Author Topic: Rogue One U-Wing vehicle playset -- 1:18 scale for 3.75" figures  (Read 12413 times)

Offline Tamer

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Re: Rogue One U-Wing vehicle playset -- 1:18 scale for 3.75" figures
« Reply #15 on: June 05, 2017, 04:31:59 AM »
Very nice.

Offline WhillsScholar

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Re: Rogue One U-Wing vehicle playset -- 1:18 scale for 3.75" figures
« Reply #16 on: June 06, 2017, 05:13:15 PM »
The pilot seats and control panel glued together. (The left seat is set back a little for K2.)



Current status of the Accessory Pack -- I'm well ahead of schedule! Just working on the decals*, and taking instruction photos for the guide.

* -- Blank decal templates will be included to invite anyone who has better art skillz than me to design their own decals for the interior. My limited drawing skills only allow me to create Kenner old-school style art. :)


Offline Tamer

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Re: Rogue One U-Wing vehicle playset -- 1:18 scale for 3.75" figures
« Reply #17 on: June 07, 2017, 06:06:30 AM »
Looking good. Off to share the latest progress.

Offline RCWCreations

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Re: Rogue One U-Wing vehicle playset -- 1:18 scale for 3.75" figures
« Reply #18 on: June 07, 2017, 06:29:01 AM »
This is spectacular mate, well done!  Looking forward to seeing it completed.

Offline WhillsScholar

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Re: Rogue One U-Wing vehicle playset -- 1:18 scale for 3.75" figures
« Reply #19 on: June 08, 2017, 05:51:04 PM »
One more sneak before I release the Pack later this month (only have to work on the decals now). Before and after the interior is filled out:


Offline Tamer

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Re: Rogue One U-Wing vehicle playset -- 1:18 scale for 3.75" figures
« Reply #20 on: June 09, 2017, 04:00:56 AM »
Back to the front pages.

Offline WhillsScholar

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Accessory Pack for 1:18 Scale U-Wing (build-it-yourself kit) RELEASED
« Reply #21 on: June 12, 2017, 12:35:59 AM »
I’m proud to announce the release of the Accessory Pack today!
 
This ZIP package contains plans and photo guides for building things that go inside the 1:18 Scale U-Wing, turning it into a true playset for the 3.75” figures. This includes the pilot seats, troop bench, and other interior elements of the U-Wing as you see in the movie.
 
Download it now:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/v90cence644d3y1/U-wing_1-18_scale_accessory_pack.zip
 



















 
The Accessory Pack also includes templates for pieces that improve the look and function of the side doors...
 

 
BONUS: you'll find plans in the pack for a rotating gun turret that can be used with the missile launchers that come with many of the Rogue One action figures...
 

 
And this Accessory Pack even includes these decals below. (I designed them in old-school Kenner style.) After you've built and painted these interior components, just print these two sheets? in color on 8.5 x 11", cut the decals out, and stick them on with glue stick or spray-on glue. (Two of these decals have an Easter Egg -- can you spot it?)
 


 
You can see more images, and follow photo updates that I put online here:
 
http://imgur.com/a/P8OP2
 
 
Happy building... and may the Force be with us!
 

Offline WhillsScholar

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Re: Rogue One U-Wing vehicle playset -- 1:18 scale for 3.75" figures
« Reply #22 on: June 12, 2017, 12:39:57 AM »
TIP FOR DIORAMA BUILDERS: the components in this Accessory Pack can be used as a display set for your figures.
 
To build a diorama that is more true to the internal set of the U-Wing as you see in the movie*:
 
1) Don’t add the front-most piece to the power reactor wall. (This is the sheet of cardboard that has the two handles made with toothpicks). Build another archway (like the one that’s placed behind the cockpit). Put this second archway up against the front of the power reactor wall.
 
2) The depth of the circle of the power reactor wall measures 0.5 cm. Increase this depth to 1.0 cm.
 
3) Extend the length of each interior wall mod plate, so that there’s more wall space to fit an additional wall chair (the non-functional square piece) toward the back of the ship. So on each wall mod plate, there will then be two wall chairs, framing both sides of the side doorway.
 
4) Using the templates from the 1:18 scale U-Wing build-it-yourself kit, assemble the lower half of the troop hold, the bottom cockpit, and side doors. (Remove the starboard or port side of these three pieces if you want to display only one side of the interior set.)
 
(* -- The interior set of the U-Wing is physically longer than what can realistically fit inside the ship, based on its exterior design, as you see in the movie. I’ll explain this discrepancy, which happens all the time in movies/TV series, between the outside and inside of he U-Wing’s design, and the compromises I made for this, in a follow-up post later this week.)

Offline Tamer

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Re: Rogue One U-Wing vehicle playset -- 1:18 scale for 3.75" figures
« Reply #23 on: June 12, 2017, 06:07:11 AM »
You can read my comments on the front pages. So awesome!

Offline Foxtrot Delta

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Re: Rogue One U-Wing vehicle playset -- 1:18 scale for 3.75" figures
« Reply #24 on: June 23, 2017, 03:28:13 PM »
Very interesting materials your using (cardboard), can't wait to see what it looks like painted, Fantastic Idea

Offline WhillsScholar

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Re: Rogue One U-Wing vehicle playset -- 1:18 scale for 3.75" figures
« Reply #25 on: June 24, 2017, 02:44:24 PM »
Design notes on the 1:18 Scale U-Wing Accessory Pack

It’s not necessary to read this if you just want to download and start making the interior accessories for the 1:18 scale U-Wing. I provide this here to archive my design process, for myself, and those in the future who google researching into designing models/toys based on fictitious vehicles. (If you want to use this Accessory Pack to build a standalone diorama of the U-Wing’s interior to display your figures, the notes below may also be of interest.)
 

(The scratch model I threw together to test my early design of the cockpit control panel.)
 
I discovered that the interior set of the U-Wing as seen in the movie is longer than the ship’s exterior as seen in the movie. This happens a lot in movies and TV productions. It suggests that the exterior of a vehicle was created first. The interior set was likely designed after, and adjustments were then made to accommodate for production details, like camera and lighting placement.
 
So it appears the U-Wing interior set was lengthened by adding two arches (one between the troop hold and cockpit, and a second arch framing the power reactor back wall) and four fold-up chairs hanging at the sides of the side doors.
 
The problem of course is that this makes it difficult, if not impossible, to cram all these elements inside a real-world model of the U-Wing that has been built to correct scale as its original exterior design. The papercraft model plans that I used as the starting basis for my 1:18 scale version is, in my assessment, very accurate to the exterior design of the ship as you see it in the movie. The creator of this smaller-sized, papercraft model did an excellent job.
 
I put together the following image to help me that illustrates the contradictions between the exterior and interior of the U-Wing:
 

 
Consider how wide the interior design elements of 1 and 2 appear to be, and how they should exist as located between the windows marked by 3 and 4. Could they *really* fit within the available space as seen in this exterior shot of the ship?
 
The same contradiction exists for the back part of the troop hold: consider the widths of the items in circles 5, 6 and 7 relative to the area outside of the ship where these things should exist inside.

(Circle 8 points out a design continuity error with this window. It is upside-down in the interior set.)

Hoppycreations managed to squeeze most of these things into his impressive U-Wing for 3.75” figures. (His U-Wing is of his own design, and is a little smaller -- about 1:20 scale, by my estimates, based on studying his videos and taking measurements from them.) Adjustments had to be made, though: he narrowed the width of the doorways of the side doors. In fact, I noticed it appears he added a wall section so there would be enough room to put in the fold-up chairs that hang toward the front of the troop hold. And the rear of his troop hold looks like it’s extended back a little, in order to fit the second set of fold-up wall chairs in front of the power reactor...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5zn0gPT2hs
 
When it came to my Accessory Pack, I asked myself if I *really* wanted to put all these elements in. Doing so would require redesigning the bottom of the troop hold to be longer, thus, tearing it apart and rebuilding it. However, this would alter the original exterior design of the U-Wing (as it appears in the movie), narrow the doorways of the side doors, and change the center of balance of this ship making it even more rear-heavy. (This was a big issue I had to work out while engineering the wing swing-out mechanism. It’s one reason why my building plans instruct putting fishing line weights inside the cannon housing to provide counterbalance.)
 
My final decision came to this: my original goal was to make what would look like a hypothetical toy Hasbro might make (if they did the U-Wing in 1:18 scale). So from a childplay perspective, is it necessary (and “fun”) to have all four wall seats put in? To have the rear arch? Practically speaking, what additional play value would these two things add? None, really.
 
Thus, I dropped the two wall chairs that are set toward the back in the original movie set, and “flattened” the rear archway -- turning it into just a sheet of cardboard that frames the circular power reactor.
 
As for the two remaining wall chairs that are in front, they could be designed to actually fold down, I suppose. (And you can most certainly modify them to fold down, if you want.) But again I asked, what’s the play value of having them fold down? Is being able to seat two more figures going to make this huge thing more “fun” to play with? Lol
 
So this is why I came to the final design decisions I made for the interior pieces.


In my next upcoming post, I will share advice, notes, and pictures of the U-Wing fully painted. For now, know the first rule when painting cardboard: Lightly prime the cardboard and paperboard surfaces with gesso first. Then use *only* acrylic paint by brushing it on. DO NOT USE ANY OTHER KIND OF PAINT (e.g. enamel, oil, spraypaint, tempera). I'll explain more in this future post.

Offline FialaFernbrugg

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Re: Rogue One U-Wing vehicle playset -- 1:18 scale for 3.75" figures
« Reply #26 on: June 25, 2017, 12:47:35 AM »
This is by far the most detailed U-Wing I've seen so far. A fact which is even more impressive if you consider that most of it is made out of cardboard.
Thank you very much for the very detailed building instructions and the decal sheet.

Excellent work!

Offline Tamer

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Re: Rogue One U-Wing vehicle playset -- 1:18 scale for 3.75" figures
« Reply #27 on: June 25, 2017, 04:46:20 AM »
Thank you for sharing how you are doing all this and providing such great resources. Your attention to detail is just outstanding. Off to share the latest.

Offline WhillsScholar

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Re: Rogue One U-Wing vehicle playset -- 1:18 scale for 3.75" figures
« Reply #28 on: July 19, 2017, 11:57:55 PM »
UPDATE: paint preview!

I've been painting the entire playset inside and out. Here is a quickly snapped sneak preview of the interior components fully painted and with the decals glued onto them.

After the painting is done, I'll put online a whole bunch of new photos of the completed ship. I'm also hoping to get a Bodhi figure for the shoot -- you can't break up the team!

At the same time, I'll also post a brief guide that will explain how to properly prep and paint cardboard/paperboard models.



"She has a gun."



"Hand it over."



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Offline Tamer

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Re: Rogue One U-Wing vehicle playset -- 1:18 scale for 3.75" figures
« Reply #29 on: July 20, 2017, 05:06:23 AM »
Wow, that is sweet. SDCC is in high gear, but gotta get this on the front page.