Mobquet Flare-S Swoop

This was yet another rainy day project.

Parts: Shadows of the Empire Swoop.

Supplies: X-acto knife, emery board or file, brushes, Testors paints and Testors Dull-Cote.

Reference: None.

Once the swoop was assembled, I did not apply the decals right away. The entire swoop was given a new paint job. The main chassis was spray painted black and the front air foils were spray painted light aircraft grey. There was no real rhyme or reason to this paint selection. I just wanted a completely new paint scheme, and I wanted it to look like it had been beat up and put back together several times. Some access panels were painted a slightly different color than the rest of the swoop to indicate that it had been replaced. Many of the edges were drybrushed with a Testors watercolor finishing paint that is supposed to look like oxidized metal. I wanted to show weathering and places where paint had been chipped off. It worked very well, but unfortunately it doesn't show in the photos. The pilot's seat was painted brown to simulate "leather" cushioning. The engine and exhaust pipes were painted a combination of oxidized metal and scorched metal colors.

I modified the figure by cutting off his head and gluing on a Ten Nunb head. This worked really well, and because I was careful with the glue, the ball joint at the neck still works. Then, I cut off the boots and did a bit of trimming. I shortened the boots and the legs because Sullustans just aren't as tall as the figure was. I also did some re-painting on the figure. I left most of his armor alone, but I changed the color of the jumpsuit worn under the armor to olive drab. I also used steel paint to detail all of the button, buckles and clips on his armor and equipment. He was then sprayed with Dull-Cote and given several dark washes. I have not decided on a name for him yet.
The decals were applied to the swoop at this point. The entire swoop was given several washes of very thinned out black paint to show oil leaks and general wear and tear. It was also drybrushed with light brown and tan to show where dust and dirt have adhered to the underside of the swoop. Testors Dull-Cote was applied liberally to every part of the swoop.