Let's try something different. I'm too lazy to find my previous thread and I've just posted this on my blog so let's if I can copy and paste the entire thing. Might have to post it in several parts though.

So I didn't post this yesterday like I had promised. My only excuse is a lack of time. In any case here it is, my B-wing paint guide! Unlike Luke's X-wing, this is a more personal take since it do not represent the ship of a specific pilot, but rather a generic Blue squadron pilot and possibly not even that. Oh well, it's my ship and I'll paint it however I want!

Before stripping the paint I set about converting the position of the model. I realize that the default upright position is due to practical concerns but I don't like it. To me a B-wing should 'fly' more sideways. To achieve this I removed the mounting rod and sawed off the bent part. After that I drilled a 2mm hole in the rod and pressed a short piece of piano wire into the hole. The B-wing itself got treated to a corresponding hole on the underside of the fuselage, drilled at a slight angle. Finally I shifted the position of the cockpit by cutting of the peg holding it in place, filing the edges down and re-mounting it horizontally.

Now I could finally start painting. Many of the colours used on this model are the same as Luke's X-wing. This is how I usually paint, I decide early on what colours I should use and stick with them throughout the entire project. So for the main fuselage I used Vallejo Stonewall Grey and the blue parts were painted with Vallejo Ultramarine Blue. The engines, lower cannons and air intake was painted with a 1:1 mix of Vallejo German Grey and Vallejo Cold Grey and the exposed engine part (Looks kinda like a straight 8 cylinder petrol engine) in front of the exhaust, the exposed underside of each gunpod and the 'square' behind the air intake with plain Cold Grey. The rim around the cockpit windows, the depression at the middle of the lower wing and a circular depression behind the cockpit was painted with a 1:1 mix of GW The Fang and Cold Grey. As a final touch I added some different shades of grey to a few of the panels.

The following steps are the exact same ones as with Luke's X-wing so I'll just copy and paste from the previous paint guide: 'Next I shaded the entire model with a 1:4 mix of Army Painter Strong Tone ink and Army Painter Dark Tone ink. I brushed this on quite thinly as I didn't want any of the wash to pool or dry unevenly. After that I re-applied the base colours, leaving the wash showing in the recesses'

Not all things were the same though. When reapplying the base colour to the air intake I did it in many small thin streaks to represent fine damage and dirt that has been sucked into the engine and I also washed the 'petrol engine' with pure Dark Tone ink.

The main fuselage was highlighted with Vallejo Dead white, keeping it very nice and clean around every panel edge. A 1:1:1 mix of The Fang, Cold Grey and Stonewall Grey was used to highlight the areas painted with the previous mix of The Fang and Cold Grey. I applied a fine drybrush of Cold Grey over the 'petrol engine' followed by an even finer drybrush of Stonewall Grey. The panels painted with different grey colours was mostly highlighted with Stonewall Grey and the air intake and the circular rims in front of the engine exhausts were highlighted with pure Cold Grey. As for the blue, that was more complicated. I started out with a 3:1 mix of Ultramarine Blue and Stonewall Grey and gradually worked my way up in successive layers until I probably had a 1:1 mix of the previous colours.

Weathering was similar to Luke's X-wing so I have copied parts of the previous paint guide. Yes I can be quite lazy. Anyway, chipping on the basecoat was done by first painting Dead White where I wanted the chipping, followed by patches of thin German Grey, taking care not completely cover the white. The German Grey was not really painted but rather almost stippled on to create a more natural look. The blue got a similar treatment but with the final highlight mix first, then the basecoat and finally German Grey. I took care to place most chipped areas to the front of the model so it looked more natural. Some rust was added by painting thinned out Vallejo Parasite Brown in several recesses. I added some dirt/soot streaks on the wings in the form of a couple of thin layers of Dark Tone Ink. After spraying the model with matte varnish I added the final touch to the cockpit windows by painting them with gloss varnish.

I'm quite pleased with this one and it also the one of my X-wing repaints that gets the most raised eyebrows. I'm pretty sure this is because of the changed position as it is an immediate clue that the model has been changed in at least one way.

Thanks!

Looks extremely clean! Really nice work!

I don't speak from experience, but I thought stripping the paint was unnecessary with X-Wing minis.

Very nice! I also changed the position of my B-wing in the same way but I haven't edited the cockpit yet. Was it difficult to make the cut to separate the cockpit?

Very nice job. Looking forward to getting some b-wings myself and certainly having a go at resetting and painting them.

I don't speak from experience, but I thought stripping the paint was unnecessary with X-Wing minis.

It is. I've done various repaints without stripping paint and it worked out fine

Impressive work!

Paint stripping is not strictly necessary but I like being thorough. Stripping does one good thing though and that is making it far easier to spot flaws, mould lines and excess glue used in the building process.

IronTau: If you have a sharp knife and patience it shouldn't be terribly problematic. The blade needs to be quite thin though, otherwise you run the risk of cutting into something you don't want to.

Id be terrified to try something like this with such small models but i do agree the B-Wing looks far more effective when flying on its side.

May have to see if i can get someone more able to help me out with mine.

I don't speak from experience, but I thought stripping the paint was unnecessary with X-Wing minis.

This is correct, the paint on it is thin and makes no difference if you strip it or not.. I haven't stripped any of my repaints, and only base coated one so far...

Nice tutorial, and great paintjobs ..

This looks very nice. Thanks for sharing your work with us.

Love it, I did the horizontal mod too and I'm still picking a paint scheme.

How did you go about stripping the paint? What chemicals and methods specifically.

There are a fair few tutorials on-line, such as this one . Just pay attention to any warnings of plastic corrosion, since many minis in other games are metal.

Yeah, just curios Macross, did you use Simple Green, or something else to strip?

Yeah, just curios Macross, did you use Simple Green, or something else to strip?

Very curious about this myself - simple green seems to remove some of the wash but none of the paint. I tried brake fluid but that ended in disaster (paint transformed into a sticky paste that refused to move - a combination of dettol and dremel have got the model back to ok tabletop piece but nothing I'll ever be proud of).

Dont strip these, they dont need it, I think coat of a primer is all you need if you must, but I have only primed one firespray, and never stripped any of them and all mine come out just fine. I did a mod on my Bs as well, but mounted a magnet between the engines and then one on the post... lets it spin freely, then did same with the cockpit.. it was fun to do and works well for getting into those tight spots.. lol

As oneway says, you don't need to strip x-wing minis and I cannot in fact recommend it unless you know what you are doing (like me) or if you are really anal about it (me again! ).

As for how I paint strip, well I use a substance called T-röd or rather T-red in english. In Sweden it is extremely well known and it can be used for a multitude of purposes, as fuel for small outdoor stoves and lamps, as anti-freeze for cars, cleaning oils and grease, as solvent for paint and glue amongst others. I think the proper term for it is 'Methylated spirit' and it is basically a cheaply produced industrial alcohol with an additive that makes people throw up if they try to drink it. Of course that doesn't stop hardcore alcoholics but for normal people the effect is instantaneous. I've gotten some in my mouth and it is quite vile.

Stripping paint with T-red is extremely similar to how Castor Super Clean is described in the link provided above by Tidy Fender with one difference, it doesn't give you chemical burns. Indeed, the worst thing T-red can do to you is give you a cheap alcohol high from the fumes and dried out skin. Stripping X-Wing miniatures are harder than normal though. I need to scrub the model with a toothbrush thoroughly and several times at that even when letting the model soak for quite a while,

For paint stripping, acetone-free nail polish remover works like a charm.

Like yesterday I'm posting this directly from my blog so it will probably have to be split in two parts.

And here is the final paint guide that I promised and it is an X-wing painted as Wedge Antilles red two during the attack on the first Death Star. To be honest it's not much of a paint guide as I have already detailed how to paint an X-wing earlier. No, what I will be doing this time is really referring you back to Luke's X-wing and pointing out any differences. Yes, I can be quite lazy sometimes.

Wedge's X-wing has a few more colours than Luke's. First and perhaps most visible is the nose-cone which I painted with pure Vallejo Khaki. There are also bands of a pale yellow on both sides of each wing that I painted with a 1:1 mix of Vallejo Plague Brown and Khaki. This was done before the red markings.

When I was cleaning up the model after the wash I noticed something I had missed. The area around the cockpit is supposed to have a different colour, probably so it should look like it has been replaced. To represent this I painted that area with a 1:1 mix of Vallejo Stonewall Grey and Khaki and I took great care in leaving a thin line between the cockpit area and the rest of the fuselage.

Highlighting the nose-cone was done by using the same mix of colours that I had used around the cockpit. The cockpit area on the other hand was highlighted with pure Stonewall Grey.

I used a 1:1:2 mix of Vallejo Plague Brown, Khaki and Stonewall Grey for chipping the pale yellow areas, followed by covering most of the area with pure Stonewall Grey. Most of this was done to the front of each yellow area as the front of the wing will see the most wear and tear. Chipping on the nose-cone was simply done by painting the highlight first, and Vallejo German Grey second.

Wedge's X-wing was finished after both Luke's red five and the B-wing and it shows. The chips are smaller and better placed and the whole model just looks a little better. The next project is a Phantom I won at the Assault at Imdaar Alpha event.

You mention using several different shades of grey. Would you say, perhaps... fifty?

Excellent work! I only wish I had the talent and patience to do something that even comes close!

Excellent, thank you for the info. I may attempt this soon.