The TIE Bomber was one of my most rewarding model projects. It is way larger than the one built at ILM and it has a full cockpit interior lit with fiber optics, and a scratch-built pilot.

The TIE-Bomber body is built from two acrylic tubes. I ordered them pre-cut to the right length from the supplier, because cutting acrylic tubes is difficult without proper equipment. I then laminated the acrylic tubes with 1-millimeter styrene sheets to provide a good surface for applying details. The styrene is also a great material when it comes to scribing panel lines.

The next thing I did was to construct the section between the tubes. This was made from styrene as well. I now had to connect these components together. The best way to achieve structural strength was to let a massive PVC-rod run through the model. This bolt also served as the "shoulders" that would later connect to the wings to the model.

The bomb sensor under the ship was made from styrene. I filled the core of the "neck" with epoxy putty, into which I fastened two brass alignment rods. These would make a sturdy connection to the body when assembled.

The curved shapes of the cockpit hood and the bomb launcher in front of the model were made by vacuum-forming styrene sheets over pre-made epoxy plugs. (see the Vacuum-forming article for more on that.) I then fitted the vac-parts to match the joining line with the styrene laminated around the acrylic body.

The bomb launcher and its interior were mounted immediately, but the cockpit hood had to wait. I had to make the entire cockpit interior and the pilot before assembling this section. I sculpted the pilot from Super Sculpey. The chair and steering stick were made from styrene sheets, rods and pipes.

For the cockpit interior I cut and sanded small blocks of superfine urethane foam. I then drilled hundreds of tiny holes into which I inserted fiber optics. The fiber strands were gathered behind the cocpit section and painted in various transparent colours. They are lit by one bulb powered by a 9-volt battery.

Once the cockpit interior and the pilot were installed, I could join the cockpit hood with the rest of the model. I vacuum-formed the cockpit canopy from clear PVC. The timing is quite important here, because PVC tends to bubble when heated. The cockpit grating (or bars if you like) were styrene vacuum-formed on top of the clear PVC.

I then scribed all the panel lines into the styrene surface of the model. For this job, I used a sharpened screwdriver and a ruler. All the details on the body were made from styrene and a wide range of kit parts (I used a lot of battleship parts). The construction of this model was quite simple, but detailing it was more painstaking. It is so large that I had problems knowing when to stop.

The engine section was also made from styrene. The outer rings are slightly curving inward, so I laminated several layers and sanded them down. The center engine cone was vacuum-formed and the patterns were scribed the same way as the panel lines.

At the connecting point between the shoulders and the wings I laminated styrene to simulate the attachment rings.

The wings were made entirely from styrene. I made an assembly jig to ensure a correct angle in the bend. For the solar panels I used pre-patterned sheets from Evergreen plastics (US).

For some of the wing details I made prototypes and cast copies from silicone molds and urethane.

The model was basecoated and painted in Tamyia colours. I used an airbrush to ensure a high quality result. I then washed it in a solution of thinner and oil colours to give depth to details.

The last thing I did was dry-brushing the model to bring out raised details and give it a sligthly worn look.

The Bomber model is 64cm wide.