Revell X-Wing Conversion

Archive&Future · Apr 9, 2013

I picked up a couple of Revell kits, there's a TIE on the way too, which I intend to convert nicely. This X-Wing is destined for a Dagobah diorama, but I thought I'd put a thread up for the conversion process itself

Out of the box, there are about 7 sprues, nothing very interesting here. The paint job on the parts is abysmal

This is the kit all built up; took me about 25 minutes to cut and file all the parts and fit them together (badly)

The proportions seem decent enough, but the detail on this kit is some of the worst I've seen from the EasyKit lineup; even if it did cost little.

Overall a very disappointing kit, I wasn't exactly expecting FineMolds quality but I'd have thought it'd be fractionally better than this. Oh well! I like a challenge :cool

Albertese · Apr 9, 2013

Cool idea for a project! I'll be following this!

--Alex

tgreco · Apr 9, 2013

is that a repop of the old MPC snap kit?

Jabberwocky · Apr 9, 2013

Yeah this sounds like its going to be a great build. I too am excited to see your Dagobah!!

*edit: I love how much use your cutting board has seen! (I had to buy a new one recently lol)

blakeh1 · Apr 9, 2013

tgreco said:
is that a repop of the old MPC snap kit?

No two entirely different beasts. I have both, and in my opinion, the Revell kit is way better than the MPC snap kit. The MPC snap kit has raised panel lines, the pilot figure is horrible, and worse yet, molded into the cockpit along with a bunch of other problems. The Revell may be soft in detail in areas, but I think it's a much better palette to work with

NAZGÛL · Apr 10, 2013

I think the Revell is fair for the price. Looking forward to see what you will do to it!

Archive&Future · Apr 11, 2013

NAZGÛL said:
I think the Revell is fair for the price. Looking forward to see what you will do to it!

It's true, as blakeh1 said, it is a good starting palette.

Also, ModelZone happened to be having a sale so I miiight have bought a couple of things...heh...among those couple of things was a Revell tank I bought for kitbashing. The X-Wing seems to be missing the "vents" at the base of the laser cannons, and incredibly the spoked wheels fitted exactly

I also added some inner engine detail with some filed-down wheels

Also some added rear details, just to make things more interesting really.

MmmMMmMmM PPRrrimmeerr

JMChladek · Apr 11, 2013

Given the fact that the MPC Snap X-Wing and the Revell snap X-Wing are almost identical in size, you can also rob bits off of one for the other. I like your incorporation of the additional tank bits. Which tank kit did you get for greeblies?

Archive&Future · Apr 11, 2013

JMChladek said:
Given the fact that the MPC Snap X-Wing and the Revell snap X-Wing are almost identical in size, you can also rob bits off of one for the other. I like your incorporation of the additional tank bits. Which tank kit did you get for greeblies?

I may have to eBay an MPC kit in that case. I'm using these tanks for parts:

Revell 1:72 Soviet Battle Tank T-80B Model Kit RE03104

Airfix 1:76 WWI Male Tank Model Kit HOA01315

Frankly the WWI tank is not a bounty of parts for this kind of model, but the springs came in useful

JMChladek · Apr 11, 2013

I don't think you necessarily need to eBay one as the greeblies you are adding look better than what the MPC kit offers. I just thought I would mention it for those modelers who already have the MPC kit and might want to salvage something from it.

One other nice advantage of the MPC kit is since it has waterslide decals, one could do a full repaint of the Revell kit and use them (making modifications as needed in certain spots) if one didn't want to do a full mask and paint of the red stripes. That used to be a problem given the size of those wing stripes, but with several brands of tape coming from Japan now which behave exactly the same as Tamiya tape and are already cut into very skinny widths (1, 2, 2.5 mm) it has gotten a lot easier to mask and paint those wing stripes on and get them nice and straight.

Archive&Future · Apr 11, 2013

JMChladek said:
I don't think you necessarily need to eBay one as the greeblies you are adding look better than what the MPC kit offers. I just thought I would mention it for those modelers who already have the MPC kit and might want to salvage something from it.

One other nice advantage of the MPC kit is since it has waterslide decals, one could do a full repaint of the Revell kit and use them (making modifications as needed in certain spots) if one didn't want to do a full mask and paint of the red stripes. That used to be a problem given the size of those wing stripes, but with several brands of tape coming from Japan now which behave exactly the same as Tamiya tape and are already cut into very skinny widths (1, 2, 2.5 mm) it has gotten a lot easier to mask and paint those wing stripes on and get them nice and straight.

Hmm those waterslides sound tempting. I just got hold of some masking fluid for the first time, I've been fiddling around with that; but I guess that's more for organic shapes than clear cut lines. I reckon I may be able to get away with some very fine applications of masking tape and scotch tape. Any mistakes would likely go unnoticed, as this is destined to be covered in sludge and swamp debris.

Archive&Future · Jun 3, 2013

I'm still toying with the idea of a Dagobah diorama, but I don't think it will be for this build. I'd like to build this one straight up as Red-5; and start another Revell at a later date when I have fewer projects going on.

Anyway, I notched the ends of the guns, and drilled out wider holes in the vents

Rough assembly and second primer coat

Sprayed with a watery off-white to get a mottled pre-shade. I'll carefully brush a thin layer of base coat on over this

More to come tomorrow

darkoutcast · Jun 3, 2013

This same model is my next build. Thanks for sharing.

Jedi Dade · Jun 4, 2013

it already looks better in primer

Jedi Dade

Archive&Future · Jun 4, 2013

darkoutcast said:
This same model is my next build. Thanks for sharing.

Aha! Good luck with it, I'm sure it will come out well.

I started main painting also today; I thinly brushed on an-off white, then drybrushed a couple of lighter off-whites; and then gave the whole thing a grimy mud/oil wash.

I also masked and painted some of the red markings

Archive&Future · Jun 6, 2013

Update time!

I masked off, and painted, the other three wing markings

Then I masked and painted the yellow nose markings

I also painted the canopy in a bluish grey, painted the cockpit details in, and glued the sub-assembly together

Nice and easy! Weathering and detailing next.

SofaKing01 · Jun 7, 2013

Looks Great!

Archive&Future · Jun 13, 2013

The photos I took today show the true colour of the X-wing; before, the lamp in my room made everything too yellowy.
Made a base from stained pine and polished brass rod

I still need to weather the gun tips and drybrush the engines some more, but it's basically finished. Very easy, very fun.

3d-builder · Jun 13, 2013

These little Revell kits are very nice I have 3 of them in primer....nice job
I like the tank part u used for the heat sink fins!

Archive&Future · Jun 13, 2013

3d-builder said:
These little Revell kits are very nice I have 3 of them in primer....nice job
I like the tank part u used for the heat sink fins!

They are indeed, Revell seems to get a bit of a bad rap over here sometimes, but if you know what you're doing then they really can turn out well! It'd be great to see what you do with your 3; I'm thinking about maybe buying a few more and making the whole red squadron

Revell X-Wing Conversion

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