Bandai 1/72 Red Squadron

[Analyzer]

Yeah what's the story there? Why is the Y-wing so expensive compared to the X-wing?
Cheers,
Josh

The Y-Wing originally had an MSRP of around $33
With BlueFin import that crept up to around $37 I think
The X-wing was around $24

There are more parts/sprues in the Y-wing compared to the X-Wing so I guess that is where the extra cost comes from?

Anything above that is simply because sellers may be pricing based on :demand: pricing for something that has not received as many pressings as the X-Wing?

 

[Hagoth]

The other possibility for Red 11 could be the MPC X-Wing from ESB/Return of The Jedi?

from the PropStore acution

I like that idea. Mesh that with the suggestions above and it could be a good unique look based on something from the props. Already has a bunch of greenish panels spaced around and the yellow panel on the leading edge of the left wing could be the light blue color. Move the blast marks over to highlight the panel line contrast and the story begins to unfold.

 

[Inquisitor Peregrinus]

Yup, that's the plan. Might have to use a Revell Y-Wing for Red Jammer though unless I can get my hands on another Bandai at a reasonable price

I still need to pick up a few more X-Wings. I need one for 9, 10 and 11

May I contribute to the project? The 1:72 & 1:144 two-pack is available handily from Amazon for $33, or the TROS one for $34. Y-Wings are trickier. The Bandai one is hard to find for less than $80, and the Revell one I haven't been able to find anywhere (plenty of the 1:95 snap kits, though). What do you know about the ArgoNauts garage kit? I can get one of those locally. No joy finding one of the Red Jammer conversion kits, though. Did you ever get the decals I linked to some pages back?

I have 2 and 12 in primer currently

I thought 2 was mostly painted...?

One idea I had for Red 11 was to put the casing back on the rear portion of the engines (or at least one/some of them). Like the Y-Wings getting stripped, it's always looked to me that there were panels covering those engines -- the conduits and such wouldn't be exposed straight from the factory. I had also speculated as to whether some or all of the greeble deck aft of the droid socket might be supposed-to-be covered, too. Or the stuff on the rear of the fuselage.

For coloration, I have refined my initial notions from Reds 2 and 6 to be that the Imperial version of the group markings was the bands toward the ends of the wings and the upper fuselage from nose cone to aft end (only stripes flanking the droid socket and that greeble panel -- unless there were a cover plate for that deck). From ROTJ, we do have a Green Group. Ackbar had them stick close to the flagship. They seem to exist separate from the regular Gold-Red-Blue structure (and, since Grey Leader is also Red Two, I tend to ignore "Grey Group"). The MPC kit you showed looks like it could have remnants of the Green Group Imperial markings on its upper fuselage, if you wanted to do a cleaner take on that. With many panels replaced.

 

[Analyzer]

Definitely food for thought

I have been getting the X-Wing set at the local Hobby Lobby using the 40% coupons. Comes to something like $23 I think. I just need to go pick up some more. It is one of the few Bandai Star Wars kits they always seem to keep in stock along with the AT-ST and T-70 X-Wing and a few mecha kits. I wish they would get more of the line though

as for the Y-Wing, I actually have two of the Revell ones on hand and they are the same exact size as the Bandai one (details wise though the molded in pipes are not great)

I have heard of the argonauts kits but they seem to fetch collector's prices these days

I figure if I can't find the Bandai, I would just use on of the Revell kits I have. I was planning on turning one of them into a plated Y-Wing and the other into a Clone Wars Y-Wing sine the details were a bit soft on the body and the molded in piping looks bad

As for Red 2, I have a painted MPC one as Red 2 that is mostly done ( or at least I thought so when I painted it back in the 90s)

I just sprayed a base coat on the 1/72 Red 2 and Red 12

 

[Hagoth]

Relating to the engine treatment on Red 11, I had a similar thought as Inquisitor but in the opposite direction. One of the engines could be dirtier or cleaner than the others or weathered in different colors. Implying it was replaced with another either new or from a bone yard/salvage operation.

I like the thought on Red 11 coming from an Imperial Green group. It would makes sense that as groups were depleted remaining ships would be transferred to other groups to fill them out.

 

[StevenBills]

by using the 40% coupons.

I was at Hobby Lobby last week purchasing some modeling supplies and noticed that they don't have the 40% off coupon online anymore. Went to the register and asked and they said that corporate did away with it in February. Sad day.

SB

 

[Analyzer]

I was at Hobby Lobby last week purchasing some modeling supplies and noticed that they don't have the 40% off coupon online anymore. Went to the register and asked and they said that corporate did away with it in February. Sad day.

SB

oh no!

Hopefully they lowered there prices a bit as they were overpriced to compensate. They are retailing the X-Wing Kit I think for $39.99

 

[starks]

as for the Y-Wing, I actually have two of the Revell ones on hand and they are the same exact size as the Bandai one (details wise though the molded in pipes are not great)

The Revell Snap kits? Aren't they like 1/90? Or did they re-tool since then?
Cheers,
Josh

 

[Analyzer]

The Revell Snap kits? Aren't they like 1/90? Or did they re-tool since then?
Cheers,
Josh

Maybe you are thinking of the old MPC Snap kit. That was around 1/90

This is the Revell 1/72 kit on the right with the Bandai on the left

The Revell Y-Wing was my first kit when I got back into modeling many years ago and reignited my interest in Star Wars models. I picked them up at AC Moore using their 50% off coupons You could call it my gateway drug which led to my Fine Molds and later, Bandai addiction

give the painting on the Bandai one a pass as it was still a work in progress and I had not done the mist coating to tone it down a bit and the harsh flash is not kind to it

Revell on bottom, Bandai on the top

 

[Inquisitor Peregrinus]

Yeah, Revell did a re-box of the old MPC snap kit (1:95) and also of the FineMolds kit, which is the same size as the Bandai because Lucasfilm didn't screw up the ship size for that one when telling FineMolds how big a real Y-Wing would be.

Analyzer, also reference Rebels for the Y-Wings they stole from the chopyard. There was supposed to paneling all along those engine nacelles. The UCS conjecture didn't go far enough in covering things up.

I also like the idea of a new engine swapped in. As with Red Leader's "panel that tells a story", maybe have some grease and charring around it to show what happened to the previous engine.

If Hobby Lobby is keeping their full retail unchanged, I'm still more than happy to supply one or two of the two-scale packs from Amazon for you. And the place I know locally that has the AquaNauts Y-Wing was selling it for its original retail. He has a lot of garage kits that have hung around for a bit. If I were still doing box scale ERTL Trek kits, I'd be all over that.

 

[Analyzer]

Yeah, Revell did a re-box of the old MPC snap kit (1:95) and also of the FineMolds kit, which is the same size as the Bandai because Lucasfilm didn't screw up the ship size for that one when telling FineMolds how big a real Y-Wing would be.

Analyzer, also reference Rebels for the Y-Wings they stole from the chopyard. There was supposed to paneling all along those engine nacelles. The UCS conjecture didn't go far enough in covering things up.

I also like the idea of a new engine swapped in. As with Red Leader's "panel that tells a story", maybe have some grease and charring around it to show what happened to the previous engine.

If Hobby Lobby is keeping their full retail unchanged, I'm still more than happy to supply one or two of the two-scale packs from Amazon for you. And the place I know locally that has the AquaNauts Y-Wing was selling it for its original retail. He has a lot of garage kits that have hung around for a bit. If I were still doing box scale ERTL Trek kits, I'd be all over that.

That Revell kit is an all new tool. Not sure if they also repopped the MPC one, but this is definitely different than that MPC one

Thanks for the offer

I going to check out Hobby Lobby this weekend as well as Amazon. Not sure about the argonauts kit. I will have to think about it and check out some builds of it to see what I might be getting into

 

[Inquisitor Peregrinus]

That Revell kit is an all new tool. Not sure if they also repopped the MPC one, but this is definitely different than that MPC one

Well, the old MPC snap kit and the current Revell small snap kit are both 1:95. They're identical in size and proportion and most of the details are a match. I can see a re-tool, but as far as I'm concerned it's the MPC brought back to life.

The larger Revell snap kit was released in 2017. First issue. The detailed analysis includes the commentary "changed parts". Changed from what? The FineMolds kit it's a re-box of. The original FM kit was not a snap kit, so that'd need some reworking. But there is no prior 1:72 Revell Y-Wing for it to be a rework of. And Revell have reboxed a bunch of other FM kits, with most getting a bit of a tweak. And, I'll be honest, for Star Wars kits, unless they used someone else's, I do not trust Revell to nail an actual scale beyond "box scale" to save their lives. All their 1:72 kits are FM.

 

[Analyzer]

Well, the old MPC snap kit and the current Revell small snap kit are both 1:95. They're identical in size and proportion and most of the details are a match. I can see a re-tool, but as far as I'm concerned it's the MPC brought back to life.

The larger Revell snap kit was released in 2017. First issue. The detailed analysis includes the commentary "changed parts". Changed from what? The FineMolds kit it's a re-box of. The original FM kit was not a snap kit, so that'd need some reworking. But there is no prior 1:72 Revell Y-Wing for it to be a rework of. And Revell have reboxed a bunch of other FM kits, with most getting a bit of a tweak. And, I'll be honest, for Star Wars kits, unless they used someone else's, I do not trust Revell to nail an actual scale beyond "box scale" to save their lives. All their 1:72 kits are FM.

This is the boxing I have. It released in 2007 from what I can understand.

The thing that sets this apart from other Y-Wings are the cross hair scribed lines on the rounded engine covers, I am not sure where Revell dreamed those up from

I have come across sites like Scalemates that incorrectly list it as 1/95
However, it is the same size as the Bandai in almost every aspect and you can interchange the pilot and astromechs. The only notable deviation in measurement is the length of the T-rails are a little shorter compared to the Bandai kit.

Maybe part of the scale confusion is caused by not taking into account the dimensions of individual parts like the cockpit/nose proportions/dimensions or astromech and simply measuring just the overall length. If measuring the overall length, the proportional issue of the shorter T-rails would artificially make it seem like it was smaller scale, where if you only measure the length of the nose to the end of the main body, it will be a different scale going only by length

If it is really 1/95 compared to a real world Y-Wing, then the Bandai one is also 1/95 instead of 1/72. To throw fuel on the fire so to speak, we do know the Fine Molds Y-Wing is actually noticeably larger than the Bandai one

If you are interested I can get a shot of all 3 together

This is the repacked 2017 version after they realized it was actually a fit for 1/72 scale based on the Bandai size

The only difference I can spot is there is a stand included (that is the new parts I guess?) and the paint job is for Gold Leader instead of Gold 3. Although they did not change out the astromech to a rounded R2 style unit

 

[Analyzer]

All this talk has me excited to finish. Was finally able to get some painting done yesterday for Red 2 and Red 12

I am having a hard time with getting the look of front area of Red 12. It appears like it is supposed to represent parts where the paint has been sanded off and then the metal has started to oxidize/rust. IT is very hard at those scale getting that look

I also think I may have gone a bit to contrasted for the yellow wing markings and will need to knock it back a bit

 

[Hagoth]

All this talk has me wanting to do a Red 11 of my own. It's got me thinking to finish my current MPC motorized conversion with the concepts proposed here... when/if I get to the point of painting. Working on other aspects of it for now. Must... stay... on.... target. But, the thought has been formed and is taking root.

Red 2 and 12 are looking really good so far. I hadn't realized that the Red Leader nose panel story was repeated on so many other X-Wings already. As for the Red 12 nose it almost looks like it got scorched. Got a little target fixated on the TIE it was chasing and flew through the fire ball after blowing it up. Burned off the paint and oxidized the panels to the point that some of them further back needed replacement.

Liking the left top engine cover replacement look on Red 2. I could agree that the yellow needs to be knocked back a bit, but maybe only in a few places, even so it still looks really good. It is conceivable that the yellow inside the wings might not be as faded as the parts on the outside, might not be completely prop accurate but at some point in the history of the craft it likely was.

Man, these craft were battle weary and beat up. Amazing how much story can be told or implied by the look of something. No words necessary.

 

[starks]

Well, the old MPC snap kit and the current Revell small snap kit are both 1:95. They're identical in size and proportion and most of the details are a match. I can see a re-tool, but as far as I'm concerned it's the MPC brought back to life.

The larger Revell snap kit was released in 2017. First issue. The detailed analysis includes the commentary "changed parts". Changed from what? The FineMolds kit it's a re-box of. The original FM kit was not a snap kit, so that'd need some reworking. But there is no prior 1:72 Revell Y-Wing for it to be a rework of. And Revell have reboxed a bunch of other FM kits, with most getting a bit of a tweak. And, I'll be honest, for Star Wars kits, unless they used someone else's, I do not trust Revell to nail an actual scale beyond "box scale" to save their lives. All their 1:72 kits are FM.

Yes you're right. After research the Revell Y-wing I'm thinking of was released in 2007 and 2008. Considering they just repackage models for seemingly a decade or more I was wondering if it was the same model or a retool. I was just asking as I knew the scale to be a touch smaller.
For interest there is the 2007 revell Ywing in my stash here... definetely 1/95. If you choose an area I will measure for comparison to see if this truly is smaller.

Revell seemed to end up with a lot of the FM stuff as they reboxed the FM falcon to.

I was sure when looking at side by side comparisons of the FM and Bandai Y-Wings though the FM was a bit bigger and longer. Perhaps there was a change from the FM tooling?
Sorry if Im babbling.


Analyzer your painting is brilliant! I think the yellow looks great, but yeah if you feel it needs toning down Im sure will only add to the quality of the job. Slightly toned and weathered so it's a little less new to tie together.
As for your saying its hard to paint that oxidised look, have you tried pigment powders?


Cheers,
Josh

 

[thud83]

The weekly 40% off coupon may be a thing of the past, but Hobby Lobby still has periodic sales on plastic models. Two or three weeks ago, I bought three more X-Wing and some Droids during an "All Plastic Models 40% off" sale.

IP, you may think you have spent too much time over the last forty years thinking about Rebel starfighter tactics and organization, but you aren't alone . I'm relieved that I've found a few kindred spirits here - I think my friends are tired of me debating myself about how the Rebels fought at Yavin, Endor, and elsewhere.

There is so much good stuff here, from pictures of studio models to techniques! I have tried to search old threads here on RPF for other reference material, and I've found a lot. But I'm always afraid I missed something. Is anyone interested in creating a permanent website where this stuff can be enshrined?

 

[Inquisitor Peregrinus]

This is the boxing I have. It released in 2007 from what I can understand.

So wait -- that '07 boxing is the same model as the current? Man, I remember seeing builds when that first came out that made it look tiny. So that would predate the Fine Molds one by a bit. Huh. I hate being wrong, but I can adjust accordingly. So the 2017 release is that one, reissued, with whatever the "new parts" are...

 

[Analyzer]

Thanks everyone for looking as well as chiming in

All these cool ideas have got me motivated to get back to working on this

All this talk has me wanting to do a Red 11 of my own. It's got me thinking to finish my current MPC motorized conversion with the concepts proposed here... when/if I get to the point of painting. Working on other aspects of it for now. Must... stay... on.... target. But, the thought has been formed and is taking root.

Red 2 and 12 are looking really good so far. I hadn't realized that the Red Leader nose panel story was repeated on so many other X-Wings already. As for the Red 12 nose it almost looks like it got scorched. Got a little target fixated on the TIE it was chasing and flew through the fire ball after blowing it up. Burned off the paint and oxidized the panels to the point that some of them further back needed replacement.

Liking the left top engine cover replacement look on Red 2. I could agree that the yellow needs to be knocked back a bit, but maybe only in a few places, even so it still looks really good. It is conceivable that the yellow inside the wings might not be as faded as the parts on the outside, might not be completely prop accurate but at some point in the history of the craft it likely was.

Man, these craft were battle weary and beat up. Amazing how much story can be told or implied by the look of something. No words necessary.

As for doing your own Red 11, you should go for it. I'd love to see a guide for it!

The weekly 40% off coupon may be a thing of the past, but Hobby Lobby still has periodic sales on plastic models. Two or three weeks ago, I bought three more X-Wing and some Droids during an "All Plastic Models 40% off" sale.

IP, you may think you have spent too much time over the last forty years thinking about Rebel starfighter tactics and organization, but you aren't alone . I'm relieved that I've found a few kindred spirits here - I think my friends are tired of me debating myself about how the Rebels fought at Yavin, Endor, and elsewhere.

There is so much good stuff here, from pictures of studio models to techniques! I have tried to search old threads here on RPF for other reference material, and I've found a lot. But I'm always afraid I missed something. Is anyone interested in creating a permanent website where this stuff can be enshrined?

If you have not seen it, Modelers Myth & Magic site has been trying to do something like that. Although it doesn't really have much of the chatter or WIP pics etc..but it does showcase lots of work as well as some documented ref

Modelers Miniatures & Magic

A Gallery of Miniature and Prop Art

modelermagic.com

This is a place to start. Although some pics may be flipped

Red 1 (Red Leader)
Modeler's Miniatures & Magic

Red 2 (Wedge)
Modeler's Miniatures & Magic

Red 3 (Biggs)
Modeler's Miniatures & Magic

Red 4 (John D)
Modeler's Miniatures & Magic

Red 5 (Luke)
Modeler's Miniatures & Magic

Red 6 (Porkins)
Modeler's Miniatures & Magic

Yes you're right. After research the Revell Y-wing I'm thinking of was released in 2007 and 2008. Considering they just repackage models for seemingly a decade or more I was wondering if it was the same model or a retool. I was just asking as I knew the scale to be a touch smaller.
For interest there is the 2007 revell Ywing in my stash here... definetely 1/95. If you choose an area I will measure for comparison to see if this truly is smaller.

Revell seemed to end up with a lot of the FM stuff as they reboxed the FM falcon to.

I was sure when looking at side by side comparisons of the FM and Bandai Y-Wings though the FM was a bit bigger and longer. Perhaps there was a change from the FM tooling?
Sorry if Im babbling.


Analyzer your painting is brilliant! I think the yellow looks great, but yeah if you feel it needs toning down Im sure will only add to the quality of the job. Slightly toned and weathered so it's a little less new to tie together.
As for your saying its hard to paint that oxidised look, have you tried pigment powders?


Cheers,
Josh

I have tried the pigment powders, in fact last night I tried adding a bit of the Tamiya Rust from one of the weathering powders sets and it did help!

So wait -- that '07 boxing is the same model as the current? Man, I remember seeing builds when that first came out that made it look tiny. So that would predate the Fine Molds one by a bit. Huh. I hate being wrong, but I can adjust accordingly. So the 2017 release is that one, reissued, with whatever the "new parts" are...

Absolutely. I remember because my daughter was born in 2007 and since I was going to be spending more time at home instead of hanging out with friends I figured it would be a good time to get back in the hobby. I was browsing the model section at AC Moore and saw that Y-Wing. I remembered how off the old MPC Y-Wing looked and this one seemed to look much more accurate so I picked it up. Imagine being impressed by a Revell kit, but at the time, that was all I knew and it former MPC competition was kind of lacking
and the only "new parts" was the display stand which looks like they ripped off a similar style as the Fine Molds display stand

Sorry for the blurry pic, but I just quickly got a shot to show the sizes

From left to right, Fine Molds, Bandai, and Revell

It's funny that the Revell is actually more accurate shape wise in some areas like the head section than the Fine Molds. Details are a totally different story

 

[Analyzer]

Also I got some more painting done last night

Reworked the nose and front end a bit for Red 12 and added some additional weathering for both plus painted the wing stripes

Just a quick pic for now. Will try to get better lighting and stuff later