spacewolf Posted August 2, 2019 Author Share Posted August 2, 2019 So onward !! The Probe Droid cometh !!.... Actually this was the first of Jimi's kits that caught my attention. It's far more complex in a way... I picked up the light kit he sells before I realized the light is red.. and the correct light is a yellow white. My kit had issues.. obviously a late run.... soft edges, distortion and a bit of short shot here and there.. Some parts were obviously printed and then cast.. and the legs were really rough... I messaged him with pics and he sent me a better set. A challenge !! We likes it !! LSP_Kevin, Uilleann, Out2gtcha and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted August 2, 2019 Author Share Posted August 2, 2019 First thing was to check the fit on the 'head' insert ... not so good.. A bit of sanding got me nowhere... then I saw why... can you say mold distortion !!?? Rather than sand & fight with it I quickly decided making a part from styrene was a MUCH easier way to go.. out with my trusty circle cutter... Making a hat as it were.. A bit of sanding the seating area (it wasn't exactly circular) and the new part fits like a glove.. Uilleann, LSP_Kevin, Vandy 1 VX 4 and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted August 2, 2019 Author Share Posted August 2, 2019 With that little trick out of the way it was on to edging, filling and touch ups... A good set of files and some fine sand paper works wonders.. The lighted 'eye'... this is what the lump of resin looked like... just won't do !! A bit of sanding and a drill bit cleaned things up nicely... simple fix.... twist tie wire wrapped around drill bits and a bit of superglue.. works a treat ! So there ya go... having fun and working towards a unique model. More in a few days !! Fooesboy, Out2gtcha, Trak-Tor and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 Nice! I'll have to check my ProBot legs spacewolf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nessus Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 Excellent work Vaughn, at least it is solid cast resin. I have one of these, and some of it is hollow cast, which presents a whole other set of challenges. Ive started working on it based on this post - only 100 ever cast. http://www.starshipmodeler.com/starwars/ta_probe.htm coogrfan, Out2gtcha and spacewolf 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted August 23, 2019 Author Share Posted August 23, 2019 On 8/1/2019 at 8:26 PM, Out2gtcha said: Nice! I'll have to check my ProBot legs It will be interesting to see what yours is like. I suspect the masters are nice but casting fine detail can be problematical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted August 23, 2019 Author Share Posted August 23, 2019 On 8/1/2019 at 8:42 PM, Nessus said: Excellent work Vaughn, at least it is solid cast resin. I have one of these, and some of it is hollow cast, which presents a whole other set of challenges. Ive started working on it based on this post - only 100 ever cast. http://www.starshipmodeler.com/starwars/ta_probe.htm Oh my !! A Lady builder on a FB page has done one of those.. massive and simply gorgeous detail !! Can't wait to see yours !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted August 23, 2019 Author Share Posted August 23, 2019 Ok... after doing up my kit of Jedha city I got a bit bogged down preparing for another build... research and scratching my brain.. this will be the BIGGEST build I will ever done !!! Ok.. with teasing out of the way... on to the Probe Droid. These really neat black domes are in the kit.. they are super smooth and capture the look of the smoked domes on the filming miniature. The mounts are a bit oval so some careful sanding was needed to get them to look acceptable.. They were left off till I get the painting done. Lights.. there must be that light ! The battery holder and switch are neat, but if I were to do another I would not buy Jimi's for two reasons.. cost... I can use a dollar store flickering candle for the switch and battery holder (even cheaper, you often find bags of these at thrift stores for next to nothing).. also the light Jimi provides is red.. not sure why as in the film the light is a warm white... I suppose it could be a different type of droid from a different movie or story line.. perhaps a Sith droid ? Anyhoo... I cut off the LED and soldered on a white one I had. I filed the dome to a rounded profile to fit the hole I drilled, then added a couple of drops of Tamyia clear yellow to tint the light... This was fed through a hole drilled in the part I'd made for the head.. Slid into position.. Looks good... Undt... vee half lights !! LSP_Kevin and Out2gtcha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted August 23, 2019 Author Share Posted August 23, 2019 With the light done it was on to fixing those damaged details on the various camera's & sensors... Thin sheet metal from various photo etch kits were trimmed and bent around files & drill bits then super glued into place.. More thin wire for edging... some of the domes were drilled out and replaced with clear sprue sanded to a dome shape Careful sanding of the whole part to smooth out and crisp up fine edges.. the detail on my kit was soft and using fine files helped make the detail crisper. BiggTim, LSP_Kevin and Out2gtcha 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted August 23, 2019 Author Share Posted August 23, 2019 So with most of the work on the head done I'm pretty happy with it.. Still some fiddly work to do but not bad at all methinks.... That's it for this time.. thanks for looking in and commenting. LSP_Kevin, Out2gtcha, Gazzas and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 Too cool! spacewolf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 Great work Vaughn! Taking notes....... spacewolf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 Ok.. we are back after a wild week !! I was building so fast I had no time to post as I was prepping for a model contest... so... time to catch you all up ! Turning to the bottom half there was a lot of clean up.. the printing ridges, short shot details and fixing detail in general.. I added bits from the parts box to fix or 'busy up' the area.. I was working on the legs too.. these were really rough, poor molding and LOTS of cleanup/ fixing. Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 Taking breaks from the kit I was researching the filming prop... The colors are not the typical greys but more of a charcoal brown... but I'm sticking with greys for this build. Vandy 1 VX 4, Gazzas, LSP_Kevin and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 The base is nice but I tried an acrylic clear rod and found it flexed too much under the weight of the model, so I used a stainless steel tube for the mounting rod. I used pins made from wire to help position and support the legs.. each leg is numbered but on the base there are only small straight rows of lines (ea; II, III, IIII ) to help you find the proper positions.. I modified things a bit for the two larger legs to get things to look right. A test with the rod and base.. looks pretty good.. Time for paint !! Out2gtcha and LSP_Kevin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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