TIE Bomber Scratchbuild

Thanks guys, I'm really glad you're enjoying the build and I appreciate the positive feedback. It's been a long haul, but I'm getting there. I think after this, I'll finish my Bandai Y-wing and then do something simple like a Spitfire or other basic airplane, straight from the box.

Cheers,

K.


Sure , sure build something straight OOTB , Hmmm ? .... wait !.... What ? ... what’s that I see outside my window !? .... Oh !.... a flock of pink winged porcine performing aerial manoeuvres through the air !!! :lol .

Inconceivable !!! ;)
 
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Haha, I think I can do it!

I'm pretty lazy, fundamentally speaking, and it's only my desire for an accurate TIE Bomber that is making me work so hard. Once this is done, I'll return to my slovenly ways. A good quality kit needing no modifications sounds like just the thing right now! This build is probably the most ambitious project I've taken on, and it'll take a while after it's done to build my mojo back up enough to take on the next crazy thing, whatever that is.

I had to laugh at the Picasso comment. I imagined what a model built by him would have looked like. It would probably have several vanishing points, both wings on one side, as well as a pilot with an arm growing out of his chest and both eyes on his left cheek.

Cheers,

K.
 
I was really intimidated by the rear part of the fuselages. I wasn't sure I could pull it off, so I tackled it next.

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I'd found some formulas online for how to make a cone out of flat sheet. Knowing the taper of the cone and the diameter of the bottom allowed me to create the shapes. Of course, it's actually 2 cones, one within the other.

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Here the rear covers continue with the second inner cone.

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The same approach was used for its calculations, though it was easier without scribing all the lines.

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Next up was the inner cone of the rear structure. As time went on, I began naming parts in my head as you'll see when I get to them, but I never came up with a good name for this part. I did however notice that it is also on the radar dish of the large Falcon miniature.

THANKS so much for sharing this step.
This part has me losing some sleep right now
 
The last thing I want to do is hijack your thread ( So I started a new one )
I am building a TIE Punisher/Interdictor in 1/48 and after finding your progress on this site lets say ive made some progress due to the inspiration.
Its a Tie bomber with five tubes and a large carry through section.
If it turns out half as nice as this ill be happy. Seeing your pictures has given me so many ideas on how to make a lot of the parts.

Have a good one,
Ben
 
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Hi Everyone,

More updates after some weekend efforts. I continued on with the inner wing details, getting the rear half of the wing caught up to the front and going on from there.

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Moving onward, I got to the final "panels" that go on the inner wings. I struggled to come up with a way to do a needed detail on them, and ended up giving embossing a try. It was tricky with a high rejection rate, but I got a reasonable result. I'm not 100% thrilled, but I'm still pretty happy. At one point, (as noted in a picture annotation), I thought I'd need 10 parts with 7 good ones from that batch of 10. I ended up making 20 or so, with 7 decent ones being cherry picked from them.

Anyway, more pictures.

Thanks for looking as always,

K.

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^I'm glad you liked it Ged. It's definitely not a perfect solution, but it'll do. It's from chapter 3 of my "Making It Up As I Go" manual.

Cheers,

K.
 
I never would've thought of embossing as a technique! I feel like a sculptor who only knows how to chip away at marble being told, "Hey, have you ever tried adding clay to a bigger hunk of clay to make a statue?" It's like, duh, why haven't I thought of this! Super cool!
 
^It was my first time too.

I tossed around a lot of ideas for creating that shape before coming up with the embossing idea. It's kind of like "cold vacu-forming." It was pretty tricky to hit the punch just hard enough to make a good imprint, but not so hard it would go all the way through. It definitely will not become one of my favourite tricks any time soon, but it worked well enough to get some passable details on this part.

I suppose it helps that I do carpentry and auto restoration as other hobbies. Some of the really skilled car guys on some of the auto forums I frequent do some really neat things with stretching metals and they must've stuck in my mind to spark some of the approaches I've used here.

Happy modeling!

K.
 
CaptainMumbles - The studio mini used part of this 1/72 Leopold Railway gun. I think the details I was trying to make may have been handles on ammo boxes that were set into the deck of the original WWII artifact.

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crackerjazz - I 'm glad you're enjoying the thread and appreciate the comment. I'm learning a lot from this too!

Cheers,

K.
 
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Hello everyone,

I'm back after a couple of weeks off. It's busy times here with Christmas and visiting. We went away last weekend to Vancouver for the in-laws' 50th anniversary. Then I did a quickie on an ERTL X wing as my contribution to the local 501st club's gift exchange. Finally, I got back this week on the bomber, working on the next set of details in the wing root area. Having had a bit of a spell of getting things right first try, it was time for some challenging solutions requiring multiple attempts and rework, plus an error discovered...

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To be continued...

...and pictures out of order as usual. I'm an idiot.
 
..and onward. Since I was redoing the wing panels, I thought I'd try improving my technique and tried adding rivet details to the corners of each panel. Success! I might redo the bomb chute with this same technique all in the name of getting that detail. Two steps forward, one step back, but it'd be worth it I think.

It was a little hairy removing the panel details without causing damage to other parts of the inner wing, but I got through it and installed the first part of the wing root leaf spring detail. I'm pretty happy with that and will continue with the rest of that detail part tomorrow.

Thanks for looking as always!

K.

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Hey K , glad to see you posting again mate . My computer’s been acting up so I’m looking at your updates via an iPad mini . The pictures ( before and after ) of the wings , I have to toggle between them ( enlarging ) to see what you’ve done :thumbsup . Was it just a matter of placing the new riveted / embossed panels closer to where the body attaches on the wing , or did you also make the panels larger ?

Thanks for sharing once again Keiko , and in case I don’t get to say it later on - Here’s wishing you and yours a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year ;)

:cheers Ged
 
Hi Ged,

I did a mark up to show where the space went. The embossed panels are the same width as before, or at least I was trying for the same width as before. They might look a little wider because they're a little shorter; I realized after the first time that the panel below them should have a bit of a reveal at the upper and lower edges, so this re-work was an opportunity to improve on that as well.

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I didn't take any photos of the rework to the wing in progress unfortunately. I was in the zone, but it wasn't quite so simple as just making new embossed panels. There were 3 layers including the panels that had to be modified. At the rear to make the blank space open, I had to carefully chisel them out from between the 0.75 mm rails that run the length of the wing. It was a little nerve-wracking, but turned out very well though and I'm much happier with the result this time through.

Bad news: I've found out that they no longer make Testor's liquid cement. I'm trying other brands, but so far Plastruct and Tamiya are both too hot, with Plastruct being way too hot. If you find any Testor's around your area, buy it all up! I'm very low, but should be able to finish my bomber on what I have. My next glue to test is Humbrol. I had no idea how good I had it with the Testor's!

Thanks for the Christmas wishes too Ged, I hope you have a great break and that it isn't too hot for you there!

-K.
 

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