Hanging the Falcon

[Deinonychus]

Well, I have the UCS Falcon sitting in it's box on the bottom of my to-build stack for two reasons. Firstly, I need a big chunk of time to assemble it. But most importantly, I have no surface big enough in my display room to properly show it off.

I do, however, have a nice piece of ceiling space I could hang it from, but I have concerns.

I know the Falcon's super-structure is designed so that it can be picked up and carried, but can it handle indefinite suspension? And if so, would the weight of that much LEGO cause the pieces to warp and bend? The biggest set I have hanging now is only 1000 +/- pieces and it's done fine for 4 or 5 years, but 5000 pieces is quite a few more, especially when I look at the slight bow droop of my UCS Star Destroyer (Which I have torn down and rebuilt once to correct) or the slight rightward lean of the UCS Death Star II.

So, thoughts? Opinions?

[Shadows]

Only time will tell. The idea of hanging it scares the crap out of me though. I can't imagine it not eventually causing some kind of warpage over the length of larger technic beams. I haven't built mine either, pretty much the same display space problem, but I'm absolutely certain I'll never hang it.

[Nyundi]

I'll be real interested to see what you decide to do (and if you do hang it, how you do, and what the outcome is). I don't have a copy of the set, and I don't intend to get one; nonetheless if I did have one, I think I'd rather not hang it... not that I'd be terribly afraid of warping or worse, but I'm just not a big fan of heavy things hanging over my head that haven't been nailed/bolted/glued into place :)

Of course not having a place to display it sort of causes a need to look into hanging it. In any event, let us know what you decide to do!

[Corvus]

The biggest set I have hung at the moment is Jango's Slave I. I only used one string for that...

The thought of hanging the beast scares me. I'd be more worried about the knots coming loose, string breaking, etc. If you use a LOT of string to keep the weight off of any one point, that would be best, but really ugly. :-/

[casewindu]

I probably wouldn't hang mine up though I have though of doing this to get rid of some of my star wars ships and passenger plane. I think the MF is just to big!

If you do hang it dont hang it over your bed last thing you want is a MF falling on you as you sleep! :-D

[der seb]

Hi

I'm planning to hang mine. These days I'm planning a construction that replaces the landing gear and will have enough strength to hang it on my wall.

I don't know how long it will take but I'll post pictures if everything works

Sebastian

[Opproperaar]

The smaller the better, in your case, I wouldn't even try, it'll probably break

By the way, maybe yo've had to explain this a lot so far, but was Deinonychus a two meter high, three or so meters long, intelligent, fast carnivor from the Cretacious? :-) I've been interested in dinos for some time but I haven't had a chance to refresh my knowledge a bit. *sad*

[Doctor Sinister]

What would you use to actually hang it? I use "invisible string" to hang planes etc above Tabletown but it's super-thin and my concern would be that it might, over time, actually cut into the LEGO plastic itself.

The largest thing I have hung over Tabletown is the white passenger plane - the big one. Over time, the wings sagged so I had to reinforce them with small 1-stud wide white plates on the top, it's not really noticeable, but given that the wings are unsupported even when it's standing - I'm sure I can't be the only one with this problem.

I don't own the UCS Falcon but even if I did there is NO WAY I would hang it without at least a dozen strings...and even then I'd be nervous.

Dr. S.

[natelite]

it's about 20lbs. you can't use normal cotton strings. you'll need the really strong nylon fishing string for that.

unless your room is like a boiler, i doubt the strings will cut into the bricks. in an average room temperate of 70F (or 25C), it should be fine. but you will need lots of anchor points. if you hang by just 4 points that too much load per point. about 5lbs. if you have 8 evenly spaced, all weight bearing, then it's only about 2.5lbs each.

the problem with more points though is that it's hard to balance all 8 so that they are weight bearing. surely one or two will have 0 load since the required accuracy with the length of each is next to impossible.

so conclusion. only professionals can do it. i doubt the average amateur can. best to just display it on a solid table. :-/

[Doctor Sinister]

it's about 20lbs. you can't use normal cotton strings. you'll need the really strong nylon fishing string for that.

This is essentially what I use - you can hardly see it. But given that the weight would be supported at a really small point, I still have a concern that the weight would cause the threads to cut into the plastic over time, or deform it somehow.

Dr. S.

[Courleciel]

I never think to hang my Falcon. It's normal that it doesn't hold. :-/

[Deinonychus]

The smaller the better, in your case, I wouldn't even try, it'll probably break

By the way, maybe yo've had to explain this a lot so far, but was Deinonychus a two meter high, three or so meters long, intelligent, fast carnivor from the Cretacious? :-) I've been interested in dinos for some time but I haven't had a chance to refresh my knowledge a bit. *sad*

Correct! *y*

Thanks for all the thoughts so far.

The physical hanging issues won't be a problem. For everything I hang I use 30lb-test fishing line. That should work for the Falcon considering it would have to be suspended from no less then 4 points just so it won't spin, so the weight would distribute pretty well. If I get it into my head that that won't work I can graduate up to 50lb-test (what they use to catch small sharks).

Doc Sinister, I'm glad you mentioned the possibility of the line cutting into the plastic. Where I don't think that'd be a huge issue, I think I may put some thin rubber tubing around the line where it contacts the ship as a "just in case" measure. ;-)

Pulling out of the ceiling won't be a problem either. I've got some long screweye-hooks and an electronic stud-finder, that should anchor it pretty well.

So, with all that pretty well set in my head, now all that remains is the warping issue...which it seems the jury is still out on

[Opproperaar]

I'd still make sure I'd have more than just four suspension points. The model might not fall down but what seems to me like a bigger concern is that it might break up and just hang there.

Suppose you take four points along the side, I'm afraid the middle might break up as it wouldn't be supported there cause of its size. Just a thought

[OOM-9]

I would anchor it in at least 12 diferent spots... Looking at mine I think I found some good locations.

#s 1, 2, 3, & 4 are all around the top gun. If you look directly down on it there are two gaps; one to the front and one to the rear of the round removable piece. You could slide two lines down each and put them around the mass of technic beams and red pins. I say at least four here because this is the strongest point of the model.

#s 5 & 6 I think would go on the forward prongs because the ship seems to tilt this way when held. There aren't many options for a firm anchor point here, however, so you could either wrap them all the way around the prongs if you don't mind seeing the line or try to thread them through. No matter how you do it these should be for support only and not hold a lot of weight.

#s 7 & 8 Should be lowered down either side of the straight section between the prongs and tied to the intersection of the beams. These would hold the weight of the front.

#s 9 & 10 Should be in the back... Looking down on the back of the ship from the rear facing the front there should be a small gap to the upper right edge of the lower right circular shape that is very close to the nexus of beams in the rear. There should be an identical gap to the upper left of the lower left circular shape as well.

#s 11 & 12 These should be looped around the two docking structures on either side of the Falcon ( the thing the ramp comes down from and its mate on the other side. These, like the prongs, are mostly for stability because they are near the edges of the ship.

That is what I would do to hang mine and I think it should prevent warping, but remember that this comes at the expense of the view of the detail on the top, unless you tilt it somehow or hang it upside down (or you have a mirror on the cieling).

If you do end up hanging it, please tell us how you decided to do it.

[Deinonychus]

Oh yeah, I said no less then 4 points, I'm under no illusions that four will be it :-D

And thanks for the suggestions OOM-9, I'll defiantly print your post up and use it as a reference when, and if, I start the hanging process.

[NickEarth1]

well, imagine this:

You wake up one morning, all happy and stuff, you walk to your computer when suddenly, a giant lego model that took you a LONG time to build falls right on your head.

My say is no. It's too heavy.

[superpabz]

Rather than hang it, has anyone wall mounted it? Similar to when it lands on the back of the star destroyer in ESB?

I have contemplated doing that, but until it is built, I don't know if the landing gear will support it? If it was in a flat(ish) wall mounted display case then the side/back of the ship could rest on the bottom of the case to support it.

Nice glass case, big falcon inside, certificate also displayed? Sounds nice.

[natelite]

This is essentially what I use - you can hardly see it. But given that the weight would be supported at a really small point, I still have a concern that the weight would cause the threads to cut into the plastic over time, or deform it somehow.

Dr. S.

i think Deinonychus said it pretty well. use tubings to widen the contact surface so it won't cut.

it's trying to balance 20lbs across at least 8 hanging points is the hardest part. one way i can think of is to use springs to measure load. if the load is too great, increase support by using additional lines. and instead of drawing on vertical support, try to a-line the strings diagonally at a 45 degree angle. that should ensure more even distribution of load, though still may not be perfect. but at least you can increase support where needed.

what sort of screws are you looking at? those for chandeliers? :-P

Rather than hang it, has anyone wall mounted it? Similar to when it lands on the back of the star destroyer in ESB?

I have contemplated doing that, but until it is built, I don't know if the landing gear will support it? If it was in a flat(ish) wall mounted display case then the side/back of the ship could rest on the bottom of the case to support it.

Nice glass case, big falcon inside, certificate also displayed? Sounds nice.

while i like that arrangement, i think laying the MF sideways is more likely to warp the plastics. plus, i'm not sure how you are going to support it. the frame was designed to support compressive load, not tensile load.

[iamded]

I have an idea. Hang some other sets, so you can put the Falcon on safe, sturdy shelfing. Or table. Or whatever you display on.

~Peace

[Hewman]

I have an idea. Hang some other sets, so you can put the Falcon on safe, sturdy shelfing. Or table. Or whatever you display on.

~Peace

Now that's thinking outside the square!