My first model in 4 years! FM 1/48 TIE

STEVE THE SWEDE

Sr Member
Well, not a big deal here were people put together some of the most insane builds I've ever seen BUT a HUGE deal for me personaly! Due to several factors I've been forced out of the hobby for 4 years (except for the Luke X-wing helmet masters I did for Efx). I don't have access to my old shop anymore so making stuff is a bit tough though. Anyway, I figured it was time to get back on the horse again although in smaller scale. I'm still only able to put down a couple of hours of work a week.

May I present my new work shop, the Myrdhén family's kitchen table! After I'm done everything has to be able to fit in a box that can be tucked away so my two sons won't be able to get to it.
fmbuild2.jpg


The subject, Fine Molds 1/48 TIE fighter. A truly fantastic kit, everything goes together super smooth, not a shred of putty is needed. My only rant is the over simplifyed hull which lacks a huge amount of details and the almost non excistant cockpit. I'm gonna shave of all the hull details and replace it with photo etch parts. The cockpit will be scratch built. Haven't decided if I'll copy the SS version or go for a more full size filming set version. The pic has all the parts that I'll be using from the kit.
Fmbuild1.jpg


And here's a closer look at the poor hull details.
fmbuild4.jpg


I've decided to replicate the ESB/ROTJ "Frankenstein" version which sported the interceptor guns so I had to ditch the highly inaccurate (for any version) guns that came with the kit. I had a friend of mine who builds a lot of 1/35 Tanks come over and help me make some new interceptor guns. The small buggers were constructed from 2 and 3mm brass tubes. I'm also gonna have to scratch build new wing frames since the kit is modeled after the ANH wings and not ESB.
fmbuild3.jpg


This is gonna be a slow build and my main focus is that it's got to be fun with no stress involved (I had my fare share of that with comission builds in the past). Believe me though, I AM having fun! Can't believe I'm back at my kitchen table tinkering with kits again!:)

Stay tuned!

Steve.
 
If there is anyone who should NOT be forced out of the hobby, its you! Your work is fantastic; glad to see you back.

Either that or a crazy guy I know of who actually built a SS Death star in he's garage! Take your pick.;)

Your both to kind! Especially concidering the fact that both of you are incredible talanted builders! A SS death star and a fully animated probe droid now that's the stuff of legends!

Cheers,

Steve.
 
Steve, I have seen your other TIE thread and your research is extensive and the picture's are great.. So,, I was wondering if you figured out what color scheme you are going to go with on this? I am expecting a FM TIE to be shipped to my home any day now and that will be my next project. I got to say I think I like the more purple looking TIE, what color is that?

Thanks..
 
Ok, here's a micro update, I told you this was going to be a slow build. I was actually able to bring my workshop (a huge plastic crate which was described in my previous post) to work tonight. Yeah, this post is brought to you live from me pushing the night shift! Please don't tell my boss!

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I got some new surplys for this build. A fantastic photo etch sheet from Acreation models which rocks! It will take care of many of the incorrect / missing hull details. It won't cover everything though, lots of stuff still needs to be scratched. It's still an amazing sheet. Imo you shouldn't even concider this kit without it, thats how crappy the FM hull details are!:(

There's also some 1' and 0'25 mm fiber optics that might be usefull later on. Got to light those tiny engines some how!

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I've shaven off all the bad details to prepair for the etched stuff. Man this really is the boring down side of working with PE! There's still a lot of filling and cutting to do. I just can't get over how badly they messed up the hull.:/ If I would have known this earlier I probably would have skipped this kit. To be honest, the wings and over all fitting of the parts are the only things that's good in this mess.

Ok, got to go back to work! Stay tuned though! I'm pulling another night shift this thirsday. Hopefully I'll be able to slap on some brass then!

Edit: youngwm, sorry I missed your post. I'm gonna try out Tamiyas haze grey spray can on this build. Seems like most here agree that it's one of the best color options for both the ANH and ESB version. I'm aiming to match the "Frankenstein" fighter.

Cheers,
Steve
 
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I got some brass slapped on what a huge difference! But first I got to introduce you all to my new best friend, the "Ref Machine" AKA iPad 2! My wife insisted that we bought one, can't believe that I first was against it. I figured the iPhone would cover all our needs. Boy was I wrong! This piece just rules, so much fun and can actually be put to some rather good use too!

ipadref.jpg


OK, enough with the Apple fan boy stuff and on to the TIE! Here's the front hull half with all the PE attached + some styrene chips. Looks pretty sweet and imo A huge improvement from the stock version. As I said before the Acreation sheet is super sweet! The downers would be that it doesn't cover all missing hull details. Some parts looks good on the sheet but sadly they're quite impossible to use due to the shape they need to bend into. Also, some parts are a bit oversized BUT this might actually be a good thing! Had they've been smaller I don't know if it would have been possible to work with them. Anyway, I rather take the wee bit larger Acreation parts over scratching it all by hand or even worse...the uber crapy stock hull!

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Moving on to the back! Pheeeww, I'd forgotten how painfully slow it is to work with PE. Man does it strain the eyes!

Cheers,

Steve.
 
Wowzer, that thing is tiny! Fine Molds makes some really great kits - Id like to see them produce studio-scale kits, but we all know that licensed studio-scale kits just don't happen.
Looking forward to more pics - I can appreciate the effort and time that goes into building a kit to high standards.
 
Wow, awesome start! I really like those new guns, you did a great job on those. Will you be inserting some fiber optic in there with a lense dipped in clear green for a little illumination?

I have the same kit and PE in the stash, I'll be paying close attention to how you handle the new wing details, I may do the same when the time comes.

Very good photography, it really shows the very clean craftsmanship!

:thumbsup
 
Thanks for all the kind words guys, I just wish I had more time on it. As things are going now I can only put down a couple of hours a week tops.:( Scratchy, no. The engines are the only parts that will be illuminated. I'm gonna try and copy the real studio model and only put in whats on the archive version. For a while I planned to add a detailed and lit cockpit but I never could decide what to base it on. I'll save that for the FM speeder and Falcon. At least those two birds have some decent cockpit refs to work from.

Glad you like the pics! They are actually just snap shots from my iPhone 4.

Gonna try and start on the back this weekend. Lots of stuff that needs to rebuilt there. IMO, that back of the TIE fighter was always more interesting looking then the front.

Cheers,
Steve.
 
Daz, awesome to hear from you! I didn't know you were still around! Are you still working your magic? I seem to remember that you didn't only put out stellar Fett stuff but also some rather smashing models.

Cheers,
Steve
 
Yes, still around. Busy as always but still making time to sculpt new stuff. Not made any models for a while, I'm kind of getting more into 1:1 scale stuff, I'm half way through sculpting a snowtrooper at the moment. Also just finished a 1:1 scale 300 helmet in cold cast bronze.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this Tie Fighter complete, I always loved this ship, probably my favourite from ANH.

DAZ

Daz, awesome to hear from you! I didn't know you were still around! Are you still working your magic? I seem to remember that you didn't only put out stellar Fett stuff but also some rather smashing models.

Cheers,
Steve
 
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