{"id":1769,"date":"2007-03-13T06:35:34","date_gmt":"2007-03-13T14:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fichtenfoo.net\/blog\/?p=1769"},"modified":"2009-02-12T16:19:24","modified_gmt":"2009-02-13T00:19:24","slug":"in-progress-%c2%bb-slave-1-boba-fetts-customized-version","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fichtenfoo.net\/blog\/in-progress-%c2%bb-slave-1-boba-fetts-customized-version\/","title":{"rendered":"In Progress \u00c2\u00bb Slave 1 – Boba Fett’s Customized Version"},"content":{"rendered":"

02.20.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Concepts\/Initial
\nProgress<\/p>\n

This is a bit odd… see, I’ve been a huge Star
\nWars fan since I was a kid and this is the FIRST Star Wars
\nkit I’ve ever built. Kinda weird to me, but I’ve turned to
\nthe dark side and purchased a Fine Molds Boba Fett’s Slave
\n1 (FMS1) from a friend for a really<\/em> great price.
\nI received the kit a week or 2 ago and really wasn’t planning
\non starting it just yet. But after opening the box and seeing
\nhow big and cool this thing is I of course started planning,
\ncutting, sanding and more.<\/p>\n

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My first step was to scour the interweb and
\nbugged friends for all kinds of reference from the movies
\nand pics of the studio models. I unfortunately didn’t have
\nmuch luck. I found a few great studio model pics and FMS1
\nbuild-ups at StarShip Modeler, but not enough for my tastes.
\nSome of the links I was sent showed promise… but they were
\nlong dead. If anyone out there has some great reference of
\nthe Slave 1 I’d really appreciate it!<\/p>\n

I knew I wanted to light this thing up from
\nthe start, but there was one big obstacle.. the long thruster
\nassembly on the underside was not molded in clear like the
\nround thrusters. Fortunately while searching for S1 references
\nI came across a Japanese
\nbuild<\/a> that showed a simple way to make a mold of that
\nlong thruster part and cast the thrusters in clear. I’ve never
\ncasted anything before, but my friend Fulcy gave me a few
\nlessons a while back and hooked me up with a link to a Super
\nSilicone Sampler<\/a> from Smooth-on for only $25. This came
\nwith Mold Rubber, Resin, and the release\/sealing sprays. This
\nis a great package for me since you get a lot for a little
\n$$$, the resin and rubber are both equal A-B mixes by volume
\n(not weight), and there’s tons of instructional material packed
\nwith it.<\/p>\n

I didn’t have clear resin however… for that
\nI made a trip to Michael’s Crafts and used the almighty %40
\nand %50 off coupons! I picked up some Castin’ Craft Clear
\nResin and the Catalyst (sold separately). Let me warn you…
\nthis stuff STINKS! Very nasty stuff… smells like Bondo,
\nbut slightly stronger. Make sure you use adequate ventilation.
\nThank goodness for my spraybooth! Also make sure what when
\nmixing\/curing the rubber and resins you have 70 degree or
\nabove temps… colder temps slow the cure time. I made my
\nmold and casted my first set of lights today and I must say
\nit’s not bad for a first cast! I want to do a few more as
\nthe base on this first one is a little thick (I just need
\nthe raised parts) from pouring too much resin.<\/p>\n

Aside from the lighting, I have one more function
\nI’m adding to the S1 and that’s a servo to move the stabilizers
\nand guns. I used a small servo motor and a crank system similar
\nto the one I am using on my Ornithopter<\/a>.
\nWith the flick of a switch, the stabilizers and guns will
\nrotate back and forth 90 degrees.<\/p>\n

Paint-wise I’ll be going stock of course and
\ntrying to match the studio and FM color sheet model (see above).
\nI’ll be making some slight changes as I feel the FM pics are
\ntoo green… I might lighten\/desaturate that a little. I imagine
\nthat the studio model was painted a little darker since it
\nwould appear lighter on film. Anyway, enough babbling… here’s
\nsome pics of the build. The first is an MG Gundam to show
\nthe size of this thing.<\/p>\n

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02.25.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Concepts\/Initial
\nProgress<\/p>\n

So far I’ve managed to do most of the wiring
\nexcept for the actual LEDs since they haven’t arrived yet.
\nI used the 4060 chip with a variable resistor tweaked up to
\nflash\/pulse\/strobe the LEDs to simulate engine burn. This
\nlooks much better than just a solid static light. The strobe
\nis *almost* imperceptible which is what I wanted and can be
\nchanged by taking a screwdriver and turning the dial on the
\nresistor. The resistor will be accessible right next to the
\non off switches under a panel on the underside. The battery
\nslides up into the hull via a hole under the radar dish dealie
\nwhose correct term escapes me at the moment. The white styrene
\nparts keep the battery and wires away from the servo arm that
\nturns the stabilizers.<\/p>\n

After I was satisfied that my mold was working
\nI cut out the inside of the long thruster. I cleaned up the
\nedges and added a sheet of styrene to the bottom with slots
\ncut to allow the light to shine through from below and light
\nthe clear parts. Here’s some pics:<\/p>\n

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03.01.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Painting The Hull<\/p>\n

Next up is beginning to paint. At this stage
\nI decided to change the background paper color of my photos
\nsince the green of the paper blended too much with the green
\nof the Slave 1. First I primed all the parts. For the upper
\nand lower hull, I used a mixture of Tamiya deck tan + cockpit
\ngreen. It looks light in the first 2 pics but as you’ll see
\nit darkened after a clear-coat. I gave it a clearcoat of gloss
\nfuture floor arylic to make a smoother base in which to remove
\nthe masking fluid for the chips.<\/p>\n

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Next I took a few small pieces of ripped cheap
\ndollar-store sponge and applied the Windsor Newton masking
\nfluid. This is to mask off the darker undercolor for the large
\namount of paint chips this vehicle has. The stuff dries clear
\nso it was pointless to take pics. When dry I airbrushed on
\nthe same color I used as the hull base mixed with white to
\nlighten it. I wore latex gloves when rubbing off the masking
\nfluid since the rubber of the gloves catches the latex mask
\nand makes removing it much easier. You can see in the pics
\nbelow the results.<\/p>\n

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I painted the light gray (almost white) parts
\nwith a mixture of Neutral Gray and Flat White Tamiya. It was
\na little darker than I wanted so I sprayed a lighter coat
\nover it, but used this opportunito to spray some faint streaks
\nfor weathering purposes. The kit comes with decals for the
\nyellor chips, but I decided to just hand-paint them. They
\nlook the same and was far easier\/quicker than using decals.
\nThe good part about the decals is that they were good for
\nreference as to how to paint the yellow!<\/p>\n

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03.02.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Hully Gee!<\/p>\n

Last night I managed to paint the red and gray
\nof the lower hull. First I used the masking fluid (see above)
\nso mask off all the chips. Then I painted the “stripes”
\non the frons and back with German Gray Tamiya. I also did
\nsome slight pre-shading knowing that Tamiya red is not the
\nmost opaque of colors. For the hull red I mixed Tamiya Red,
\nBrown and some Blue. I used tape to mask off the gray portions
\nthen sprayed on the hull red. Since the red is a more delicate
\npaint for whatever reason, before removing the mask I gave
\nit another thin coat of Future to protect it. Then using an
\neraser this time, since the future made the masking a little
\nharder to catch an edge of to remove, I removed the masking.
\nStill pretty easy to lift the mask though and only took all
\nof 5 minutes to remove. Below are some pics. Next up is the
\ndark parts of the stripes and the darker greens of the upper
\nhull.<\/p>\n

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03.03.2007 \u00c2\u00bb More Greens and Weird
\nAsymmetry<\/p>\n

Next up in the painting stage is the darker
\ngreen parts. These are on the two sides above the stabilizer
\nand on the top of the hull. What’s odd in the studio model
\nis that one side and top is plain green with the light gray-green
\npaint chips. The other is dark green with no chips, but with
\nlighter spashes instead. It’s an odd asymmetry, but kinda
\ncool as well. To paint the spashed green part I first painted
\nthat portion with the lighter green. Using a toothbrush I
\nspattered that lighter dark green with the liquid mask. Then
\nI sprayed all the dark green parts with the dark green mix
\nand removed the masks. The paint chips were painted and sponged
\nonto the top and solid-colored side. I also gave the parts
\na clear-coat of FFA to seal it and prepare the surface for
\nsome of the kit-supplied decals. I also have the painting
\nfor the bottom of the ship done. I still need to paint on
\nthe pinkish parts of the red hull as well as some minor touch-ups.
\nI can’t wait to get the painting done to get started on the
\nweathering.<\/p>\n

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03.04.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Boba and Boosters<\/p>\n

This weekend I also painted the boosters and
\nBoba Fett for the pilot seat. Boba is pretty small being 1\/72
\nscale, but was fun to paint. Based on the studio model shots,
\nthere were some greenish chips on the black portions of the
\ncockpit and color on the controls. I’ll add a little more
\nsubtle color variations to the detail behind Fett later to
\nmake that less bland. The boosters in the Studio shots are
\na coppery color with greyish yellow chips. I painted those
\nparts the copper color first then added the yellows with a
\nsponge afterwards. I painted the insides of the boosters with
\naluminum to reflect the light from the LEDs… again, same
\nas the studio model. LOL! Here’s the pics:<\/p>\n

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03.06.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Grimey<\/p>\n

Now is the fun part… the weathering! First
\nI gave all the parts a satin coat of FFA. Then when cured
\nI applied a few filters and a dark sandy colored oil wash
\nto everything. Once that was completed I could move onto the
\nmore detailed weathering. This is done with various gray and
\ngray-brown washes and oils. Instead of doing the discoloration
\nstep, I’ve combined it with washes streaking, and more…
\nall oils. I’m very pleased with the results so far. Below
\nis a pic. I’ll be adding some pigment dust and a flat-coat
\nlater. The large hole under the radar dish is for the 9 volt
\nbattery that will power the lights and motor. It attaches
\nmagnetically.<\/p>\n

On a related note, I’ll be offering
\nthis finished model for sale when completed.<\/strong> Not
\nsure if I’ll just ask for offers or put it onto ebay as I’ve
\nnever sold any of my works before. If you’re interested, please
\ncontact me<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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03.09.2007 \u00c2\u00bb More Grime<\/p>\n

I got some more oil-weathering done this evening.
\nThis session was the stabizer parts. I used the same techniques
\nas described above. You can see in the first image a fully
\nweathered stabilizer next to one that has only had a light
\nfilter and wash. On the image of the arms, I still need to
\nweather the brownish parts. Here’s the pics:<\/p>\n

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03.10.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Upper Hull Weathering<\/p>\n

Today I worked on the upper hull weathering
\nI was a bit nervous about starting this part as it’s a HUGE
\nmostly level area to weather. However after a few small sections
\nI got the hang of it and finished it up. I also weathered
\nthe guns. Later I’ll add some gunmetal and black smoke pigments
\nto them. I’ll also add some black smoke pigment to some of
\nthe damage areas such as the area around the green panels
\non the one side and the blaster marks on the other. I also
\nsoldered the connecting wires for the LEDs for the long booster.
\nHere’s the pics:<\/p>\n

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03.10.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Lower Hull Weathering<\/p>\n

I got the lower portion of the hull weathered
\nas well. Now I just need to detail\/slightly weather the interior
\nand weather the thrusters. Then I can give everything a flat-coat.
\nThis will even out all the various sheens from the oils, thinners,
\nand whatnot. Here’s the pics:<\/p>\n

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03.11.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Lighting Test<\/p>\n

Here’s my first shot of the lighting. One of
\nthe 2 shots was taken in near darkness while the other was
\nwith a few of my normal photo-lights off. Tomorrow I’ll finish
\nsetting up the long thruster then test and take images of
\nthat one. After the lighting and servo stuff is done and I
\nclose that up I’ll finish up the weathering on the outside
\nwith the pigment powders.<\/p>\n

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03.13.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Almost Done!<\/p>\n

I’m almost done with the Slave 1! <\/strong>The
\nonly steps I have left to do are to weather it a bit in just
\na few spots with some pigment powders, attach the guns, and
\ngleu the base together. The base has been painted in a satin
\nblack. Looks very nice that way. I finished up the wiring
\nfor the lights. I also put some white LED lights in the cockpit.
\nThey reflect off of some foil stickers on the inside of the
\nhull and shine through some grill-holes above Boba’s head.
\nThe clear parts I cast for the long thruster were glued into
\nplace as well. The only problem I had when putting it together
\nwas with the servo. I had hoped to make both the stabilizers
\nand guns pivot. Unforunately the servo just didn’t have the
\nnecessary torque to move the stabilizers. It does move the
\nguns though so that’s cool. I wasn’t sure if I liked the moving
\nstabilizers anyway so that part not working didn’t bother
\nme. It looks great all lit up though. I also painted the small
\nmetal Han Solo frozen in carbonite that came with the kit.
\nHe was painted in German gray, had black washes applied, the
\nwas rubbed with Mig gunmetal pigment. Here’s some pics.<\/p>\n

Expect final images then the auction
\n(unless I get a great offer) by this weekend.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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This Finished Kit is For Sale!<\/p>\n

I am selling this finished Fine Molds Slave 1 – Boba Fett’s Customized Version.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Sold!
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Handcrafted by Michael Fichtenmayer, this beautiful Fine
\nMolds<\/em> kit has been masterfully painted and modified with
\nlight up thrusters and cockpit. Paint colors and placement
\nwere based off of those used on the original Studio Model
\nused for filming Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back. The finished
\npiece has been weathered to have more of a used and realistic
\nappearance. Display stand, seated figure of Boba Fett and
\npainted metal Han Solo frozen in carbonite included.<\/p>\n

The Slave 1’s thrusters and cockpit are lit
\nusing LEDs. This means no bulb heat to warp the model and
\na VERY long bulb life. LEDs used in a model last almost forever!
\nThe lights are powered by a replacable 9 volt battery hidden
\nbeneath the radar dish. A small switch is hidden beneath a
\nmagnetically attached panel on the underside.<\/p>\n

While I have had numerous requests for commissioned
\nmodels, this will be the first finished kit I have ever put
\nup for sale. Thanks for looking!<\/p>\n

$430 USD or best offer.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Includes US shipping, handling and insurance.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n