Haynes Millennium Falcon Owners' Workshop Manual

With a total understanding of how to fly Thunderbird 2, maintain a Klingon Bird of Prey, differentiate between incarnations of the USS Enterprise, it seemed only right to look at one of Haynes' classic sci-fi manuals. 

At the end of the year Haynes will be releasing their Death Star manual but there has already been one Star Wars manual on the iconic Millennium Falcon. In true style I have already bought the t-shirt, watched the movies and built the Lego model so reading and reviewing this seemed like the logical final chapter.

Focusing on the history and features of the Millennium Falcon from its original building by the Corellian Engineering Corporation (CEC) to its involvement in the final battle of the rebellion seen in Return of the Jedi it is probably the most detailed fictional volume in the range.

I'm not saying that this lessens the quality or impact of the Star Trek or Thunderbirds volumes but that this is a book packed to the spine and page edges with information and detail like no other. Now I'm not a hard-core star Wars fan so a lot of the detail here is new to myself outside of the three classic trilogy films. Luckily Ryder Windham, Chris Reiff and Chris Trevas have provided a detailed introduction to both CEC and the YT-series even to later models which followed the YT-1300. I didn't appreciate a lot about the design and evolution of the series but this effectively filled in a massive gap in my knowledge of the subject. What becomes very quickly evident is how much beyond those three films there is JUST in regards to this one ship which in itself is one part of one segment of the story. 

While I knew it was an old ship this manual opens up its immense backstory as well as highlighting previous owners and the range of improvements that were made through its long active service life. It was certainly eventful and through the inclusion of all the stories here you can see how the Star Wars universe takes on board all the additions that various authors have added since the 1970's.  There's even a footnote at the end indicating that there's much more to the story of the Corellian freighter following the destruction of the second Death Star over Endor.

Once we've understood this extensive timeline as well as how Han Solo, Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian fit into the story, we're into the detail and the technicalities of the ship. From piloting the freighter we're taken through a journey which covers every aspect of the operation of the Millennium Falcon with each area split into distinctive sections; Propulsion, Weapons & Defensive Systems, Engineering Systems, Sensors and Crew Facilities topped off with a handy comparison chart of the ship against both Rebel and Imperial vessels from the period of the Episodes IV to VI. What gets me is how much is crammed in. Not only is there informative text which relates each section to the incidents that we would know from the movies but also to the history of the Falcon and then to the keyed illustrations which are plentiful throughout. Some are cutaways such as the one above which is also featured on the cover of the Workshop Manual while others deal specifically with a piece of technology or a control console within the cockpit. As with the Klingon Bird of Prey, each system is broken down into components and then its function and the way in which it works explained as completely as possible.

To the casual fan such as myself it's a treasure trove of information about the Millennium Falcon that marks it as an absolutely essential purchase because of just how much has been built into its history and operation. Everything has a purpose within the story and for me one of the highlights was the historical section on the YT variants produced by CEC as well as how the YT-1300 modules meant that it was a ship that could be custom fitted. Indeed, a lot of custom-fitting took place under her future owners and it's these little additions that make the book ever so real; the throwaway lines, the aside comments and the keyed items that might seem insignificant or have never been used, but have been thought about and included when detailing the freighter. Nicely each of the sections regarding the functions aboard is opened with text "taken directly" from CEC marketing catalogues and technical manuals, communiques or books of the Imperial Fleet. This of course adds impact to the universe that the ship and her long chain of crew exist within but like previous editions of the Haynes "fictional" manuals (particularly the Klingon Bird of Prey) it balances on a point and doesn't clearly sit on one side or another. It's a fine line and I actually think a difficult one to walk if you want to be encompassing to fans of all knowledge levels and passion. To compare, the Enterprise manual was very much set from the present day and fictional universe perspective which forgave the stills used because it knew it was an informative book rather than historical and technical as here.

For example, while there are superb, detailed drawings of the ship and her features, they are accompanied by pictures from the films so it never truly sits within the fictional world of George Lucas or the "real" universe of the saga. The images in some respects play against the text and diagrams and certainly for more hard-core Star Wars fans this might be a distraction. For more casual readers it does however help put things into perspective and allow you to refer to where these items are seen within the movies - there's a lot to look out for on your next viewing I can assure you!


For those of you who are die hard fans - you probably already own this and if not, you more than likely have an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject however for the detailed drawings and keyed diagrams of the interiors of the ship, her systems and features, I would still recommend this manual.  It is nothing if comprehensive and will look very nice on your shelf alongside the Death Star Manual when it gets released.

My only real niggle with the Millennium Falcon manual is that the techie stuff can get quite heavy after a while.  One hundred and twenty-three pages might not sound a lot but when you're trying to understand the ins and outs of the hyperdrive it can get a bit hard going. To help out though, the illustrations are a big benefit and relating components to events that have happened through the ship's lifetime mean there is something for you to visualise and comprehend how the ship has evolved - it's certainly not box fresh by any standard. Getting to know what caused alterations and how the Millennium Falcon has changed under various owners really brings it to life. The book does help answer some questions about the ship and did for me personally - I now understand why she's the shape she is within the Star Wars universe (aside from the fact that the film designers made her look that way), what the dish on the top is for, what the two "prongs" at the front do and where all the sets we see within the trilogy exist within the hull. While on larger vessels this might be a problem, the small size of the Falcon allows this book to cover just about every aspect and every corner. 

While I've mentioned already the area that still leaves me a bit undecided with the use of film pictures versus diagrams and narrative as though "really" in the Star Wars universe, there were a lot of highlights and I certainly feel enlightened and a more aware of the amount of detail and attention paid to the franchise. One of those little gems is the history of the Millennium Falcon and the picture on page 30 of the vessel under the name of Staellar Convoy, docking on Coruscant. This was a much talked about shot during Revenge of the Sith and its inclusion is a nice pay-off especially for those of us who failed to spot it even though we were told the freighter made a blink-and-miss guest appearance. Clearly there is a big picture and a single story that is adhered to; each piece has its own story and somehow it all links back together. A great read for fans of all understandings from Youngling learner right through to Galactic Emperor. Not only that, but a good warm-up read ahead of the imminent Haynes Death Star release....

The Millennium Falcon Owners' Workshop Manual is available from Haynes priced £14.99. ISBN 9780857330963

Images contained above courtesy of Haynes

Lego Star Wars: Building the Falcon

As you will come to appreciate from either this blog, The Commentary... or Some Kind of Star Trek, I'm a bit of a big kid when it comes to anything sci-fi/geek related.

I'm almost thinking that this review could do with an Alcoholics Anonymous introduction but in reality it's not something I'm going to be weened off anytime soon and that's why I've chosen to talk about the latest - and long overdue - addition to my Lego Star Wars collection which has been steadily growing since the late 1990's. To help you get a better feel for the model I've included some larger than usual photos to save you squinting!

First of all, let's have a short interlude:

This is purely to give you an idea of the scale of this Lego monster. How well did I open and close the roof segments? Oscar performance, no doubt yet it does give a good impression of how easy it is to get into and close up the outer hull. Just watch the central back and central front panels go down in the right order!

Ok, serious now; I've waited a long time to get my hands on the Millennium Falcon and this is the third version that Lego have released since 2000. The first was based on A New Hope (7190) and had a single plastic removable lid (urgh). The second version, this time updated to The Empire Strikes Back (4504) placed the legendary ship on Hoth with a special Han Solo snow figure and Snowtroopers to boot. The lid was in segments and the interior nicely detailed - even the entry ramp could be lowered through a quirky little pull and push mechanism in one of the side ports. A good friend of mine had this one and it was a smart chunk of kit especially due to the link in with Episode V. Oh yes - there's the massive 3000+ piece Collector's Edition ship as well but as that's not in what I would class as the "affordable" range I'm omitting it from this discussion.

Box art for set 7965

What we're looking at here is Version 3.0; a new A New Hope edition (apologies - bit of a mouthful there) featuring the Clone Wars packaging from the 2011/2012 range. At best guess it took about four to five hours to complete with 100 steps over two booklets of around 160 pages taking you from brick to end result. The only thing I would say here is that the instructions could do with noting how many "Step 1" or "Step 2" bags there are rather than just pointing out that you have reached the next point in the process. To be fair I'm not sure if telling you which bags are needed is a good thing as half the fun with Lego is trying to find the accursed brick at the bottom of the box/tray/bowl you're using to store everything in during construction. I'm still not comfortable with the additional feature of each stage telling you what you require (very much like 1980's Technic) but it does avoid the embarrassing moment at stage 84 when it dawns on you that the black flat six you're now holding was an essential part of the structural supports back in stage 12.

Note the landing legs, missiles and ramp - and Vader!

That said, the instructions are clear, logical and should be straight-forward for any builder to follow - even chunky-fingered 33 year old ones. The only bits that get a bit repetitive (understandably) are building the sections for the folding roof panels and the edging at the back of the Falcon. Don't be concerned though as it's all worth it in the end. I'd also note that in comparison to the Imperial Star Destroyer kit (6211) from a few years back, this is much sturdier in construction and won't crumble to pieces when you touch the underside. Additionally the base is supported by four small landing legs which allow you to deploy the boarding ramp so our heroes can escape from Mos Eisley...or the Death Star. As you can possibly just see on the picture to the left, there are also four small "missiles" (red spots) prepped under the hull. They clip in so no worries about them slipping out when the ship is airborne!

While I've compared, possibly harshly, the construction of the Star Destroyer to the Falcon, it's interesting to note that a good portion of the early steps is taken with firming up the underside of the model before you go on to build the interior. Good move, Lego; hope this is a sign of what you will carry through if you ever decide to update the Imperial battleship. 

Note the positions of the internal features

It has to be said that the method in the instructions is irrefutable and at no point was I left wondering where the odd brick was supposed to be placed. There are a few extra bits rolling about in the box at the end but they're additional single brick lights and control sticks mainly in case any decide to do a fateful disappearing act when you're attempting to navigate the odd asteroid field to evade Imperial spacecraft.

Figure-wise we're presented with new editions of Han Solo, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker. While the Han and Leia figures simply have costume redresses, the Skywalker mini-fig has a reversible head, switching him from farmboy Luke to light-saber training Luke complete with visor and helmet. Alongside them we also have a robed Obi-Wan Kenobi, Chewbacca  and Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. Only shame - could have done with a C3-PO and an R2-D2 to complete the crew which then beggars the question as to why we really needed Vader in here. 

Just room for two at the controls

"Farmboy" Luke at the gunner controls - turret at the side

Let's take a closer look inside the kit itself. This new edition has a wealth of features and I really loved some of the final finishing touches more than anything on the outer hull. Besides providing budding ship-builders with some extra stickers to mark up their craft, Lego dusted the ship with grills, vents, a radar dish and electric blue rear engine - which all add to a great building experience. I would add here that the engine "hose" piece can be a pain to fit as it only just reaches around the exterior to the two fixing points where it is required to attach to the hull. Don't get frustrated at this time, it will go!

Looking in comparison to the older 4504 model, there are some slight changes and updates. While you don't get the drop ramp feature you gain the removable gun turret (pictured right) with seating for two mini-figs - useful to fend off TIE Fighters from above or below and a nice addition piece that I didn't expect - but that's just one little bit of the whole Millennium Falcon experience. Also this model is slightly longer with a couple of extra brick rows added to the two forward "prongs" and some detail changes on the upper hull sections. Nothing massive and unless you stuck them side by side you probably wouldn't be aware. Technically as this is modelled on Episode IV, it's the "older" version of course! 

Computers, smuggling hold and games area

The protruding cockpit will take both Han and Chewbacca although it is a staggered seating arrangement. The canopy is easily removed from two clips to place or remove your mini-figs. It's one of the last sections to build and is an easy clip on piece to the main hull. Moving a little further back the hull sections swing outward (as per the introductory video) and here we have some great interior features. At the front and facing toward the central section is a bank of computers which can be manned by two characters. Beside that are seats for four mini-figs to battle over the holographic chess-style game featured in A New Hope (see picture right) when the ship is escaping from Tattooine. Straight in front of that is the concealed smuggling bay. Directly opposite the boarding hatch this will stow away a single figure however getting them back out is exceptionally fiddly considering there is a section of fixed roof right above it. Turning this ship over to try and free Leia from her hiding place is not an option for anyone of a young age due to the weight of the Falcon - but then smaller fingers might not need to go to that extreme!

Luke in the training bay - note ramp to the right

Moving to the rear of the ship there are beds for two of the crew to rest between shifts right next to the hyperdrive unit. In comparison to the engine in The Empire Strikes Back version of the ship this is a less detailed model and not removable. Not a deal breaker but it would have been nice to have left this feature onboard - as opposed to the removal of the automated ramp in respect of the gun turret it didn't affect another feature. However what we do get directly behind the cockpit is a small area for "Ben" Kenobi to begin training young Skywalker. Complete with droid and blaster-shield helmet he'll make a Jedi of Luke yet! Great to have another A New Hope specific feature within the model. I was very impressed that Lego have gone to the lengths of making it as canon as possible to the original movie.

Rear view - engine "hose" fitted to the two blue blocks

As you can see from the image here there is also a handy toolbox just in case that hyperdrive needs a talking to and there are several other clip points around the ship to hang a blaster when all hands are needed at the controls to repel an Imperial attack. Nicely Chewbacca even gets to have his bowcaster in this set and there are enough tools and lightsabers to go around. There is a bit of "wasted" space just behind the cockpit although what could have been done with it is anyone's guess (check the instruction diagram earlier) as it's not needed for access to the flight controls.

Up above - hull details are just enough

This is one of the three largest kits that I now own alongside the Imperial Star Destroyer and the Republic Cruiser (7665) from The Phantom Menace. It's definitely the most impressive kit I've built and nowhere near as fiddly as the other two were at stages of their construction. It's not an essential addendum but if you want to drop it back in the box it will easily fit for storage with the legs and upper and lower gun turrets removed. Lego have done a great job here with the model, providing excellent detail, some quirky tweaks to the included mini-figs and an excellent finish to what is undoubtedly one of their trademark Star Wars kits. It is large and can be heavy for children to move so just be aware of that when you purchase however it is exceptional and a worthy addition to any collection. The only thing that might put you off is the price. 

Due to the licencing (I suspect) the whole of the Star Wars range has always seemed a bit higher in cost than any other Lego products so I would expect you to pay over £100 for the Millennium Falcon from Amazon and that's a good price. Overall a sound recommendation to buy but it could damage your wallet a little more than you might have planned!