The latest from the bench. The Bandai 1/72 X-Wing. Not done according to Star Wars canon. I used just about every color of AK metallic I have. Well, four colors: Polished Aluminum, Aluminum, Dark Aluminum, Pale Burnt Metal. The nose and invasion stripes are Tamiya colors. I modified the tips of the “guns” to make them look more menacing, I think. Opinions and constructive criticism always welcome.
Wow! Looks great! Now you need to do a Tie fighter with mottled como and swastikas. Lol.
Awesome build! Those invasion stripes look great! That natural metal work looks flawless too. How about a Y-Wing in Navy/Marine Pacific Theater camo? I always thought of the rebel pilots like the Black Sheep Squadron.
tjs
Very sharp. What a great excercise in natural metal finishes. Fun project.
Thanks, everyone. This build was a fun break from a couple of Thunderbolts that I have on the bench.
I do have a couple of Naboo N-1 Starfighters that need to have something done with them.
Always enjoy your re-interpretation of these ships and yet they always look like something you would find in the films. Wish my brain worked this way! [:)]
Looking forward to seeing what you do with a Naboo fighter.
Love that, the NM looks awesome!
I’ve been meaning to ask. How exactly did you leverage the four colors of aluminum?
To be honest it looks like there are more shades than that present.
It’s been fun trying to guess but if you don’t mind sharing I’m all ears. 
First I built sub-assemblies, the guns, engines, upper and lower halves of the fuselage and each wing. Each sub-assembly received a base coat of Mr Color Gloss Black. This paint cures to a good hard finish.
Second, the fuselage halves and wings were sprayed AK Polished Aluminum. I let this cure over night then shot it with Tamiya Gloss Clear. The guns and engines received different colors of AK Metallic. The AK Metallics were just misted (more air than paint) on over the gloss black primer. The pressure was set to 9/10 psi. I used my Sotar 20/20 for the paint on this build.
Third, I did a lot of masking. I just masked different areas for different colors of AK metallic, whatever seemed right. Not a lot of planning for the masking, just some “yeah, this will look good.” The recesses between the wings are Tamiya Neutral Gray.
Fourth, I put the Invasion Stripes where I felt they fit best. Each stripe is 4mm wide. I sprayed the white first then masked for the black.
After all the painting and masking and more painting, each sub-assembly was sprayed with Tamiya Gloss Clear and left to cure overnight. The next day everything was snapped (glued) together. I think the whole build took me a week.
I’d like to find an A-Wing and a B-Wing so they can get a similar treatment.
Oh yeah, I started with the lightest shade of AK Metallic then moved to progressively darker shades.
Thanks for sharing the methodology! It’s got the wheels spinning. Another item on my “methods to try” list.
The final product was fantastic and I keep coming back to these two X-Wings to admire them.
Good luck on your quest for the A/B-Wings!
Not sure if you are still looking for a B-Wing but in my search for models to add to the stash I ran across this re-issue of the Snap-Tite B-Wing from Return of the Jedi.
https://starshipmodeler.biz/1-144-star-wars-return-of-the-jedi-b-wing-fighter
I’ve ordered from them before without issue.
I haven’t gotten anything from them in a long time. The last time was years ago when I was trying to get a kit something went wrong and he cut off all communications with me.
I guess I can try again. Thanks.
Thanks, PhoenixG. I don’t usually build smaller than 1/72 scale but this kit just might be worth a look. Anyway, the price is right.
The Rebels flew Jugs?
LOL. Great Looking job, and neat take on an X-Wing!!
I saw the B-Wing, X-Wing and a few other kits at my local Walmart recently. The snap kits from the Return of the Jedi. I think they were $24.97.
No that’s very cool,sorta like a what if build in reverse.