Space Dust...

...or whatever it is that makes those Star Wars ships so dirty. And so I continue adding layers of pastels in different colors.

Masking Tape & Weathering

Masking off the wings can test your patience. Luckily they are just basic shapes and after you make a mask for the right wing it works for both so you only need to make two. I applied dabs of liquid mask in the areas of the red markings and let them dry. After I sprayed the red I scraped off the liquid mask and it resembled chipped paint. That was the first step towards weathering - and there's alot of it on Star Wars models.

Now it's on to the serious weathering, but before I start I coat the whole model with dull coat. I really like Testor's dull coat because it dries fast and has an even flat look. Then I diluted some oil paints (the kind that come in a tube) with thinner. I thin the paint down approximately 5 parts thinner to 1 part paint. I then brush this over small areas at a time. The wash brings out alot of the details that disappear in the solid white surface - especially the panel lines. Before it dries completely I wipe the excess off witha clean rag. After that dries I spray on another coat of dull coat to seal it.

This is the point when I like to use pastels to weather further. The pastels are ground down to a powder and you can apply them with a brush, sponge, Q-Tip, anything you like. The idea is to get the effect you want no matter what technique you use. It is really easy to get carried away when you're weathering so proceed slowly and refer to your reference photos often.

Remember, although you may be working on a fictitious vehicle you can still refer to real world things that you can use to apply to it. Looking at an old truck that has alot of wear and tear can inspire you to add things like oil stains, chipped paint, dents, burn marks, the list goes on. Using real world elements brings an added sense of realism to your work so look around and collect pictures.

Time to Paint!

With everything built I moved on to the finish. The first thing I did was sand the entire model and filled any gaps that may still be present. When I was satisfied with that I primed the model. I like to use Tamiya Surface Primer Light. It's a very thin primer that doesn't fill in tiny details or clog scribed panel lines.

For the paint I wasn't sure which to use. Typically I use Tamiya model paint which I like alot especially when using it with an airbrush. When ILM painted their original models they used paint from a company called Floquil. Well, Floquil is still in business so I went ahead and ordered some paint and gave it a shot.

I started by spraying the whole model with Reefer White mixed with a little Gray. I let that dry overnight. The next day I lightly sanded the white with a very fine sand paper. Now it's time for the masking. There are alot of different stripes and marks on the XWing and there are a few different versions. I decided to go with Luke Skywalker's version - Red 5.

Alot of the colors may seem bright and pronounced at this point but they will become muted when I begin weathering.

Wings, Wings & More Wings

On to the wings and there's plenty of them. After working everything out on paper I decided the easiest way to tackle this was to work on them as if it were an assembly line. Doing it that way helped keep a consistency through all of them. The basic shape was cut in acrylic which I sheeted with styrene. The acrylic is much stronger at keeping its shape and wouldn't sag over time.

The wings include a few model parts but most of them I scratch built. It took alot of time especially the guns.

Here is a detail of the back of the engine. The part in the center is a heatsink.

The underside of the wings was the fun part. The design has the engines exposed and that's were I took liberty and dressed them up how I wanted.

When they were done I went ahead and test fit them onto the fuselage. I decided to keep the wings in the fixed open position.

Canopies & Cockpits

Now that the fuselage is done on the outside its time to move in. I ran the fiber optics into the cockpit and under the R2 unit. After drilling 20 or so holes into the instrument panel I ran a fiber optic into each hole. A good lesson I learned while doing this is that fiber optics and Cyanoacrylate glue DO NOT mix. The fiber becomes brittle and just cracks when the glue is setting and so I wound up having to re-do it. It's better to set the fiber in place with either epoxy or hot glue.

Time for more "kitbashing" to fill up the cockpit. I used alot of parts from airplanes and some photoetched tank parts. By molding alot of the parts I was able to make multiple copies and repeat certain ones. I didn't really follow the original model I just made it look functional.

The canopy was the tricky part. It took alot of patience to get the shape just right. I started by making a mock-up in thick paper. When I was happy with it I used the paper as a guide to cut the styrene. To avoid the glare from the lights during shooting the original models didn't have any windows. I decided not to include "glass" either because I liked the way it looked.

Droids

So, the "R2 strip" wouldn't be complete without...well - R2D2! R2 was made from some tube styrene, styrene strips and a plastic dome. I used an LED for the "eye" but all the lighting on the droid was done with fiber optics.

After I was happy with the results I painted it and test fit into the space on the strip.

Greeblies & Silicone

Now it's time for the fun part - kitbashing! The strip behind the R2 unit is filled with "greeblies" from all sorts of models kits - ships, tanks, etc. After I found the kits I needed (mostly off of EBay) I glued all the parts onto a piece of foam core with a 1/2" wall surrounding it. I sealed the seams with hot glue to prevent and of the silicone from leaking out.

With the mold ready to go I mixed up the silicone and poured it in. In order to avoid getting air bubbles from forming I placed the mold on the floor and poured from about 6 feet off the the ground. You have to keep a thin steady stream until the mold is filled so you have to get comfortable before you start pouring.

After the silicone cured up over night I removed it and began filling it with resin. I like using a 2 part resin from Bragdon Industries which is pretty easy to use and very forgiving. When I had the parts I needed I began filling in the "R2 Strip" according to the original model. It may not be 100% accurate but it captures the feel of the original.

Nose Cones & Styrene

After I was finally happy with the fuselage shape (I took forever!) I covered the whole thing in .020 sheet styrene. I used spray on contact cement and it worked really well. If a corner lifted up I would then go back and secure it with some CA. I then moved on to the nose cone which was carved out of balsa and then covered in styrene like the body.

After everything was covered I sanded it down using progressively finer sand papers. I usually start at 400 grit and go to 12000 grit. There's a great sanding pad kit you can get from Micro Mark with really fine grit. I like to wet sand because it keeps from heating the plastic while you're sanding.

To fill any seams I use Automotive Red Glazing Putty. You get a pretty large tube and it lasts a lifetime.

India Turns 3!

The Model Garage Foreman, "India" turned 3 today. She's a Golden Retriever that we rescued 2 years ago and she's been at my side in the garage ever since.

Scratchbuilt Studio Scale X-Wing

My first scratchbuilt project was the X-Wing. I started it a few years back and really enjoyed it. I also learned alot along the way and it probably took me longer to finish it than it should have, but it was worth it. From start to finish it took me about 1 year of nights and weekends. So, although it is complete I'm going to chronicle the build here from the beginning.

I started off by blowing up pictures of the original studio model to approximately 2 feet long. I used pictures from what has become known as the "bible" of Star Wars models - "Chronicles". An expensive book but well worth every penny. From there I started with a block of balsa wood and carved it to shape.

I continued to refine the shape. I spent alot of time trying to get it right before I moved on.