I know these kits tend to get a bad rap in terms of accuracy and the fact that they are part toy with the sound and light feature. But I do love me some A-wings so I picked it up with the intent of doing some minor work on it to see if i could make it look better.



Out of the Box it doesn't look half bad, granted the details are basic but it would be acceptable for a kid to pop this together and have a fun toy to play around with



the one major let down with this kit is that the blasters are hallowed out which I hate and don't really see a reason why. you could fill them if you wanted to, but unless you are doing a full repaint from scratch it probably more trouble then its worth. hopefully we get a Bandai kit of this model of the A-wing down the line.



Giving it a basic pin wash does bring out some more detail and makes it look a lot better, though I don't know if its the plastic or some kind of coating Revell put on the kit after painting it but even after washing the parts the Mig panel line wash seemed to not take to the plastic as well as it should so multiple applications are needed, however this might be mitigated if you spray an additional acrylic sealing coat on the kit before adding the wash



Last bit that i have done so far is do a basic paint of the cockpit so its not just a flat grey slab, not my best as it was a quick job and its hard to get the brush into all the small spaces but still I think it adds a lot

You've done a great job of that kit and I agree that they do get a bad write up but that might have something to do with their odd scales.

Bandai have released a version of this kit in 1/72 scale in Return of the Jedi colours if you're interested.

Ya I do think the box scale does have something to do with it. I also just got the Bandai A-wing and it is indeed a nice kit. still would like to see this guy here in 1/72 scale as just like with the X-wings in EP 7-8 they went back to the concept art for the A-wing when creating the Resistance A-wing from what i can tell comparing the two it has a longer nose and bigger engine pylons as well as having the cockpit pushed back rather then the more central location on the RotJ A-wing

Got a little more done. painted and washed the blaster mounts and panel washed the fins

another small bit done with the blasters given a wash and the rings added to the back of the pylons and adding the front of the canopy. overall I am happy with the blasters but think i could have done a bit better on the larger surfaces with the wash. Also i drilled out the barrels of the blaster to give them a bit more realistic look.

added the wash to the pylons think its was ok, think next time going to use a slightly thicker wash been using only the panel wash for everything just for consistency but I think im finding its a little thin for larger areas.

got the figure for the A-wing done. The pilot is very basic but considering we didn't get one for the X-wing it is a step up. The face had some really soft detail. Didn't help that i'm still not great at painting human faces. I used Reaper minis fair skin triad but I feel, and others over on the Reaper forums have pointed out that the shade and highlight are all to similar, i used all three but you cant really tell. next time I'm going to add the rosy skin triad as they suggest to get a little more contrast. Also as usually I got one good eye, the left and one that wouldn't work with me but got to a serviceable condition. Pilot is Based on the one we see from Last Jedi, picture on the left is from the 3.75 action figure box (and my painting does a disservice to it .) even though the pilot is basic is cool that they got little things in there like her scarf.



bit of a tight fit to get her in the cockpit and i'm sure some of the paint on the back of the boots got scuffed getting her in, so probably wouldn't plan on switching her in and out if you paint her. Also its easier to angle her in if you take the front of the canopy off



She does look good once in there.


and from a distance the figure really pops with that large open canopy



All that I think i have left to do is work on the back a bit more and work on the landing gear a bit and I think we can call this guy done.

This combat vehicle must have been pulled out of a museum. Clearly it has had it's original blasters pulled and replaced with those hollow mock-ups. Otherwise it's all good!

might have been, dont think I saw the A-Wing hit anything in Last Jedi. Pilot must have jest been saying PEW PEW PEW into the mic

For the most part I'm going to call this A-wing finished as all that is left is a few minor touch ups before I seal it. Only things added scene last time are painting the missile ports black, which isn't very obvious on the box art, look more like shadowing but looking at movie images they where black. So paint these guys before assembling the hull as its hard to get in there with a brush once its together.


Also painted the thrusters in which again would probably have been easier if done before putting the pylons together.


And here's the lighting effect that are on the kit.


Overall I'm happy with the this kit, Its no Bandai, but a half decent paint job really can make it shine and if you can get it for around $15 i'd say its worth it. On a side note I have the kit listed as 1:57 scale but I have also seen it listed as 1:44 so don't know 100% which one it is but it is obviously Box scale. For those who are interested in this kit Revell Germany has an alternative version with a slightly different Deco in Red.

Pros:
- Good fit
- Decent details
- adequate pilot figure
Cons:
- The hallow blasters
- no clear picture for those who do want to paint the kit
- Box Scale

Looks good. I've got a Bandai one to try soon. Was going to use a McQuarrie paint style on it.