X-Wing: Boba Fett Firespray Partial Repaint

You would think owning 2 Firespray-31 patrol and attack crafts would be enough for most people. However I've since repainted one as Krasis Trelix (see here) and the other as Kath Scarlet (see here). This means that I was missing from my collection the greatest bounty hunter of them all: Boba Fett.

This guy will Fett you up good...

I had to bide my time until I could find another one on sale. These things are out of stock all the time. What gives!? When it arrived I promptly put paint to model for a (partial) repaint of my 3rd Firespray. Read on to see how it turned out.


The Partial Repaint

Given that the factory paint scheme is suppose to be Boba Fett but for some strange reason they used greys in place of greens, the model didn't actually require a full repaint. It just needed a few corrections and touch ups.

Like always, I did a few quick interweb searches for the actual paint scheme for Boba Fett's ship and of how other people have done his repaint. I wanted to  make mine to be as movie accurate as possible so I used pictures from the movie as reference when painting.

The official paint scheme

The Clean Up

The stock Firespray

I was slightly disappointed when I opened up the box as the model had a huge mold line running down the middle. The painting also looked to be sloppier than usual. Very different from my previous Firespray purchases.

There's a huge unseemly mold line

This wasn't actually a big deal as cleaning mold lines is a prerequisite for most miniature models. Just annoying.

So I started by cleaning the mold lines with a combination of a hobby knife and a hobby file.

Mold lines removed

I then proceeded to the actual painting.

The Basic Colours

The main colours used

I started by painting VJ Gunship Green on the areas that was painted grey which comprised of the front and side armour plates and the stabiliser fin housings on each side of the cockpit.

I applied 2 coats for a nice smooth coverage.

The Dirty Bit

I dirtied up the ship by liberally applying a wash of GW Agrax Earthshade all over model.

The Highlights

I then started the first set of highlights. Similar to my other repaints I don't bother with actual blending, instead I simply painted the edges of each panel a slightly brighter colour, in this case 1:3 of  GW Ceramite White to VJ Gunship Green. I left the middle of each panel the base green colour.

I then repeated the process but this time with a 50:50 mix of green to white. Here I painted the same edges but made sure to leave the previous highlight visible.

This creates a colour progression of dark green in the middle to light green on the edges of each panel.

It looks pretty rough at this stage but will be fixed later with washes.

Using a detail brush I then applied edge highlights to all the green panels with a 3:1 mix of GW Ceramite White to VJ Gunship Green.

This creates a more extreme contrast.

I left the top and bottom armour panels the stock factory grey. However to emphasise it more I applied an edge highlight of GW Fortress Grey.

The Washes

Here I tidied up the rough highlights by washing all the green parts with GW Thraka Green wash. I applied 2 coats for a consistent finish.

This dulls down the previous extreme contrast to create the impression of subtle blending without actually doing any blending. This fits in with my low effort high impact motto of painting miniatures.

The Detail Work

To help bring out the red parts I used several coats of GW Bloodletter glaze.

Similarly for the yellows I used GW Lamentors Yellow.

I really like the horned skull personal heraldry that Boba Fett proudly display on his armour. I wanted to recreate this on the Firespray so I departed slightly from my movie-accurate paint scheme to hand paint the logo on the right stabiliser fin housing armour panel where I left it stock grey.

Using VJ Fire Red, a small detail brush and a steady hand I carefully painted on the horned skull. I lined the top and bottom of the armour panel with diluted GW Iyanden Yellow to bring in the colour reminisce of his armoured shoulder pad.

The Engine Glow

For the engine glow I wanted it to be movie accurate so I experimented with a combination of red, yellow and white paint with the airbrush until I got the desired hot orange burn effect. This was purely trial and error.

The Finish

I then sealed the model with VJ Matt Varnish using my airbrush.

And that is it!


The Reveal

Behold the one and only Boba Fett!:

Boba Fett at the head of a bounty hunter armada

Getting the jump on an unsuspecting YT-1300 and its escorts

This was a really fun repaint. I don't think the paint scheme is anything incredible but Boba Fett is so iconic that knowing that this is his ship is all I wanted.

Now I can't wait for the release of Scum and Villainy which should make Boba to be feared on the tabletop (to match his reputation).

Alright that's all I got this week. Stay tuned and keep flying casual!

Sweet dreams....

X-Wing: Kath Scarlet Firespray Repaint

Following up on my Krassis Trelix repaint (see here) I have now completed the repaint tutorial for another iconic bounty hunter, the fiery vixen, Kath Scarlet.


The Repaint

Scarlet pilots a wicked looking red and white patterned Firespray-31 patrol and attack craft. The colour scheme is much simpler compared to Krassis but the pattern is much more complex.

Being a lazy git I didn't bother working out the scheme and once again borrowed it from the X-Wing master painter Mr. Tuz. See his blog for the original repaint at Hobby Before I Die. I really like his version due to the symmetry of the red patterns.

Read on to discover how mine turned out.


Undercoat

I didn't bother with stripping the factory paint job as it was not worth the effort. No details would be lost by painting over the existing layer.

With my trusty airbrush, I undercoated the Firespray with VJ Model Air White. I went over it twice as I wanted a clean looking white finish.

White tac used to cover the clear plastic nub

White undercoat using an airbrush

The Basic Colours

The paints used

The Red Bits

Using a standard brush, I carefully painted in the complex red pattern using GW Mechrite Red. This is a very thick paint and it provided a very good coverage.

This stage took a really long time but it was important to get right. Any sloppiness here would show through.


The Grey Bits

I painted the back machinery and the areas along the fins with VJ Base Grey. I then picked out a few details with GW Fortress Grey and VJ Plague Brown.

The guns were then painted using VJ German Grey.

The Washes

Once all the base colours have been applied I wash the model with several generous coatings of GW Badab Black.

The Black Bits

I then followed up with a more precise application of the same Badab Black wash along the joins between the panels. I painted the cockpit window with several coats of GW Abaddon Black.

The Highlights

The guns were highlighted with the base colour German Grey followed by another lighter highlight of 50:50 Sombre Grey and VJ White.

The orange bits were highlighted with the base colour Plague Brown followed by 50:50 Plague Brown and VJ White. For the bits that looked like energy coils I applied a generous coating of GW Lamentors Yellow glaze. The grey parts were drybrushed with Base Grey.

The outer edges of the red panels were highlighted with VJ Fire Red followed by a glaze of GW Bloodletter.

The next step was to highlight the white sections. I considered this a necessity as it helps define the white panels. I highlighted the edges of each panel with VJ White.

This step took a really long time but it was well worth it. The panels really stand out now.

The Engine Glow

I didn't have any masking or painters tape so I improvised with cling film to block most of the ship from potential over spray.

Using the airbrush, I started with VJ Model Air Blue and gradually added white to the mix until I was only spraying white in the middle of the engine. I adjusted the pressure to around 10 psi to get that hazy look to simulate the energy glow. There was some over spray but overall I was very happy with the result.

Varnish

All that was left was to protect the paint job with VJ Matt Varnish. I used GW Ardcoat gloss varnish on the cockpit window for that nice shiny effect. I'm not entirely happy with this bit given how I can't for the life of me get rid of the visible brush strokes.

The Reveal

Behold Kath Scarlet and her red hot ride!

Scarlet and her bounty hunter colleague apprehending a potential rebel scum breaking the speed limit

This was a much harder repaint compared to Krassis or the YT-1300 due to the complex patterns. I'm really proud with how it turned out. Definitely my favourite repaint so far.

With my table-top miniature gaming background I sometimes take for granted my painting. Painting is a skill which means it can be developed and improved upon over time. Some obviously have more talent than others in this area but nearly everyone is capable of developing their painting skills to a certain level. I have been learning how to paint miniatures for over a decade now. For those that are new to miniature painting i.e. those that are coming into X-Wing from boardgames or card games there are many free resources on the internet to teach you how to paint. The only thing needed is patience and the motivation to learn new things. I hope my repaint articles help in this regard.

Next up in the repaints pipeline is the Millennium Falcon and the Phantom cloak/decloak effects. Until next time. Stay calm and keep painting! :D