SS ANH TIE Fighter - some slight progress

Personally I'd go as perfectly symmetrical as possible. Just makes it easier to build.

Yeah, that's probably best anyway. I'd hate to build a beater TIE with lop-sided parts! Here's a quick drawing with everything as symmetrical as possible.

I didn't include the rest of the "arms"...just the top of the t-rod which I measure at 5/32". I think that's about right. The slanted walls will have to wait until I get more kits so that I can take some measurements. In the meantime...anybody know the dimensions for the modified Matra wheel? The more measurements (spokes, base diameter, top diameter, etc.) the better....and as always, I'd greatly appreciate it!

I think I'll get these shapes cut out and start playing with them.



Joe

I can see myself getting sucked in to this build... Good start Joe.

Thanks! These help in my research!

Joe

nice screen grabs.

ILMwannabe,
I'd love to get measurements off of the Niesen TIE...with Steve's ok....so that I can compare to the measurements I'm pulling from the ref pics.

Joe

I'll see what I can come up with . . .

Hey TK4702 thanks for posting those screen grabs. Christmas just cam early for me seeing those shots. I/we really appreciate the time you spent to do that.
Looking at the Tie Wing Star I put it up against my Icons Wing Casting & it is an absolute perfect match. This confirms without a doubt that the ICONS Tie Wings were cast off an 'original' Tie Wing Star. Thanks as thats relieved alot of tension about what I bought from whom & when I bought it. I will post a picture for varification. Thanks again & keep up the good work Joe.

Looks nice. I did the same thing a few years back. Had my wings laser cut. Still have a few some where.

Jase, that is good news! I might be bugging you for some measurements if that's cool.

Jedibountyhunter, Ooh, cool.....would you like to share notes?

Joe

Sure. Ill see if i can find one of my laser cut parts. And what else i have.


Al

Cool! I look forward to it! In the meantime, I've measured a few more parts from donor kits I received recently. I'm going to plug them into my drawing here soon.

Joe

IEDBOUNTYHUNTER said:

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Looks nice. I did the same thing a few years back. Had my wings laser cut. Still have a few some where.

Willing to sell a pair?

Well, I finally got some spare time to work on my wing stars. Here I'm simply observing the relation between the Koolshade and some of the parts. The Koolshade is super helpful in determining the dimensions of the star and various panels. Some parts are obviously unmodified.

I plan on casting all the parts and building each side of the wing separately. I don't have pressure pots or chambers to cast a single star with parts. I'd be left with copies full of air bubbles which is why I am building all four sides individually.

I originally thought of keeping everything symmetrical between all of the panels. Unfortunately, I quickly began to notice that some of the parts were beginning to spread out a little in some areas making it look off to my eye. So, it looks like I will try to capture some of the flaws made by ILM hand cutting the styrene.

I only have a couple of months to laser cut my stars as I will be moving later this year and will sadly lose access to the wonderful laser cutter I've been spoiled on for the last three years! Therefore, it's important that I push on with this.....at least complete the cutouts for the wings. I can always mold and cast when I settle in to my new home later.

Also, we're still id'ing parts at the Studio Scale Modelers and there have been lots of cool people over there helping out! Thanks again, guys! More coming soon.



Joe

So I know the Koolshade is roughly .060" in thickness. What should the wing stars and card stock measure?

Looking at the ref....I am guessing that the wing stars are about .080". I know they protrude out a bit past the H-channel. That would leave the center card stock to be 080" as well. The two Koolshade layers and card stock would measure a combined .2", very close to the thickness of the H-channel.

Does this sound right?

Joe

I just got my koolshade yesterday. I have Neissen Standard TIE I built,but the cast wings,while nice,are not the same. I am going to measure my standard wings make symmetric, have the stars and middle laser cut from acrylic and hack up the standard wings I have for the greeblies. Kind of sad considering the work i had to do to get the straight and true. Would prefer to just buy some,but there don't seem to be any around. I'll be watching you Joe, and stealing your ideas!

Is the vintage koolshade still available?

Just wondering if anybody could help. I'm getting ready to get my wings laser cut. But first I need to settle on good thickness measurements.

My calculations going off of kit parts show the:
- wing stars to be .080" thick
- h-channel is .25"
- Koolshade is about .060" thick
- center card stock about .080"

So, the two layers of Koolshade and center card stock sandwich together for a combined thickness of about .2" which is about right for the H-channel used.

I'm still trying to decide whether to make one master star or 4 individuals using cast parts. A master star would be a nightmare only because I currently do not have any pressure casting equipment. Can anyone tell me how ILM cast theirs? Either way, this would be a more accurate way of going about it only because ILM used this method. Not trying to recreate each bubble or imperfection, but rather the experience.

Casting each greeblie, on the other hand, would be time consuming but would also have a cleaner appearance. Hmmm...

Anyway, if anybody would like to chime in on the thickness of the wing parts, I would appreciate it!

Joe

Hey Joe,If your going to try casting the wing star & still need the 1 Matra rim LMK.I still never got the chance to try casting some of the other small parts but would like to give a try in the near future.

Dave

Dave, I would kill for a Matra rim! Or pay, whichever is easiest! I've got your back on extras once I get going.

Joe

Well I do have one person I would like to get rid of.

PM me your address & I'll try to get it in the mail this week.

Dave

PM sent!

Joe