Base Model: How big is the Falcon?

This is my final base model, but the base model is something that changed a lot over the course of the build.  Since Falcon models and sets come in all different shapes and sizes I needed to take artistic license and make decisions about what scale I wanted my Falcon to be.  The image I immediately think of when I imagine how big the Falcon would be is the set/matte painting combo of the Falcon on the landing pad on Bespin.

Since I had a copy of Star Wars: The Blueprints I knew how big the set actually was.  However, I also knew from my research that this set was actually scaled down.  I never did like the way everyone had to duck to get up the boarding ramp.

Starting the base model began with overlaying all the reference on planes in Maya and lining things up.  In addition to the blueprints book, I used images from the Haynes Manual as well as line drawings and photogrammetry from vfxsup64 and maruska from the RPF.  Eventually part of a Wired article released a great top view of the Falcon taken by Dan Winters.  Here's my Falcon alongside it:

The armor plating overhang aside, mine is close to the 5 foot filming miniature proportionally.  However, I did take some liberties; favoring intention over execution.  For example, I took the asymmetry out of the access pit shapes on either side of the engine deck as well as on the mandibles. I just imagined that the Corellian Engineering Corp would have designed these details to be symmetrical.  One other major difference is the profile of the docking rings on either side, which I let these blueprints of the boarding ramp dictate:

When I was happy with the proportions I decided on scale.  The Hayne's Manual lists the Falcon's scale as 34.37 meters (around 113 feet) which is in my opinion too large.  I've heard that this number was decided upon as an effort to compensate for the large size of the interior set which would never in a million years fit inside the exterior set.  My mind kept going back to that image of Bespin.  I knew my blueprints of the bottom and the ramp weren't the full scale of the ship, but I did have blueprints of the cockpit interior that were the proper scale.  I therefore scaled my base model and reference up to match the scale of the cockpit.

This brought me to a Falcon that is 89.9 feet (27.4m) in length.  Here are a couple of orthographic views with a 6 foot Han for scale.

The end result is a Falcon that feels like the set but wouldn't require too much ducking to board.

The Millennium Falcon is often called the "ship of riddles" because trying to make sense of it often turns up more questions than answers.  This makes it a ripe topic for debate.  I laid it on the line that this build represents what the ideal Falcon is to me ...but what do you think?

Next time: Armor plating!