Bandai 1/48 a-wing
- Thread starter astroboy
- Start date
Scarecrow Joe
Sr Member
You will be getting back at the actual color the thing came out of the box. As it is now its way off, too gray indeed. To me its another example of how accurate the Bandai kits come from factory and how they do not need as much paint as some think.
DARTH SABER
Master Member
Agreed.
I had been out of the modeling game for so long and went and looked at some youtube videos using pre weathering and while the technique looks good for some ships I personally dont see darkened panel lines on SW ships.
I was considering doing this on my Falcon but opted not to.
There are some random areas which have darkened panel lines but i decided to do those with a wash for more control.
For the falcon I just primed it with grey/black and applied an uneven base coat of grey/white.
Then hit it with some sand color in selected areas.
The rest of the weathering was done with fine brush.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Scarecrow Joe
Sr Member
These look like plastic to you?
IMG_5159 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr
IMG_1898 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr
IMG_0731 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr
IMG_9695 by Oscar Baez Soria, on Flickr
IMG_5297 by Oscar Baez Soria, on FlickrAll these were just left their original color and,of course detailed and painted just where there was a need to. Bandai color is accurate and plastic can be worked over and make it look realistic.
BLADE and BRUSH
Active Member
I guess it depends how closely you want to match the studio models. The cool white looks fine to me. That said, photos don't always represent what the colors look like in person under normal lighting conditions.
Scarecrow Joe
Sr Member
The Bandai colors indeed look quite close to the studio models. Thats the whole point of the discussion.
No, but there is a lot of paint/weathering powders etc.. covering the plastic
Boba Fett's pants/grey fabric looks kind of plastic like (needs more dulling down), but everything else you've done a great job of making it not look like plastic
The main problem with leaving the plastic, at least with the whitish colors, is that it can yellow over time
I pulled out old kits from the 70s and 80's that were once white plastic that are now quite yellow
I have tried the plastic approach myself. I just find working from a painted base better with my style of weathering
Scarecrow Joe
Sr Member
If you cover up the plastic with an adequate matte coat it will seal it off and prevent any yellowing. Comparing old kits from the 70 and 80s is not fair. Those plastics are not treated in any way, not sealed, nothing. In fact white paint alone if not seales can yellow over time too. The quality of Bandai plastic is obvious and such old kits can get yellow for a myriad of reasons. Preparing paint to match the bare plastic color just dont make any sense to me. I lightly sand down the bare plastic to dull its shine and provide grip. I find excellent results this way.
Mr Fett had its pants further dulled after those images and I could happily show you the current looks.
Mr Fett had its pants further dulled after those images and I could happily show you the current looks.
astroboy
Master Member
I have seen some fantastic work with people weathering the bare plastic. However, it's not my process. I need to build the basecoat up from a black primer. And with these Bandai kits, I'm not too worried about too many layers since I think the panel lines are way to bold for my liking.
That. Is pretty amazing. Really nice work.
And to the OP, thanks for this thread. I just picked up this kit and have been away from modeling for way too long. I need all the good examples I can find!
Dave
astroboy
Master Member
Finished the (very few) panels. And I've used a gundam marker for a few of the blemishes. I did a gloss clear coat and the next step is decals.
After that I will do another clear coat.
Then oil weathering.
Then another clear coat
then pigments
And finally a dullcoat
Out of curiosity, what should I do with the canopy? Oddly the joint to the sprue was visible so there is a fairly obvious blemish going on. (It also came cracked out of the box but I don't mind the damaged look)
After that I will do another clear coat.
Then oil weathering.
Then another clear coat
then pigments
And finally a dullcoat
Out of curiosity, what should I do with the canopy? Oddly the joint to the sprue was visible so there is a fairly obvious blemish going on. (It also came cracked out of the box but I don't mind the damaged look)
DARTH SABER
Master Member
Looking sweet, man.
Whats the general rule with the clear coat for washes?
Gloss coat first then a wash?
Or can you go with any clear coat?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
astroboy
Master Member
I have always used a matte clear coat between steps. But I have learned recently that Gloss is much better before weathering. It helps oils go on smoother. So I'm gonna give that a go.
pave spectre
New Member
Have been following this one because I do like the a-wing and wish there was one in 1/48 available to go with my other stuff I've the same scale.
I just want to make sure I understand, is all that's been done to this the replacement of the pilot figure, and you are just treating the Bandai a-wing as 1/48? Or had other work been done to rescale it?
I just want to make sure I understand, is all that's been done to this the replacement of the pilot figure, and you are just treating the Bandai a-wing as 1/48? Or had other work been done to rescale it?
astroboy
Master Member
The only thing I did was adjust the cockpit. You can't use the side consoles and you have to lower the seat. It's all pretty hacked up because frankly, you can't see that inner detail anyway. I did the decals and started on oils today so I'll post more pics tomorrow.
I know that the whole scale thing is a bit debatable, but I've spent a lot more time looking at pics of the studio model than I have looking at the A-wing on rebels, or the mcquarrie concept art.
And I know that starwars.com has measurement that they call "canon". But just like famous celebrity's Twitter accounts, there is a bunch of lower-level staff members who fill that stuff out anyway. Do we really think the story group is going over the starship dimensions on the website? Doubtful.
Anyway, the short of it is that to me, the A-wing is a small, fast sled of a ship. More in line with the snowspeeder than the x-wing
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
pave spectre
New Member
I have to admit I agree with you regarding the smaller size of the A-Wing. The"canon" size of it never really sat right with me, for the same reason you give.
Is there info somewhere that shows the comparative size based on the studio model pilot figure? I could have sworn I had a bookmark to that info somewhere but can't find it for the life of me.
Getting back on track, I like how it's coming along, can't wait to see the finished product.
astroboy
Master Member
Thanks! I'm not entirely happy with the colours I have chosen, but it's a quick little experiment so I'm not going to overthink it. As far as the pilot scale, here are the studio model pics. They seem a lot more in line with what I'm doing.
http://www.modelermagic.com/?p=59542
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
