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Carlos Gomez
4 articles

AMT / ERTL Xizor's Virago from Star Wars Shadows of the Empire

March 12, 2023 · in Sci-fi · · 11 · 0.8K

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

: Shadows of the Empire is a 1996 multimedia project created by Lucasfilm. The idea was to create a story set between the films The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and to explore all commercial possibilities of a full motion picture release without actually making a film. The venture was intended to reinvigorate interest in the franchise ahead of the theatrical Special Editions of the Star Wars trilogy released the following year.

Several products were released, including a novel, a junior novelization, a comic book series, a video game, a soundtrack, trading cards, role-playing games, posters, model kits, Micro Machines toys, statuettes, vinyl dolls, and a series of action figures and vehicles.

The Kit:
The Virago is a kit I have been after for some time and I finally found it a few weeks ago at the Blizzcon model show in Columbus, Ohio. I decided to have a go at it right away.
Apart from some fiddly mounting points for the four wings, the model went together fairly well. I added random bits of styrene sheet for added detail on the guns and main fuselage.

Createx acrylics provide the overall color scheme with Flory Models dark dirt wash and AK pencils for the weathering. The base was finished using Rub n Buff wax paste and Createx Red for the details.

Reader reactions:
9  Awesome

16 additional images. Click to enlarge.


11 responses

  1. @air2 - Cool kit Carlos. The weathering and finish work are very well done!

  2. Very cool build up of something seldom seen. I remember the game for Nintendo 64 back in the day, and even built this kit. Your posting brings back memories, despite the finished model getting scraped from mothballs only last year.

    The blasters can pivot and the "wings" can spread, right?

  3. Very cool! Unique subject here and very well done

  4. Thanks, Brian, Andrew and David.
    Andrew - yes the guns pivot and the wings can swing up and down.

  5. Very nice paintwork and weathering finish to give the model a really singular look.

  6. Excellent result, Carlos @Air2
    The weathering is indeed superbly done.

  7. Fantastic job, Carlos!

  8. Nice work, the overall finish looks great!

  9. Nice work, Carlos, it looks great.

  10. Gentlemen - thank you for the compliments. It was a fun build.

  11. Very Nice Carlos, a very interesting ship - have this one in the stash, nice to see someone else's.

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