Hi everyone,
I posted this a while back in the Scratchbuild section, so I hope you don't mind me reposting it here (I noticed it wasn't getting many bites). My apologies if this seems obnoxious, but I'm always open to crits and suggestions. Anyway, here goes...
Saber-Dart Starfighter
Conceptual Design Sketches:
Very much derivative of the Y-Wing, Snowspeeder, and one of Warren Fu's unused Jedi Starfighter concepts, I came up with this very simple design profile. The name is of course stolen from Episode II, and I think it fits the design pretty well.
Basic construction:
C0ckpit Details:
Puttied and sanded basic form (before detailing)
Landing skids and bottom hull greeblie-cation:
Pontoon/auxillary engine/laser cannon detailing:
"Sandwich" filler detailing (back of wing):
Astromech Port (classic SW feature):
Detailed and primed:
Spray painted sections and detailing (before weathering):
With the exception of the main engine exhaust behind the fuselage (plumbing parts) everything else is scratch-built...this took a VERY long time to build and detail.
Finished product:
The paint job was done with a basic spray of river rock and burgundy. I took an emery board to the burgundy striping to wear away some of the paint, and did a heavy black/brown wash, which was then wiped away. I added a few knicks here and there, did some spot weathering, and then drybrushed the whole ship with white.
The paint scheme was a tough thing to decide on...I wanted to keep it pretty simple, but I think I could have upped the ante a bit more. As it is, I think the markings are appropriately Star Wars-ish.
The bottom of the ship was given special attention...I usually ignore detailing the bottom, and wanted to reverse that trend of laziness in my work. The idea was to make a ship that could function as a toy, but also have adequate detailing to seem like a production model (I'm not quite there...but I think I'm getting closer).
Interior Cockpit:
Janson seems pretty happy with his ride:
With Artoo in place:
Let me know what you think, and thanks for looking.
I like it. You did a really good job on this one. I guess I need to look at the scratch building section more often.
What's next on your schedule?
Thanks, fellas.
ModelNerd, I think you're definitely right about utilizing kitbashed parts. I tried to achieve the same dense, detailed effect by making homemade greeblies, but my work is still too simplistic and blocky...either I need to take it further, or start looking for good bargains on kits.
ikar01, in terms of what's next, I have a few ideas...one that I'm really excited about is making a Locust concept plane from The Rocketeer comic books, or possibly taking a shot at creating a Ralph McQuarrie/Colin Cantwell vehicle concept from Star Wars. I also want to take a crack at a World War II tank of some kind, and also the Biplane from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. So, lots of ideas...now I just have to realize them
I like your build alot, it sure does look like the Republic has another ship to use against the Forces Of The Darkside. Well done and inspiaring also. I have been shall we say dabbeling with scratch building detail parts for my aircraft builds. I generally hang out in the aircraft section but do sneek over here from time to time Thanks for sharing your build.
glorbes,amazing work as a HUGE Star Wars fan I love it I gotta practice my scratchbuilding skills yours are awsome..
John
What does he Locust look like? I have never seen those novels.
At the moment I'm working on a star freighter that I'm modifying from some blueprints that I got about 30 years ago.
I'm also looking at building a fighter from the wing commander video game.
Thanks for the kind words, everyone. The feedback is much appreciated.
ikar01 wrote:What does he Locust look like? I have never seen those novels.
This is the best picture I could find online (my comics are packed up at the moment...I'm in the middle of a move):
It's very strange looking...but I love the design. Not sure how I'm going to do it (in fact, I may start a thread in the aviation section to get some ideas going).
Your potential build projects sound pretty cool!