Zuiun
Sr Member
So after tackling the Buck Rogers Starfighter, I decided to go back to familiar territory and do a Star Wars kit. More to the point, I decided to FINALLY build an x-wing...See, here's the thing, I have a ton of x-wing kits. Collecting them is like an addiction...
This isn't even all of them... I have at least 2 more MPC kits and a few other kits in a box.
And yet... I've never actually built one. I have no excuses and I will take all of the shame and ridicule you guys choose to inflict.
All of these kits appeal to me -- yes, even the MPCs -- but in the end, I decided that I needed something that would require a bit less...work... to put together. Don't get me wrong, it was satisfying to get a decent model out of the endless filling and sanding I had to do on the Buck Rogers kit, but my real love is painting and weathering. So....
There's been a billion build threads of X-wings here over the years, so I won't bore you guys with anything too in-depth. I'll mostly just highlight some of the painting choices I made along the way. So to that end, let's dive in...
First up, I wanted to pre-shade some of the elements of the inner wings, because I knew these would be difficult to get to once the model was assembled (I wanted to avoid disassembling for painting as much as possible). I let the paint get a little "splattery" (technical term) to help create a bit of a mottled appearance when the main base coat went on.
As with all of the Bandai Star Wars kits, I'm continually amazed at how well these parts fit together and how little clean up they generally need. So here's the wing structure essentially finished. Notice the "appropriate" glass in the background for the whiskey I'm sipping on during the build...
Next up... painting the pilot. I was always a big miniature painter, but even these little 1/72 scale minis test my patience. But I think he turned out ok...It's not like he'll really be very well seen under the cockpit anyway.
Once I had the x-wing completely assembled, it was time for primer, pre-shading, and the base coat (I chose Vallejo Insignia White for my main color).
I decided to use the "windowless" canopy. But since Bandai also included a clear piece for a canopy, it would be a perfect "mask" to protect the cockpit during the application of the base coat...
And here we are with the base coat applied. It might be a little hard to see in the photo, but the pre-shading really created a nice finish to the base coat. So at this stage, I'm ready for the fun part...
That's all for now. SPOILER ALERT: The model is already finished... but I'll break up the photo dumps a bit. Next up, adding some color and decals...
This isn't even all of them... I have at least 2 more MPC kits and a few other kits in a box.
And yet... I've never actually built one. I have no excuses and I will take all of the shame and ridicule you guys choose to inflict.
All of these kits appeal to me -- yes, even the MPCs -- but in the end, I decided that I needed something that would require a bit less...work... to put together. Don't get me wrong, it was satisfying to get a decent model out of the endless filling and sanding I had to do on the Buck Rogers kit, but my real love is painting and weathering. So....
There's been a billion build threads of X-wings here over the years, so I won't bore you guys with anything too in-depth. I'll mostly just highlight some of the painting choices I made along the way. So to that end, let's dive in...
First up, I wanted to pre-shade some of the elements of the inner wings, because I knew these would be difficult to get to once the model was assembled (I wanted to avoid disassembling for painting as much as possible). I let the paint get a little "splattery" (technical term) to help create a bit of a mottled appearance when the main base coat went on.
As with all of the Bandai Star Wars kits, I'm continually amazed at how well these parts fit together and how little clean up they generally need. So here's the wing structure essentially finished. Notice the "appropriate" glass in the background for the whiskey I'm sipping on during the build...
Next up... painting the pilot. I was always a big miniature painter, but even these little 1/72 scale minis test my patience. But I think he turned out ok...It's not like he'll really be very well seen under the cockpit anyway.
Once I had the x-wing completely assembled, it was time for primer, pre-shading, and the base coat (I chose Vallejo Insignia White for my main color).
I decided to use the "windowless" canopy. But since Bandai also included a clear piece for a canopy, it would be a perfect "mask" to protect the cockpit during the application of the base coat...
And here we are with the base coat applied. It might be a little hard to see in the photo, but the pre-shading really created a nice finish to the base coat. So at this stage, I'm ready for the fun part...
That's all for now. SPOILER ALERT: The model is already finished... but I'll break up the photo dumps a bit. Next up, adding some color and decals...