1/48 B-Wing Scratch Build
- Thread starter rbeach84
- Start date
rbeach84
Sr Member
I agree with you, "B" did a nice job on his B-Wing. I can't wait to see some parts, too! ;^PNice work on the little b-wing there! And amazing research and drawings in this thread. Can wait to see some parts.
I feel like I'm eating an elephant, btw.
Regards, Robert
PS: Blakeh1, that is my plan to create the ribbed section using the stack method. Since the shapes on top actually sit between the ribs, I think I can incorporate 'em using templates (sort of a manual 'slice print'.) The thickness of the sections will probably be quite thin, just hope I can find the right plastic stock, otherwise it will be paper...
rbeach84
Sr Member
Saw an interesting post by MonsieurTox in Studio Scale Modeling via his AT-AT thread (click HERE) and this made me wonder, so this is for Julien:
Greetings, Julien!
My question relates to the position of the armature within the engine 'box'. Putting together my 2D drawings, I placed the mount access hatches on the top and bottom in what I believed to be the correct location, but then the result was the exposed vertical armature mount tube location was incorrect compared to pictures. However, when I moved it by a radius distance it fell to the correct location in the hatch opening. I've accepted that this assumption might be correct or incorrect as I've nothing to show what the 'naked' armature looks like but it still presents me a puzzle. My primary assumption was the long tube's location connecting the mount openings in the crew pod and the main wing 'weapons' pod was correct and hence everything else is based on that starting point.
That said, short version is there perchance direct evidence of the configuration of the central 'star' in the engine box? I like your version better but it also means I've got some stuff to redo if confirmed...
Thanks and Regards, Robert
Update ------------------------------------------------------------
Being aware of this possible discrepancy, I did a bit of manual 'photo-metric' analysis using an almost direct side-view of the 'Blue' B-Wing and found minor adjustment of the fore & aft position of the horizontal armature tube allowed things to line up much better, such that my plan now looks like this:
Greetings, Julien!
My question relates to the position of the armature within the engine 'box'. Putting together my 2D drawings, I placed the mount access hatches on the top and bottom in what I believed to be the correct location, but then the result was the exposed vertical armature mount tube location was incorrect compared to pictures. However, when I moved it by a radius distance it fell to the correct location in the hatch opening. I've accepted that this assumption might be correct or incorrect as I've nothing to show what the 'naked' armature looks like but it still presents me a puzzle. My primary assumption was the long tube's location connecting the mount openings in the crew pod and the main wing 'weapons' pod was correct and hence everything else is based on that starting point.
That said, short version is there perchance direct evidence of the configuration of the central 'star' in the engine box? I like your version better but it also means I've got some stuff to redo if confirmed...
Thanks and Regards, Robert
Update ------------------------------------------------------------
Being aware of this possible discrepancy, I did a bit of manual 'photo-metric' analysis using an almost direct side-view of the 'Blue' B-Wing and found minor adjustment of the fore & aft position of the horizontal armature tube allowed things to line up much better, such that my plan now looks like this:
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rbeach84
Sr Member
So, I've incorporated the tweaks that are indicated by the armature configuration highlighted by Julien, plus applied some details to the crew pod, as seen below:
This was all done 'by Mk.I eyeball' and photo analysis, so hopefully it is reasonably correct to the studio models. I can say the Leopard track is accurately sized, so that portion at least is solid. The cut-outs in the cockpit shell were developed using cross-sections and angular displacements to determine the intersection points and should be pretty accurate. The biggest assumption relates to the profile of the shell itself, which was sketched over an image, but the image was a bit blurry yet used because it was the one with the least amount of distortion.
I ended up reducing the size (ie, the diameter) of my AMT Saturn V segment by quite a bit to get this clean result. My drawing may be 'tighter' than the actual studio models, which seem to suffer from a certain amount of 'slop' between the Saturn part and the rotating crew nacelle. This most likely is due to how rotating joints were engineered which has suffered over time. I was wondering how they allowed for the armature tube running through the center. Obviously, the crew nacelle couldn't rotate if it had a solid connecting axle or tube running through the Saturn segment. Perhaps there were 'windows' cut into a connecting tube to allow access to the armature, as long as the pod was aligned properly. However, the image showing the open Saturn V 'hatch' doesn't show anything indicative of that, so apparently the fore and aft portions of the crew nacelle rotate independently (unless there were actual connecting, synchronizing shafts with gears so turning one half would also turn the other...hmm!)
Since starting this, the two images that were shared of the ILM modelers working on the B-Wings have helped on several points. It was nice to see the two vacuformed halves of the cockpit shell on the workbench, confirming the cockpit wasn't made using a kit part directly but formed over a single buck, then joined and trimmed for the various cutouts.
This is proving to be quite a fun puzzle to work on... ;^D
As always, comments are welcome.
Regards y'all,
Robert
This was all done 'by Mk.I eyeball' and photo analysis, so hopefully it is reasonably correct to the studio models. I can say the Leopard track is accurately sized, so that portion at least is solid. The cut-outs in the cockpit shell were developed using cross-sections and angular displacements to determine the intersection points and should be pretty accurate. The biggest assumption relates to the profile of the shell itself, which was sketched over an image, but the image was a bit blurry yet used because it was the one with the least amount of distortion.
I ended up reducing the size (ie, the diameter) of my AMT Saturn V segment by quite a bit to get this clean result. My drawing may be 'tighter' than the actual studio models, which seem to suffer from a certain amount of 'slop' between the Saturn part and the rotating crew nacelle. This most likely is due to how rotating joints were engineered which has suffered over time. I was wondering how they allowed for the armature tube running through the center. Obviously, the crew nacelle couldn't rotate if it had a solid connecting axle or tube running through the Saturn segment. Perhaps there were 'windows' cut into a connecting tube to allow access to the armature, as long as the pod was aligned properly. However, the image showing the open Saturn V 'hatch' doesn't show anything indicative of that, so apparently the fore and aft portions of the crew nacelle rotate independently (unless there were actual connecting, synchronizing shafts with gears so turning one half would also turn the other...hmm!)
Since starting this, the two images that were shared of the ILM modelers working on the B-Wings have helped on several points. It was nice to see the two vacuformed halves of the cockpit shell on the workbench, confirming the cockpit wasn't made using a kit part directly but formed over a single buck, then joined and trimmed for the various cutouts.
This is proving to be quite a fun puzzle to work on... ;^D
As always, comments are welcome.
Regards y'all,
Robert
just for clarity's sake in case there were any misunderstanding, that is the Alfred Wong mastered 1/72 kit. I was just trying to accurize various parts. I built a new cockpit canopy since the resin one was crap and did some things like replace the resin guns with metal ones and replace the engine part etc... I wish I had gone further than I had, but I was afraid of screwing up with too much major overhauls. I'd rather have a less accurate built version than none at all
Although I have been closely following this thread and seeing what I can learn to potentially tackle scratch building my own 1/72. Hopefully being able to find a few downscaled donor kit parts to ease some of the work and get a more accurate model for myself than the Wong mastered one in the end. I'm not striving for 100% accuracy, but something more so in that scale than what is available
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rbeach84
Sr Member
Hmm! Down-scale to 1/72... so, just 'thinking out loud'...
That means each component much be sized at:
32 / 72 = 0.4444 or 44% of the originals, much like for the 1/48, the conversion is:
32 / 48 = 0.6666 or 2/3rds the originals.
Of course, you can directly use 1/72 donors for the 1/32 original parts like the Hornet wings, the F-14 drop tanks...but not much else. The 1/144 scale parts would need to be:
144 / 0.4444 = 324.32. The closest approximation is 1/350 scale, but this is a ~7% difference. Hmm, not too bad. However, this means primarily the Shuttle stack & Saturn V kits, of which I'm not aware of any candidates.
A lot of scratchbuilding would be required, regardless. Any automobile & armor kit donors aren't likely to have anything close unless I'm overlooking something. I suppose 1/76 scale armor might do for 1/35 parts (close to the needed 1/79 scale), but the selection there is rather thin being as most small armor kits are 1/72 scale and mostly for WWII subjects AFAIK.
Other donor scales break down as:
1/12 > 1/27 (1/24/25 is close, but a few ratio 'points' off means more the larger the model)
1/20 > 1/45 (1/43 scale is close)
1/24 > 1/54 (nothing close...)
Regards, Robert
That means each component much be sized at:
32 / 72 = 0.4444 or 44% of the originals, much like for the 1/48, the conversion is:
32 / 48 = 0.6666 or 2/3rds the originals.
Of course, you can directly use 1/72 donors for the 1/32 original parts like the Hornet wings, the F-14 drop tanks...but not much else. The 1/144 scale parts would need to be:
144 / 0.4444 = 324.32. The closest approximation is 1/350 scale, but this is a ~7% difference. Hmm, not too bad. However, this means primarily the Shuttle stack & Saturn V kits, of which I'm not aware of any candidates.
A lot of scratchbuilding would be required, regardless. Any automobile & armor kit donors aren't likely to have anything close unless I'm overlooking something. I suppose 1/76 scale armor might do for 1/35 parts (close to the needed 1/79 scale), but the selection there is rather thin being as most small armor kits are 1/72 scale and mostly for WWII subjects AFAIK.
Other donor scales break down as:
1/12 > 1/27 (1/24/25 is close, but a few ratio 'points' off means more the larger the model)
1/20 > 1/45 (1/43 scale is close)
1/24 > 1/54 (nothing close...)
Regards, Robert
rbeach84
Sr Member
Well, continued tinkering resulted in adjustments to the crew pod cut-outs so I'm pretty confident this is pretty darn close:
I've also been trying to work up some wing profiles, but this has been a process of 'discovery' meaning I'm flailing away until I get it right:
Again, feel free to comment or offer suggestions.
Regards, Robert
I've also been trying to work up some wing profiles, but this has been a process of 'discovery' meaning I'm flailing away until I get it right:
Again, feel free to comment or offer suggestions.
Regards, Robert
darth_daniel
Sr Member
That is some pretty amazing work, especially considering you´re drawing it all in 2D.
rbeach84
Sr Member
Thanks, DD! Mostly, it is like eating an elephant... even an obsessive like myself can do it if done in small batches. Trouble is, I'll keep finding adjustments to existing work as I get into the different details. But that is partly due to creating 'placeholders' in the drawing that must be corrected/fleshed out as I progress down the length of the vehicle.
Plus, gotta look at a LOT of images... ;^P
Regards, Robert
Plus, gotta look at a LOT of images... ;^P
Regards, Robert
rbeach84
Sr Member
Sure thing. Just like the original, need a single 'half' shape buck to make two copies (actually, four (two thick & two thin) plus one clear plastic pull, to allow for the plating and the window portion) to join together for the full shape. Most if not all of the major parts are that way since they are all symmetrical top & bottom halves...
That is why I went ahead and drew out so many cross sections, to help with making the 'buck'.
R/ Robert
rbeach84
Sr Member
Been working on a landing gear concept, roughly based on what was used in the Rebels episode. First is the main gear, which consists of six stubby 'alighting gear' legs under the 'engine box that flip down from wells in the sides of the 'box'. I had to add some small fairings on the small doors over the pivot hinge:
Then there is the 'prop-up' leg under the primary wing; much less complex, though I shall depict it as 'compressed' when retracted.:
Thanks for looking!
Regards, Robert
Then there is the 'prop-up' leg under the primary wing; much less complex, though I shall depict it as 'compressed' when retracted.:
Thanks for looking!
Regards, Robert
rbeach84
Sr Member
You might be less impressed if you could see me in action, Kris! ;^D But thank you anyway...
I've not done much drafting in quite a while, so I'm happy with the results so far; to the point I think I could build a model from my drawings. Looking at the secondary wings segment next, it will be a challenge.
R/ Robert
You're welcome, Robert. The process of getting there isn't always the prettiest, but the end results speak for themselves! With the lack of B-Wing kits available, building one from scratch seems the way to go. I'm slowly getting there, so by the time you finish your's, I'll be skillful enough to use your work as reference. I think I'd want a 1/72 scale version, though. That seems to be what the majority of my collection is anyway.
-Kris
-Kris
rbeach84
Sr Member
Hey, with luck, Bandai will issue a B-Wing in their 1/72 scale series & save you any trouble! ;^)
Here is a bit more of my concept for the pri-wing's landing 'prop':
Regards, Robert
