Another (another) SS TIE Bomber

[thibkaji]

OK, I promised some info on the hash marks. I based all of my hash marks on reference photos I found online, mostly from nice closeups hosted on Modeler Magic (Modeler's Miniatures & Magic). I used a mechanical pencil, .7mm lead dia, as that’s what I had on hand. I did give an initial try with a #2 pencil, but had to keep sharpening it and so I abandoned that pretty quickly. These are not exact to the reference, but fairly close for being freehand with no measurements made.

Main fuselages. Note the hash marks on the wing connectors, in the parts mounted front and back:


Port side wing outside:


Port side wing inside:


Starboard wing outside:


Starboard side inside:


There’s really not much else to this. I used a small metal ruler to get the straight lines on the fuselage sides and wing connectors, but everything else was freehand.

Lastly, I wanted to see how it looked assembled in this nearly completed form, and mounted on the display base I've been working on. Almost there... Almost there!

 

[chazzychaz]

Wonderful.

 

[joberg]

Bitchin'

 

[stevielewis]

Fantastic!

 

[LewisD]

Alright, been a few days. Got the wing sorted out, looks much better now! Paint should be dry from sitting overnight, so I’ll add the hash marks today.
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For the main body, I went ahead and started adding a small bit of weathering. If you look at the references, you’ll notice that there’s a sort of light-grayish (with a hint of red) hue over the rear sections of the fuselages, in addition to around the wing connector pylons. The belief is that ILM likely applied an enamel wash or something over some parts of the ship and then wiped it off again. It’s subtle (mostly), but def changes the look in the back.

Filming model, showing the color variation on the back:
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So, I took a stab at applying this myself using a very thinned down mix of Light Reefer Gray and a touch of caboose red (totally stole this mix from Boxcar Bret ’s build), masked off some sections, and airbrushed away. Results aren’t too bad, looks closer to what I think it should in hand.
View attachment 1857805
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Can definitely see the difference.

Next up, wrap up the port-side wing, attach both more permanently to the body, and start working on additional weathering. I’m also finish work up on the base this will be affixed to.

Speaking of bases, does anyone have a good supplier that makes plaques for Star Wars ships out of Aluminum? I found a shop on Etsy that makes some, but they’re 4”x6” in size, and I’m looking for something lower to 2” x 3” to better fit my base.

Will update soon, likely wrapping this bird up this weekend.

Ariel Martinez on Facebook, also known as customplaques2014 on eBay.

 

[thibkaji]

Ariel Martinez on Facebook, also known as customplaques2014 on eBay.

Thank you, I’ll take a look!

 

[thibkaji]

OK, calling this one a wrap. I did a very small amount of weathering and then decided I liked how it looked. Most of the weathering was added to the back and tops, some chipping here and there, some wear on the wings…. Doesn’t honestly look that much different from the pics I posted yesterday, but she’s done. Please enjoy these final photos, and I’ll catch folks later when I start work on the SS B-Wing!

 

[mjhenks]

Very nice. Thank you for the detailed photo's.

 

[joberg]

Great build/results from A to Z...and the amount of wear & tear is top