My 7965 Millennium Falcon Improvements/MODs

[ETAV8R]

After seeing the great reviews here on EB and wanting a copy of the Millennium Falcon because I was in my dark ages when the previous sets were released, I knew I had to have one. Finally scored one on Ebay. The first time I thumbed through the manual I saw a few places I wanted to modify. Then seeing some great changes on youtube my goals were expanded and reinforced.

What I saw first was the lack of cargo storage/playability in the storage area. I moved a few things and now have more room in the Falcon. Secondly I wanted to make the landing gear taller, look better, and be able to retract. Third I wanted my boarding ramp to meet the surface with the new gear. Now my gear does retract but the model is not as sturdy as the original. I like mine better for swooshing. I can stand a figure up under the ship but not with much headroom. Of course having a better supply of bricks would give more options but I did what I could with what I have on hand. Sorry the pics aren't my usual quality. Enjoy.

Cargo Area:

Landing Gear/Boarding Ramp:

This first picture shows one side in my early stage of working out the issues of the gear retraction. One side is done and the other isn't yet modded. Also you can see which parts are removed down on the lower right corner of the photo. Removing the 2x4 blocks does weaken parts of the floor of the ship.

Gear extention and retraction:

Finished version of the gear:

[jmagaletta]

Looks great, Good job, makes me want to modify mine.

[mortesv]

Good job on the landing gears

Lego should have done them this way to begin with

[JackJonespaw]

Looks nice! Much better than the official version.

[ETAV8R]

If anyone comes up with other solutions for the gear I'd love to see them.