TIE Phantom
Solid kit cockpit cone - definitely needs an interior!
I decided to modify it by hollowing it out and adding an interior. The first step was to saw off the front and drill out the resin using 3 different sizes of Forstner bits in a drill press and then sand the interior walls smooth with a drum sander bit
Luckily the front canopy from a Bandai 1/72 TIE Fighter is just the right size to replace the front of the cockpit cone
However the upper cockpit framing on the cone looked a bit wide (and it wasn't really symmetrical) so I marked out the areas to trim with black marker
Masking tape used to show the areas to be kept
Unwanted areas cut away and sanded - definitely looks better
Main body built and wings added (already painted and masked). All gun barrels drilled out
A cockpit interior was built up from a sheet styrene floor, back wall, pilots and seats from Bandai TIE kits, FM X-Wing landing gear doors and some other odds and ends
Side walls were added to the inside of the resin cone from bits of styrene sheet and bits from the spares box - left wall
Side walls were added to the inside of the resin cone from bits of styrene sheet and bits from the spares box - right wall
The front section of the cockpit was made using the front of a Bandai cockpit trimmed to fit and attached to the front glass. The back of the Bandai piece will be very visible in this cockpit so I filled it with the same piece from a Fine Molds TIE
A plug was made of the new cockpit openings, sanded and polished and used to vacuum form the glazing
Cockpit put together, glazed and masked and glued to body
Wings taken off again and sanded to adjust the fit, reattached and the whole thing primed
Main painting completed
Hozzászólások
29 October 2017, 01:00
Greg Baker
Whoa... I like that. I saw a similar build on Whatifmodellers.com, but that one was more of a bomber. This one looks sleek!
Whoa... I like that. I saw a similar build on Whatifmodellers.com, but that one was more of a bomber. This one looks sleek!
30 October 2017, 10:43
Uwe Kaeding
Thanks guys - finally got around to some photos of the finished model
Thanks guys - finally got around to some photos of the finished model
19 November 2017, 11:05
Cuajete
Hollowing the cabin with the solid resin had to be hard.
Good job. Congratulations!
Hollowing the cabin with the solid resin had to be hard.
Good job. Congratulations!
19 November 2017, 19:08
Uwe Kaeding
Thanks guys. @Cuajete - it ended up not being that hard (but I did need a drill press, 3 different sizes of Forstner bits and a dremel with a sanding bit to smooth it all out).
Thanks guys. @Cuajete - it ended up not being that hard (but I did need a drill press, 3 different sizes of Forstner bits and a dremel with a sanding bit to smooth it all out).
21 November 2017, 07:41
Tim Heimer
Looks like the force is with you! Nice work! Doing a 1/48 X=wing now, hopefully it'll look as good as your fighter.
Looks like the force is with you! Nice work! Doing a 1/48 X=wing now, hopefully it'll look as good as your fighter.
21 November 2017, 14:46
Album info
This is the ModelAddix kit of the TIE Phantom, based on a ship seen in one of the Star Wars video games. An OK kit but it has a solid cockpit which needs to be hollowed out and a new cockpit installed.