OTC Millenium Falcon

[SilverZ]

I'm away from home and sort of jamming through the board, so I hope I'm not starting a thread without spotting a similar one.

Anyway, I picked up the OTC Falcon the other afternoon from my local TRU, fresh off a palette, and from a case opened up by a stock guy for me. First off, both boxes out of the case were smooshed rather badly. Way to go there Hasbro! Hopefully the Sam's Club version will fair better since that's the one I'm looking to keep boxed.

When you open the case, the first thing noticed is the lack off packing materials used. Aside from one cardboard sleeve that holds the smaller parts, the Falcon's hull is just dropped right into the box with no protection or support. Classy!

The plastic used on the ship itself is significantly different than the POTF2 incarnation. In comparison to that version, this one is much whiter, and made of a lighter, less brittle plastic, that is smooth to the touch and slightly glossy, opposed to the earlier version's flat and somewhat course feel. This does have a positive affect on the ship however, as the removable parts tend to fit more snuggly with this plastic.

There are several paint apps, such as rust spots and bolt grim that are prepainted, but there's a decal sheet as well. There's only about 30 this time though... I seem to remember to POTF2 one having a lot more.

The most notable change is the cockpit, which is hinged at the top now instead of the side. The new seating mold lets two figures site comfortably (as long as one of them isn't Chewie). Just as a little side note, you can pop the control dashboard out of the canopy to apply the decals for it a lot easier, and pop it back in. Much nicer all around.

I didn't get a chance to check the electronics out. No batteries and no time. The plastic used in on the engine section sure looks better though.

The red plastic launching torpedo thing is hella dumb. It sticks out about an inch from the ship when its locked in place.

All in all I'm pretty happy with the ship, and since my POTF2 one has been yellowing more and more over the last year, it's good to have a new one.

[Deanpaul]

Nice Jared!

I want to know about the engine lights on that bad boy - did they modify the rear at all? It actually lights up, right? Or am I a dumbass?

[Brian]

I saw a couple of these at Target this past weekend, and so wanted to pick it up.  But, at $50, I can't quite justify it to my wife (since I already have a POTF2 one), and to be honest, I don't really have the space for two Falcons.  It was awfully tempting though, and if money wasn't quite as tight, I might have picked it up.  Tydirium, do you think it is significantly better than the POTF2 version?

[Deanpaul]

Hey Jared,

When you get batteries in the Falcon I'd like to know if it is still a little tipsy like the POTF2 one. That always bugged me!

[Angry Ewok]

Tydirium, do you think it is significantly better than the POTF2 version?

I'm wondering the same thing, but I'm in the same position - I've already got a POTF2, AND a vintage one... There's no way I could have a third - but I still want to know if its a considerable upgrade.

[SilverZ]

Sorry guys, I'm back at home finally. I spent 6 hours trapped in the Denver airport last night and didn't get home until 2:45am... thanks United!

Unfortunately I'm at a bit of a disadvantage trying to compare this to the POTF2 one in lots of detail since it's sitting up in storage now (yellowing away). So I'm going off memory on the comparisons. I scrounged up some AA's (it takes 3) and finally had a chance to see the electronics working.

I want to know about the engine lights on that bad boy - did they modify the rear at all? It actually lights up, right? Or am I a dumbass?

Yep, the engines light up with 2 blue LEDs, mounted on the far left and right of the engine area. There's a silver slatted vent deal on the inside that they reflect across, and a clear ribbed panel that covers the lights and the interior silver area. Pretty slick, and way better than the stickers on the old one. This and the cockpit seem to be the biggest areas of retooling.

If you press the top left sfx button on the side of the ship, there's a long winding startup sound, which then kicks on the engine lights, which stay on for a good 10 seconds accompanied by a quieter "cruising" engine noise.

There's a nice clean torpedo sound when you press the missle launch button up towards the front of the ship.

The other sounds consist of that a roaring flyby, which sounds sourced from the Yavin approach (very short as it whips by the red planet itself), a longer flyby that sounds like it's from the final approach to Yavin, and the bursting blaster fire from the gun turrets, which lights up the red LEDs on the top front of the ship.

What's also worth noting are the front LEDs, which are a much cooler white than before, if memory serves correctly, which seemed more yellow. They have a Xenon feel to them.

I'd like to know if it is still a little tipsy like the POTF2 one.

You know, I completely forgot about that! Again, not having the old one here right now, didn't it use a couple of C batteries? This one uses 3 AA's, but it still seems a little prone to wobbling toward the left where the compartment is.

I'm still on the fence on whether this is quite worth an upgrade from the POTF2 one in all honesty. It's definitely not a considerable upgrade. The cockpit is much better, the engine bay is much better, the plastic color is more accurate, and it seems to be more durable all around, but it has problems.

The cannon on top tends to not stay together. The attention to detail in stickers seems reduced. There's still no frickin' training remote.

Maybe it's because of the Imperial shuttle spoiling me, but the Falcon needs that level of paint weathering on it to really kick up the authenticity factor, I think. If that had happened, I'd be calling this a vast improvement over the previous release.

I guess my final thought is that it's a solid, if not overwhelming piece for those who either passed on it originally or will buy anything to get closer to the "perfect" Falcon. This isn't that perfect one by far, but one step closer, and one step to the side for it's new imperfections. That make sense?

[SilverZ]

Here's a shot of the engines in low light:

[JediMAC]

It actually lights up, right? Or am I a dumbass?

Are those mutually exclusive questions there, Dp?  If so, I'd have to say yes, to both.


 

P.S.  Nice picture Jared!  (and sorry 'bout the flight home  )

[jokabofe]

damn you jared. now i want one.  

[SilverZ]

Bright shiny lights sucker me every time, too. I'm like a moth up in here.  

[DSJ™]

Pretty light!   I gotta get one!

[SilverZ]

Oh, one more thing on those shiny, luscious lights that I didn't notice until now while showing my friend. There's actually a SECOND stage of lights, white ones, just above the blue main lights, that activates with one of the buttons. I guess its supposed to by hyperspace or something.

My friend was actually a lot more enthused than I was about the ship. He said he preferred it to both the POTF2 and vintage one - so there's another opinion for those on the fence.

-J

[Jesse James]

I'm away from home and sort of jamming through the board, so I hope I'm not starting a thread without spotting a similar one.

Don't worry Jared.  I'm not going to harp on re-treads/re-reviews of the same product here.  I think everyone's review deserves its own thread if they wish.  It's all about the continuing discussion in the threads to me.

Good review...  

Personally, I'm getting away from ships overall unless they're REALLY close to-scale or dead on.  That's a customizing focus of mine and an area I've quit being a completist in.  Things like the Y-Wing just bug me.

Of course a Falcon's too big for most folk's tastes to be to-scale, but it's on my to-do list.  We'll see.  

The new Falcon's and improvement, but what I keep hoping for is a to-scale, detailed, light-up cockpit someday.    Wish one would come out soon.