Review: Pure Display case for the Millennium Falcon
Posted by Huw,
So, you managed to secure a 75192 Millennium Falcon on the day of its release, you spent the best part of 24 hours building it, then admired its amazing details and been awed by its sheer heft and size. Now what are you going to to with it?
I suspect that's something many of you are wondering. One thing you won't want to do is to let it get dusty and manky, given the cost of it and the time you've spent building it.
What are the options? Mounting it in a coffee table seems to be a popular choice, if you can find one that it fits in and which you have room for in your house. An acrylic case is another, so with this in mind I bring you this review of Pure Display's case that's custom made for the model.
I'm sure you don't need reminding but the Falcon is massive: 84 x 56 cm and 21 cm high. This case is thus also huge, measuring 90 x 65 x 30cm.
It's delivered flat-packed in a huge box, well bubble wrapped. In fact, if you're short of bubble wrap for protecting models for transportation to displays you won't be after buying this!
Once you've done battle with the bubble wrap, you'll find six 3mm acrylic sheets, a bag of screws and an instruction sheet. The sheets are covered with a protective film that needs to be removed before construction.
Everything needed to assemble it supplied, including an Allen key for the screws.
Assembly is straightforward: the sides are fitted with inserts into which the bolts are screwed to hold the sides and top together.
If you're fussy about fingerprints you might want to wear latex gloves while building it because, while it's not a 'fingerprint magnet' it's inevitable that you'll get some on it during construction otherwise.
The sides are not fixed the base, they are held into position by grooves in the base and corresponding tongues in the sides.
Here is it partially assembled, with the four sides joined together.
The top is held on with 12 screws. Overall I think assembly took about 30 minutes.
It's a good job the sides are not attached to the base because that allows the top to be removed and the Falcon to be placed inside.
There's plenty of room around the sides and top of the model, and once inside it's well protected from dust and dirt.
I haven't mentioned the price yet. In the UK, it's £156 including postage and VAT, which is not cheap by any means. However this is a quality precision made product, and given you've just spent out £650 for the Falcon I think it's worth spending out a bit more to keep it in pristine condition.
It can be shipped worldwide, and buyers outside the EU can purchase it excluding VAT but with higher postage costs.
Verdict
The case is sturdy, extremely well made, easy to assemble, and the model looks great inside it. It's just the job for keeping it clean and -- perhaps equally importantly in some households -- out of the reach of curious little fingers.
I can see that you might be put off by the cost, but given its quality and the alternative of having the model go to ruin, I would say it's a good buy if you intend to display the model for any length of time.
Yon can purchase it from from Pure Display's website, where you'll also find a large range of smaller cases for other models. Just make sure you have enough space for it first!
Update: it's also now available from a US distributor: https://shop.kingdombricksupply.com
Oh, and before anyone asks, no it can't be used a coffee table...
Thanks to Pure Display for providing the case for review. The review is an expression of my own opinions.
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40 comments on this article
I can see the value of this if you want to display, but I would rather just put it back in the box and rebuild later.
Tempting option, but man, that would require a massive shelf! Where are people finding coffee tables capable of fitting it?
It's a little pricey, but worth it to protect the model from dirt and dust as you display it for everyone to see.
I regret not doing the same for my original UCS Falcon. It's years of display are certainly showing now.
Thanks for the review. I've purchased many cases (both large and small) from Pure Display and they are excellent products, I've never had a problem with any of them at all. Worth noting that if you don't like the black base, it also comes in white for this particular one, others have the option of a clear base too.
The costs and discomfort associated with Falcon ownership are mounting... You need to move to a mansion to have room for this. And I would require some internal lightsource for illumination in a display case like this.
Honestly this is probably one of the cheaper options for an acrylic display case that can fit the 75192. The only thing that's offputting to me is the panels being separate, rather than a moulded cover. But of course that would probably raise the price by several factors.
I could use something like that for my Helicarrier
Does anyone know of a company in the US that creates LEGO-specialized acrylic cases like these? They look brilliant for beating the dust, but the British price plus international shipping cost is slightly prohibitive for me.
For US buyers, you are looking at about $250 shipped.
Does it come in 5mm think acrylic and UV protected?
- their website has one for the helicarrier
- i, too, would be interested in a US-based source. i know that eBay has some inexpensive options for a few rows of minifigs, but i haven’t done any research (read: googling) on legit cases like the one reviewed.
- i didn’t see anywhere if the acrylic is coated to protect against sun damage [to what its housing]. is that not a factor worth considering?
I second the call for a search for a US-based company that does this. I just spent a lot of time browsing the Pure Display site, and I am very impressed! I just wish there was someone here in the USA that could produce a similar, quality line of acrylic display cases with LEGO in mind. There are so many cases I would want to buy, but with shipping and the conversion to pounds, I'll definitely go bankrupt!
It looks nice, but not $250 delivered kind of nice... If I ever end up with the UCS MF I think I'd opt for building my own case with glass to protect against UV a bit more.
I would echo the question regarding UV protection? Does anyone know?
Would really like one of these in the same style as the Lego Shop display as it would take up a lot less space.
Just wondering: when is the review for the Falcon going to be coming out? To quote the last time it was mentioned (Cap'n'Rex, I believe it was who said it): "Keep an eye on the Brickset homepage for the next section of our review in which I will discuss the completed model and provide my overall views on this enormous set." It's yet to come out...
Also curious, are there plans to review the rest of the TLJ sets?—75190, for example, even had photographs added to the Flickr stream but never got an actual article published...
I like these displays! Just curious, will BS receive a commission from Pure Display for publishing this article?
Haven't managed to snag a MF yet, although I am currently working on building a case that will (hopefully) be big enough. I am re-purposing some lexan panels that used to cover the lower shelves of our bookshelves when our kids were little, and a large glass panel from a past TV shelf. There are some existing screw holes in the lexan that I hope won't let in too much dust.
One question--Lego says it is over 33" long (~84cm). Anyone know HOW much over? What I've got is only going to have about .5 inch/~1 cm to spare...
I've ordered a smallest one to display minifigs (which are long to clean up with a smooth paint brush or so), and I have to say that these display cases are just perfect. I don't regret the investment. Sturdy, really trans clear (the acrylic used makes no dispersion of light, no diffraction so no deformation of what you see) and really sturdy. Once inside sets or minifigs dont need any other care than looking at them as I like to do. It's a very good way to protect my little sets or minifigs, so I guess that even at that price, I would sure like to get this one if I had such a beautiful set as 75192. I see it more like investing than spending.
It's kind of sad to spend over $1000 to have a large display that you'll have a hard time finding room for. It's also sad to think about disassembling it and mixing it in with your other bricks. The third sad option is to leave it in its box never to be opened. I'm not sure what the best answer is.
I feel like there comes a point where you might as well just look at it in the Lego store.
Looks terrific,
I, d then get two more and buy the bat tumbler and helicarrier and have all 3 amazing sets on display in the front room.
I was wondering if there was a good way of attaching it to a wall or ceiling.
The price blew my mind when I saw it. However, the site lists the price as £120. Having got over the initial shock at the price, I think I could just about handle £120, but the additional £36 Just kills it for me.
@dutchlegofan50, no.
@Brainslugged, it's £120 + postage and VAT.
So, for those who had the original UCS Falcon, was there anything besides dust that you had to worry about while keeping it assembled for all those years? This article has me paranoid now......
At that price I would just make my own, Plexiglass is not that expensive and you can make it so you can't even notice the seems buy heating them up and melting them together instead of screws.
That price is quite steep, so I assume you'll get the 75192 with it or do you have to buy it separately?
as nice as it is, maybe this will serve a dual purpose of display and a functioning furniture?
https://www.homesquare.com/Product/CatProduct.aspx?ID=1471095&Src=MSNPLA&SrcID=14555180&utm_source=msn&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=New%20PLA%20HSQ&utm_Adgroup=All&utm_term=display%20coffee%20table&match=e&eng=MICROSOFT&cmp=New%20PLA%20HSQ&adgr=All&adgrID=6286254366&kw=&kwID={KeywordID}&mt=e&dev=c&adID=15908852681&ntw=o
It kind of blows my mind there is no US based option for this sort of thing.
Personally I looked at this for several other sets like the Taj Mahal but in the end for my Falcon decided to build a technic stand out of spare parts I had. Makes the sitting on the shelf much nicer for me at 45 degrees.
The stand was made in two parts and sits into the slots for the rear and front two landing gear.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Byta8yKNVgwxSFFSUHd1RFBXakU?usp=sharing
I've bought a few of these for both LEGO and Hot Toys Figures. They are really well made, easy to put together and protect your minifigures / models / 6' figures well.
For US buyers....
I didn't check the size exactly, but they sell a lot of different sizes. I am sure one can fit and I think they look better than the UK version presented. Plus it is probably about the same price shipped.
http://www.casesforcollectibles.com/9897.html
The problem is, while it makes a great display, it is not dust proof, only resistant. The gaps in these kinds of display cases are deceiving unless you have owned both. Molded shells keep out dust through tops and sides. A bit gets through on the underseam. Panel gaps allow accumulation a lot of dust that may surprise you.
@yjcha2
Something like this was my exact thought--why display it on a table when you can display it inside it, and keep the space useable? I am never getting this set (short of some miracle), but if I did, I would buy/build a custom coffee table for it To display inside.
I imagine people are building custom-made coffee tables to hold it. I have seen a few online that look pretty dope.
I don’t like the way the screws show, I wonder if you could cover the seams with wood moulding to give it a more finished look?
Very expensive.. you can build a cheaper one yourself.
For a Canada/USA option, here is a similar product:
http://clearpc.ca/store/products/clearpc-lego-ucs-millennium-falcon-75192-new-version/
Note that the base shown does not actually come with the product so a bit of work to get the coffee table style display.
Anyone know who is selling a coffee table style box for this in the UK? I have spent half the day on eBay with no luck so far!