ANH Red Y... kit

Jedi Dade said:

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Or

He could grab an airbrush and pint and start practicing his weathering techniques and by the time the kit comes out he'll be able to paint it up himself

At least that was my plan . I've been building and painting for a long time but the Y is a masters thesis in weathering its gonna be FUN!

Jedi Dade

It's weird, though, cos the Y I saw at the Smithsonian looked very crudely painted, perfectly toned but with very rough gross application of paint detail. This was because it was of course an expert job in 'impressionism'. The blobs and airbrush splurges were designed to be seen from a distance. The first Y, the Red Y, is far more refined. Probably after screen tests they realized they didn't need to bother with such careful work, and so painted the others up with a view only to what would show on screen. The later Ys may be looser in detail, but they're still tight in tone, and with recreating these models it's tone, tone, tone all the way... you gotta recreate every tonal relationship; you airbrush blast mark has got to relate to the base colour, otherwise it's toy city, lol....

Exactly - its an exercise in weathering - not "painting" or even "detailing" its in making it look dirty as all hell and "just right"

Jedi Dade

Yeah wondering the same thing here, I wonder how much longer until the back log is cleared up, hopefully its soon while I still have my birthday money lol

Noooo take your time Steve, ive just laid out a fortune on my Kart engine rebuild....it hurt, really, really bad .

lee

Message from Europe: No, make it quick before the Euro implodes and all our money becomes worthless...

Yeah the sooner the better as our buck is strong against the greenback.

did anyone notice, its been more than a year that this thread started?

I hate seeing this thread being bumped every five minutes when there is clearly no movement because I click it, every time. Until Steve clears his backlog of 20 some odd people (and the private projects that are not on the list), bumping this thread is a frustrating useless exercise.

cosmic_x said:

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did anyone notice, its been more than a year that this thread started?

Yes, and every time I see a response I get all excited that they're going to be available only to find that it's just others like us wondering if there are any updates.

At this point with all I've read and the huge delay I'm not holding my breath. If I can get one, great! If not... oh well... what can you do?! It's up to Steve at this point.

It's too bad somebody else didn't make one. I know I could never get one from Steve even if I sent him money.

Sorry but kindly and respectfully I must disagree, some of the users on this forum may know him on a personal level or be actually working on the kit that may be able to provide information on the finished product or it's current status, that we do not have access to on this forum. It's also a good place for discussion about the kit. Also I was wondering if you guys would have any idea of how the acrylic stand would work or what it would look like.

Thanks

moffeaton said:

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I hate seeing this thread being bumped every five minutes when there is clearly no movement because I click it, every time. Until Steve clears his backlog of 20 some odd people (and the private projects that are not on the list), bumping this thread is a frustrating useless exercise.

achilles266 said:

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Also I was wondering if you guys would have any idea of how the acrylic stand would work or what it would look like.

Acrylic stand? There has been discussion in this thread of an acrylic armature as an option, in addition to one made from aluminum, which will likely cost about $300 extra. An armature is not a stand.

If you're not sure what "armature" means in the context of a studio scale model, you might want to do some searching around this forum. There are many tremendous builds here and a lot of them, from the smallest stop-motion animation replica to the largest Star Destroyer have some kind of internal armature.

Once again for the new guys, what's being discussed in this thread in this forum is a raw resin kit with either an acrylic or metal armature, and not a finished toy for collectors. This will be a "builder's model" intended for experienced model builders, and how the thing ends up being displayed will be entirely up to the builder to figure out.

Just a quick observation here, but folks who are new to all of this might consider reading an entire thread like this one before asking questions that might otherwise make it appear as if you couldn't be bothered to take the time. And you will most definitely want to read an entire thread about a thing before you consider buying that thing.

That's good advice. These kits are not for the faint at heart! They are garage kits and made of resin which means plenty of experience is required! Sanding filling and arranging the parts to match whichever version you desire. And there are several!

The armature is definitely recommended on these as it keeps perfect alignment of the longer wings and cockpit over time. As most of us know when dealing with resin kits, they can sag if there is a heavy narrow section on the models. The armature removes that issue completely.

These are not $30 model kits. These will range in the hundreds to over a grand if you go all the way with lighting etc... But the end result will be as close to the original screen model as you will ever get in most cases.

The advise posted by -... . .- --.. sounds harsh, but it's great advise. Never buy into one of these garage kits until you have read and re-read these threads. It is a journey but it will open your eyes to exactly what you can expect in the kit. You may find after a few pages that it just isn't your cup of tea. You'd hate to drop $800 on it and find that out after the fact. Peace,

Dave

There is no "kit" to discuss until his backlog is done. So no.

THere is no "current status" until his backlog is done. So no.

achilles266 said:

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Sorry but kindly and respectfully I must disagree, some of the users on this forum may know him on a personal level or be actually working on the kit that may be able to provide information on the finished product or it's current status, that we do not have access to on this forum. It's also a good place for discussion about the kit. Also I was wondering if you guys would have any idea of how the acrylic stand would work or what it would look like.

Thanks

Have to agree. At the current rates, Steve must be what - a year? away from clearing his backlog. Please, let this thread rest for now. I have the same kind of heart palpitations as Jason every time this pops up, and I bet Colin Droidmilk is half way to an aneurysm by now.

There will be no news until there is news. In the meantime, follow the backlog thread and judge for yourself how close we may be to progress on the Y kit.

While I am at it, I third Dave and Kevin's remarks above about the SS garage kits. If you are expecting a kit that comes with a stand, this is a kind of a red flag that your expectations may be significantly out of line with the reality.

What is provided will be a large package of resin pieces, any or all of which may require removal of pour stubs with a saw, removal of warps using hot air or water, sanding and repair of bubbles before they can even be assembled. Assembly will require use of several kinds of glue, drilling, and pinning with brass or steel rod, followed by puttying and sanding of seams. You will then need to primer and paint the model, then hit it with several layers of weathering. Cost is likely to be in the $900 range. Is that what you are expecting?

Cheers,
Martyn

Im not quite sure what you are talking about?? I own 3 garage/studio scale kits and I am looking forward to building this myself and did/do not intend anyone to build it for me, I have high respect for these kits and treat each project with the passion I have for the build I do not consider them to be $30 kits. I was just wondering what peoples thoughts on the cheaper Acrylic option was thats all. Sorry for the misunderstanding

Also I thought two of the kits were almost ready to go

Thanks for the input guys

-... . .- --.. said:

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Acrylic stand? There has been discussion in this thread of an acrylic armature as an option, in addition to one made from aluminum, which will likely cost about $300 extra. An armature is not a stand.

If you're not sure what "armature" means in the context of a studio scale model, you might want to do some searching around this forum. There are many tremendous builds here and a lot of them, from the smallest stop-motion animation replica to the largest Star Destroyer have some kind of internal armature.

Once again for the new guys, what's being discussed in this thread in this forum is a raw resin kit with either an acrylic or metal armature, and not a finished toy for collectors. This will be a "builder's model" intended for experienced model builders, and how the thing ends up being displayed will be entirely up to the builder to figure out.

Just a quick observation here, but folks who are new to all of this might consider reading an entire thread like this one before asking questions that might otherwise make it appear as if you couldn't be bothered to take the time. And you will most definitely want to read an entire thread about a thing before you consider buying that thing.

I've wanted to get more info about the armature on these and can't find/get an answer. I've read this thread all the way through, twice, and can't find a real answer. I've "searched" threads for the word armature and can't find anything that really helps either and there's just WAAAAY too much information to sift through to find the answer that I need and I end up reading hundreds of posts about a thread to try and find what I'm looking for with no luck so, I'd appreciate some help.

What is the benefit of the metal armature vs. the acrylic? Strength is obviously the main thing, but $300 for metal armature seems extremely expensive for that, which also begs the question why is it so much more expensive? How intricate is the armature? If all you're planning on doing with the fighter is displaying it where it won't be handled would the acrylic armature be sufficient?

It's hard to find the answers to such questions when they also seem to be more specific to this kit. I also looked for these pics, which would have answered a lot of these questions but, they never got posted anywhere that I saw:

swpropmaker said:

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Guys,

I will post pictures of the way the kit breaks down tonight.

Steve

Thanks in advance for the help!

The benefit of the metal is that it is a more robust material than acrylic obviously to support the entire integrity of the model. I suppose the acrylic would suffice as they will be displayed rather being put through the rigors of a filming model. Then again, a metal armature is more screen accurate and even though you don't see it some people will want that because that is how the real deal was made. The metal armature is probably more expensive because it is more difficult to form (i.e machine, weld, etc.)

bighead5 said:

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I've wanted to get more info about the armature on these and can't find/get an answer. I've read this thread all the way through, twice, and can't find a real answer. I've "searched" threads for the word armature and can't find anything that really helps either and there's just WAAAAY too much information to sift through to find the answer that I need and I end up reading hundreds of posts about a thread to try and find what I'm looking for with no luck so, I'd appreciate some help.

What is the benefit of the metal armature vs. the acrylic? Strength is obviously the main thing, but $300 for metal armature seems extremely expensive for that, which also begs the question why is it so much more expensive? How intricate is the armature? If all you're planning on doing with the fighter is displaying it where it won't be handled would the acrylic armature be sufficient?

It's hard to find the answers to such questions when they also seem to be more specific to this kit. I also looked for these pics, which would have answered a lot of these questions but, they never got posted anywhere that I saw:

Thanks in advance for the help!

Zenwalker said:

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The benefit of the metal is that it is a more robust material than acrylic obviously to support the entire integrity of the model. I suppose the acrylic would suffice as they will be displayed rather being put through the rigors of a filming model. Then again, a metal armature is more screen accurate and even though you don't see it some people will want that because that is how the real deal was made. The metal armature is probably more expensive because it is more difficult to form (i.e machine, weld, etc.)

Thanks Zen, I appreciate the help!

Just a little update....in between cranking out interceptors and various other projects I have been molding up the red jammer. I can say that this is an amazingly well engineered kit, beautiful work...everyone involved should be very, very proud of this kit, I only hope i can do it justice...

Anyway, i am about 70% done with the molds and will continue to work on them as i finish up the interceptor orders. There is a ton of small details to cast on this but i think that will add to the look of authenticity.

Good news is that I have the ability to cut the cross bar armature and they will all be alluminum. The spine armature will likely be resin but with a very beefy 5/8 alluminum rod cast into it...in fact the resin part of the spine armature will really only be for location/alignment and to glue up to. Some test casts with the alluminum armature....
thanks
mike

Looks stunning Mike, thanks for update, its a great thing to see this finally coming to the casting stage.

Hmm think i may have found my Xmas present lol. I know this is Red Y specific, but just wanted to ask about any of the gold Y's, will they be due soon too.....may have to hold out for one of those if there pretty close.

lee

Whats wrong with a big box of Quality Street mate, I must put an Xmas list together I never thought of having real things on my list.... I got Paté last year....WTF!

That looks GREAT Mike the long three year wait will be worth it.