First model I've built in over 17 yrs - Fine Molds TIE fighter

Thanks, guys!

It is good to be back in the hobby.  But I have a much different approach than when I left.  Back in those days, I could knock out 2 models in a weekend, start to finish.  Nowadays, it could take an entire weekend just to dry fit one sub-assembly.  I guess I accidentally learned patience somewhere along the way

-Fred

Hey,

  Very nice build there. Welcome back to the hobby, I myself took 10 years off been back a couple months and luvin it.

Guido

I think it looks great.  Isn't it fun to get back to something you've been away from for so long?  It is like riding a bike again; it is familiar and feels so good to know you haven't forgotten how to do it.  Don't ride a bike with a model in your hand.  Its fun, isn't it?  Making the model, that is.

Thanks, HSF!

I love the job you did on the falcon.  I'm quite envious.  I was planning on doing that one myself, but after dealing with the small parts in the TIE and seeing that there are over 800 parts in the falcon, I've decided to hold off for a while

-Fred

Very, Very nice build sir! FineMolds Star Wars line is my favorite Sci Fi kits. I built two Tie's Gave one to my 9 year old son,(whom I am getting into modeling) 1 x-Wing and the Tie Interceptor. Fantastic kits. Anyhow, again great job on your build up!!!

High Regards.

Hey Mike,

The hull color depends on which version of the TIE you're building.  If it's ANH, it's light grey (gunze sangyo 338) which I think is Tamiya XF-63.

If you're doing ESB or ROTJ, then it's a weird, custom shade of blue (I think the original was a blue by pactra).  But here's what I did; first I made a custom mix that 95% white and 5% medium blue.  I sprayed that down as a base.  Once that was completely dry (about 48hrs), I made a custom mix of medium blue and thinner.  The mix was about 80% thinner and 20% color.  I airbrushed this on at a low PSI in very light coats.  I was basically trying to tint the bottom coat.  I let it dry and there you have it.

-Fred

actually there are some Tamiya paint references one of which is Tamiya's German Gray which is the dark gray areas on the ship including the front View port. Though I still couldn't figure out what the hull color was?

 As I said before I have both kits of the Eyeball (TIE Fighter)and the Squint (TIE Interceptor) and both do look to be in scale with the AMT B-wing fighter or at least close enough.

Thanks guys!

DesertRat,  It's a fairly easy build as there are only a dozen parts or so.  There are two problems, though.  The first problem is the size.  Some parts are so dang tiny that they're hard to work with.  Most of the parts, I painted while they were still on the sprue and touched them up after they were attached to the model.  The second problem is that all the directions are in japanese (and the paint codes are for gunze sangyo - a headache if you use testors or tamiya)

Plus, you still face the same build issues as a larger model, i.e. gap filling, waiting for the glue or paint to dry and decals.  Only these are on a much smaller scale.  The imperial decals on the TIE pilot are the size of a pin head.  I almost didn't bother with them.  Same with some of the smaller decals on the ship itself.  They're so tiny, you almost can't see them.

I'd say it's really good practice for working with small parts.  You can fine tune your skills with these tiny models.  I have an FM x-wing sitting in the box next to my work area, but I'm going to build a larger model first before I get back to it.  I'd like to build a model I can actually see.

-Fred