X-Wing Salzo V4 Red-2 Build

[kokkari]

I have to admit that when I first received this kit I was a bit scared I would screw it up. Although this is not my first SS build it is my first SS X-Wing build. I got lucky and got on Mike's list for one of these early and received it back in November. I researched threads for a couple of months before I even glued or sanded my first piece. Thank you JunkPilot for your "One Stop X-Wing Thread".

I knew I wanted to do Red-2 because I always liked the contrast of yellows and the amount of detail that was on it. Also, whether it's in it's Blue-1 form or Red-2 form, it was the first X-Wing and Wedge was always my favorite as a kid and a super bad ass. When Mike said that his kits were going to be customized, as far as the phantom engines and engine combo, I was all in. There is a wealth of Red-2 reference out there, but not a lot of high res close-up detailed shots.

 

[kokkari]

The quality of this kit is amazing. The fuselage is thick, smooth, and clean resin with zero air bubbles. Some of the scribe lines did have to be re-scribed especially on the lower haul, but not a big deal. Also, there was a lot of flashing and extra resin along the cockpit frame and inside of the cockpit that had to be sanded out. I made sure to look at a lot of reference here as to not sand out the cockpit frame incorrectly. I used Mike's included armature, but quickly bought a longer center support rod to run the length of the ship for added support and stability.

I did not want the wings to slide forward and back so using pipe clamps in front and behind the armature was the best thing I could come up with. Seems to work well.

I test fit all the engine intakes after cleaning them up and matched up the pieces that fit together the best with A,B,C,D for reference as it went together. In this photo you can also see that I use brass rods that I drilled through the armature into the wings for extra support and stability. I believe that this is a must. You can also see the holes I drilled through the armature into the engine intake for the engine light wiring.

I thought I would use my own creation for mounting this to a stand but quickly figured out that a Mike Reader mounting ring was the way to go. It fit perfectly over my metal support rod and tightens down with an allen wrench. I would recommend this route for mounting this bad boy.

 

[kokkari]

I did not need to do much cleaning of the trenches behind the wings. These were cast really nicely. I ended up using 1/16 brass rods for this portion. I went with this based on my research through RPF threads. Looked to be about right.

 

[kokkari]

There are some pieces that you are going to need to trim down on the wings that you will need to use your best judgement. I chose to trim these pieces so they would sit flush when the wings are closed, which is not true to the actual Red-2 miniature. If you were to close the actual Red-2's wings you would see a gap in these pieces. See my photos below to see what I'm referring to.


Also, the pieces that go into the lower engine nozzles will overhang slightly and it was a judgement call on whether to sand them flush in the front or sand some off the back off. I chose front and was kind of second guessing myself after.

 

[mslz22]

Thanks for bringing this up, i leave some of these parts intentionally a bit large. It's easier to sand a bit to get a tight fit rather than have a gap that you have to add material. It's one of those things i do for most kits when i can, but usually forget to mention it!.

There are some pieces that you are going to need to trim down on the wings that you will need to use your best judgement. I chose to trim these pieces so they would sit flush when the wings are closed, which is not true to the actual Red-2 miniature. If you were to close the actual Red-2's wings you would see a gap in these pieces. See my photos below to see what I'm referring to.
View attachment 454201View attachment 454203

Also, the pieces that go into the lower engine nozzles will overhang slightly and it was a judgement call on whether to sand them flush in the front or sand some off the back off. I chose front and was kind of second guessing myself after.
View attachment 454204

 

[MonsieurTox]

Good start !
Don't forget to modify the rear of the bottom half of the fuselage which is unique to Blue Leader / Red 2 !

 

[kokkari]

Good start !
Don't forget to modify the rear of the bottom half of the fuselage which is unique to Blue Leader / Red 2 !

Bummer! I didn't realize that Julean. I didn't have any reference of the bottom to compare it to. I would love to know what the modification is, if you don't mind sharing? That's what I get for finishing the model then posting the build after.

Mike

 

[kokkari]

I really debated on making my own cannons out of metal tubing, but decided to go with the ones provided in the kit. This being my first X-Wing build, I was worried that the weight of all the layers of metal would make the wings sag or not stay open. Although they would have been nice. Maybe on a future build. The included kit cannons are supported with a hollow metal tube which is nice because it keeps them strait and the hollow end makes the cannon look more legit.

Started by drilling out the ends of thick portion of the cannon that that connects to the wing itself. Then sanded the ends of the long tube to the correct length and inserted them in the holes.


Then connected in this order.

The front of the cannons looks like this when your done. You will need to drill out the hole for the "C" shaped portion. I used 1/32 metal rods to finish off the detail on the sides of the cannons. Only had a finished photo of this sorry.

 

[usaeatt2]

kokkari, thanks for taking the time to post your assembly steps. I detailed many of the pieces and built brass cannons, but lacked confidence to move any further. I'm hoping for detail shots (similar to your previous shots with notes) of any modification done to the canopy rails and cockpit area. I have no idea what I'm doing in this highly critical and visible area, although I figure if I screw up, I could attempt to scratch build the canopy rails with brass or plastistruct shapes and splice them into place. An added benefit would be to allow the cannopy to open...

 

[kokkari]

kokkari, thanks for taking the time to post your assembly steps. I detailed many of the pieces and built brass cannons, but lacked confidence to move any further. I'm hoping for detail shots (similar to your previous shots with notes) of any modification done to the canopy rails and cockpit area. I have no idea what I'm doing in this highly critical and visible area, although I figure if I screw up, I could attempt to scratch build the canopy rails with brass or plastistruct shapes and splice them into place. An added benefit would be to allow the cannopy to open...

I hear you man. I was the same way and was waiting to see what other people were doing, but decided to just trust my ability. But still, You don't want to mess it up.

I don't have any photos of the build process of the section you are speaking of, just a close-up of the finished frame. Someone here can correct me if I did not trim around the frame correctly. My understanding is that the hero version had a lip for glass to be added and the pyro versions did not. I also chose to not paint the interior of the cockpit too detailed, because I didn't want it to distract from the detail from the outside of the ship. Mine is more detailed than an ILM version, but less than some of the uber-detailed beauties I've seen on here.

I used a dremel to get the chunks out then filed the rest to get the shape. As far as the inside, I used a dremel with a round sanding bit to sand the resin away bit by bit, test fitting it constantly, until it fit properly. Similar to the way described in the instruction thread by Jason. Hopefully it's OK to repost your photos.

Also, I created some side walls and a floor for the interior of the cockpit for the pilot to sit on and avoid light leaks. Be careful with not making the floor hang too low or it will hit your center support if you chose to extend the the center support rod or a Mike Reader armature. Mine only cleared the center support by like an 1/8 of an inch. Anyway, hope this helps.

 

[kokkari]

I wanted to diffuse the engine lights so I decided to cut out some semi translucent plastic discs from this garbage can.

I glued the plastic discs in behind the heat syncs in the engines and it came out like this.

 

[Scott Graham]

Thanks for posting your build info Mike. Your attachments don't seem to load sometimes.

That revelation from Tox about the red 2 fuselage bottom being different is news. I'm curious to know what the difference would be. I don't remember seeing any pics of the bottom of it. I'd like to make red 2 one day too. Off to look for reference pics then...

 

[kokkari]

Next I needed to create some access points in order to light my X-Wing. My first point of entry was underneath the rear upper fuselage detail. I cut this out with my dremel and inserted two magnets to hold it on. It fits like a glove, tightly and firmly. I know! My cut is not as pretty as some of the cuts you guys make on here, especially with the washes that leaked under, but I figure who cares, no one is really going to see it.

Here is where my toggle switch ended up to turn the lights on and off. Yes, my soldering job is ugly, but it's strong and not going anywhere LOL.

 

[kokkari]

Thanks for posting your build info Mike. Your attachments don't seem to load sometimes.

That revelation from Tox about the red 2 fuselage bottom being different is news. I'm curious to know what the difference would be. I don't remember seeing any pics of the bottom of it. I'd like to make red 2 one day too. Off to look for reference pics then...

I see what your talking about with attachments. One minute they're there and the next they're gone. I'll try to upload them again. I've had all kinds of internet problems today. Let me know if you find out the differences Julean was referring to about the rear fuselage difference? I'm really curious to know also.

 

[kokkari]

The trickiest part of the lighting was trying to figure out a place to store the battery supply and have access to it. A 9v battery would not fit on the top portion of the fuselage, under the first access point I cut, so the only other place I could think was below on the rear/bottom of the fuselage. Now for this part I've seen guys cut removable sections of the bottom but I did not want any lines showing. I decided to access this area through the rear of the ship. Believe it or not if you are OK with this section not fitting super snug it will come out at an angle with minimal gaps showing. I also have this area held in by magnets.

 

[Scott Graham]

I just went through some reference pics and didn't see differences in the bottom views, but there sure was some weirdness going on in this area of the rear and, mostly, lower areas. Some wonkiness. I'm not sure what you'd want to replicate here.

 

[MonsieurTox]

Bummer! I didn't realize that Julean. I didn't have any reference of the bottom to compare it to. I would love to know what the modification is, if you don't mind sharing? That's what I get for finishing the model then posting the build after.

Mike

Didnt realize your model was finished, I'll post pics tomorrow. The lower fuselage half is trimmed shorter and has an angle to meet the upper fuselage, not very pretty to be honest that's probably why all the following X dont have this feature.

 

[MonsieurTox]

Dont worry anyway it's almost not noticeable, I dont think it was intented to be like that, they just trimmed the lower half a bit too short (by 1 or 1.5 mm), it can only be seen from certain angles. Not a big deal !

 

[edspaged2]

Good idea with the droid strip. That would have taken a while cutting it out I bet? When I get my v4 I'm planning on using the droids head as the on off switch like a dimmer.

 

[kokkari]

I've been trying to display parts of this build that are not strait forward and where some research is required to hopefully simplify this build for others doing the V4. The hope is that others will correct me if I am wrong also. This piece requires you to cut it in half, turn them and place it on the inner engines as so:

the orientation is such that the crossbar section should be towards the bottom, relatively unseen.

Actual Red 2/ My Red 2

From these images you can also see the proper orientation or direction of the inner engines. This is specific to red 2.