ThePlasticOne
New Member
And I'm back with more Star Wars!
A long, long time ago, in a bedroom far, far away, I fell in love with the on-screen astromech droid known as R4-M9. But me being me, I always wanted an R4 that I could call my own. And over the years, I've made many versions of this droid, inspired by the ambiguously dark green paint job of R2-X2. I never really gave it a name until recently, when I built my custom X-Wings. You can read all about them, as well as the backstory behind the droid and pilot, at these links:
https://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=266858
https://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=272065
With all the background out of the way, behold the latest and greatest incarnation of R4-N50! As always, click to enlarge.
As you can imagine, the R4 head does not come with any version of the Bandai kit (the body is one half of the R2-D2/R5-D4 set). I wish I could say I made my own on this one, but I didn't; it was sourced from a 3D printing service that has a Way with Shapes, designed by someone with as much love for R4s as I do (and he's a member here!).
Look, sir, other versions!
The paint job is based on all the previous versions leading up and is pretty basic; it's meant to be a base-model no-frills kind of droid so simple is perfectly fine. The printed dome I received didn't have much in the way of fine detail modeled in; this is accurate to the very first appearance of an R4 astromech in A New Hope, though subsequent droids have more paneling. I split the difference in this case: I masked off the shapes for painting, and built up "panels" with high-build automotive primer before laying paint down, to add some dimensionality. I also spiced up the paint scheme a notch, inspired by Real Grade Gundam model kits; a touch of a lighter green here and there really gives it a subtle kick and now I have to go back to all the smaller versions and add those details in. For the first time ever in my history of building model kits, the entire droid is majority painted with Tamiya Spray; IJN Dark Green 2 for the body, Field Gray for the lighter green panels, and Matte White for the dome (with a single Insignia White panel) with a few brush-painted details. I used Duplicolor black in some areas as well.
I also removed the printed-on holoprojector and replaced it with one from the kit (why does an R2 need three of those?). There was no projector printed onto the back; this differs from my other versions, but I feel like it better suits a base-model droid that meant to be in a mechanic shop for its entire operational life.
Here are some "clean" shots:
Weathering was achieved with Tamiya Weathering Master, Citadel wash, and chalk pastel.
Have some detail shots!
Aurebesh reads "LABOS' WRENCH TURNERS" (the family business R4-N50 used to be a part of before joining the Rebellion)
And finally, if you give a mouse a cookie, he'll want to build out the rest of the characters in-scale. Captain Terwo Labos, out of flight suit, is in progress, based on a Hasbro Black Series Cassian Andor with a modified head from a Hasbro Marvel Legends Wonder Man (sculpted to look more like yours truly). He's nearly done.
Also inspired by Real Grade Gundam multishade color schemes, this little buddy isn't quite ready, but I can tell you he's got a good side and a bad side...
Thanks for reading!
A long, long time ago, in a bedroom far, far away, I fell in love with the on-screen astromech droid known as R4-M9. But me being me, I always wanted an R4 that I could call my own. And over the years, I've made many versions of this droid, inspired by the ambiguously dark green paint job of R2-X2. I never really gave it a name until recently, when I built my custom X-Wings. You can read all about them, as well as the backstory behind the droid and pilot, at these links:
https://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=266858
https://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=272065
With all the background out of the way, behold the latest and greatest incarnation of R4-N50! As always, click to enlarge.
As you can imagine, the R4 head does not come with any version of the Bandai kit (the body is one half of the R2-D2/R5-D4 set). I wish I could say I made my own on this one, but I didn't; it was sourced from a 3D printing service that has a Way with Shapes, designed by someone with as much love for R4s as I do (and he's a member here!).
Look, sir, other versions!
The paint job is based on all the previous versions leading up and is pretty basic; it's meant to be a base-model no-frills kind of droid so simple is perfectly fine. The printed dome I received didn't have much in the way of fine detail modeled in; this is accurate to the very first appearance of an R4 astromech in A New Hope, though subsequent droids have more paneling. I split the difference in this case: I masked off the shapes for painting, and built up "panels" with high-build automotive primer before laying paint down, to add some dimensionality. I also spiced up the paint scheme a notch, inspired by Real Grade Gundam model kits; a touch of a lighter green here and there really gives it a subtle kick and now I have to go back to all the smaller versions and add those details in. For the first time ever in my history of building model kits, the entire droid is majority painted with Tamiya Spray; IJN Dark Green 2 for the body, Field Gray for the lighter green panels, and Matte White for the dome (with a single Insignia White panel) with a few brush-painted details. I used Duplicolor black in some areas as well.
I also removed the printed-on holoprojector and replaced it with one from the kit (why does an R2 need three of those?). There was no projector printed onto the back; this differs from my other versions, but I feel like it better suits a base-model droid that meant to be in a mechanic shop for its entire operational life.
Here are some "clean" shots:
Weathering was achieved with Tamiya Weathering Master, Citadel wash, and chalk pastel.
Have some detail shots!
Aurebesh reads "LABOS' WRENCH TURNERS" (the family business R4-N50 used to be a part of before joining the Rebellion)
And finally, if you give a mouse a cookie, he'll want to build out the rest of the characters in-scale. Captain Terwo Labos, out of flight suit, is in progress, based on a Hasbro Black Series Cassian Andor with a modified head from a Hasbro Marvel Legends Wonder Man (sculpted to look more like yours truly). He's nearly done.
Also inspired by Real Grade Gundam multishade color schemes, this little buddy isn't quite ready, but I can tell you he's got a good side and a bad side...
Thanks for reading!
