TIE Whisper
1June 3, 2020
2June 3, 2020Modified some Evergreen C channel by trimming off one arm of the C to make an L
3June 3, 2020I then chopped off small sections to make fingers which would hook over the rails around the wing panels - I needed 72 of them!
4June 3, 2020These L pieces were then stuck at equal spaces around each wing, on both sides
5June 3, 2020I found I didn't like the square ends of the fingers so I added small pieces of Evergreen half-round stock to the end of each finger to round them off.
6June 3, 2020The arms on the Special Forces TIE (bottom) are shorter than the standard FO TIE (top) to account for the hyperdrive cogs on the SF TIE, but the Whisper needs the normal length arms as it doesn't have the cogs.
7June 3, 2020So I cut the ends of the SF TIE arms and cut new extensions from a spare FO TIE kit
8June 3, 2020Here is the SF body with a replacement right arm
9June 3, 2020And both arms ready for replacement
10June 3, 2020Interior built and painted
11June 3, 2020New extended arms glued in place. The separate brace pieces above and below each arm strengthen the joins and make sure everything is positioned correctly
12June 3, 2020Test fitting the wings - still need to add some extra bits to the wings themselves and waiting for the 3D printed fuselage bits to arrive.
13June 3, 2020The front red part of the SF TIE is a slightly different shape to the other side but on the Whisper the two sides are symmetrical. Therefore this piece needs modification by thinning the parts shaded in black.
14June 18, 2020Finished carving and sanding
15June 18, 2020And attached to the body
16December 30, 2020A bit of sanding and filling needed on the front insert but now attached. Windshield will still need some modification using the conversion kit parts.
17July 10, 2021The conversion kit canopy is not glazed (and has different proportions to the standard kit part). Therefore I cut up one of the conversion kit parts (right) and used parts of it to modify a kit part (left). The new canopy will be used as a master to mould new ones.
18July 10, 2021Made a mould for the new canopy and cast replacements. Here it is cleaned up and glued in place.
19July 13, 2021The hull extensions supplied with the kit had flat inside surfaces (outside pair) and needed to be trimmed to fit the kit's contours
20July 13, 2021Hull extensions glued on - bottom view
21July 13, 2021Hull extensions seen from the front - I also had to notch the top right unit to fit the aerial mount. The extensions still need some filling on the joints to the original hull.
22July 31, 2021Gaps under the extensions filled with Aves and a coat of interior grey on the transparencies - also used it as a primer to check the filled areas, same as for the interceptor version.
23September 11, 2021Ball painted and coated with Future, ready for weathering
24December 22, 2021Used the Micro-Mark Photo-Etch system to make 72+ brackets which will go on the wings. Lots of learnings from making these as its the first time I've done anything like this
25December 22, 2021Initial bends put into the brackets
26December 22, 2021In the meantime the ball has also been weathered and varnished - front view
27December 22, 2021And rear view, showing the reflective jewels put into the engines
28May 9, 2022Finally getting around to the wing brackets - drilling the holes (used a small steel rule and scriber to mark the locations for 4 1mm holes per bracket)
29May 9, 2022After a few sessions, all brackets in place. Now need to prime the metal and fill the remaining holes
30May 21, 2022
31May 21, 2022
32May 21, 2022
33May 21, 2022
34May 21, 2022
35May 21, 2022
36May 21, 2022
37May 21, 2022
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3 April 2025, 02:51 -
Album info
This is a conversion of the Bandai TIE Special Forces fighter into the standard TIE Whisper from The Return of Skywalker (although I'm not sure it got much if any screen time). It needs some minor mods to the wings, some major changes to the wing mounts and some extra 3D printed parts for the fuselage ball.
