1/24 Hero X Wing Build with Maxi Brute Fuselage

[427 Cobra]

(03-01-2010, 05:04 AM)PB BB1 Wrote: Are you guys still talking about this old thing?

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Thank you Cobra, but I'm still trying to reconcile over here.

Except the Red 3 set reveals a styrene bottom. I get what you are saying about these fuselages BUT the first few must have used a styrene bottom, right? You know before the were totally fed up with their motor control miniatures. We can see the buck right next to the molds for the Hero buck in this photograph.

OK - let me clarify without revealing all the secrets that NDAs' have kept under wraps all these years. Red 3 was fixed with styrene - not made from it. This is a fuselage top mould - both positive,and the negative in this photo. That white block you see on the right was a weight laid on top to help seal the mould,so that there was no extra flash around the edges once the fuselage was removed from the mould. This is only ONE station where demoulding took place not all of them. There were several modelers working to remove these at one time. What most of you guys don't understand on here,the rpf,and all other forums is - the ILM modelers didn't just have to figure out how to build models,but they also had to know how to make moulds,and do wiring for lights,as well as paint them! This meant that there was more than one job to be done by all,and this is only one photo,so everyone thinks this is the only person to do this,and the only demoulding area for hero models,since there are no other photos showing this process.

(03-01-2010, 05:04 AM)PB BB1 Wrote: All I'm saying is of all the photos of the moco X wings under construction indicate a greyish top (like the pyro master pattern) and maybe a styrene bottom. My only evidence for a styrene bottom in this case is the Red 3 miniature.

And the only other versions would be the pyros themselves. Though perhaps incorrectly designated.

That model was not from the original Star Wars movie - it was not repainted,but it IS a newly moulded model for Empire! The original Red 3 did not have hollow wings - just the Empire version.

(03-01-2010, 05:04 AM)PB BB1 Wrote: Sure some of their destinies was to blow but it seems the goal was to create an out-of-the-mold complete X wing so they wouldn't have to painstakingly recreate panel lines and scratchbuild wings. Though you can hardly blame these guys as we are lucky to have any photos of their process at all.

It was the destiny of ALL the pyro models to be destroyed. I don't understand why all you guys on the prf think there were "hero pyro" models,but none of these survived the final filming of Star Wars! Even Red 5 is gone now. This is why you only see the Empire,and Jedi versions of Red 3,and the original Red 2 from Star Wars. As far as scribe lines,you'd think that was the case,but it never happened that way. This is a urethane rubber mould,which urethane was a product of the sixties. This wouldn't be soft,and pliable enough to allow any small details like this to show once cured,which is another reason styrene was used,but it was found to be no better under the hot flourescent lights,as it would separate from the fuselage tops of the first three pyro models made. These had to be reworked. This is why is why decided to use a soft polyurethane for the bottoms,as this wouldn't warp,but would stay glued. The green tops are the original material colour of the X-wings fresh from the mould. Once it was figured out how to make the new bottoms for the fuselages,so that the internal workings would fit - these fuselage tops were mated to the bottoms. It wasn't so much how,or what to make the fuselage materials from as everyone thinks,but how to make the internals,and the externals work together.

The photos were Lorne Peterson,and Joe Johnstons' idea. This was to document that work was taking place in spite of the original moulding problems encountered at the ILM shop,much as we do on the forums today. George was becoming a little apprehensive about these moulds when he first heard that there was trouble on the horizon. George wanted to see what was done once progress began. There were others that also came in,and took pictures around the shop for posterity. Most of these were taken by ILM modelers,and the same type of camera was used for most of these pictures. The reason you don't see a lot of these photos is because,they were taken for personal reasons,and the only person you'll get them from are the people who took them.

(03-01-2010, 07:11 AM)PB BB1 Wrote: Hey, that fuselage picture is the kit update!

IMO the fuselage shape is the most important part about this project. I am debating now... go to town etching panel lines in the fuselage or make a mold and a new fiberglass master.

You might like to see whats next. Casting those pesky engines!

Make a new fuselage master - this way,you'll have one to recast in case the second one fails for any reason.

(03-01-2010, 08:11 AM)PB BB1 Wrote: I should have been more specific; that's my fuselage.

It may not look like much but there is a lot of precise work in there. The Maxi Brute definitely originates from a Hero buck... it just has to. There is no way it could not... having now spent so much time getting it just right (and still some work to be done)... it seems impossible to think the MB could have spawned so accurately from anyones scratchbuild. Prove it you say?

Spending way too much time with the Red 3 photos yielded yet another revalation. All this time I was thinking I would have to restore the edge/lip of the canopy (when viewed in profile) so there would be the step drop off to hold the 'glass' like on the originals. This would mean you would have to stop cutting before you got to the edge of the window. I was wrong again. Red 3 uses styrene sheet adhered to the inside of the fuselage to create the lip to hold the glass. This means even more variation in the shape of the finished canopies because you would first have to decide how much to take away for the window opening and then create the styrene frames for each window... without a panel line, step, or hard edge as a guide.

Granted this is some tricky work. There are obvious additions and subtractions to the MB and deciding which can often be frustrating. Did they take a little away, or did they add just a bit. I'm still working on a few problem spots in the back.

Do you mean the window mulions? These are little recesses to allow glass,but none was ever used on any of the filming models,except Red 3 from Jedi - this was the only one to actually have glass permanently attached to its' canopy. The Empire model was bastardised from old moulds,and new styrene parts. The styrene was used because,it was easier to form. It was glued to the bottom engine housings as a homemade fix for the destruction that happened during the filming of Empire. This was done for reasons of posterity.