Sunday, 13 November 2016

Work-in-progress: the Space Fighter

Introduction

This starfighter is my son's model, completed as the kit intended but then somewhat broken and missing parts through careless play
Some 6 months ago, I wrote an article about my acquisition of a couple of Revell EasyKit "Jedi Starfighters" that were in perfect scale for 28mm wargaming figures: here. At the time, I couldn't decide how to finish these kits, but that doesn't mean I haven't made any progress since!

Work-in-Progress

I've built one of my own two models so far.  There were some modifications made to suit my needs, as described here:


1. The "R2-D2" droid protruding from the port wing has been removed and the gap filled with green stuff.  This detail was too recognisable as coming from Star Wars...

2. I cut the wingtip panels from their "folded out" positions and glued them back into the recesses in the wings.  This left an abrupt end of detail on the very ends of the wings, so I've added some fluted cylinders instead.  These could be extra fuel tanks, engines or cannons; I really haven't decided and I'm not sure that I care!  As you can see from the picture above, these extra bits have been built from the cap and end of some expired felt tip pens.


3 holes have been drilled to take the support pegs/undercarriage
3. I want my craft to be usable for land-based games, perhaps as decorations at a space port.  For a while, I wondered how I was going to scratch build a suitable undercarriage (probably skis rather than wheels).  Then it hit me: you won't even be able to see under the craft when it's placed on a table.

Instead of anything complex, I intend to use transparent pegs (cut down from spare posts for Games Workshop flying bases) just to lift the model off the dirt.  I can always claim that it's a grav effect of some kind rather than a physical undercarriage!



So far, this first tester model has been undercoated.  I used a white primer rather than my usual grey as I thought at first I might paint it up in Star Trek Federation colours (white with a red trim). Since then, I've changed my mind: I'll probably colour it dark green and use it as a Klingon machine instead.  Or maybe Federation white would be better after all?

Aargh - I just can't make up my mind!
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22 comments:

  1. Michael Awdry13 November 2016 at 19:29

    Ingenious use of felt pens, it looks great already.

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    1. Colgar614 November 2016 at 20:58

      It'll look a lot better when it's finished, or so I hope! Thanks, Michael.

      Delete
  2. Da Gobbo13 November 2016 at 20:32

    Nice modelling skills. I would go dirty/greasy white if you want a vote :-)

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    1. Colgar614 November 2016 at 20:59

      Dirty white is a very difficult look to pull off, I think. At least, it's not something I feel very confident about. Hmm.

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  3. BROODE13 November 2016 at 20:44

    Excellent looking craft! I would go with a Klingon paint scheme, as I think the design would look better as a Klingon craft.

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    1. Colgar614 November 2016 at 21:00

      I'm leaning that way myself; this doesn't really have the smooth surfaces of a Federation design.

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  4. Blaxkleric13 November 2016 at 21:29

    A terrific start to a very interesting series of WIP postings, Colgar6. Personally I think the craft better suits Klingon than Federation imho.

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    1. Colgar614 November 2016 at 21:01

      Well, I've started to paint it dark green - so it's going to be a Klingon craft!

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  5. Vampifan13 November 2016 at 22:47

    This has come out really well - a stunning conversion, Hugh.

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    1. Colgar614 November 2016 at 21:02

      Thanks, Bryan. I'm not entirely happy with it, but at least it's a very cheap model & conversion. Apart from my time, of course...

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  6. Carrion Crow14 November 2016 at 08:05

    Very inventive, Hugh. I think it looks more Klingon than Federation as well. But as you have two, you could do one of each, and see which you prefer?

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    1. Colgar614 November 2016 at 21:03

      I had been thinking of painting both craft in the same scheme, but with different serial numbers/identification marks.

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    2. Carrion Crow14 November 2016 at 21:21

      In that case, definitely go Klingon. Although I'm now wondering what it would look like with the cockpit facing the other way...might me a little too WW2 German. Hmmm, might have to pick one of these up myself now...

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  7. Clint14 November 2016 at 09:28

    I have used ball point pens in a similar manner in the past. It all goes well until someone notices the word "Bic" !

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    1. Colgar614 November 2016 at 21:04

      Hah, "Bic" would indeed give the game away! In this case, I'm fairly sure that there are no maker's names/symbols or other identification marks on the pieces of pen casing that I used.

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  8. sean gewecke14 November 2016 at 19:16

    Very nice. I like the way your modifications look.

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    1. Colgar614 November 2016 at 21:05

      Thanks, Sean! We'll see what it looks like when it's painted up...

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  9. Zabadak14 November 2016 at 23:16

    A cheap and relatively quick conversion, what more could you want?
    It suggest neutral colours, rather than any recognisable colour scheme that has easy associations.

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  10. Maj. Guiscard17 November 2016 at 16:00

    Great choice of a base model and nice mods.
    As far an undercarrage, their was tutorial (I've lost the link) where a guy explained how he used "trays" essentially a cradle for the model when it was landed. It looked like extended landing gear, and there were no hard attachments. I've used that method ever since.

    Hope that helps.

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    1. Colgar619 November 2016 at 19:06

      That sounds like a very good solution! Of course, you'd need to make/find the undercarriage trays...

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  11. FourEyedMonster18 November 2016 at 03:35

    Nice conversion and I'm confident what you get done will be a far better paint job than the original. :)

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    1. Colgar619 November 2016 at 19:07

      Thanks, though I don't think the original kit's paint scheme is particularly bad. Still, I'm making progress with my own scheme; we'll see how good it is in due course.

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