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1989 MPC Darth Vader TIE Fighter


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Hi All,

Just thought I would create a thread for my first ever model in progress. It's a 1989 MPC Darth Vader TIE Fighter (the one that needs loads of sanding and filling ;)) Apologies for the slightly poor quality pictures, they were taken on my phone. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy the updates. :)

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Steps completed over the last few days.

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Yesterday I primed all the main parts of the fuselage
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I also tested my first ever LED lighting circuit. Obviously, the fuselage is not stuck together here I just wanted to get a feel for what it might look like. :)
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Cheers,
Rob
Edited by neron-fx
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It's not going to be '75 vintage mate. Star Wars wasn't released till '77, and that one has Return Of The Jedi on the box sticker which puts it post '83. Nice start though

Hey Chadders,

You are quite right. I clearly can't read properly. :) I have updated the post accordingly. :)

Thanks for your comments.

Rob

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Ahh, the old Darth on the toilet figure. :)

Despite the fit issues, it does build up into a decent looking model. Much better than some of their other SW kits.

Looks like you're off to a good start. Have fun with it. :thumbsup2:

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Ahh, the old Darth on the toilet figure. :)

Despite the fit issues, it does build up into a decent looking model. Much better than some of their other SW kits.

Looks like you're off to a good start. Have fun with it. :thumbsup2:

Cheers Smiffy,

Yeah, it is the worst looking Darth Vader I can imagine! The fit is awful and very frustrating. It's not going to look immaculate but then I wouldn't expect my first one to. :)

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Glued the fuselage together tonight. Thought it made sense to get it together now since I will need to do a lot of sanding and filling. You can see from the pictures how bad the fit is :(. I also decided to leave the clear parts out as they were old and scratched and I also felt they were far to thick to look realistic. Like the bottom of jam jars!

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Edited by neron-fx
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Looking good so far....leaving out the glazing is in keeping with the original filming miniatures which had no glazing either to prevent unwanted reflections from the studio lights. Your lighting job looks pretty good too...

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Looking good so far....leaving out the glazing is in keeping with the original filming miniatures which had no glazing either to prevent unwanted reflections from the studio lights. Your lighting job looks pretty good too...

Thanks a lot Jargon, :)

I just followed a few tutorials on YouTube and borrowed a soldering iron from a friend. Took a bit of fiddling to get the LED in place where the light would spread and still look relatively natural. :)

Good to know that about the film models not having glass, I didn't know that! :)

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Ok guys,

I started filling all the holes and gaps this morning. There are so many. :(

What do you guys think of my first ever attempt at filling. I think I was a bit messy, it's harder than it looks when I see pros do it! ;)

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and here it is after setting, sanding and re-priming.
It's not perfect but for my first attempt I am quite happy.
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Thoughts and feedback appreciated here. :)
Cheers,
Rob
Edited by neron-fx
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Evening people,

I just finished pre-shading the TIE Fighter this evening.

Pretty happy with the results considering its my first time using a dual action airbursh. :)

What do you all think? Tips and advice very much welcome. :)

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Cheers all!
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Looks good to me Rob...my only tip would be to photograph your progress against a neutral background which makes it easier to see all your hard work....pick up a large sheet of pastel coloured card from an art shop and shoot your pics against that....

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Looks good to me Rob...my only tip would be to photograph your progress against a neutral background which makes it easier to see all your hard work....pick up a large sheet of pastel coloured card from an art shop and shoot your pics against that....

Cheers Jargon, I hadn't considered that but I see what you mean. It does kind of detract from what I am shooting. :) I will make sure to shoot against a neutral background from now on. :)

Thanks for the tip!

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Hi guys,

I got the base coat on this evening, My pre-shading seems to have come through ok. I was going for subtle but I think I might have gone a little to subtle. :( What do you guys think? It's my first attempt at painting so any hints and tips anyone could give would be appreciated.

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Cheers all,
Rob
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Looks good as a base coat...next up I'd try some gentle drybrushing in some complimentary greys but do it a panel at a time....maybe a darker pinwash in the recessed areas....

If you've used acrylics as the base coat then you might want to try something like this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wreblsPaUhU

There are several parts to the video but the end results are stunning....

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Looks good as a base coat...next up I'd try some gentle drybrushing in some complimentary greys but do it a panel at a time....maybe a darker pinwash in the recessed areas....

If you've used acrylics as the base coat then you might want to try something like this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wreblsPaUhU

There are several parts to the video but the end results are stunning....

Thanks Jargon,

That sounds like a good next step, thank you! :)

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Jargon, those discolouration tutorials are really great :), I'm just worried that I don't yet have the skill-set to pull of that kind of effect and do it justice. :(

I know you only learn by doing but I'm worried I might cock it up and have to start over (I already started over painting once already!) :D:oops:

Is there anyway I can test these techniques before I put brush to plastic or should I just suck it up, be a man and try it? haha! :coolio:

Cheers,

Rob

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Hi Rob

Nice looking TIE fighter. If you want to try out the techniques, have a go on another kit first - perhaps an old one that did not quite work out, or a really cheap one that you don't mind sacrificing. It can be anything - as long as you have an area of plastic to use.

anthony

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Hi Rob

Nice looking TIE fighter. If you want to try out the techniques, have a go on another kit first - perhaps an old one that did not quite work out, or a really cheap one that you don't mind sacrificing. It can be anything - as long as you have an area of plastic to use.

anthony

Thanks Anthony,

This is my first ever model so I don't have any "old" ones to practice on. ;) Still, I like the idea of just buying a really cheap, naff kit to try out these techniques on.

I shall pop down to the hobby shop later this week. :)

Cheers!

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Your pre-shade looks good to me in the pictures. Remember, this is Vader's TIE and it usually gets babied when he isn't flying it. Plus, TIEs tend to be clean anyway since one shot usually turns them into a bright pretty fireball anyway. So I would say it looks fine. Once there is a little detail coloring in spots and the black solar wings are added, that should help make the base coat pop just fine.

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JMC is right, the TIE Fighters were turned out by the thousands and were fairly clean due to their short life span.

I built one recently that I sold at Smallspace a few weeks ago, lit up the interior with a LED plus some red fibre optics which I also used on the 4 red lights at the back. Used 2 3mm greed LEDs to replace the cannons which flashed when you pressed a button on the base.

The pre shading looks great, don't over do the weathering as it wasn't a dirty ship.

Cheers,

Warren

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Your pre-shade looks good to me in the pictures. Remember, this is Vader's TIE and it usually gets babied when he isn't flying it. Plus, TIEs tend to be clean anyway since one shot usually turns them into a bright pretty fireball anyway. So I would say it looks fine. Once there is a little detail coloring in spots and the black solar wings are added, that should help make the base coat pop just fine.

JMC is right, the TIE Fighters were turned out by the thousands and were fairly clean due to their short life span.

I built one recently that I sold at Smallspace a few weeks ago, lit up the interior with a LED plus some red fibre optics which I also used on the 4 red lights at the back. Used 2 3mm greed LEDs to replace the cannons which flashed when you pressed a button on the base.

The pre shading looks great, don't over do the weathering as it wasn't a dirty ship.

Cheers,

Warren

Wow, thanks very much for your feedback and thoughts guys, really appreciate it! :)

I agree that the TIE Fighters would have looked reasonably pristine, especially Darth's. However I do agree with Jargon that it looks just a little to "new" and some subtle discolouration and dry brushing would really add some depth and detail to the model. So if I anything I will only be following steps 1 and 2 from the video link provided by Jargon above, and I shall be applying it very carefully to ensure I don't overdo it. I think JMC is right, when the wings are on and done it will automatically start to look better, I just want to get rid of that "super-clean" finish as to me it doesn't look quite right :)

Many thanks,

Rob

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Morning guys,

So I started discolouring the underside of the fuselage this morning. Thought I would start there as it won't be very visible once its on it's base and so won't detract from the model to much if I messed it up.

This is my first time using oils and oil washes but I am reasonably happy with the results. I think I could have been more subtle with it in places as now it looks just a little too grimey particularly on the first and second panels I did before I got the hang of it. :)

I'm afraid the pictures aren't great and don't really do it justice as it is quite subtle, but hopefully you can see the improvements over the last pictures I uploaded. It has just taken off that "super-clean" finish that I had before.

Thoughts, tips and advice would as always be appreciated.

Cheers,

Rob

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Looks good to me....try running a very dark pin wash into the panel lines and around the moulded detail then finish with a drybrush using progressively lighter greys...I'm thinking Humbrol 64 followed by 147. Also use a small brush to pick out the odd panel in a different grey and also some of the tinier details in a metallic.

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Thanks Jargon.

I'm going to do the top side of the fuselage tonight and then read up on how to do a pin wash and how to dry brush effectively. It's getting there though, slowly but surely. :)

Thanks for everyone for the feedback, tips and advice.

Cheers,

Rob

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Hi all,

I have discoloured the top half of the fuselage this evening.

Apologies again for the photo, the light in here is quite poor and makes it look 'yellower' than it actually is.

However, it should at least give you all an idea of the sort of effect I have managed to achieve.

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Pin wash and dry brushing next. :)
Cheers,
Rob
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