• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Ultimate Millennium Falcon

J

JediKnight0

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 2, 2002
Messages
168
Many of you will remember the (my) original Millenium Falcon PC all those years ago. A mod that was stolen (quite litterally) during a Microsoft conference a few years back.

(They did compensate me tho, and it allowed me to buy a motorcycle so I could go riding with my wife - so all was not lost)

zzb-2.jpg


Many people have copied the idea (XBOX falcons are especially popular), and I'm glad to have been the one to inspire them. Some have been done well (http://thegame.blog.com/186958/), while others have been not so careful about the details (http://mlmod.com/). The last one does bother me a bit... not because he has difficulty cutting straight lines, but because he offers a how-to ebook on how to make an XBOX falcon. As (hopefully) you are also aware, I have both a DVD detailing the original falcon build as well as a book from ExtremeTech that covers my build in detail. He borrowed that idea as well.

I've decided that it's time to take everything I've learned - what worked well, and what didn't - and build the Ultimate Falcon PC. This will be more powerful than the original mini-ITX falcon and will be based on a Shuttle motherboard and socket 478 P4. For cost purposes, it will be based on spare parts I have lying around, but the concept should be sound and any component should be upgradable.

So... here we go...
 
Wait, can you detail the story more? I'm curious as to how you are mad at somone for taking your idea to the next level that you made public? This always happens in the real world. You need to patent your idea next time if you believe there is money to be made. I'm also just a little loss by the compensation comment.

Anyways, I'm just into the details :D
 
Ockie said:
Wait, can you detail the story more? I'm curious as to how you are mad at somone for taking your idea to the next level that you made public? This always happens in the real world. You need to patent your idea next time if you believe there is money to be made. I'm also just a little loss by the compensation comment.

Anyways, I'm just into the details :D
Click to expand...

It's not that I would ever be mad at someone expanding on my idea - it's just that putting out an e-book isn't the next level, it's actually a step backword (or at least sideways). I have a real book out (that's also available as an e-book) as well as a DVD, so his e-book isn't really adding anything.

I'd also be fine with it if his mod was top-notch (much like the other xbox Falcon I linked), but his are a bit... unimpressive. Single color paint jobs, uneven cuts, enough lights to fill a disco - it just makes the whole idea seem cheap and gaudy.

IMHO, of course. This new mod is my attempt at showing my idea of what attention to detail can bring. Feel free to make up your own mind when I'm done, of course.

For reference, please compare his XBOX Falcon mods here with my old one here and judge for yourself.
 
well to me it seems like a good thing it was stolen, otherwise you would just be pissed that your idea was copied, and there would be less drive to improve on that design ;) look forward to seeing what you can do.
 
(as a big scifi fan) Looking forward to seeing this build, subscribed.
 
Subscribed. I like your work on the Aircraft carrier and the Falcon. Good luck!

Oh and I use to have that toy until my mom forced me to donate it to charity. :(
 
OK, time to get this thing going.

When I'm working on a mod, I almost always do a matching mouse (and keyboard). Often the mouse are not suited to everyday use, but they look cool and IMHO make the mods really stand out so I'll get started there. With the last Falcon I did an x-wing fighter mouse a few months after I finished the Falcon itself and it came out pretty well, so let's go shopping - one x-wing fighter toy (with figures!) and the cheapest wireless mouse/keyboard combo I could find.

f03.jpg
f05.jpg


Now I'll void the warrenties.

f04.jpg
f06.jpg


The problem with the first mouse was the angle of the optics. I placed the optics for the mouse in the front of the ship (so your hand sits on the canopy) so the nosecone was flast against the desk, but the bottom of the ship was at an angle. While the mouse pointer would still move, it was jumpy because the mouse was essentially above the desk surface about 7 or 8 mm.

My solution:

f08.jpg


I've glued the bottom of the real mouse to the bottom of the ship at the proper angle so that then the nosecone is held to the desk, the mouse parts are flat with the desk. Then I used bondo & primer to smooth everything down.

This took a lot longer than one night, of course...
 
mouse work continues...

The basic body (top & lower half) of the mouse are done now - this means I've finished all the bondo work (as well as adding a few new detail parts) on the bottom and finished the new paintjob (as well as adding some dirt)

One additional problem were the laser cannons - besides being made of a rubbery and un-paintable plastic, they were too long. When the mouse was tipped forward (it's normal position), the cannons hit the desk. The solution: make then shorter and rotate them 90 degrees. I ended up making rubber molds and re-casting the parts - that way I could also paint them.

f15.jpg
f16.jpg


The x-wing came with a sound circuit that would play various star wars related sounds - I saw no reason not to keep that, but I need to move the activation buttons. I started the wiring for that as well.

f18.jpg


One final (big) problem - the mouse electronics were too wide for the front of the x-wing fighter. The solution was to cut the bottom circuit board in half and re-create the cut traces with thin wire - here's the start of that. It shouldn't be too bad... there are only around 6 or 7 traces to re-wire...

f09.jpg


That's all for now - more updates in about a week and a half. I have a valentines day Vegas trip planned for my wife that I have to attend to...
 
Yea I'm looking forward to this. I remember reading about the first one getting jacked a while ago.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top