1:48 Clone Wars Y-Wing BTL-B Bomber

[ouizel]

I got a wild hair and decided to scratch-build a Clone Wars Y-Wing bomber. It will be in 1:48 to be consistent with various other Star Wars ships I have, including various SMT TIE variants, and Y-Wing, and the FM X-Wing.

I started with top and bottom views that I found online - they appear to be studio renders.

From Starwars.com and the Wookiepedia I got the stated dimensions and used those to scale the drawings to 1:48. It works out to 19" long.

Using tracing velum I overlaid the originals and created top and bottom views. From those and from lots and lots of screenshots, etc. from the show, I attempted to extrapolate out section shapes to make templates.

From here, actual construction begins. Using epoxy I laminated three foot-long pieces of 3/8" x 6" balsa to make a 1 1/8" x 6" x 12" blank.

I kept it under the weight of a couple of highschool yearbooks as it dried. In retrospect, I probably should have used wood glue instead of epoxy, but it should be okay.

The next day, I scanned my drawings and printed them full size on cardstock which was then cut out to make a half-hull template. Once the centerline was found on the balsa blank, this template was transferred to each side of the center line.

Hopefully over the long weekend I'll be able to start cutting. First the outline on the jigsaw, and then start carving and sanding, using the profile templates.

Once completed, this will all be covered in styrene, which will be scribed with panel lines, etc.

This is my first attempt at scratchbuilding anything so large. Wish me luck!

 

[Lee S]

Looking forward to this one!

 

[Kuhn Global]

Looking forward to this one!

As am I. love:love

 

[Flachzange]

Always interesting to see how people start out their scratch-builds. Looking forward to more. I really like the CW Y-Wing design

 

[jawsmodels]

Interesting :cool Seems to be alot of scratch builders coming out of the woodwork which is fantastic. Nice choice of subject. Good stuff :thumbsup

 

[MsngPcs]

Subscribed! :thumbsup

 

[3d-builder]

Cool project man looking forward to watching !!
Balsa is a fun medium.....wear a good mask it likes to
get up in the air quick!!!:angry:thumbsdown

 

[cayman shen]

I love this ship--keep it coming!

 

[ajones1138]

Looks awesome! Are you going to do it in gold or red?

 

[Arketh]

Definatly a cool looking ship.

Although, personally I have a love for the old clunker Y-Wings.

 

[ouizel]

A small update:

First - an apology for starting this thread under Studio Scale. I thought about that after the fact and realized that probably wasn't the best place for it - especially since there is no real 'studio' scale for a purely digital creation. Anyway, thanks to whoever for moving it for me.

Due to a combination of family obligations and unexpected work issues, I didn't get as much done this weekend as I had hoped, but here we are.

I got the body blank cut out using the jigsaw. I only broke one blade :confused. You may notice that there is a slight divot on the bottom side. I'm not sure if I'll be filling that before I begin or wait until after more shaping. Probably the later to keep it from popping out on me.

After the blank was cut, I began transferring reference marks - center line in all planes, and station marks top and bottom.

Next up is to transfer the contour markings, etc from the section patterns to the top and bottom and to begin carving, cutting, and sanding.

If I did it again, I would transfer the section marks to the top and bottom BEFORE cutting the blank, that would allow me to use my T-square to get lines square to the center line much easier than using a triangle on either side of the center line like I had to do after cutting the basic shape.

Looks awesome! Are you going to do it in gold or red?

Well, AJones, I'm not sure. Probably the gold, but I might do a completely different color. Maybe a blue. Don't know yet.

Anyway, thanks to all who have taken interest in this. Hopefully ya'll will keep me motivated through the end.

Next up I'll show how I'm going to do the engine pods - and what I found that made me even consider beginning the project.

 

[TazMan2000]

I never used balsa wood for a frame. Are go going to use it as a mold to vacuform, or are you going to glue styrene sheet to it? What filler works well with balsa?

TazMan2000

 

[HadronMM]

When I'm picking glue for laminating plies together like this, I always wonder about the resulting density and hardness of the glue vs. the hardness of the surrounding wood. I think if the glue is a lot harder, and it often is, then when you sand the surrounding wood tends to eat away quicker and more easily, leaving the surface scalloped up to the glue joints. This wouldn't be an issue if your just making straight cuts through the plies, but it might if you end up carving or sanding much. I wonder if using epoxy instead of wood glue will make that difference? But you're probably going to skin this thing with styrene so it doesn't matter anyway. But maybe you've got an opinion about that issue?

Very cool project, BTW. Nice work. I love seeing these animated objects rendered into the real 3-D world.

Matt

 

[ouizel]

I never used balsa wood for a frame. Are go going to use it as a mold to vacuform, or are you going to glue styrene sheet to it? What filler works well with balsa?

TazMan2000

The plan is to cover it in styrene sheet which will then be scribed for panel lines, etc.

As to filler, I don't really know. This is a first for me. I've done some model ship hulls from basswood and used both wood filler and spackle. I would imagine either one would work on this project. Especially since it's going to be covered in plastic.

 

[ouizel]

When I'm picking glue for laminating plies together like this, I always wonder about the resulting density and hardness of the glue vs. the hardness of the surrounding wood. I think if the glue is a lot harder, and it often is, then when you sand the surrounding wood tends to eat away quicker and more easily, leaving the surface scalloped up to the glue joints. This wouldn't be an issue if your just making straight cuts through the plies, but it might if you end up carving or sanding much. I wonder if using epoxy instead of wood glue will make that difference? But you're probably going to skin this thing with styrene so it doesn't matter anyway. But maybe you've got an opinion about that issue?

Matt

Well, this was another one of those areas where I didn't really think before doing. If I had thought it through, I would have considered that. I think I mentioned after-the-fact that I probably should have used wood glue, for this reason. So far I've only done the vertical cuts, but as I start carving and cutting on the various angles, I'm sure I'll run into issues.

 

[TazMan2000]

In any case...I'm going to be watching with great anticipation. Thanks for documenting your build.

TazMan2000

 

[3d-builder]

Here is a good solution you could also use some good tacky
double sided tape.Put it down in areas far enough in from the
edges and your set! Then when the shape is finished you just
pull apart and glue the halves together.

 

[3d-builder]

My bad I thought you had to halves there, a top and bottom and you were
going to vacuum-form each.:$

 

[ajones1138]

I've never scratchbuilt anything before, and I've got a question:
Just how do you glue the styrene to wood? And how thick should the styrene be?

 

[ouizel]

Just how do you glue the styrene to wood? And how thick should the styrene be?

My plan is to seal the wood core - once its in its final shape - with several coats of sanding sealer to strengthen it and make the wood less porous. Then I will attach the styrene with superglue.

As to how thick, I'm not sure yet. It needs to be thin enough to be flexible yet thick enough to score for panel lines. I'll have to experiment.