Secrets of the Millennium Falcon

"This project quite easily resulted in some of the nerdiest Star Wars discussions we've ever had, but it was very satisfying to see it all come together," says Trevas. Remember when Greedo confronts Han in the cantina, telling him "[Jabba] has no time for smugglers who drop their shipments at the first sign of an Imperial cruiser." How exactly did Han dump his cargo in space? The artists came up with seven ways:

1. Port docking ring
2. Starboard docking ring
3. Dorsal docking hatch
4. Ventral docking hatch
5. Aft freight elevator
6. Escape pods
7. Front cargo loading doors.

"Our Millennium Falcon blueprint is a blending of all those that have come before as well as many of our own new ideas," say Reiff and Trevas. Every floorplan, even thouse that radically vary from the newer designs, had some sort influence. Among the trivial details the artists cited:

• Dorsal callout 14: The water recycling unit is from AMT/Ertl Millennium Falcon cutaway model, from 1995

• Dorsal callout 15: The floor access to ventral universal docking hatch was a new idea first mentioned in Timothy Zahn's novel Allegiance, published by Del Rey in 2007.

• Dorsal callout 20: The auxiliary cooling system first appeared in the West End Games floorplans in 1987.

• Dorsal callout 28: The fresh water tanks come from the Falcon cutaway poster from SciPubTech 1997

• Dorsal callout 30: Power converter and batteries, Millennium Falcon cutaway poster (SciPubTech 1997)

• The bathroom location was defined by the Wizards of the Coast floorplan

Star Wars Blueprints: The Ultimate Collections from DK Books is available now. Order it from Star Wars Shop today.

---

For other Millennium Falcon stories, don't forget to check out:

• Millennium Falcon Week Begins StarWars.com gets the ball rolling with an excerpt from the new novel, Star Wars: Millennium Falcon by James Luceno.

• The Last Corellian Shipyard Explore the behind-the-scenes history -- and the tragic end -- of the full-sized Millennium Falcon set!

• A Millennium of Gaming The history of the Millennium Falcon in video games.

• Millennium Falcon Collectibles The best Falcon toys, puzzles, models and more.

• Learn to Draw the Millennium Falcon Step-by-step instructions on how to draw the classic vessel.

• Draw a Millennium Falcon Battle Scene Tips on how to compose a dynamic space battle starring the Falcon.

• Make a Millennium Falcon Neck Rest Turn an ordinary neck rest into a crafty Star Wars one.