I'm sorry... sitting here reading this and all of you talking about this without actually knowing anything about it... scoffing at the price thinking it is way too much. Lemme give you all a bit of actual knowledge here and maybe you'll begin to see why this is actually such a big deal.
Back in the 70's when they filmed Star Wars there was no such thing as CGI or computer animation. Everything was done "in camera" which meant that every single ship you saw in the movie actually exists in one form or another. Most were models that were hand crafted from scratch. Many were of various sizes and scales. The Millenium Falcon of course being the most popular.
When filming first started they built a 5' foot Falcon model... this was the first one. It weighed in at about 250 lbs and was quite cumbersome. In making the model they used various bits and pieces of other model parts glued to the surface to give it a more "unique and familiar" look. When they were filming the 5' footer, they realized they needed something a bit smaller, so they created the 32" inch version. The biggest problem when rescaling or resizing a "kit-bashed" model like this is that some of the original kits they used couldn't be found in a smaller scale size so bits and pieces were either left off or substituted for, so every size was a bit different then it's predecessor. They also made 3 other versions, but not until ESB. They made a smaller 23" Inch version that was only seen attached to the back of the Star Destroyer and a small 2" inch version that was only seen escaping the mouth of the space slug on the asteroid. Then of course was the full size that was used by the actors, however it wasn't actually full size either... its was more close to 2/3rds the size of the actual Falcon, but no one really cared or noticed when it was as big as life up on the screen and the full size was actually just partically built side that could be seen by the camera for ANH and they did make a complete version for ESB that floated on a cushion of air for ease of moving around the set if needed.
Now... With all that knowledge in mind, a little company started up called Master Replicas. Co-Founded by a man named Steve Dymszo, he and his team were granted access to the actual filmed 32" incher Falcon model that was used in all the movies, and had been stored in the Lucas Archives, the same model that saw the most screen time of any other ship used in the movies. What they were able to do is scan this model using unprecidented levels of detail so fine that it actually picked up dust off the surface of the model. With these scans with over 2.5 million points of reference their company produced the most accurate model of the Falcon ever produced. It was called the Master Replica's Millenium Falcon and it was glorious. Now this was only produced in a very limited run and was sold out rather quickly at around $5000 a piece. This was a Holy Grail for many collector's. Not only was it accurate to the original, but it had the providence from the original.
Years go by, and now you cannot find that model anywhere except occassionally on eBay and they end up selling for anywhere from $10,000-15,000 dollars U.S.! All of us who missed out on that beauty have had to either try and build our own, or do without.
Now however and just recently, a little UK company that has been producing high quality model kits for years contacted Steve and asked if he would be willing to help them produce a Falcon kit. But not just any kit... this would be a DeAgostini kit of the highest order. Steve has terrible OCD (like most of us model building sci-fi geeks and while going over the scans that they original had done of the Falcon, discovered that many of the little parts had broken off and were missing over the years of handling. He fixed that. He scoured the archive footages and original photos of the model and when he couldn't find a part, he scratch built it to make sure that this kit would be perfect! So here's what we know about this kit:
1) This part-kit is based directly on the original scans that were done of the 32" filming miniature that appeared in the ESB and ROTJ so you actually have providence there.
2) The MR Falcon was also produced from those exact same scans, however, it was discovered that many pieces had fallen off the original filming miniature over the years and were never repaired. The MR Falcon was reproduced without any of those missing peices and is basically an exact dupicate of the Original miniature as it is today. This DeAgostini kit fixes and replaces all the missing pieces that had fallen off over the years (pipes, parts, plates, etc).
3) This version contains a complete interior. The MR Falcon does not.
4) The MR Falcon sold for anywhere between $4000-$6000 dollars when it was released... when the DeAgostini model is finished including shipping, you're looking at anywhere between $1500-$1800 complete.
5) This is not just a snap-together model, it is a complete building kit which means you will have to glue, paint, and assemble it yourself. Its also multi-media. It's not just plastic, it's also metal parts, wires, screws, and various other mediums. Just like the original model was. If you have no modelling experience what-so-ever, you still end up with a better than decent model because all the parts are pre-painted, but with some practical assemblage and common sense, you could end up with a masterpiece. And if you're any good at model building what-so-ever (and maybe with a little OCD), you could end up with something better, a TRUE Replica Masterpiece!
6) This kit is completely lit and comes with all the wiring and lights you will need, but also has a special surprise as well. From what I've heard in the rumor mill, it's also going to be remote controlled including the boarding ramp!
7) You can display this in both flight or landed mode. It will come with landing gear (the 5 gear version, gotta remember this is the ESB verion, not the ANH version with only 3 gear).
8) The chances that this will be a short run and it will end before its done is pretty slim. DeAgostini has been in business for years and their kits are top of the line not only in accuracy, but in size and material as well. They've been doing this for a long time!
9) This is a 1:1 scale model of the 32" filming model. Not a 1:1 of the full size model. They actually made 4 different sizes for filming... the first was a 5' foot model. They used that for making the 2/3 size full size set version (which wasn't actually complete but only a set with the back half of the ship not even made). When they discovered that the 5' footer was too big for moving around and getting alot of the ction shots that were needed, a smaller 32" inch model was created and this is the one you see zooming thru the high speed scenes. The third model that was made was a smaller 2' foot model that was made and only seen once on the back of the Star Destroyer, and finally an even smaller 2" inch model that was only used in the space slug scene on the asteroid. Each version is a bit different because of the simple fact that the original 5' footer was a kit-bash... meaning they used 1000's of little parts and pieces from various other model kits and glued them to the surface of the original. When the 32" was made, alot of the original kits couldn't be found in the smaller scale, so the compromised and used different parts and pieces. You never really noticed because it was zooming around the screen but those with a trained eye and massive OCD can tell the difference. In any event, the 32" model saw the most screen time of any of the other versions because it was easy to move around and get all those cool shots, which is why this DeAgostini kit is so saught after and wanted.
10) This isn't going to be around forever. Just like with any model kit, I'm sure that this run will come to an end at some point, and if you wait around, you may just miss out on something that is truly ground breaking and the start of a whole new era of sci-fi modeling. I kicked myself for never getting the Fine Molds Falcon when it came out 10-15 years ago. Now its gone and the prices for them are thru the roof on ebay. When it came out, it was $250. Now you're lucky to find a complete MIB untouched kit for under $500... I've seen some selling for $800-$1000 on eBay. I'm not gonna let that happen again. I've got my subscription and can't wait to get started on this one when it arrives. I suggest if you have any interest in this what-so-ever to not hesitate, because you'll end up kicking yourself if you don't.
So before you go bashing something thinking it's stupid and a complete waste of money, do a little research and know your facts. Who knows... maybe now you might understand just why this is such a big deal and why the internet has been buzzing about this. Personally, I can't wait for mine to arrive. I know I could never afford $5000 up front for a model, but with this coming in at $1500-1800 in payments over 2 years, I can swing $60 a month. Hell I was paying more for layaways at Target and Walmart for a longer period when I was getting Christmas gifts! So... just ask yourself... is it worth it now?