BrickLinking (another) 10179 UCS Millennium Falcon

[AvengerDr]

Great work! I'm just about to finish mine.. Can you believe I have 15.000 parts in my Bricklink store and I lack 4 6x3 Right Wedges and one Round 3x3 plate to complete it all?

Anyway I'm almost sure I've missed something while building (I have two boxes of "surplus" parts, but I always bought more than I needed, or so I thought). Can anyone point me to hi-quality pictures of the various parts of the set? I want to check if missed some detailing.. I have a handful of levers that I seem to have skipped. I

[dwong]

I was going to BrickLinking a 10179 after I saw those amazing photos,

I logon bricklink, search all parts for 10179, use current lowest prices (not include original radar and engine fence, shipping cost extra)

The total is us$1,272.00

I don't think us$300.00 shipping cost can handle this project

Looks like the best time is over, just wait for Lego release a new falcon could be better.

Edited May 7, 2013 by dwong

[harmacy]

Ouch! Thats a fair chunk of money for one model! Ive been bricklinking the Falcon, the ISD and the DS2 all at the same time, starting back in 2009 and just chipping away at them. I 'finished' last week, (not including those expensive parts you mentioned - they have always been extortionate!!). Total cost $1951 NZD - or $1660USD - including all shipping costs.

Yes - thats a lot of money, but spread over 4 years, its not too bad. Many pieces I bought were back when prices were much less than they are today, and I realise that many parts have now inflated considerably. Timing is key I guess - could you imagine if TLG started producing the LBG levers or the LBG Mast Rigging piece again?

[dwong]

Hi harmacy,

Is it possible to bricklink ISD or DS2 now?

I am so depress, spend 4~5 days to work on the bricklink thing, nothing I can do.

[henning1010]

Is it possible to bricklink ISD or DS2 now?

Hi dwong,

DS2 is absolutely possible. I am doing this right now. I got some parts via PAB from LEGO directly as they are less expensive in such a high number. It is a lot of fun, so try it.

The ISD is a different topic. There are some parts (at least: magnet holder, main engines and the shield generators) that are really expensive or not available. With a little modding it is not impossible, but quite hard I guess.

[dwong]

Hi dwong,

DS2 is absolutely possible. I am doing this right now. I got some parts via PAB from LEGO directly as they are less expensive in such a high number. It is a lot of fun, so try it.

The ISD is a different topic. There are some parts (at least: magnet holder, main engines and the shield generators) that are really expensive or not available. With a little modding it is not impossible, but quite hard I guess.

Hi henning,

Do u think $1,600 (maybe more) for a incomplete Falcon is too high?

I take a look the DS2 inv. Thanks

Also in Bricklink, is it possible to export the prices list from individual shop (under my wanted list)

I need some rest cause the non-sleep bricklink for 5 days.

[harmacy]

The ISD is a different topic. There are some parts (at least: magnet holder, main engines and the shield generators) that are really expensive or not available. With a little modding it is not impossible, but quite hard I guess.

Yes - the ISD is very tricky to 'BL' - especially those engines! According to BL, they are over $100 each. Although I managed to get those parts a few years back for a lot cheaper, I am actually modding my ISD at the moment with a completely different part - same with those magnets! Ill post images here on EB when im finished.

Just remember though, you can build these models using some substitutions along the way - Its your model, build it how you want! Its never going to be 100% complete if you dont have the manual, box and display plaque.

[henning1010]

Do u think $1,600 (maybe more) for a incomplete Falcon is too high?

It depends, what does incomplete mean. I had to buy around 4,500 pieces for my MF and didn't pay that much.

Yes - the ISD is very tricky to 'BL' - especially those engines! According to BL, they are over $100 each. Although I managed to get those parts a few years back for a lot cheaper, I am actually modding my ISD at the moment with a completely different part - same with those magnets! Ill post images here on EB when im finished.

Same with me. I do have enough magnets but I am still working on a good solution for the engines.

[Lobot]

If you haven't used Bricklink much before, I'd recommend starting on the Death Star II, and there's even a nice thread all about it (link here).

In all seriousness, whilst the Falcon is amazing, it's a lot of effort & cost to build from scratch, it took me about 3 months of trawling through potential suppliers and then lots of waiting. In hindsight the Death Star was a lot more straightforward (fewer parts & individual types and most were readily available) and it looked great when it was built, although a bit on the wobbly side!

I tried the ISD and sourced about 50% of the parts before admitting defeat. Reality struck when I realised it would be far cheaper to buy a complete used one!

[dwong]

It depends, what does incomplete mean. I had to buy around 4,500 pieces for my MF and didn't pay that much.

Same with me. I do have enough magnets but I am still working on a good solution for the engines.

The cost ($1600 include shipping) I am saying is not include the printed radar & grey engine fence.

How much did you pay for 4500 parts?

What did you do when parts from local country is more expensive than overseas?

[dwong]

If you haven't used Bricklink much before, I'd recommend starting on the Death Star II, and there's even a nice thread all about it (link here).

In all seriousness, whilst the Falcon is amazing, it's a lot of effort & cost to build from scratch, it took me about 3 months of trawling through potential suppliers and then lots of waiting. In hindsight the Death Star was a lot more straightforward (fewer parts & individual types and most were readily available) and it looked great when it was built, although a bit on the wobbly side!

I tried the ISD and sourced about 50% of the parts before admitting defeat. Reality struck when I realised it would be far cheaper to buy a complete used one!

Hi Lobot,

Thanks for startup this topic in 2013 ^_^

I did follow every advices you mention on this topic

My first attempt (estimate the cost)

- source all local country bricklink shop (plus a big shop from overseas), not use combine method, I can complete 192 parts.

- total order 7, total cost us$460.00, not include shipping cost yet.

My second attempt (estimate the total cost and complexity of combine order)

- source all local country bricklink shop, use combine method, it is a lot more complex......

- my excel spread sheet is over 50 columns now

- still calculating

This project is toooooooooo BIG, and I don't want to spend $2000 at the end.

I don't want to give up at the moment, but the shop's inventory is moving, may need to go over each shop again ( 268 items X number of shops )

[harmacy]

... I am still working on a good solution for the engines.

Ive got a great solution! Will tell all and post pics when Ive finished the modding. Best part is, the donor part is less than $5 each. Sweet.

[henning1010]

How much did you pay for 4500 parts?

I did pay around € 800 - 850. I had to make two bigger orders in the US as those parts were not available in Germany for a reasonable price.

But I strongly support the hints given from different user: Do not underestimate shipping costs. It is okay to pay 0.02 more for a single where you need 100 if you save 10.00 of shipping costs. ( I know; not that hard to calculate )

Ive got a great solution! Will tell all and post pics when Ive finished the modding. Best part is, the donor part is less than $5 each. Sweet.

Oh, looking forward to that one. I would also be interested in your mooding of the shield generators if you have one.

This is my current solution:

What do you think? I am really looking forward to you ideas for improvement.

For comparision

[harmacy]

This is my solution...

The main part is the Death Star planet set hemisphere, and the are 12 'macaroni' 4 x 4 pieces to make the main circle shape inside and at the base. As the hemisphere part has 4 studs and a technic hole in the bottom, it is very easy to connect the the rest of the structure. It also has the stripes along its surface, so it almost looks like some fuel lines or other engine detail.

The 4 connector tabs also add to the detail (Even though an ISD engine only has 3 'tabs'). Honestly, for the price and the clean look, I think it is a pretty cool solution.

Edited May 10, 2013 by harmacy

[modsbytweek]

This thread has inspired me to undertake this quest. I currently have 70% of the bricks required to construct the 10179 UCS Millennium Falcon. I am just waiting on one brickLink order and my build can begin. This is the biggest set I have ever brickLinked and I must say that I have enjoyed the process with the exception of the postal service losing a package. I'm looking forward to spending Christmas vacation constructing this master piece.

[modsbytweek]

I finished my custom build and wanted to thank you again for inspiring me to under take this adventure. I created a build video if anyone is interested in watching it you can find it on my modsbytweek YouTube channel. I enjoyed building this so much I went ahead and order parts to construct the 10174 Imperial AT-ST. Thanks again Lobot for your inspiration.

[Lobot]

You're welcome, and I'm glad that you enjoyed the challenge!

[Lobot]

For anyone looking for a replacement dish, I may have found the answer!

I found a kit on Ebay a couple of months ago which included a new blank dish, plus 2 x stickers for about £9 + P&P and I was looking for something to do today, so I thought that I'd give it a bash. To be honest I was a bit skeptical about it, but the cost of original versions has got ridiculous so any alternative had got to be worth a try. Firstly, I should mention that I'm not that coordinated, and have quite large hands, which makes any sort of detailed work quite challenging! I'd expect that anyone with more patience, and dexterity, could do far better! Anyway, here's the result, and I'm really quite impressed by it.

A couple of tips for anyone trying this:

i) You need to cut on the outside edge of the square middle section (my first attempt was a bit too small so the sticker didn't fit properly)

ii) Use a sharp knife for the inner section, I cut the rest of it out using professional sewing scissors

iii) I left the back attached to the sticker until I'd removed the 'V' sections and then peeled each one back to create a 'petal'

iv) Use tweezers for the final positioning of the sticker (I found it easiest holding the dish upside down and carefully pushing the sticker upwards onto it!)

v) The printing is very high quality, and although the sticker is quite thin it's surprisingly strong (so you could probably cut closer to the printing than I did)

Unfortunately, I've just checked Ebay and there aren't any currently for sale, but it might be worthwhile keeping an eye out for them as I've seen the kit for sale several times. The seller is based in Germany, if I recall correctly!

[Lobot]

Part 2: A couple of years later….

With winter approaching I'd been looking for another project to keep my grey cells occupied. I briefly considered building Anio’s amazing Executor, but after a little research I quickly found that some of the parts are prohibitively expensive, so that wasn't an option. So I settled on building another UCS Falcon, much to the total dismay of my long-suffering wife! To be honest, I was just interested to see if it was still possible for a reasonable cost.

I’d initially planned to use the same alternatives as my first one, but partway through my ordering I managed to find some new 6558 technic pins in black (rather than the cheaper blue) and a replica dish (rather than a plain LBG). Unfortunately LEGO have discontinued the yellow 32555s, so I had to order black. Overall, I changed 187 parts (3.61%) which isn’t bad at all, and made the total not quite so painful as it could have been! In truth, if I’d opted for a plain dish, blue 6558s and a LBG 6x14 plate (rather than Dark Red) I would have saved £25+ so if you’re on a tight budget that might be a good option. I also ordered several of the newer part numbers (e.g. 6L Umbrella Stands, slotted Pin Connector Round 2L etc) but from previous experience they make negligible difference to the final model.

Replacement colours:

(actual colours shown in brackets)

36 Dark Bluish Gray Hinge Brick 1 x 2 Locking with 1 Finger Vertical End (Light Bluish Grey)

14 Dark Bluish Gray Technic, Axle Connector (Ridged with x Hole x Orientation) (Light Bluish Grey)

1 Light Bluish Gray Dish 10 x 10 Inverted (Radar) with Radiating Spokes Pattern on Concave Side (Plain Light Bluish Grey - with sticker!)

58 Light Bluish Gray Hinge Brick 1 x 2 Locking with 2 Fingers Vertical End (Dark Bluish Grey)

16 Yellow Technic, Brick 5 x 5 Right Angle (1 x 4 - 1 x 4) (Black)

2 Light Bluish Gray Boat Mast Rigging Long 28 x 4 (Black)

60 Light Bluish Gray Lever Small Base with Light Bluish Gray Lever (Black lever)

I made my final orders yesterday and, excluding minifigures, the total cost was approximately £624.89 (everything new, including P&P). I’ve excluded the 114 parts I originally had as the value of these was virtually nothing!

Summary:

Order Parts Cost Cost/part Location

0 114 0 £0.00 N/A

1 700 £39.03 £0.06 UK

2 967 £69.08 £0.07 UK

3 594 £48.29 £0.08 UK

4 462 £44.00 £0.10 UK

5 372 £29.79 £0.08 UK

6 559 £71.71 £0.13 UK

7 139 £16.27 £0.12 Italy

8 126 £17.45 £0.14 Netherlands

9 192 £26.29 £0.14 Portugal

10 32 £4.67 £0.15 UK

11 9 £2.74 £0.30 UK

12 18 £10.37 £0.58 Poland

13 42 £7.62 £0.18 France

14 558 £164.54 £0.29 N/A

15 279 £59.36 £0.21 N/A

16 10 £4.68 £0.47 Netherlands

17 1 £9.00 £9.00 Germany

One of the things that surprised me the most is that there’s sometimes a considerable price differential between TLG’s ‘Pick a Brick’ and ‘Bricks & Pieces’… all I’ll say is that you would be wise to have a good look at both before you order anything!

In hindsight, I could have saved a bit, but that’s inevitable considering how Bricklink works. In particular some of the postage costs from Europe were really expensive, so if you’re in the UK I’d try to source locally whenever possible. Also, I had to make several tiny orders to finish it for a couple of reasons: i) I’d planned to buy 3 lots from one seller (at a rather ridiculous price, if I’m being honest) but it was closed when I went to order them, so I ended up having to go to 4 other stores, doh! Actually, it wasn’t too bad as I ended up grabbing some cheap parts that I’d otherwise ordered from TLG . However, I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise to the sellers for such feeble orders, the shame of it! Also ii) I found that 10 parts I'd planned to order from TLG's 'Bricks & Pieces’ site weren’t available anymore, so I had to search for them elsewhere…

Anyway, I’ll post another update when all of the parts have arrived, but basically it’s still possible to do this if you’re debating it (and have sufficient time and motivation!).

Cheers, Robin

[Robianco]

Damnit!!! Reading that last post has really made me want to put one of these beasts together.

I think I'd like to make one with the engine mod to the rear as I think that actually looks better than the original 10179.

I'm almost tempted to message you for help in breaking down the set and how best to order!

I see a divorce looming.

[Lobot]

Hi Robianco

Just let me know if you want any help with it, although I don't want to be mentioned in the divorce papers...

[H_Solo]

I think it is still very possible to BL the Falcon for a reasonable price (did the same thing November/December last year...) ended up paying about 800-900 € and did some Changes to the model as well (mod engines, radardish and some additional piping)

It's a fantastc build and anyone thinking about doing it should give it a shot!

[unhappyeeyore]

I've got a fab Bricklinked 10179 for sale if anyone wants one. Needs to go to a good home to fund next project.

Usual replacement parts - additional parts added to give it a different feel. i.e. Chewie upgrades

Photos etc available on request.

Asking £1000 (inc delivery to UK address via 24hr courier)

[dwong]

I've got a fab Bricklinked 10179 for sale if anyone wants one. Needs to go to a good home to fund next project.

Usual replacement parts - additional parts added to give it a different feel. i.e. Chewie upgrades

Photos etc available on request.

Asking £1000 (inc delivery to UK address via 24hr courier)

Interesting, may ask what are the "usual replacement parts"?

What is the total weight?

[dwong]

*snip*

Hi Lobot,

How did you break up the orders, what's the rule?

The software is only able to match 5 stores