April, 2022 - Horizon Guest House

In the first of a series highlighting Horizon Guest House’s LEGO Star Wars collection, we take a look at one of the most spectacular LEGO Star Wars builds – the Millennium Falcon 75192.

The LEGO Millennium Falcon is one of the largest LEGO models with 7541 pieces. This model was originally released in October, 2017. The model itself includes all the details that have made the Corellian freighter so beloved by Star Wars fans. There’s plenty of amazing exterior detailing, cannons on both the upper and lower parts of the ship, 7 landing legs, a boarding ramp that lowers, and a cockpit with space for 4 minifigures.

There are removable hull plates that showcase a number of interior spaces, including the main hold, rear compartment and also the gunnery station.

Interchangeable sensor dishes allow you to keep the design true to the classic movies with Han, Leia, Chewbacca and C-3PO, or modify it to reflect the design of the ship as it was in Episodes VII and VIII with (older) Han, Rey, Finn and BB-8.

Figures include: the classic crew of Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia and C-3PO. Additional figures include, (older) Han, Rey and Finn. There is also BB-8, two Porgs and a Mynock.

Main hold: contains a seating area, Dejarik holographic game, combat remote training helmet and engineering station.

Rear compartment: contains the engine room with hyperdrive, hidden floor compartment, two escape pod hatches and an access ladder to the gunnery station.

Gunnery station: contains a gunner’s seat and a detachable hull panel with rotating laser cannon. Another laser cannon is located on the underside of the ship.

The model measures over 8” (21cm) high, 33” (84cm) long and 23” (60cm) wide.

Modifications

A light and sound kit, available from Brickstuff, was added to the model to enhance the overall display.

The kit is remote controlled and includes the following features:

Laser cannon lights and sound effects (both top and bottom cannons)
Mandible and side lights
Rear engine lights and landing lights
Magnet controlled ramp and lights
Motorized boarding ramp
Cockpit control panel lights
Circular Pulsing Hyperdrive light
Corridor lights and internal flashing lights

Check out the videos for the full demonstration!

The Build

I worked on the build over the course of a week and spent 3 to 4 hours a day putting it together. This was easily one of the more enjoyable builds as there was not a lot of repetition in the build process (apart from the landing legs) and it was a constant surprise to realize how large the Falcon was going to be as I built it.

The interior spaces were also a lot of fun to construct. The cockpit fits 4 minifigures snugly.

Installing the light and sound kit was a two-day process and required a good deal of patience when threading the wires throughout the ship. However, the instructions from BrickStuff were straightforward and it was just a matter of following each step carefully, making sure to use the correct wire with each stage and insert the plugs in the correct direction. Installing the motorized boarding ramp took a lot longer than anticipated.

The kit was missing the small magnet which triggers the light to come on when the ramp is lowered. I improvised with a magnet I found in the garage and this worked fine. Adjusting the motorized mechanism to open and close the ramp to the right degree was the most time-consuming aspect. This meant a lot of testing to get it to close fully and open all the way down. Once it was complete the light and sound features added a huge amount of life to the overall display of the Millennium Falcon. Definitely worth it if you have already splashed out on the Falcon!

Look out for future blogs on our LEGO collection. We have a number of sets waiting to be built and will feature them as they’re constructed, these include:

USC AT-AT 75313

Ewok Village 10236

Tantive IV corridor diorama (custom build)

Look for these in the coming months!

Angus

Horizon Guest House

Authored by

Horizon Guest House began as a vision Clem had as to what would make the most dynamic and functional bed and breakfast. The idea was that it would be purpose built as a B&B, in which form followed function.

The land in South Kona was acquired from McCandless Ranch in 1994. The 40 acre parcel was originally a coffee lot. The coffee growing had been abandoned prior to WWII and the land eventually reverted to forest, similar to that of the surrounding ranch.

Clem began the process of clearing the land in 1994. It took 3 months of bulldozing before the land was ready for construction to begin. A warehouse with an enclosed apartment was built first and this was where Clem lived during the design and construction phases of the main house and adjacent suites.

Clem researched B&Bs for two years prior to designing and building. The most important lesson he learned during this time was that the average rate of burnout for B&B owners was 5-7 years. This was caused by two main factors. The first, that there was not enough privacy for either guests or the hosts, and the second, that it was never ideal to be reliant on the B&B as the sole source of income. Both of these factors inevitably led to a high rate of stress and eventual burnout for B&B owners.

Actual construction began in January 1997 and took less than 6 months to finish. The B&B opened officially in September 1998.

Design Elements

The main house was built with the view and privacy as the main considerations. The view was divided into 4 quadrants. The northwest and southwest having the most desirable aspects, followed by the southeast and southwest. The pool was built at a different elevation in order to ensure that views remained unobstructed.

Other features included:

Custom-made 10 ft. sliding glass doors.
Built at grade unlike most houses in Hawaii. The roof and floors are both concrete construction.
The house and suites are insulated for sound and the individual suites are staggered to ensure privacy.