CLASSIC REVIEW: 'MILLENNIUM FALCON - 3-D OWNER'S GUIDE'

STAR WARS: MILLENNIUM FALCON YT -1300 - A 3-D OWNERS GUIDE

Written by Ryder Windham

Illustrated by Chris Trevas and Chris Reiff

Published in large format book scale by SCHOLASTIC

Reviewed by Scott Weller

She’s the ship that always manages to beat the odds and save the day for our heroes.

She’s the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy, specially modified to help her escape from trouble and succeed in her tasks by the best space smuggler this side of the Kessel run-Han Solo.

She’s a maverick vessel for a maverick space captain. Theirs is a symbiotic relationship that has seen them through the best of times and the worst of times, but they’ve always just about managed to survive unscathed, bar the occasional few bumps, bruises and replaceable solenoids!

Now, discover more about the infamous and incredible Millennium Falcon space freighter, and others in her original production model, in this new 3-D layered owner’s guide book now available from SCHOLASTIC.

It’s certainly one of the most novel and exciting new innovations into the realms of 3-D book publications I’ve seen in a while, and is a STAR WARS fans dream as it takes you deep into every distinct, unusual and downright amazing detail of this iconic ship-layer by layer and inside and out-from its hidden belly guns, to its temperamental internal computer system core that protocol droids don’t like communicating with (and vice versa), to those infamous smuggling compartments, and the functions of the upgraded deflector dish, its all there to be enjoyed in the very finest detail. The book/model even shows you where the escape pods are which Solo jettisoned whilst captured by the Death Star’s tractor beam!

The original half to three-quarter constructed prop of the Millennium Falcon, built at Elstree Studios for the original STAR WARS.

The highly insightful, lovingly crafted art by regular STAR WARS scribe/artistic genius Chris Trevas (whose work continues to excel, and much admired by AFICIONADO for a long time) and Chris Reiff-you could say they were a very talented bunch of Chris’s indeed!- has left no stone unturned (and they’ve obviously pored over every screen grab image or photo of the ship from the films that they could find-much to their research credit), accompanied by text from the reliable Expanded Universe writer Ryder Windham which is just right for the readers-hitting the spot as one part corporate users guide and instructional manual, the other featuring in person commentary/diary-like notes brought to life with a typically roguish and intriguing commentary from none other than a certain Han Solo himself. Windham captures the quirky independence, tenacity and smugglers charm of STAR WARS most popular space captain for hire well, in what proves to be a perfect compliment to the terrific visuals as you keep turning the pages. A special mention must also go to the construction designers of the book for showing an obvious love and careful planning in the assembling process for its ultimate practical realization and final printing.

For anyone who’s a modeler and wants to give their ship the greatest detailing ever, or to the fans who want to know simply everything there is to learn about the greatest freighter in Corellian history, this 3-D OWNER’S GUIDE is the one for you-put together in a fantastic package that shows the ship in the kind of intricate detail and depth it both requires and deserves. I’m sure Joe Johnston, the original designer for the last minute shape that ultimately became the Falcon, will be very proud to see his creation so vividly displayed. The book is a great addition to any serious STAR WARS fans collections, and let’s hope its successfully enough to be the first of many large scale productions, delving into the depths of STAR WARS greatest spaceships in a way never before realized, or in such stunning depth.

Basically, we just wanna see one devoted to an Imperial Star Destroyer!

AFICIONADO RATING: the finest, most lovable space vehicle in STAR WARS history gets the profiling it deserves in this superlative and warmly rendered new book. 9 out of 10