Death Star Surface Tiles

minifig · Aug 10, 2008

Hello Everyone,

I thought you might like to see one of my current projects, as I briefly mentioned it in another thread.
I am currently making a death star surface wargames board for a 1/72 spacefighter combat game.
The few tiles i've got pictured here are of my smaller 3" tiles. I am also making 6" tiles. I am basing all my tiles, so far, on the larger hero 'low altitude' 12" tiles made by ILM, but at the time I made these smaller tiles I didn't have as good research, so they are fairly inaccurate when it comes to the finer detailing. My 6" versions, which I'll post piccies of when I get some, are much better researched, and so have more accurate scaled versions of the kit bashed details.
These smaller tiles are still much better, I think, than the smaller ILM tiles!!!!!!
At some point I might have to pick your brains as to helping me ID some of the parts i've still not discovered!!!!
anyway, hope you like the pictures:

Robiwon · Aug 10, 2008

Very nice indeed. I'm interested to see your 6" tiles. I just finished a ProShop X-Wing and need a fairly large base for it. A few of the 6" tiles might just be what I'm looking for.

Each of those tiles posted are 3" square, so I'm assuming the 6" would be 4 different tiles that are 6" square each?

franz bolo · Aug 10, 2008

Wow! Very Nice!!

FB

Tony42 · Aug 11, 2008

Aren't they just.

Jedi Dade · Aug 11, 2008

Very nice - Are you planning on selling these?

Jedi Dade

Watson · Aug 11, 2008

As someone who has undertaken this project twice now, those are really nice. Great job.

Greg

vaderdarth · Aug 11, 2008

I love them! There is far more detail on these than on the originals even. Very nice job. I think these would pass anyone's scrutiny.

Dave

minifig · Aug 11, 2008

Heres the last three of the 3" tiles that i've done so far. There should be four in this set but I got distracted into making the 6" versions! I will have to make the fourth one soon though, maybe whilst i'm making the 6" one!

These are the first of the 6" tiles. As you can see they are much closer to the real thing, although I still had to make some compromises, mostly on parts that I couldn't ID or dimensions I couldn't work out exactly due to lack of reference. If anyone has any useful info then I would be really appreciative!

The eagle eyed amongst you will probably be able to spot some of the kit parts now in these versions! If anyone is interested in knowing what kit bits i've IDed then let me know and i'll tell ya (although I'm sure it's nothing ground breaking)
Heres a comparison of the 6" and 3" tiles

Finally a look at how they're shaping up when all mixed together on a board.

Oh and on the subject of if they'll be available to buy, I guess the answer would be 'I don't see why not'! The moulds for the first of the 3" have already been made. I'm just waiting on the 4th of the other 3"'s and for some feedback on the 6"'s before I mould them!!

Locke_333 · Aug 11, 2008

minifig said:
Oh and on the subject of if they'll be available to buy, I guess the answer would be 'I don't see why not'! The moulds for the first of the 3" have already been made. I'm just waiting on the 4th of the other 3"'s and for some feedback on the 6"'s before I mould them!!

well, i'm not a specialist but the 6" sure looks good to me!!!!

i'd be interested in buying a set is the price is right.

Bigturc · Aug 11, 2008

Wow! Very nice work on these ..

I'm waiting for my V3 .. but that would be one awesome base if it's not too rich for me!

That's a thread I'm gonna keep an eye on!

BrianM · Aug 11, 2008

Very nice indeed.

TMP · Aug 12, 2008

These are really nicly made. How did toy scale them up and down so accuratly in size? Its great!

minifig · Aug 12, 2008

Thanks everyone for the kind comments!

Jades Dark Heart; you said you've tried this project twice already? what where the problems you were facing, I'd love to see what you did!

My biggest problem really is reference, All the photos of this stuff are usually really grainy or really overexposed, so not much fine detail. The most useful reference for some of the tiles is in the archives book, as it is a straight top down, though not very useful for depths. Luckily, these were the same tiles that were at the London exhibition (although typically I hadn't started this project by the time I went so didn't take anything like enough photos!!!!)
The making of Star Wars has some good shots of the '1st four' tiles, though they are somewhat distorted. These tiles are also on display at MGM studios, though I've not been able to get any good reference from there, bummer!
I am really surprised that no-one has attempted this at studio scale yet, I bet there are alot of the kit parts floating around out there.
I know the subject of kit ID is a bit of a touchy one, but something I'm interested in, in terms of how ILM worked, is that some of the parts are from the X-wing. Now I know that the R2 strip was moulded as a seperate component, and this has found its way onto a few of the death star panels, but there are other components that I believe are constructed from multiple kit parts, that also appear on the death star that I didn't realise were cast as seperate pieces!!! Anyone know any info about this?

Watson · Aug 12, 2008

minifig said:
Jades Dark Heart; you said you've tried this project twice already? what where the problems you were facing, I'd love to see what you did!

All mine are 6x6 inches. V1 was wood form with styrene overlay. V2 were all laser cut styrene and acrylic

Version 1 from 2005
http://www.blockheadpictures.com/dscomp1.jpg

Version 2 from 2007/2008
http://www.blockheadpictures.com/images/DSTilesFinished/DSTFIN15.jpg
http://www.blockheadpictures.com/images/DSTilesFinished/DSTFIN16.jpg

Master for Canon that is at the molder now
http://www.blockheadpictures.com/images/DSTilesFinished/DSTFIN37.jpg

Treadwell · Aug 12, 2008

minifig said:
These tiles are also on display at MGM studios, though I've not been able to get any good reference from there, bummer!

Then try this!

http://s77.photobucket.com/albums/j54/Treadwell_Jay/SW models PH Disney 2003/

Although some DS panels had the Star Destroyer-like panel lines you employed, they were not used on the particular panels you're duplicating. But hey, it's nice "hyperdetailing".

Good work!

minifig · Aug 12, 2008

JDH - arrghh now you've made me realise I need laser towers as well!!!!!

Thanks Treadwell those pictures are great!!!!
I think the photos you've got of the tiles that I've already done (the '1st four') are actually of the smaller 'medium atltitude' tiles, not the larger 'low altitude' sections I was using as reference, although you are correct in that I too am not sure that this set had scribed panel lines, but I thought they looked under detailed when compared to the other tiles that do have panel lines!
Just out of interest, I noticed that you have a good shot of one of the cast components I mentioned before from the x-wing, what do you know about this bit? it seems really strange that they would cast seperately such a small component, unless I'm mistaken and it is just a complete kit part!

Treadwell · Aug 12, 2008

Well, the R2 strip was already a separately molded component of their X-Wings (as was the part that sits under the cannons where they mount to the wings), and they needed greeblies for their DS tiles, so why not pour some extra? There's an R2 strip on the ESB medical frigate, too (although it might be the AMT kit one, I'm not sure how big that model is).

In situ the parts do look a little out of place, but of course in the film, they're just part of the overall greeblie blur rushing by, so it made sense to use them.

FearTheMullet · Aug 12, 2008

I am currently making a death star surface wargames board for a 1/72 spacefighter combat game.

Im curious about the game that this will be incorporated into? Will the contoures be transfered to a computer? Or will it be a physical game?

minifig · Aug 12, 2008

It'll be a physical game, re-writing an existing set of rules to bring them into the Star Wars universe. But to be honest, it's the making the models that is the most fun for me!!!!

Treadwell- I had 'always' known about the R2 strip, but that piece that is the x-wing cannon mount, and also the 'matching' bit with the elefant part just seemed like a bizarre piece to mould, when they are so firmly attached to the wings, but having now read the x-wing:heroes verses pyro thread, it seemes obvious to mould all the kit part assemblies if the hero x-wings weren't moulded in there entirety!

minifig · Aug 12, 2008

Treadwell said:
In situ the parts do look a little out of place, but of course in the film, they're just part of the overall greeblie blur rushing by, so it made sense to use them.

To be honest, the use of recognisable kit parts on these models doesn't sit very comfortably with me when it comes to the actual 'model building' side of this subject.
I completely understand it's use in the context which it was created for, but it does make for 'unbelievable' looking models (especially when I see half an 88mm german gun barrel running down the side of an a-wing or a tiger I hull deck on the surface of the death star!)
I never quite know wether I should be accurately copying the kit parts or scrathbuilding something that looks roughly like them but is unique?

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