A matter of scale
22 Aug 2023 -
Just how big is it?
The Millennium Falcon was assembled in a great hurry. The job of making a hamburger fly was seemingly handled by separate teams, the British exterior set builders, Ralph McQuarrie, the Model Builders and the interior set builders.
As I noted above, there are numerous glaring inconsistencies with the Millennium Falcon. In fact, even its actual size is VERY much in doubt.
The starting point is the size of the external Millennium Falcon set built in the Elstree studios, England. According to "The Making of Star Wars" book the set was 80' long, 62' across the 'saucer' and 16 feet high.
(Thanks to Tony Tully of Texas for hunting this up!)
What we don't really know for sure is whether the width measurement included the 'outrigger' cockpit, and the height measurement included the landing legs (which hold the hull about 4' off the ground at least). I have taken the measurements on faith.
As I noted above, there are numerous glaring inconsistencies with the Millennium Falcon. In fact, even its actual size is VERY much in doubt.
The starting point is the size of the external Millennium Falcon set built in the Elstree studios, England. According to "The Making of Star Wars" book the set was 80' long, 62' across the 'saucer' and 16 feet high.
(Thanks to Tony Tully of Texas for hunting this up!)
What we don't really know for sure is whether the width measurement included the 'outrigger' cockpit, and the height measurement included the landing legs (which hold the hull about 4' off the ground at least). I have taken the measurements on faith.
The extremely rare 1982 ''Selyana'' Millennium Falcon plans give the overall size as 36.9m (122.9') long, 26.2m (87.4') long and 8.85m (29.5') high.
The following image is an early ILM sizing chart. It dates from when the Blockade Runner was still a single-decked vessel, of about the same size as the Millennium Falcon.
Since the Blockade Runner kept changing size during its development, it's REAL hard to tell!, but if the Runner is in fact about 150metres long (about 10% of the Star Destroyer) then the Millennium Falcon shown here is WAY more than 26.7metres!
The Elstree Studio Exterior Sets
The images below document the building of the so-called ''full-sized'' set at Elstree studios. The set was manufactured by a British ship-building firm and was moved about by an ingenious series of pneumatic pads!
The problem however is that this set, as is common in film productions, was slightly undersized. For the first movie this did not really present any difficulty. For TESB however, there is apparent scale problems as the cast crawl over the set. This is shown clearly on the next page.
The problem however is that this set, as is common in film productions, was slightly undersized. For the first movie this did not really present any difficulty. For TESB however, there is apparent scale problems as the cast crawl over the set. This is shown clearly on the next page.
Certain areas of the ship were built as separate ''true-scale'' sets, notably the cockpit and the gun turrets.
Set Scale from Film Shots
In TESB, Solo and Chewie are seen crawling all over the external set. Wonderful shots, but they show the external set is simply too damn small! The cockpit, in particular, had to be built AGAIN as a separate ''true-scale'' set on ground level. There is a photo of it in the cockpit section. The Gun turrets were also built again at ''true scale'' and of course ''sideways'' because the Elstree sound stage was not equipped with artificial gravity!.
Solo leans over the cockpit access tube - WAY too small!
Standing in mandible maintenance well
- Solo's feet are inside the mandible
- even though the cockpit is enlarged in this view, because it is much closer to the camera than Solo, you can see it is way too small
- even though the cockpit is enlarged in this view, because it is much closer to the camera than Solo, you can see it is way too small
Chewbacca near the tiny cockpit
Working on the landing legs
Chewbacca fondles Skywalker under the lower 'Jaw'
Solo standing on the lower 'Jaw'
- he is leaning on the upper 'Jaw' and looking forward across the port (left) mandible
- he is leaning on the upper 'Jaw' and looking forward across the port (left) mandible
Scale from Imperial Star Destroyer
Dr Curtis Saxton has made an exhaustive study of Star Destroyers. He informs me that the following shots infer the Millennium Falcon as being 30+ metres (100'+) long. This is based on an observed ratio of about 11:14 Falcon:SD bridge-sphere.
Millennium Falcon on the aft face of ISD Avenger's Bridge
A closer shot
The Side Wall
The vertical side wall is about (3') high, about 30% the height of the cockpit tube. This is clearly too low for anyone to stand or even lay down easily inside, how thick is the hull?
Some interpretations of the Millennium Falcon show rooms right out to the edge. This would only be possible if the wall were much higher, as is incorrectly shown on the plastic model kit and most toys based on it, such as Galoob's Micro Machine Millennium Falcon, and Kenner's POTF Millennium Falcon.
Some interpretations of the Millennium Falcon show rooms right out to the edge. This would only be possible if the wall were much higher, as is incorrectly shown on the plastic model kit and most toys based on it, such as Galoob's Micro Machine Millennium Falcon, and Kenner's POTF Millennium Falcon.
The massive side wall on the Kenner toy
This early sketch probably caused the problem with the model kits and toys
Fighter Bay 327 - sidewall is MUCH smaller!
The ILM model from ANH, need I say more?
Table of Sizes
| Data | Saucer-Diam | Length | Height | +% |
| Elstree Set | 19 m / 62 feet | 24.3 m / 80 feet | 4.9 m / 16 feet | datum |
| WEG Source | 20.5 m / 67 feet | 26.7 m / 87.6 feet | 5.2 m / 17 feet | +7% |
| LASE | 24 m / 78.8 feet | 30 m / 102 feet | 6.27 m / 20.4 feet | +27.5% |
| My 1st Calc | 24.5 m / 80 feet | 32 m / 104 feet | 6.3 m / 20.6 feet | +29% |
| 1982 Plans | 26.2 m / 87.4 feet | 36.9 m / 122.9 feet | 8.85 m / 29.5 feet | +52% |
| XWvsTIE | 37 m / 120.25 feet | +53% | ||
| 1:100 Model-Kit | 35 m / 116 feet | 46.5 m / 152 feet | 8.97 m / 29.4 feet | +84% |
| Final Calc | 27 m / 89 feet | 34.8 m / 114 feet | 6.9 m / 22.4 feet | +40% |
Here is my summary chart of given Millennium Falcon sizes. The Elstree set size is taken as the datum, since it is known.
- "WEG" refers to the 'West End Games' SW-RPG Millennium Falcon size as recorded in numerous of their publications, most notably the 'StarWars RolePlaying SourceBook'.
- Update 2001: Wizards of the Coast, the new licence holders for the SW:RPG have NOT corrected WEG's errors regarding the Millennium Falcon.
- "LASE" refers to the 'LucasArts Screen Entertainment' screen-saver 'blueprints' of the Millennium Falcon. It gives a total length of 30metres (100').
- My first calculation is based on the Millennium Falcon attached to the bridge of the ISD .
- The Model Kit has been based on a 1:100 scale, deduced from the size of the included pilot figures. I now believe the kit is actually closer to the classic 25mm scale (1 inch = 2metres)
- XWvsTIE refers to YT-1300 specifications given in the new "X-WingsvsTIE Fighter" computer game. (thanks to Bradley J Wilson for this!). The figure of 73m/237.25' is simply ridiculous! There must be an error here. If you look carefully at ALL the ship stats in the game, they have ALL been DOUBLED! so if you halve the Millennium Falcon length you get: 37m(120.25') - which is in perfect accord with the 1982 plans - but greater than the 30m figure given by LucasArts in their screen saver!
- Interestingly, neither the 'StarWars Technical Journal' nor 'The Essential Guide to StarWars Vehicles' give any size.
- Mr Bob Long of Calgary, Canada has scanned a copy of the blueprints for the full sized cockpit set. From this he has calculated (using a plan view of the plastic model kit as a reference for spatial relations) a length for the Millennium Falcon of 110' (33m). This is in very close accord with my own estimates and the small variation may be accountable purely on the slight errors in SHAPE in the ERTL model kit. Bob calculated a size for the kit of almost exactly 1:72, but as we know from the replacement parts, the cockpit of the model is slightly stunted. Thanks Bob!
- My final calculation is based on the size of the cockpit access tube, and its comparison with the diameter of the internal 'ring-corridor' tube. This sizing sits best with the internal layout of the Millennium Falcon, the known size of the Star Destroyers, the top-hatch lift well, the size of the internal corridors, the original design concepts, the 25mm scale model kit, and sheer common-bloody-sense! (mate!)
Blueprint of the cockpit-set courtesy of Bob Long's scanner!