Custom Titanium Blackbird

[Nightside]

OK, so this is my first ever attempt at a custom piece, so be kind...

Given the BSG line's demise, I was bummed that we'd never be getting an official Blackbird. So I picked up an extra X-wing and attempted to turn it into the Blackbird.

The proportions are certainly not exact (it is an X-wing after all), but it'll fill the void in my collection. I sanded down the astromech droid and painted the whole thing (minus the canopy) black. The engines are the arms from Gobot Fitor, held together by a couple of Lego pieces. If anyone's has any ideas for more accurate engines (short of hand-sculpting them), please share.

Now, if I could just write "Laura" really, really tiny on the nose...

[JediTricks]

Ha! That's not a bad little custom, and thanks for mentioning what made up the engines, that was driving me crazy.

[clone157]

Great job. Man, why is it that Hasbro couldn't do something like this? I wonder if they could not think of possible new molds or if they were only allowed a small number of new molds.

[Darth Duranium]

Great idea! It's pretty damn good, Night... not an easy thing to do.

I was thinking that I might use a Viper Mk VII as a basis for a blackbird... the nose section widens out into a triangular shape, and it doesn't have the nose cone like an X-Wing. If they ever release a TS E-Wing it might be modifiable, too. Time to dust off the Dremel Tool!

I guess the real trick is finding something for the engines... I was looking at other TS and AF ships and nothing seems quite suitable. What you've used is pretty good... can't see any Lego parts!

Here's a few pics of a model someone built... anybody have any ideas as to what other ships might be "kit-bashed" to make the engines?

BTW, I've been planning on making a Basestar... I'm collecting meshes and plans, trying to figure out how to do it.

[Nightside]

DT, definitely keep us in the loop with any info on your basestar project. I've seen some pewter ones on eBay, but they were a bit pricey and I didn't care for the paint job. (Ditto on your Mk VII -> Blackbird project)

[JediTricks]

Wow, that's a great looking garage kit or whatever it is.

For the engines, have you considered using the Titanium Galactica's side pods? They're roughly the same shape.

[Nightside]

For the engines, have you considered using the Titanium Galactica's side pods? They're roughly the same shape.

Great suggestion JT! They are pretty darn close to the same shape.

[Darth Duranium]

I agree, Nightside... great idea, JT... actually, I think the Konami Battlestar's pods would be even better for the engines... the scale's closer and it's resin for easy chopping. The only downside would be finding another one at a reasonable price!

Another thought: the engines from a Concorde SST jet might work well, too... assuming the Blackbird isn't flying out of Paris!

The front of the ship would be perfect if you thinly sliced off the front diagonal sides of the Konami Narcissus (not the actual nose) and attached them to the nose of the Viper Mk VII.

This could be one very expensive custom!

I think I'm gonna wuss out for now and finish my resin TS-sized BSG shuttle from the original series first. I've still got a Mining ship to do, too! And some kewl ships from 2001: A Space Odyssey! I'm so very lazy... mad props to Nightside for actually finishing his ship!

I wish someone would make life easy and release a decent painted Basestar! I've been thinking about carving one out of wood or moulding one in some kind of modelling clay.

Anyone have any experience with clay? My last experience with it was plasticine in grade 4!!!!

[JediTricks]

Glad you liked the suggestion, I put them together only after seeing the model pics that DT posted. Make sure to keep us in the loop if you do it.

The nose on the Viper is a little different from the Blackbird nose, the Viper's is cut forward so from the side it's at an angle, while the Blackbird is a straight up and down cut. If you had the right tools, you could possibly just cut the X-wing nose straight off, then bevel the interior of the cut to make the intake (assuming it's not hollow at that point). I don't know how much ZAMAC really takes to this sort of torture though.

[Darth Duranium]

Well, I wussed back in and decided to have a go at the Blackbird... Nightside and JT got my juices flowing... I'll have to towel off and thank 'em for the inspiration.

I went through a few boxes and found an extra X-Wing (the awful Dagobah one) and a spare Pegasus... so I decided to be a cheap bastard and work with those! I used 3 bits of plastic from an old airplane model, too.

IMO, I think the TS Viper Mk VII would have been a nightmare to work with, and the back's all wrong anyway. I just chopped off the X-Wing's nose with a pair of heavy-duty snips and dremelled her flat. I used plastic from the Pegasus' interior to fill the wing holes and to raise the "engine arms".

The beauty of using the Pegasus is that once you take off its flight pods, you end up with a Colonial Corvette that's quite displayable as-is. I ended up with 2 ships... the Blackbird and the Corvette!

I liked all the detailing on the "engines" so I left them alone, except for modifying their fronts... it's a small ship! My favourite parts are the "stealth baffles" on the back of the engines!

My Blackbird sure ain't show-accurate but I think I caught the general flavour of the ship. I could be wrong.

Anyhoo, please lemme know what y'all think! Unfortunately, the glue seems go invisible with the flash (can't see any seams in regular light) but here's some crappy shots anyway. I probably should have used a brighter background and no flash... I'll take some better shots tomorrow.