First post: Revell 1/29 X-Wing - Red 5

[PVmodels]

I have been an auto model builder since childhood. I build primarily racecars from the 1960's and 1970's. I scratch build and make a lot of improvements. That's a bit off topic but that is my background. I built an MPC R2-D2 kit about 10 years ago mainly because I had one as a kid. Like many of you, I grew up addicted to Star Wars. I was 5 when the original movie came out. I still have my original Kenner toys and had been adding to the collection. But over the last 5-10 years I realized I had what I truly wanted and the thrill of the hunt was gone. That led me here to RPF. I want to make one-of-a-kind things for my collection.

I was inspired by the work of many people from this forum to build an X Wing. I read about the options here and decided to go the Revell 1/29 route knowing it was not accurate. It took me longer to build than expected because some of the inaccuracies bothered me. I modified a lot that others have done here before but there might be a few new things: replaced cannons with brass tube/rod, filled the under side of the cannons, added details to the cannon tops, modified the engine intakes so they aren't solid, carved the engine heat sinks out for lights, scratch built the tanks inside the inner wings, put magnets in the wing tips, built inserts for the wings when opened, redid the torpedo slots, extended and slanted the nose cone, added the Falcon 3D cockpit and pilot, epoxied a recessed nut for mounting, scratch built side mount covers, and a simple LED lighting of the cockpit, R2, and engines. I had never weathered anything before. It's not to the level of others here but I am very happy with the results. I also built the base from wood and a friend 3D printed the tiles for me. Thank you all for posting here and sharing your knowledge.

 

[JMar]

I just ordered one of these! I’m looking forward to cracking open the box and seeing what I’ve gotten myself into

 

[yaris]

I've seen hundreds of these Revell X Wing builds, but they are never tiresome....

Excellent result...!! just the right balance of damage, weathering, lighting and detail

Great work...!!

The torpedo hatch is always a challenge to get right, but I think yours is as good as it can be.

On my hasbro 1/18th convert, I struggled to get mine 'right' but it always looks like it could be better....

 

[PVmodels]

I just ordered one of these! I’m looking forward to cracking open the box and seeing what I’ve gotten myself into

That’s the great thing about the kit. You can do as little as you want, you can try to correct everything (time and $) or you can do something in the middle.

For me, I had to replace the cockpit and pilot. That was the weakest area. The rest was smaller, incremental improvements.

 

[PVmodels]

I've seen hundreds of these Revell X Wing builds, but they are never tiresome....

Excellent result...!! just the right balance of damage, weathering, lighting and detail

Great work...!!

View attachment 1892732


The torpedo hatch is always a challenge to get right, but I think yours is as good as it can be.

On my hasbro 1/18th convert, I struggled to get mine 'right' but it always looks like it could be better....

View attachment 1892733View attachment 1892734View attachment 1892735

Thanks for the positive feedback. The torpedo tubes took some finesse. But I started by making a paper template of the shape from one of the ILM photos of Red 5. Traced it on the ship and carved with a knife. I used styrene tube for the new back instead of brass that ILM used. The rest was filling and sanding. The original tube molded on the ship was about 3/4” longer.

 

[PVmodels]

Some insight into my lighting…I wanted the ship to be self-contained and not have external wiring. The lighting is powered by a coin cell hidden in front of the cockpit. The push-button switch is concealed on the side where the cover for the side-mount would be.

That way I can detach it from the stand and join the attack on the death star.