Millennium Falcon ERTL/AMT/MPC Engine Replacement

thingiverse

After recklessly destroying my 20-year-old Millennium Falcon model in a frenzied VR session, I seized the opportunity to replace the subpar engine replacement I had originally installed. The original 1970s AMT/ERTL Millennium Falcon model came with a lit engine, featuring a clear plastic cover for the area. Later manufacturing processes eliminated the engine light, leaving the clear plastic in place. As a result, you couldn't see into the inside of the Falcon without cutting out a poor-quality grid from the instructions and pasting it over the clear plastic. I didn't appreciate this, so I fashioned some hose clamps into a reasonable facsimile of what the engines might look like. At that point, we had only seen the engine section when lit, revealing slats that resembled some sort of structural component. This new 3D print takes the slats idea to the next level by incorporating vanes, reminiscent of those found on car vents, with a nod to thrust vectoring in mind. This design was inspired by John Martin's scratch-built creations featured on starshipmodeler.com. New movies have showcased a double-slat design, but I prefer the look of this single-row arrangement. Additionally, I was concerned about visible ghosting from the supports. To reconcile the double-decker appearance and provide some internal details, I created greebles to fit inside the model. These greebles are essentially a double-decker set of exhaust nozzles that help conceal the plastic model's interior through the slats. There are cut-outs for the landing gear boxes as well. John Martin's Millennium Falcon build can be viewed at starshipmodeler.com. The model kit I used over 20 years ago is still available on Amazon.