Star Wars Micro-Galaxy aka Jazwares

[Analyzer]

So I have been seeing this collection pop-up in Targets and Wal-marts and other places.

Some of the stuff is pretty impressive, and a number of subjects just happen to be fairly close to my preferred scale of 1/72 although it is mainly box scale that seems to start in the 1/72 to HO (1/87) range, but gets scaled up or down as needed to fit the box
A couple subjects are a bit "deformed" in order to fit figures in the cockpits or interior, but most are actually quite accurate proportion wise

Very few are dead on scale wise those for 1/72, but I consider anything from around 1/63 or so down to around 1/100 or so at least in the ball park enough to sit on the shelf, especially if there are no proper kits available.

The figures are more or less, 1/72, although a bit beefy rather than "true scale" since they are intended as toys. i.e. hands and limbs are a bit thicker than they would normally be on a 1/72 scale person

I was browsing the display at Target and spotted the U-Wing and AT-TE and couldn't help but feel like they were prefect for 1/72 scale based on the undersized Revell kits which are closer to HO scale or smaller.
Both were actually cheaper than you can get the Revell kits for these days, at least the AT-TE anyway. The U-Wing is close to Revell's MSRP.

In the case of the U-Wing, it was definitely larger than the Revell kit, and according to Rebel scale, seems to be around 1/78, and it actually looked more accurate!
It had details Revell's so called "model kit" just simplified out of existence like the engine cooling vanes or whatever they are, (those things that look like the back end of a Snowspeeder)

Star Wars Micro Galaxy Squadron scale list - Rebel Scale

Star Wars Micro Galaxy Squadron scale list of the vehicles, their sizes, and subsequent scales from the Jazwares 2022 line of toys.

www.rebelscale.com

I had always wanted a 1/72 kit so I picked it up. Same with the AT-TE. It is bigger than the Revell kit, and again, actually more detailed as well

These are pre-painted, and often a it of easy assembly is needed like snapping wings in place.

On the left is the Micro Galaxy U-Wing and on the right is Revell's U-Wing
Some subjects are better than others when it comes to the pre-paint and weathering.
The U-Wing is pretty impressive out of the box and I do not feel much of an urge to repaint it except maybe to mask of the blue areas and tone down the heavy panel lines

For a sense of how it looks with other 1/72 stuff, here it is with the Bandai 1/72 Falcon

 

[Analyzer]

Next up is the AT-TE

This is supposedly 1/72 on the mark

Here it is with some other 1/72 Trade Federation kits stuff from .jpg productions

The Republic Gunship is also close, but on the small side for 1/72 around 1/78 or so. The Revell kit is a little larger, but the Jazwares item is much more accurate to the movie version

I can try and get some better quality pics when the sun is not glaring right in the window, but for now...

Revell on the left, the Jazwares on the right in the middle

and this is what I mean by the figures being "beefy"


Here is a more true scale 1/72 Clone Trooper next to the one that comes with the Micro Galaxy stuff standing in the doorway of the Micro Galaxy gunship
IN my opinion, this is on of the subjects that needs a repaint as it looks a bit too toy like and plastic like compared to the U-Wing. I think this is largely because the plastic is molded in color with only the red being painted on and barely any weathering

 

[Analyzer]

And once I found out they had a Ghost, I had to pick one up.

This is definitely on the smaller side of the box scale.

I think it also suffers from a bit of deforming to get what amounted to 1/72 figures to fit into a roughly 1/110 th scale ship

For example the gun turret dome looks oversized to accommodate the figures and unfortunately the Phantom II seems to be closer to HO scale and does not look right sitting on the back as it ridiculously larger

at any rate, it the largest and closest Ghost we have so far to a proper model kit so it was still worth it for $39

The weathering on this was way overboard. I also am not a fan of the colors on it. It may be accurate to the cartoon, but I prefer the live action look like below. I had always been on the fence with the design, but seeing it like this vs the cartoon look finally sold me on it

Fortunately that is an easy fix with a repaint. So...

First thing was to get rid of the toy look of the guns by cutting out the excess material. They really should be replaced since they are a weird rubbery plastic and obviously they want it as a toy to hold up

so after some creative carving with an X-Acto and repaint it looks less toy like

And in general it looks much better now with a repaint. Still have more do do as well as a whole lot of more natural looking weathering, but it is now a much better base to start from

Have to tone the yellow down as well and maybe replace the orange with Red as well as add some of the darker triangular panels

I did fully paint the cockpit as well since that was unpainted and all white plastic

 

[Analyzer]

Some weathering added

and here is the Phantom II in it's spot. You can see how much of a gap there is. There, should be little to none, but then the Phantom would have to be smaller, or the Ghost bigger to properly mate

 

[starks]

Nicely done!
I think these Jazwares ships are great. A few weeks ago I had a thread where I upgraded the Jazwares Imperial shuttle.

Upgrading Jazwares Imperial Shuttle

Hi guys, The last 6 months found it hard to get the mojo to do much creative but wanted an easy project for over the Christmas holidays. I've wanted to build an Imperial shuttle for a while and picked up the Jazwares toy in our local collectables shop figuring it's a comparable scale to my...

www.therpf.com

As you said, for the cost theyre hard to beat if a few mods and a repaint get you close to a good shelf model!
I really like that U-wing straight out the box.

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Analyzer]

Nicely done!
I think these Jazwares ships are great. A few weeks ago I had a thread where I upgraded the Jazwares Imperial shuttle.

Upgrading Jazwares Imperial Shuttle

Hi guys, The last 6 months found it hard to get the mojo to do much creative but wanted an easy project for over the Christmas holidays. I've wanted to build an Imperial shuttle for a while and picked up the Jazwares toy in our local collectables shop figuring it's a comparable scale to my...

www.therpf.com

As you said, for the cost theyre hard to beat if a few mods and a repaint get you close to a good shelf model!
I really like that U-wing straight out the box.

Cheers,
Josh

Thanks!

I definitely have my eye on a few others

The Sith Infiltrator for example as well as the Desert Skiff

There is also this other color scheme for the second U-Wing in Rogue one

The landing gear is the one standout part that really needs work

 

[Analyzer]

also love to see what other people are doing with these if anything

 

[JNordgren42]

Really nice job on the Ghost repaint!

 

[starks]

Thanks!

I definitely have my eye on a few others

The Sith Infiltrator for example as well as the Desert Skiff

There is also this other color scheme for the second U-Wing in Rogue one

The landing gear is the one standout part that really needs work

View attachment 1902889

Yeah the landing gear sucks. I was looking at the Xwings but they're a little too toy like and again, the landing gear looks like fingers underneath the body. You can't help the fact that these are designed to be a played with toy and have those somewhat harder to break compensations, guns to fat, landing gear too fat, bulky cockpits. The Neck on the Imperial shuttle was a perfect example, it's bigger to accommodate the toy figures.

I'm actually eyeing off the TIE fighters. You can get them in a pack of 5 to. They look pretty good in pics atleast but the wings may be a bit thick.
Cheers,
Josh

 

[Analyzer]

Here are better pics of the AT-TE. This one is going to need a repaint. Not a fan of the blast marks and the color differences between panels or the dust/dirt effects on the feet. They just look too toy like

The legs, and guns are poseable as well as being able to turn/steer the front from the back

and with a 1/72 .jpg Trade Federation tank and Hailfire Droid for size reference

 

[Analyzer]

and a better comparison of the Revell "1/72" Republic Gunship on left vs the Jazwares roughly "1/78" one on the right.
Note: the Revell kit has been modified quite a bit with things like cutting out the arched side doors, changing the shape of the side door frame etc... to resemble the movie kit more compared to the original out of box look

I am tempted to pick up another Jazware one and use some of the parts from it for the Revell kit. Namely the pods on the side (which Revell's does not have), those gun turrets on the wing as Revell's kit is opaque, the missile bay interior on top, and those engine things on top as well since the Revell's kit is totally off as it is based on the cartoon version

 

[Analyzer]

I think I am done with this one, at least the overall painting/weathering. I may go all out and finish the interior as it is unpainted. Might also try tinting the "glass" to be a bit more black than green, but not 100% sure

A quick replacing of the background in photo-viewer helps the overall effect

 

[starks]

Hard to beat for a toy! Great job mate.
Cheers,
Josh

 

[Pixelworks]

Great work on the Ghost. I second your opinion and find the toned down colors to be much better.

Regarding the green glass (yes it does stick out a bit too much... not necessarily bad, but definitely different), unless you mean to paint them opaque, I would be afraid that the green tint will still show through giving you just a darker green. Looks as if the frame is painted directly onto the glass canopies or can you pop the green glass out of the frame? If so, it might be easier to print or cast new ones in clear and then darken them up instead of the originals.

 

[Analyzer]

Great work on the Ghost. I second your opinion and find the toned down colors to be much better.

Regarding the green glass (yes it does stick out a bit too much... not necessarily bad, but definitely different), unless you mean to paint them opaque, I would be afraid that the green tint will still show through giving you just a darker green. Looks as if the frame is painted directly onto the glass canopies or can you pop the green glass out of the frame? If so, it might be easier to print or cast new ones in clear and then darken them up instead of the originals.

Good point about it just becoming a darker green. As far as the canopy, yes it is all one molded piece with the frames painted, so a replacement would be tricky

 

[Pixelworks]

[...] it is all one molded piece with the frames painted, so a replacement would be tricky

yeah, that is kinda what I thought. It is a shame that all the surface is rounded. In the past I have used the tint for car windows to mirror or darken up canopies. To do that on a normal curved structure covered, you have to use little strips, but this is curved on two axis... not impossible but probably a real pain to get everything in without wrinkles or overlaps.

I am sure they were trying to get that "bullet-proof-glass" type of green, but when I look at it, all I can think is an "aquarium that has not been cleaned in a couple months" typ of green.

If it were me and I wanted to go through all the trouble, (assuming the pieces can be detached from the main hull) I would probably cast a couple of copies with transparent epoxy and work from there. Then all you have to do is try to match the white of the hull to the rest of the ship.

 

[starks]

yeah, that is kinda what I thought. It is a shame that all the surface is rounded. In the past I have used the tint for car windows to mirror or darken up canopies. To do that on a normal curved structure covered, you have to use little strips, but this is curved on two axis... not impossible but probably a real pain to get everything in without wrinkles or overlaps.

I am sure they were trying to get that "bullet-proof-glass" type of green, but when I look at it, all I can think is an "aquarium that has not been cleaned in a couple months" typ of green.

If it were me and I wanted to go through all the trouble, (assuming the pieces can be detached from the main hull) I would probably cast a couple of copies with transparent epoxy and work from there. Then all you have to do is try to match the white of the hull to the rest of the ship.

You can get aerosol tinting for use on tail lights, that may work. Otherwise some gloss clear, thinned down, with a drop of black and red in it would darken and the red will cancel out the green hue somewhat.
Just ideas.

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Analyzer]

You can get aerosol tinting for use on tail lights, that may work. Otherwise some gloss clear, thinned down, with a drop of black and red in it would darken and the red will cancel out the green hue somewhat.
Just ideas.

Cheers,
Josh

Worth a try

 

[starks]

Worth a try

This may be obvious but if you're going to try adding paint to clear to make a candy of sorts, just make sure they're all the same type of paint. Example, add acrylics together, not enamel colour into acrylic clear. Because chances are the paint will separate.

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Analyzer]

This may be obvious but if you're going to try adding paint to clear to make a candy of sorts, just make sure they're all the same type of paint. Example, add acrylics together, not enamel colour into acrylic clear. Because chances are the paint will separate.

Cheers,
Josh

I was thinking of using Tamiya Smoke XF-19 as it is like a tinted clear that has a blackish/brown color. Possibly mix in a bit of the Tamiya clear red (typically used on clear parts like running lights)

And speaking of that paint, it is a great transparent color to use for exhaust and oil stains and stuff