*FINISHED* B Wing Starfighter

[ismaelg]

Hello,

  Sorry I've been away so long.  Been super busy with work, family, cameras and life in general. I was out of the country most of July. 
This is so out of the box you need a telescope to see the box. 
I am a big Star Wars fan ever since I saw the first movie in 1978 as a kid.  Huge fan is an understatement.  It is funny as I don't like sci-fi much. I don't even like movies.  Haven't been to a movie theater in about 3 years (since Star Wars Episode 9).
Anyways, as an engineer,  2 of the things I like the most are ships and droids.  However, for some reason I haven't build that many Star Wars models. Only 2 in all these years.  A recent trip to the Star Wars Disney park rekindled my life long interest.

So back home, I started checking the current plastic model offerings.  Vintage kits are ridiculous in prices. Currently, Bandai is making plastic models of the series.  But while browsing eBay, I came across this:




A prebuilt and broken old MPC B-Wing Starfighter.  I had to rescue it.  This model dates back from the early 80's. 

This will give you an idea on the size.



The canopy is missing and all cannons are broken.  It seems it was put together in a hurry, maybe by a kid to play with. Nothing wrong with that.












Fortunately, it is a snap together kit and no glue was used.  While quite a challenge, I was able to get it apart.

Typical soft styrene from the '80s that made me eventually hate AMT. 

Let's say the fit has some challenges...


This will be tackled in several phases. 
First: The cockpit.  The unique cockpit of this ship rotates 360 degrees so the pilot can stay properly oriented. But that means it needs to be assembled and installed before the 2 main body halves are joined. No way to address mold lines that way.  I'll re-engineer the kit.



Rusty Trusty is back!!!!



Stay tuned as this will be a long term project (like all of mine).

Thanks,
Ismael

Edited August 26, 2022 by ismaelg

[Madhatter]

hey - great to see you back Ismael. Good choice to come back in with too - you very rarely see these kits being built much online anymore - especially the B-Wing.

I don't know if you've ever seen the old AMT Star Destroyer kit - but it is just horrendous. It requires major surgery to make it look like a SD. No one wants to go to the massive amount of time and effort needed on these older kits to get them to look good..

Of course, now with Bandai, Fine Molds, Revell and Zvezda stepping up and putting out some great kits that not only require minimal modelling skills, they have vastly superior detailing that is just missing from the older kits. Deity bless technology right.

However, your previous works show that you are not scared of a challenge and as one fellow Star Wars nut to another, I believe you'll do a smashing job at bringing this kit to life. Can't wait to see more!

Simon

[ismaelg]

Thank you Simon!

   I've been following your amazing SD in this forum.  Incredible work!  The B wing was supposed to be a more prominent ship in the movies (Return of the Jedi), but it had technical problems with the thin wings disappearing on the blue screen when filming.

Thanks,
Ismael

[ismaelg]

Hello,

  So I'm doing my own canopy.  This has proven to be quite a challenge at this scale.  This is design/attempt # 5 or 6.  Quite possibly not the final one.  The tape strips are for visibility as these clear parts are INVISIBLE when dropped or when they decide to fly across the bench.



Other than heavily modifying the parts, everything in white is added material.


The wire is part of the canopy support.  I'll make something out of it like a heads up display or something to disguise it.



The rear section was glued and reworked the seams.  The raised details were sanded down and I re-scribed them as recessed panel lines. 


To disguise a very ugly seam in the back, I made up this added details.







The cockpit front and rear parts were separated to be worked independently. Afterwards they can be joined back together.





Why?  So the main fuselage can be glued together and the seams worked WITHOUT the cockpit, and have it installed afterwards.





And I am only halfway on step 1, of a simple snap tite kit  



Thanks,
Ismael

[Madhatter]

you know with the canopy, you could use a Coke bottle or similar cut to shape. It'd be easier than trying to cut individual sections.

[bisc63]

This build is shaping up nicely. Very cool to see this kit brought to life!

[ismaelg]

Hello,

  Can you tell the difference between the box stock and my scratchbuilt brass and aluminum Precision Targeting Laser?  It is about 10mm long. The challenge now is to do 2 more identical ones.






Also modified the GH72 Autoblaster 



After the PTLs the real fun will begin: Making 3 SW-7A Ion Cannons...

Thanks,
Ismael

[ismaelg]

Hello,

SW7A Cannons with their respective Precision Targeting Lasers.  (Not yet fixed in place so not perfectly aligned yet) Don't let the beauty fool you. This is a lethal weapons platform.


Need to remove the molded ones from the other wing. I think you can tell the difference, can you?


Canopy design #9, modified autoblaster

 

Thanks,
Ismael

[misterNNL]

Not In my wheelhouse but I can certainly appreciate the work being done.

[ismaelg]

Hello,

 

Thanks Tom!

So this part goes at the bottom of the ship. It is supposed to represent another cannon like that ones on the wings and the broken part was supposed to be a Heavy Laser Cannon which is actually longer than the regular cannon.  It is also missing the Precision Targeting Laser.









Sh*t is getting serious!  This sucker is carrying quite a heavy punch!

They are out of alignment as these are not fixed in position yet. They'll be straight in the final product.

Thanks,
Ismael

[bisc63]

Loving the attention to fine details.

[Madhatter]

awesome scratch work there Ismael - very tidy. Looking forward to seeing more

[ismaelg]

Hello,

Kit's original design vs my way. The kit calls for the wings to be assembled into the swing axle. That is a problem to work seams and make sure the wings are smooth. So I re-engineered the kit to finish the wings first, then mount on the swing axle.

First, the front plate needs to be removed


Kit's original instructions:


My re-design:

Thanks,
Ismael

[bisc63]

Clever solution, and should make detailing much easier!

[ismaelg]

Hello,

   This model has no "landing gear".  Let's not forget this is an MPC snap tite model from 1983 designed to be assembled quickly to play with.  So, taking a bit of an artistic license and inspired by the X-wing landing gear, I came up with this:

You are looking at 2 days of work here.  Aluminum, brass, plastic and lots of determination.

Test fitted: Minor tweaking still needed but getting there.


Just to put it in perspective:

I have to say I'm happy with it so far.

Finally, I machined these 2 washer like thingies for a precision tight fit and pinned the front plate.

But wait, there's more!

If you are going to be a blaster, be a BLASTER!

I think I am getting closer to paint and assembly.
 
Thanks,
Ismael

[bisc63]

Can't wait!

[Madhatter]

I love that landing gear - very cool. I don't want to come across a naysayer or nit picker, but are you sure that canopy is big enough? Those sills look a tad thick if your going to go with your current version. Its better to point this out now before you commit to painting. It's your model of course, and you do as you like as this is only my opinion.

[David G.]

Absolutely fantastic work! With all the scratch built details you're adding, this model will look amazing.

David G.

[ismaelg]

Thank you guys!

Simon, by all means your feedback is greatly appreciated!  I am still struggling with that canopy.  I do have another idea I want to try next.  Fortunately, the canopy is separated from the rest of the build so everything else can progress separately.

Thanks,
Ismael

[ismaelg]

Hello,

First burst of color!





Two days of masking for 10 minutes of airbrushing. The flat white base is actually primer that was slightly sanded. The gray is Humbrol enamel. Love those little tin cans! The roundels are Corvette (Chevrolet) engine red. There has to be a Corvette reference somewhere!
The roundels are not decals. I cut my own in Tamiya wide masking tape.
I insist the scheme looks like a japanese zero from WWII, but that's what the references indicate. The weathering should tone down a bit the searing red.

Thanks,
Ismael

[ismaelg]

Hello,

Started the weathering. You can see the untouched body compared to the wings in process.

In process, but you get the idea.

Thanks,
Ismael

[bisc63]

Looking good!

[David G.]

Nice weathering. The red spots remind me of the flag of Japan.

David G.

[ismaelg]

Hello,

I understand this topic is not the cup of tea of the forum but I hope you can at least pickup some ideas or get your curiosity going.

Now, each one of these is lethal.  But all four in a vehicle?  That's carrying a punch!

Thanks,
Ismael

[David G.]

Those gun / blaster barrels will add some nice detail to the finished model.

David G.