Studio Scale B-Wing Build Thread (and decal question)

Docmani · Oct 9, 2016

So, I've been working on this Nice-N B-Wing kit for the past few months. Its a good kit and I've been making slow but steady progress. I thought I might share how its come along and (at the end of the post) I have a decal source question.

(Sorrry for the sideways pics, I'm not sure why they are being posted that way. If anyone knows how I can turn them 90 degrees, I would appreciate the help)

I love that this kit was engineered to allow for a hollow rectangular square tube for mounting and running the electronics.

There were a couple things I changed as I built the kit. Some of the recessed areas of the main wing were hard to clean out, so I decided to go ahead and cut everything out and backstop it with some styrene sheet.

Other than that (and the dozens of detail parts) the kit goes together quite well.

The other big change I made to the kit was the original kit had a fixed mount for the cockpit (it was not meant to spin)

So, I sourced the original treads for the part above, cut the part up, 3D printed some mounting inserts...

I also made a 3D printed insert for the cockpit mount that allowed it hold some axial bearings.

(The gap at the bottom allows for the wires to the cockpit light to rotate.

The result allows for 180 degrees of smooth cockpit spin....

So in recent weeks, I've finally gotten some paint on this thing.

So this leads me to my current dilemma. I have this really nice decal sheet I got from Jason:

It has all of the major decals found on the B-Wing, except these little triangles on the leading edge.

So, I was wondering if anyone had any idea what kit those little triangles come from? They are small and trivial yet now that I see in the in the B-Wing reference pictures I can't get them out of my head....

There a little under 1/8" in size.

Anyhow, suggestions and comments are welcome.

moffeaton · Oct 9, 2016

Nice to see you posting again, and it's a shame I have to tilt the laptop sideways

I am gonna crib from you on this one, as it looks really wonderful!

WINGNIT · Oct 10, 2016

That's a great looking B. I did the F&M one and loved every minute of it.

With regards to the triangles, that is a new discovery for me! Now I'm with you on trying to discovery the source and going back to add it in!

rbeach84 · Oct 10, 2016

Speaking of spin, any idea how the original studio model did it? With the armature mount being in the middle of the crew 'pod', a straight axial shaft between the front and rear wouldn't work. Jason, did you ever see underneath the cover plate?

R/ Robert

moffeaton · Oct 11, 2016

I did not, but I did spin it around when photographing, giving the archivist on hand a heart attack. She had no idea it was supposed to do that, lol!

I also begged her to let me push the mount cover back into place (it was too far forward) but that was met with a big solid "no"

Docmani · Oct 11, 2016

I managed to get the cockpit painted. I overdid the pilot but I have done so much painting on miniatures I can't paint him without highlights and shading.

rbeach84 · Oct 13, 2016

moffeaton said:
I did not, but I did spin it around when photographing, giving the archivist on hand a heart attack. She had no idea it was supposed to do that, lol!

I also begged her to let me push the mount cover back into place (it was too far forward) but that was met with a big solid "no"

That was your mistake - asking permission. Just do it like you know what you're doing (which you did, after all) then ask forgiveness afterwards. Which is very easy when nothing bad happens! ;^P

R/ Robert

rbeach84 · Oct 13, 2016

I count at least four of the triangles on the one wing alone (on surface with the actuator fairing which I think of as the 'top' of the s-foil wing.)

Oh, and two on the opposite s-foil, but again only on the side with the actuator fairing.

R/ Robert

Update----------------------------------------------------
Been looking for suitable dry transfer sources for the little triangles which show *no apparent decal film*. I found that Chartpak used to make a shapes sheet in black for tri's and squares, plus other shapes, but the one example I found imaged the lines were too narrow, However, as Chartpak is apparently defunct (at least for DT sheets) that doesn't mean this option is eliminated. Another option might be that they were drawn on using a template (of which Chartpak also made.) Looking closely at the marks, there is a slight irregularity at some corners, plus the inside of the corners seems to have a tiny radius not visible on the outer point. So the source may have been drafting tools!

Docmani · Oct 14, 2016

That's actually a good call. The other decals are peeling all over the model with edges very visible while the triangles are very flat with no edges.

I found a set of dry transfers on eBay with many different sizes that might work. It's in Canada so shipping is crazy.

Meanwhile this just arrived. I'm going to give it a try making them on my own.

Your idea will be my backup.

Thanks for the research. You are definitely on the right track!

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Stormy320 · Oct 14, 2016

Looking good!

rbeach84 · Oct 14, 2016

Docmani said:
That's actually a good call. The other decals are peeling all over the model with edges very visible while the triangles are very flat with no edges.

I found a set of dry transfers on eBay with many different sizes that might work. It's in Canada so shipping is crazy. <snipped image>
Meanwhile this just arrived. I'm going to give it a try making them on my own.
Your idea will be my backup.

Thanks for the research. You are definitely on the right track!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I also got looking for letters where the "A" might have been used by trimming off the 'legs'. One of the triangles has a segment that is narrower than the others, implying perhaps it was trimmed a little too 'high' up the letter. But most fonts have the A with too narrow an angle to produce a equilateral triangle in this manner. So, again, they may have just been 'inked' in using a template, which could also account for the slight irregularities in their form. Drafting pens (fine line markers) were certainly around during the period and may have been used for other things such as the black dash marks on the Falcon. Fast and easy with clean results...

Regards, Robert

Docmani · Oct 17, 2016

I just bit the bullet and purchased that Letraset on EBay. I noticed the sheet itself was dated 1980 so there is a good chance they are the ones used.

I will send pics and I'd even be happy to cut some off and drop them in the mail to you for pointing me in the right direction!

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Docmani · Oct 17, 2016

FYI - I purchased these.

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rbeach84 · Oct 17, 2016

Look forward to seeing if they are the right size and all...

R/ Robert

Docmani · Oct 24, 2016

The dry transfers arrived. I sized them against some water jet decals I had made and the size is perfect.

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rbeach84 · Oct 24, 2016

Chalk that up as a win! ;^D

R/ Robert

Docmani · Oct 27, 2016

Lighting Test

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el loco · Oct 28, 2016

Wow !
Amazing effect

Docmani · Nov 5, 2016

Some weathering and added the side mount.

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WINGNIT · Nov 7, 2016

Pretty.

Studio Scale B-Wing Build Thread (and decal question)

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