Bandai 1/72 B-Wing Star Fighter

[Stokesy44]

May the Force be with us.

In the summer of 1983 my father wrote off for tickets for Return of the Jedi at what was (then) the biggest screen in the country. The Odeon Cinema at Marble Arch in London. We travelled into the city by train on a blisteringly hot day and took our seats for one of the best cinematic experiences in history.

Some people knock ROTJ and that's their right but to a 12 year old in love with the Star Wars universe I was awed by its spectacle. I thought it was a brilliant end to a trilogy (back when a trilogy had a beginning, middle and end). I still think its in the top 3 of all 9 originals, sequels and prequels.

As for the B-Wing, well, blink and you'll miss it. Originally slated to play a much bigger part in the Battle of Endor, the B-Wing was relegated to be used in only a few scenes, when the rebel fleet jumps to light speed, when it emerges from hyperspace and when the fleet breaks off the attack due to the shield still being up. The reason for this is that ILM found it to difficult to film the B-Wing models because the long stem and slender wings of the fighter tended to disappear during the compositing process that was being used (pre-digital) at the time.

The B-Wing must have figured in the pre-production work on toys for the movie because it came out as part of the Kenner range in time for Christmas in 83. Complete with blaster sounds and a stabilised cockpit it was a big fighter, much bigger than the X-Wing and an absolute superb bit of kit.

40 years later and I'm finally building it as a model

The only kit available for the B-Wing is the 1/72 Bandai offering. There may be some resin or 3-d printed stuff out there but I wanted something I could trust. I'm not bothered by the colored plastic or the snap fix nature of the build. The plastic looks superbly detailed and I the coloured nonsense will go when I prime the kit.

Here are the obligatory photos.



Plenty of plastic in the box

















Cutting plastic should begin later today

[Portman]

I like ROTJ, not quite as good as 'The Empire Strikes Back' which is my all time favourite Starwars film, but really still a cracking good film - I actually watched it a few weeks ago. I have to say I do really prefer the original ending and music, before the messed around with it and added in all the bits from around the empire and CGI'd in the younger Anakin from the Prequals.

The B-Wing is a seriously cool fighter, I'll be looking forward to this.

[Stokesy44]

I like ROTJ, not quite as good as 'The Empire Strikes Back' which is my all time favourite Starwars film, but really still a cracking good film - I actually watched it a few weeks ago. I have to say I do really prefer the original ending and music, before the messed around with it and added in all the bits from around the empire and CGI'd in the younger Anakin from the Prequals.

The B-Wing is a seriously cool fighter, I'll be looking forward to this.

Absolutely agree on ALL points

[Twokidsnosleep]

Oh yeah, game’s afoot !

[DBMiller]

Nice! I've always liked the B-Wing.

[RangerNeil]

Chair pulled up, popcorn popped and Pepsi's in the fridge.

[digger303]

[Stokesy44]

Nice! I've always liked the B-Wing.

Oh yeah, game’s afoot !

Chair pulled up, popcorn popped and Pepsi's in the fridge.

No pressure then

According to Star Wars Canon, the B-Wing was a difficult ship to fly. This was due to the orientation issues caused by the way the fuselage rotated around the cockpit to keep it level. Only a selected few were able to fly it.

Lets hope the kit is a bit easier on the builder!

[Stokesy44]

All wings report in!

its a proper shake and bake kit. Very little glue is required as its all pressure fit lugs everywhere.

Started with the cockpit module. You can see how detailed the plastic is



As usual with Bandai, the pilot is nothing to write home about. Not sure if I'll use him (or her).





The front fairing comes off so I'll be able to paint the cockpit properly.



Basics of the upper superstructure added.



Break off the attack, the shield is still up!

[digger303]

Where's Dave and Greg ?

[Stokesy44]

Where's Dave and Greg ?

Dave & Greg? You've got me there. Prey tell good sir.

Well, its been a productive day. The airframe is basically finished. It all went together nicely with a few bits of tinkering just to make sure the fit of the various parts were nice and tight.

The kit has no landing skids and without the stand there's no real way to pose the kit. So, apologies for the following pics.









That's the progress for the day. I'll do the gun pods tomorrow then it will be pretty much priming time. We dont hang about in this galaxy folks.

"We've got to be able to get some kind of a reading on that shield, up or down!"

[Twokidsnosleep]

Nice! I've always liked the B-Wing.

Oh yeah, game’s afoot !

Chair pulled up, popcorn popped and Pepsi's in the fridge.

No pressure then

According to Star Wars Canon, the B-Wing was a difficult ship to fly. This was due to the orientation issues caused by the way the fuselage rotated around the cockpit to keep it level. Only a selected few were able to fly it.

Lets hope the kit is a bit easier on the builder!

They also took 5-7 business days to get the F into position and bomb stuff
Like make it go slower, nothing is gonna lazer the hell out of it

[bfrd]

That kit goes together super easy.

[Stokesy44]

They also took 5-7 business days to get the F into position and bomb stuff
Like make it go slower, nothing is gonna lazer the hell out of it

That's a different ship! And I agree with you, that bombing run in The Last Jedi is one of the stupidest sequences I have ever seen. But then its a terrible movie in general. The more I think about it the more I fail to comprehend just what The House of Mouse was doing with the sequels.

[Stokesy44]

That kit goes together super easy.

It does indeed. Provided you don't get creative with the instructions

[Stokesy44]

"I get no reading! Are you sure?"

One thing I have noticed is that its easy to see why the team at ILM had trouble photographing the model. When viewed from directly ahead or behind, the wings are incredibly thin. With the technology of the time it was a bridge too far.

If anyone is interested there is a FANTASTIC documentary about ILM on Disney Plus. Series 1 is in 6 parts and covers the creation of the company by Lucas in 1976 until the advent of digital effects in the 1990s with Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park. All the big names are in the doc and you can still see what an amazing time it must have been. Highly recommended.

Anyway, back to the mundane model kit stuff - Gun pods finished.

This the main pod housed at the base of the vertical wing. The quality of the plastic and the overall fit continues to be very good. You can't fault Bandai on their consistency.





I have glued the wings in their combat configuration. Easier to paint that way and they will also be displayed in the deployed position.









And that's the build phase completed Light grey primer is up next - once its cooled down a bit

"Pull up! PULL UP! All craft pull up!"

[digger303]

That was a quick build and so nice.

[DBMiller]

You're done!!
I've only just opened the box on mine!

[Stokesy44]

You're done!!
I've only just opened the box on mine!

Its a shake and bake kit to be honest. If you dropped the parts on the floor it would probably build itself