Showcase: Bandai Slave I (1/144 scale)

 

Bandai Slave I (1/144 scale); completed in Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics, MIG enamels, and Secret Weapon Miniatures pigments. The stand is from the Fine Molds version of this model.

WIP: Bandai Slave I (1/144 scale), Part 5

I sprayed the first coat of green, which is the going to be the darker of the two on the hull, over the entire area. It's essentially the Tamiya equivalent of RLM 02 and I made it by mixing RLM Grey (XF-22) and Khaki (XF-49) in a 1:1 ratio with a tiny extra bit of XF-22 added.

Using the studio model as a guide, I applied masking fluid with torn pieces of sponge. Give the nature of the original paint job, no model will ever match it exactly, however, the goal here was to just get close. This color is Tamiya J.A. Grey (XF-14) with a tiny bit of Deck Tan (XF-55) added to it.

After I painted the dark green panels with J.N. Green (XF-11), I did a quick dry fit of the major hull pieces just to see how it looked. I thought that the RLM 02 color was a little dark so I sprayed the entire hull, sans the dark green pieces, with a very thin coat of J.A. Grey to tone them down.

I weathered the wing supports with a handful of MIG enamel washes stippled on with a sponge and then blended into the surface. This was probably overkill because they are barely visible one the "fenders" are added and the entire assembly is inserted into place.

The panel lines were done with a mix of MIG Dark and Neutral Wash, and once everything fully dries it will be sealed with some varnish and further weathering will begin. This will mainly consist of some filters and streaking on the hull, along with some pigments.

WIP: Bandai Slave I (1/144 scale), Part 4

I worked on the fenders last night. The one on the left was painted with Tamiya J.A. Gray (XF-14) and had liquid mask applied to mimic the weathering on the studio model. It was then given a coat of J.N. Green (XF-11) mixed with a touch of Field Grey (XF-65). The one on the right was painted with a witch's brew of Tamiya greens and had liquid mask splattered on it by dipping a piece of torn foam in liquid mask and using air from my airbrush to apply it. A coat of the same green color as the other fender was applied and the masking was removed. The underlying green was a little too bright so I sprayed some heavily thinned dark green over it to tone it down.

WIP: Bandai Slave I (1/144 scale), Part 3

I wasn't happy with the front skirt but I also didn't really want to change it. After sleeping on it last night, I woke up and was content with how it turned out. Not happy, but willing to leave it as is. I then spent the next twelve hours at work and my dissatisfaction with it grew throughout the day. After I got home and had a lovely dinner with my wife, I head to the studio and decided to fix it. Needless to say, I am much more pleased with the end result. I used the same grey-green base color, applied a layer of liquid mask, sprayed a coat of pink made with Tamiya Pink (X-17) mixed with a little Tamiya Deck Tan (XF-55), applied another layer of liquid mask, and finally gave it a coat of the same red-brown from the first go around only with a tiny bit of Flat Red (XF-7) added.

WIP: Bandai Slave I (1/144 scale), Part 2

Starting with the base coat of pale green, the "correct" color is supposed to be Tamiya J.A. Grey (XF-14). This was a little too green for my taste, I mixed in some Tamiya Medium Grey (XF-20) and Flat White (XF-2) in a ratio of 3:2:2 to get this wonderful pale green. Also, I took this photo while experimenting with a new 50mm lens I bought for my Nikon. I would like to take all of my work in progress shots like this but it's much easier to grab my iPhone and snap a few quick pictures.

I managed to get most of the front skirt painting done last night. It's pretty much done except for a couple of black panels on the top grey section. All and all, I'm not entirely happy with it. I decided to use chipping fluid instead of liquid mask applied with a sponge. It's not bad, it's just not the finish I was aiming for. I guess it will be cool because the chipping on the skirt is going to be different than the hull, where I will be using liquid mask. The colors I used were Hull Red (XF-9) and Buff (XF-57) for the red, Pink (X-17) for the chipping, German Grey (XF-63) over Medium Grey (XF-20) for the grey panels, and Vallejo Model Air Tank Brown (71.041) for the brown panel. After this picture was taken, I managed to get a panel line wash on with MIG Dark Wash enamel. Once that is sealed in with some matte varnish, I'll move on to more weathering.

WIP: Bandai Slave I (1/144 scale), Part 1

I've been longing to build a model of one of the coolest Star Wars ships of all time, Boba Fett's Slave I. Like all Bandai kits, this 1/144 scale version of his iconic ship comes premolded in various colors but unlike most Bandai Star Wars kits, this one has to be painted if you want to accurately represent the ship. Having the parts organized by color makes painting it pretty easy given how complex the rear of the ship is. I removed and cleaned all of the parts from the sprue and organized them by what color they were to be painted.

After I got all of the rear pieces organized, I started painting the cockpit. Most sources show that the cockpit should be army green but I much prefer grey, which was Tamiya Neutral Grey (XF-53) in this case. I highlighted a few bits with some Vallejo light grey and silver and gave everything a wash with MIG Dark Wash (enamel). The front console was painted with Tamiya Deep Green (XF-26), I applied some liquid mask with a sponge and then gave it a coat of NATO Black (XF-69).

The bottom dark grey layer of the rear was painted with Tamiya German Grey (XF-63) and given a wash with MIG Dark Wash enamel. The engine nozzles were undercoated with Tamiya Buff (XF-57), had some liquid mask applied with a sponge, and then given a coat of coppery brown mixed with a few Vallejo reds and browns. I preshaded the green bits with Tamiya Flat Black (XF-1) and gave them a coat of Tamiya Field Green (XF-65) followed by a wash with MIG Dark Wash enamel as the first pass of weathering. The grey parts were preshaded with Tamiya German Grey (XF-63), painted with Mr Color 315 (Gray FS16440), and given a wash with MIG Neutral Wash enamel. I also applied a few of the small decals on the grey parts.

I love how layers of parts are stacked on top of each other to make a complex surface. There is even parts that can't really be seen unless you hold it just so; it really is quite impressive. After all of the pieces are in place, more weathering will be added to dirty everything up, mainly chipping on the raised areas, more enamel washes, and possibly some pigments.

The stabilizers were painted with Mr Color 315 (Gray FS16440), the yellow markings/chips were painted with a mix of Flat Yellow (XF-3) and Yellow Green (XF-4), the red strip was painted with a mix of Flat Red (XF-7) and Hull Red (XF-9), and the entire assembly was given a pin wash with MIG Neutral Wash enamel. After everything dries, they'll get a coat of matte varnish and then more weathering.

With all of the pieces done for the back of the ship, I will move on to the front skirt before finally tackling the main hull.

Model Kit Review: Fine Molds 1/72 Slave I

BACKGROUND

Slave I is easily one of the most iconic ships from the original Star Wars trilogy. The personal starship of the enigmatic bounty hunter Boba Fett, it first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back where Fett used it to track Han Solo to Cloud City on the planet Bespin.

The ship began its life as a Kuat Systems Engineering Firespray-31 patrol and attack craft before being stolen by the bounty hunter Jango Fett. After his death during the Battle of Geonosis, the craft was passed to his son, Boba, who would use it to great effect during his career as one of the most notorious bounty hunters in the galaxy. While in possession of the Fett's, the craft was given numerous upgrades to its engines, avionics, and weapon systems. The upgrades to its engines gave it sublight speeds rivaling that of the BTL Y-wing starfighter, an impressive feat for a ship this large, while the upgrades to the sensors and jamming array made the ship invisible to other starship sensors, allowing Fett to easily slip into the most secured areas. Most importantly, the weapon system was expanded to allow the ship to equip proton torpedoes, concussion missiles, Void-7 seismic charges, and an ion cannon in addition to the standard heavy blaster cannons: an impressive amount of firepower contained in one ship.

THE KIT

This kit was the seventh entry into Fine Molds outstanding line of Star Wars model kits and their second large ship model kit, after their impressive Millennium Falcon kit. Like the majority of other kits in this range, Slave I is finely molded in a light grey styrene and nearly devoid of flash or mold lines. Injector pin marks are only on areas that will not be visible when the model is complete, meaning almost no filling and sanding is needed. The only major seam on this kit runs down the middle of the hull where the two halves are joined; filler is a must to eliminate the seam. Luckily, there are few panel lines in this area so sanding them down shouldn't prove much of a problem, especially if you are careful. This is a large kit: there are ten sprues, including the one that contains a stand for the model to be displayed in its upright flying position. Also included are two Boba Fett miniatures: a seated one for the cockpit and a standing one to attach to the base. There is also one small decal sheet that contains the small yellow, white, and burgundy markings found on the ship. The kit is also supplied with extensive color-printed painting guide, a nice touch considering most of the time spent completing this model will be used replicating the complicated color scheme. Since this was a first production kit, it also came with a limited edition Han Solo frozen in carbonite cast in white metal. This addition will no doubt look great positioned next to Boba on the display base!

VERDICT

I think it goes without saying that Fine Molds hit this one out of the park. Between the superb engineering and the intricate details, this kit is outstanding. It is a kit truly worthy of the most feared bounty hunter in the Galaxy!