AMT/ERTL Imperial Tie Fighters

[mb1k]

1 down, 3 to go... bought two of these kits over 20-years ago at a Kay Bee Toy Liquidators. $2.99 a pop and for $5.98 I got four Tie Fighters. My excitement quickly grew into frustration when the Model Master Acryl semi-gloss black never cured completely. The panels were still tacky days after. I put it away hoping to return in a week or so and have a nice tack-free finish. When I did come back it wasn't perfect, but it was still decidedly 'gummy-like'. I pressed on. After finishing one panel and half-way through a second I could tell I was reaching that point where I needed to just walk away. Each time I handled the a panel I was getting more and more upset with the Model Master Acryl (still have that exact same bottle). This kit has been sitting in my stash for most likely 22+-years... until three days ago...

 

[mb1k]

I have to thank Barbatos Rex and his YouTube channel for this. Watching him spray craft acrylics got me to dust off the airbrush last month, and on a whim I remembered Ceramcoat Dolphin Gray 02457 was supposed to be a match for Tie Fighter blue-gray. At $1.39 a bottle, what did I have to lose? I did a test shot, Bingo. Close enough for me. I dug out the kit. The tackiness, whatever the cause was now long gone. How frustrating to have to walk away over a $3 bottle of misbehaving paint. It is what it is.

 

[mb1k]

It only took me two decades but I finally got the first one done. Straight out of the box and not going to win any competitions. Like I said, three to go. I'm planning on doing the second in ANH light gray, accurizing the aft exterior bulkhead and doing a screen accurate pattern paint for the panels (black extending outside the panel proper to the frames).

 

[edge10]

They came out nice. Nice match on the color.

 

[mb1k]

They came out nice. Nice match on the color.

Thanks! Can't take credit, someone in the community here had mentioned it years ago and it stuck in my head. Walking around Hobby Lobby last week I saw it and that's what shook off the cobwebs and made me pull this kit off the stash shelf.

 

[publiusr]

I always wanted a lot of them to join panels together for a giant T.I.E.