John Laidlaw Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Hi folks, Thought I'd get this party started at least so it's here when I have the time to get the build going. This is the MPC Snap kit of the Return of the Jedi B-Wing Fighter. I finally managed to track down a kit at a reasonable price, but was amazed at how small it is. Definitely a "box scale" kit . Anyway, here's a photo of the box and its contents taken this afternoon: This is the condition in which it arrived - no paint, no glue, but some parts off their trees. As it was a sealed box, I'm going assume that rattling around in its journeys caused the parts to leave their homes and start wandering. I intend lighting this, as it's simply a case of lights at the front of the wing-fold mechanisms, cockpit lighting, and of course engines. As it's so small, the LEDs will have to go into the locations of the lights, rather than trying to bend fibre-optic cable, or creating perspex light-guides. It's just not worth the hassle . I have a bag of about 100 warm white 3mm LEDs, some of which I shall use for this - any colouring will be done using Tamiya transparent paint, but otherwise the warm-white colour is much more in line with the incandescent bulbs used in the filming models. Power will be supplied externally at 6V, and stepped down to "bugger-all current" by various resistors... so that the lights don't overpower the model. This means I'll have to devise another stand to hold the batteries, battery holder, on-off switch and the wiring leading to the model. I have some planning to do . Although it's possible to articulate the model (it's designed to allow the wings to fold, and the cockpit rotate), I'm not sure yet about how to hack the cockpit section around to allow the wiring through and still allow it to rotate. We'll see. Anyway, there it is! I'm looking forward to this, and hope to make a start in the next few days. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmonk Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Nice one John, wish the likes of FM or Bandai would make one of these. I have one of the 'Special Edition' Gold ones that I have striped the plating off. look forward to see what you do with the lighting. Cheers, Warren 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 Ah yes, the gold ones... never could understand that idea . Ideally, Bandai should produce this and the A-Wing in a consistent scale. I know neither featured in the films very much, but anyone who played the X-Wing game back in the 90s probably wants them. The lighting won't be to your standards, Warren, just static stuff. Basic, like my abilities . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 (edited) On the subject of rotation and lighting, have you thought of a conductive ring and a sliding contact, like used on drill motors? They use carbon bushes to make contact to a ring, allowing for power to flow with 360 degree rotation. Matt Edited March 2, 2015 by S5 modeller 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich G Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 (edited) When I first played Star Wars X-wing in the early nineties I was so in love with that game, I played it over and over and over! I really wanted to get models of the A-wing, B-wing, Y-wing and X-wing and only ever found the MPC X-wing in the return of the jedi boxing, but my skills were pretty bad back then and being too excited I rushed it. I would love it if Bandai brought out those kits in a scale like 1/72 or 1/48 would be great! I'd love to make them again at some point. Rich Edited March 4, 2015 by Rich G 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Popcorn and deckchair acquired, watching... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 On the subject of rotation and lighting, have you thought of a conductive ring and a sliding contact, like used on drill motors? They use carbon bushes to make contact to a ring, allowing for power to flow with 360 degree rotation. Matt I'm not sure my skills extend that far, Matt . It's certainly an elegant idea. In the end, though, I think I'm going to carve out a 180° channel to allow the cabling to pass through. When I first played Star Wars X-wing in the early nineties I was so in love with that game, I played it over and over and over! I really wanted to get models of the A-wing, B-wing, Y-wing and X-wing and only ever found the MPC X-wing in the return of the jedi boxing, but my skills were pretty bad back then and being too excited I rushed it. I would love it if Bandai brought out those kits in a scale like 1/72 or 1/48 would be great! I'd love to make them again at som point. Rich That game's the reason I am such a fan of the B-Wing - a big, brutal, slow, heavyweight attack craft. Gorgeous . Popcorn and deckchair acquired, watching... Then I shall do my best . 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmonk Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 For the amount of turning I would think you might get away with a bit of extra length on the wires and allow them to twist, would need to be thin wire though, something like Kynar (26 AWG), the kit is probably too small for slip rings. Bandai have announced that the Y-Wing will be out later this year so fingers crossed for an A & B, Sand Crawler, ISD, AT-AT, Blockade Runner...........shall I go on!! Cheers, Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermo245 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Bandai have announced that the Y-Wing will be out later this year so fingers crossed for an A & B, Sand Crawler, ISD, AT-AT, Blockade Runner...........shall I go on!! Cheers, Warren Please do Warren! Look forward to following this one John, it's a tidy little kit.. Dermot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 For the amount of turning I would think you might get away with a bit of extra length on the wires and allow them to twist, would need to be thin wire though, something like Kynar (26 AWG), the kit is probably too small for slip rings. Bandai have announced that the Y-Wing will be out later this year so fingers crossed for an A & B, Sand Crawler, ISD, AT-AT, Blockade Runner...........shall I go on!! Cheers, Warren That's the plan, Warren. I've various gauges of wire that should do the job, all multi-stranded and very flexible. As there'll just be one LED in the cockpit module, it should all be fairly simple. I hope! . I'd be very happy with just the smaller stuff, such as the A- and B-Wings. Anything after that would be a bonus . Please do Warren! Look forward to following this one John, it's a tidy little kit.. Dermot Despite its small size, it's actually very nicely detailed, and it clicks together well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelglue Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Nice, always wanted one. Ditto on Bandai or Finemolds making one. What scale does this ring in at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 Allegedly, 1/144. Given the size of the pilot figure in the kit, that seems about right . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viper15 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Looking forward to this one, I an another patiently waiting for a decent B-wing and A-wing to be made. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts