Shenzhen D6

Scotty's 1/72 Tie Fighter from Fine Molds

Since I enjoyed bulding the X-Wing so much I've dove straight into building a tie fighter. This is a much simpler model than the X-Wing so It should build quicker. I'm going to do a light grey paint job on this one like on the first star wars movie. I'm going to do a build log for this one.

 I started today and got the Cockpit finished. Note I changed the kit part for the little computer thing on the front hull piece which was solid plastic. I thought a little H.U.D. would look cool, even if it's not film accurate.

I soon realised that, unlike the X-Wing model, when this is finished very little light will get into the cockpit and hence render detailing it nicely a complete waste of time. So I've decided to try and light the cockpit with an LED. Now then, I love models with lighting incorporated because it really brings a model to life. However I hate the fact that most lit models are powered externally and so they can't be picked up and moved around while lit. I also hate to see mounting holes on models. So if I'm going to light a model of a vehicle it must be powered by battery and be self contained. This is very tricky with such a tiny model but here's what I've come up with. I found a tiny little 3 volt button battery which is 10mm x 2.5mm, just enough to power a single LED and should fit in the hull underneath the cockpit. I couldn't find a battery holder small enough to fit which will also allow easy removal and installation of the battery in the model. So I'm making my own battery holder using magnets which will also hold the bottom piece of the model in place.

Well the circuit works well and the bottom holds in place very well so I'm looking forward to receiving my battery. To finish off the cockpit I added some tiny little detailing wires.