Lasse Henning A-Wing build..
- Thread starter gobler
- Start date
Dedalus5550
Sr Member
OK, gosh, going to have to put my ignorance out on display. From the minute I “saw” the F-14 parts going on there—years ago— I just assumed they used 1/32 kit to make the studio models. if not, how did they get that shape?
Thanks,
Mike Todd
gobler
Sr Member
Well, ILM used 1/24 scale f-14's. They cut a section out of the middle and simply glued them together.. then added the greeblies, engine and sutch .. Vala! A-wing..
Lasse used a 1/48th scale and built his the same way.
Dedalus5550
Sr Member
But why, in the photo posted by Tab039, is the Lasse kit much larger than the 1/32 kit?
Thanks,
Mike Todd
Tab039
Active Member
gobler
Sr Member
I'm not an expert on the A-wing but I heard that 1/24th scale. My source could easily have been wrong. But the photos show a big ship being built. It's difficult since none of the ILM models were in scale with each other.. perhaps there was "a" version that was built like that larger x-wing? IDK.. I will admit, I get scales mixed up from time to time..
Tab039
Active Member
Think the Studio scale was about 1:24 scale and Lasse’s A Wing comes in slightly smaller at about 1:16.
Tab039
Active Member
Well….i was close!
1/24 is a smaller scale than 1/16.
rbeach84
Sr Member
There certainly wasn't a 1/24 scale F-14 kit available back then, and as far as I am aware, there still isn't.
However, there may be extant somewhere a 1/12 scale 'toy' F-14 made to go with 3.5 inch 'action figures'... now that would be a beastie!
But scale of the F-14 donor kit would not necessarily set the "scale" of the ILM miniature in any case... and with no real world counterpart, rather impossible to scale the A-Wing models unless you go by the scale of the pilot figure they used in the model's cockpit (if it came from a donor kit of a certain scale.) For example, with the B-Wing, which has a verified 1/32 scale figure in the cockpit and which is pretty visible and looks the part, so we can call the ILM B-Wings as "1/32 scale". This logic may be applied to the A-Wing model if the figure was from a scaled donor and not 'scratchbuilt' just to 'fill the hole'. It has already be noted that the model figure seen on screen appears to be overscale, especially when compared to the interior shots, hence the range of interpretation. Same issue exists with TIE fighters, with sets apparently not matching the 'scaling' of the filming miniatures, but to even a higher degree since you really cannot see the pilots in the model TIEs on screen. Only looking at the models on display where the "placeholder" figures are visible... in less than detailed cockpits (as in, don't match the full size sets.)
For me, I resolved the A-Wing conundrum by 'eyeballing' which scale figure matches the interior sets best, based on the size of the bulkhead behind the pilot's head. This is how I settled on calling the MPC model '1/48 scale' since an accurately scaled 5'10" 1/48 pilot figure fitted well with the on screen clearances. With an overall length of 6.125 inches, this give me a "full size" length of 294 inches or 24.5 feet. How this compares to any other 'length' value, I can't say (quick web search provided me values like "6.9 meters" or 22.6 feet (even smaller... perhaps based on the external model shots with the "big head" pilot?) to a larger 9.6 meters, or 31.5 feet (which seems *very* large based on the interior shots...)
So, as fun as it is to dive down this 'rabbit hole', perhaps it would be more fun to not worry terribly about scales for these vessels that have no direct connection to a full sized object. Rather, just enjoy them as objects of which we can fashion models that depict (to whatever degree of fidelity we wish) them accurately. In the end, the enjoyment is the goal!
Kind regards, Robert
However, there may be extant somewhere a 1/12 scale 'toy' F-14 made to go with 3.5 inch 'action figures'... now that would be a beastie!
But scale of the F-14 donor kit would not necessarily set the "scale" of the ILM miniature in any case... and with no real world counterpart, rather impossible to scale the A-Wing models unless you go by the scale of the pilot figure they used in the model's cockpit (if it came from a donor kit of a certain scale.) For example, with the B-Wing, which has a verified 1/32 scale figure in the cockpit and which is pretty visible and looks the part, so we can call the ILM B-Wings as "1/32 scale". This logic may be applied to the A-Wing model if the figure was from a scaled donor and not 'scratchbuilt' just to 'fill the hole'. It has already be noted that the model figure seen on screen appears to be overscale, especially when compared to the interior shots, hence the range of interpretation. Same issue exists with TIE fighters, with sets apparently not matching the 'scaling' of the filming miniatures, but to even a higher degree since you really cannot see the pilots in the model TIEs on screen. Only looking at the models on display where the "placeholder" figures are visible... in less than detailed cockpits (as in, don't match the full size sets.)
For me, I resolved the A-Wing conundrum by 'eyeballing' which scale figure matches the interior sets best, based on the size of the bulkhead behind the pilot's head. This is how I settled on calling the MPC model '1/48 scale' since an accurately scaled 5'10" 1/48 pilot figure fitted well with the on screen clearances. With an overall length of 6.125 inches, this give me a "full size" length of 294 inches or 24.5 feet. How this compares to any other 'length' value, I can't say (quick web search provided me values like "6.9 meters" or 22.6 feet (even smaller... perhaps based on the external model shots with the "big head" pilot?) to a larger 9.6 meters, or 31.5 feet (which seems *very* large based on the interior shots...)
So, as fun as it is to dive down this 'rabbit hole', perhaps it would be more fun to not worry terribly about scales for these vessels that have no direct connection to a full sized object. Rather, just enjoy them as objects of which we can fashion models that depict (to whatever degree of fidelity we wish) them accurately. In the end, the enjoyment is the goal!
Kind regards, Robert
Dedalus5550
Sr Member
Seems like a 1/12 figure would be about 6 inches, not 3.5 inches. Or, that a 3.5-inch figure would be much closer to 1/20th scale.
But the question for me, and that it feels like your getting to in the beginning of this post, is whether ILM made A-wings where major components of the filming model were parts of an actual F-14 model. My feeling is that shape seems SO close--if not exactly--a match for those portions of an F-14. I would have thought if they started with a much smaller scale filming model (based on smaller available model kits) just to get the concept and then up-scaled the whole thing, they might also have taken much more liberty with styling and such that the resemblance wouldn't seem so clear. This is kinda what they did for the version in the sequel trilogy.
Mike Todd
