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 ...

Star Wars TIE FIghter [WIP - A New Hope, light grey version]

To prevent witnessing any Star Wars Rogue One spoilers, I had been on an self imposed online hiatus of sorts. As such I haven't been posting updates nor visiting/commenting on my fellow blogger's posts as I usually do. But that's gonna change as I finally caught the movie ... although sadly my first viewing of Rogue One was ruined by a part of it being projected out-of-focus. It's inevitable my comeback post is about Star Wars. And since I haven't gotten my hands on any Rogue One model kits from Bandai, I did the next best thing ... A New Hope version of the TIE Fighter.  

Comparing colour scheme of ANH Tie Fighter against a photo in Sculpting A Galaxy

Working on my second TIE Fighter model kit meant things went a lot smoother. Naturally, things got done a lot faster and better than the first time around. As this version references the TIE Fighters found in A New Hope, it had a light grey colour scheme. Depending on the lighting, the light greys of the hull tends to look either cool or warm. I went with the latter in line with how Darth Vader's TIE Advanced Fighter looks like as shown in an art reference book titled Sculpting A Galaxy (see above). 

TIE Fighter pilot with helmet decals and a simple armour paint job

TIE Fighter pilot, seated before being sealed in his cockpit

Most, if not all of the pilot's flight armour is no longer visible after he's enclosed in the cockpit

After the cockpit is sealed, the most visible part of the pilot is his helmet decals

As a testament to how fun Bandai's model kits are, I was never bored even at the second time of asking. A different colour scheme helped keep things fresh but it would've been enjoyable regardless.

TIE Fighter in the light grey colours of A New Hope, a close approximation anyway

Detailed bits of the Bandai TIE Fighter model kit

For the Death Star base/stand, I made a more subtle approach in that the panel lining applications were visibly softer and less vivid. I did this in order for the base to blend into the background more thus allowing the focus to remain largely on the TIE Fighter model that it supports. 

Bandai TIE Fighter's Death Star base ... this time with more subtlety in the panel lining

To truly appreciate the difference between this version of the TIE Fighter and an earlier blue-grey Return of the Jedi version that I did, it's best to display both of them side-by-side. That I'll do once I have fully completed the assembly and paint job of this New Hope version. Until then, here's wishing a very Merry Christmas to you, dear readers, who are celebrating the festive season.

Star Wars TIE Fighter [Completed, The Empire Strikes Back's blue grey version]

After a long drawn-out process, the Bandai 1/72 scale TIE Fighter is finally done. While this is a kit that could've easily been finished in a few days without any painting, it would've been remiss of me to not put in the tender loving care that this model kit deserves. Moreover, the TIE Fighter is my favourite spacefaring vehicle in the Star Wars universe, with the Star Destroyer close behind.   

Peekaboo, I see you ... TIE pilot's helmet reflects light coming in through the upper hatch

I've been thoroughly impressed by this Star Wars model plastic kit. The amount of detail Bandai has molded and the ease in which the parts all come together have made this a fun project while retaining a high possibility of achieving a good end result regardless of the painter's or modeller's skill level.

Bandai 1/72 scale TIE Fighter, painted as The Empire Strikes Back version

Matte black is definitely the way to go for the TIE Fighter's solar array panels

A simple yet effective inclusion to the model kit is the green laser shots. When positioned correctly to catch light at just the right angle, the two clear plastic parts do indeed resemble laser shots. However, they look like the sad, static plastic pieces they are if the light doesn't illuminate them properly.

When the light catches the tip of the green laser shots ...

If there is one gripe I have of the model kit is that the decals are extremely small. It takes a lot of patience and a steady hand to get good results with the tiny decals ... something that doesn't come easy to an antsy coffee slugging miniature painter/modeller like myself. But even so, I do have to admit the details on the decals is truly remarkable. So good that it will make or break your final piece.

'Windows' on the upper access hatch allows some light into the cockpit interior

Maybe yet another thing I would do differently is to paint a brighter red for the twin ion engines

Perhaps one thing I should have done differently was to apply dark grey liners on the Death Star base instead of the pure black I used. It's also the one thing that bugs me to no end. So much so that I was tempted to take shots of the TIE Fighter alone without the base such as the one you see immediately below this paragraph. Ah well, lesson learned. Next base won't have such harsh panel lines.

Pew, pew, pew ... die you rebel scum

For a less distracting view of the TIE Fighter, I took some pictures of it without the green laser shots.

I love this TIE Fighter kit so much that I plan to do another version i.e. the light grey one from A New Hope. That project is in hiatus as I still can't get hold of a specific light grey colour I need. In a worse case scenario, I might be tempted to just use the primer as my base colour (that's the lightest gray I have in a spray can at the moment) and seal it with a clear coat. This isn't an ideal solution though.   

A view not seen usually by rebel scum pilots, many whose last words are ... Arrghhh, I'm hit!

In the meantime, I guess there is always another Bandai Star Wars model kit I can work on, or I could start painting figurines again. If I can find the time I want to do both. But then I also want to draw and meet some self-imposed writing deadlines. So much to do but so little time. Damn you mortality!

Star Wars TIE FIghter [WIP - Solar array wing and Death Star base]

Work on the Bandai 1/72 scale TIE Fighter is on the final stretch now with the completion of its solar array wings and the Death Star base it stands on. The TIE Fighter's wings colour scheme mirrored that of its command pod with the solar array itself painted a matte black. Although I toyed with the idea of dry-brushing the solar array with various metallic paints, the amount of work involved meant I ended up leaving it at matte black. Such gargantuan efforts are best left to larger scaled models.   

TIE Fighter Solar Array Wings 1/72 scale, outer panels

TIE Fighter Solar Array Wings 1/72 scale, inner panels to be attached to wing pylons

Initially I had wanted to leave the wings and base 'clean' i.e. without adding a black wash/panel lining to both. In the end going without was never a viable option because the parts looked 'off' and lacked depth without application of the black wash/panel lining. So out came the Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color as well as cotton buds and enamel paint thinner to clean the excess black enamel paint/wash.  

TIE Fighter wing brace after (left) and before (right) black wash/panel lining

While a pure black wash/lining works for the wings due to its darker blue grey colour, it looks too dark for the lighter neutral grey base. I should've used the 2:1 black to grey Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color mixture, which I had prepared for the Millennium Falcon, on the base. But it's too late now.  

Death Star base in all its original 'toy plastic look'

Death Star base after application of the Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color (black)

Death Star base after a final matte clear coat to rid it of its plastic sheen

So the stage is now set for my final reveal of the TIE Fighter, Empire Strikes Back style. Only two minor things left to assemble, namely the clear green laser shots and display stand. Soon, one of the finest fighters of the Imperial fleet will be ready to take down some rebel scum! ^_^

Star Wars TIE Fighter [WIP - Command pod & wing pylons: painted, decaled and assembled]

A major step towards the completion of an Empire Strikes Back version of the TIE Fighter has been taken with various parts of the command pod/wing pylon finally assembled together. While this Bandai model kit may look acceptable assembled straight-out-of-the-box, it needs - in my humble opinion - to be pasted with water decals and painted in order to achieve its full potential. 

Bandai Star Wars TIE Fighter, command pod and wing pylons [Completed]

Orange laser cannons help brighten up (slightly) an otherwise neutral colour scheme 

Side view (left) of the TIE Fighter command pod, sans wing

A variety of light and dark grey hues helped create depth in the overall blue-grey colour scheme

Putting everything together was a bit of a risk seeing that the separate parts had paints and delicate decals on them. I was counting on the final matte coat to provide a measure of protection against the manhandling involved during the assembly process. In fact, my deepest fears were realised when I encountered difficulty putting some of the parts together seamlessly. So much so that I had to take a few swings at the problematic parts with a small mallet. Thankfully no paint chipping occurred. My guess is primer/paint must've gotten into the joints thus preventing them from snap-fitting easily.

Back of the TIE Fighter command pod, twin ion engines and all

Panel lining with black enamel paint/wash creates additional depth to the piece

Side view (right) of the TIE Fighter command pod, sans wing

Decal markings all over the TIE Fighter's command pod and wing pylon make the piece come alive

I didn't realise it at the time but the 'kitbash decal' and paint job I put together for the TIE Fighter's upper access hatch looks identical to that of the original movie studio model kit of Darth Vader's Advanced TIE Fighter. It's a weird validation of sorts knowing that my design tastes is similar to that of a Industrial Light and Magic modeller. Cool! Anyway, enough of this patting-myself-on-the-back business. The reason why I decided to cut out parts of the decal to use instead of using the whole piece was because the latter option felt wrong somehow. Truth be told, I'm surprised I managed to get the tiny cutout decals to work at all. A very sharp knife and loads of luck got it done in the end.

Top down view of the TIE Fighter's upper access hatch, completed with its own 'kitbashed' decal

Putting the decal on whole would've spoiled the paint job, hence the 'kitbashed' decal

Meanwhile, my 'fubar' moment arrived promptly to bring me back down to earth. Only after painting the TIE Fighter's power/fuel/laser system in considerable detail did I realise a fuel tank cap was going to cover it all up. Duh! Face Palm! Heck, double face palm! So all that hard work and fairly good results (there I go again with the back patting) has gone to waste. Well, sort off. The cap comes off easily with a twist so the TIE Fighter's bottom innards can still be made visible, if the need arises.

Bottom view of TIE Fighter's power, fuel and laser system - still visible at this stage...

... well, not anymore apparently

Working on this model kit has increased my appreciation of the TIE Fighter's beauty by leaps and bounds. Definitely helped by the plastic kit's impressive details and equally impressive decals to enhance those details. All she needs now are her wings and base. Those she'll have soon enough. Before that happens though the weekend will be upon us, and here's wishing you have a good one.