1/32 scale SNOWSPEEDER

[Brokeneagle]

Hello again,
i thought it may be time to post an old model I did - Monogram 1/32 Snowspeeder.I don't think that I have posted this build in the past so I hope you enjoy the read, even though it's over 10 years old now.

This is a late 1980's or early 1990's Monogram kit that has many fit issues but has some nice surface detail.
Most of the putty was needed underneath and along the leading edges......anyway it was fun even with all it's problems.
The top to bottom fit needed a lot of modifications as did the side laser box mounts - they just didn't want to sit against a flat surface.
Anyway here is a oldie but a favourite of mine that I have not posted here.

The rear top hatches open on hinges and it comes with 2 figures. The figures are horrible but once hidden behind the canopy are reasonable. The cockpit itself is super basic so I added i few wires to 'spruce it up'but not a lot.

I added some extra wires to the cockpit.

I stippled the grey watercolor with an old brush to try to get a basic mottled surface and break -up the boredom. I added a little red here and there as well. As I said, i was keeping the cockpit pretty basic

The paint isn't great but it will do for these gorillas.

....and inside the rear hatches as well.

To be continued.............

 

[moon puppy]

Neat!

 

[iambrb]

COOL!

 

[Brokeneagle]

PAINT AND BATTLE DAMAGE

Next up was the body work. I needed to add some battle damage in the form of scouring and laser strikes so the Dremel came out off I went. I needed to be careful as I didn't want it to be over the top but still look like a used machine.

Now I realise that I was brutal with the Dremel but not heavy handed. This model certainly needed some personality to liven it up from its drab white exterior. You can also see the large amounts of putty used under the laser boxes to fill the gaps!

Time for some grey undercoat - Tamiya German grey

The grey was down so now I needed to think about how I was going to build the white.
*note: You can approach this kind of finish from 2 different directions
1. Start with a solid white and work backwards bringing in the shadows and stains gradually, using the white base for contrast or...
2. Start with the dark base and work the shadows in with ghost coats(airbrush) of geys and off whites until you reach the final coat.
I chose the second method as this is my usual way of working using the existing panel lines to get light variations etc without going to far so that it stays fairly random for this subject anyway.

It was time now to lay down a light white with the airbrush - Tamiya flat white acrylic.
I then masked off the red stripes after painting in some MASKOL to chip away the paint later. Now days there are products that allow you to get this effect without maskol but at this time this was all I had(2008).

Only a little weathering added as now I will flip to the detail phase and start introducing oil paints, pigments and washes. - so far it's all been Acrylics.

 

[moon puppy]

Looks like it's ready for it's close up Mr Lucas.

 

[lupanzer]

Small details that make the difference...excelent painting job, as always

Luiz

 

[Iron Mike]

That is really taking shape. I like the extras you have done.

 

[razordws]

Great paint job!

 

[phantom II]

Wow , you have the ability to make everything look cool

Cheers, Christian B)

 

[Brokeneagle]

Thanks MP, Luiz, Mike, Dave and Christian for following and commenting.

The final stage is up next!

 

[Brokeneagle]

The Final Stage - Detail painting and weathering.

Well here we are at the end, the model at the end of the last post was 80% done and ready for the final touches that bring a flat model to life. As you can see below the model has all the paint required but it is not finished. When I get to this stage I still look at the model and know that it needs quite a bit more work before I am happy to say it's finished.
The main factor is character, which this model has only a little of at the moment. When i look at it is does not excite me visually so I know i need to go a little further and breath some life into it so it becomes just a little more than a plastic with paint.

Between the two photos I have done exstensive work on the panel lines, laser strikes, heat burn and general wear and tear like chipping and fading.
[This one is a little long in the tooth now so please allow for that as my finish now would be better than this].
I applied white oil paint to bring up the last layer of white, using the paint sparingly so the coat was very thin and not applied evenly everywhere. I also used a thinned medium grey color for marks and chips on the surface of the white, as well as pigments for the burnt colors. Underneath was left fairly simple with airbrush acrylic work only.
*Note - This one is about to go up for sale online as a collectible piece if anyone is interested here on MA before it goes public. Just email if you are interested or have any questions.

As you can see the pilots are well hideden within the tight cockpit so are worth spending a little time to include them.

You can see here that at 1/32 scale it builds up to a nice size.

I hope you enjoyed this post and got some useful information. Please feel free to ask me any questions on techniques etc.

Ian.

 

[moon puppy]

Outstanding job Ian.

 

[Heavens Eagle]

That is a very nicely detailed Snowspeeder Ian. I hope my giant Falcon looks as good.

 

[lupanzer]

Fantastic weathering job!....

Luiz

 

[Brokeneagle]

Thanks MP, HE and Luiz.
Glad you like it!

 

[Skinny_Mike]

Very cool! Love the weathering.

 

[jknaus]

Very cool Ian
James

 

[Brokeneagle]

:Hiay
Thanks Mike and James

Ian.