Marko@Rockvoice
Well-Known Member
Hey folks!
After having tested different methods on my Red2-conversion I am now finally going to build an ILM hero-style X-Wing in 1:49 - as a conversion from the Fine Molds kit.
See here for my Red 2 -conversion: Converting the Fine Molds X-Wing model kit into ILM style hero model RED 2 - YouTube
With the help of my friend "ChrisGFX" we are able to have all the EXACT kit parts of the ILM studio model 3D-printed in almost any scale we want.
So - after a lot of research, especially on each of the unique hero X-Wing features we'll be able to convert the Fine Molds kit into any of the famous ANH X-Wings.
Here's my prototype build - a Red Five:
I started with the upper fuselage.
Apparently, Fine Molds used the big X-Wing model for reference on the fuselage, so there has to be some modifications done to the kit fuselage to match the ANH X-Wings shape.
In this case, I made a wooden dummie where I put the upper fuselage on and heated it carefully with a hairdryer until it could bend easily over the wooden dummie. Although the dummie looks a bit crappy, it works perfectly. After cooling down the part was almost correct in shape:
The lower fuselage is the tough job with this kit. There is just no way to bend or modify this kit part to finally match the wanted shape.
So, for this prototype I built the lower fuselage from scratch.
Our plan is to have these vacuformed in styrene - just like the original ones. Casting them wouldn't make any sense due to the different panel lines, chips and position of the torpedos on each X-Wing.
Next to the FM kit part:
After having tested different methods on my Red2-conversion I am now finally going to build an ILM hero-style X-Wing in 1:49 - as a conversion from the Fine Molds kit.
See here for my Red 2 -conversion: Converting the Fine Molds X-Wing model kit into ILM style hero model RED 2 - YouTube
With the help of my friend "ChrisGFX" we are able to have all the EXACT kit parts of the ILM studio model 3D-printed in almost any scale we want.
So - after a lot of research, especially on each of the unique hero X-Wing features we'll be able to convert the Fine Molds kit into any of the famous ANH X-Wings.
Here's my prototype build - a Red Five:
I started with the upper fuselage.
Apparently, Fine Molds used the big X-Wing model for reference on the fuselage, so there has to be some modifications done to the kit fuselage to match the ANH X-Wings shape.
In this case, I made a wooden dummie where I put the upper fuselage on and heated it carefully with a hairdryer until it could bend easily over the wooden dummie. Although the dummie looks a bit crappy, it works perfectly. After cooling down the part was almost correct in shape:
The lower fuselage is the tough job with this kit. There is just no way to bend or modify this kit part to finally match the wanted shape.
So, for this prototype I built the lower fuselage from scratch.
Our plan is to have these vacuformed in styrene - just like the original ones. Casting them wouldn't make any sense due to the different panel lines, chips and position of the torpedos on each X-Wing.
Next to the FM kit part: