1/24 X-Wing near 100% from scratch

A small update.

My spare time is very limited now, and I have just a few hours a week to devote to my project.

The front of the cabin is almost finished. As I decided to add the details on all panels before joining each other, has been quite difficult to unite them all and shape the piece, as I could not work comfortably at the joints to avoid damaging those detail. Well, for one next time ... a new lesson I have learned. :facepalm
Fortunately, working with care and patience has yielded good results and I'm quite satisfied with my cockpit. The detail is crazy and, as a curiosity, for some small buttons and reliefs, I used the striped and dotted areas of the fuselage upper surfaces from the Snowspeeder AMT kit.

Hope to post a new update soon.:rolleyes

Thanks for looking.
Rafa

WHOA!!!! Amazing!

gorgeous

Beautiful cockpit..Impressive,impressive:thumbsup

Don

A work of Art for sure: beautiful work, crazy crisp:cool

Just stunning work

Stunning

Gag

Wow, this is quite mind blowing; the neatness and accuracy of the work with styrene is a wonderful thing to see! Keep going!

Blimey Rafa, thats so nice, so neat, so crisp, you could give us all a lesson in model building!

lee

Sheesh, that's beautiful. So neat and crisp. Looking forward to seeing this painted up!

Hello friends SofaKing, moffeaton, Talkierg, Joberg, TheNylonGag, ecl, ralphee and Rats.

Again, thank you all for your encouragement.

SofaKing:
You asked me if I had considered the possibility of using a 3D printer. Sorry for the delayed response. 3D printers are certainly a new tool that will be very useful for our passion, but for now, I enjoy facing the challenge to get as much detail as possible by the more artisanal way possible. I would not rush. Even I start to get that unpleasant feeling of being near the end of a very pleasant trip. Is like when you're really enjoying reading a good book and you realize that only left a few pages to the end… and you don't want that to happen.

ralphee:
I 'm glad if my posts are useful for colleagues but, believe me, I also learn many good lessons from each of you every time I walk in this forum.

Rats:
I'm afraid you 'll have to wait several months to see my model painted. First I have to finish it, molds, resin copies... uffff! :rolleyes

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A trick: Many of you talk about my pieces are very clean. Well, this is very easy to achieve if you treat your pieces as if they were your own teeth: Toothpaste, toothbrush, water and a few minutes of vigorous rubbing on all surfaces.
This leaves the pieces clean and matte finish. And it's a good test to check if everything is firmly stuck.

Here I left some pictures of the front half of the cockpit completely finished and ready to make the mold.

Now I will focus on the back. I have yet to clearly define all components and the construction plan. I'm somewhat concerned with the ducts ringed placed on both sides, and I wonder how I'll do that. In the past I've used electric guitar string, but I think the banding does not have sufficient depth or relief, and they are very hard and difficult to shape. I have also used micro-springs from any electronic device, and this option seems better, but don't know how I'll be able to get more of those micro-springs.
Any idea will be well received.

Thank you all.
Rafa

Absolutely stunning work!

Shaping up to be one of the best ever!

This is really beautiful work. Like many other people I'm particularly impressed with how meticulous the finish is to everything. Staying glued (sic) to this thread.

Seeing the instrument panel inside the cockpit makes my heart flutter; this is not model making anymore, it's, it's...jewellery :cool

Hello friends, and Happy New Year. :love

Hi Scratchy, 3d-builder, vectorzero and Joberg.

Thank you very much for following my work and for your kind comments. Just trying to make things the best I can.


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In recent weeks I have temporarily parked the building of my real cockpit version waiting while I try gather more documentation of the rear zone. But I've not been idle. I decided to leave for a while the routine work on tiny pieces of styrene, and pass to modeling putty. So I've spent the past holiday season to model my real version of the pilot.

I've tried to detail it at the same level as the cockpit, and that means quite a lot of details, instruments, pockets, etc… The truth is that it was a job change I grateful. It's been funny.

Surely my way to model a figure is not the most orthodox way, but I'm self-taught so I just do what I can in the best way I can think of. :rolleyes

I like working for parts, so I modeled my figure divided into: head, torso, arms and legs. Once I finished all the pieces to my liking, I can join them together with each other and controlling very well the final pose of the figure.

Here are some images of the modeling process.




I have modeled the whole figure with Milliput except the chest box, which is made with styrene, and the tube that goes from the bottom, which is made with a piece of electric guitar string.
I've yet to finish well the soles of boots and are also likely to try to improve the tools that poke from the left shoulder pocket.





An interesting part is the control stick that the pilot holds in his hand. I've made ​​many dvd screenshots where you can see the top of that control from different angles. I also have some pictures of the original set where you can see the same control stick.
Curiously, in a single two seconds shot, when Red Leader Launches the proton torpedoes on the Death Star, we can see a different command control. A second control stick that incorporates a small console full of buttons.
It seems that the second control stick was built exclusively for that one extra shot. And probably none of the actors who played the rebel pilots never held it in his hands.
Therefore, I decided to forget about that second control stick and focus only on that was on the set.

This is a very simple instrument, without too many details and easy to replicate (currently working on it).




Hope you like my pilot. Not even he knows the adventures that await him in a galaxy far, far away...

Thanks for looking. :cheers
Rafa

Wow Moska! Stunning job on that pilot. So many grey details there and on that stick.

Any chance you might be able to sell castings of the pilot and control stick?

Hi Scott. I'm glad you like my pilot.

I will not forget that you sent me the brick sheet for free.
I have kept the envelope you sent me, so I have your postal address. I have kept it thinking that maybe one day I would have the chance to return the favor you did me.

So, when I have the molds and get copies, I will send you a free copy. And with all my gratitude.

All the best.
Rafa

You certainly have sculpting skills, exceptional and outstanding. Did you make a wire frame for the figure before applying the milliput? If I would have this figure on my bench, I would create a styrene helmet visor, make a mould and cast it with a clear resin that's tinted yellow/orange, then glue it to the helmet, in front of the "face".

scratchy

Scratchy said:

You certainly have sculpting skills, exceptional and outstanding. Did you make a wire frame for the figure before applying the milliput? If I would have this figure on my bench, I would create a styrene helmet visor, make a mould and cast it with a clear resin that's tinted yellow/orange, then glue it to the helmet, in front of the "face".

scratchy

Click to expand...

Hello scratchy.

Well, I would not exactly call "wire frame". I only placed a rigid support bended at the required angle, which is useful for working more comfortably.

I'm also thinking of making the helmet visor, but I 've not yet decided how I will do.

Thanks for appreciating my work.
Rafa

Pilot is looking amazing!!!!