Hiya kiddies! I went out after some thought about buying the new Millenium Falcon released by Hasbro this past July 26th and did just that .... bought it.

THE BIG MILLENIUM FALCON

A pricey item of sorts but not really when considering Force FX Lightsabers are $99 to $129.99, this vehicle went for $149 and I got it at a Walmart here in Maine. They had a pallet of 10 and I am assuming most stores got about the same amount.

I would also assume that Hasbro has made a limited amount of these meaning when they are gone they are gone. At a collector forum recently I read about a guy who had a missing piece and that they were going to send him a return shipping label instead of the part as they were limited in supply. This tells me they sent out what they did and do not have a reserve of spare parts. They also told the guy that if they could not send him another BMF (Big Millenium Falcon) that they would send product of equal value as a replacement.

Before I get into its features I should add that this ship is the best vehicle ever released as a toy Falcon or otherwise. The only thing that would top this would be expensive prop replicas that go for $400 and upwards of a Millenium Falcon prop replica this size (2-1/2 feet long!) at $2000

The first thing I did was open the box obviously to see a well packaged vehicle in a cardboard eggcrate type material. The nose pieces (the two mandibles) had to be snapped in place and do this properly AND READ THE DIRECTION FIRST because once they are snapped in they will not unsnap. If you cross up how they go on that is your problem.

The vehicle has a few stickers that you will need to place one by one by hand inside the Falcon. This is a pain and very easy to make a mistake with SO do as I did AND SCAN YOUR UNPEELED STICKER SHEET BEFORE YOU BEGIN. This way if you do tear a sticker you can print out a replacement on a sticker paper that closely resembles the paper used for it to begin with.

Some people are in a hurry with tearing the stickers off and you may rip one or two if not careful. peel them off from the safe side and do not peel them INTO the 90 degree angles because they will rip obviously. Use some common sense in this process of the operation.

I use surgical clamps that are closed and just press one corner of a sticker once removed from the sheet so I can stick the clamp inside a cockpit or tight nook and cranny. I then can make contact lightly with one corner and pivot the sticker so it goes in straight.

PARTIAL STICKER CONFIGURATION

Personally for the $150 price tag it should have been prestickered. The Anakin starfighter TRU exclusive which is the same recent Anakin green starfighter repack came prestickered and I liked that.

Okay when your stickers are on you do not have much left to do except throw in 3 batteries which are located under the 6 dark circle exhaust whatchamahoozies on the rear panel.

BATTERY COMPARTMENT COVER

This vehicle also has landing gear that seem to be hit or miss with some people who have purchased this vehicle. They are designed to break away when draging it across a carpet as not to break. The BMF is heavy and if these were solidly in place I am SURE that they would break.

THE UNDERBELLY OF THE BEAST

This being said some folk have complained that their feet just fall out carrying it across the room. I have not had this happen to me and I can only think that they have inserted them improperly. They are shaped to fit in specific holes underneath. The rear 4 and 1 front one have a plastic point that resembles a baby binky thingie and the two middle feet have a round ball that snap in rather tightly to their specific holes.

I have read that some people spray painted their feet or tipped them with a clear glue so they fit very tightly. I as stated have had no issues with mine and will not be doing anything like that.

Okay now for the sounds ... my God there are so many soundbytes it is truly crazy. There are 13 buttons and/or switches on this. Some of them you have to press a short period to get one sound and then holding it down for a long time produces a hole crapload of film audio clips.

If you push in the knob that spins the radar dish you get the jedi training orb ball thing that zaps Luke while Obi-wan is instructing him in the ways of the Force in ANH. It has the lightsaber woooomps and wuuuuumps as well as the training ball sound and ball firing.

Inside the same area you have a holo chess table we saw in the film that lights up and has plug in player pieces that also light up including the one that carries a piece over its head and smashes it to death on the board in the film. Of course it has all of the dialogue with Chewie, Han, Threepio and Artoo in that scene.

CHESS TABLE

CHESS TABLE LIT UP

The best sound for me on this is from the button right atop the cockpit which is the failed Falcon startup sound from TESB. press it again and the Falcon rumbles to life. Two more buttons have the thunderous falcon scream by sound and also the glide by at cruising speed sound on another button.

There are a lot of buttons and other things on it like a slider that rotates the firing gun turret on top back and forth. Every time you move it you hear the guns firing like in the "Don't get cocky" scene. It also has two points that will launch two of the firing missles should you do that. You'll have to see what I mean there to know what I am talking about.

The gunner's chair .... well there is only one and correct with the movie which was incorrect to begin with. The GL universe has many holes in it and sometimes things just do not make sense nor are they even plausible.

But the chair is there and it looks cool.

The cockpit is huge and can seat 4 action figures easily. The front two chairs slide forward or backward to suit the leg length of a wookie and there are two swivel chairs in the rear of the LIT UP cockpit for Leia and Obi-wan or Threepio or whatever. There are two lights as you can see in the photo.

COCKPIT LIGHTS

The boarding ramp ... it acts like a hydraulic ramp and lowers slowly along with proper sound effect, the two lights come on and light it up for you as you can see in the photo.

BOARDING RAMP

Cool stuff.

Inside you have the medical area if you have the Luke TESB figure with medical gear they plug right into the holes here in this ship. The other figures over the years that have to do with the falcon also fit where they supposed to in there. The floor of the falcon has the little knobs that hold your figures upright without falling over .... a nice touch me thinks.

INNARDS

You also have one of the smuggling compartments as well as the mechanic access panel where Han has a tray of tools fall on him while the Falcon is being hit with asteroids.

MORE INNARDS

On the side you have a cover that hides the escape type pod vehicle I guess it is. Does anyone know why this is on here? is there some EU reference perhaps to a single seater escape pod or small fighter hidden inside the Falcon?? If so please elaborate about it, I would like to know the story.

The sound effects are also on this swing up door, there are different sounds ... opening, closing, inserting the vehicle and removing the vehicle. VERY COOL INDEED!

ESCAPE POD SHIP THINGIE AND COMPARTMENT

ESCAPE POD AND HIDING PLACE REVEALED

This thing is 2 and a half feet long! it is huge! I love it to death and highly recommend this. it is now the prize of my collection because it is so detailed and done so well. Thanks Hasbro for making a fan requested ship and doing it right. We wanted a huge one and now we have it.

It even has the drop down gun that drops from under the falcon in docking bay 94 that shoots up the sandtroopers ... as well as in that ice hangar on Hoth except it shot up some snowtroopers. They thought of everything with this one. it even launches a projectile missle.

I should note also that the firing missle in the middle of the front nose has a photon torpedoe sound effect when launched.

Hasbro has hit a homerun with this one folks. I am beyond satisfied with it after owning for a few days and having a chance to "play" with everything.

I give it a 10 out of 10 for collectors. A BONIFIED MUST HAVE.

LOOK HOW PURTY THIS IS

THE ENGINES LIGHT UP TOO BY THE WAY