Star Wars TIE Fighter [Completed, A New Hope's light grey version]

First proper post of the year sees my take on the Bandai 1/72 scale TIE Fighter assume form in the light grey hulls as seen in A New Hope. No part of this model kit was left untouched as I repainted (as well as place decals) the entire kit. It might seem silly to do so seeing that the unassembled plastic pieces were already moulded in light grey hues. But believe you me, the results are worth it.

Bandai 1/72 scale TIE Fighter, A New Hope version

In past posts I've waxed lyrical, ad nauseam, about how much I love TIE Fighters - their design and general awesomeness. So it's no surprise that I enjoyed working on the same model kit for the second time - my first being an Empire Strikes Back blue grey version. It was as enjoyable as the first try, even more so as I knew what to do beforehand with only colour differences to worry about.

Tamiya's AS-16 Light Grey (USAF) was used as the predominant hue 

Astounding details are abound on this Bandai 1/72 scale model, as seen here on the TIE Fighter's wing

From my many reference viewings of the TIE Fighter, the exact light grey hue seems to change either due to creative preference or by the lighting on the hull. In the end, I settled on the Tamiya AS-16 Light Grey (USAF) spray paint as the hue of choice. I based my decision on a reference photograph of a model of Darth Vader's Advance TIE Fighter as seen in a book titled Sculpting A Galaxy: Inside The Star Wars Model Shop. That very model was also the one used in the filming of A New Hope.

One never tires of looking at a TIE Fighter, unless of course you're a pilot in the rebel fleet

With light grey being the predominant hue of the hull, Bandai's dark grey decals made for a welcome contrast

Pew, pew, pew ... I've you in my sights Red Five

A close up of the TIE Fighter with its twin laser discharge attached

At just the right angle, both lasers will catch the light just right and result in a glowing effect

Being my second try at building and painting the Bandai TIE Fighter, things went relatively smoother for the light grey version. In addition, I tackled one of the things that dissatisfied me in the earlier blue grey version namely the intensity of the panel lining on the Death Star base. For the newer version, I decided to go light on the panel lining thus reducing the level of contrast in the base's details. This, in my opinion, dovetailed well with the light greys of the TIEs seen in A New Hope.

What's this? A pilot of the Empire firing on one of his own?

Side-by-side comparison of the TIE Fighter - Empire Strikes Back (left) vs A New Hope (right) version

Panel lining was intentionally lighter in my latest - A New Hope - version (see base on the right)

So 2017 has lift off (pun unintended) hobby-wise with the Episode IV version of Bandai's 1/72 scale TIE Fighter completed. It's the second year in the row that sees a Star Wars model kit kicking off the new year. I think it's going to be an unavoidable trend with Disney scheduling a major Star Wars movie every year end. Well, we'll see I guess. The year has just begun and there's a long way to go yet before Star Wars Episode VIII hits the big screen. Many days ahead for work on both SciFi and Fantasy miniatures alike. So let's get started ...