On either side of the Millennium Falcon are two bucket shaped features called docking rings. While they are present in all sets and miniatures, we never see them actually function on film. Here are a couple of images of the docking rings on the 5 foot miniature.
One practical function these docking rings provided was to disguise mounting points on the filming miniatures. The model was designed to be mounted from 6 points: front, back, sides top and bottom. This allowed it to be mounted and filmed from any angle. Two of these points are hidden behind the hexagonal detail of each docking ring. You can see in this image where this panel has been removed.
The docking rings are also a prime example of deterioration of the miniature over time. Since the model was built over 40 years ago, pieces have broken off and exposed the dark primer under the off-white base coat of the Falcon. You can see this in the above images of the 5 footer. Since these parts are identifiable in older photos, I've included them in my model.
Here are some renders of my docking rings.
And here is the breakdown of greebles for the docking rings. The face of each ring is the same; I figured that if they were meant to have same function they would be identical.
You can also see that this piece was used as a strut where the docking rings meet the docking tunnels on the 5 foot filming miniature, but while organizing my model I included them with the docking tunnels so they will be featured in another post. We'll be seeing a lot more of the Aurora Sealab III throughout this build.
Anyway, there's not much else to say about the docking rings. The starboard docking ring famously has a huge blast blown into the side of it, but I will cover that in a later post about damage.
As always, thank you for reading, and here are a couple of renders of our progress so far:
Next time: Mandibles Part 1
