Return of the Jedi MPC X-Wing build - Studio Scale on a Budget

Jm419

I'm notoriously bad for not taking in-progress photos, and this build was no exception. Thanks to the excellent reference provided by the members here, I was able to build myself a studio-scale X-Wing on a budget.

In looking at the photos, I saw that we have photographic evidence of at least four MPC X-Wings used in either ESB or ROTJ - Red 2, 3, 4, and 6. Unfortunately, we do not have enough reference to be particularly useful on anything beyond Red 2. The pictures we have of Red 3 are apparently directly out of the archives, and though we could probably work from those images (knowing the skill of some of the modellers on this board), we have significantly better reference for Red 2 than we do from Red 3. However, there were some interesting characteristics of the Red 3 build that I liked, so I chose not to do a 100% screen accurate build here, but instead make my own representation of a background X-Wing from ROTJ.

There were some interesting characteristics of the different builds that I wanted to replicate, too - so having my own customized X-Wing in the style of the studio models was a good answer.

From Red 2:
This looks more like a toy than the ANH models did, partially because of the very light weathering. I kept some of the color choices on the engines and weathering, but that was about it.

From Red 3:
This one was more in the vein of the ANH models, with weathering on the fuselage stripes and identification markings on the wings. I weathered my decals (partly because I wanted to, partly because they were 33 years old when I used them), and kept the weathering style from Red 3 for my build.

From Red 4/6:
The only photo of these birds is from a Japanese magazine, and they're not great quality. The only thing I took from these models was the general atmosphere and type of weathering.

Anyway, enough talk. Here's my incarnation of Red 4 from the Battle of Endor.



An overall shot here.








Some general shots of the weathering.




One preservation on the model from Red 2 was the poorly painted pilot and inaccurate R2 paint scheme. An example of the "Good enough for background" phenomenon.




So, let me know what you think. I'm pretty proud of the model, and I think it captures the spirit of the background builds nicely.

SurfingDoc

I like. I plan to do this with my MPC kit when I get the chance.

robn1

Very cool. The MPC is screen accurate

I'm still waiting to see someone build a "gum wad" background ship, or a potato asteroid.

jedimaster

Nice job, well done.

Jm419

Thanks for the comments guys.

nightrider

Pretty cool man. I've got an old MPC X-wing kit lying around I might build up here soon.

Chris

Jm419

It's pretty much right OOB - but watch the decals, they're a bit touchy after 33 years in the box.