Boba Fett's Slave I Build (by Fine Molds)

Zombie_61

And that's the reason I suggested it (aside from crackin' wise, that is). Fine Molds' kits are engineered so well that masterjedi322 won't learn much about using putty to hide seams by building one of their kits. The MPC/AMT kits, on the other hand...some are better than others, but they all require at least a little extra work to make 'em shine.

Fendertubeguy

Amazon has the book, its pretty awesome!

masterjedi322

Today, I finished up the right wing subassemblies, which are basically a mirror image of the left side I completed earlier. Each wing has a rod that is to slide through the support strut into the third piece, which I’ll refer to as the wing mount. The wing is supposed to rotate freely through the support strut so that the wings can be displayed in either the horizontal or vertical positions. A quick test-fit showed the fit through the strut was a little tight, so I had to file down the rod and the inner diameter of the strut section to get a good fit.


After the wings were finished, I moved onto the fuselage. I separated the two halves from the sprue, and filed down the minor flash that was left over. Overall, the two pieces look pretty good, although the right half does have some rough spots around the upper canopy area that I’ll mostly likely need to putty over. This isn’t a huge deal as I plan on puttying over the seam that will run down the length of the fuselage once the two halves have been put together. I’ll leave that for next time though.


It looks I'm also going to need a panel-line scribing tool to restore any lines that may get puttied over when I join the two halves together. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Sean

NAZGÛL

For the deep line where the halves meet, I used reg superglue with baking soda (dont let it cure to long as it gets really hard.)

Ive used auto putty too, but it can be tricky to scribe.

masterjedi322

Superglue with baking soda? Never heard of that. What mixture ratio do you use? Maybe I'll give it a shot.

Sean

NAZGÛL

I just add CA in a nice amount, then use a spoon and cover it with baking soda. it dries instantly.

I think there are good tutorial vids around.

Edit: Heres one from starshipmodeler.

http://www.starshipmodeler.com/basics/jl_soda_seams.htm

Scratchy

Nice looking build so far. I've never built this or the MPC kit, but I do like what you've shown so far.

KingJawa

Looks good, Slave 1 is a great looking ship.

masterjedi322

After a small hiatus, I’m back to Slave I. Today, I decide to join the two halves of the fuselage together. I first attempted to do so using the Tamiya Thin Cement, which I’ve been using throughout the build. However, the cement didn’t quite have the hold I needed it to. Nor did it provide me with enough time to get the two halves aligned and joined. Instead, I used some of my old, trusty, Testor’s modeling cement. This stuff is a bit thicker and slower-setting, but it worked perfectly for my application. After the cement had a chance to cure, I went down the seam with some automotive spot putty, being careful to minimize any excess. After that has sufficiently dried, I’ll need to sand down the seam and restore some of the panel lines and detailing that was covered by the putty, but I’ll have to save that for next time.


While I was waiting for the fuselage halves to set, I decided to assemble the two lower laser cannons. These went together relatively quickly, as they’re composed of just three, small pieces. They’ll mount to the two hemispheres you see at the bottom of the main fuselage.


Sean

masterjedi322

Today I started sanding the seam of the fuselage. I started with some 215 grit paper and moved onto 400 before finishing up with some 600. I used the wet-sanding method to help prevent any additional scratches, and it seemed to work well. I won’t know for sure until I prime.

Next, I’ll need to restore some of the panel lines that were puttied over.

Can anyone recommend some good tools & techniques for doing panel lines?


Sean

MrWilson

I use an old exacto knife blade to groove panel lines. Start the line by pulling the blade carefully a few times to create the new panel line. Once you have a line grooved, then you can go ahead and push the blade through the groove to clear out some of the plastic you want to may want to remove and give you the depth of the line you want.

tek2graphics

Looking good! (Glad to see i'm not the only one that took some "time off")

masterjedi322

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost three months since I’ve been at my workbench, but such is life…

Anyway, I managed to get back to Slave I today. After having puttied and sanded the main seam between the fuselage halves, I had to rescribe some panel lines. I did this using a Tamiya scriber and a flexible ruler I picked up at Staples to use as a guide. It looks pretty good, but I won’t know for certain how well it worked until I apply the primer later on.

Next, I added some of the detailing pieces along the hull, and I also attached the small piece that over-hangs the main cockpit area. Due to some misalignment I had with the fuselage halves, this piece didn’t sit quite right. I soaked it in some hot water until it softened, and then gently bent it into shape before gluing it into place.


Sean

NAZGÛL

Looking great! Being based on the Jango version, some of the panel lines and the hatches are wrong. If you want to correct those, nows the best time for it.

Oh, and my lifes the same. Havent had time nor extra money for a while.

MasterDurangus

Looking forward to seeing this finished! I always was a fan of that ship. Great work so far!

masterjedi322

Thanks for the tip, but at this time I think I'm just going to build this one out of the box.

And thanks for the encouragement. Hopefully, I'll be able to put some more time into this and make some more progress!

Sean

masterjedi322

After being away from the workbench for awhile, I managed to get some work done on Slave I. Having completed the main fuselage and wing assemblies, it’s time to move onto detailing the undercarriage.

As shown in the picture, I completed the subassemblies for the main engine, the two supporting engines, and some additional detailing pieces.


Sean

masterjedi322

Having some extra time on my hands, I decided to get some work done on Slave I. I managed to finish the undercarriage, which consisted of adding a handful of small, detailing pieces. While I used the Tamiya thin cement to attach the majority of the pieces, I reinforced them through the mounting holes on the backside with some Testors cement.



Having completed that, I finished up by putting together the supplied display stand.

This wraps up the primary assembly. Next, I’ll be moving onto priming, painting, and weathering!



Sean

Blade90

Will be following this build. Keep up the good effort!

tek2graphics

Any progress? Would love to see!

masterjedi322

Not yet. I need to set up my spray booth in order to start painting, which I'm hoping to do this weekend. I should have an update in a week or so.

Sorry, I'm a slow builder, I know...

Sean

tek2graphics

"Slow Builder"? Oh no.. I've been working on my 1:15 delorean since January!
Take your time & enjoy... I just love to see updates!

masterjedi322

After another hiatus from my workbench, I managed to get back to it with some more work on Slave I. ‘Not too much to report, although I finally managed to get a coat of primer applied.

Since Tamiya primer was recently re-released to the US, I managed to pick up a few cans to give it a try. So far, I am loving the stuff! It goes on smooth and thin and dries quickly. While the model itself was molded in gray plastic, the primer does give it a much smoother look.

The first coat also help highlight some additional work I need to do on the main fuselage in order to blend the seam.



Sean

tek2graphics

Nice to see an update!

masterjedi322

After much debate, I came to the conclusion the only way I would effectively remove the visibility of the main seam between the two fuselage halves was to attack it with some heavy duty sanding. Initially, I tried avoiding this approach as I knew it would remove much of the details around the seam including the panel lines and other greeblies. But after applying the initial coat of primer, it’s clear the seam is going to require some additional work that will most likely eliminate these details. So to help me recreate these details after the seam has been addressed, I snapped a few photos of the detailing to use as reference. Following which, I wetsanded the seam using some fine and then extra fine sanding blocks I picked up at Home Depot. I think the seam is starting to look better, but will require some additional puttying and sanding.

In parallel, I’ve also been priming the other pieces of the kit in preparation for painting.



Sean