1/12 Black Series First Order Tie Fighter Conversion!

[Dave Vader]

It's surprisingly light in there with the bottom and top halves together so you do see some nice detail looking through the front and from the top. The glass panels will be crystal clear plastic so should be enough to notice the work that has gone in to the interior.

 

[Dave Vader]

I managed to spray in the black so can start on the scuffed metal area's throughout the interior and will add in some other detail to the screens and upper area's. Once all the interior painting is completed I will add in the pilot, sculpt the seat belts and will seal the dome.

As for lighting, I test fitted and turned on. The detail is not lost due to the power of the LED's/Fibre Optics. More detail will also be visible as I highlight the raised edges:-

 

[DanielB]

Cool. Those cockpit pictures look almost like a full size set!

 

[Pcoz]

Very nice mod....I need to get in gear and finish some of my projects.

 

[joberg]

Very good mods you're doing there! Lighting is the bomb...keep up the excellent work.

 

[CAPTAINCOX]

Super work there, I also got me a 12" for X-Mass and its SOOOO HUGE, the discussion about the side panels are for sure valid and the edges are pretty "wobbly". Still have to finish two other projects before even thinking about starting this but gonna watch your progress with great interest .

I couldn't stop my self so I took some pics and scanned this in


Ejection Seat from "TFA The Visual Dictionary"


Flight Controls from "TFA The Visual Dictionary"
I know that you said you are not planning a "screen accurate build" but anyhow



And I did a quick comparison to the Revel Snaptite Model I bought for my Classic Tie Fighter MOD...I needed the sound module.
I think the Side Panels don't need to be hugely modified, its the "Pre-charged deuterium power cells" that are to wide.


Did a quick and dirty Photoshop how it could look if you narrow the power cells down to a size similar to the Revell Tie...
Could sort a work or?
And here you can really see how Warped the Side panels are...



Here is also a pic from what i think is a real CGI Model from ILM (could be wrong but I think thats what it is)
and as you can see those Power-cells are for sure narrower then on the 12"

 

[Dave Vader]

Super work there, I also got me a 12" for X-Mass and its SOOOO HUGE, the discussion about the side panels are for sure valid and the edges are pretty "wobbly". Still have to finish two other projects before even thinking about starting this but gonna watch your progress with great interest .

I couldn't stop my self so I took some pics and scanned this in

View attachment 574661
Ejection Seat from "TFA The Visual Dictionary"

View attachment 574660
Flight Controls from "TFA The Visual Dictionary"
I know that you said you are not planning a "screen accurate build" but anyhow


View attachment 574662
And I did a quick comparison to the Revel Snaptite Model I bought for my Classic Tie Fighter MOD...I needed the sound module.
I think the Side Panels don't need to be hugely modified, its the "Pre-charged deuterium power cells" that are to wide.

View attachment 574666
Did a quick and dirty Photoshop how it could look if you narrow the power cells down to a size similar to the Revell Tie...
Could sort a work or?
And here you can really see how Warped the Side panels are...


View attachment 574667
Here is also a pic from what i think is a real CGI Model from ILM (could be wrong but I think thats what it is)
and as you can see those Power-cells are for sure narrower then on the 12"

Brilliant post, really helpful, so thanks for making the effort. I have always thought the solar panels were not far off! your photoshop proves the point. The reduction in size of thos cogs make a huge difference. I'll start with those first and see where we end up.

 

[DanielB]

Here are two renders of the ILM model in higher res.

http://i.imgur.com/iwpKkZl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/KVPMSus.jpg

Also, if that is the Revell Level 1 snaptite, don't use it as reference for proportions. It's not right.

The Revell Level 2 is more accurate in shape, but still the cogs are wrong.

The Bandai is dead on correct to the ILM model...

 

[Dave Vader]

Thanks DanielB that is very helpful. plenty of mods still left to do, but I need to get that cockpit sealed first. before I can do that the interior needs weathering and pilot stuck in to position.

I have done some first stage weathering on the matt black paint. Once the whole cockpit is done, I will go through, toning any down with a thin black wash. The chipped and worn paint also brings to life the lighting which I tested.

First picture shows the tidying up around the lights after the coat of black. Once that was done it was on to the weathering which I am about half way through! Long job but I really believe all the effort now will show nicely once the cockpit is sealed and those lights are on.

 

[DanielB]

This looks awesome!

 

[thebeans]

So much epicness! was thinking about doing one, but i didnt like the bendy wings, curious to see how you handle that.

 

[Dave Vader]

Thanks for your comments.........yes those wings!! Will need some thinking through but I am a long way off those at the moment!

Right, finished the weathering, put pilot in, completed seat belts and fitted the cockpit and fuselage back together. The fit ended up ok, with obvious gaps to fill etc but a nice canvas to start modding!

I think I will start filling the gaps, adding some detail and then on to the front screen.

 

[Dave Vader]

Right on to the lengthy and difficult main body mods. First off I shortened the front guns, and shifted them up before making those smaller caps seen on other models.These are temporary in place at the moment and need turning in, but that can come later.These guns house red LED's and softened the brightness with a ball of epoxy in the ends. I then filled the gaps and sanded smooth before removing the screw pegs. These will be filled with car body repair and also sanded smooth. I lowered the escape hatch which helps with the scale v wings issue. There is a lot of sanding but you just have to patient. The fuel cells will be shortened and modified revealing more of the main wing struts (hence getting rid of the screw pegs)

I also noticed that there are gaps in the wing struts so I will carve out the gaps here and tidy with styrene (internally)

 

[Dave Vader]

I have managed to dremel out the gaps, add some styrene sheet to sharpen it up and bridge one side to another, rather than just have gaping holes. The screw plugs were then filled and sanded smooth before a light shot of primer to show the defects. The same has also been done on the rear and now I can see the little faults it will be a period of tidying up before cleaning and primer coat.

This part has been difficult and I had to do a bit of planning. You also need to be very careful with the dremel as this is the type of plastic that melts quickly so take your time if you plan to do one of these!! The primer has shown some air bubbles in the filler and very tiny crack in the join so I will fill and sand again with putty.

 

[blakeh1]

Wow, those interior shots look like they could be a filming model or screen shots from the movie in the case of that last one

 

[Dave Vader]

More bodywork completed, with the hatch and hinge coupler removed and sanded back in preparation for my scratch effort.

I managed to tidy it up and give a blast of primer to show all the defects. The tidying is a pain but if you are to get rid of any joints and have a good paint finish then it is a necessary evil! I keep seeing the od dent here and there and there is still some sanding back to do where I removed the screw pegs.

Lights are also working fine so I can concentrate on the hatch, final sanding and then the top and front screens.

 

[glorbes]

I adore that this thing exists, and the mods you're doing are amazing. The scale of it is so insane, and the price means that it is pretty much a steal. I'm pretty sure my wife would murder me if I came home with it though, and with good reason. It practically needs its own room.

 

[Dave Vader]

Main body mods are complete, with a fair bit of final tidying to do prior to painting. The hatch requires a scratch built rear hinge and front clip. The front screen will have the clear plastic sheets fitted prior to sealing in and modifying to the main body. Seam lines are now gone and lower guns need modification and installation. I scratch built most of the Antenna, its a bit different to some of the pics but I wanted it to look more like an antenna rather than a gun!! The next job is the heavy modification of the fuel cells which need to be narrowed in width and each one separated.......joy!!

 

[Dave Vader]

Lower guns complete, just need to tudy up the ends and remove the odd mould line. Lights tested and everything is working well!! On to the cells now...gulp!

 

[DanielB]

Nice! This is so freakin' awesome.