Hasbro Tie Bomber rework

[TCSloan]

WARNING to collectors! One Hasbro Toy was completely destroyed in the making of this thread.

Im going to rework the Hasbro Tie Bomber toy to be a bit more accurate. In fact, Im building the wings completely from scratch, or one of them, I'll make a mold and cast a copy for the other side. Heres what I have so far, if you can spot it amongst the disaster zone on my desk.

"Disassemble!"


The basic panels and mounting point


Some plumbing parts reworked to size. These will fit snug onto the toy.

[propologist]

this will be sweet for sure. I have the toy and this is a great idea

[dbhs]

He he - nice warning. Good to see it going to a better place and for a good cause.

Scavening parts from kits and other sources is is really liberating them from the oppression of plain old kit building. You're doing them a favor.

[TCSloan]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the comments.
Heres some more progress. so far I have one wing section framed out,inside and out. I still have one layer of additional armor to add around the perimeter. Its a thin layer, which Im out of so off to the hobby shop I go!

[TCSloan]

well, Ive tried and failed. I just cannot seem to replicate that pattern. I tried making a stamp and using Aves to sculpt it on..while it does work, I cant be precise enough with each impression and it ends up looking sloppy after a while.
The only alternative I can come up with is the screen mesh. would you sacrifice accuracy for a precise neat and close to scale pattern? just without the pyramid impressions? seems thats what the other modelers are doing as well after looking at those large scale Tie Bombers.

[dbhs]

Check this link to the plastruct catalog. http://www.plastruct.com/picat/PLAIN_PATTRND_SHTS_9.pdf On page 57 there are 3 square pattern textured sheets that should work for you.

[TCSloan]

I looked into those. I'll see if our hobby shop has any of them, otherwise I'll just stick with the mesh I have, its pretty darn close and Im not sure how close any of the Plaststruct sheets will be without actually seeing them.

Been pluggin away today. I have the center panel framed out, I'll add the extensions to it after I have the two panels attached. I also started on the center panel detail. I had a feeling these small parts were goin to take some time..all 80 of the little %$ards.

[dbhs]

yeah, those might be too thick for the frame you have already installed. That screen doesn't look bad and will give you a nice texture in the panel too.

Looking forward to what you come up with there.

[TCSloan]

Movin along now. started on the access panels on the inside ..its beginning to look like a tie wing now ..off to the hobby shop for more styrene!

[propologist]

great project..where did you find the wing dimensions ?

[TCSloan]

For the basic dimensions I used the toy wings , but compared them to photos of the ILM model to make any corrections. some if it is just a matter of eyeballing. without scaled plans, its impossible to be 100% scale accurate.

[JAWS]

looking good TS. Thanks for posting your build.

[TCSloan]

Thanks omes, I appreciate it.
I got some more doodads glued on today.. next up I get to make all those little handles and bolts on the panels yipEE!

[propologist]

very cool...i'm watching it closely on the RPF too. I always wanted to to a large scale Tie Tank so I'm keeping all info. from all builds

[TCSloan]

Thank you! I thought there might be members who visited both forums, but for those who dont is why I post in all of them.
a Tie Tank. I remember seeing some pictures of one.. that would be an awesome project, since Im an armor enthusiast as well as Star wars. Thats why I always liked the Trade Fed tank.. I actually built 2 of those. One as the regular version, then another as a futuristic German scheme.

Heres another update. got the details done on the panels. next up comes the details around the wing mounts. I think what I might do here is make one master for each side (mirrored) and cast those as seperate parts. I think it might be difficult to scratch each one and get them exact.

[dbhs]

Awesome work. I love seeing such clean styrene construction. Are you using a chopper to get all those little parts exactly the same? I like the wire loops too.

[TCSloan]

thanks db, yes, Im using the first version put out by Northwest..its been a lifesaver

[TCSloan]

Once I got going on these next parts, I realized they werent so hard, so perhaps I can cut one less mold. now on to those tricky parts

[TCSloan]

One last update before I call it quits for the day. This little bugger was a pain!
I think its still going to need casting seperate. Its actually elevated above the base, leaving a mold lock spot. I was hoping to get the whole wing in one mold, but its obvious now that there will have to be some parts seperate. Hate to do it because it will increase the cost ,but Id rather stay as close to the studio model as I can ..even though its still not going to be 100% accurate in detail .

[TCSloan]

Got a bit more details done today. These will be cast as seperate parts.

[TCSloan]

Ok, so tiny greeblies can be boring..how bout some large panels with fishnet? sexy?

[dbhs]

Is that copper?
Any different to work with than brass?

I love metal pipe details like that. Did some on my concept raider.

I think that screen turned out better than the tile panels would have. Looks sweet and I bet it will look even better after being painted up. I'd be carefull about the screen grabbing onto the rubber when you mold this. The undercuts at each opening are tiny but all working together it might pull off when you pull the shape out of the rubber.

[TCSloan]

a mix of copper and brass.. I just grab whatever size I need, but I do like using the copper tubing. Its easier to cut and get a clean straight cut than the brass. I was worried about that mesh doing that. I was thinking about sealing it with some Mr Surfacer or auto primer. not sure if that would be effected in the molding process though.

[dbhs]

Coating it with something to smooth it out a little bit would probably help. Maybe something glossy like Future would work? Not really sure.

[TCSloan]

future might, but I wouldnt know if its all sealed. which is why I thought Mr Surfacer would work, it does come out glossy, and its easy to spot missed areas with it.

[TCSloan]

Gettin close! still need to make the outer wing box thingies, and inner support arms. then I'll move on to the other vinyl crap and replace it.

[TCSloan]

heres another quick update..doesnt look like much was done but man..those supports took me all freakin day!

[TCSloan]

heres a bit more ..with excpetion to a few small details the wing is done! finally!

these parts will be cast seperate. the center box thingy does have a variation between the left and right wing..so I'll just make up two castings and let the builder remove the details for one side.

[dbhs]

That's fantastic work. Hard to believe you have scratch built all of that detail.

[TCSloan]

finally got some more work done. Heres the bomb dispensing pod? Unfortunatly its a complex piece ,so it'll have to be solid resin inside. Making it hollow wouldve just increased the cost I think. Still need to pick up some larger halfround to finish the details on each end.

[dbhs]

Any news / updates on this?

[TCSloan]

hey, yeah, sorry I forgot to update this forum. heres some recent shots..Im currently molding up parts as we speak!

[dbhs]

The castings look really sharp.

[TCSloan]

those are the masters. I havent casted anything yet. still making the molds..but thanks , I hope they turn out that sharp

[dbhs]

Oh, ok. I saw the blue piece in the background that looked like a cast of the piece in the first pic and thougth all the blue parts were casts. Keep us posted.

[TCSloan]

Im currently getting the parts cast up for the Hasbro Tie Bomber wings and detail set. The wing mold is still half way done. I have to order more silicone to finish the mold, but it will be soon. Im currently using my first cast parts to make up the instructions and I'll post photos of the parts attached once thats ready. Id like to go ahead and get a pre-order list going to get an idea of how much resin I might need. Im sure youll want to see casting photos before committing, I'll have those ready ASAP. I have enough resin right now for about 8 full sets. No money is asked up front until the kits are ready to ship.
The cost is $100 for just the two wing kits.
Or $125 for the entire upgrade set.

The set includes :
2 wings & its associated parts
bomb pod & arm replacement
2 rear engine domes
front missile pod dome & associated parts
1 front center panel
1 rear center panel
1 bottom center box

Pre-order list: Not a firm commitment,but serious interest.
1.MandoMan531
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
................

Photo of master wing

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Here are some shots of resin parts for those interested. Sorry if the detail doesnt show quite well. It can be difficult to shoot white resin.

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Im starting on the sample model now. These will also be the instruction photos.

[TCSloan]

Finally gettin some resin parts on. heres some progress photos plus some comparison with the toy parts. The brass tubing will be provided for the engines.

[Apophis]

has the tie bomber been done yet? I know these are old posts but the interest is still there.