Studio Scale Tie Fighter Build - Nice'N Model Designs

[Corellianexports]

Thanks.

While putting the finishing touches on the cockpit, it all came down to one detail I had put a hold on and considered overlooking for a long time. Like most two part molds, there's always a dividing line that most of the time has imperfections and in this case there were no exceptions.

At first I thought it was just a case of a center line or "fin" that was missing, but there's actually two, small fins and a center fin that's missing. The good news is that there is still plenty of material to work with, so I added some Tamiya putty (Which is great stuff, by the way! My local hobby store just started to carry this item in addition to their spray paints) to flatten the surface and used an artists saw (by x-acto) and some small x-acto knives to slowly carve out these "fin" details. Here's some progress photos:

One more thing I should mention is that when I researched these details, I was stunned to discover that the eFx model (seen in the background above) was inaccurate. The ANH reference photo of the TIE with all the nice markings (seen on right side of Vader's TIE Advanced in the film) that I had been using as a reference all this time, shows the two small fins, just below the center fin on both sides of the cockpit.
Now the other TIE (seen on the left side) shows these details above the center fin, on both sides of the cockpit. There's a good reference shot as a top view, also in the Chronicles book.

 

[Corellianexports]

I finally sprayed the main, cockpit section Haze grey and realized that it's actually darker than the medium grey I was going to use for the hatch panels. If the Haze grey is correct for the body, then what should the hatch panels be painted?

 

[greeble_gremlin]

let me check my notes,
I forget at the moment, however there is a thread here (a few years old but accurate information)
eFX TIE fighter at SDCC
Unfortunately some of the relevant pictures in the thread are long gone
If I recall correctly of the "detail" colors was a match the basic Rustoleum Grey Primer.

I have attached the Instructions for the older version of the kit. (I think Moff Eaton composed this Manual)
It calls for Krylon Equipment Grey Primer (I don't know if that is still available. However the Instructions also ColorPlace grey Primer as the base coat
Tamiya Haze Gray is a much closer math to the original color used in ANH
However I do not thin it is available any more, Rustoleum has made a lot of changes to the color line in recent years, I believe the shade of gre for the primer is now different.

I was supposed to make an updated instruction guide, however, I am still waiting for my TIE fighters, long, long over-due!

I'm sorry this information is a bit vague, it has been a long time, since I last had my head around "all things TIE fighter"
Let me dive into my notes and reference, I can confirm the color.
As I recall to, I found a good matching grey for the darker panels in one of either the Tamiya or Valejo line

 

[Corellianexports]

In another post some one mentioned a "Sea Grey". The Tamiya version looks like a light grey, but Tamiya AS-3 Spray Gray Green looks correct.
I might get a can and compare it with the Rustoleum Grey Primer I already have in stock. I'd like to try and stick with the Tamiya paints if possible. Thanks.

 

[Corellianexports]

After spraying the main section or fuselage, I noticed it had a green tinge to it that I hadn't noticed in the reference photos - which all appear to be light grey or grey. So I pulled my Art of SW book and flipped to page 98, examining the original Vader Advanced TIE. It's hard to tell from the photo below, but it does have a green tinge to it. I think under the bright lights it really lightens the actual color of the model and I'm seeing the same thing with my model. If this really is the correct color of the original ANH TIE fighter, then it's definitely dramatic and it does help distinguish it from the Y-Wing and X-Wing models. I can only hope I don't have to struggle as much with the Y-Wing colors when it comes time to paint that model.

 

[Corellianexports]

Here's a progress photo of one of the wings:


I've applied Tamiya putty sparingly, near the edges to smooth out the flat surfaces. I also came across a few pin holes near the center, so those were filled and sanded down. I just put a final coat of primer on both wings, so they are now ready for the infamous "Haze Grey".
Unfortunately, we're expecting a week's worth of rain here so the final coat(s) will have to wait a while. In the mean time, I'll get the last of the parts lightly sanded and prepped for painting. It will also give me some time to pick up more paint at the hobby shop.

 

[greeble_gremlin]

Sorry , I got called away and left my previous edited post without sending it.

In another post someone mentioned a "Sea Grey". The Tamiya version looks like a light grey, but Tamiya AS-3 Spray Gray Green looks correct.
I might get a can and compare it with the Rustoleum Grey Primer I already have in stock. I'd like to try and stick with the Tamiya paints if possible. Thanks.

CorellianEx you may be right ..as I said when I get home tonight , I will dig thru my reference notes

I know at one point I was ready to have a custom made lacquer from a paint & finish specialty shop outside of Baltimore, based on chromatograph scans of the EFX TIE....that got shelved along with making new instructions..as the TIE fighters in question never got delivered.
-I was glad to find an "out of the bottle " alternative to the darker grey ...just wish I could recall the color at the moment
..as my modified post says; you may want to look into the Krylon Equipment Grey Primer

-Again, here are the old Instructions PDF...as the link on the old thread no longer works

At the end of the day you have to like what your looking at.
for myself, I am willing to adjust the colors to what I feel I saw on screen, (this is ture more with the lighter coloredsubjects like the X-wing & Y-wing.)
However I want to know what colors were used originally.... as my starting point, and also in the case of painting & building commissions for clients, usually they ask for colors as authentic as possible

 

[Corellianexports]

Actually, AS-3 doesn't look correct, so I'm going to try AS-10 (Ocean Grey).
No luck finding Krylon Equipment Grey Primer nor the ColorPlace Grey Primer, but the basic Rustoleum Grey Primer does look close. It's a basic grey color in comparison to the Haze grey.
I think if I can find a color that is lighter than the Tamiya German Grey (Dark Grey) but darker than the Haze Grey, that should do it.
Thanks for the info!

 

[greeble_gremlin]

I was afraid of that, both Krylon and Rustoleum have really overhauled (and "streamlined" ) their product lines in recent years.
Sorry my memory has been so fuzzy on this, it was a number of years back.
I've also been a little "burned-out" on the subject of TIE fighters since all the craziness back in 2015,
I am pretty sure it was one of Valejo's colors that fit the bill
They have a really great product line, the quality is top notch ; as good a Tamiya or Gunze Sanyo (Mr Hobby)

 

[Corellianexports]

I found the Vallejo Sea Grey (Medium) at Amazon and it looks like a basic grey (white/black), so I think I'm on the right track.
I'll check out their line at my local hobby shop. Thanks again!

 

[Corellianexports]

I have been comparing swatches with reference photos and I'm starting to think that the Tamiya German Grey is actually much closer to the color of the hatches than any thing I've seen so far. I was originally going to use this color for the interior and the canopy, but the more I look at those parts, the more I'm convinced that this is a Gun Metal color: It isn't quite black but it isn't a standard grey and it's darker than the German Grey. The more I look at the reference photos the more it looks like the canopy isn't black. It's definitely lighter than the black used on the wings.

 

[Corellianexports]

Wing progress:

Just put the final coat of primer on them.

 

[Corellianexports]

I decided to use Tamiya German Grey for the hatch panels and side rectangles (panels):



And the cockpit or fuselage is taped off and ready for the detail painting, which again will be the Tamiya German Grey. I used a standard model kit painting and detailing instruction blueprint as a reference. It's actually very good, but it does add at least one or two small details that don't seem to appear on the ANH TIE. I checked a reference of the ESB model and it does show some small details which were painted dark grey, so that may have been where those came from.
Here is a top view:

Rear view:

I decided to use probably the only reference photo of the back of an ANH TIE which was being prepped for painting to be used in ESB:

I'm theorizing that this one was seen in ANH on the left side (Vader's left) of the TIE Advanced or Vader's ship. This photo shows some great detail that it non-existent on the eFX model, which is a shame, but for those of us building one of these, it gives us that golden opportunity to add details seen on the original models, making the model that much more accurate. Probably the biggest advantage to building it yourself.

Up next, painting the interior and canopy with Tamiya Battleship Grey, finishing off the wings in Tamiya Haze Grey and Tamiya Semi Gloss Black.

 

[greeble_gremlin]

Its lookin good!
I knew there was an good out of the bottle match, all the major paint brands have a lot of different colors of grey to choose from
nice work

 

[Corellianexports]

Thanks. I just realized that I may be one of the few if not the first builder to use the Tamiya Haze paint along with all the rest of the Tamiya colors on a SS TIE.
I just finished spraying the wings Haze Grey and the fuselage German Grey (details). I also finished off an Icons TIE fighter plaque in semi-gloss black. I will try and post some progress photos this week.

 

[Corellianexports]

Progress photos of the wings:

It took me three hours to tape up the wing. I can only guess that the original ILM guys spent an entire day just prepping the wings for painting alone. Hopefully, they were well paid.
So should the wing be painted black first and then grey? I'm going to say that's still up for debate. I still believe in the idea that lighter colors should go on first, but this might be the exception.
And considering the fact that I've seen some areas not get completely painted, I have no doubt that I will need to cover the black sections and re-paint the grey sections, so there may be no way to avoid all the taping that is needed.

Last night I finally got a chance to remove the tape from the main hull along with the canopy and so far every thing looks very good. I will try to post some progress photos of those parts this weekend. I'm hoping to get all of the spraying completed before the end of November when the really bad weather hits.

 

[Fett_Ish]

Progress photos of the wings:

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It took me three hours to tape up the wing. I can only guess that the original ILM guys spent an entire day just prepping the wings for painting alone. Hopefully, they were well paid.
So should the wing be painted black first and then grey? I'm going to say that's still up for debate. I still believe in the idea that lighter colors should go on first, but this might be the exception.
And considering the fact that I've seen some areas not get completely painted, I have no doubt that I will need to cover the black sections and re-paint the grey sections, so there may be no way to avoid all the taping that is needed.

Last night I finally got a chance to remove the tape from the main hull along with the canopy and so far every thing looks very good. I will try to post some progress photos of those parts this weekend. I'm hoping to get all of the spraying completed before the end of November when the really bad weather hits.

If one does the black first and then tries to mask there is alot of bleed as the 'Koolshade" isn't a uniform surface for the tape, its just easier and less touch up to do the gray first. In my experience anyway, YMMV.
Also, did the ILM models have any cast wings or did they all have Koolshade?

 

[Corellianexports]

That's a good question. I just re-watched my Blu-rays and one of the lead builders from ILM mentioned that once the model pieces were placed, everything was molded so it's very possible some of the wings were cast.

Also, while examining the Vader TIE model on Blu-ray, I noticed some small areas that were taped off before spraying the wings black, so even ILM missed some details. Suddenly, I don't feel so bad about my build.

I also noticed pitted parts and peeling paint on one of the original TIE models (ESB version) seen on the Blu-ray "bonus" ANH disk.

 

[Corellianexports]

Finished setting up the complete display last night.
To paint the plaque, I taped off the edges and hit it with some primer. After a little sanding, I hit it will a couple of coats of satin black and then lightly sanded it. I tried using denatured alcohol to remove the paint, but it wouldn't budge so I went back to the sanding method, which is what the Icons guys did, originally.

 

[Corellianexports]

After painting every thing, I started rebuilding the cockpit by starting with the ceiling. One of these days we'll figure out exactly what these parts are but for now, these will do.
I did some testing with a gun metal color and unfortunately, it has metal flakes in it, which I'm not seeing on the eFx nor ANH models (I do see it on the ESB models, however), so I decided to go with Tamiya Gunship Grey (TS-48) for the cockpit interior and forward hatch.

It's actually not as dark as the color seen on eFx model, but this is the closest I could find.