6MMRPC Week Eight: Star Wars Kit-bashing

First off, I'd like to thank Battlefront for all of the attention they've directed at this blog.  I had no idea they were going to put direct links to my Historicon reports on their front page.  Thanks also to the readers I was able to talk to out in Virginia.  It was really nice to meet you.  I had a great time and I'm sure I'll make the trek again next year.

I got off pretty easy at the swap meet and vendor hall, mostly thanks to this challenge.  I spent a total of $35, mostly on stuff for Flames of War.  I spent my first joker at the swap meet though, as someone had a bunch of old OOP Battlefront vehicles for sale and I grabbed three GMC 2.5 ton trucks for a future 150. Panzerbrigade list.  Sneaky Germans using US equipment should be a fun modeling opportunity.  I also got an opened blister of 10cm NW40 heavy mortars for my Mid War Luftwaffe Feldkompanie, just need to find one more gun for the battery.  $22 spent.  I bought nine bags of bits and three sheets of decals for a total of $13, and scored a special Soviet objective and a unique figure just for attending.  I've already sold the objective for $20 to a local guy, and made most of my money back!  On to the update!

I finally got some paint on these models for friendly X-Wing games.  I bought some old model kits and a few old Micro Machine toys months ago to bash into some different ships, built them awhile back and left them sitting since.  To break the Flames of War routine, I decided to break them out.  First, I airbrushed the Imperial ship and satellite Tamiya Sky Grey, they added some White for two Rebellion ships.  The Scum ship is a red-brown color I had pre-mixed.  After that, I painted in the canopies and added a few spots of detail.  I only spent a minimum of time with this, as these are pretty low on my gaming priority.  I haven't played X-Wing in over six months.  After the paint was dry, I used a MIG Light Grey wash, sprayed on some varnish, and called them done.  I got these painted up over about two days, they came together very quickly.

An Imperial customs patrol ship, loosely based on a YZ-775.  I used an Action Fleet Republic Cruiser, chopped and swapped it, and built the cockpit from a 1/72 Mitsubishi Zero canopy.  Guns from FFG E-Wings.

A modifed YT-1300 based on an old design by West End Games.  This was a Revell snap-tite kit, I also used several parts from a 1/72 Robotech Valkyrie kit.

Rebel shuttlecraft, got tired of using the cardboard cut-out that came in the starter.  This was built from severeal small-scale Ertl snap-tite kits, mostly the MTT.

A Scum faction scout ship, an Ertl Sith Infiltrator that's been hacked up a bit.

A comminications relay satellite built from a Micro Machine tibana gas something-or-other and the dish array from the Republic Cruiser.  I'll use this for scenarios.

Not a bad haul for a net of $15.

That's five Star Wars models removed from the mountain, and seven Flames of War minis added to the pile.  I also spent my first joker.