WIP: Poe Dameron's X-wing (Black One), Part 2

© Lucasfilm Ltd

After completing all of the "black" for the body of the ship, it was time to move on to the distinct orange and grey markings. Even though the pattern of the markings is fairly simple, it still ended up being a rather complex masking job!

A lot of the pattern follows panel lines, which is always welcome because it tends to make the job a little easier, especially with how crisp the panel lines are on these Bandai models. As to be expected, the hash marks on the rear wings were the most difficult task. In my first attempt, I placed 2mm wide strips of tape on the wing and tried to cut along the panel line. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly easy. Feeling frustrated, I came up with the idea of using the decal sheet as a template. I placed the strips of tape between the decal markings and used a straight edge to cut the tape at the appropriate angle. This ended up working much better!

After the masking was complete, I sponged some liquid mask on and gave all of the soon-to-be orange panels a splotchy undercoat of Tamiya Flat White (XF-2) to make painting the orange easier and to give it a varied look. I mixed an orange using Vallejo Model Air Orange (71083), VMA White (71001) and VMA Yellow mixed 4:4:1 with just a touch of VMA Hull Red (71039) added to it (this is the same orange I used on BB-8). After a couple layers of that were on and dried, I sponged large sections of the panels with liquid mask and applied a darker orange on top. The darker orange similar to the previous mix except with a little less white and a full drop of VMA Hull Red. I also painted the handful of grey panels using VMA US Grey (71047) and Light Grey (71050) mixed 2:1.

I removed the masking tape and wiped the liquid mask away with a gloved finger (I've found that it comes off the surface of the model better using a latex glove). I decided that the interior "engine bays" needed a little variation so I painstakingly masked them all off and gave them a coat of, quite fittingly, VMA Engine Gray (71048). They'll eventually get a wash and a drybrush of metallic pigment to give them a worn look. I also went around the fuselage and painted a couple of different panels in various shades of grey just to give the surface a little more variety.

The bottom wing has been painted.

With all of the panels complete, the model will get a coat of Future before giving it a black panel line wash and applying a few small decals.

WIP: Poe Dameron's X-wing (Black One)

© Lucasfilm Ltd

The second part of my Red 5 commission is painting Bandai's T-70 in Poe Dameron's Black One livery. I was both looking forward to this and kind of dreading it at the same time. Black is a notoriously difficult color to paint convincingly. Most painters, especially inexperienced ones, tend to pick a black paint off the shelf, slap it on the model, highlight with some grey, and call it done. While it's possible to get away with this on simple paint jobs for things like gaming miniatures, on something like a scale model designed for display, this simply isn't enough.

There are two main issues that make it difficult to pull off a convincing black scale model. The first is that most real world objects that appear to be black aren't actually black. This is especially true in anything that has been exposed to the elements for a considerable amount of time, especially sunlight and heat. A great example of what sunlight and heat can do to a vehicle can be found in pictures of NASA's Space Shuttles:

Space Shuttle Endeavour (OV-105)

The other issue in painting a convincing black scale model is dealing with what is known as the "color scale effect." What that means is that, typically, the smaller the scale of the subject, the lighter the paint needs to be to maintain realism. It is supposed to simulate viewing the real world version of the subject from a certain distance (e.g., looking at a 1/72 scale X-wing from 2' away is the same as looking at a full scale X-wing 144' away). Most modellers don't really worry about this (myself included), but it can be something to think about with certain paint schemes... such as black!

By putting all of this together, we can start to figure out how best to paint Poe's X-wing without it looking garish or out of scale. After priming the entire model with Alclad grey primer, I gave everything a coat of Tamiya German Grey (XF-63) with a couple of drops of Flat Blue (XF-8) added to it. A thin, splotchy coat of NATO Black, which despite it's name is actually a very dark grey, was added on top of the German Grey base color. These two colors make the "undercoat" of the model and is what will be showing under the paint chipping. I used a torn piece of foam to apply Vallejo Liquid Mask along the leading edges and anywhere paint chipping would accumulate. Once that was dry, I gave the entire model a light coat of Flat Black (XF-1) mixed 2:1 with German Grey, which served as the final "black" paint.

In addition to painting the fuselage and S-foils, I masked the canopy and gave it coat of Alclad Aluminum, sponged some liquid mask on it, and then a little bit of Alcald Dull Aluminum to give it a worn look.

I also painted the interior of the cockpit using various Vallejo greys, drybrushed it with some Tamiya metallic pigments, and then picked out some details. I also painted Poe using a mix of red and orange Vallejo paints for his flight suit and then free-handed his helmet.

In the next update I'll be covering painting his X-wing's orange markings and my plans to further weather the ship to make it a little monotone.

WIP: Bandai 1/72 X-wing, Red 5

I was commissioned to build another Red 5 X-wing from a fellow in Toronto. I'm pretty much recreating my previous build of this model, but I'm making a few minor changes. I went with a few different colors on a couple of the panels and relied more on chipping fluid instead of masking fluid to weather the colored panels. I did a two-tone red for all of the red markings as well, just to add a little more depth. The canopy frame actually has three layers of chipping because the original color was lighter than what my client wanted so I used that as an opportunity to add some more weathering to it.

 

After all of the panels were painted, I lightly sanded the model to give the panels a little more wear and then gave the model a dusting of the off-white base color to tone down the panels further. After I gave the model a coat of Future and allowed it to dry overnight, I gave everything a gunk wash with 502 Abteilung Starship Filth. With that done, the model has to dry for about a week before sealing everything with a matte varnish.

Showcase: Bandai "Vehicle Model" Star Destroyer

Bandai "Vehicle Model" Star Destroyer; finished in Tamiya acrylics, 502 Abteilung oils, and MIG Productions enamels.

WIP: Bandai "Vehicle Model" Star Destroyer

I had some stuff drying so I threw this little Bandai Star Destroyer together and gave it a quick paint job. This model kit is part of their new "Vehicle Collection" which is similar to their Mecha Collection for the Star Blazers anime. They're essentially small box scale models that only cost a few dollars and a simple to build. This model is a little bit over 4-1/2" long.

I primed the model black and then gave it a coat of Tamiya Flat White darkened with a little Light Grey. After that, I cut a bunch of tiny pieces of masking tape to a simple "Aztec pattern" on the hull. Then I lightened the original base color with more white and sprayed the ship. After I pulled the tape off, I felt that the panels were a little too dark so I dusted them with the base color to tone them down a bit. I have a coat of Future drying on it now and then I will give it a light wash to bring out the details. The wash has to be light because if it's too heavy handed, it will throw off the sense of scale. Then I'll matte coat it and pick out some small details with a brush

X-Wing Store Championship BatRep (The Island Games, 2/20/16)

Though this is primarily a blog about my painting and modeling, every once in a while I like to touch on one of my favorite hobbies: the X-Wing Miniatures Game from Fantasy Flight Games. I've written about this game previously, right before the Imperial Raider-class corvette expansion was released last summer. In that article, I went over some new and interesting ways to incorporate the TIE Advanced into competitive play. As the Store Championship season is in full swing, I had a chance to play in a local one, my first since January of last year, over the weekend. The competition was fierce, the games were hard fought, and I ended up having one of the best days playing my favorite tabletop game!

Showcase: Bandai 1/72 TIE/fo fighter

Bandai's 1/72 First Order TIE fighter, finished in Alclad II lacquers, Tamiya acrylics, and 502 Abteilung oils.