As I'm sure we've all seen there is a multi-tone brown GR-75 in the background of Mos Eisley during Star Wars: A New Hope. I know I have seen a fair few of the conversions here and on other forums/image boards, just felt like sharing mine.

That Scene:

How it was done-ish, I really need to get better at taking step-by-step pictures:

Step 1 - Scrap Her : Gentle wiggling and patience are the key here, like taking apart any of these wonderful X-Wing Miniatures models it's just a matter of persuading the glue to let go. This is the first "take it apart" photo that I took, as you can see the GR-75 is quite beside itself. I started by wiggling the panels on the underside, just a gentle rocking back and forth. Eventually, with some gentle leverage (from a pair of tweezers as I misplaced my eyeglass screwdrivers) they popped free. Next was the dark gray texture bands that form the filling between the panels and the upper hull. Again this was a matter of gently wiggling the parts side-to-side and finally popping them free with that handy pair of tweezers. Then, using the tweezers as they were meant to be used, I was able to pluck each cargo container off of the underside - didn't really have to do this, to be honest I did it because I could.

Underside Panels:

The "Filling" Between the Panels and Upper Hull:

The Cargo Containers, Because I Could:

Nicework! You are a far braver man than I for sure.

Step 2 - Buzz Buzz Goes the Dremel : So I didn't take any photos of this part, I've got a second GR-75 I will be putting lights into over the next few days and I'll try to remember to take pictures at that point and upload them for you to see (yes I know…do or do not, there is no try). Anyway, I wiggled off the three aft engines underneath the ship and set them up in my rubber-padded vice. Using my Dremel on a low setting I drilled straight through the port and starboard engines until the drill bit came out the back side of the engine mount. I made angled holes through the underside of the hull to feed the wires through. The center of the three aft engines required drilling carefully downward at an angle through the base and then through the engine cone until the two holes met up. This allowed easy access to the interior of the ship for the LED wires. I then tapped out the holes for the upper hull's 2 port and 2 starboard engines.

Step 3 - Pfft Pfft Goes the Air Brush : First a coat of Citadel Base-Mournfang Brown (honestly, if you don't have one: BUY AN AIR BRUSH). After the base coat dried I went over parts of the ship with two accent colors: Citadel Layer-Skrag Brown and then Citadel Base-XV-88. In order to darkish the ship I super diluted Citadel Base-Abaddon Black with Windex (well HDX: Glass Cleaner, Home Depot brand). Dilution wasn't done with any specific dilution (I know, I know…Bad chemist, not using a specific ratio of parts) but rather just until it was "very runny." [Okay, full disclosure I may have been ¾ of the way through a bottle of Pinot Grigio at this point and thus just didn't care about being extra careful - I had done this before afterall] So I used a wide angle spray nozzle on my airbrush and hosed the ship down in this "very runny" darkwash. I then cleared the airbrush of all fluid (rapidly) and set the compressor to 40 psi (I normally paint at 30psi) and blew away as much excess liquid as I could with rapid back and fourth motions. Last step was painting the black burns back into the upper engine swaths and the window on the command bridge.

Step 4 - Hot (Low-Temp) Glue : This is a wonderful diffuser of light. This beautiful glue gives the upper port and starboard engines their soft yet vibrant glow. The LEDs, even though I am using very small lights, were obstructing the ship hull from closing so I had to hot glue "light trenches" (coining that) from the LEDs to the engines. Using hot glue also allows for a nice rounded appearances - if filled from the inside. Please pardon my electrical work, though I can manage this kind of LED work it is by no means pretty. I am a chemist not an electrician.

On a side note I will be installing battery boxes with switches at a later point, just ordered them off Amazon (so I'll do this in two days). Best part about this ship is there is SO MUCH room inside this model (compared to the YT-1300's I've done, below - plus I've done 3 other non-repainted ones, have yet to do my new YT-1300 from Heroes of the Resistance).

Nicework! You are a far braver man than I for sure.

Brave? Mmmm no... Wine? Yes. SO MUCH YES.

But thank you, I am personally incredibly pleased with this particular conversion. And the Pinot Grigio by Sí ...

Nicework! You are a far braver man than I for sure.

Brave? Mmmm no... Wine? Yes. SO MUCH YES.

But thank you, I am personally incredibly pleased with this particular conversion.

I don't do well when sharp objects and alcohol are combined. After plastic surgery is ok but never before or during. The blood loss is significant and a pain to clean up.

Nicework! You are a far braver man than I for sure.

Brave? Mmmm no... Wine? Yes. SO MUCH YES.

But thank you, I am personally incredibly pleased with this particular conversion.

I don't do well when sharp objects and alcohol are combined. After plastic surgery is ok but never before or during. The blood loss is significant and a pain to clean up.

I'm extremely squeamish so I just pass out as soon as I bleed a little - fun fact: I cut my finger with my X-Acto Knife doing my very first LED YT-1300 conversion nearly 3 years ago…got the cut rinsed, band-aid on, and passed right out...no alcohol involved. So be careful kids, X-Acto Knives are freaking terrifying and are full of regret.

Nicely done. I'm curious as to how you did thr bottom engines as I had to resort to fiber optics to fit through there. Any reason you didn't so the center engines on the top?

Excellent work, love the paint scheme

...and, oh, the relief - someone who admits to [and provides photographic evidence of] having more YT-1300's than me!

Nicely done. I'm curious as to how you did thr bottom engines as I had to resort to fiber optics to fit through there. Any reason you didn't so the center engines on the top?

Thank you. I'll try to post pictures of how I did the bottom engines when I do my second GR-75 over the next couple days, but I figure I did them rather similar to your fiber optic ones just with larger holes, fatter wires, and a little green-stuff. I didn't do the center engines on top because, according to all the actual film references I could find, those are not engines. FFG released this model with a paint scheme that makes them look like they are engines but no model used in the filming of any of the Star Wars movies has those humps a glowing, rather they're actually textured surface areas...maybe an aft docking port?

Episode V - The Escape from Hoth

Episode VI - The Fleet Moves Out

Excellent work, love the paint scheme

...and, oh, the relief - someone who admits to [and provides photographic evidence of] having more YT-1300's than me!

Thank you, love my airbrush. To clarify the record I only currently own 4 YT-1300s (the yellow, purple, and unpainted ones in the above photo plus the new one from Heros of the Resistance). I sold the green and blue YT-1300s from the above photo, along with another unpainted one, on E-Bay and gave the final unpainted YT-1300 away as prize support during a tournament I TO'd. So I'm not completely looney, I only have 4…

Awesome work! I really need to get into this LED game at some point.

Nicely done. I'm curious as to how you did thr bottom engines as I had to resort to fiber optics to fit through there. Any reason you didn't so the center engines on the top?

FFG released this model with a paint scheme that makes them look like they are engines but no model used in the filming of any of the Star Wars movies has those humps a glowing, rather they're actually textured surface areas...maybe an aft docking port?

Huh, I suppose I should have paid more attention to the source materials when I did mine. Looking at the tech spec of it, it sounds like the center most one is the reactor, but the two flanking it may still be engines (in order to get to the total of 6). Seeing as they're "secondary" engines, it's possible that they're only used for atmospheric flight or something - both of the shots you've referenced are right before the jump to light speed. Or it could just be that the tech drawings are BS. Who knows.

Did the LED conversion on my other GR-75 and now it's Better Pictures Time!

Drilling out the aft upper engines, like drilling anywhere in this conversion take it slow keep the dremel set to a low setting. You want to be sure that you are drilling and not melting your model, high speeds (and not cleaning your drill bit often) will result in melting your model and then you'll have to do a lot of fixing.

Aaaaaaand clean it up with your X-Acto:

After removing the three lower engine mounts I drilled holes through them so that I could mount my LEDs.

Yeah yeah, drilled through the exterior... This was intentional it will make everything line up later, and green stuff is a wonderful thing - you can fix anything.

So once I soldered my LED to a wire (not two wires, they won't fit through the hole together, the second wire gets soldered on once the LED is mounted) I pull it wires first through the drilled hole. [i'm not showing you any of my soldering work, it is ugly ]

Need to drill holes through the hull in order to feed those wires through.

Feed the wires through, glue the engines into place and finalize the soldering.

Nicely done. I'm curious as to how you did thr bottom engines as I had to resort to fiber optics to fit through there. Any reason you didn't so the center engines on the top?

Thank you. I'll try to post pictures of how I did the bottom engines when I do my second GR-75 over the next couple days, but I figure I did them rather similar to your fiber optic ones just with larger holes, fatter wires, and a little green-stuff. I didn't do the center engines on top because, according to all the actual film references I could find, those are not engines. FFG released this model with a paint scheme that makes them look like they are engines but no model used in the filming of any of the Star Wars movies has those humps a glowing, rather they're actually textured surface areas...maybe an aft docking port?

Episode V - The Escape from Hoth

Episode VI - The Fleet Moves Out

Excellent work, love the paint scheme

...and, oh, the relief - someone who admits to [and provides photographic evidence of] having more YT-1300's than me!

Thank you, love my airbrush. To clarify the record I only currently own 4 YT-1300s (the yellow, purple, and unpainted ones in the above photo plus the new one from Heros of the Resistance). I sold the green and blue YT-1300s from the above photo, along with another unpainted one, on E-Bay and gave the final unpainted YT-1300 away as prize support during a tournament I TO'd. So I'm not completely looney, I only have 4…

Thanks for the tutorial!

Off-topic slightly, anyone ever wonder why they took unarmed transports into battle at Endor?

Nicely done. I'm curious as to how you did thr bottom engines as I had to resort to fiber optics to fit through there. Any reason you didn't so the center engines on the top?

Thank you. I'll try to post pictures of how I did the bottom engines when I do my second GR-75 over the next couple days, but I figure I did them rather similar to your fiber optic ones just with larger holes, fatter wires, and a little green-stuff. I didn't do the center engines on top because, according to all the actual film references I could find, those are not engines. FFG released this model with a paint scheme that makes them look like they are engines but no model used in the filming of any of the Star Wars movies has those humps a glowing, rather they're actually textured surface areas...maybe an aft docking port?

Episode V - The Escape from Hoth

Episode VI - The Fleet Moves Out

Excellent work, love the paint scheme

...and, oh, the relief - someone who admits to [and provides photographic evidence of] having more YT-1300's than me!

Thank you, love my airbrush. To clarify the record I only currently own 4 YT-1300s (the yellow, purple, and unpainted ones in the above photo plus the new one from Heros of the Resistance). I sold the green and blue YT-1300s from the above photo, along with another unpainted one, on E-Bay and gave the final unpainted YT-1300 away as prize support during a tournament I TO'd. So I'm not completely looney, I only have 4…

Thanks for the tutorial!

Off-topic slightly, anyone ever wonder why they took unarmed transports into battle at Endor?

Same reason you take them in epic games - jamming and ramming.

Thanks for the tutorial!

Off-topic slightly, anyone ever wonder why they took unarmed transports into battle at Endor?

The Bothans had to make a showing at Endor

Edit: You're also welcome for the tutorial.

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT !

Fantastic Job.

All of your light up models look Superb.

But really love GR75.

Well done,

All the best.

Barry.