Revell 06718 Star Wars Han Solo Millennium Falcon, Multi

 

This is a re-issue of the old Revell Snap-tite Millenium Falcon in a shiny new box and (in the case of the one Amazon sent me directly) including the little Han and Chewie figures like the first release did, although some sellers might have a slightly older edition of the kit where they did not have them in the box. It’s also worth noting this one does not come pre-painted/coloured in any way, unlike some of the older Snap-Tite Max versions of this kit. Depending on what you are looking for you might be perfectly happy with the product, or you might be sorely disappointed. I will try to lay out the problems that this kit has, and what you will need to put it together to give you a decent, pretty large scale model that looks… something like what you see on screen (I’ll explain below). Granted, my kit has only recently arrived with me so I have yet to finish building it, but I have gone through this latest thoroughly and have built one before when they were first released back in 2006.

First the kit itself is, in terms of quality of production, pretty good. Better than my original back in the day. All the parts fit together nicely and the instructions are laid out clearly and if you follow them precisely you will be able to complete the model to a good standard. There was some flash on the plastic sprues, but this is to be expected and there was nothing too bad, and most importantly there were no malformed or under-filled parts (where the plastic hasn’t quite gotten into the mould correctly). There are a few seams on the model, but these are mainly hidden in recesses which means model filler is an optional extra rather than a requirement. However you are going to need a range of paint, glue and tools (a decent set of side cutters and a good craft knife) in order to build this. It might be a Snap-Tite kit, but if you want it to stay together and looking pretty you need to glue it. If you want to do a weathered look, you’ll need the washes, powders and thinners for this too.

One big note, whilst the kit claims it is 1/72, this is not the case. I am not sure what the final scale is, but its too small to be 1/72 (I have seen various sources say its closer to 1/90-something) and when complete will measure about 14″ long rather than a ‘true’ 1/72 kit which usually measures around 18.5″. As such, if you buy aftermarket upgrades for 1/72 Revell Millenium Falcon kits they won’t fit properly, as they have made a few different ones over the years, and if they do fit at all will look too big and out of place. You have to make sure you buy ones specifically labelled as being compatible with this kit (Revel Kit Number 06718). Nearly made a whoopsie there myself but caught it at the last minute…

Now, whilst the kit itself isn’t bad, the accuracy when compared to the ship seen on screen is pretty terrible. This is not a kit for you if you’re a purist and want a lovely scale representation of your favorite starship just as it looked when you saw it in the cinema. It also doesn’t help that the ship seen in the films is actually a number of different physical models, each looking slightly different to one another, updated and repaired between the different films and some CGI ones that don’t quite match any of the physical originals etc etc.

There are scale issues in various places mostly in the ‘sidewalls’ being too tall and having the wrong details, meaning the ship looks a bit overweight, and the quad lasers just being an awfully designed part that look nothing like even the box art let alone the films along with a lot of more fiddly errors in precision that are not as immediately noticable. These include using a longer more pointed cockpit (similar to the 3′ ‘stunt’ miniature built for Empire Strikes Back but still not accurate rather than the stubbier version from the original 5′ model built for the A New Hope that often got used for close shots), a lot of little inaccuracies in the radar dish and for whatever reason the underside is close to how the ship appears in A New Hope (three landing legs and no boxy elements storing landing gear legs 4 &5 as seen in the later films) despite the previously mentioned Empire-esque cockpit.

A few of these problems can be resolved with aftermarket parts, although for a set of those you are going to be looking at slightly more than the price of the kit itself, with the exception of the sidewall height issues (likely because of the way the kit is actually assembled) and the landing gear boxes. If you want those issues fixed you’ll have to scratch build them from something like sheet styrene or acrylic (likely both) just like the original model makers at ILM did back in the day. Also, if you like the engine appearance from the Special Editions (with the grille effect) they have included a slide transfer decal to attempt this. Its ok, but if you intend to light the model you are going to want to build your own (there are a few youtube videos where people have done this) which is pretty simple task with sheet styrene and a craft knife. There are also little details (‘greeblies’) missing or misrepresented all over the whole model.

With all of these issues, you might be wondering why on earth I gave this kit 5 stars. It’s pretty simple, and it comes down to what I was looking for. I wanted an easy to build Falcon that I could test my weathering and paint matching on before I went and put together the ~300 Bandai Perfect Grade model (and that price is before the accurising and detail up kits I have bought for it).

As a practice piece this model is perfect. With a few touches here and there (the aftermarket quad lasers, the custom engine grille and a properly sized Empire style radar dish all combined with a few LED’s) when finished it will make a perfect addition to my office, for an all in price of a shade less than 110, paint and a few weeks work. Likewise, if you are looking for a kit that you can put together with your little Star Wars fan to hang from the ceiling in their room, then even out of the box this kit is a great choice that won’t break the bank. Even with the detail and scale issues, from a distance its instantly recognisable and when assembled and painted properly it looks *so* much better than any of the toy versions available. However, you’re looking for a toy that you can just give to a family member or friend that they can look at/play with without any effort this is not what you want. It takes time and a degree of skill to put together and if your looking for a Christmas gift for someone young it may not be something they are capable of building on their own without assistance, and certainly not with just what comes in the box. Likewise, if you want the best looking, most accurate box of Star Wars model nostalgia that you can put together during a lockdown this isn’t going to cut it, save yourself the heartache and convince your significant other/parents/boss to buy you the Bandai Perfect Grade kit for Christmas.