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Slave 1 - 1/72


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Bit of a blast from the past for me here - The old(ish) 1/72 Slave 1 from Finemolds, a kit that I originally built back in 2014. This time around I'm doing it as a commission build, so will be saying bye-bye to it once it's finished. As you can see from the box, this is the Jango version (the Boba version is as rare as hens teeth these days), but I'll be finishing it as Fett junior's ride in the more familiar red and green. There are a few external differences between the two kits, and a slightly different cockpit layout, but for the most part, I'll be building it straight from the box as the differences don't amount to much, and in some cases the Jango version is slightly closer to the current incarnation of Slave 1 as seen on the Mandolorian.

 

First up is the cockpit, and this is a double decker affair, with the pilot sitting up top and a passenger compartment below. As mentioned above, the layout on this version differs slightly from the Boba S1 kit, principally with the crew seating. The Boba version has a single pilot's seat on the top deck, whereas the Jango version has three seats. Since the cockpit set used on Mando also has multiple seats on the flightdeck, this layout is a better match than the one in the Boba kit

 

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I've added a few extra details to the cockpit parts - a strip of photo etch on the front of the flightdeck, and a few random greebles on the walls - which will add a little more visual interest in the cockpit. This is all dry fitted at the moment, but is pretty much ready for paint. Hopefully I should get the first base coats on later today.

 

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             Andy:cat:

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Just a quick update before I start the cockpit painting. I took a couple of screen grabs from Mandolorian to use as reference during the build. For the cockpit filming set they've used a seat design that is very close to the ones that come with the Jango S1, with a round headrest. The seats that come with the Boba version of the kit have different seats with a square headrest.

One thing that stood out on the filming seats though, were the yellow collars around the tops of the seat frame uprights. (apologies for the banding on the image - it's just a photo of my TV screen)

 

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I decided it would be worth adding those collars (or something close) to the kit seats, as the yellow adds a nice highlight in the cockpit. I cut a short section from the top of each seat frame and inserted a section of streched sprue that was a little wider than the frames (original on the left, modified on the right).

 

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While looking over the screen grabs I also noticed the large raised silver panel on the wall

 

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As luck would have it, I've recently picked up some round photo etched Gundam details that, while not an exact match, should do a good enough job of replicating the detail.

 

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I've stuck a couple of 3mm styrene discs to the cockpit walls to act as bases for the PE. This will all get painted first, then the PE will be added afterwards.

 

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Everything's ready for paint now, so I'm off to fire up the airbrush.

 

Andy:cat:

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23 hours ago, ScootyPuffJunior said:

I have no doubt that this will be another stunner! I'm looking forward to following along.

 

Thanks, I'm looking forward to it too. Slave 1 is always a fun subject to paint.

 

I've got most of the cockpit painted now. It's difficult to ascertain the exact shade used on the S1 cockpit sets used on Mando, but it's essentially a dirty grey. I gave all the parts a medium grey base coat using Gunze Medium Sea Grey with a little black mixed in. I then used some straight MSG to spray some loose highlights. I added a dollop of black to the remaining paint to get a dark grey, thinned it quite heavily, and sprayed a few shadows in the recesses and along the panels lines.

 

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The rest of the painting was then done by brush, mainly using thin glazes of different greys to differentiate the panels. The circle of raised panels behind the fligh deck were painted in a warm tan grey, and a few details were picked out in yellow to tie in with the collars I added to the seats. The seats themselves were painted in a cool tone green with silver for the frames. Everything then had a dark grey acrylic glaze slathered on, then partially wiped off to weather the finish. The last step was to add some chipping using a pale grey applied with a sponge, and finally a few tiny chips and worn edges done with a pencil.

 

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I've also added the little photo etched doo dahs and they make a nice detail and catch the light a bit, although probably won't after the cockpit is installed in the fuselage.

 

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         Just waiting for the glazes to fully dry, then I can get it all together and move on to the rest of the build.

 

         Andy:cat:

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Excellent stuff. It's looking great !!

 

This is really a great time for a Slave 1 build with new shots from Mando Slave 1 available as reference. Definitely the way to go.

 

I love the little added doo-dads etc. All added realism.

 

Really looking forward to the rest of this build. Can't go wrong with a classic Star Wars ship !

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Thanks all,

 

12 hours ago, Will Vale said:

I really should adopt your practice of masking off the mating surfaces.

 

It does make life a little easier when it comes to assembly. It didn't make that big a difference in this case, as most of the cockpit components could be glued from the reverse side.

 

The cockpit is now finished, although it won't be installed until the fuselage is painted. That's one of the good things with the Finemolds S1 kit; almost everything can be built and painted as sub-assemblies, then put together at the end.

 

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I've also glued the main fuselage together. This is just a two-part assembly with a vertical split, but it was still quite fiddly as the spine is quite long and the parts were a little warped. The spine is also a potential weak spot, so on my previous S1 build I added a lot of reinforcement on the underside of the joint, and I'll do the same here. I glued the spine together with liquid styrene (bits of sprue dissolved in Tamiya extra thin), letting the excess squelch out, which can later be sanded back to avoid the need for any subsequent filling. I left the front of the fuselage unglued until the spine had set to avoid putting any extra strain on the spine while the solvent was still soft. Both joints will get some styrene tabs glued on the underside, and probably some epoxy adhesive to further strengthen the seam.

 

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I've also got the wings assembled. These are the most complex parts of the kit. Not complex to build, but the most intricate and detailed assemblies. The originals used a lot of kit-bashed parts stacked in layers, and Finemolds has done a very good job of replicating them.

 

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When they're built up, they remain workable, in that they can be rotated between landing and flight modes. I'll be keeping them in separate sections for painting. Some of the parts also had some black sprayed on the undersides and the less accessible areas before assembly to avoid any areas of unpainted plastic showing after the main painting.

 

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The wings mount to two semi-circular plates that attach to the lower hull. I've added a little extra detail to the plates, as I did on my old S1. This isn't based on any reference, it's just to add a bit more busyness to the area, most of which is semi-obscured on the finished build anyway. Mainly it's just a bit of wiring and a few styrene greebles, but I also drilled out the three rows of holes that run around the hub (modifed on the left - original on the right)

 

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     Andy:cat:

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Thanks chaps

 

The upper hull and skirt are essentialy ready for paint now, but I'm out of a couple of the paints I need and, crucially, also out of masking fluid, which is probaly the most essential component of a Slave 1 build. I've ordered those, so while I wait for them to turn up, I've made a start on the underside. The bottom of the ship is essentially one single-part moulding that just has a few small panels and details added to it. There are various colours needed for the different details, so quite a bit of masking will be required later on but, for now, I've just laid down the main base colour. The final colour is a very pale warm grey, but I started by applying a dark grey to act as a primer and add some shade into the recesses.

 

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I followed that with a mottle coat of Tamiya Sky Grey. This step is fairly redundant as it will mostly be cover by subsequent steps, but it does have some effect on the final finish. The areas toward the back that are still in the dark grey are sections that will be painted in a different colour later on.

 

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The wings and the small cover panels that mount to the underside were also finished in the same way.

 

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The underside then got a more even coat of Tamiya Deck Tan mixed with a little X-22 Clear. While it looks quite pale at this point, it still isn't the final colour. Another, even lighter coat will be added later, but only after I've got the masking fluid to do the chipping.

 

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Again, the wings and other bits have had the same treatment.

 

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As alluded to above, the Deck Tan has mostly obscured the intermediate Sky Grey layer, but I think it's still worth adding as it makes for a smoother transition from the dark base coat.

 

The wing mounting plates have also been painted. These needed finishing in a darker grey, for which I've used Tamiya Ocean Grey, followed by some mottling and highlighting with a lightened version of the same colour. Like the base, these will get another coat after an appliaction of masking fluid, then some of the raised details need to be picked out in a green shade.

 

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                 Andy:cat:

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On 01/03/2021 at 06:14, TristanR said:

Slave one doesn't have any landing gear does it?  It just lands on its hoof I guess.

 

Thanks Tristan. No, there's no landing gear on Slave 1. Probably explains the state of the paint on it😉

 

The masking fluid I'd ordered arrived yesterday so I've started to get the first layers of chipping on the underside. I began with the wing mounting plates which got a general random application of masking fluid, followed by a layer of dark grey. When the masking was removed, some of the paint rubbed off the copper cabling I'd added, but that's not a problem as it'll get touched up during the detail painting. The next step for this is to mask off the the raised greebles that fan out from the hubs and spray them green.

 

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The wings have had their final pale grey coat after the masking fluid was added over the previous deck tan layer. The tonal variation you can see on some of the panels was done with glaze coats of a light grey brown applied over the deck tan prior to the chipping stage. The final pale grey coat was kept fairly thin to allow those tinted panels to still show through.

 

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The wing struts had their mounts masked off and sprayed green. This will get some chipping later on too.

 

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The main underside piece has had the same pale grey application as the wings. This too had some panels tinted before the masking fluid was applied. This is going to need a lot of the rear end masking off next to paint the engine areas in green and dark grey.

 

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The cover panels that go on the underside have had the same treatment.

 

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The last parts I've done in this forst session of chipping are the engine nozzles. These were base coated in a light brown followed by more masking fluid (already applied in the photo)

 

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A darker brown was then sprayed over the parts, followed by some post shading using the same colour with a little black added. The masking was then removed. These will now get some washes to bring out the details and a little more exhaust staining.

 

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Most of this work won't be seen that much on the finished build as the customer is planing to have the ship wall mounted as part of a display. It's been a while since I've done any extensive chipping like this though, so working on the underside is good practice for when I get to the more critical upper body.

 

Andy:cat:

 

 

 

 

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Thank you Andy for another masterpiece!  I am so glad that you are sharing intresting build details and super quality pictures.  When I will build mine slave 1 in 144 scale I will surely  relly on this "manual" :D

 

By the way what is your metod of aplying masking fluid? Do You use air brush for blowing air on brush bristles dipped with masking fluid?

Edited by Konrad Popławski
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Thanks everyone,

 

On 05/03/2021 at 18:02, Konrad Popławski said:

By the way what is your metod of aplying masking fluid? Do You use air brush for blowing air on brush bristles dipped with masking fluid?

 

I usually apply it with a sponge, dabbing it on the model wherever I need the chips (see image below). If I need to add very tiny chips I'll use the tip of a tooth pick.

 

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I got the underside masked off yesterday to spray the green sections. This was a two-stage process, starting off with a pale green mixed from Gunze Interior Green lightened with a little white.

 

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Once that layer was dry, I applied the masking fluid then sprayed the darker colour, this time mixed from Interior Green with a drop of black added. I kept this layer fairly loose and patchy so the chipping would vary in intensity.

 

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The last main area to block in was the engine section in the centre. As this would have needed some very fiddly masking for airbrushing, I decided to brush paint those areas with AK Tenebrous Grey. I'd also made a start on the weathering here with some pin washes and a bit of general grime and shading around the panels. When this is all dry I'll seal it under a matt coat and start the main weathering.

 

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        Andy:cat:

 

 

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5 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Sounds like a Cad from a Jane Eyre novel

 

Apparently it means dark, shadowy or obscure, which sounds more like my cat to be honest. Well... the obscure bit anyway.

 

Andy:cat:

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