Papa Rat

Hahahaha. Thanks. It means a lot to hear from you guys on this stuff. Same goes for all the amazing builds that I see here. It’s so inspiring.

Same here. I wanted to cancel and just buy off eBay for cheaper. Too late. HLJ has a small pack option for kits in average sized boxes and it’s not completely horrible for price

For sure. That’s a motivator

@Big s I totally see your point. I have a kit that had a “special” coating on it. I didn’t want that version but that’s all that was available. It didn’t have under gates so it left bruises all over the place. I knew it was going to be an issue and one that could have been avoided if the gates were hidden. I may go back and strip off the coating and paint it later. Yeah didn’t want to pay $140 for the the Q-Ray TV version but that’s what happened. 🥵 Hate to say it but EBay might be a feasible option these days.

The first under gate kit for me was the first Hasegawa Q-Rau which was helpful on some of the giant seam lines. Speaking of Q-Rau. Finally had to ship the TV version today since my free storage like yours, had run its course. over $100 to ship a $40 kit. Ouch

Hahaha

Very cool. Also lol at Christmas ornament. That’s actually a great idea. I might do that. Haha

I’m on a roll. Next up is the 1/100 R3 release L-Gaim MK-II. Started test fit tonight and hope to wrap it up tomorrow then get to work on surface prep over the weekend. This kit builds itself. Lots of under gates on the armor bits which I appreciate and the fit is perfect! It really feels more like an action figure than a model. It’s wild. There are a few elements that are made of colored rubber material so I guess I just leave them be. Too bad there aren’t any resin or plastic replacements for those parts.

@wm cheng Thanks so much. I really appreciate it. 😊 The way the kit is made/parted out allows for no masking if you are feeling handy with a brush. I ended up using lacquer, enamel and acrylic. I might go back in with more enamels to brighten up some small details.

Nice. Bring it on! Also hope the Phalanx goes preorder soon. ♥️

@Big s @electric indigo thanks you two. I‘m really happy with how this one turned out. Honestly the amazing killer design/sculpt helped carry me to a nice conclusion. I did learn a few things along the way and had a lot of fun with the work flow which is the best part for me.

Well it’s late…I mean early anyway Bellvine is done. I was super loose on this and had lots of fun. Didn’t mask anything and tried out some paint layering and filtering that was new to me. I should have spent more time on seam removal and surface prep but here we are. 🙃

@SteveTheFish oh yeah time with my kiddo is number 1. I get most of my bench time after they are sound asleep and I work into the late night which can be quite productive. I pay for it the next morning though. Hahaha. I’m a zombie until my morning cup of coffee. Oh and the T-Rex stuffie only shed a little stuffing, is stitched back up and is supposed to make a full recovery. Tonight my kid is building a BB8 Lego and goofing off before bedtime. ♥️

Well the outcome looked beautiful to me. Hahaha. Sometimes we get into rough waters and discover cool things as we attempt to right the ship. I’m sure your next go at the process will yield even better results. 👍

Yeah. I just held the piece and stuffing in my off hand and sprayed. Went lightly at first and finding a sweet spot for paint flow will just happen. Smaller bursts of paint were most effective for my attempts. Soooo simple. I found that after the stuffing was used a bit the effect was better since there were some more defined pathways for the paint to penetrate. Does that make sense? The whole process was inspired by folks spraying through dried up distressed baby wipes to create marble effects I didn’t want marble but used a similar method. I didn’t have baby wipes so used stuffing as a filter Next time I will make sure to put on gloves. Hahaha. Well as far as weathering I absolutely loved the Ostrich you shared on here. That had such an amazing surface treatment and required quite the process if I remember.

Thanks. I’ll try and take a pic of what I used but it’s so straightforward…stretch poly fill across surface and spray then repeat. It’s not some sort of witchcraft. Ok a little black magic maybe. Lol I’m so pumped for you getting some items shipped out too. I need to do the same since I imagine my free PW time is running out. Ugh. Maybe my wife ships it out for me for my bday gift? Hmmmmm. Scheming. How’s the ship? Also how’s the tank coming? 👀

Thanks Thom. I have been wanting to try out new ways of adding some effects to plain surfaces and thought this build would be a great opportunity to try it out. A bio mechanical design seems perfect for this sort of thing. Inspired by how a bugs shell looks or subtle speckled effects in a salamanders skin.

That’s a fantastic idea. I just need to get it shipped out to me. Sadly it’s been living in my HLJ Private Wear house for months. 👍

So I decided to try adding some mottled texture to the Bellvine. My kid was kind enough to let me perform surgery on one of their old stuffies to extract some poly fill to use as a filter to spray through. It’s hard to photograph but I am digging the outcome. Less is more that’s for sure. Going to add a topcoat next and then it’s time to muck it up with some washes and panel liner. The silver hoses are going to look great once all the recessed areas get some oil wash sitting in there.

Trying some layering on this Bellvine. Black primer, silver underpainting and two green colors…shadows and highlights. Also a sandy yellow in there too. I wasn’t sure the silver would do much but I think it does add a little more depth. I painted the clear parts silver and clear purple candy. well I think airbrush time is done for now. I’ll move along to brush painting the details

Finally returning to the Plamax Bellvine. Not many seams to deal with, but it has lots of mold lines. I will completely buildup all subassembly’s like head, arms, legs, feet, thrusters etc… and have fun being loose with my painting. Probably only masking off the eyes on this one and then move on to brush painting lacquer for the metal hoses etc… Looking forward to being more freestyle in my approach due to the semi organic vibe and messing around with this bug…or is it a bird? Not sure

Finished up the Wave 1/144 LED Colus. a fun little build. Noticing a lot of sinks in this kit among other strange design choices for construction

Looking great. Your patience and process are paying off. 👍

Wave had an inferno napalm 1/144 but scrapped it. Wish they would revisit. I can imagine Volks doing it though eventually. That would be great! I’m guessing 1/144 KOG with buster will come first.

It’s a fun one. I hear the larger and older 1/100 are a pain but I really want the flame launcher version and also the older black knight kit. One day