DONE +++ 1:50 Star Wars 'TIE/E' Escort Fighter (pics @ p.7)

[Dizzyfugu]

Well, I'll open the project list with my definitive entry - mostly to motivate myself to finally tackle it, since the parts have been laying around here for years (20+, I guess), and this might be THE occasion to get things done. 

This will be a TIE fighter variation from the Star Wars universe - actually a heavy modification of the MPC TIE Interceptor (which seems to be more or less 1:43 - 1:48 scale?), turned into something heavier, bigger - maybe an escort fighter.

[Jesse220]

This I like 

[loupgarou]

Do you mean a scale-o-rama to something reasonable like 1/96  or inflating it ?

[Dizzyfugu]

"Only" a modification in the original (whatever) scale. The TIE Interceptor will grow, and AFAIK the design I have in mind is somewhat similar to a "real" variant, seen (totally shocked!) yesterday on TV in the SW Rebels animation series. However, I will pull it through. It's one of those few zombie kits that lurk in the pile and never get finished (or even started), the Force has to be strong in this case.

[Dizzyfugu]

No progress here, yet. It will take some time (and maybe some other models in the meantime) until things start to materialize here - among others I am still looking for some donor parts.
In the meantime I did some legwork, since I wanted to find out more about the TIE design that I have recently seen. It seems to be the TIE/D Defender:




Now I am a bit stuck between a rock and a hard place: Do I create a TIE Defender, and/or is my idea different enough? 
The donor parts from the TIE Interceptor are different, though, and the heavier escort fighter idea persists - maybe as a two-seater, or a pilot plus an astromech? Still a lot of time for plans...

[nighthunter]

Continue on, Thomas, the Force is strong with this build

[Dizzyfugu]

No real progress yet, but some parts - optional struts for the three panels - arrived, and I might have an idea for a two-seater solution.

[jalles]

I'm really looking forward to this, I love tie fighter kit bashes!

[Dizzyfugu]

Again, no real progress yet, but first piccies. First, the obligatory box shot:

Something whiffy for a SF Group Build by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Then the aforementioned, potential donor parts which might end up as new, more streamlined pylons for the outer panels:

Something whiffy for a SF Group Build by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Hard to tell, but these are actually (three) resin walls/barricades for tabletop games like Warhammer:



Their size and shape just suits the TIE lines well, and they should make a good design step away from the original, so that it will not be a major re-arrangement of the OOB parts but rather "something else".

More to come soon, still digging for fuselage donor parts. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Digging revealed a suitable new donor candidate for the cockpit. Instead of using the TIE Interceptor's singles seat "ball" I might rather use the cockpit section if this item here:



It's a prize which I had won in a former GB competition at a German SF forum, a pre-painted snap-fit kit. Pretty toy-like and solid, and actually in ~1:32 scale, bigger than my ~1:50 build. But I think that I can place two 1:48 figures in tandem under the clear hood, and use the kit's cockpit section. It also has the characteristic "spider web" window, so that some family heritage remains, and with some additional framing in the canopy it should become a suitable new cockpit section? Still need something for the rear fuselage, though... 

[Dizzyfugu]

Things started moving, first plastic has been cut. It's Friday and I motivated myself to tackle the cockpit. The plan to use the 1:32 Jedi Starfighter and implant the two 1:50 TIE Interceptor cockpits works! I will place both in tandem, staggered - pilot in front with good all-round view, behind and considerably higher a WSO. Lots of space inside, the arrangement looks good - at least when dry-fitted.

Anyway, other issues arose. I should have two pilot figures from the MPC kits, but only one turned up... The scale is not my usual turf, so that donor parts and esp. figures are rare here. But I am in so far lucky that I have found a vintage 1:48 scale driver, left over from a 1:48/1/72 hovercraft set from Takara, from the Dougram anime TV series. Never thought I's use it, but the pose is good for my purposes and the size difference is marginal. Phew!

The figure is currently undergoing an oven cleaner bath to get rid of the 30 year old enamal crust, but until I can deal with the crew the cockpit interior will need much more attention.

[ChernayaAkula]

<...>I will place both in tandem, staggered - pilot in front with good all-round view, behind and considerably higher a WSO. Lots of space inside, the arrangement looks good - at least when dry-fitted. <...>

Sounds good! Much more sensible than the actual Jedi starfighter's cockpit layout, I think.

[Dizzyfugu]

The Jedi Starfighter is a joke - one of the physical proofs that the 1st Episode was not a movie, but rather a visuals presentation board for merchandising. With the change in scale for my build the parts are pretty useable (pics pending...), I guess the result will be in the weight class of an Y-Wing Fighter. Currently trying to fill the gaps between the easter-egg shaped hull and the ex TIE Interceptor cockpit tubs. I might also have found a donor part for the rear fuselage, a water hose adapter!

[Dizzyfugu]

So, before the crowd goes wild ("This post is pointless without pics!!!") I'll add some visual documentation.

First of all, the crew. The all-white figure is OOB from the TIE Interceptor must be 1:50, and it does not really look like a TIE pilot? The other one is 1:48 and comes from the Dougram hovercraft set (Takara ), still with the original paint I applied in the mid Eighties (for a winter livery, Revell boxed the set as "Snow Patrol", IIRC). Both do not really look very "Imperial" or menacing, but that's all I have and I do not want to spend a fortune and time in figures - the canopy will be closed later, after all, and having a crew on board will be enough for my taste.

1:50 TIE/E Escort Fighter (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Then the 1:32 Jedi Starfighter - a toylike, snap-fit kit, and a waste nightmare because EVERY sprue has been  packed in its own, separate plastic bag! Revell should turn away in shame from this anachronistic practice, horrible.

1:50 TIE/E Escort Fighter (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Anyway, parts from the kit now find a new and good use:

1:50 TIE/E Escort Fighter (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


This here is basically my plan for the cockpit:

1:50 TIE/E Escort Fighter (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


In order to mount a dashboard for the WSO and add some structure to the compartment, I added a bulkhead piece from the TIE Interceptor; note the gaps betwwenn the Jedi Starfighter hull and the cockpit tubs, these will cause some serious work:

1:50 TIE/E Escort Fighter (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:50 TIE/E Escort Fighter (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The arrangement works surprisingly well with the OOB canopy; I will probably glue it to the hull later, and add some more struts. I will also add separate hatches for both compartments, but that's still WiP:

1:50 TIE/E Escort Fighter (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:50 TIE/E Escort Fighter (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


So much for now. 

[Dizzyfugu]

More impressions from the cockpit section. The pilot's position is perfect!

1:50 &quot;TIE/E&quot; Escort Fighter (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Meanwhile, work on the interior goes on and only makes slow progress (also because I have been occupied otherwise); I filled the gaps with painter's putty, a relatively stiff but soft material (normally used to fill dents and notches on furniture). Once dry, the material is hard to sand - it cloggs in any sand paper or file, how much water you might use - but it can be carved like balsa wood. And with the complex interior shapes and the poor accessability of the cockpit, it's probably the best method? Looks messy, though, and it actually is... 

1:50 &quot;TIE/E&quot; Escort Fighter (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Now for something completely different: a quiz! What do you see here?

1:50 &quot;TIE/E&quot; Escort Fighter (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Some might see a prosaic water hose adapter, but I see a P-sz9.8 triple ion engine with the base for the three sun collector panels... 

...and after some mods, it fits nicely behind the cockpit egg:

1:50 &quot;TIE/E&quot; Escort Fighter (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:50 &quot;TIE/E&quot; Escort Fighter (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:50 &quot;TIE/E&quot; Escort Fighter (Whif/kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The interior also already made some progress in the meantime, as you can see, but still needs a lot of attention. 
I also wonder in which color the cockpit should be painted?