Hero Version Tie Fighter

[DarthDuck]

Beginning an SS Nice-N-Models Hero TIE complete with original CoolShade. It just arrived and the client has some nice plans for it so this should be fun.

[erospawn]

Hey Duck.. You sure are a prolific builder!

[dbhs]

It's going to be fun seeing you work your magic on this one. Any hints on the 'nice plans'? No - just suprise us !!

[Wombat]

Look at all the damn room ya got in this one!
I'm sure you've got a few tricks up that sleeve of your's,or in your case snuggled under a wing perhaps!
I'll just have ta wait until ya spring it on all of us,but we all know that you seem to come up with some unbelievable treats there.

[DarthDuck]

Thank you gents.

"Room" is a lil bit deceiving though since there is an included armature that runs smack through the cockpit ball? Oh it's sturdy as the Sydney Bridge but but it would preclude a full interior which could be viewed as not a bad thing- because once you aren't worried about a full interior you can stuff your components into it. In discussions now to see which way that goes?

But no matter what is decided for that it sure is a sizable and very nice kit which when combined with the correct (real original) Kool Shade will become a very nice piece of eye candy.

[427 Cobra]

Hey,Don - why don't you cut that armature in half,and keep the interior. The ball itself along with the structural integrity of the TIE fighter design should keep this from sagging! This way,you can have the best of both worlds. I take it that this doesn't come with an interior? If you want one - Lasse Henning might hook you up with one.

[DarthDuck]

(01-23-2010, 04:20 AM)427 Cobra Wrote: Hey,Don - why don't you cut that armature in half,and keep the interior. The ball itself along with the structural integrity of the TIE fighter design should keep this from sagging! This way,you can have the best of both worlds. I take it that this doesn't come with an interior? If you want one - Lasse Henning might hook you up with one.

The armature itself is so heavy that if cut in half it would snap right out of the wingmounts! No, I'm looking at a total redesign if approved by the client.

[79 Daytona]

This is GREAT i am really looking forward to seeing your build of this kit.

[JAWS]

Awsome Duck. This looks like a great kit. Is on my extensive list so will be watching very eagerly.

[JAWS]

hah harrrrrrrrrrrr Found it. So Any updates Duck!?

[DarthDuck]

(03-05-2010, 04:27 PM)jasonwright.1972 Wrote: hah harrrrrrrrrrrr Found it. So Any updates Duck!?

Bastard.

It just so happens that if you had waited until tomorrow you would have seen.

Now I'll have to think about it.

[JAWS]

Damn thats funny. Well actually damn your funny.

[DarthDuck]

^^^
No, it was really funny timing on your part! The following was supposed to be done yesterday and then got delayed again till this morning. So, here's that update!

Well,
This thread has sat dormant awaiting the following:

Original (Nice-N-Models pic)

Now


The machine work reduced the armature down to appx. 8ounces with plenty of rigidity/strength left. No offense, at all, but I wasn't comfortable with adding as much weight as the original piece carried. The delay is what happens when a friend assists you but it has to be put aside for his normal production work?

But with the fundamental support now back- we can continue.

[JAWS]

Wow so the kit comes with a stainless steel armature? Looks good. I gotta get one of those kits some time.

[DarthDuck]

(03-06-2010, 09:20 AM)jasonwright.1972 Wrote: Wow so the kit comes with a stainless steel armature? Looks good. I gotta get one of those kits some time.

It's an option Jase.

[MonsieurTox]

That's looking good DD but while I do understand why you did it on the armature to save weight, I dont understand as the tube is part of the outer shape of the TIE ? I mean the pipe is visible on the ILM model. Did your educe the diameter of the Neisen's armature and plane to insert it in some tubing ?

[DarthDuck]

(03-08-2010, 12:00 AM)MonsieurTox Wrote: That's looking good DD but while I do understand why you did it on the armature to save weight, I dont understand as the tube is part of the outer shape of the TIE ? I mean the pipe is visible on the ILM model. Did your educe the diameter of the Neisen's armature and plane to insert it in some tubing ?

There is existing slop between the armature and resin parts anyway. It would always have needed a styrene sleeve/wrap or the armature would have rattled around within the model. Now a thin wrap can be put on top of the armature and that will take paint better and you'll never know what's underneath it.

[DarthDuck]

I read in a build thread (by GF at RPF, fine model too!) that he shimmed his resin armature and believed the metal one was about 30cm in diameter.

The armature I received varies between 28.47 and 28.50mm which is close enough to just call 28 1/2 mm. That still leaves "slop" (if you wanna call it that) when you fit it into the kit pieces which explained the gaps I saw on prefitting. I'm using .010 plastic to sleeve the areas I had machined away and bring it back to a "solid" tube (looks wise) which will then take up the slack and accept paint better than aluminum could have. To that end I fashioned up some simple jigs which when slipped in place snug up the sleeve to enable gluing. A couple of those sleeves are very snug for where I'll be applying glue while a couple of others are looser just as "holders" but when you tilt them slightly off axis they do snug it all up again anyways. They're just easier to move around that way.

[MonsieurTox]

Great idea !

Yes you wont have any paint chips on styrene, unlike aluminium !

[DarthDuck]

(03-10-2010, 05:18 AM)MonsieurTox Wrote: Great idea !

Yes you wont have any paint chips on styrene, unlike aluminium !

It's funny but at least one of the studio models on tour actually has an area where somehow paint never seemed to cover the armature? There is metal, plainly seen! Doesn't look like chipping or flaking- just no paint coverage?

Besides the weight savings (never a bad thing IMHO) this takes up the slop and gives a better base for paint so it really wasn't that much work (but did delay the project a long time?) and well worth it to me. Since all the electronics and power will be self contained maybe this will allow a thinner diameter support of something like clear acrylic and complement the trench run base the client has in mind.

And, thank you for the kind words!

[dbhs]

Nice work, Don. I really like the look of clean machined metal like that. Very slick. I bet this thing looks huge after working on that tiny speeder.

[JAWS]

Yep looking good Don. really looking forward to this build mate.

[DarthDuck]

(03-10-2010, 05:18 PM)dbhs Wrote: Nice work, Don. I really like the look of clean machined metal like that. Very slick. I bet this thing looks huge after working on that tiny speeder.

Yeah, the Speeder could almost be a greeblie on this one!

Thanks for the kind words DBHS and Jase- I'm looking forward to this one. It's BIG, it's a damn nice piece to start with and the client has turned me loose on the kind of things I like to do! That's when you're really lucky- when a project all falls in place like that!

---

With the cockpit halves in place and clamped slightly you can see how snug everything is now. There are no gaps between the wing mounts and the newly sleeved armature with the white styrene visible.




Now the outer wing mounts will be another story. It's as if the two part molds weren't fully seated or the resin raised them apart as curing? They're considerably "thicker" than their counterparts and will require sanding on the inside to get them thinner and "round" where they join.

[JAWS]

The casting looks pretty sharp. Looking good Don. thanks for the updates.

[DarthDuck]

(03-11-2010, 06:10 AM)jasonwright.1972 Wrote: The casting looks pretty sharp. Looking good Don. thanks for the updates.

Yup, the castings are sharp with lots of details which I've heard are "accurate". With the normal work you'd expect of a resin kit this ambitious I've seen it built up handsomely and hope to do the same.

The outer wing mounts were cleaned of "flash", ground out some on the inner diameter and then fitted to the armature. The locating keyways would have caused the inner and outer wing mounts to overlap. So the resin keys inside the mounts were removed and if you look closely you'll see where the slot of the armature is almost visible within the resin mount. A lil CA and paint will eventually cover that though and final sizing isn't done yet since it appears those four lil "pads/squares" which protrude out aren't quite the same from inner to outer. Normal filing and fitment for any resin kit though and that should bring the spacing between them into better symmetry.

[JAWS]

Any updates Don?

[DarthDuck]

(03-22-2010, 11:26 AM)jasonwright.1972 Wrote: Any updates Don?

Yup, all done and gone.

Um, wait,,,,,,,,,,

No? The answer is no.
Thanks for asking Jase- just fuckin wit ya!

[427 Cobra]

(03-13-2010, 11:21 AM)DarthDuck Wrote: So the resin keys inside the mounts were removed and if you look closely you'll see where the slot of the armature is almost visible within the resin mount. A lil CA and paint will eventually cover that though and final sizing isn't done yet since it appears those four lil "pads/squares" which protrude out aren't quite the same from inner to outer. .

Elmers' brand wood filler, Don. That's what I use to remove the irregularities, and small imperfections that superglue can't. The big plus is that you don't need a solvent like actone,or lacquer thinner to remove it, it's soft, and it's waterbased. This stuff dries hard as a rock, and has very little shrinkage, so you can use it for gap filling, and any areas where superglue can't be simply applied, then sanded flat. A lot of people don't know that just because they've sanded a superglue spot down that it isn't perfectly smooth. I used to be one of them. It's hard to see if there is a tiny bit of unevenness in a part, but I use Elmers' applied with an old credit card like Bondo - the two part resin, not the red spot putty. There're no toxic fumes, and it can be washed out of clothing unlike solvent based products.

[DarthDuck]

(03-22-2010, 05:29 PM)427 Cobra Wrote:

(03-13-2010, 11:21 AM)DarthDuck Wrote: So the resin keys inside the mounts were removed and if you look closely you'll see where the slot of the armature is almost visible within the resin mount. A lil CA and paint will eventually cover that though and final sizing isn't done yet since it appears those four lil "pads/squares" which protrude out aren't quite the same from inner to outer. .

Elmers' brand wood filler, Don. That's what I use to remove the irregularities, and small imperfections that superglue can't. The big plus is that you don't need a solvent like actone,or lacquer thinner to remove it, it's soft, and it's waterbased. This stuff dries hard as a rock, and has very little shrinkage, so you can use it for gap filling, and any areas where superglue can't be simply applied, then sanded flat. A lot of people don't know that just because they've sanded a superglue spot down that it isn't perfectly smooth. I used to be one of them. It's hard to see if there is a tiny bit of unevenness in a part, but I use Elmers' applied with an old credit card like Bondo - the two part resin, not the red spot putty. There're no toxic fumes, and it can be washed out of clothing unlike solvent based products.

Well, that seems like a good trick too! I like a few methods already including Tamiya putty thinned with lacquer thinner, same with Miliput. Both are easy to work with and the Miliput as it's setting up can be smoothed with a lil saliva on a fingertip or spatula, easily. But really, this gap is so small just a lil thick CA put inside the gap will close it right up. Actually the first coat of primer will probably fill it.

But I'll store that tip for future use as well!

[JAWS]

Milliput! kool. I bought some of that recently.

[dbhs]

Looks great, Don.

The last box of milliput I got from the LHS was rock hard. Must have been sitting there for a while. I got some marine-grade epoxy putty instead that was still soft. Hope that works the same when I need it.

[DarthDuck]

(03-23-2010, 06:24 PM)dbhs Wrote: Looks great, Don.

The last box of milliput I got from the LHS was rock hard. Must have been sitting there for a while. I got some marine-grade epoxy putty instead that was still soft. Hope that works the same when I need it.

Yes, it can get "old"?
And thank you!

Since the cockpit ball halves join at would also be a scribed line I adjusted their size then added .010 strips slightly inset to depth from the edge so that once joined there is already a "panel line". Did the opposite on the rest of the joining areas so that those can just be sanded to a clean edge which helps avoid scribing over a joint or adding putty to re-contour after assembly.

[DarthDuck]

Working on the cockpit ball I laid the armature in place which does have locating tabs to help set the diameter. The floor plate needs to be glued in at some pint so I first beveled it's edges for a uniform contact and then using the front canopy frame and rear fascia I adjusted the "width" with a large bar clamp until things fit nicely.



Now IMHO ILM/Lucas played a dirty lil trick on all of us by using what appear to be amber LEDs (or rod) for the exposed portion of the chin guns. But when they fire you see a green blast? Hmmmm, that's not fair. Since we'll have working guns I first cut the leads off of the kit supplied LEDs and then hogged out the inside to accept a mini bright green LED. When done, it looks amber but will light up green! Problem solved.

[427 Cobra]

Very cool! I likey - I likey a lot! That's something that I would've thought of, but I would've used the amber ones just for authenticity. Another good idea, and a functional one at that. I can't wait to see this all lit up, Don.

~ Cobra Chris

[DarthDuck]

Thank you Cobra!


For the rear I first drilled out and sleeved the openings to eliminate any light bleed.


Then to mount the red LEDs from behind I used successive sizes of telescoping tubing till the LED with ground off flange also fit within. Again, because I hate light leaks.

[JAWS]

Wow I just admire your work so much Don. It really is a pleasure & honor to see you work on these kits. Thanks for being such a fantastic member & contributor at the site for us to learn from.

[DarthDuck]

(03-25-2010, 04:50 PM)jasonwright.1972 Wrote: Wow I just admire your work so much Don. It really is a pleasure & honor to see you work on these kits. Thanks for being such a fantastic member & contributor at the site for us to learn from.

Now Jase, you're just too kind. We're surrounded by great modelers on this board!

But it is very nice to feel "appreciated" so I thank you!

[427 Cobra]

(03-25-2010, 04:50 PM)jasonwright.1972 Wrote: Wow I just admire your work so much Don. It really is a pleasure & honor to see you work on these kits. Thanks for being such a fantastic member & contributor at the site for us to learn from.

(03-25-2010, 06:55 PM)DarthDuck Wrote:

(03-25-2010, 04:50 PM)jasonwright.1972 Wrote: Wow I just admire your work so much Don. It really is a pleasure & honor to see you work on these kits. Thanks for being such a fantastic member & contributor at the site for us to learn from.

Now Jase, you're just too kind. We're surrounded by great modelers on this board!

But it is very nice to feel "appreciated" so I thank you!

You're both being modest!! Two of the best people, and modelers on these forums talking like they've never done this before.

[DarthDuck]

(03-26-2010, 12:11 AM)427 Cobra Wrote:

(03-25-2010, 04:50 PM)jasonwright.1972 Wrote: Wow I just admire your work so much Don. It really is a pleasure & honor to see you work on these kits. Thanks for being such a fantastic member & contributor at the site for us to learn from.

(03-25-2010, 06:55 PM)DarthDuck Wrote:

(03-25-2010, 04:50 PM)jasonwright.1972 Wrote: Wow I just admire your work so much Don. It really is a pleasure & honor to see you work on these kits. Thanks for being such a fantastic member & contributor at the site for us to learn from.

Now Jase, you're just too kind. We're surrounded by great modelers on this board!

But it is very nice to feel "appreciated" so I thank you!

You're both being modest!! Two of the best people, and modelers on these forums talking like they've never done this before.

"This is all new to me. Be gentle?"



Using the locators on the cockpit floor and upper sphere I positioned the kit components for the cockpit and then filled in the sidewalls and some of the "roof". Next I'll "busy up" those sidewalls and then move to making a seat.





I'll also address the bit of visible gaps when you look through the canopy and see it to the hull halves where the cockpit doesn't quite snuggle up against the opening.

[427 Cobra]

"Now, that's what I'm talking about!" (said in a very goofy cartoon style voice) This is what I was hoping for in this build. I think that your client will love this!

[DarthDuck]

(03-26-2010, 09:42 AM)427 Cobra Wrote: "Now, that's what I'm talking about!" (said in a very goofy cartoon style voice) This is what I was hoping for in this build. I think that your client will love this!

Yeah, we're FINALLY getting to the actual good stuff!

[JAWS]

Very nice Donald....

[DarthDuck]

(03-26-2010, 07:14 PM)jasonwright.1972 Wrote: Very nice Donald....

Thanks Jason. I finally just now found a great clip of the original TIE pilot in the cockpit for those few seconds. I am now armed with what I've wanted to flesh out the interior better and modifications have begun!

[DarthDuck]

In trying to get closer to what we see on those short glimpses inside the cockpit onscreen I'm making a few more changes.


I "found" or made an extra 1/4inch in depth for the cockpit. This was for visual effect and to better accommodate the pilot grasping the yet unmade control/flight yoke.


And have started work on the pilot.

[427 Cobra]

It's easy to see that they recycled some figures from the original movie.

Stormtrooper = TIE fighter pilot helmet = AT-AT driver helmet.

C3-PO = multiple successions of his entire character form with various designations.

R2-D2 = various names, and colour schemes derived from his original form.

IG88s' head recycled from the first movie where the Cantina band played - you can see the propane heaters they used to decorate the bar with. These are also what they used as reducers on the Millenium Falcons' laser guns that Luke, and Han used to fend off the TIE fighters after they escaped from the Death Star.

Zuckess's head, and 4 LOMs' head are identical.

Who knows what other everyday items,or characters were recycled from one to another.

I just wonder why they used a generic figure for all the X-wings, and TIE fighters?

[DarthDuck]

(03-27-2010, 03:33 AM)427 Cobra Wrote: It's easy to see that they recycled some figures from the original movie.

Stormtrooper = TIE fighter pilot helmet = AT-AT driver helmet.

C3-PO = multiple successions of his entire character form with various designations.

R2-D2 = various names, and colour schemes derived from his original form.

IG88s' head recycled from the first movie where the Cantina band played - you can see the propane heaters they used to decorate the bar with. These are also what they used as reducers on the Millenium Falcons' laser guns that Luke, and Han used to fend off the TIE fighters after they escaped from the Death Star.

Zuckess's head, and 4 LOMs' head are identical.

Who knows what other everyday items,or characters were recycled from one to another.

I just wonder why they used a generic figure for all the X-wings, and TIE fighters?

Well the AT-AT driver helmets are actually modified TIE Pilot helmets. Shepperton Design Studios ('SDS' not ILM) made 14 for the TIEs and then two of those were modified for the AT-ATs. It looks like four but that's nothing more than adding some red stripes between scenes. While the overall budget from ANH to ESB increased dramatically the costuming budget actually shrank so yes, they did as much "recycling" as they could!

[427 Cobra]

I understand that the costumers were separate from ILM, Shepperton studios only made the stormtrooper armour, and the TIE fighter helmets, and chestplates. I just wonder why so much recycling, and why they thought that propane burners looked cool?

[DarthDuck]

[DarthDuck]

In screen caps you can see a couple of lights on the "control yoke" and I also like the idea of lights coming from what could be the gun triggers atop the end of the yoke. So brass tubing was added to the "grips" and a lil surface mount LED was prepped to hide within the "column".


I like to mount the light source as close as possible to the actual visible portion because I've had bad luck with longer runs of FO eventually failing over time whenever they make any kind of bends and such?

[427 Cobra]

Hey, Don - you can get single guitar strings from http://www.musiciansfriend.com

You can buy these in single guages instead of whole sets, so that you can build in the correct scale, and not run out. These are also handy for 1/72nd, 1/32nd, 1/48th/ and 1/24th scale models. ) 0.35" to 0.105" are the ones that I use regularly, and they'll never rust, as these are nickel. They also give the perfect hose illusion, so that you don't have to scratch make them yourself.