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FineMolds 1/72 Tie Fighter


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At last, the perfect opportunity for a bit of modelling self-indulgence. All the way from HLJ via HMRC (VAT added, ouch) and RM (what?! Another £8 on top! B*****ds!)

The obligatory shot of the box

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and the equally obligatory sprue shot

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The instructions are all in Japanese, but that doesn't matter as there are only about 2 dozen pieces in total. And, joy of joys, the canopy masks are included in the box.

Andy

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Right, let's get this road on the show. Just for a laugh I'm going to see how quickly I can put this one together. Anyone who has seen me do anything will know that this goes completely against the grain for me - I've turned prevarication into a way of life.

So, here is the first build shot

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Rattle can satin black and an hour in the oven at 40 degrees. Next up, the cockpit.

Andy

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Great kit, built one some time ago.

Just one thing though, arn't you a day early starting.

Ingone the last bit, there are two start dates on the GB !

Edited by Madmonk
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A few more pics. Whilst waiting for the paint to dry, I took the opportunity to construct the stand:

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The cockpit was assembled and detailed with the enclosed decals. A shade wash was used to bring out the raised detail

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The whole lot then pops into the rear fuselage half. The fuselage halves were joined and the remaining half dozen parts added

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And that's your lot 'til it's sprayed.

Andy

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Nice one, it's looking great. As Peter said, there are so many different types of builds in this GB, it's excellent to see!

A quick question for you. Could you go into more detail about 'A shade wash was used to bring out the raised detail'? :) How exactly was this done? 'Washes' are one of the many things that I've never really done, I tried it once but it didn't work at all ( I think I probably just did it wrong ). Thanks!

J.

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Andy, just a quick word about weathering, have you got a book called "Sculpting a Universe - inside the Star Wars model shop".

The section on the TIE Fighter says that the theory was that the Empire churnedthemm out in great numbers, they were simple to build and quick to replace. Very little weathering besmirched their finish, mainly painted Stormy Sea Blue. The intention was to have a more high tech fighter than the X-wing but to have it piloted by idiots!

The interior looks great. Keep up the good work.

Hope you don't mind the interjection.

Cheers,

Warren

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Nice one, it's looking great. As Peter said, there are so many different types of builds in this GB, it's excellent to see!

A quick question for you. Could you go into more detail about 'A shade wash was used to bring out the raised detail'? :) How exactly was this done? 'Washes' are one of the many things that I've never really done, I tried it once but it didn't work at all ( I think I probably just did it wrong ). Thanks!

J.

In this case I used a tiny amount of a black and burnt sienna oil paint mix thinned very heavily with white spirit. Using a fine brush I 'washed' a small amount of this thinned mix over the whole surface to be shaded. Then I dried the brush off and gently drew it back over the surface. This pulls most of the wash back off, hopefully just leaving it in the edges adjoining the raised detail. The contrast is enough to accentuate the detail without noticeably changing the base colour or making it look too dirty. That's the theory anyway and is how the seat is done. The floor has received a heavier wash because it will be difficult to see on the finished model (or possibly because I under thinned the mix at first and applied it in hamfisted eagerness before testing, as usual). As with everything else in the hobby, practice makes perfect.

Hope this helps. Sorry for being so long winded.

Andy

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"Long winded" is good! I see exactly what you mean, and was able to look up at the pics and see how the 'lines' in the seat are darker, and the same with the floor.

I think the reason why my first attempt at this failed was 'cos it was nowhere near thin enough. So basically I was just 'repainting' it with a dark colour, and it was a mess. I'll have to think about it, and when I try it again, really thin it.

Thanks for explaining! :)

J.

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Andy, just a quick word about weathering, have you got a book called "Sculpting a Universe - inside the Star Wars model shop".

The section on the TIE Fighter says that the theory was that the Empire churnedthemm out in great numbers, they were simple to build and quick to replace. Very little weathering besmirched their finish, mainly painted Stormy Sea Blue. The intention was to have a more high tech fighter than the X-wing but to have it piloted by idiots!

The interior looks great. Keep up the good work.

Hope you don't mind the interjection.

Cheers,

Warren

Thanks Warren. Don't worry, apart from a pin wash to bring out the detail, the exterior won't be weathered at all. In the films they hardly ever seem to last for more than one sortie so it would be a rare one that had a chance to get dirty. As for the colour, I have had the extreme good fortune to find a reference (sadly classified by the Empire, so I can't supply any further details :winkgrin:) that shows that at least some were finished in a scheme uncannily like the Light A/C Grey, Neutral Grey that I had already decided on.

Andy

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So, spraying done and also most of the final assembly. People often talk about a kit falling together and this is one of them with fantastic fit all the way.

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Now onto my least favourite part:- canopies. The masks included in the box are preprinted but not pre-cut.

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Fingers crossed...

Andy

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