The mandibles I glued, because there's no reason to take them apart. I was going to magnetize the front lights in place so those could be pulled out easily if need be.

But I think I just found my ideal solution. Just got back from Hobby Lobby and bout this extremely thin (maybe .25mm) peel and stick on magnet sheet. Easy to cut. I'm waiting for my next pack (24) to get in which has the side panels, but I think this will work out really well. HOPEFULLY.

I too have glued the mandible side pieces in and magnetised the front light section. Again I am using small round disc magnets similar to the ones supplied with the detachable hull section for the side panels, for maintenance purposes should I need too. I have also used them in the turret, so it's easily detachable to show the inner workings I've made. I have magnetic tape, but found the small disc easier to use.

So I got more done to my display table.



I have now purchased a gloss black plexi piece for the top that I cut to size. I then glued a sheet of 3/4" wood which I painted the edges of, black, and attached to the bottom of the plexi.








I then ran a strip of RGB LED around the bottom of the plexi along the edge of the wood.








I also have colored switches that I've attached to the front edge on either side of the monitor to turn on the table lights, Falcon lights, monitor, etc.



So here we have an almost completed table. All that will be needed after this is a glass case to cover the Falcon once completed. So far, turning out like I had originally planned from my concept on my first post in the forum.

Ya, that table is fantastic. Great job.

Well, one more little thing knocked off my list of additions to the kit. I got my first (oops 2nd, first was the nav chair) 3D printed piece. The cockpit door. I've been trying to stay away from 3D printed stuff and make my own where I can, but I didn't just want the door sticker. So I painted the door, added a couple red fibers to it and there ya go. It's interesting, to the eye, the door just looks like gray metal, but the camera picks up flecks in the paint.

On to the next additions. I don't want to post anything on it until I've completed it. But I think it's gonna be really nice.

Very nice Chris, coming together very nicely.

Been a while since I've done any updates. Still chugging along. A little upset, cause I've been waiting on pack 25 for 3 months now. They're still on backorder.

Anyway, just designed and figured out how I'm going to mount my Falcon.



So I started out with a piece of 1/4" thick by 1" wide aluminum. Using a miter saw, I then cut it down to size to fit over the center ring of the bottom hull frame and filed down the rough edges.















I then placed the cut piece over the circular frame and marked where I was going to drill and screw it down.


















I then used the drill through the holes of my plate to drill into the Falcon frame and then used a 4-40 tap
so that my plate could be screwed down to the frame.


















And a test fitting.










Next up, I got a rod of 1" diameter ABS (same diameter as the center gunner port window frame). I cut off a piece approximately 3/8" thick. Kinda like a little hockey puck.


















Then drilled out the center of the disc and tapped it for a 1/4" standard camera mount screw.



















And the disc fits nice and snug under the aluminum plate I attached to the frame.














So now I drill through the plate and into the disc so that I can screw them together for a solid attachment.




















Then reattach the plate to the frame...











Then screwed the camera mount that I got into the disc through the gunner window. The plastic ring of the camera
mount securely pinches the window frame between itself and the disc so I now have good support of the part itself,
as well as plenty of strength to support the model because of the aluminum plate being attached to the frame of the Falcon.
I actually did a bit of testing while holding the model by the camera mount and tipping back and forth, slightly shaking, etc., and it is very secure and strong.














I was trying to design a way to mount the Falcon with the most unobtrusive mounting I could, leaving as much of the model exposed for viewing, without doing any cutting or drilling into any of the parts. And the mount has a tilt pan head, so I can have the Falcon slightly tipped and angled upward for a flying motion.

Great solution! Very elegant. It's the one part of this kit that seems poorly designed - displaying the Falcon in flight. The supplied TV stand looks terribly clunky. You've found a great way around the problem - looking forward to seeing how it looks when complete.

Very nicely done! Looks like a cool solution to the stand problem!

Looks great Colson.I know many studio scale modelers use the camera mounts for their models.I have one for my Y wing.

FYI month 25 should be shipping shortly.


Carl