TIE Phantom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solid kit cockpit cone - definitely needs an interior! 

I decided to modify it by hollowing it out and adding an interior. The first step was to saw off the front and drill out the resin using 3 different sizes of Forstner bits in a drill press and then sand the interior walls smooth with a drum sander bit 

Luckily the front canopy from a Bandai 1/72 TIE Fighter is just the right size to replace the front of the cockpit cone 

However the upper cockpit framing on the cone looked a bit wide (and it wasn't really symmetrical) so I marked out the areas to trim with black marker 

Masking tape used to show the areas to be kept 

Unwanted areas cut away and sanded - definitely looks better 

Main body built and wings added (already painted and masked). All gun barrels drilled out 

A cockpit interior was built up from a sheet styrene floor, back wall, pilots and seats from Bandai TIE kits, FM X-Wing landing gear doors and some other odds and ends 

Side walls were added to the inside of the resin cone from bits of styrene sheet and bits from the spares box - left wall 

Side walls were added to the inside of the resin cone from bits of styrene sheet and bits from the spares box - right wall 

The front section of the cockpit was made using the front of a Bandai cockpit trimmed to fit and attached to the front glass. The back of the Bandai piece will be very visible in this cockpit so I filled it with the same piece from a Fine Molds TIE 

A plug was made of the new cockpit openings, sanded and polished and used to vacuum form the glazing 

Cockpit put together, glazed and masked and glued to body 

Wings taken off again and sanded to adjust the fit, reattached and the whole thing primed 

Main painting completed