Don Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Curious, wouldn't the mixing ratios be a tad different to account for the smaller scale? The ratios would then tend to be on the lighter side, especially considering the layers of weathering to follow will darken the overall color affect. Not that it helps, but I remember hearing that folks back in the day used a 2:1 mix of Floquil reefer white and grime to make a scale 1/144 Falcon color. Interesting. Keep us informed please of your test results. Cheers! Don. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) Thanks crackerjazz! I'll have to try the matt white and gull gray mixture myself. I have some Testors acrylic flat gull gray I can use. Edited December 20, 2015 by crowe-t Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 Glad to help, crowe-t! Some shots of the damage on the starboard forward side on the TFA Falcon: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 Hey, Don, you're right about that -- I forgot all about scale effect. I'll have to explore that, too, thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 That damage ROCKS! Top shelf stuff there . Cheers! Don. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 (edited) Thanks, Don! I see what they mean now about the sensor's frame being one chunk of plastic. Supposedly open areas are filled in with material. Easier for Bandai to mold and more robust for rough handling but doesn't depict the skeleton frame too well. Some reference shots: Even the Anaheim Falcon had a great sensor frame: But the best one is the Launch Bay Falcon's. The frame is super-detailed. If anyone's planning to visit the Disney theme park to to see the models I'd like to request for some photos of that Falcon, please :)/> http://www.endorexpress.net/2015/11/star-wars-launch-bay/ http://blog.touringplans.com/2015/12/03/star-wars-launch-bay-trials-temple-now-open-disneys-hollywood-studios/ Edited December 22, 2015 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 Set to work removing chunks of plastic: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 (edited) Used some styrene rod for some of the frame parts. Edited December 22, 2015 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Very nice work on the antenna stand! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 The sensor dish stand looks amazing. Huge improvement over the kits mount . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Geez lew-weez ... it just doesn't matter what you build, eh crackerjazz?, your skill with rebuilding, and accurizing, a miniature is second to none of us! This is gonna be true eye-candy! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RedHeadKevin Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Did you have a good method for doing the actuator hinges? I'm talking about the tiny "D" shaped pieces of plastic. It seems tedious, so I'm curious if you have a good method for doing them a bunch at a time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 The sensor dish's frame looks outstanding! What a big improvement to what was provided in the kit! Mike. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 Hi Janman, Don, Mike, thanks, guys! :) Hi Pete, really glad you're watching my build, too! Hi Kevin, I made the hinges with one steeper side using fathead image below, but afterwards I examined some photos of the Launch Bay Falcon as well as some early 3D renders and they hand simpler D shapes which would actually be easier to make, like below: This was the kind I made. But the Launch Bay Falcon hinges look simpler and they still look really good. You can make four at a time or more. Make more than 32 as the carpet monster seems to like these little buggers. Shape them like so. At this size the angles don't have to be precise because at 1/144 you need to really zoom in with the lens to see anything wrong with the shape. To the naked eye they will always look fine. Mark the right spot and glue the pair into place like this. And afterwards you can lightly sand down the corners to fillet them nicely. And they should look good as hinges. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Nice work on the hinges! What did you use for the black and silver struts? Mike. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share Posted December 23, 2015 Hi Mike, just a piece of 30gauge wire :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted December 24, 2015 Author Share Posted December 24, 2015 Completed the sensor dish frame today :) (except for paint).... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 The Launch Bay TFA Falcon model has caught my fancy and I'm trying to replicate the rear. Drew a model for patterning and cutting parts from styrene. Did the rest of the twisted panels around the ship. Test fitting. Didn't press down on the sandwich too tight as I might have trouble prying the hull halves apart (have to be very careful because the connectors on this Bandai model mean business) I'd hate to create more cracks on the hull. Still need to make an enclosure for the grille for the engine lighting. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GMK Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Wow! That looks amazing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Brilliant! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicholassagan Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Interesting!!! If that's CAD what are the chances of putting it on Shapeways for us? :) :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Looks KILLER! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 (edited) Hey, guys, thanks! Hi Nicholas, sure thing - will post her up -- just working on a few more measurements. The outer grille is important though (wonder why the Launch Bay falcon doesn't have it). The outer grille bars on the Bandai should be made narrower (0.58mm). And I'm not sure if they can be printed and still stay opaque -- photoetch would be a nice option. Making some fake milk glass (I read they used some on the studio models to diffuse the light). Test fitted half of the Bandai outer grille. I guess the Launch Bay falcon can get away without them because it's not lit. But it looks better (more movie-accurate) with the outer grilles attached when displayed lit. The LEDs are too blue, aren't they, heheh. Maybe I should put in white ones. And I'll see if I can make the bars narrower on the Bandai grille. Edited December 30, 2015 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 (edited) Incredible work on the engine area! Edited December 30, 2015 by crowe-t Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RiderFan Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Great looking work there. Guess I always thought the Bandai kit was just the Fine Molds tooling with a new dish. Hadn't realized they'd done all new tooling. David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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