A Landed X-Wing, Salzo V4

[Avanaut]

HI all,

My long overdue first post. One of the reasons I hesitated was that I am not certain whether this should be on the general section due to the fact that my X-wing does not end up as any specific Red Squadron bird. This is because I am not that good a painter and I decided the challenge to trying to match my build to an original filming model is a bit too much. For now anyway. It's my first SS build to be completed.

So, if it's okay to have it on this section, I'll proceed.

The build started in December 2014 as an inbetweenie building a Nice-N Red Jammer. I found the Jammer to be very challenging and figured an X-wing would be a bit easier and perfect for learning a thing or two while building it. Of course it wasn't easier, just different.

I started with the landing gear. The ones that came with the kit were very generic and I decided I need something resembling the full scale mockup a little better. So I built my own from brass tubing.





As you can see, there is some extra greeblies in the rear landing gear bays. I always thought the empty cans were a bit odd and added just a couple of familiar 8-Rad pieces and some plumming to fill it a little. This doesn't really show when the well covers are attached but I thought it would be nice to have something there. In retrospect, I might not add the piece nect to the vertical strut, it's too close to it but I'm not going to yank it off anymore.

The landed version of the Salzo V4 does not have anything between the wings, it's empty space. I added a support box made from styrene sheet to make sure the wings are aligned straight. Inside the box I fitted switches and battery compartment for operating the lighting system on the model.



Yes, this sucker is electrified, and the cockpit is fitted with optic fibre. I had to build the cockpit entirely from scratch as the one that came with the kit turned out  too narrow after I had cleaned and thinned the thick fuselage walls around the cockpit. I took it as an opportunity to attempting a full scale style thing.



I also removed the canopy from the fuselage because I couldn't get it to look as sharp as I wanted. Thinning out the resin window bars was very difficult. So, enter a new canopy made from sheet styrene along with a new cockpit tub with some soldering wire tubing and a seat lifted from a 1/24 Pontiac Trans-Am. I modified an old spare chair to resemble the proper seat, it's not exactly right but I figured it won't stick out that much.



The hinge mechanism of the new canopt is really simple. It's just a horizontal brass tube glued to the roof and brass rod bent to support the canopy. The front end of the canopy has a neodyme magnet so that when it's closed it stays tight.

Here are the changes made to the upper fuselage. Please note the rescribed panel lines and new chips. The details on the upper fuselage were a little soft to my taste so I redid them, same with the chips. The lower half was sharp, I didn't need to rescribe that.



I made a few mistakes along the way, inexperienced as I am. The engine cans are placed wrong. The outer cans are about two millimetres off, they overlap the smaller inner can halves and made the whole engine intake area look wrong. That really killed me but I can't tear the cans off anymore. I added a little strip to the smaller cans, a lip that lengthens them a bit so that the overlap around the intakes doesn't really show anymore.

At the moment I have painted the bird but not weathered it. It is close to a red 3 but there are so many mistakes along the paintjob, including mirroring the wing cannon barber pole stripes, that I gave up on trying to achieve a replica of any specific X-wing. Mine will be a generic X. Here's what it looks now. Still sans weathering and some paint patches.



I hope to be able to finish this soon and post more detailed images of it.

Thanks!

[ColinSMT]

Welcome!

That is well done, I love the scratched the gear and cockpit. The resin is always a challenge but I think you've overcome it quite nicely. As you've discovered its sometimes those little things that trip you up.

And you did not let your 'learning curve' discourage you and kept at it! That is what the hobby is about - learning.

So be very proud, it looks great!

[Avanaut]

(06-04-2015, 11:28 PM)ColinSMT Wrote: Welcome!

That is well done, I love the scratched the gear and cockpit. The resin is always a challenge but I think you've overcome it quite nicely. As you've discovered its sometimes those little things that trip you up.

And you did not let your 'learning curve' discourage you and kept at it! That is what the hobby is about - learning.

So be very proud, it looks great!

Thank you very much for the encouraging words! I found out about SS-models about three, four years ago, it was a very delightful discovery and I am taking steps from the audience to the workshop. Building these is very rewarding but the most incredible thing is the feeling when you first see the shape and size of the Y-wing or the X-wing first hand, realizing that you are essentially looking at the same thing you saw on the silver screen back in 1977. These models are both new and old at the same time, that is quite extraordinary. I really like that.

[dbhs]

Wow - amazing resin kit AND scratch building skills. Most resin kits require some (if not a lot) of scratch building to augment them.
Totally agree on your statement below. Even with their imperfections building in studio scale is satisfyingly "real".

Quote:Building these is very rewarding but the most incredible thing is the feeling when you first see the shape and size of the Y-wing or the X-wing first hand, realizing that you are essentially looking at the same thing you saw on the silver screen back in 1977. These models are both new and old at the same time, that is quite extraordinary. I really like that.

[darkimmitator]

Well done sir !!

[Scott Graham]

Sweet job on everything! I love what you did with the cockpit! Wow!!!

It's always bothered me how badly formed those 45 degree angled areas of the cockpit canopy are on the kits.

[roboterkampf]

Wow! I LOVE the landing gear brass work!!!

[JAWS]

Looks pretty good to me.