Falcon Rebuild Diary · Part 1

A long-forgotten Millennium Falcon returns to the bench. This is the beginning of a long rebuild — from dust and oxidation, back to life, one part at a time.

2025/05/13

Picking Up Where It Was Left Behind

DeToyz Journal — May 2025

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Abandoned DeAgostini Millennium Falcon model covered in dust and corrosion

So, this Millennium Falcon?

Yeah — it wasn’t mine. It belonged to a friend.

He had been quietly building it at my workshop, issue by issue, following the DeAgostini kit.

One part at a time. No heavy mods. Just clean, straightforward assembly.

Then the pandemic hit.

Everything stopped.

The build got stuck somewhere around issue 80.

And from then on… the Falcon just sat there.

Silent. Dusty. Completely forgotten.

A while ago, I asked him (half-joking):

“Want me to finish it for you?”

He laughed and said, “Sure. Just keep it simple — I’m not asking for magic.”

But of course, he knows me too well.

“Just don’t take five more years,” he added.

I smiled. No promises.

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Once I took a closer look at the model, I realized what I was really getting into:

Dust, thick enough to qualify as insulation

Millennium Falcon cockpit module before restoration, full of dust

Battery leaks and aluminum parts with white powder oxidation

Oxidized battery compartment and damaged parts inside Millennium Falcon

Warped wires, dried glue, missing magnets
Decals peeling off like autumn leaves
And a whole lot of “What even is this?” moments

DeAgostini Millennium Falcon model stored in dusty condition before rebuild, peel off stickers

The cockpit, though fully assembled, had aged badly. Stickers peeled, battery acid left traces, and wires were still dangling in the back. This is where the rebuild begins.

Basically — it was a mess.

But hey, this is a studio-scale Millennium Falcon.

You don’t just let something like that fade away.

You rebuild it. You bring it back.

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To be honest, I haven’t touched a Star Wars model in years.

Most of my recent builds were Gunpla and sci-fi kits.

But this Falcon?

It kind of pulled me back to where I started.

And now here we are — back at square one.

But with more experience. And a bit more stubbornness.

This rebuild is going to take time.

It’s not a small model. It’s not a simple job.

And I’ve already made peace with the fact that I’ll mess up along the way.

But I’m going to document everything.

The good, the bad, the “why did I glue that there?”

All of it.

If you’re curious how this turns out — stick around.

And if you want updates, feel free to subscribe to the newsletter.

Plenty more coming.

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(This entry was originally posted in June 2024 on my old blog, and updated here for the Journal.)

— Chong

DeToyz Journal · 2025.05.13