Hunk a Junk
Sr Member
I've read this sentence three or four times and thought to myself, "That's how I do most things in my life. Modeling... Parenting... My Job... Sex..." :lol
TIE Bomber Scratchbuild
- Thread starter Keiko
- Start date
I've read this sentence three or four times and thought to myself, "That's how I do most things in my life. Modeling... Parenting... My Job... Sex..." :lol
gedmac66
Sr Member
Mate its used all the time - There’s your view , your partners view ( or arguing with yourself if single parent ) , and the child’s view !
It’s important that it occurs in this particular way - if more than one child’s involved at the time , then you’re pretty much screwed !:lol
Keiko
Sr Member
Minor updates on a Thursday night. What, weeknight modeling? I guess it was always theoretically possible...until now.
Attempt #3 on the missile guides is satisfactory and I'm starting to work on the final underbelly detail and the many semi-circular curved parts that go astern of the chair back/Band-Aid pieces around the fuselage.
Cheers all!
K.
Attempt #3 on the missile guides is satisfactory and I'm starting to work on the final underbelly detail and the many semi-circular curved parts that go astern of the chair back/Band-Aid pieces around the fuselage.
Cheers all!
K.
gedmac66
Sr Member
Keiko mate ,
Even after all this time , when I ‘ zoom in ‘ on the images like above , I’m still blown away by the ‘ crispness ‘ of the detail you’re able to achieve by hand , on such minute , delicate parts and components there of !
I’m really hoping you’ll lose none of that ‘ beautiful ‘ hard won effort once you begin your mouldings .
Not having any experience with that process , I’m probably just worrying for nothing though right !?
:cheersGed
Even after all this time , when I ‘ zoom in ‘ on the images like above , I’m still blown away by the ‘ crispness ‘ of the detail you’re able to achieve by hand , on such minute , delicate parts and components there of !
I’m really hoping you’ll lose none of that ‘ beautiful ‘ hard won effort once you begin your mouldings .
Not having any experience with that process , I’m probably just worrying for nothing though right !?
:cheersGed
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Keiko
Sr Member
Hi Ged,
As a matter of fact, the most satisfying part of the build so far was that Yamato superstructure that goes on the underside of the weapons fuselage. It ended up comprising over 40 individual pieces. I was particularly happy with the recessed windows I was able to achieve in the lower left hand quadrant of it. Like this whole project, no individual step is exceptionally hard; it just becomes impressive with the accumulation of many of them in a row. Through planning and diagrams and knowing the thicknesses of my materials, I'm able to plan out how I'll create such things - the layers and build-up. The precision of the result is just as much due to the manufacturer of the styrene products I use as it is anything I do. For example, I'll draw a diagram showing a 0.25 mm gap, and then simply use 0.25 mm sheet to make a spacer and get that gap.
I'm not worried about loss of detail in casting. I use Smooth-On products that do an excellent job at capturing details. In fact, there are a few spots of scratches on the main fuselages that I'm a little worried will show in the final casts. One of the things I like about the products I use is that no mold release agent is required - thus the parts and details don't get lost in the second generation. For example, I've got a mental note to polish out the canopy thoroughly before casting so that no fingerprints will show up on my wife's ship. (I have clear resin for this). The only area of concern for detail loss via casting is in the design of the molds - I have to plan out where and how the mold halves will go together so that there is not a parting line across a high detail area, the removal of which would affect said detail. Anyway, I'll be there soon enough and I've tried to keep all that in mind when I designed my various sub-assemblies and so on. Doubtless I'll discover a few things I've overlooked or not foreseen, but hopefully not too much.
blakeh1: at one point, I was saving all my rejected pieces. I thought it would be fun to take a picture of them all together when I was done. There'd be enough junk to almost make a whole other (crappy/crooked) TIE Bomber. Inevitably though, I cannibalized a lot of my rejected components as I went forward and found other uses for parts of them. I do hope though that if anything, this build has demystified some of the scratchbuilding techniques that one might employ and encouraged you and others to give it a bit of a go!
Slight bad news: that other Testor's glue I got in the black bottle a few pages up is NOT the same as my original Testor's liquid cement. I've got barely enough of the original to finish this build, but after that it's back to the drawing board to find something comparable for future work. So far, Plastruct and Tamiya products are both too hot.
Cheers all,
K.
As a matter of fact, the most satisfying part of the build so far was that Yamato superstructure that goes on the underside of the weapons fuselage. It ended up comprising over 40 individual pieces. I was particularly happy with the recessed windows I was able to achieve in the lower left hand quadrant of it. Like this whole project, no individual step is exceptionally hard; it just becomes impressive with the accumulation of many of them in a row. Through planning and diagrams and knowing the thicknesses of my materials, I'm able to plan out how I'll create such things - the layers and build-up. The precision of the result is just as much due to the manufacturer of the styrene products I use as it is anything I do. For example, I'll draw a diagram showing a 0.25 mm gap, and then simply use 0.25 mm sheet to make a spacer and get that gap.
I'm not worried about loss of detail in casting. I use Smooth-On products that do an excellent job at capturing details. In fact, there are a few spots of scratches on the main fuselages that I'm a little worried will show in the final casts. One of the things I like about the products I use is that no mold release agent is required - thus the parts and details don't get lost in the second generation. For example, I've got a mental note to polish out the canopy thoroughly before casting so that no fingerprints will show up on my wife's ship. (I have clear resin for this). The only area of concern for detail loss via casting is in the design of the molds - I have to plan out where and how the mold halves will go together so that there is not a parting line across a high detail area, the removal of which would affect said detail. Anyway, I'll be there soon enough and I've tried to keep all that in mind when I designed my various sub-assemblies and so on. Doubtless I'll discover a few things I've overlooked or not foreseen, but hopefully not too much.
blakeh1: at one point, I was saving all my rejected pieces. I thought it would be fun to take a picture of them all together when I was done. There'd be enough junk to almost make a whole other (crappy/crooked) TIE Bomber. Inevitably though, I cannibalized a lot of my rejected components as I went forward and found other uses for parts of them. I do hope though that if anything, this build has demystified some of the scratchbuilding techniques that one might employ and encouraged you and others to give it a bit of a go!
Slight bad news: that other Testor's glue I got in the black bottle a few pages up is NOT the same as my original Testor's liquid cement. I've got barely enough of the original to finish this build, but after that it's back to the drawing board to find something comparable for future work. So far, Plastruct and Tamiya products are both too hot.
Cheers all,
K.
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gedmac66
Sr Member
Thanks for the reassuring reply Keiko . Knew I was worrying ‘bout nothing :facepalm
Hope you’ll consider continuing your updates to include the moulding / casting process in detail as well :thumbsup. Having learnt so much following this build so far , I can’t stop now ! ... Like I mentioned , I know nothing / little of casting/s , and I’ve not heard of ‘ Smooth - On ‘ before :confused ... gonna look it up now .
Ged
Hope you’ll consider continuing your updates to include the moulding / casting process in detail as well :thumbsup. Having learnt so much following this build so far , I can’t stop now ! ... Like I mentioned , I know nothing / little of casting/s , and I’ve not heard of ‘ Smooth - On ‘ before :confused ... gonna look it up now .
Ged
robn1
Master Member
I was scratch building several years ago with very thin styrene stock, and I found that Microscale's Microweld was perfect. It's the citrus scented nontoxic type, still a solvent but not very hot. I was able to glue the thin parts without melting them into a blob.
Actually it has. I have learned a lot of useful things following along in this thread, especially with deconstruction parts to there subassemblies. I am putting some of what I have learned to use for the Republic Gunship project I am working on (trying to scratch build the interior troop area, BARC speeders, and gun pods)
What kind of glue are you looking for again? is it the Testors that is in the blue tube? If so I have seen it in stock at a few stores around here. That is the kind I use
Keiko
Sr Member
Hello again everyone,
It's Friday night and I'm home from work with a little time for a little more modeling.
The Yamato superstructure piece that goes on the underside of the weapons fuselage has a funny part from a German 20 mm flak gun sticking out. Darth Daniel took a bunch of excellent photos of his studio parts that allowed me to precisely figure out all the details of these components. I'd been procrastinating on the last part that sticks out from underneath for some reason and finally did it tonight. (Though I drew my scale drawings of the part last night) It was perhaps the easiest part of the whole build to date. I guess it's the little things in life! It took perhaps 10 minutes, including taking the pictures.
robn1: thanks for the tip! I'll have to look for that Microweld. It may be hard to find in Canada, but we're going on a trip to San Francisco in about 3 weeks, so I can have a look for some hobby shops while I'm down there if I don't find it locally. The timing could be perfect.
blakeh1: it's very gratifying to think that you've gleaned some tips from my build! That makes me happy to hear and is what I was hoping for when I started this thread. Just for you, I photographed my preferred Testor's glue in one of the pictures here. It's liquid cement in a bottle with a brush.
gedmac66: by all means, I'll photograph the heck out of my mold making efforts with my usual overkill. I've made a number of molds for projects over the years, but I'm far from expert at all. For better or worse though, I'll show my novice efforts.
Meanwhile, a few more pics showing that last little bit I just did this evening.
Cheers and thanks for looking.
K.
It's Friday night and I'm home from work with a little time for a little more modeling.
The Yamato superstructure piece that goes on the underside of the weapons fuselage has a funny part from a German 20 mm flak gun sticking out. Darth Daniel took a bunch of excellent photos of his studio parts that allowed me to precisely figure out all the details of these components. I'd been procrastinating on the last part that sticks out from underneath for some reason and finally did it tonight. (Though I drew my scale drawings of the part last night) It was perhaps the easiest part of the whole build to date. I guess it's the little things in life! It took perhaps 10 minutes, including taking the pictures.
robn1: thanks for the tip! I'll have to look for that Microweld. It may be hard to find in Canada, but we're going on a trip to San Francisco in about 3 weeks, so I can have a look for some hobby shops while I'm down there if I don't find it locally. The timing could be perfect.
blakeh1: it's very gratifying to think that you've gleaned some tips from my build! That makes me happy to hear and is what I was hoping for when I started this thread. Just for you, I photographed my preferred Testor's glue in one of the pictures here. It's liquid cement in a bottle with a brush.
gedmac66: by all means, I'll photograph the heck out of my mold making efforts with my usual overkill. I've made a number of molds for projects over the years, but I'm far from expert at all. For better or worse though, I'll show my novice efforts.
Meanwhile, a few more pics showing that last little bit I just did this evening.
Cheers and thanks for looking.
K.
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CaptainMumbles
Member
You never cease to inspire and impress K!
Keiko
Sr Member
Thanks CM!
It's 10 a.m. Saturday here and I've been tinkering for a little bit. Nothing major, but still progress. I've got the remaining seat bottom parts for the circumference of the weapons fuselage dialed in and an acceptable prototype made. Now I just need to make 7 more, plus the 2 that go in the slot on each of the missile guide parts. Those last 2 have more of round arc than the ones on the sides.
I also took some time to modify the part I built last night. Thinking ahead to my assembly procedure when I actually build the thing, I decided I wanted to be able to put it on first, so I came up with a locating pin for ensuring accuracy. The pictures will explain it better I hope.
Cheers and thanks for looking.
K.
It's 10 a.m. Saturday here and I've been tinkering for a little bit. Nothing major, but still progress. I've got the remaining seat bottom parts for the circumference of the weapons fuselage dialed in and an acceptable prototype made. Now I just need to make 7 more, plus the 2 that go in the slot on each of the missile guide parts. Those last 2 have more of round arc than the ones on the sides.
I also took some time to modify the part I built last night. Thinking ahead to my assembly procedure when I actually build the thing, I decided I wanted to be able to put it on first, so I came up with a locating pin for ensuring accuracy. The pictures will explain it better I hope.
Cheers and thanks for looking.
K.
Keiko
Sr Member
Hello again,
Another minor update for this morning. I've finished all 8 of the arc sections that connect to the seat back parts around the circumference of the weapons fuselage. I test installed them with white glue to check for clashes, but also because I was excited to see how they looked. I'm pretty stoked with the result. Now that I think of it, there are also a few drilled rivets that go in the vicinity of the arcs that will be better located with those parts in place. Good....gooood.
I did observe a few clashes too, but checking ILM references shows they had the same ones, so I'm happy with that too.
I white glued the missile guides back in place again so that they will be there for test fitting against the remaining arc pieces that go through them. That and a few other minor details on the upper hull, plus a rebuild of the bomb chute and it's rubber time.
I'm off to town meanwhile to run errands and maybe find some Microweld. Hopefully I'll get back at it tonight.
Thanks for looking as always.
Cheers,
K.
Another minor update for this morning. I've finished all 8 of the arc sections that connect to the seat back parts around the circumference of the weapons fuselage. I test installed them with white glue to check for clashes, but also because I was excited to see how they looked. I'm pretty stoked with the result. Now that I think of it, there are also a few drilled rivets that go in the vicinity of the arcs that will be better located with those parts in place. Good....gooood.
I did observe a few clashes too, but checking ILM references shows they had the same ones, so I'm happy with that too.
I white glued the missile guides back in place again so that they will be there for test fitting against the remaining arc pieces that go through them. That and a few other minor details on the upper hull, plus a rebuild of the bomb chute and it's rubber time.
I'm off to town meanwhile to run errands and maybe find some Microweld. Hopefully I'll get back at it tonight.
Thanks for looking as always.
Cheers,
K.
stevielewis
Sr Member
Always amazing work you are doing with this build!
Keiko
Sr Member
Hello again everyone. Wow, 3 posts in one day. It must be because my progress is very incremental but well documented.
Anyway, I messed about a little more this evening. I started working on the arc pieces that go though notch in the missile guides. I think ILM fudged their build when they made this section of the ship - it appears the arc-length on the center parts is longer than that on the parts around the circumference of the hull's front plate. This is even though they used the same donor kit throughout. Thus, my pieces in this section must be a little different too. Plus, in spite of my efforts, the front plate of my weapons fuselage is a little flatter than the original and this, too, affects my fit up. It's getting there though and I'm happy with how it's coming out.
I also worked on and finished another detail part that's at about 11 o'clock on the top front of the weapons pod. I'd been leaving that off until the chairs were underway. I got that all done this evening and have now enough parts on there to mark out the rivet holes in the area which I will drill tomorrow. I'm pretty happy with this. Won't be long now before Bandai's next announcement, I can just feel it.
I ran my errands in town. No luck on finding and Microweld, though I did find the new 1:144 Moebius Discovery kit. I must be mad. My wife actually talked me into it, and pointed out that it would fit in our display case that I built downstairs. It was a decent price too, cheaper from a brick and mortar store here in Edmonton than I could get it online, especially with shipping etc. on top of that price. Verdict: happy. Sentence: no superdetailing, straight from the box only.
Kokanee: Nice to see another Edmontonian on board!
Hopefully my mojo will continue into tomorrow. Meanwhile, a couple more minor pics...
Thanks for looking,
K.
Anyway, I messed about a little more this evening. I started working on the arc pieces that go though notch in the missile guides. I think ILM fudged their build when they made this section of the ship - it appears the arc-length on the center parts is longer than that on the parts around the circumference of the hull's front plate. This is even though they used the same donor kit throughout. Thus, my pieces in this section must be a little different too. Plus, in spite of my efforts, the front plate of my weapons fuselage is a little flatter than the original and this, too, affects my fit up. It's getting there though and I'm happy with how it's coming out.
I also worked on and finished another detail part that's at about 11 o'clock on the top front of the weapons pod. I'd been leaving that off until the chairs were underway. I got that all done this evening and have now enough parts on there to mark out the rivet holes in the area which I will drill tomorrow. I'm pretty happy with this. Won't be long now before Bandai's next announcement, I can just feel it.
I ran my errands in town. No luck on finding and Microweld, though I did find the new 1:144 Moebius Discovery kit. I must be mad. My wife actually talked me into it, and pointed out that it would fit in our display case that I built downstairs. It was a decent price too, cheaper from a brick and mortar store here in Edmonton than I could get it online, especially with shipping etc. on top of that price. Verdict: happy. Sentence: no superdetailing, straight from the box only.
Kokanee: Nice to see another Edmontonian on board!
Hopefully my mojo will continue into tomorrow. Meanwhile, a couple more minor pics...
Thanks for looking,
K.
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Ah, ok. I've never tried that kind. Only ever used the tube stuff
I'll keep my eye out and let you know if I come across any
