Well the weathering is just a simple dirty brush on effect with black gray and tan paints that gave it a really worn and used effect. It really does seem to me to represent what a fighter would look like on when the owner is on the run and has to hide it and is only able to do minimal repairs and those focusing more on the actual working parts instead of the exterior bits.
The deco work is what I am very proud of. All the markings on the S-foils and the fuselage are all stickers. No painting required only some simple trimming! Yet what really helps out this vehicle, I think, is the way that the stickers were done. I took the FX X-Wing sticker sheet that I found online and got rid of a lot of the stickers I felt weren’t needed and added the kill markings and the Rouge Squadron insignias. Since I knew I was going to print the kill markings on clear sticker sheets I decided that I should print everything on clear sheets. That’s when I had a revelation!
I opened up Photoshop and went to work. After adjusting and getting the coloring the way I wanted I then went and carefully too all the nicks, scrapes, chips and other weathering marks that were on the original stickers and simply erased them figuring that if the sticker sheet were clear and the paint had really been removed by wear or chipped off from things hitting it that the fuselage would be showing and instead of trying to match that color or having to paint the entire ship with a basecoat and then apply more paint on top of that this would be a much easier solution.
I think that the results speak for themselves too. The clear stickers allow the original details to come through and also the colors are more subdued and come out more muted then if a white sticker was used. The clear sticker sheet I used is also thinner so when it is applied over a bodyline or panel edge it can be simply be pushed into the body line with a fingernail so it appears to be following the contours more like paint. This defiantly gives it a more used and worn, real-life appearance.
Now I also printed out on clear sticker sheet a reproduction of original decals for my Vintage B-Wing…. Yea those will have to be redone on a white sheet, as the details are very, very hard to make out now. So the use of clear isn’t always the best choice.
As Hangerbay said, I will now be able to make just about any color X-Wing squadron colors that anyone will ever want and they will be simple to apply too boot. A straight edge, cutting board and a good hobby knife will be the only things required to change your fighters about. I am also working on making a set of “clean” markings so you can have fresh off the line fighter if you wanted.
Again thanks to everyone for all the comments and praise. I feel proud of what I have here but I still think that it pails in the light of many others amazing work that has been shown on this sight. Once I get everything finished on my end and also get to see what my silent helper has done with his version of the project I will try to figure out the best way to use my creation to help the community.
