Hot Toys Millenium Falcon Cockpit

[Auel]

Just from the packaging alone, it's clear this team has access to advanced production facilities. From the outer shipping box, to printed art sleeve and the interior styrofoam tray, these are all things that are not just hand-made in someone's garage.

It's clear it's not 3D printed. You'd need an absolutely massive printer to create an item of this size, and the clean-up of the parts would be an extremely time-intensive endeavor. Watching this video I posted earlier, when the owner shows the broken parts, it looks a lot like polystone to me.

I used to work for a 1/6 manufacturer and we made a few polystone dioramas and statues. We were a small-scale operation, it was two of us working out of the owner's home. He would contract out the actual sculpt to artists found on ArtStation, and we'd send the files to a factory in China, and the owner would arrange the production with a factory. I'd do what most people consider 'art direction' and/or QC. I'd send the factory reference materials on how we wanted the finished product to look. The factory would send us a sample, and I'd photograph it and photoshop in changes and work with the factory to fix it, or if it was good as is, I'd take promo photography, and get all our promotional materials ready for our website and send the info to retailers. Once the product was finished, I'd arrange the inbound logistics and overnight a check to our freight forwarder and they'd truck the product from the Oakland port to our 'warehouse' which was a storage unit a few miles away. I would print out shipping labels, slap them on boxes, and then drive them over the the local UPS store. All that to say, you'd be surprised by what two people can accomplish, though it's fair to say it was more than just two of us working on these products.

I'm not passing judgement on it because it was made in a 'factory' as opposed to 'hand-made', I just think people are forgiving major problems because it's 'hand-crafted by two people' when it's clear that is not the case.

It's awesome that this was made, it's just unfortunate that it has as many issues as it does.

You'd need an absolutely massive printer to create an item of this size


No you don't, you can join parts with glue or acetone then with resin to create a base mold.

Now you're just assuming stuffs and discrediting whatever they are doing. What for?

 

[TurdFurgusonsHat]

If there's something you want and no other companies makes it.

I mean go for it if you have the cash, but you have to know that it's done by a fan that's fulfilling another fan's dream.

I have the Justice Mobile on order, and I wouldn't cancel it even with all these new problems arising. Because I knew no one else would have the capabilities or have a backing that's so supportive on creating the product to be as accurate as it can be.

So it's really each on it's own.

You think it's worth your money, buy it. Just because someone say it's **** that it changes your mindset.

Email him, cancel it. Let someone else who wanted it more have it.

Let be clear, I'm not trying to be overly critical. I think that the cockpit looks nice. I like Joost and greatly appreciate the stuff I have from him. I agree that without him some stuff that I have and love would not have been possible. And I don't have to cancel anything, as I said in my post I didn't order the cockpit. I was just being honest about my own experiences as they relate to the YouTube review in question.

 

[SwedishHeat]

No you don't, you can join parts with glue or acetone then with resin to create a base mold.

There are no seam lines on the hull except for the obvious joins. It's clear it was not cast in smaller parts. Even if it was, with something of that size, you'd still have massive silicon molds. And with parts that size, and the shrinkage you encounter when casting in resin, you'd have fitting issues with all the parts. It's just not realistic to cast something of that size in the manner you describe.

Again, looking at the broken parts, it's clear it's made of polystone. It's not hand-poured resin from a silicon mold. You'd have tiny air bubbles in the parts if it was made that way.

I'm not 'discrediting' them. I'm just not willing to overlook issues like sloppy paint and breakage because it was a 'small team'.

People gave Big Chief Studios endless amounts of crap when they started out, but that was 2-3 people in a studio working with China. Nobody blew it off because it was a 'small team'. Same with us, people on this forum shat all over our products, they didn't care how small our company was.

There's probably a lot of other companies that are smaller than most folks think, Chronicle, QMX, PCS, I'd imagine all the US-based companies apart from Sideshow are less than 10 people. All the companies that aren't Sideshow or Hot Toys are probably just a handful of people that contract the work out. The size of the team doesn't matter, the quality of the product is what matters.

 

[DCFett]

...Danoby but that video was pretty overly harsh...

I'm still super stoked to get mine later this year. But I really hope they do something about those screws!

I wonder if Danoby is pissed at Joost for some reason. Maybe the broken Justicemobile wheel? I agree the vid was bad and the whole "I can't photograph this on IG" is a bit of a stretch. Not saying that the softer details on the polystone models aren't somewhat disappointing especially coming from the CNC models, but it seems a necessary evil when you consider they aren't using super heated injection molded manufacturing, which is probably why HT back away from it, let alone the logistics of shipping this behemoth. That said, they've made changes throughout the process of all the projects and personally, if the screws fix the crack, I'd rather have the screws. Be nice not to have either, but these "influencers" have gotten their shipments early for some time now and coming out now to complain is BS to me.

 

[Sardo Numspa]

Regarding the $1500 price tag. I have not seen this piece in-hand, but there have been a lot of pics posted on Facebook, and I would say that this is certainly no less impressive than the Blitzway Ecto 1. I think the price is reasonable, all things considered...

Also, regarding the Danoby2 review, he specifically says at the beginning that the piece belongs to a "local friend". I'm guessing he would have reviewed it differently if he actually owned or purchased it. Everyone always has a little bit of a bias, if it is something we want, and bought for our own collection.

 

[Tee-Kay]

Not specifically a question about that set but that's the most recent "Jazzink Dioramas" related thread so i thought i'd submit my question here.

I'm looking for some help from fellow collectors owning the following True Scale dioramas

- Vader's Meditation Chamber

- Millenium Cargo Hold

- Bespin Gantry

Currently looking for the best option to display those, i'd need precise measurements (Length, Width, Depth, ) for all three of them.

 

[dukefett]

Not specifically a question about that set but that's the most recent "Jazzink Dioramas" related thread so i thought i'd submit my question here.

I'm looking for some help from fellow collectors owning the following True Scale dioramas

- Vader's Meditation Chamber

- Millenium Cargo Hold

- Bespin Gantry

Currently looking for the best option to display those, i'd need precise measurements (Length, Width, Depth, ) for all three of them.

I have my Cargo Hold boxed up, but hopefully in a couple weeks I'll have it out somewhere lol. I was planning on buying two short Billy bookcases and putting them together and placing it on top (basically don't put the back on one, then place them in front of each other. There's some gaps to cover and you can use a bracket to hold them together).

 

[TaliBane]

Did Joost/Jazz ever respond to that youtube reviewer guy's comments in any way?

 

[siquisiri]

2 more payments to go!!

 

[DCFett]

Did Joost/Jazz ever respond to that youtube reviewer guy's comments in any way?

No, I don't think I've seen a response but I don't check Dinobi's comment section that often. I don't think Joost has come up for air. Pretty quiet on the FB group too. I think they're busy getting this next mid-Feb batch out. I think I'm in that group, at least that's what Joost told me the last we exchanged emails.

 

[siquisiri]

No, I don't think I've seen a response but I don't check Dinobi's comment section that often. I don't think Joost has come up for air. Pretty quiet on the FB group too. I think they're busy getting this next mid-Feb batch out. I think I'm in that group, at least that's what Joost told me the last we exchanged emails.

He did reply on one of the larger threads on fb.

 

[yodasan]

Could you please summarize his response?

 

[DCFett]

Yeah I must e missed it. But if anyone is on the fence, just know that he does change the design from time to time to improve build and shipping engineering. The models are basically poly stone so if that is a deal breaker or you’re expecting super sharp details like what you see in plastic molds, then you might not want to bite. BUT if any of that is cool, you won’t be disappointed.

 

[siquisiri]

Could you please summarize his response?

Here is the thread..
https://m.facebook.com/groups/JazzIncStarWarsDioramas/permalink/3573171252732149/

 

[Tee-Kay]

Received my cockpit earlier this week and had a couple hours in my hands today. As other have reported, it has its flaws. Essentially paint app on smaller details.

Other than that it is a spectacular piece. Joost clearly went the extra mile to offer a quality product and i'm thankful he did rise to the challenge no manufacturer deemed profitable enough.

 

[fantasticfrog]

Looks spectacular. I am on the fence about it, only due to funds and space. Did any pieces arrive damaged?

 

[Tee-Kay]

Currently no report from anyone getting theirs lately. Mine arrived in pristine condition but it was a short trip from The Netherlands to France. I can only tell you it is literally sealed in a polystyrene coffin. I would way thinnest area is roughly 5cm (2 inches) deep. unless pierced with a vibroblade, i don't see it getting damaged during transit.

 

[dukefett]

Damn looks terrific, I really want one, I hope he keeps these in production for a bit, like another year at least lol.

 

[TonTon]

Currently no report from anyone getting theirs lately. Mine arrived in pristine condition but it was a short trip from The Netherlands to France. I can only tell you it is literally sealed in a polystyrene coffin. I would way thinnest area is roughly 5cm (2 inches) deep. unless pierced with a vibroblade, i don't see it getting damaged during transit.

Congrats, Tee-Kay! This is such a beauty. Did you have trouble finding place to display it? The size gave me pause.

I've been tempted to get Rey's speeder but the potential quality of the paint work has been a concern for me too.

 

[TaliBane]

How bad is the paint on the smaller details? Like just that it doesn't hold up in closer pics, or is it still a bit noticeable even from a normal viewing distance?