[Hagoth]

Similar thoughts that it really does not matter. Mismatched paint color tones are more realistic to the harried efforts to keep equipment up and running. Paint fades, chips, or is otherwise damaged and is touched up with fresh or what is available at the time. It tells a story.

Example, I saw a paint job on one of the X-Wing's of Red Squadron (Red 4?). It had a panel that looked new while the surrounding panels had black blast streaks all over them. Made it look like the panel had been hit and damaged and once replaced there was no time to clean up the surrounding panels before getting back into the fight. Cool effect and cool hint at a background story. Something I want to replicate in a display sometime.

 

[mach7]

Of course the exception is current day stealth surface. It's very important to keep the panels neat and properly covered in RAM. But since Star Wars takes place "A long time ago....." It does not apply to the X-wing!

 

[mach7]

Enquiring minds do want to know, What red did you use? It looks perfect.
I think you said it was enamel. It looks semi- matt in the photos, Is it Model Master?

 

[Chrisisall]

Enquiring minds do want to know, What red did you use? It looks perfect.
I think you said it was enamel. It looks semi- matt in the photos, Is it Model Master?

Good old flat red Testor's mixed with a touch of flat black.
Got the 'yellow' on & some grays, here is where I stop for a little while as I've run out of places to hold it until it dries.

Oh, & I couldn't find my red sharpie, so I just used more tape & paint. I'm impatient that way. Crap, I forgot to take care of the new bleeds... more for later...

 

[mach7]

So,

If you don't use an airbrush and you mixed testors flat red and black.
That must mean you brush painted the red?

Even with taping the area off thats some nice work!

 

[Chrisisall]

Motherpussbucket! Only NOW do I notice this structural imperfection in the kit!
Well, it's too late in the game now to do the surgery needed to correct it... though I thought about it- but no, I guess I'll live with it.

 

[Chrisisall]

I got a way to fix it without sanding or sawing! Small strips of styrene!
Stay tuned, boppers, stay tuned! 😎

 

[Chrisisall]

Too late tonight to do the precise styrene cut work, but at least I got the crap work done- scraping the insides of paint in prep for gluing. This won't be perfect, but it will be way better. I wouldn't be able to un-see it if I didn't do something.

 

[Chrisisall]

So I cut the little strips & added them in- it worked great. Then I also realized the vertical fins were too recessed, so I made extensions. I think it went well for an on the fly fix in the middle of painting. Some touch up sanding after it sets & painting will continue.

 

[Chrisisall]

Okay, I'm satisfied now. Back to painting tomorrow.

 

[Chrisisall]

So,
If you don't use an airbrush and you mixed testors flat red and black.
That must mean you brush painted the red?

Yeah, and if I were being accurate to the filming miniature, I would not have added any black, but hell, if I were being 100% accurate to the filming miniature I would be accurizing a Bandai kit.
I just want a cool, nice size representation of what I saw onscreen. If it gets a little impressionistic, I can live with that. It was a staple of film-making back then, eh?

 

[Chrisisall]

Just a by the way, here's one of the MPC kits seen onscreen: so if you build it more or less out of the box it's screen accurate.

 

[Chrisisall]

Getting closer....

 

[Hagoth]

That is definitely an excellent looking X_Wing!

 

[Chrisisall]

That is definitely an excellent looking X_Wing!

Thanks!
But now my real headaches... painting the canopy & R2. OTOH weathering is always fun...

 

[Chrisisall]

A D'Oh! moment. I wanted to paint the blue stripes on the two laser cannons, but my 3mm Tamiya tape ran out on my last Viper build. So, order more? Wait? Spend MORE money?
NO! I took my automotive painting tape, put it on a dry wood surface lightly, and cut it like so. To my surprise it worked fine! Necessity is truly the mother (& impatience the father)....

 

[Chrisisall]

More small things.... weathering is next.

 

[Chrisisall]

Began weathering today- 2 part for me, first (here it's done) I sand the white with super-fine sandpaper to get streaks & detail showing, second (tomorrow & Monday) a combo of light dark-ish paint wash in certain areas (for extra dirt), black oil streaks with paint (mostly inner wing), & copper/flat black/thinner for the rusty bits.
I've decided NOT to make it as dirty-looking as the actual filming miniature and even a tiny bit cleaner than it appears onscreen in the original movie because hey, we WON! The New Republic can afford to send their ships to the car wash now post ROTJ.
And YES, I'm leaving R2 & the canopy for last. I need an actual day off work for those...

 

[mach7]

Thanks for the auction photo!
You can't get any more "screen accurate" than that!

 

[Chrisisall]

You can't get any more "screen accurate" than that!

No, but I can't help but wonder why they didn't bother accurizing them just a little bit to the studio models THEY created... maybe for background/perspective shots they knew no one would see the difference in...
Which brings me me to this: I have pictures of the Red 5 studio model & it would be SO simple to just duplicate what I see there, but I don't want a duplication of a studio model; I want what I see onscreen. Therein lies the art of interpreting what you see, what you think you see, what you have hard data (photos) of, & how to combine all of that to make your model into a visually pleasing representation of your experience with the films...
Still working on mine...