X-Wing project (updated Oct. 3)

[glorbes]

Yep, I've lost my mind.

I found a place called Industrial Plastics that sells large sheets of styrene for the same price that I was paying for a tiny piece at the model shop...which of course drove me absolutely insane. As is the first order of business when a new avenue opens to me, I started to think how this discovery could be used for customizing purposes. Now, I've been kind of burnt out on figure customizing, so I thought it might be cool to branch out from my juice bottle rocket ship experiment and tackle something more...involved. My first thought was to make a Batmobile (which I still intend to do, by the way), but then I realized that Star Wars provided an equally compelling wellspring of inspiration. Thusly, I decided to make a "toy" X-Wing.

I'd like to state that I know my progress thus far is very inaccurate to the source material, and that I am in many respects cutting corners with regard to recreating the models as they actually appeared in the film. I'm also mimicking the proportions of the original Kenner X-Wing toy, but scaled up to 1/12 scale. In the former case, I'm claiming "artistic license"...in the latter case I'm claiming homage to that beloved toy of my childhood. Do you buy it?



The basic structure is large pieces of styrene with some support struts used in back half. I basically worked out the size I wanted, drew the pattern on the styrene, cut the first shape, and traced it to create the opposite side. Lots of cutting and fitting as I went, since I had no set plan for what I was doing.

I used ordinary modeller's cement, since its designed to fuse model kits which are made from styrene that has been molded...the thickness of the sheet is 1/16", which is a great size for both stability and for cutting purposes. I've worked with thicker pieces, and its just way too difficult and dangerous to use. The basic structure that you see above turned out a lot sturdier than I could have ever hoped for.



The engine nacelles are some pvc plumbers parts that I eyed at a hardware store...the plumbing aisle is a treasure trove for this sort of thing (I also picked up the parts I'm using for the laser cannons there too). I built support struts to attach the nacelles to the wings and the side of the fuselage. I'd like to mention that I wasted several nights trying to engineer a functional "s-foil" mechanism that would allow the wings to open and close. After a lot of frustration, I gave up and decided to just have the wings permanently "open."







The wings are hinged, but as I just wrote, are permanently set in the attack position. The placement of the wings and nacelles are a little too delicate for my liking, but have stood up pretty well to handling.

For the surface detail, I've begun to "etch" the panels into the styrene with an exacto knife, and sand down the surface. For the top and back panels, I'll have to detail them with bits from the fodder bin. The c-o-c-kpit will be a job in itself, but I have a good chair picked out for the pilot, and all kinds of neat reference material.

"Etched" panels:




I'm really excited about having Artoo removable, and I may do some interior detailing to the back section: when I was a kid, I used the battery compartment of the Kenner toy as a place for Luke to store his accessories, so I may try to make some sort of hatch along those lines.

Let me know what you think, and thanks for looking.

[kalel]

looks great so far

[glorbes]

Thanks, Kal!

Here's some further progress on the X-Wing...this kind of project is a helluva lot more time consuming than a custom figure!

Basic structure complete:




C-o-c-kpit details:


The seat is a professor X wheelchair, and the surrounding structure is a wierd X-Files figure accessory. I was sweating about doing the c-o-c-kpit, but I think is provides a decent looking base for further details.

Primed:


And a patchwork of panels:


What you see is all that I have painted at this point. Whether its too extreme a variance of color or not, I'm not sure, but I kind of like the way it looks...with some further weathering and metallic drybrush, I'm feeling pretty comfortable with my progress thus far.

Let me know what you think, and thanks for looking.

[kalel]

that looks spot on so far, as for the paint i like it it makes the vehicle appear those it has been through alot of tough times

[Figuremaster Les]

[glow=red,2,300]YOU'RE CRAZY![/glow] ;D
I LOVE IT! Looking terrific Bruce. Just awesome.

[radioscooter]

This is phenomenal. This is what customizing is all about in my book. I'm loving this. My son is loving this too.

I'm wondering about:

1. What did you use for R2?

2. What kind of flex are you getting from the wings being open and un-strutted?

3. That plastics place, is it online or brick & mortar?

[glorbes]

Thanks Kalel, Les, and Scot.

Now, onto scooter's questions:

1. What did you use for R2?

Artoo is actually a custom I completed last year...I think he's buried somewhere in the finished projects section. He's basically made from those vending machine containers and a loctite krazy glue tube, with some bits and pieces from the fodder bucket.

2. What kind of flex are you getting from the wings being open and un-strutted?

Not too much flex actually. Now that I've attached the laser cannons, they are weighted down a bit, but to be honest it isn't affecting the asthetics of the overall vehicle too much. There is a small support piece of styrene that's propping up the wings, but I buried as close to the body of the X-Wing as possible.

3. That plastics place, is it online or brick & mortar?

I go to the brick and mortar store myself, but am unsure as to what the ordering options are online (I personally prefer going to brick and mortar over doing the online thing when I have the option).

Here's the website for your perusal: www.ippnet.com/

Hope that helps!

[tomstoyz]

WOW, With each new photo it just keeps getting better & better!
I can't wait to see the final project. Please keep us posted.

By the way...I love the "Angry Baby" avatar, ha ha!