captain america

The image above is already in jpeg format. I even saved it in RGB since the CMYK was causing problems with the Cat's Eye destructions. What are you using to try to open it?

Hiya folks! All paid orders shipped today! I would have done so a couple of days quicker had my printer not been acting up The main destruction sheet is also done and attached below. I will also produce an addendum showing how to DIY stretched sprue antennae for the hull. It's a simple affair, but important to illustrate nonetheless

Hi GarbageMan. Actually, you don't really need primer on plastic kits if you're already using hobby paints. A coat of medium/light grey paint as an undercoat for the white will be sufficient, and since paint is finer than primer, you won't have to worry about drowning out details.

This, and only this. Nothing more need be said about this ill-conceived idea.

I really need to revisit my 1/32 project...

You people scare me sometimes Anyway, back to the current ship! Behold... A Quelamitz parking lot!!! Also, i've included a quick pic to show the parts breakdown. Very simple & straightforward parts.

There wouldn't be much difference between the flagship and Queleual in terms of fabrication. What the Queleual lacks in length it compensates for in girth, and both ships are too large even at 1/5000 to fit in my pressure pot, so resin casting for the hull would be out. The only other option I could think of would be lay-up in open molds using either fiberglass or thixatropic resin. This controls the materials cost, but then labor costs shoot way up because it's a very long and elaborate process to get just a single cast. Not to mention the horrendous fumes from the polyester resin

Just a quick pic snapped through the glass of my showcase...

That ship would be quite massive, even in 1/5000 scale and honestly, I don't know if it can be made in a cost-feasible manner. Breetai on the other hand is very manageable in 1/5000. 1/72 too

Hopefully that's just due to a lag in the postal system

Details & pricing will be forthcoming, a few details still need to be ironed-out.

Actually, the thin snout makes me think of some fort of psychotic crocodile; I love it!!!

She's done! Actually, she's been done since Friday; just waiting to finalize a few logistical details but in the meantime, here are the pics!

Just the dark(er) blue parts. No storage precautions necessary; just the usual common-sense stuff

I'd wait to do the prep work til after the parts are cooked; the resin will sand much more easily and you won't have to worry about the heat damaging any putty.

The info is in the instructions.

It shouldn't really make a difference so long as the parts, once baked, are allowed to cool to room temperature. The hardening process is permanent once the parts are cooked

Yup, just do a search with the key words: Kaa-T'sai and the destructions thread should come up.

Duuuude, you have NO idea! It's after 10pm local time and I'm just packing it in for the night and that's the norm with this project. Lotsa compound curves = lotsa sanding, puttying, filling, re-sanding, re-puttying. Thankfully, I should be ready to prime by tomorrow evening and from there, things become more relaxing

Captain's log: September 24th. Hi everyone! Boy, that last week just flew by; it's almost as though it was all just a big blur of putty and Ren Shape dust!! Nonetheless, I have made great strides on the Quelamitz. In the first pic entitled "pic A," I went about trying to plug as many of the pinholes in the surface as possible. Some pinholes are fairly stubborn though, so they will be met with a combination of Kombi Filler and filler primer, but that will come later. Pic B: I have begun tackling the basics of what will become the main gun's "barrel" assembly. In this instance, I'm squashing a male plug into the lower hull. Pic C: with the lower hull done, I will repeat this process with the upper hull. The latter has already beeb pre-hollowed and tested for clearance. Pic D: the upper and lower gun halves were then mated to the "bridge" module, once again using the putty squash method. While seemingly crude, it is still the best technique that I know of to get complex and irregular shapes to fit together like a glove, and since the ship is one ginormous zucchini goober, the putty flows very liberally!! Pics 01-07: the outer hull is now virtually complete, with just a few minor things to fix and then I can proceed with the finer hull detailing and miscellaneous bits! Yeah yeah, I know: the ships looks like it was berried in the Amazon jungle for years! Not to worry, things will look a whole lot better next week when you see her all primered and detailed. It's actually a good thing that I was able to delay priming for so long, as it allows you to see all the various fixes and putty corrections that have taken place over the course of its conception. With a little luck, the ship masters should be finished by next week, and then it's off to the rubber cemetery and finally… Castings! Stay tuned...

She'll fly, but we only have enough power for one shot!

Yup, the last of the kits went out last week so it's just a matter of time now. Cobywan: glad you like the kit. It might be a bit of a PITA to clean up though.

:lol: Actually, that's one of the aspects that was problematic. When you look at the line art, especially that 3/4 rear view, the ship looks narrow but in the animation, when you see it take off at the beginning in episode 36, you can clearly see from the bottom view that the ship is quite wide. Then, I have to consolidate those two (somewhat) contradictory views with the (tiny) side view of the ship. Sometimes it's like trying to nail a zucchini to the wall

Captain's log: September 17th. Hi everyone! There is no rest for the wicked, especially when they scratchbuild… Though I could have postponed the update, I was quite happy about the level of progress that I made in the last few days, so I figured I'd share. Pic 1: though initially neglected, the rear of the ship is finally getting some much-needed attention. As you can see, I've done some crude hollowing of the area that will become the main thrusters. Precision isn't necessary in this particular operation, as the actual shape of the thrusters will be achieved by squashing a male plug (made from the piece I'm holding in the pic) into the cavity filled with polyester putty. Pic 2: this same "putty squashing" method will be used to achieve the openings of the eye-like sensor pods on each side of the hull. But before I do that, the hull has to have the general areas around the openings carved out. Pic 3: back to the aft thruster. I have made a crude separator to act as a visual guide as I calculate the shapes and carve-out the plug pieces Pic 4: here, you can clearly see the plugs sitting in the unfinished cavities. I want to ensure that the cavities I dremeled are large enough and deep enough, so lots of checking and re-checking. Pic 5: the plugs are given a generous coat of mold release and placed aside. Then, I mix up some polyester putty and place a good amount inside the cavity and then press the plug gently into the putty… Sometimes it feels (and looks) like I'm making a complete mess of the masters, but fear not, there is a method to my madness... Pic 6: the same procedure is used for the rear thrusters, and with excellent results! The crude, horizontal lines are merely guides for the thrust diverter fins which will be added later. The same piece that was used as a plug will be segmented and made into the fins, and since one is moulded from the other, the fins will fit perfectly, like a glove! Pics 7, 8 and 9: aaaah, now it's really starting to look like a ship! The overall shape of the craft is almost there; just a few minor details to adjust here and there, but I'm really excited; all that work is finally starting to bear fruit… Those Microns will rue the day they crossed paths with Quamzin!!!

Wow Ruben, top notch work!!! Hope the castings aren't giving you too much trouble. It's really fantastic to see your skills advancing with every new model. Heck, your progress reports are more interesting than mine