1:50 B-Wing Fighter

[Tirick]

I'm may not be terribly focused, but rarely do I sit idle, and rarely do I have less than a 1/2 dozen projects on the go at one time or another. While waiting for my muse to kick in with other projects, I've started a new one; as the title suggests, a 1:50 scale B-Wing fighter from Star Wars. I'm not too far into it, and I imagine the model alone with take the better part of several months, but progress threads are fun to watch, so I thought I'd share this one. I've attempted several projects this large before, but have yet to complete one. I think now I have enough experience to give it a solid shot at the least.

This will be quite a large build, despite the moderate scale. The fighter is reportedly almost 17 m long, so once built this will stand at about 30-32 cm in length. I'm planning several elements into her; detailed cockpit (with pilot), opening canopy, rotating gyro-mounted cockpit assembly, landing gear, and opening/closing S-foils.

As you can see, I've the cockpit gyro-mount mostly modeled, although I have to model the hinges for the canopy yet. The assembly as shown will be a little over 10 cm long, and I have a number of detailing elements to add yet.

Enjoy!
Sean

[nothing]

splended! we are in need of a decent model of this!

[Tirick]

I agree! There are a ton of them out there, but most look to be game rips, and at the scale I want, that's not enough for me to work with.

A quick update; rough in for the engines and cowling. I still have a lot of greeble work to do on the cockpit and the housing (as well as the back covering).

Work flow seems to be fairly smooth so far. Let's see if I can keep this up....

[Tirick]

I've made a little progress, modeled and then remodeled the struts joining the engine to the cockpit and then detailed the engine housing some. In the last pic you can see some of the panel build-up sections that will be added. Hard to see in the render, but they will be laminate panels much like the studio model. I plan to cover most of the wing sections and engine sections in these, to add to the model realism.

Enjoy!
Sean

[Getter 1]

Lookin good :D I can't tell you how long I've wanted a decent model of one of those beasts. All those game rips look good on a screen but when you make em into models they don't look good at all :(

Keep it up.

G1

[sjsquirrel]

Lookin great Tirick!

I have a plastic kit of the B-Wing that I started years ago and never got around to finishing it, and with a paper kit like this available I may never finish it.

Keep up the good work, and we'll be watching...

Steve

[Tirick]

Not much to report; This week has been busy with my 1:50 Rebel Pilots (of which a B-Wing will eventually be added). I've finished the basic curvature of the hinges for the canopy, although I am not happy with the overall shape of the mesh, and I need to rework it. I've also finished the panel rough in on the connecting wing frame and the cockpit reinforcements. As all four sets have minor but distinct cutaway differences, I have to adjust them individually. I've begin to model the 'pods' on the sides of the engine, although I need to conceive and model the braces joining them to the wing frame. These pods will also have laminate panels (most of the ship is covered in raised panel sections). I also added, upon consideration 72 panels to represent the gear 'teeth' on the cockpit pod.

Vert count(thus far): 8500

Enjoy!
Sean

[legion]

Will there be optional parts for the 2 seater version?

[Tirick]

No, I'm afraid. There is honestly no room behind the pilot for anything other than mechanism. A two-seater would require a longer nose, and I suspect it was just conceit on the author's part in an attempt to include an existing fighter in the text. KJA was never on my list of favorite SW writers.

It might be possible, but I am not intending to include an option.

Sean

[Tirick]

Brief update:

I took the problem of the hinge form to some of my design engineering friends and came up with a final solution; good or bad, right or wrong, its what I'm going with. Feel free to modify your own once the release is out.

We took a look at the long braces on the sides of the canopy and tried to image what purpose they served. They really are in the bloody way, at about 20 degrees into the FOV for the pilot, and they are wide, long, seemingly purposeless braces. What my friend posed is the question: what if they were not part of the canopy, but rather part of the frame? The idea, to me, was a stunning realization. If it is so, it opens the canopy motion up to a much more confined hinge, and explains the purpose for the bar (which I had always wondered at). It also limits the potential binding at the corners of the forward openings, which are really acute angles on the curvature. The angle shown is a 110 deg rotation, which is more than sufficient to allow the pilot climb clearance.

I know, no canonical support that the bridges are divided, but hell, there is no canonical support for the canopy even opening, or support for the notion that there is even transparisteel protecting the pilot. All other fighter/ship models have obvious clear coverings as an integral part of the canopy: except this one!

Enjoy!
Sean