Taking inspiration from Kenner’s original Millennium Falcon toy, I decided to build my two sons the ultimate Halloween costume accessory… Their own Millennium Falcon to drive!
The next step was to find a battery-powered vehicle that was more symmetrical and flat to support the weight and accommodate the geometrical shapes of the Falcon. I had purchased a second Radio Flyer Landspeeder for $75 when Toys R Us was closing. I cracked open the box and began to put it together.
I took measurements of the Landspeeder and created some basic visual overlays with the Millennium Falcon. This allowed me to create a grid and take initial measurements of the parts and pieces. I was going to use thin wood supports underneath to hold it together, but later in the build I opted for anchors and zip ties.
For the scale of the build, weight, and ability to absorb bumps and the crazy driving of a 3 and 5 year-old, I used 2″ thick insulation foam board. Using a 900 degree heat knife to cut the shapes has its drawbacks. On the bright side, at least I have a cool scar on my arm now.
I used Loctite foam glue to connect the pieces of foam once there were cut. The next step was trying to figure out a way to create a smooth transition between the levels of foam. I used expanding spray foam to fill a lot of the void, which in hindsight was a bad idea. It is temperamental and it took a lot of time cutting and repairing to avoid cracks later on in the spackling process.
I cut away a good amount of the expanding foam to smooth out the transaction between the levels and then added lightweight, quick-drying wall spackling. Over 3 gallons of spackling and countless hours of sanding later and the Falcon was taking shape!
The next step was priming all of the exposed sides and cutting out the remaining shapes that were going to be attached via zip ties and held in place by pressure created from the fitment on the Landspeeder frame. I ordered two strands of LEDs on Amazon and attached on the rear to create the lighting effect seen on the original vehicle. It can be controlled via remote and it’s a simple battery-powered setup.
Using EVA foam, I hand-cut a multitude of pieces to give the Millennium Falcon same additional detail and then added painted detail and wear to make it more like the vehicle from the movie. It made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, and Han Solo and Chewbacca are two happy little boys!