TIE Bomber Scratchbuild

Next update: the detail on the lower part of the missile/bomb fuselage. Thanks to photo references from my good friend Darth Daniel, I was able to make this part pretty accurately. Unfortunately, I didn't photograph the process very well. It has about 40 or so parts in it which I assembled over the course of a weekend. As I often do for very small parts, I worked upon a thin backing plate and glued everything down to it, piece by piece. Let's see if the photos tell the tale a bit. Any questions, I'm happy to answer.



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From here, I've gone on to detailing the mid spar. As always, I make lots of dimensioned sketches by scaling off of various references I have. Daniel has been sending me close up photos of parts of his studio kit, which is super useful because I see them in a disassembled state. This makes it much easier for me to figure out what I'm looking at and build a plan of attack. As usual, it's just building of details on details shape by shape.

I kind of went overboard with the photography of this phase...

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Finally the rear plate is done and installed on the mid spar structure. Naturally, I took a test fit picture. Photos like this have to keep me going until I'm in actual assembly and can zoom the model around the room.

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Good point, it's why I log on many times per day. I was feeling like I hadn't documented the underpart on the bomb fuselage well enough, so I went overboard with my latest. As I went through the photos posting, I started to wonder if it was too much.

"Look, here's the same part with one more hole in it!"

That sort of thing.
 
Hello Sir ,

I'd just discovered this thread , and I absolutely love what you shared / are sharing .
It's not the subject matter you're building so much ( though beautiful ) , but the scratch building and methods / techniques used that I'm truly appreciative of .
It's the one aspect of this ( long neglected ) hobby that I've missed until quite recently . Thankyou so much for sharing .

One question if I may ( apologies if already asked & answered ) , but , due to the parts being the minute sizes they are , and seeing how you build them up in layers as well , what glue / adhesive do you use / recommend ? . Since returning to this pastime , I've been using Tamiyas extra-thin (?) which can / has dissolved certain details but adds strength through bonding , and / or Zap a gap thin CA , which can be brittle after drying .

Any help / advice you can offer will be really appreciated .
Again , thank you and please keep sharing ,

Ged
 
Yeah, what they said! ;^P
I love this kind of stuff (and probably the reason I personally have so many unfinished projects...don't know when to stop.)
Regards, Robert
 
Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

To Ged's questions - I primarily use Testor's liquid cement for the detail work. I put a tiny puddle of it down wherever I intend to affix a small next piece. I pick up the small piece with tweezers or by gently stabbing them with a very sharp x acto and position them on the puddle. The glue gives a few moments before it grabs, in which I use the knife or tweezers to finalize the position.

I do have Tamiya's extra thin cement as well, but I find it not as good for detailed scratchbuilding. It is a little too strong and sets up very fast and also tends to melt parts a little. It's good for the basic structures, but I avoid it for the finer work.

I have Zap superglue too, but prefer the extra thick stuff, and only for items that liquid cement doesn't work on like resin or mixed media. Solvent cements are preferable for me whenever I can use them.

Cheers,

K


I don't care for the super thin CA glues though as they tend to run everywhere and I end up gluing my fingers together.
 
Thank you fro replying Keiko ,
Will definitely give Testors' glue a go .
Some of the pieces I've built seem to be tweezer proof ! LOL ( add fat fingers and dwindling eyesight to this ) , and I've resorted to blade sharpened pickup pencils to get them in position . Still , nothing like the feeling of a ' job well done ' - reasonably , when there wasn't anything there ( or lacking ) beforehand .

Cheers Ged :thumbsup
 
My pleasure Ged. I hear you about the eyesight. About 5 years ago, I found I couldn't see well enough anymore to work to the level of detail I like. Now I have dedicated modeling reading glasses. Such is life I guess.

Next up is further work on the mid spar to fabricate a stand socket into it. I really should've thought further ahead and done this before putting all the detail to it. It was a little hairy drilling a big hole in the bottom without breaking something off, but I got through it okay. When complete, the model will be mounted to a brass rod that telescopes into the socket I've installed here.

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From here I moved onto the railway gun parts. This goes on top and bottom of the cockpit fuselage, and also on the underside of the mid spar and front and back of the wing spars. I built the wing ones already, but these for the cockpit and mid spar I'm doing as one long assembly to be cut into sections after. This makes it easier to keep uniform for all 3 and easier to handle during the work.

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Not complete yet, but coming along. Next is sanding out the seams and to the final height before I'll cut up into sections.

Thanks for looking as always.

K.
 
Continuing on with the same parts...

The photos are pretty self explanatory with the annotations. These parts are time consuming because I have to let the glue cure completely at each step so I can handle them for sanding before moving on to the next step. (Example - the end caps)

Cheers,

K.

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Exquisite detailing mate . Any chance of including an everyday / common object next to these ( extremely minute ) scratch built parts in a future update , just a one - off photo ?

Ged
 
Hi Ged,

Yes, I suppose I could snap a "parts with pop can" photo next time I've got the camera out. There's lot of other tools and fingers showing up in the pics of course - and my mat is a 1 inch grid.

Cheers,

K.
 
LOL !!! ,.... realise that , but , what you're doing with the uber - detailing on the smaller ( mid - spar ) piece or the gussets on the railing , for example , just doesn't translate in the photos .
No offence meant , regarding your photography ! Hopefully a coin or something similarly smallish ( not cans or bananas ! ) , would really demonstrate the incredible skill / patience etc , etc .....you're showcasing .

Cheers Ged :p
 

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