Are MPC B-WING and Bandai 1/72 pilots in scale?

[Jimmer]

A used book store near me sales used collectibles and one can often find scale models there.. some sealed, some open. And some will be partially built, others fully built and in the box.

If they're priced right I'm not above picking up those partially built and "starting over" but being diligent about doing a part count is imperative.

Yet, I sometimes make mistakes (I am 54 now).

I grabbed an MPC B-wing that was pretty much untouched but I didn't notice the pilot was missing.
Now, I've never built a B-wing from any company, but I've built several X and Y's, and the Bandai Red 5 I built has a Rey pilot that is pretty bad but I think I can sculpt a chest box and hoses and make her presentable (she is in a helmet fortunately).

Rey fits in the MPC cockpit, but as I've never actually seen an MPC B-Wing pilot (in hand) I was hoping if someone who's built both think they're reasonably close in scale.

(I know her helmet will be "wrong", but I figure Rebels are poor and out of B-wings helmets at the time ).

Thanks

 

[Analyzer]

The MPC B-Wing is pretty small and around 1/100 to even as small as 1/144 scale depending on whether you scale from the filming model or life size cockpit set

I have built one of these, and this is the relative size of the pilot to the MPC cockpit

and here is the relative size of the pilot in a Bandai cockpit

I think a true 1/72 pilot would be to large.

Not sure if Rey is undersized though as she is a bit smaller than a typical 6 ft average 1/72 pilot might be just by nature of the actress being shorter ( I think she is around 5ft 6in or so)

Here you can see 3 different B-Wings starting with the Fantastic Plastic 1/72 B-Wing on the left, the Bandai 1/72* B-wing in the middle, and the MPC 1/100+ on the right

or in reverse MPC on the left, Bandai in the middle, and Fantastic Plastic one on the right

The larger Fantastic Plastic one might actually be a more accurate 1/72 scale based on actualy fitting a 1/72 pilot in the cockpit

*While Bandai is listed as 1/72, I think it is too small, and they even had to shrink the pilot to more like 1/87 to fit him in there

I think the mistake is made assuming the studio scale model is a true 1/24 scale model

after all, below on the left is the supposedly "1/72" pilot compared to an actual 1/72 pilot

Funny enough, the Bandai 1/72 pilot is undersized enough that it could possibly squeeze into the MPC cockpit, or least least more so than the X-WIng pilot

But then you would have a Banda B-Wing and would not need the MPC one

 

[rbeach84]

The B-Wing SS miniature is actually a "hard" 1/32 scale, since the pilot, which is quite exposed and appears to be a 'true scale' fit to the filming model (unlike the "placeholder" pilots in the TIE models...), was donated from the 1/32 Tamiya F-14 kit, with a head swap with the same kit's included standing 'deck crew' figure (a head that has the 'mickey mouse ears' aka protective head gear and not a flight helmet...)

So, relatively easy to 'scale' a B-Wing model kit since the SS also has other features from the 1/32 F-14 kit, such as the drop tanks that can be used to reference the scale of any other models - because the F-14 kit tanks are accurate renditions of the actual drop tanks. Nice when you have a known feature, either based on an actual full size object (such as the Atromech droids visible on many models) or a scaled figure that is actually appropriate for the SS model's scale (only one case of this AFAIK, the B-Wing design... the A-Wing model figure seems oversized when compared to the sets showing the actors in the cockpit and in front of the rear bulkhead.)

So, if you measure the size of the drop tanks on the Bandai, etc. kits and compare to that of the 1/32 scale version, you can derive the scale of the various kits exactly. My measures of the MPC kit shows it is basically 1/100 scale or 1/96 scale, the detailing is a little 'soft'. I've not done the same analysis of the Bandai kit, probably because I was so amazed with the incredible detailing and accuracy - ha!

Hope this info helps a bit... Cheers! R/ Robert

 

[Analyzer]

The B-Wing SS miniature is actually a "hard" 1/32 scale, since the pilot, which is quite exposed and appears to be a 'true scale' fit to the filming model (unlike the "placeholder" pilots in the TIE models...), was donated from the 1/32 Tamiya F-14 kit, with a head swap with the same kit's included standing 'deck crew' figure (a head that has the 'mickey mouse ears' aka protective head gear and not a flight helmet...)

So, relatively easy to 'scale' a B-Wing model kit since the SS also has other features from the 1/32 F-14 kit, such as the drop tanks that can be used to reference the scale of any other models - because the F-14 kit tanks are accurate renditions of the actual drop tanks. Nice when you have a known feature, either based on an actual full size object (such as the Atromech droids visible on many models) or a scaled figure that is actually appropriate for the SS model's scale (only one case of this AFAIK, the B-Wing design... the A-Wing model figure seems oversized when compared to the sets showing the actors in the cockpit and in front of the rear bulkhead.)

So, if you measure the size of the drop tanks on the Bandai, etc. kits and compare to that of the 1/32 scale version, you can derive the scale of the various kits exactly. My measures of the MPC kit shows it is basically 1/100 scale or 1/96 scale, the detailing is a little 'soft'. I've not done the same analysis of the Bandai kit, probably because I was so amazed with the incredible detailing and accuracy - ha!

Hope this info helps a bit... Cheers! R/ Robert

Great info

So if the SS B-Wing is 1/32, and the drop tank are proportionally accurate as far as shape, then at 1/72 the drop tanks on the Banda kit should be 1/72 scale exactly and should match a 1/72 F-14 models tank assuming it is also proportionally correct for 1/72 scale

The 1/00 MPC drop tanks by my measurements are roughly 4.5 cm
The Bandai "1/72" drop tanks are roughly 5.6 cm which is too small for a true 1/72 scale down as they should be more like 6.25 cm if scaled down from the 1/100 MPC kits tanks

even if we use 1/96 scale for the MPC, the Bandai is still too short

For the Bandai to be a true 1/72 scale model, the MPC would have to be 1/87 scale, and it is definitely smaller than that

So what scale is the the Bandai?

Here is a size comparison

The 1/72 Academy F-14 tank is definitely larger implying the Bandai B-wing is noticeably undersized for 1/72 scale

Academy kit is a length of roughly 6.4 cm give or take vs the Bandai 5.6 cm. That means the Bandai kit is somewhere around 1/83 or so and not 1/72

This definitely fits with the size differences of the pilot in the Bandai kit to a 1/72 scale pilot

just to get another frame of reference, here is a GWH 1/72 F-14. tanks seems thinner diameter wise than the Academy kit, but the length is nearly identical at roughly 6.4 cm
Again still larger than the Bandai

Supposedly the wings were taken from an F-18, but not sure if it was the regular hornet like an F-18C or a super hornet like the E/F

Here is a comparison of the wings to a Hasegawa 1/72 F-18C

an an Academy 1/72 Super Hornet

 

[JNordgren42]

Supposedly the wings were taken from an F-18, but not sure if it was the regular hornet like an F-18C or a super hornet like the E/F

It would definitely be a legacy Hornet since the Super Hornet didn't even exist as a program until the late 80's or early 90's (production was ordered in 1992 and first flight was in 1995). I know there were proposals earlier than that, but nothing that would have been detailed enough to produce a model kit to kitbash the wings from would have existed until at least sometime around the first flight, if not considerably later.

 

[rbeach84]

Great info

So if the SS B-Wing is 1/32, and the drop tank are proportionally accurate as far as shape, then at 1/72 the drop tanks on the Banda kit should be 1/72 scale exactly and should match a 1/72 F-14 models tank assuming it is also proportionally correct for 1/72 scale

The 1/00 MPC drop tanks by my measurements are roughly 4.5 cm
The Bandai "1/72" drop tanks are roughly 5.6 cm which is too small for a true 1/72 scale down as they should be more like 6.25 cm if scaled down from the 1/100 MPC kits tanks

even if we use 1/96 scale for the MPC, the Bandai is still too short

View attachment 1954474

For the Bandai to be a true 1/72 scale model, the MPC would have to be 1/87 scale, and it is definitely smaller than that

So what scale is the the Bandai?

Here is a size comparison

The 1/72 Academy F-14 tank is definitely larger implying the Bandai B-wing is noticeably undersized for 1/72 scale

Academy kit is a length of roughly 6.4 cm give or take vs the Bandai 5.6 cm. That means the Bandai kit is somewhere around 1/83 or so and not 1/72

This definitely fits with the size differences of the pilot in the Bandai kit to a 1/72 scale pilot




just to get another frame of reference, here is a GWH 1/72 F-14. tanks seems thinner diameter wise than the Academy kit, but the length is nearly identical at roughly 6.4 cm
Again still larger than the Bandai




Supposedly the wings were taken from an F-18, but not sure if it was the regular hornet like an F-18C or a super hornet like the E/F

Here is a comparison of the wings to a Hasegawa 1/72 F-18C



an an Academy 1/72 Super Hornet

Great analysis and spot on... though you might wish to confirm the diameter since it may be that the B-Wing SS model had 'cut down' drop tanks. Also, we'd need to confirm whether Tamiya's model has it right, too! (I'm attaching a scan of the F-14 kit drop tank parts that includes a ruler, so we can work out if the diameter to length ratios match the Bandai kit...)

Note that the top left corner part (the Phoenix missile 'pallet') is the source of the 'cover' on the central pod top/bottom. This item can also be used to confirm the Bandai (or any other...) kit's scale.

The point about the F/A-18A wings is also well taken, and just backs up your findings on the drop tanks, especially if the Bandai kit features are undersized by the same proportion for both tanks and wings... too bad, Bandai should have been able to conduct the same analysis we're doing here and achieved a solid scaling in their kit. After all, I'd expect they have greater resources that we do!



Regards, Robert

 

[rbeach84]

Another thought RE: the drop tanks, is that they are partially 'sheathed' in a sheet plastic 'skin' to depict plating. So the diameter will be slightly greater than a 'bare' drop tank part.
Hmm.
Got me thinking perhaps the F/A-18A wings were also modified, since the B-Wing parts have 'straight' "leading edges" aka the training edges of the Hasegawa parts... they may have been 'trimmed' to make them straight and not 'tapered' in plan view...
Looking at the images of the Bandai pilot figure, of course the feet/legs are a weird shape due to the way the part is molded. I've seen this distortion on several of Bandai's seated pilots...

R/. Robert

 

[Analyzer]

Great analysis and spot on... though you might wish to confirm the diameter since it may be that the B-Wing SS model had 'cut down' drop tanks. Also, we'd need to confirm whether Tamiya's model has it right, too! (I'm attaching a scan of the F-14 kit drop tank parts that includes a ruler, so we can work out if the diameter to length ratios match the Bandai kit...)View attachment 1954776

Note that the top left corner part (the Phoenix missile 'pallet') is the source of the 'cover' on the central pod top/bottom. This item can also be used to confirm the Bandai (or any other...) kit's scale.

The point about the F/A-18A wings is also well taken, and just backs up your findings on the drop tanks, especially if the Bandai kit features are undersized by the same proportion for both tanks and wings... too bad, Bandai should have been able to conduct the same analysis we're doing here and achieved a solid scaling in their kit. After all, I'd expect they have greater resources that we do!



Regards, Robert

It is quite possible Bandai opted for "box scale"


i.e. maybe for some reason, scaling the pilot to 1/72 would require a slightly larger model which might have pushed the sprue size just a bit larger, or required breaking up larger parts into smaller parts to fit a desired sprue dimension and therefore requiring a new/ different box size which may not have been as cost effective vs fudging it a bit scale wise?

 

[edge10]

It is quite possible Bandai opted for "box scale"


i.e. maybe for some reason, scaling the pilot to 1/72 would require a slightly larger model which might have pushed the sprue size just a bit larger, or required breaking up larger parts into smaller parts to fit a desired sprue dimension and therefore requiring a new/ different box size which may not have been as cost effective vs fudging it a bit scale wise?

Bandai was pretty good about using stated sizes by Lucasfilm.

Since it's all make believe, take that for what it's worth.

 

[rbeach84]

Aye, a bit disappointing however I picked one up as a 3 dimensional reference for my 1/48 scratchbuilt, so not a real worry for me...
Cheers!
Robert

 

[rbeach84]

Bandai was pretty good about using stated sizes by Lucasfilm.

Since it's all make believe, take that for what it's worth.

Stray thought in reaction: Comes down to a personal philosophy of sorts whether sloppy scaling is an issue or not. I'd like to apply proper scaling analysis when possible, but sometimes it is also worthwhile to appreciate the model as a display piece and not a "museum" piece. It is fun for *me* whenever a reasonable and rationale scale can be achieved even for 'fantasy subjects' like most of the Star Wars vehicles, since I find enjoyment in the size comparisons possible by a constant scale collection. As it is, these 'ships' can be accurately scaled due to either 1) the 1:1 features depicted (aka Astromech Droid head diameter), or 2) via connection to known scale elements:
1)
X-Wing, Y-Wing, Jedi Fighters, Naboo N-1, Luke's landspeeder
2)
B-Wing
(I may have missed something)
Everything else is 'made up' and hence open to interpretation something that isn't helped when the same vehicles are depicted in the various movies/shows at different physical sizes for artistic or practical reasons...
Hmmmm.
R/ Robert