My solar panels were a little warped but nothing that was a dealbreaker or worth the hassle of correcting.
AMT Studio Series TIE Fighter from ANH
- Thread starter Necronaut
- Start date
Hunk a Junk
Sr Member
I too got one of these kits for Christmas and so far it's great. My favorite detail -- and I'm so pleasantly surprised by this -- is the accurate recreation of the Kool Shade. The spoke lines (for lack of a better term) recreate the braided texture of the shade and the shade texture has some nice irregularities that catch the light unevenly as the model moves. Nice!
On my kit, I'm recreating the studio model cockpit rather than the studio set. If anyone knows where I can find an accurate 3D file of the modified Harrier pilot, let me know.
On my kit, I'm recreating the studio model cockpit rather than the studio set. If anyone knows where I can find an accurate 3D file of the modified Harrier pilot, let me know.
Yep, my inner cockpit ball was warped as well. Just CA'd one part at a time and used a few clamps to get it together.
SB
Antsnest
Sr Member
Wow... seems QA may be a little lax on this. That or something is happening in storage/shipping. I struggled to get the bits back into the box after the initial look, maybe it needs a bit more space in there...?
Just saw the AllScaleTrek video - his top hatch was squashed, but boiling water helped sort that out too. Although this may have induced something in the plastic that caused paint adhesion problems later on on that one part.
Just saw the AllScaleTrek video - his top hatch was squashed, but boiling water helped sort that out too. Although this may have induced something in the plastic that caused paint adhesion problems later on on that one part.
Hunk a Junk
Sr Member
Nice! It looks like you added the metal armature inside too. Is it actual metal or is it fake?
Fake baby! PVC pipe with 3/8” threaded insert for the stand mount. Does the trick to communicate the idea. If it was truly SS I’d figure out a way to get one made.
Hunk a Junk
Sr Member
Atta boy! That's exactly what I was thinking because I have some spare plumbing PVC in the garage. A little aluminum duct foil to wrap it and I'll call it a day! It's going to end up partially hidden behind the figure anyway. Just need to find an authentic (enough) Harrier pilot.
star-art
Sr Member
I went to great effort to accurately recreate that in 3D. I have some vintage KoolShade in my hand that's the same material that was used on the filming models. I not only measured it with calipers, but also did a 2D flatbed scan at ultra-high resolution so I could get the dimensions and layout just right.
It's possible the factory might have had to fill in some undercuts, but I modeled the "braid" as you call it exactly as it was in the actual material. The louvers, of course, had to be at least somewhat compromised for injection molding as they would have presented severe undercuts.
Hunk a Junk
Sr Member
Absolutely brilliant. Such a nice surprise to see when I opened the kit.
I also love that the kit is so accurate it's possible to see exactly how the ILMers cannibalized the standard TIE cockpit ball to be Vader's X-1. Now I'm tempted to get another kit and do the same thing to have the two TIEs in the same scale.
Hunk a Junk
Sr Member
Yeah, I noticed that too. It looks like some of the solar panel arm supports got cut up for the wings too. My only hesitation in starting a conversion is that I know R2 will announce a kit as soon as I'm halfway finished.They not only reused the "ball" from the "ball and arms" but also a portion of two wing stars. They cut them up and rotated them. In theory, you could build a matching Vader's TIE from scratch using parts from this AMT kit.
Jaitea
Master Member
Incredible
Going to have to get one, I would be doing the same as you & Hunk a Junk
(actually modifying a 1/72 Bandai at the minute)
J
Hunk a Junk
Sr Member
Star-art, do you (or does anyone else) know the diameter of the original ANH TIE metal armature pipe? I found a variety of potential tubes I could use digging around the house last night, some of them aluminum, and I want to be in the ballpark.
I assume that when the ILMers were mounting the TIE through the front of the model that the cockpit windscreen and pilot would've been removed for access, but it would also seem that the cockpit "modesty panel" would also need to come out for the mounting rod to have straight access to the armature. Could it be that the entire cockpit was a single module to remove? The back wall of the cockpit is clearly open in some photos, so I wonder what pieces stayed in the model while being photographed and what pieces didn't.
I assume that when the ILMers were mounting the TIE through the front of the model that the cockpit windscreen and pilot would've been removed for access, but it would also seem that the cockpit "modesty panel" would also need to come out for the mounting rod to have straight access to the armature. Could it be that the entire cockpit was a single module to remove? The back wall of the cockpit is clearly open in some photos, so I wonder what pieces stayed in the model while being photographed and what pieces didn't.
Hunk a Junk
Sr Member
Just whipped this together. It doesn't yet account for the slight curve in the "modesty panel," but I just want to get the dimensions close. It's about 2.5cm deep.
Hunk a Junk
Sr Member
Other than the "modesty panel" (as I call it) I didn't study the interior of the filming model that much as I had no intention of recreating any of it.
As for the armature, I think it might have been 1 1/4" OD aluminum tube. But, don't quote me on that!
Close enough for me. So the AMT kit is approximately 75% the size of the real studio scale, right? So a little under 1" OD tube should be accurate(ish).
Jaitea
Master Member
Hi @ Hunk a Junk, have you seen Jonathan Faber's SS TIE build over on the Studio Scale section?
www.therpf.com
This armature is the what the parts are assembled on top of so if you are looking for the diameter of the pipe, just take it from the kit you have
I do remember you & I suggesting that perhaps Round2 could offer optional 'Studio' interior parts for this kit
J
My SS TIE Fighter
So I've been working on and off on my Tie Fighter for about 6 years now. Most of that time has been research and kit collecting. Last year I finally started work on construction of the master patterns. I plan to mold the whole thing so that down the road I can make an Interceptor and a X-1 to go...
www.therpf.com
This armature is the what the parts are assembled on top of so if you are looking for the diameter of the pipe, just take it from the kit you have
I do remember you & I suggesting that perhaps Round2 could offer optional 'Studio' interior parts for this kit
J
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