Millennium Falcon Build
This is one of Devin's favorite builds. It is a blending of two of his hobbies, model making and guitars. Devin is a huge Star Wars fan and grew up watching, playing with and building Star Wars toys and models.
Devin has actually made two of these Falcon guitars. The first was with a model he started as a teenager but never finished. The model was an AMT/ERTL model that was originally released in 1999, but repackaged and sold again in 2005 and 2006.
The first guitar conversion of that model was build number 43 and was strictly fretless, but it proved the concept. Devin was able to figure out how to light the model when the jack was plugged in and how to rig up a hidden pickup beneath the model's shell. Surprisingly, the hardest part of the build was getting the model itself to stay clamped shut! These models aren't the best at fitting together correctly, and since he built half of the model as a teen, he didn't really do a great job at putting it together!
The empty top shell.
The bottom half of the model with lighting and batteries installed.
The internal wooden structure to support the neck.
Both halves together clamped around the body and neck.
Adding the "fretboard" This guitar was always planned on being fretless, so the fretboard doesn't actually have frets.
The final product.
Number 43 was a fun project and a great proof of concept, but there were a lot of things Devin would have loved to do differently. Firstly, the model itself had damage and wasn't well put together, after all it was in storage for over 15 years... Being fretless, it was easier to get away with not being precise about the string action, but Devin was never satisfied with the look of the bolt used for the nut.
This project would be slated as a "keeper," and won't be for sale... But, when Devin came across a reasonably priced factory sealed re-issue of the same model he knew he had to try and improve upon the design!
Take 2: #126
The second version used a factory sealed brand new model. This meant that Devin could take more time in building the model with the planning in mind to specifically tailor the build towards the goal of making a guitar.
The first step was gluing and painting.
The finished fretboard. Our skills have definitely improved after 83 builds between these two! Devin didn't want to take the easy way out and make this version fretless. The goal was to build a fretted, four string guitar this time. This fretboard was made using maple that was scorched with a torch before fretting. The fret markers are simply drilled lightly through the scorched top. What resulted was one of the finest fretboards we've ever put together!
Before the final touches of paint.
After painting and weathering.
The Case
Knowing how fragile a plastic model can be, we knew we'd need to build this guitar a custom case if we planned on bringing it to our shows. Using plywood, insulation foam, and some velvet fabric we built a case that would protect the guitar in transit as well as double as a display for the guitar.
Sold!
We have now sold this guitar, but keep an eye out in the future for our other star wars inspired builds!
Falcon v3.0
We took another crack at building a four string falcon guitar as a commission, but they were very interested in having us add sound effects. After much experimentation we were able to create the perfect guitar for the customer. Using a tiny programmable sound effects card we were able to add in a bunch of sound effects and quotes from the movie! Unfortunately we couldn't get them to play through the amp while it was plugged in... but we did add a SWEET lighted fretboard to the mix! Check it out:
The popcorn bucket revolution
We love these Millennium Falcon 3 and 4 string guitars... but the old revel model kit is not only a PAIN to work with, its also getting rarer and more expensive. Not to mention it's incredibly fragile once completed. Devin was doing some searching for possible alternatives when he stumbled upon an adequate solution; a souvenir popcorn bucket from the Disney parks! It's not as detailed as the model, and it has the sequel trilogy radar dish... but it's a clamshell two part mold held together by screws and it's only slightly smaller than the model kit that lended itself to be much more rugged. In the image sets below you can see the work in progress shots on the left, and the finished product on the right. Notice how plain the stock souvenir is and how much better it looks with a quick weathering paint job!