custom – Dynamic Subspace

New LEGO Millennium Falcon 75105 Customization with The Last Jedi Update

Over the years, I’ve built several customized LEGO Millennium Falcons (including here and here). I like taking the stock models and making them more screen accurate combined with imaginative embellishment. With this customization of a stock 75105 Millennium Falcon, I initially tried working this model that I had built about a year ago. However, I got really frustrated trying to work out how to implement some of the customizations that I had in mind. So, I disassembled the model and rebuilt it. Doing this helped me remember the logic of its design and construction, and it enabled me to rebuild some of its foundational features more easily than the piecemeal way I first attempted to do. The way that I did this rebuild also jumped around the instruction booklet, because the LEGO process of building is generally height-by-height across the whole model. I needed to focus on the modular aspects of the model, which is helped by building each module (circumferential ring, cockpit, docking ports, etc.). Due to rebuilding it from the ground up, this project took several days. Scroll through this blog post to view detailed photos and descriptions of this customization.

Cockpit and Mandible Details

Taking inspiration from Flail’s Millennium Falcon mods on Brickshelf, I rebuilt the cockpit with chairs and control sticks. This looks really nice, especially with the windows affixed. However, the chairs don’t work with Chewbacca’s minifigure. 75105 includes a Brick 1X4 W. 4 Knobs on either side of the fore mandibles. The side studs invite customization, so I added extra detail to these.

Gun Turrets, Dorsal Vents, and Ventral Covering

Inspired by Flail’s mods on Brickshelf again, I built these lower profile top and bottom guns. I beefed up the dorsal venting system by putting Plate Round 4X4 With Ø16Mm Hole with a Plate 2X2 Round in its center. The Disk Ø24 with vent sticker connects to the round plate in the center. The bottom of the falcon is buttoned up with plates covering the Technic support system–some of which I modified to remove the arm underneath the cockpit support system and added a staggered rounding to the four corners.

Main Hold Entrance, Nav Computer, and Dejarik Table

Using 1×1 roof tiles and an upside-down technique that I developed for a diorama of the Falcon’s main hold, I built this entrance into the main hold leading from the passage way from the entry ramp. The Dejarik Table and seating is borrowed from 75192. The Nav Computer area is very tight in the size of this model, so I couldn’t fit as large tubes adjacent to it as in the diorama linked above. Instead, I used two short tubes and moved the Nav Computer one stud to the left to accommodate the Falcon’s machinery. The main hold’s med bay is raised to accommodate a drawer, which I detail further at the end of this post to avoid The Last Jedi spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet.

Port and Starboard Docking Ports

One disappointing aspect of the 75105 model is the docking ports. It sandwiches 1×2 plates between two Plate 6X6 Round With Tube Snap and covers that with two Plate 2X4X18°. The trouble with this design is that it doesn’t really show the cone-like taper of the docking ports. Earlier Millennium Falcon sets 4504 and 7965 did a better job with the docking ports. I decided to keep 75105’s sandwich to give the ports height, and then built up a capped tube circled by 1×2 plates each topped with a Roof Tile 1 X 2 X 2/3, Abs.

Wall Tile Extensions Around Circumference

The Millennium Falcon dorsal and ventral domed covering extends over the circumferential edge. The 75105 model comes with 1×6 flat plates to demarcate this edge overhang, but it doesn’t really look right. I picked up a lot of Wall Element 1X2X1 on Bricklink to replace these 1×6 flat plates. In addition to showing this circumferential trench around the edge of the Falcon, it gives the model an overall flatter look, which emphasizes the Falcon’s on-screen appearance.

Engine Compartment

Instead of the Falcon having a monolithic motor, it seems more likely that it would have a segmented, modular aerospike engine. With this in mind, I designed the engine compartment to have a ring of engine modules with supporting hardware, cabling, and pipes. I created a larger, ringed passage way with an entrance way leading into the engine compartment.

Entrance Ramp and Other Compartments

I stole the hydraulics from 75103: First Order Transporter and added to the Falcon’s entrance ramp (which makes the ramp look like the Kenner Millennium Falcon vehicle from the original Star Wars action figure line). Also, I shifted the entrance ramp one stud out from the central gunner turret assembly. There are two side compartments–one for storage with weapons in a crate, and one for another bunk (with a copy of the Death Star plans).

New Engine Exhaust and a Little Joke

Instead of using the ribbed, transparent blue tube that comes with 75105, I opted for white tile backgrounds covered by transparent blue flat tiles (1×2 and 1×4). As a hidden joke, I included a trailer hitch under the engines (isn’t the Millennium Falcon is a big rig in the stars?).

The Last Jedi Update

At the end of The Last Jedi, Finn puts Rose in the Millennium Falcon’s med bay in the main hold. The camera focuses on the drawer under the bed when Finn looks for a blanket. The audience realizes that the drawer also contains the Jedi books on Ahch-To. To represent this, I raised the med bay, added a drawer beneath, and included a book (from The Hobbit set #79003: An Unexpected Gathering).

Everyday Carry (EDC) LEGO with Tiny Sets, Minifigures, and Muji’s Portable Case

Usually when folks talk about Everyday Carry (EDC), they are referring to preparedness, emergency readiness, and SHTF. It can also mean the kit that one carries on his or her person everyday for whatever reason. I would like to expand EDC to include LEGO.

For me, and I suspect many others, LEGO is a source of imagination, thought, expression, and stress relief. Why not carry a selection of LEGO bricks, pieces, and minifigures with you for any eventuality–thinking through a problem, filling spare time, demonstrating an idea to others, or sharing fun with a friend.

Muji’s Portable Case (64 x 52 x 20 mm) is a very good size for an essentials-only LEGO kit that can fit in a shirt pocket, pouch, or bag (shown above). The Portable Case easily holds two LEGO minifigures, a minifigure with bricks, or bricks alone. I have included photos of sample kits that I built to use with the Portable Case as a LEGO EDC: an off-road vehicle with obstacles, an aeronautics set, an Iron Man set, and a The Last Starfighter set with a Gunstar and Kodan Deck Fighter.

Off-Road Vehicle

Aeronautics Set (with control tower, two rockets, and airplane)

Iron Man Set (with attacking robot and blasted wall)

The Last Starfighter Set (with Gunstar, Kodan Deck Fighter, and asteroids)

Of course, these are only a few of the infinite possibilities for building your own LEGO EDC. An Altoids tin would serve a similarly good purpose to hold a small selection of LEGO bricks, elements, and minifigures for building on the go. I imagine that children (and not just AFOLs) would dig something like this, too.

I picked the Muju Portable Case due to its size and sturdy construction, but Muji has other size cases that would work well if you need to carry additional LEGO in your daily kit.

EDC LEGO kits should be something that bring joy to the work of imagination and building. Carry what you need, and keep your kit fresh for the cognitive and imaginative work at hand. Also, we can spread the joy that comes from this mind-work with our hands to others with customized kits tailored to friends or coworkers’ needs.

If you build your own LEGO EDC, let me know on Twitter!

Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon 7190 Custom Rebuild

And here it is–my custom rebuilt Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon 7190 model. It took me several months of tinkering to get it in the shape that it is now–beat-up, derelict, and having it where she needs it.

In the following, I will show how the model began, how it evolved, and then a more thorough description of the changes that I made to the model.

Below, you can see how the 7190 Falcon looked after I initially built it. It gestures toward what the Falcon should look like, but it has too much non-battleship gray color and the design is aimed toward play more than appearance.

Below are two pictures of the interior with the upper hull removed. Again, the emphasis is on play instead of accuracy. The interior is segmented by straight walls and there is no visible engine, which I believe a big, fast ship like the Falcon should have.

Initially, I hadn’t planned on redesigning the interior. I thought that there was more to be done with the exterior, with the large quarter panel pieces that could make the 7190 rival the newer 4504 model.

Below you can see how I have selected a single color for the upper hull, reduced the profile for the gun turret, increased the size of the engine compartment at the rear, and changed the forward cargo loader from a single flat piece to a more accurate raised profile.

Also, I improved the cockpit so that it bends into the main hull and connects to it with a single flat round brick. Below are detailed photos of the cockpit redesign.

In the final version of the 7190 redesign, I opted to replace the cockpit with the same one found on the 4504 model, the parts of which I found on bricklink.com, an excellent resource for finding sets and bricks at reasonable prices. In the future, I may reincorporate the curve and passage way in the above pictures into the 7190 redesign. However, I do have some other ideas about how to make it look more accurate, following the ideas in the 4504 model, but I need additional pieces to make this work.

So, here are more detailed photos of the 7190 redesign as it now stands. I will include exterior shots first, and then I will show the extensive and exciting interior redesign that I made.

As you can see in the two photos above, I streamlined the front prongs into the main hull, extended the port and starboard hatch covers so that they are level, added surface color and detail to more accurately match the Falcon, and utilized the natural design of the quarter panel spacing for the rear engine compartment exhaust grills.

The cockpit is the same as the one in the 4504 model, but I used a different computer display brick in front of Han and Chewbacca. Also, I designed the cockpit-to-hull connector to indicate the connection while making it easy to remove the upper main hull. I believe that I will continue working on this in the next iteration of the model.

Below are images of the interior of the Falcon based on the films and my own ideas about the engine for such a large and fast ship. I departed from the designs in the 4504 model with my design of the engine with built-in hyperdrive.

Below, an all-inclusive shot of the interior of the Falcon. In the upper left, you can see everyone gathered around the Dejarik table. In the middle front you can see the cargo storage area followed by the passage way leading to the cockpit. The central column holds the gunner stations. In the rear, you can see the main engine with integrated hyperdrive.

Below, a detailed shot of the cargo area with a nod to the Lego Space series.

Below, a detailed shot of the crew area and Dejarik table and navigational computer.

Below, a detailed photograph of the main engine and its support structure, integrating it into the framework of the space craft.

Building my custom version of the 7190 Falcon model is something that I’ve wanted to do ever since I first owned the 7190 when it first came out at the end of the twentieth-century. The nice thing about Lego is that I can continue changing and altering the design as my imagination shifts and permutates.

Besides the awesomeness of building with Lego bricks, you may be wondering why I have devoted a good deal of space to my Lego work on dynamicsubspace.net. This is something that I am continuing to work on, but I see Lego as a transitional example of what Haraway calls the Informatics of Domination. Lego serves as a metaphor for the dilemma and its solution. Lego is a double edged sword, swinging both ways, but holding a promise greater than its representative ills. Expect to read more about these ideas in the near future.

Below, I have included a gallery of more images of my custom 7190 Millennium Falcon. Enjoy, and thanks for visiting.