Issue 2: Fixing an oopsie

One last thing to do with Issue 2. There are, even in this model, the occasional errors of continuity here and there. And today we're going to fix one. The top turret piece that came with this issue isn't quite correct. Observe:

Looks all right, right? Except the orange section is way too orange when compared with the shooting model. But that's not what we're here to fix. Let's zoom in a little:

See it now? Yup, the "window pane" of the turret is misaligned. You can see it's set up with one of the spokes pointing toward the middle of the turret mount, when in fact two of them should be flanking it. What a blooper, eh? Can't believe they ever let that get pa...oh, okay, I didn't notice it either.

In fact, it was pointed out on Steve Dymszo's YouTube series on painting the DeAgostini model. The series, btw, is another i highly recommend you watch, though honestly it looks like it will be of more use once the outer shell has been completed. In the meantime, there's lots of good info, including what I'm about to share (you can watch the section of the first video, where he addresses this issue, right here).

First, we trace around the inside of the "window" with a straight edge. Nice & easy is the name of this game. Remember, we're working with very thin plastic. I basically went round and round using medium pressure until I worked my way through the glue. Eventually you'll pop through at some point ,and then can ease your way around, popping it off. Again, slow and easy is the key.

Next up is to get rid of this tab. It's there to lock the window in place on the turret part, and make sure it's properly improperly installed. Or something. I found wire nippers took care of most of it, and then a little sanding did the rest.

After that, a little glue around the border (I'm gonna go ahead & recommend E-6000 because I love the stuff) and it's ready to go back in, like so:

Here's a quick shot form the other side, showing where I put the glue. Not much needed here.

Anyway, that's Issue 2 in the can. Next time, Issue 3 commenceth. 2 down, 98 to go. Rock on.

Issue 2, Part 2: schtickers

Tonight's going to be a short one, only a little bit to do. Still, there's a rather nice time sink link to drop into. Anyway, check it:

Yup, we're applying stickers. First off is the Dejarik board. Yup, they named the little chess-type game from the first movie. Hey, it's not like they came up with a complete set of rules for it or anything. Oh, wait.

Anyhow, you stick the board onto the metal holoprojector thingie, lining it up so that the black "squares" line up with the extremes of the control panel, as I've almost managed to do here:

Next up is the control panel for the cockpit. It's got a few holes in there for lights and things, but I've been watching Christopher Olson's slideshows of his custom builds here, and couldn't help but follow suit. I've ordered up a whole mess o' fiber optics, and drilled a hole where the "blue" section goes, as seen here:

Actually, I'm a little to the right of where I should be on that, but nothing a little putty can't fix. Anyway, here it is with the light shining through:

And here it snaps onto the cockpit floor. Which after watching the above video I am totally going to have to dirty up a bit.

Anyway, that's basically it for tonight. This weekend I'll be doing a little surgery on the next piece, so that should be interesting. In the meantime, go watch that video if you haven't already. Very inspiring.

Issue 2, Part 1: The frame

OK. So I started on Issue 2 tonight. First thing in there is beginning assembly of the skeleton that supports the shell. For this, we need the leftover stuff from Issue 1 & Issue 2, along with the fasteners & screws from Issue 2.

The Issue 1 pieces are the ones on top. We start with the first piece (TF-01), and screw a 2-hole and a 4-hole fastener to it, as shown below. At this stage, keep them fairly lose so they can be re-positioned as other plates are fitted.

Now, the second piece (TF-02) gets attached to those fasteners as seen below:

The second piece gets a 2 and a 4 on the other end:

To which the mirror piece (TF-03) from Issue 2 is fastened, thus:

BTW: If you haven't noticed, the skeleton pieces are all nicely labeled so you can tell which is which.

Anyway, the TF-03 gets a 2 and a 4 as well...

Last but not least, the TF-04 piece goes on just as shown.

At this point, make sure all the pieces are lined up nice, and you can tighten them down enough to keep them firm. Don't go too crazy on it, though. These are delicate parts. If you flip it over, you should have a nice, symmetrical part, like so:

Now is the time to take the last part from Issue 1, the body panel. It snaps over the skeleton as shown below, with the two pegs going into the upper holes (the other pegs will go onto other skeleton pieces later on down the line).

Tada :)

And that's that. Make sure to treat this gently; put it somewhere where it won't get bent. And just think how this is going to look when it's done!

Tomorrow night: Let the wookiee win...