by Jeffrey Pollizzotto

This model was an inspiration that came to me when AMT/ERTL released the double Tie Fighter kit. The idea sat on the back burner until Fine Molds released the fantastic line of 1/72 scale Star Wars kits. I realized that the smaller kits would look more in scale with the "Trench" base.

I first took the “Death Star” base that came with the AMT/ERTL kit and made an RTV rubber mold from it. I then cast up a second and third copy to build this diorama. The flat one was built into a wood base and the second cast was cut up, rearranged and mounted to a vertical wood back that was attached to the base. The base was then stained and covered with three coats of polyurethane.

The resin base parts were painted with automotive grey primer and then I hand painted much of the raised detail on the parts with Tamiya Chrome Silver, Brass, Gun Metal and copper paint. I then applied a thin black oil wash over the entire surface and wiped it off with a rag. No clear sealer was needed.

The two Fine Molds kits were built stock out of the box. I replicated Luke's Red Five ship and the Tie was built as per the instructions. Both kits were assembled and sprayed with the same auto primer and for Luke's X-Wing, I mixed up my own color using Tamiya Flat White, Gloss White and Sea Grey. Mixing both gloss and flat white made a nice semi gloss that made decaling easier later on. Using many of the kit decals, I realized that some panel details were missing. I masked and airbrushed these using Post-It notes as the masks. The Tie Fighter was left with the auto grey primer and I then added the same black oil wash to the detail areas. Both cockpits were built stock and the figures painted as per the instructions.

The X-Wing was mounted with a thin steel rod on the bottom and attached to the back wall. The Tie was mounted with the same thin steel rod, but I mounted it inside the “rib” on the right wing panel. It was then mounted on the horizontal base.

This was a fun project to do, as the Fine Molds kits are a pleasure to build and paint.

Image: Left/rear view

Image: Barely missing the wall...

Image: Front/left view