[Chrisisall]

Hi guys!
I saw the season 2 finale of The Mandalorian, and suddenly got the itch to do an X-Wing. I only ever made one before back in 1978... I just glued it together & slapped on the decals. Yeah, I was a kid...
So I got a Revell 1/57 Snaptite kit, but it kinda looks like a toy, so I didn't even bother accurizing or painting it.
Found an old MPC kit on eBay (American release- all non-domestic releases had raised panel lines for some strange reason) for a good price, and man, it's like going back in time! Crappy painted box art, nicely detailed kit! Only THIS time, I'm gonna make it excellent! And also anchor the laser cannons (the way they glue on just invites you to accidentally snap them off, again & again...).
1/43 is a nice scale. Makes it a bigger model than the Revellogram & Moebius Vipers (of which I've made a whopping 13 as of now).
Wow... the pilot looks so standard Air Force... gotta change that. AND accurize the cockpit a bit.
As an 'essential worker' I've not had the time home some have enjoyed (or hated... modelers IMO tend to CRAVE time at home to focus on a build- at least I would), so this will take a while...

 

[Chrisisall]

Oh, and here's the Revell Snaptite.... toy.

 

[Chrisisall]

These are my friends on this build, Mr. wire hangar, Mr. epoxy putty, and Mr. extra styrene. The latter two will help me properly anchor the laser cannons, the former will help me accurize the cockpit, dashboard & open inner wing areas.
I'm what you'd call a burst builder. Set up is key, then I pick a day off & go nuts. That will be Tuesday...

 

[mach7]

Looking good so far, I'm waiting for your build-burst!
I'm curious to see how the old kit stands up.

 

[Zombie_61]

...I'm curious to see how the old kit stands up.

Back in the 70s I thought the X-Wing was one of MPC's better Star Wars kits. It still builds up nicely if you're willing to add some little details (I've forgotten exactly what that entails) and can give it some solid paint work to replicate one of the filming models. That being said, I was never really a big fan of the X-Wing so out-of-the-box was close enough for me.

 

[RossW]

I’m really looking forward to see the first burst! I was so thrilled to get this kit back in the day and I still think it’s a great kit. Not as accurate as Bandai’s, but I’ve got a lot of fond memories working on this kit. My parents bought me a used dentist’s compressor for Christmas that year so I could use my Badger 100 without the can. Later, I picked up the Kalmbach book on SF kits and they had photos of the filming miniatures and scenes from the movie for reference, and the articles introduced me to weathering.

 

[Chrisisall]

I’m really looking forward to see the first burst! I was so thrilled to get this kit back in the day and I still think it’s a great kit. Not as accurate as Bandai’s, but I’ve got a lot of fond memories working on this kit.

ACTUALLY... this very kit was used onscreen to make two X-Wings in The Empire Strikes Back, which not only means it's terribly accurate, but studio scale!

 

[mach7]

I never knew that, cool! Kind of like the AMT Enterprise making a few on screen appearances in TOS.

 

[StarshipClass]

I was impressed at the time thinking it was the most accurate sci-fi kit I'd ever bought up until then (c.1978--and very few as accurate after). Good to know they used it in the sequel.

 

[Chrisisall]

Big question here: The canopy- to tint or not to tint? In TESB it's clearly tinted... at this point I think I'll tint it slightly....

 

[Chrisisall]

My Son made this MPC It's A Snap Kit when he was 10. The canopy came tinted, and I like the look (also nice general lines). The raised panel lines are another story, but he was happy & that's all that counts.

 

[Chrisisall]

If I were to decide to throw this kit in the trash or use pieces of it for other builds, would you hold it against me?

 

[StarshipClass]

Big question here: The canopy- to tint or not to tint? In TESB it's clearly tinted... at this point I think I'll tint it slightly....

Yeah, sounds like a good compromise.

 

[Chrisisall]

Well my day got off to a very late start because as soon as I sat down to it, I realized my 3.25 reading glasses no longer brought super-close work into focus (It's an aging thing, I guess ), so I wasted time driving around all over town looking for a pair of 3.50 or higher only to find no one carries anything above 3.25... FRACK! Then I got the bright idea to tape two pairs of glasses together, and to my surprise, it worked well. So I only got about half as much done as I wanted to, now I have to let what I did do set so I can sand away seams. Aside from a little flash, this kit is nice.

 

[Chrisisall]

Just greeble-izing the cockpit & making the pilot look a bit better...

 

[StarshipClass]

Wow! That cockpit looks great!

 

[Chrisisall]

Closer to the finish line, but still a few more laps to go.

 

[Chrisisall]

Can't resist complicating (what WAS) the super-plain cockpit. No, it's not all screen accurate, but with a mild window tint it will more than serve its purpose.

 

[Chrisisall]

Today after work I detailed the under-wing wells a little bit, and prepped the laser cannons to accept wire rods to secure them.

 

[Chrisisall]

A last cosmetic bit in the wells, and the center pin now in place. Center pin insertion was a b**ch. A little piece inside has to be shaved down for the pin to go in. It was meant as a locking mechanism for open or closed display, but the tiny holes for clicking into place don't make sense where they are on the pin (or the size for that matter)... oh well, it's not a toy, That's what the Revell kit is for.