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On 8/28/2019 at 2:51 PM, Aurora Mark said:

Si, 

 

    First off, your build is something else (speaking to the Star Destroyer). Working with small pieces of plasticard here is one thing... what' you're doing is a whole new level of added details. As for what you wrote about the aversion of replicating props and this build peeking your interests, well, thank you kindly! I really do appreciate your comments. 

 

Work on the seat back, because, you know, the seat is taking FOREVER to work on... rather than going right into the plastic building of this part, I figured it would be a bit fun to go at the whole process starting with the reference images and research. There are two really great pictures that capture the shape and layout of the seat back. So here are the pictures and what I gathered from them: 

 

Ref2_zpsh6glcekg.jpg

 

A - There is a noticeable shape to the seat back and the head rest that follows a curve. There is a slightly noticeable break between the two pieces. The curve starts quite pointed at the top of the actual seat itself and carries right up to the top. The construction will duplicate this and I'll build the main seat back first, then focus on the head-rest portion afterwards.

B - The three 'blocks' often depicted and painted yellow and black (the middle one) are actually padded head-rest pieces that have a curve to them. This will be replicated using plasticard and I'll need to incorporate the curve into them, likely with a larger diameter or curved file.

C - The top portion above the head rests to protect the oxygen lines has two different thicknesses to them while the outside (thinner) pieces appear to be plates that go down the side of the head-rest. I'll make the forward piece out of 0.5 mm x 1.5 mm strips and the side pieces appear to be plates will be added as separate pieces afterwards out of 0.2 mm plasticard sanded to shape.

D - There are two long and thin plates that look like they'd be used to lift the seat on a hoist. The base of them has a bit of leg that bridges between the seat back and the head rest. This will be made using 0.2 mm with two small holes drilled in. To make it easy I'll use thinner strips to add the legs. 

E - The shoulder harnesses appear to be fixed to the top of the back side of the seat back. It doesn't make sense for them to be fixed to the rear cockpit wall as that would be really bad for the health of the pilot ejecting... After this is all assembled and prior to installation, the two shoulder harnesses need to be pinned to the back and done right as they'll be visible.

F - These two lines (oxygen lines) have a small brass connector at the base. I'm going to have to muddle around to figure out exactly what diameter of wire will work and I'll use some Tamiya tape wrapped at the base and then painted brass to simulate this connector. 

 

Here is the second picture which really helps with determining shape as the first image makes it look like everything is flat. Not the case: 

 

Ref1_zps6cqsb2zp.jpg

 

Looking at the pads they have a bit of an inward, concave shape below the pads on the head rest where they meet up with the seat back. The sides have a curved shape to them that shows the side plates mentioned above in "C" that will need to be added. The outside of the pads though are quite flush with the head-rest. That defining line in "A" from the photo above is not recessed but rather it appears to be a groove between the head rest and the seat back. I'm also looking at the height here and the 1.5 mm plasticard strip will need a bit added to it (as I don't have 2.0 mm wide strips). The oxygen lines here have a bit of a flattened curve to them. As well, the bottom of the head-rest where it meets the seat back curves inward and slightly below where the shoulders of the actual seat are. This will be good to know when joining the seat to the seat back. From that point to the top of the seat back there is an inward taper to the shape. The forward face of the head-rest is rectangular, so there will be some creative sanding to get that shape. 

 

Okay! So, now that there's a plan forward, it's time to fabricate these pieces. 

 

Much like the seat, plasticard was layered and glued together to get a good shape, then filed and sanded to get the seat back shape: 

 

IMG_3130_zpsvqizxrst.jpg

 

IMG_3127_zpsxj1g1jmd.jpg

 

 

And here is the rough shape in the cockpit tub to make sure I've got the right height. It's all via the eye-ball sizing things up, and it looks about right here:

 

IMG_3126_zpsxeg32sss.jpg

 

 

With the right shape to the seat back obtained it was time to build up the head-rest. Here are the thin pieces of 0.2 mm plasticard layered and glued down: 

 

20190825_231055_zpsiukhr743.jpg

 

 

The head-rest was thencut down to shape with a hobby-saw, filed down and sanded: 

 

20190825_233544_zpskhddpky1.jpg

 

 

Using files and sandpaper the head-rest was then given the rounded shape, and the plasticard strips were added for the head-rest pads. Once cured they were roughly sanded to shape: 

 

20190826_212833_zpsuwcj0wwa.jpg

 

 

The construction of the top piece of the head-rest was started with that forward facing upper bar, and the two 'nubs' that the oxygen hose plugs into. Lastly, a thin piece of 0.2 mm plasticard was glued up along the sides of the seat back to add that 'grove' between the seat back and head rest: 

 

20190827_0036490_zps1ch2fssu.jpg

 

 

From there the side of the head rest was sanded back even further to give that curved shape under the two side plates. The side plates were then cut out and shaped from 0.2 mm plasticard, then sanded down further to be a bit thinner. They were glued in place and allowed to cure: 

 

20190827_014543_zps8cccb5nk.jpg

 

Last but not least on the plastic construction, the two thin posts and legs were added. From there the holes were drilled for the oxygen lines: 

 

20190827_024522_zpsqlri8xup.jpg

 

 

The piece was cleaned up to get rid of any extra plastic burrs, and smooth it all out with 800 grit sandpaper. Once cleaned, the seat back was sprayed with flat black and allowed to dry: 

 

20190828_004736_zpsoayrnr5v.jpg

 

 

The piece was then given a few treatments of black and 80% grey pastel chalk to give the shape of this piece some definition and a bit of a warn look. No paint chips, just faded paint: 

 

20190828_004801_zpstwzgjcif.jpg

 


When it came to the two oxygen hoses I messed around a bit and found that the best combination was to have a core of 28 gauge milticraft wire, with 34 gauge tightly wrapped around in a spiral. Realistically this is just some conduit from the looks of it, but once the two wires were finished, they were cut to length, shaped based on the pictures as best I could, and glued into place: 

 

20190828_004900_zpsfwuxi0vu.jpg

 

 

A thin 1.0 mm strip of Tamiya tape was cut, wrapped and glued into place: 

 

20190828_004942_zpswaiok8x5.jpg

 

 

They were then painted bronze once the glue dried: 

 

20190828_005047_zpstvckor11.jpg

 

 

And here is the seat back sitting in the cockpit tub to size it up: 

 

20190828_004918_zpsquabvrla.jpg

 

 

 

The next step will be to finally finish off the seat and attach the two pieces. Once that's done the final details can be added. 

Thanks for looking, 
Cheers!

Mark.

Some Guitar strings are wire wound.

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