Is the underside of an X-wing unpainted or what?
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robn1
Master Member
It looks like wet painted wood to me. Look at the same X-Wing set later when Luke prepares to take off, it's just dull paint. Water doesn't bead on a dull surface, it forms a sheet that can look very uniform especially from an angle. Just like wet pavement, which can look like glass.
Still seeing only greyish white. I think a wet white surface is going to reflect more than a brushed aluminum surface. And having seen the models in person, they are painted a whiteish/grey color. As I understand it, for A New Hope, the full scale X-Wings were built by copying a miniature X-Wing.
The top of the model is probably behaving different because you're looking at thirty years of dust and UV damage. The X-wings were painted all over - nothing was painted to look like bare metal. It would have wrecked havoc on the blue screen techniques. But it is your model, so paint it how you "see" it, and no one can criticize that!
MonsieurTox
Master Member
No bare metal on any X-Wing (being models of full size sets).
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Han Goes Solo
New Member
Red4, I hate to brake to you but all x-wings have painted hulls. Just like swgeek I believe the reflective surface you are seeing is simply from the X-wing having been submerged in water. Also, it doesn't make any sense having the underside of the wings painted (white and red) then leaving the body unfinished. A few scrapes revealing some metal? Sure, but not the entire body. Also had to go back and check ESB and ANH and all I see is dulled down weathered paint.
BTW I'm in the process of painting and weathering my old Kenner Millenium Falcon and the thought of trying another color scheme actually occurred to me, so why not paint it the way you see it. However if you want my advice, stick to the original colors for now and if you want to go wild with other color schemes later buy a Revell easy-kit.
Either way, just have fun with with!
BTW I'm in the process of painting and weathering my old Kenner Millenium Falcon and the thought of trying another color scheme actually occurred to me, so why not paint it the way you see it. However if you want my advice, stick to the original colors for now and if you want to go wild with other color schemes later buy a Revell easy-kit.
Either way, just have fun with with!
Han Goes Solo
New Member
Oh, and if you need inspiration or help on different weathering techniques check out Michael Fichtenmayer (www.fichtenfoo.com). He's a truly awesome modeler and has posted some great painting/weathering tutorials on youtube!
FichtenFoo » Blog Archive » Completed » X-Wing and Y-Wing
Cheers!
FichtenFoo » Blog Archive » Completed » X-Wing and Y-Wing
Cheers!
PrimitiveDave
Active Member
By no means an expert here, but I think part of what you're seeing is because light tends to come from above. That makes the upper surfaces appear lighter than the lower surfaces. All the referenced photos in the previous posts are lit from above. If you look at the middle frame capture in post #30 where the X-Wing is lit from below, the lower part actually appears to be lighter. But I agree with everyone else -- it's your model. Have fun with it!
Man, I don't know what to say except I was there, I took the pics, I have touched the filming models, I have grilled ILMers about dumb stuff they don't remember, I've hung out with Lorne Peterson who somehow DOES remember, and nowhere, on ANY X-wing, was there ever any "bare metal". Ever. At all.
Han Goes Solo
New Member
Seems to me you're looking for that one "right" answer... I say go for the unfinished raw metal look and come up with a good story behind it... like it flew through a sandstorm or something BTW making a 100 % screen accurate version is pretty much a wild goose chase anyway since the all the models vary slightly.
Oh, painting a model isn't exactly the same thing as giving it a wash. Again, check out fichtenfoos Naboo fighter if you want to go metal on your X-wing... I say you got your work cut out for you! :cheers
FichtenFoo » Blog Archive » In Progress » Naboo N1 Royal Starfighter Trio
Best of luck!
BTW making a 100 % screen accurate version is pretty much a wild goose chase anyway since the all the models vary slightly.Oh, painting a model isn't exactly the same thing as giving it a wash. Again, check out fichtenfoos Naboo fighter if you want to go metal on your X-wing... I say you got your work cut out for you! :cheers
FichtenFoo » Blog Archive » In Progress » Naboo N1 Royal Starfighter Trio
Best of luck!
Darth Ronnow
New Member
I don't know...... it looks like the ESB X-Wing nose cone may have been chiseled out of a big piece of white marble.
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You also have to remember that the X-Wings were all painted differently to help sell the idea of the rebel force being a rag-tag organization. The Red 3 model you linked to, to my eye, looks like it has a lot of weathered gray on it, rather than silver. I'll concede that it could look like a metalic if you squint and really want it to look like a metallic, but, due to the realities of how these things were photographed, metallics would not have been used.
Of course, if you like the idea, go for it. I think it'd be kinda cool to see.
--Alex
Of course, if you like the idea, go for it. I think it'd be kinda cool to see.
--Alex
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