I check in to the Bradford Exchange website from time to time just to see if their “Get Me Out of Here” diorama is released in the UK. They can be pretty random in what they release and I often have conflicting thoughts on their stuff. On the one hand, I find them quite tacky and on the other, I just can’t resist them and find them surprisingly enjoyable. Last time they surprised my with their 3d wall sculpture, this time they’ve surprised me with their Rebel Alliance watch.
I have a few watches in my collection now, but i’m finding this one to be quite handsome. I like the dark blue casing and the exposed mechanics, although i’d never wear it.
The watch is £150 plus postage and comes with a 120 day guarantee. I have no idea whether these are limited to a specific edition size, although previous edition sizes are high and often around the 10k mark.
Regal Robot have been producing high quality Star Wars items for some time now. Mostly niche items, such as home decor and prop replicas of concept designs. I’ve been quietly watching them for a while now, but as yet, they’ve not produced anything that fits into my collection. This week they gave a sneak peek into their Dejarik figures which will be made available on Star Wars Day (May the Fourth) and will run until 18th June, after which pre-orders will close and the edition size capped.
Eight figurines will be available in 4 twin packs. There is also a deluxe “Signature Edition” which comes with 10 figurine and plaques with the signatures of the animators for this sequence, Phil Tippett and Jon Berg as well as the Cinematographer, Dennis Muran. The exclusive will be limited to an edition size of only 77 and I expect them to go very quickly.
There is no information as yet on how much these will be sold for, but i expect a hefty sum, perhaps as high as $5, 000 or more for the signature edition. Unfortunately, Regal Robot doesn’t ship outside of the US, so getting these to the UK is going to be difficult, if not impossible.
It kind of explains why the X-Plus series of Dejarik figures disappeared so quickly. More images will be made available on April 27th. Sign up to the Regal Robot newsletter for more information, or follow them on Instagram. I’ll post more then.
A bit late, so please accept my apologies. Regal Robot released details on pricing along with some more photos of the painted sculpts and it is very promising. There are four, two pack sets for purchase between $800. The larger sized Mentellian Savrip and Kintan Strider pack is $1200.
The Signature Edition is a very reasonable $4800 and a flex pay option is available ($700 down payment and 7 further instalments of $602.76 each month) and comes with two exclusive concept figurines and figures that were not seen in the movie.
The signature plates have also been signed already, so once you’ve paid, they should ship very quickly.
I tried to get the exclusive, but they sold out within 45 minutes. Bugger! Still the four twin packs are still available until 08/0621.
It’s been a week of pin collecting. I bought this enamel pin from the NetherwayWorkshop on Etsy. It’s a nice enough pin on first glance, but there is more.
Never Tell Me the Odds
The Millennium Falcon is removable and I love the way that the designer has also inlaid the asteroid field part of the pin with the Falcon deck layout and the legend “Never Tell Me The Odds”. A very nice touch in my opinion. I also like the inclusion of a tiny background Star Destroyer on the badge too.
The pin was about $25 (£18.22 plus shipping, plus tax to the UK) and well worth it, in my opinion. It’s a lovely design. I bought two so that i could display both parts together.
The Falcon on this pin is 0.75″ by 1.15″ and the background pin is 1.4″ by 2.25″.
These arrived yesterday and i would totally recommend as they are lovely and surprisingly large.
I’m not quite sure if this set of coins celebrating US front line service personnel has a name, but I think that are pretty cool. Each one is a metal sculpt of the Millennium Falcon laced with a coloured stripe. There’s a Han and Chewie image on the flip side. There are several versions and each one denotes a different emergency service.
Thin Blue Line (Police)Thin Red Line (Fire)Thin Grey Line (Prison)Thin Green Line (Ambulance)
There is also a Thin Pink Line for Breast Cancer, too.
Thin Pink Line (Breast Cancer)
I bought mine on Etsy and there was also a “Thin Gold Line” coin that I hadn’t seen before which represents the 911 Dispatchers.
I think that the Falcon looks quite nicely sculpted and will trying and get a complete set.
Another interesting find in my search for challenge and geocache coins was this “Staff of RA” Millennium Falcon coin by Utah Challenge Coins. Created in both a Matte Gold and Antique Gold looks, the coin mashes together the staff of Ra from Raiders of the Lost Ark into the body of the Millennium Falcon. An interesting choice, which I actually think works really well.
Matte Gold FinishAntique Gold Finish
I think that the details really pop on the Antique version and I’ll get two so I can display both the front and the back of the coin.
Alas, the matte Gold version has sold out, but the antique gold coin is still available and is only $17. Each coin is 2.5″ and has a 6mm red jewel embedded in the eye.
I’d seen the Millennium Falcon Mega Mag in Mike Demaine‘s collection but never really saw them for sale anywhere. Fortunately, I was able to nab one from ebay. With shipping and import taxes, it cost me twice the asking price, but I think it’s worth it to add another vintage item to my collection.
Millennium Falcon Mega Mag
Released by ATA Boy for the Special Editions in 1996, the magnet is made from a soft PVC or plastic material that’s magnetised on the back. It’s roughly 10″ by 8″. It’s a great item and I’m really glad I bought it.
Recently, I’ve been looking for more “Challenge” coins from the US Military and Police services and have co0me across a few interesting coins. The first (and my favourite) is this really nice Millennium Falcon Police badge style challenge coin for the Escambia State Police in Florida.
The coin looks nicely sculpted and I’d hazard a guess that it’s maybe 5″ by 3″
Sadly, it looks like this could be a very rare item and I wasn’t able to find out any information about it at all. I could only find this photo, which appears to be from an old ebay sale.
So, after looking at books and artwork showcasing cross sections of the Falcon, it’s only fair that we take a look at the merchandise. To my knowledge, there isn’t that much that can truly be called “Cross Section”, but there are a few.
I’ll start with my favourite collectible, the Attakus Millennium Falcon and Death Star Hall diorama.
Released under the Attakus Metal brand in 2005, at the same time as Master Replicas’s Studio Scale Millennium Falcon model, it never really stood a chance. At nearly two metres long and weighing nearly a quarter of a ton, it is an absolute beast and it’s a rare collector that has that kind of room and this must surely rate as one of the most ambitious collectibles ever. At the time, I rather wisely decided to go for the MR Falcon but I lusted after this for ten years before I was finally able to get one.
The detailing is exquisite but for the price being asked (2,400 Euros plus shipping), I think the decision not to include some lighting probably hurt their sales somewhat and it’s a shame that this was not a success. This was the first in a line of dioramas due to showcase a key scene in each film, in this case, A New Hope and the lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader.
The Empire Strikes Back would have been Luke’s training on Dagobah and a prototype was made, (Complete with submerged X-Wing and Yoda’s hut), but never made it to production.
Prototype for the ESB Diorama
The diorama came in 3 parts (Death Star Hall, the hanger base and the Millennium Falcon itself and shipped on a pallet. Limited to an edition size of only 400, there where also 13 figurines to collect separately. Each of the figurines had a larger edition size of 2500. Attakus have always received a lot of criticism for the likenesses on the human figurines, (which is off), but the troopers, Vader and the droids were great.
There were also two “exclusive” figurines, (Luke in the Stormtrooper disguise for the Falcon and the Mouse Droid for the Death Star Hall), which were redeemable with certificates enclosed with the diorama. Attakus promised to fulfill the exclusives, but only sent a few of them out, so they are both rare and are massive “grail” items for me.
I don’t think the figures made their full production run either, as I had a really hard time tracking down the Leia and Han Solo figurines. I did enjoy collecting them, though, and tracking Leia down and adding her to my collection was a lot of fun.
I must confess that I was slightly disappointed that Attakus chose not to sculpt other figures associated with this scene, such as Stormtroopers at attention or the scanning crew, as you’re limited in your diorama options. I always swore that were I to win the lottery, I’d commission Attakus to complete the rest of the Falcon. It’s a piece that deserves to be showcased and if I can make room, I’ll get an acrylic cover for it. Even now, 16 years on, I still get quite a few hits each month for this wonderful, if impractical piece. Bravo, Attakus.
Probably the most well known example of a Millennium Falcon cutaway is AMT/Ertl’s model kit (model 8789). Released in 1996, it could very well have been the basis for Brian Sauriol‘s cutaway painting. I didn’t have one of these at the time, which is just as well, as I would’ve butchered it. I have one now, though.
I don’t have the skills to do this model justice and I’m happy just to have one anyway. There are some great examples of pro built and painted models on hobby sites such as Starship Modeler. Incidentally, I’ve always adored the cover art on this kit. Does anyone know who the artist is?
I’m not sure whether this belongs here, but i think it’s cool and i like it. Thinkgeek had some weird and wonderful ideas for collectibles and one of their nicest is a set of coasters. Each coaster had a separate system, or level on it and when placed on top of each other, made a blueprint of the Falcon.
It’s of the ST Falcon and i would’ve loved an OT one. Still, I liked it enough to buy two so that I can use a set. Unfortunately, Alas, Thinkgeek is no more, but you can still buy these for around $20 Earth monies at places like Amazon or ebay. Get as set, they’re lovely.
I’ve been following QMX with some interest as their Firefly and Serenity line of collectibles has been beautiful. They released a cutaway model of the Serenity and i always hoped they’d be able to do the Falcon. At the 2016 SDCC, they showcased their take of the cutaway Millennium Falcon and it can only be described as as stunning.
QMX Prototype
It had a removable top saucer and was displayed on a nice landing platform style base. It was filled with wonderful details, such s Han Solo’s unspent reward from A New Hope, (which can be seen in a smuggling compartment near the ramp.) It was a very detailed piece and I remember reading speculations on how much it would end up costing us on the Rebelscum forums. I think we all put it around the $3, 000 mark. I would’ve paid it, too.
I’d hazard a guess that it’s about two feet long and I cannot see any lighting.
Alas, a prototype only, it never made it to production. (I suspect they wanted to keep the quality high for a mass produced market for a decent price.) Hopefully, QMX will return to this when things get better.
I’ve deliberately chosen not to include the DeAgostini “Build the Millennium Falcon” part work here. I feel it isn’t really a cutaway, although it does have internal sections and I have always seen it as more of a Studio Scale model.I’m not sure what other items of merchandise can be included in this post. Please let me know of any suggestions.
This rather festive Gingerbread Millennium Falcon pin was released for Christmas 2020 and has a sort of gold sparkle about it. I also think the Tie fighters are very well done as they genuinely look like gingerbread.
I’m not overly into the holidays, but I think this is a really nice pin. Approximately 2″ square.
