks. FYI the Tamiya 2mm & 3mm masking tape for curves is excellent. Bend and curves nicely.
I decided to mask the main colored panels instead of using the supplied decals or stickers. There are many of them... four different colors... I’ve finished one color on the bottom. Once I finish this color on the top, I’ll spray chipping medium followed by the color. Then chip it and spray with a clear to protect it. Then remove masking, mask he next color and repeat... repeat... repeat...
FWIW, the Infini cutting board is wonderful!
I think this is the process that is most daunting for me. I have the perfect grade 1:72 kit and am too scared to start it.
jmurphy18 wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2019 2:43 pm
Looks good BobM! I get to do the same on the Lando model as mine are Blue and I do not want to use the stickers also. I think I will go for the cutting board as free hand cutting just sucks. FYI the Tamiya 2mm & 3mm masking tape for curves is excellent. Bend and curves nicely.
I also have the Aizu Micron tape in various widths, but I found that this is much easier. Plus, there are many more sizes available. And if you are creative you can get odd sizes, like straddling .6 and .5 to get 1.1 or three .7’s to get 2.1. However the Aizu tape is much thinner which is helpful in some situations.
bfrd wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2019 2:45 pm
I think this is the process that is most daunting for me. I have the perfect grade 1:72 kit and am too scared to start it.
Ah... Just do it. I actually found the masking fairly enjoyable. As for the chipping...
Update 11 - Chips Ahoy!
One color down, three to go...
Coincidentally, Will Pattinson just released a video on hairspray chipping with an MRP topcoat. Not exactly my situation, but I closely watched it before proceeding. I used AK Heavy Chipping Fluid over MRP and under Tamiya. It was really hard to see the fluid while spraying, so I’m not sure how heavy or light the coats were; I did two. This was followed with two coats of my “Falcon Red” that I mixed a couple of weeks ago, I think it is XF-7 Red with a little XF-8 Blue and even less XF-1 Black. I may have added some XF-2 White, if so I should have added more; if not I should have added some... it’s a little dark.
Almost immediately after cleaning my airbrush, I started chipping. I used very little water and only in areas I wanted to chip. I then “stabbed” at it (see Will’s video for the technique) with a small brush that had fairly stiff cut down bristles. I also used a toothpick to pick at specific areas, edges, etc. Once chips started, I took Will’s advise and slowed way down and stopped before it got out of hand.
Once finished, I let it dry for a bit and finished with two coats of XF-86 Flat Clear. Masking was then removed, and I’m pleased with the result...
At this point I did find one small panel I had missed, so a little water, more stabbing and picking and it was fine. This should allow me to do more “fine tuning” during later weathering stages.
Awesome on the Chipping Bob!! Excellent shooting and chipping
Thanks on the info on the tapes. I have the Tamiya tape in various sizes and some tape I got off Amazon in sizes
I will order some of this tape on my next order from Hobbyzone. The cheep stuff I from Amazon bleed sometimes.
That's some great chipping on there I left mine a bit too long and it wouldn't chip very well so had to do it old school lol but yours is looking the bomb
the falcon. Front seat for this one.
thanks for the info on the lighting. ive blown a few too many led's in the past. ill be saving this post for reference!
Well I soaked it in hardware store lacquer thinner and scrubbed and picked and... that got most of it, but there was still a bit in the bottom. So even though they say not to use Windex in your airbrush, I did; I’ve had good luck cleaning cups and things with it so... Well, it didn’t do much. Then I remembered Paul saying that Ultimate Cleaner works great and I have a bit left. Wow! It does work great! I was amazed to see just how much I had missed! Guess I’ll need to get some more!
