REVIEW: 7965 - Millennium Falcon

[XimenaPaulina]

I could still remember the day I passed on the opportunity to get the previous system-scale Millennium Falcon released back in 2004 (4504), which I have regretted since each of the seven past years. Then came 2010 when the news of a new system-scale MF set surfaced, I was ecstatic since I will finally have the chance to own this classic OT ship in LEGO form. I had initial reservations on acquiring this set due to the exorbitant prices of LEGO in this part of the world, but when I had the chance to finally acquire it on a relatively good deal, I swiftly grabbed it on a whim! It’s hard to believe, but this will be my first Star Wars set review that I will share with you guys.

“What a piece of junk!” – Luke Skywalker

“She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid.“ – Han Solo to Luke

So is this set as bad as a “piece of junk” or something that’s as impressive as the “ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs”? Let’s all find out…

Name: Millennium Falcon

Number: 7965

Theme: Star Wars | Subtheme: Original Trilogy

Year: 2011

Pieces: 1,238

Minifigs: 6

Price: $139.99 | £132.99

Links: Brickset | Bricklink | Peeron

The Box

Measuring at 58.2 x 37.8 x 8.7 cm, the box is expectedly huge since the set is considered the ‘flagship’ system-scale SW set for the OT this year. The box sports the official 2011 SW merchandise artwork featuring TCW’s Captain Rex. Even if it doesn’t match the OT content of the set, I still consider this as one of the best, if not the best, LSW box arts we’ve had. Sadly, this will be the last wave of sets we’ll see this as the new Episode I-themed artwork will grace our LSW boxes next year.

The front shows the blown-up image of the Millennium Falcon escaping the Death Star in the backdrop, easily evading the usual misfiring enemy laser blaster shots on the sides and a couple of explosions. The minifig line-up is shown at the lower right corner, which we’ll take a closer look at later.

Depicted at the back of the box is a 'modified' recreation of the scene in Episode IV where our heroes try to escape the Death Star after rescuing Princess Leia. However, instead of making their way to the Falcon the box illustrates the gang trying to help old Ben Kenobi fight the lone Darth Vader. While this is all going on, Chewie is cluelessly wandering inside the ship armed with his bowcaster instead of prepping up the Falcon for escape. Or maybe he’s trying to find a way how to close those damned "flap covers", which are opened to showcase the interior details of the ship. The left side shows the three next largest sets of the 2011 LSW summer wave, and the various playability features of the set are shown in separate panels on the right side.

As boldly advertised in the front of the box, the set features new/updated minifigs of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. I like how the minifig line-up on the top side of the box is different (bottom panel) from the one in front (top), showing the alternate facial expressions and accessories of the characters.

The Contents

Opening the box, I was pleasantly surprised to see that almost 80% of the interior volume is filled-up, with only a small space occupied by Billund air. I guess this is part of TLG’s drive of downsizing the box sizes considering this set has a relatively smaller box compared to 2008’s 7676 Republic Gunship which has fewer parts and less weight, as an example.

The Polybagged LEGO parts

Drawing out the contents you’ll get a generous amount of 1,200+ pieces packed in 16 numbered plastic bags (3xBag 1s, 3xBag 2s, 3xBag 3s, 3xBag 4s, 2xBag 5s, 2xBag 6s and an unnumbered plastic bag), two instruction booklets, and the DSS.

The Instruction Booklets

The instruction booklets came in good pristine condition without any nasty folds even without the separate cardboarded packaging that other big LEGO sets recently have. The cover features the same artwork as the box, minus the minifig line-up. It’s interesting to note that the Book 2 I got has a darker cover print compared to Book 1. Did anyone else got this slightly different-colored instruction booklets?

The Dreaded Decal Sticker Sheet

Unlike the instruction booklets, the DSS was not as fortunate as it was in a “semi-rolled up state”, though I don’t care much about it. Photographing it to show the stickers was a pain-in-the-behind, so instead I’ll just show you a better image courtesy of Bricklink (right). As you can see, most of the stickers comprise of the circular detailing of the ship’s exterior, like the front maintenance bay openings, rear exhaust vents, etc. I honestly think they could’ve just made some, or better all, of the 2x2 tiles printed instead of going this sticker route, but this has been the norm the past few years so I’ve come to accept this reality.

On with the build!

I initially intended to show the customary parts presentation per bag, but I found it very tedious and time-and effort-consuming after only the first set of bags, so for a lazy and impatient person like me, sorting out 1,200+ pieces is a daunting task, so I completely scrapped it. Sorry, but there’s always Bricklink’s inventory of parts for this set. Though one thing I can assure you is you’d get A LOT of light bley parts from this set.

The Minifigs

As mentioned earlier, we get an updated Han Solo (face), Luke Skywalker (face, hair), and Princess Leia (face, hair). Han has that cocky smug expression, Luke seems to be quite grumpy about something, and Leia has that smile of relief after being rescued. Both Luke and Leia have alternate faces, with the former having the visor covered-eyes to match the training helmet while the latter has her ‘game face’ on. Both also have new hairpieces, which I guess is good for introducing more new hair elements for other possible use, but not necessary IMO since their previous hairpieces already worked for me. Vader, Chewie and Obi-wan have been previously released before.

This minifig line-up is quite boring IMO, as probably most of us already have at least one copy of each of these figs. But I understand why the reasoning behind this line-up, since the Millennium Falcon will never be complete without these cast of characters to go with it, and probably the set is meant to introduce this iconic ship to the younger generation. But still, wouldn't it have been a lot cooler if they squeezed in a Nien Numb minifig in this set?

Build Progress

I’ll show the progress of the build by bag contents as indicated in the photos. The contents of the three Bag # 1s predictably lay out the base foundation of the ship, composed of the sturdy Technic backbone on the underside (shown later) and the octagonal flooring of the interior. The second bag contents highlight the addition of the interior details which we’ll look more closely later.

So what are these mini train-like thingies you might ask? These comprise the content of Bag #3 and provide the “rounded” walls of the ship. Building these is a bit repetitive, but I was quite impressed on the geometrical design aspect of these, especially effectively transforming these blocky parts into an overall circular shape with clever use of hinges.

This is what we have so far after finishing Book #1, which is unofficially the midpoint of the build. Not much to look at still, but we’re getting there. After Bag #4, the docking ports on each side are prominently built. It is important to note that both of these are integral to the stability of the build, as this will become the main ‘holding points’ (using two hands) for the swooshability of the ship.

The fifth set of bags essentially gives the long trapezoidal folding cover flaps of the ship. Again, this part of the build is quite repetitive, but I was amused by the fact that each of the 12 covers has their own unique detailing, no matter how minor it is. Attaching these to the body, and together with the rectangular cover of the cargo loading bay area in front and the gunners area in the middle, the ship now looks a giant piece of ‘metal hamburger’.

Finally, we reached the culminating part of the build with the last parts of the ship. From the Bag #6s we’ll be able to build the cockpit, the two mandibles, and the mini gunner station. These are all conveniently attached through Technic connections to the body. And before you know it Voila! We now have the Millennium Falcon in all its pure ABS glory.

Different Views of the Ship

Let’s now look at the finished product from various sides and angles:

You can see in this head-on shot the front headlights, the cargo loading bay in the middle and huge cockpit on the left side.

At this view you’ll notice the unsightly Technic base underneath, add to that the enormous cockpit and the ship looks inaccurately ‘fat’.

A much better view compared to the other side, but still has its minor 'eyesore' with the visible flick-fire missiles. Though it’s nice to see the port docking ring and satellite dish details on this side.

The rear is probably my most favorite part of this ship, as the circular heat exhaust vents, fuel drive pressure stabilizers (fins), and the trans-blue hose for the engine thrusters exhaust prominently shown are quite accurate relative to the reference material.

Usually untouched in most reviews, I’d like to show to you how the underside of this build looks like. You’ll notice the aforementioned Technic backbone which gives the necessary stability of the build. The flick-fire missiles, lower quad-laser cannons, and four small landing ‘gears’ can also be seen on this view.

Taking a Closer Look

L: There might be questions on how unproportionally large the cockpit is relative to the overall size of the ship, but putting into perspective that this is a system-scale playset where minifigs have to fit inside, the large cockpit size is understandable. The set indicates that it could seat 2 minifigs inside, but I’m sure with a little bit of modification you could squeeze four of them there.

R: The port docking ring detail on the side. Not that much to look at, but it serves its purpose in the build. The hexagonal detail is quite accurate, though the 'curved square' shape of the ring is not, and should have been conical instead (though no such 8x8x2 cone exists). The 4504 version is slightly better IMO in this aspect.

L: The quad-laser cannon is a significant improvement from the previous 4505 version. It can turn 360 degrees and can swivel up and down. Notice the stickered 2x2 tile, which is supposed to be the viewing glass panel of the gunner. This is grossly unproportional with respect to the oversized cannons (or it is the other way around).

R: A similarly-built set of quad-laser cannons is located on the underside.

Additionally, here's a simple video showing how the central gunner station works.

L: The radar dish, which I still find to be a “goofy” part of the Falcon design. But I like how they the holder of the dish is cleverly built using three battle droid arms.

R: The freight loading room is found in front of the ship sandwiched by the mandible bases. Quite bare but another welcome detail that is true to the reference design.

Interior Views

L: Central computer center in the main holding area. The whole set-up with all those control elements, display panel, buttons really work for me.

R: “Let the Wookiee win.” The place where Chewie plays (and always loses) his favorite Dejarik board game. The round sticker print is accurate, though I think this is one of those pieces that could have just come printed.

L: Chewie: “Aarragghh-arraggh” (translation: "You’ll stain my bed sheet!”) The lover’s den crew’s quarters is yet another nice interior detail that conforms to the MF schematic design.

R: There’s a hidden secret compartment just beside the right docking port, reminiscent of what our heroes used to evade being detected by the inspecting Stormies in the movie.

L: At the back of the interiors is a mechanical engine-like set-up which I presume is meant to be the hyperdrive.

R: An unknown part of the ship, which I can’t identify even in the the reference cross-section of the MF.

The flick-fire missiles were obviously added as a playability feature for the young ones, but here's a problem I see with this feature: Can a kid hold a 2kg-heavy toy on one hand and flick those missiles on the other hand at the same time while playing? I'm a grown up man and I have to hold the ship by my two hands just to swoosh the ship, so I doubt these flick-fire missile would be of any playable use to the kids. Good thing about it is you could easily remove it if you don't want it.

L: "Your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them." One of the scenes you could recreate with the included jedi training helmet and ball.

R: There is a small boarding ramp on the left side, but the problem with this is that the landing gears are too short that I had to actually raise one side just to capture this shot. Just a minor nitpick.

Comparison with the Reference Millennium Falcon

For the accuracy buffs out there, here's a side-by-side top-view comparison of the 7965 MF and the reference schematic diagram of the Millennium Falcon:

The Good: Surprisingly, the overall shape and size are quite accurate with the reference material. I superimposed both images with each other and they are almost a 95% match. The hexadecagonal (16-sides baby!) shape makes for an effective overall circular shape of the ship. Even the small minor details like the heat exhaust vents, stabilizer fins, radar dish are pretty spot-on. This is also one of those sets where the studs actually give texture and "weathering roughness" to the surface of the ship.

The Bad: There are minor inaccuracies which I feel could have been made a lot better.: the mandibles are 1-2 studs longer than it should be, and the base of the mandibles should have extended towards the 'circular' body. The 2x2 tiles for the maintenance bays on the mandibles are too small. The quad-laser cannons could have been smaller too.

The Ugly: The highly visible gaps and that enormous cockpit. Even if these are understandable due to the parts/build limitation, these are gross deviations with respect to overall accuracy.

Comparison with the other system-scale Millennium Falcon

Left: 7190 (2000), Middle: 4504 (2004), Right: 7965 (2011) LXFs courtesy of ADHO15 (7190, 4504) and penguinz (7965); The missing parts of the images are due to the parts limitation in the LDD software)

The 7965 is slightly larger than the two previous versions, with a more pronounced overall circular shape compared to the other two. And having the luxury of the newer parts, the 2011 version has predictably better-looking detailing compared to its predecessors. Though I prefer the more conical shape of the port docking ring of the 4504, as well as the larger maintenance bay entries in the mandibles of the '04 version.

Comparison with the UCS-scale Millennium Falcon

Left: 7965 (System-scale), Right: 10179 (UCS-scale) LXFs courtesy of penguinz (7965) and yellost (101079)

As expected, the 10179 UCS clearly dwarfs the 7965, more than twice the size of this system scale version. Of course, the detailing of the 10179 is highly superior, but I think the 7965 holds up on its own with its decent amount of accurate detailing for a system-scale set.

Conclusion

Design 9/10 Taking into account that this is a system-scale set and not intended to be a intricately-detailed UCS model, I'm very content with the overall design with regards to the overall shape and detailing. Sure it's not perfect and there are some rooms for improvement, but I think the designers did their best in balancing the parts, cost, and playability aspects of this set.

Parts 7/10 There is nothing really exceptional to the parts provided by this set, as obviously they are mostly boring light bley which has relatively less potential use in other MOCs compared to the more colorful counterparts.

Minifgures 7/10 As stated earlier the minifig line-up is quite unappealing and uninspired as all of these characters have been released already for the nth time. Sure there are new face and hair elements introduced, but they are unnecessary and were probably just made to somehow justify the "NEW" minifig tag. I would've preferred throwing a new character in the set, and I'm pretty sure if this was released in 2012 (the year of overloading sets with minifigs), we would've gotten probably a Nien Numb fig.

Build 8/10 The build was straightforward, and won't pose any difficulty for anyone if the instructions are followed properly. There are some repetitive steps but seeing how these parts were cleverly integrated into the build removes any previously felt boredom during these stages of the build.

Playability 9/10 Putting myself in a kid's shoe, I'd be happy to play this with the various playability features, from the rotating cannons, highly-playable interior, etc. Heck even as an adult, I had fun recreating some of the classic scenes from the movie as almost all of them can be afforded on this set. The only drawback I think is the relatively heavy weight (2kg+) of the ship which definitely pose a swooshing difficulty for small kids.

Price 8/10 I'm not much of an price complainant, but I think its US$140 price tag for 1,200+ pieces is justifiable IMO. Remember that it's already 2011, and if you're expecting to have the same price as the past years, then you must be dreaming. To put things into perspective, the 4504 had an average price/parts ratio of $0.10/pc, while the 7965 has a $0.11/pc. Not that significant of a price increase in the past seven years right?

Overall 80%

As one of the iconic ships of the our beloved Star Wars, any LSW collection would not be complete without a LEGO Millennium Falcon. Of course, it would be great to own the UCS version, but that is something that cannot be practically afforded by everyone. So the next best thing to have is this system-scale Falcon. For those who have acquired the previous '04 version, there is the understandable oprion to pass on this one and just modify their current MF with the updated details, but for those who have missed that set and still has no MF in their collection, this is a definite must-have.

Thanks for reading this review! I hope this has helped you in gauging the value of this set and if it is worth getting for your collection.

[Brickdoctor]

KDM, this is absolutely beautiful! The image-editing work is gorgeous.

Any reason why you didn't post this in the RA? The is easily Bronze-level, if not Silver or Gold.

[Darth Dino]

Hi

Thank you KDM for this detailed review! It was fun to read also and makes me think about my decision not to start with SW sets but with technic. For any brand new AFOL and SW fan this set is a must have start. Altought i decided not to collect minifigs this set makes me think about this too.

A question: What happen to the cover if you put the ship upside down if someone will reproduce the escape from the large asteriod worm/monster :)

Dino

[Mr Man]

Is the unidentifiable part the leaver Lea was trying to pull in Empire And Han had to help her, leading to tender wooden acting and the thankful intervention of C3P-0?

Great review KielDaMan really great pics, and the comparisons at the end are always my favourite.

[harakiri]

A question: What happen to the cover if you put the ship upside down if someone will reproduce the escape from the large asteriod worm/monster :)

I bet the monster gets a well deserved snack ;-)

What a great review! Especially the details from inside the ship!

Excellent camera work

[peddi0027]

Great review! I have never seen any SW-Film. But I agree:

Especially the details from inside the ship!

Excellent camera work

I like the accomodation area, something I always missed in other ship models, especially in the classic space times.

[Blondie-Wan]

Thanks for the informative review! I think many of us will particularly appreciate the extensive comparisons to other renditions and to reference material. I do have just one minor point to add:

Comparison with the Reference Millennium Falcon

For the accuracy buffs out there, here's a side-by-side top-view comparison of the 7965 MF and the reference schematic diagram of the Millennium Falcon:

The Good: Surprisingly, the overall shape and size are quite accurate with the reference material. I superimposed both images with each other and they are almost a 95% match. The hexadecagonal (16-sides baby!) shape makes for an effective overall circular shape of the ship. Even the small minor details like the heat exhaust vents, stabilizer fins, radar dish are pretty spot-on. This is also one of those sets where the studs actually give texture and "weathering roughness" to the surface of the ship.

The Bad: There are minor inaccuracies which I feel could have been made a lot better.: the mandibles are 1-2 studs longer than it should be, and the base of the mandibles should have extended towards the 'circular' body. The 2x2 tiles for the maintenance bays on the mandibles are too small. The quad-laser cannons could have been smaller too.

The Ugly: The highly visible gaps and that enormous cockpit. Even if these are understandable due to the parts/build limitation, these are gross deviations with respect to overall accuracy.

At the risk of encroaching on fallenangel309's territory I do have to note that the illustration seen here, "official" though it may be (coming from the "Essential Guide" book series), is nonetheless not exactly accurate itself (the Essential Guides are hardly infallible, particularly when it comes to schematic-style drawings of the saga's vessels).

That said, it's probably a close enough match in terms of general proportions and many specific details to serve pretty well as a standard for comparison for a LEGO model.

Great review! I have never seen any SW-Film.

Bwuuuuhhh?

I'll just go reel, agog in disbelief, over here for a little while...

Edited November 4, 2011 by Blondie-Wan

[blue leader]

Great review! Love the comparo shots w/ source material and previous versions. That top comparison shot w/ the essential guide schematic (although pointed out maybe not 100% accurate) blows me away how close it is. The cockpit is obviously too big, but totally understandable move considering it needed to be big enough to carry a couple of the protagonists. From the top view, the only thing I am dissappointed in, as you pointed out, is the awkwardly long mandibles.

Thanks for the review...can't wait to open mine up (when the time is right)

[Miss Kyle]

Awesome review, thanks! I just finished building my Falcon and I just love it. I am perfectly happy with the minifigs as well, since my only other SW set is the landspeeder with this horrible Luke Skywalker hairpiece... so I'm really happy to have the cute shaggy hairpiece now (which looks an aweful lot like my hair when I am in need of a cut...)! So I got a good range of main characters in one go (add the droids from the Landspeeder), which is perfect for a non-SW focused collector like me.

It might not be the most spectacular set for a hardcore SW fan, but I utterly love it and I am glad I spent all the money on it.

Edited November 4, 2011 by Miss Kyle

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Great and complete review for this beautiful set!

Thanks for the cool work!

[Fallenangel]

At the risk of encroaching on fallenangel309's territory I do have to note that the illustration seen here, "official" though it may be (coming from the "Essential Guide" book series), is nonetheless not exactly accurate itself (the Essential Guides are hardly infallible, particularly when it comes to schematic-style drawings of the saga's vessels).

That said, it's probably a close enough match in terms of general proportions and many specific details to serve pretty well as a standard for comparison for a LEGO model.

Saved me a post. I actually did post a (hard-to-find) top view of the 5ft Falcon model on this forum last week in Hollander's Tantive IV thread; I do wish Kiel had used that... if reviewers need proper reference I've found plenty, obviously you don't have the luxury of having time to scour the Net for pics so don't hesitate to shoot me a PM.

As for the set itself, I don't get how it's as beautiful as Aanchir everyone is saying but the variety of play features and solid base make up for any deficiencies in aesthetics. For a toy Falcon, this set is great; for a LEGO Falcon in general, eh... this one is much better (though it's been far surpassed in recent years by Pepa's).

[Blondie-Wan]

Great review! I have never seen any SW-Film. But I agree:

Oh, and I should have noted earlier - I guess at least now we know JackJonespaw's scenario of someone in this forum not recognizing a scene from Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back was perhaps not so farfetched after all...

Edited November 5, 2011 by Blondie-Wan

[XimenaPaulina]

Any reason why you didn't post this in the RA?

Because I'm a lazy drop-out?

A question: What happen to the cover if you put the ship upside down if someone will reproduce the escape from the large asteriod worm/monster :)

The clip connections are tight at first and hold their own when the ship is upside down, but with regular use/constant opening/closing of the roof cover panels, I noticed that the clips connections loosen after just a few days.

Is the unidentifiable part the leaver Lea was trying to pull in Empire And Han had to help her, leading to tender wooden acting and the thankful intervention of C3P-0?

Ooh yes, that might probably be that part, though I'm still not so sure (better watch the movie again to check).

can't wait to open mine up (when the time is right)

Dooo eeett now!

At the risk of encroaching on fallenangel309's territory I do have to note that the illustration seen here, "official" though it may be (coming from the "Essential Guide" book series), is nonetheless not exactly accurate itself (the Essential Guides are hardly infallible, particularly when it comes to schematic-style drawings of the saga's vessels).

I knew someone will notice that, but that was the only over-head/top shot that I was able to find online, until....

Saved me a post. I actually did post a (hard-to-find) top view of the 5ft Falcon model on this forum last week in Hollander's Tantive IV thread; I do wish Kiel had used that... if reviewers need proper reference I've found plenty, obviously you don't have the luxury of having time to scour the Net for pics so don't hesitate to shoot me a PM.

Yes, I've seen that but my photos were already done and 'shopped at that time, though I'm interested to also see the side-by-side comparison with that image. I'll probably do it later, promise.

Awesome review, thanks! I just finished building my Falcon and I just love it. I am perfectly happy with the minifigs as well, since my only other SW set is the landspeeder with this horrible Luke Skywalker hairpiece... so I'm really happy to have the cute shaggy hairpiece now (which looks an aweful lot like my hair when I am in need of a cut...)! So I got a good range of main characters in one go (add the droids from the Landspeeder), which is perfect for a non-SW focused collector like me.

It might not be the most spectacular set for a hardcore SW fan, but I utterly love it and I am glad I spent all the money on it.

I'm glad to hear that a non-hardcore SW fan found this set satisfying as I did.

[Fallenangel]

A question: What happen to the cover if you put the ship upside down if someone will reproduce the escape from the large asteriod worm/monster :)

Exogorth.

Great review! Love the comparo shots w/ source material and previous versions. That top comparison shot w/ the essential guide schematic (although pointed out maybe not 100% accurate) blows me away how close it is. The cockpit is obviously too big, but totally understandable move considering it needed to be big enough to carry a couple of the protagonists. From the top view, the only thing I am dissappointed in, as you pointed out, is the awkwardly long mandibles.

I think that, more than the size of the cockpit, the bigger issue is the angle at which it is positioned relative to the ship – it juts out too much. If you look at Flail’s 4504 mod you’ll see that the cockpit looks fine in spite of being too large. 7190, 10179, and 7778 have it in the right place, though only the latter two have it about the right size relative to the rest of the ship.

Awesome review, thanks! I just finished building my Falcon and I just love it. I am perfectly happy with the minifigs as well, since my only other SW set is the landspeeder with this horrible Luke Skywalker hairpiece... so I'm really happy to have the cute shaggy hairpiece now (which looks an aweful lot like my hair when I am in need of a cut...)!

Miss Kyle, you wear your hair short?

Oh, and I should have noted earlier - I guess at least now we know JackJonespaw's scenario of someone in this forum not recognizing a scene from Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back was perhaps not so farfetched after all...

Remember that a few months back people didn’t remember this scene.

Yes, I've seen that but my photos were already done and 'shopped at that time, though I'm interested to also see the side-by-side comparison with that image. I'll probably do it later, promise.

Thanks, Kiel.

[XimenaPaulina]

As promised, here is another side-by-side comparison of the 7965 with the reference image of the Falcon (thanks to fallenangel for supplying the image):

With this colored comparison I was pleasantly surprised that even the use of the dark red tiles and dark bley elements are quite accurate with the random paintjob/weathering marks in the real MF.

But still, there are minor things that could've been done better IMO:

- 2 stud-shorter mandibles, with the base extending/'making contact' with the circular body

- The maintenance bay openings in the mandibles should be larger than the 2x2 tiles

- the port docking ring should've been 1-2 stud shorter inward

- the exhaust vents at he back should've been positioned closer to each other

Good thing about these is these are easily achieved through minor modifications.

[Brinstar]

Thanks for this very informative review KielDaMan! I passed on this because I already own 4504 and I didn't think it was a significant enough improvement to justify the £130 price tag here in the UK. I do particularly like the design of the quad laser cannons and the fact that there is a ventral turret on this model is a huge bonus. I also like the giant computer console in the centre of the interior. The Millennium Falcon is the iconic ship of Star Wars and i'm glad lego rereleased a system scale version for those who didn't already own one.

[Lobot]

Thanks for the excellent review KielDaMan!

This pretty much confirms my initial thoughts when I first saw the set. Compared to the 4504, which I owned until I purchased the UCS version, the turrets look a lot nicer but the base looks awful! Actually, in all fairness, the legs kept falling off my 4504, so I guess the modifications were designed to correct this issue. The interior is a definite improvement, and I especially like the hidden compartments.

I’m quietly hoping for this for Christmas, via Mrs Lobot!

[Miss Kyle]

Miss Kyle, you wear your hair short?

Obviously, yes

[wokajablocka]

Nice review KielDaMan. I like how you have the comparison shots of every falcon so we can get a feel for the design changes and build accuracy. You forgot to compair it to the mini and mini falsons .

[XimenaPaulina]

You forgot to compair compare it to the mini and mini midi falsons Falcons .

Say what??

LXFs courtesy of ADHO15 (4488, 7778) and penguinz (7965)

[Ki-Adi-Mundi]

Thanks for this excellent review, KielDaMan. #

Since i haven't built up mine yet, i always love to see finished 7965s in action. It's a beautiful approach to let the minifigs present playing features - so funny.

One question bothers me: Is it possible to place the new Falcon on it's side without harming the parts/structure?

My glass cabinet only has some 26 cm in depth so that i cannot place the Falcon properly. Not wanting it to get dusty, i wish to know how to place it comfortably while letting it's striking looks come through all the while.

[Blondie-Wan]

Say what??

LXFs courtesy of ADHO15 (4488, 7778) and penguinz (7965)

Great! Now what about the bag charm?

[Hollander]

Many thanks for the review KielDaMan. You put in everything that a good review requires, and there is also pictures included of all the bricks still in their bags. Kudos for that!

The only thing that I feel are missing are pictures of the bricks layed out.. But, maybe that's more work than I expected, as I have never done a review due to a lack of a good camera.

About the ship now. I have to say; as a model of the Millenium Falcon, TLG didn't do that of a great job here. They could have done the mandibles better, as they determine the shape of this ship much. Would it require and drastically changes to the ship if they had to make the mandibles better ''flow'' into the ship? Don't think so, so I don't see why they didn't do that, as it would made the ship way accurater IMO. So am I nit satisfied with the bottom of this ship. I don't ask for SNOT or a perfectly finished bottom, but they could have done better here.

However, the set IS pretty detailed, and although I doubt how many of you would buy this set for parts, for me this is one great part package (especially for the 10 cents-a-part ratio). It includes a lot of 3x12 wedge plates, which I will need for the Executor I want to build in a couple of months, lots of tiles (you can never have enough of 'em), hinges, bricks and slopes. And whom 95% is bley. I mean, what you need colors such as red and yellow for anyway as on OT MOC'er?

[into the blue]

Say what??

When you get these sets, it's impossible not to compare.

Now all I need to do is open the advent calendar version.

Oh yeah, and to buy the UCS version too.

[StoutFiles]

One question bothers me: Is it possible to place the new Falcon on it's side without harming the parts/structure?

My glass cabinet only has some 26 cm in depth so that i cannot place the Falcon properly. Not wanting it to get dusty, i wish to know how to place it comfortably while letting it's striking looks come through all the while.

I display mine at around a 30 degree angle. It hides most of the technic underbelly and helps show off the detailed top. I originally had it at 45 degrees but the cockpit was too prominent and I'd rather hide it somewhat since it's grossly oversized.

I suggest making some sort of stand for it instead of propping it up against the glass. I make all mine out of Lego and let the ship sit on the stand instead of connect to it.