MickyG's (Slow) VF-25G Build

[wm cheng]

I feel your pain MickyG!

If it makes you feel any better, you didn't get a dud - they're all like this! I went though all of your emotions when I built mine (and I have some bit of experience in my belt). It's just a very fragile design - Bandai Models is a robot company with little or no experience in transforming models, they excel in creating poseable display humanoid type robot models (their toy division is a completely separate entity). Everything I had feared when I first heard about Bandai doing these VF-25 models came true and then some!! Unfortunately, they are the only game in town at the moment. Actually building the last (and my first) VF-25 left such a bad taste in my mouth that it put me off modeling altogether (and actually I no longer have any time too!). I actually started to buy more toys and just dressing them up a little bit with light weathering and panel lines because I can't be bothered with so much effort.

I'm convinced that Bandai engineered the kit to be built without painting (they go through great lengths to mold all the proper colours in their Gunplay kits) so they never consider paint scraping during transformation, in fact, they heavily rely on the friction of pieces binding to hold the kit together in various modes. Just look at all the masking, disassembly and re-assembly to paint just a few pieces. I ended up hand brushing clear coat over the pieces that I find would need to wear the most (shoulder/chest plates) - especially the decal edges in those areas - brush puts on so much more paint that it would take 10-12 coats of airbrush to achieve the same protection.

It's a love hate relationship, I love the design! I hate the kit! (the toys just don't do the design justice)

Don't dispair, it looks fantastic finally getting to put it all together!

[Chronocidal]

That is the one thing I always worried most about on ths kit.. the pieces fit so tightly, and the tolerances are so miniscule, how is there supposed to be room for you to paint it?

I think when I finally get my Alto kit put together, I'm going to work it around for a while to and actually just see where the paint scratches. Afterward, I'll just sand down the areas that rubbed, and repaint them. That should give a little room, and it'll give me an excuse to repaint the areas I'm still not happy with.

Really glad I managed to grab a nice set of tamiya acrylics from HLJ's free shipping sale, including some clearcoat I can brush on over the tender spots.

[Lolicon]

Brought the camera this morning so here's some pics. They were rushed and half of them are at a crazy ISO (1600) so the colours aren't very pretty. The other half are OK and give a better idea of how this looks. Still more super parts to add. I'll do my best to get that done today. Worth noting in pic 1 is the gap between the knee and thigh. Am I doing something wrong here? It's a huge gap that can't possibly be the way it should be. Or can it?

Hehehehe welcome to the wonderful world of VF-25 modeling! Mr. Cheng pretty much said it all; I'm of the mind that Bandai intended these "models" to be toys that you have to put together yourself with minimal effort. And they're great for that purpose, but if you want it to look good, it's going to take a lot more effort, even more so than any gunpla kits (I've assembled a few Gundams in the past).

Anyway, your 25G is looking fantastic! I (almost) can't wait to get into mine now! As for that leg gap, you should be able to push the lower leg upwards towards the thigh so it sits flush. You'll have to fiddle with it to get it to sit more or less upright and in place. Try not to wear the leg joints out though, because that joint friction is the only thing keeping the leg up! I stuck a bit of bluetac between the leg and arms to help keep it up...

The VF-27 has tabs that lock the legs and wings into place, so once you've gotten it fully assembled everything is super tight and you can woosh it around all you like. Getting it assembled is another story; the parts fit is much tighter and I had a far harder time getting everything in place on the 27! I even snapped off the head antenna during assembly.

[Ghost Train]

There has always been a triangular dilemma with the Frontier kits thus far:

1) It's really a model, and thus it's a display piece and should be handled with care.

2) But it's a model that can transform! What good is something that can transform but that remains static for a prolonged period of time.

3) But the wear & tear from transformation increases the chance of damaging paint & decaling.

Tentative Solution: Build it in only 1 form... but then I don't get my money's worth as this kit has twice the MSRP of a Hasegawa non transformable (ie. I've been ripped off). Ok... so it's really more like 4 points and not 3.

So yea... I would have been more pleased if they released non-transformable versions of each mode, though the economies of scale probably favored the current product.

Edited June 23, 2010 by Ghost Train

[mickyg]

I feel like I've joined some new club guys! I agree 100% with every one of your statements. The most difficult to swallow is Ghost Train's last one and I couldn't have summed it up better! I paid almost $100 for this kit after shipping! Do I feel ripped off? You better believe it! Will I have a nice display piece when I'm done? Maybe. And I guess WM's comment is another reality check - there's just no other offering that looks like a VF-25 except for the model kits. The toys would be OK but they're way out of my price range and I honestly don't like how they look. If they were $75 it might be a different story.

Anyway, thanks for sharing guys. It helps to know that I'm not the only one experiencing these issues. And at the end of the day, the experience of building this kit, and the end result, though expensive, isn't exactly going to leave a permanent mark. It is only money, right?

[anime52k8]

you payed $100 for ONE of these?

[mickyg]

Well, at the time the aussie dollar wasn't great, the kit cost about 5200 yen and the super parts were about 1700 I think. And shipping was an additional 2000 yen or so. So added up, that would have been almost 9000 yen which equates to at least $100 in USD (and likely a fair bit more). Yikes! That can't be right. I'll dig up the receipt cause that sounds insane and surely I wouldn't have paid that much for it all!

EDIT:

Yeah, the kit was 3600 yen + 1600 for the super parts + 440 for the display base + 2000 for the shipping (got some tools and supplies as well but none were that heavy or bulky) = 7640 yen for the whole thing. And convert that to Aussie dollars and you get at least $100 at the time I ordered it! Still expensive!

Edited June 24, 2010 by mickyg

[Flakpanzer]

Sorry for the bad news, I was thinking in built that one soon but it looks like I Hill pick that project for the near future. Any way I think that you are doing a great job with the kit.

Regards,

Flak.

[Chronocidal]

I picked most of mine up during HLJ's sales, so I lucked out on cost, but these are by no means a cheap kit, especially when you start looking at the armored one. I definitely want to get one some day, but right now I don't feel like dropping the $80 for an armored Ozma, considering it'd be easily close to $100 US after shipping.

That being said though.. as frustrating as the kits can be, they make for a very nice challenge, or at least a challenge very different from any other plastic kit I have. I'm torn between all the different ways I want to build them up, whether to paint them, etc.. I think painting some of them will be worth it, but it will definitely take practice and patience.

Speaking of building, I need to get back to finishing my Alto kit. It's been sitting collecting dust for the past couple of weeks now, so hopefully when my new paints arrive next week I can get to touching up the things I'm not happy with.

[Kyp Durron]

There has always been a triangular dilemma with the Frontier kits thus far:

1) It's really a model, and thus it's a display piece and should be handled with care.

2) But it's a model that can transform! What good is something that can transform but that remains static for a prolonged period of time.

3) But the wear & tear from transformation increases the chance of damaging paint & decaling.

Tentative Solution: Build it in only 1 form... but then I don't get my money's worth as this kit has twice the MSRP of a Hasegawa non transformable (ie. I've been ripped off). Ok... so it's really more like 4 points and not 3.

So yea... I would have been more pleased if they released non-transformable versions of each mode, though the economies of scale probably favored the current product.

Been there, done that, but in my opinion, it's a lot easier to build and have it look nice than ANY hasegawa kit as painting for the most part isn't really necessary, other than the canopy and a few other small details like the head lasers, etc...

That being said, it's looking really good Micky, you've definite picked the hardest road to building it, but in the end it's going to be up to you to decide if all the effort was worth it.

Also, I could never bring myself to buy the DX version, it looks like ass when compared to the model version. If only they could have taken this design and scaled it up to 1/60 and made some reinforcements here and there, they would have easily had something on par with Yamato's offerings in my honest opinion. The VF-27 DX comes to mind...

-Kyp

Edited June 24, 2010 by Kyp Durron

[Lolicon]

Hey mickyg, are you planning on any modifications to help keep the legs up? I can't help but think that the extra weight of the super parts are going to eventually make them sag.

[mickyg]

Thanks for the encouragement guys!

Lolicon - I'm probably going to use bluetac to hold them up! I know, it's seriously ghetto but it sounds like a really good idea and I think I could hide it so it's not visible. This thing will be sitting on my desk at work, on a display stand. It won't be transformed and will likely get handled on occasion but otherwise, it's there to look at.

No idea yet what I'll do with my Vf-27. I'm thinking I might go the non-paint route on this one. Although yours looks so good I might have to reconsider. How often do you transform it?

[Lolicon]

Heheh yeah you can hide a bit of bluetac between the arms and inner leg and it won't be visible. Quite ghetto, but it works.

I've never transformed my 27. I built two of them in different modes.

I think the 27 is probably the most hideous of the model kits if assembled unpainted. Please paint it!

[mickyg]

Oh, alright...

2 doesn't sound bad when you figure the sale price at HLJ on these right now! But I couldn't bear to build 2 I'm afraid...

[GU-11]

Gosh, and I was actually planning to build one of these VF-25G's to go with that 1/72 Klan Klan fig Mega House is making. Guess I should perish the thought at this rate....

[mickyg]

Quick photo from my wife's (new Panasonic ZS7) point and shoot:

Getting there!

GU-11: Don't be put off too much by our complaints. As long as you don't go nuts with painting and don't want to play with it (at all) and can find it on sale, it's a great display piece!

[GU-11]

Quick photo from my wife's (new Panasonic ZS7) point and shoot:

Getting there!

GU-11: Don't be put off too much by our complaints. As long as you don't go nuts with painting and don't want to play with it (at all) and can find it on sale, it's a great display piece!

Hi there, mickyg! In that case, I guess the VF-25G is still pretty doable. I just plan to display it in battroid mode next to Klan for a sort of diorama.

Great build, by the way!

[mickyg]

Managed to paint again today. Been feeling pretty sick for the last few days and went home early today. I wish I didn't have to feel like crap to get a chance to spend an hour on the model, but I'll take what I can get!

Once again, can't tell you how much I love this new airbrush! The paint goes on so smoothly and atomizes so fine - it's like painting with dust! I used about 5 drops of paint off the end of a toothpick to do what you see here (5 for gray, 5 for black). Mixed with almost equal parts of thinner, of course. Either way, a tiny amount of paint!

The gray is for the inner lid of the missile covers and "inside" of the canopy frame. Just thought I'd experiment a little to get that color on the inside. The canopy is so thick and small, that you probably won't be able to see the color difference from outside anyway. I'm not worrying about masking the missile covers at the moment - the gray goes on first and I'll mask for the blue. There's only the one panel inside to keep gray and the rest is blue. If you've been following along, you might remember I masked all the edges of the covers before I ruined them with clear coat. This time, I'm not going to bother. I'll paint them, then carefully sand the edges to reveal the white plastic. Hopefully it'll work!

Last pic is the black over the gray - only about 10 minutes after the gray had dried. Did I mention the weather is terrible (cold and wet)? And still the painting is a dream!

Question for all you aircraft guys - I've painted the canopy frame in very flat black. In my opinion, it clashes with the finish on the rest of the body of the plane. Is there any precedance for flat frames to cut down on glare, or should I apply a bit of a semi-gloss clear to the frame before I unmask it?

Hi there, mickyg! In that case, I guess the VF-25G is still pretty doable. I just plan to display it in battroid mode next to Klan for a sort of diorama.

Great build, by the way!

Thanks! That little diorama would be sweet! I saw the new Klan and thought it was pretty cool. Even cooler that it's 1/72 scale!

Edited June 29, 2010 by mickyg

[wm cheng]

Hey MickyG,

I find often that if I just rub my thumb/fingers over the flat black paint, it smoothes out the flat paint just enough with some of the oils from your fingers to give a nice semi-gloss sheen to the flat black pieces to look more convincing. The more you rub it, the shinier it gets. I find it makes for really convincing rubber tires for landing gears. This is just my shortcut - however, the semi-gloss clear coat is the proper way to do it, plus it has the added benefit of protecting the flat paint (flat/matte paint is easily scratched).

[mickyg]

Especially given how little paint is actually there. Hmmm. I'm torn - I really want to pull the masking off, it's probably my favorite thing to do when painting! But I also don't want to find I've ruined the look and have to redo it. If I clear coat, I've got to wait a bit longer. Then again, the canopy isn't going to get much wear and the likelyhood of it getting scratched is pretty slim... Decisions, decisions!

[mickyg]

Well, impatience won out! I had already removed the masking on the front canopy last night so I experimented on that first. Turned out pretty good with just my thumb rubbed across it, so I went for the rest of the canopy. I'm pretty happy with it, actually.

Still home sick and still working on stuff that doesn't involve me being outside and getting sicker. So I've masked the rest of the parts that still need to go on (the intake covers and missile doors). The missile doors were a lot harder than I'd thought. The angle is so sharp that applying a big piece of tape and pressing against the hard inside edges didn't work - the tape just wrinkled or moved. So I had to put the straight edges of the tape up against the inside edges of the door and cut each piece to be the right length. I think it'll be OK.

The intake covers were much easier. I just had to wrap a piece of tape around the edge, push it down with a toothpick so I could see the dividing line, and then cut with my hobby knife.

So the only parts left are these two and they'll both get the same color blue applied to them. The anime shows no difference between the blue on the super parts and the blue of the rest of the valk. But since the decals that shipped with the super parts have a much darker blue, I'm going to mix the dark and light blue used on the valk to some sort of in-between color. It'll probably look a lot like the "interest" color on the back of the valk.

I'm not sure why the super parts colors call for something different than the valk. My only guess is that the super parts were completed and being distributed before the VF-25G model was finalised. Who knows...

[mickyg]

Almost there!

[GU-11]

Looking pretty good so far! Can't wait to see the finished kit!

Sorry for the newbie questions, but how do you tint that canopy? Fortunately, my planned build of the VF-25G (whenever that might be) only involves it being in battroid mode where the canopy is hidden, I'm really curious as to how you guys tint clear plastic. Then again, I might still need to tint the "imaging cameras".

[mickyg]

What are these imaging cameras you speak of? Are you talking about the crystal bits in the nose cone or the visor array on the head? The head's are pre tinted yellow, but I'm guessing you're talking about the nose ones.

In that case, the method is as follows (for me at least):

I went to an arts and crafts shop and got purple drawing ink. I found that, mixed with the closest approximation for Future that we can get here, worked pretty well. The stuff I used is called "Pledge One Go" and it's not too bad for clear parts. If you're stateside (and I can't remember off the top of my head - too many people and places to keep track of!) you can just use Future and be happy. Anyway, some people use a bit of purple acrylic paint and add it until they like the colour, but I found that to be way too difficult to get the colour to my liking. In fact, even with the ink, the canopy results are far from what I thought I'd be happy with. I'd actually planned to strip it and start again but got impatient and did the frames anyway. After I unmasked it, I was surprised by how little the streaks that had bugged me really stood out when it was mounted. By streaks, I just mean the colour tends to pool up in areas that don't have a nice, gradual curve. The most obvious is in the biggest part of the window in the back half of the canopy. You end up getting a bit of a line from front to back that's really obvious if you look at the canopy when it's not mounted on the cockpit. Put it on and somehow the line almost disappears. I really have to look for it on mine. And I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, despite not redoing it.

Then again, I just want to finish this so maybe I'm biased!

Not much left to go. I'll try to get some new pics up soon.

Edited July 3, 2010 by mickyg

[mickyg]

Stuff I finished up last night. I'm deliberately taking close ups of what I've done and not the whole thing because,

1. the leg has drooped down to an unacceptable level and I'm embarrased
   
2. I don't want to give too much away yet (build some suspense, or something...)
   
3. I really want to set this up properly and use my dSLR to do it justice, when it's finally finished.
   

Anyway, I popped the intake covers in yesterday, even though I haven't properly dull coated them yet and they're really difficult to get out. Ooops. Proves I still have a tendency to jump ahead instead of taking my time. I still need to do a wash on the small features, which means not doing the dull coat and, uh, I've missed another step. Great... I'll find a way to make it work, somehow.

After that, I carefully sanded away the paint on the missile covers. And by carefully, I mean using about 1000 grit sand paper on my specially crafted plastic sticks (it's tamiya water proof paper super glued to ps sticks I cut from plastic sheet). I just wet sanded it and carefully held it flat against each edge until I got the thickness of "lack of paint" I wanted. I screwed up on a few small parts and made it a bit worse by "touching it up" with a brush - the paint was too dark a blue. So it's visible but probably not in these pics. I did the same with the raised triangles, though these were a lot easier. Same deal here, this needs a gloss coat, an oil wash, the white trapazoid decal, and a final dullcoat.

And I painted the red and green nav lights. The flash kills the look on these but you get the picture (hah - I made a punny!)

And finally, I carefully hand brushed the little verniers on the wingtips. The hex shape with the ring is painted steel and the "hole" is flat black to give it the appearance of a real hole. Sorta works...

All that's left is weathering up the feet thrusters and finding some way to fix these stupid legs! Blutac is not quite working. I might need to use some inside the joints or just glue it together...

Edited July 3, 2010 by mickyg

[GU-11]

What are these imaging cameras you speak of? Are you talking about the crystal bits in the nose cone or the visor array on the head? The head's are pre tinted yellow, but I'm guessing you're talking about the nose ones.

In that case, the method is as follows (for me at least):

I went to an arts and crafts shop and got purple drawing ink. I found that, mixed with the closest approximation for Future that we can get here, worked pretty well. The stuff I used is called "Pledge One Go" and it's not too bad for clear parts. If you're stateside (and I can't remember off the top of my head - too many people and places to keep track of!) you can just use Future and be happy. Anyway, some people use a bit of purple acrylic paint and add it until they like the colour, but I found that to be way too difficult to get the colour to my liking. In fact, even with the ink, the canopy results are far from what I thought I'd be happy with. I'd actually planned to strip it and start again but got impatient and did the frames anyway. After I unmasked it, I was surprised by how little the streaks that had bugged me really stood out when it was mounted. By streaks, I just mean the colour tends to pool up in areas that don't have a nice, gradual curve. The most obvious is in the biggest part of the window in the back half of the canopy. You end up getting a bit of a line from front to back that's really obvious if you look at the canopy when it's not mounted on the cockpit. Put it on and somehow the line almost disappears. I really have to look for it on mine. And I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, despite not redoing it.

Then again, I just want to finish this so maybe I'm biased!

Not much left to go. I'll try to get some new pics up soon.

Thanks for the info, man!

Sorry for being nebulous there; I thought those camera things on the sides of the nose were called "imaging cameras", because I saw them being called that in a few VF reviews.

As for Pledge, we have those where I'm at.

Just a couple of questions: is there any particular ink-to-Pledge ratio, and how long should I leave the parts to cure?

[mickyg]

Well, the thing about Future and any derivatives, is that they're all pretty easy to thin/remove with windex. I practiced on clear sprue at first but by the end, if I didn't like what I got, I just soaked the part in windex and started over again. For clear to dye/ink ratio, I think I started fairly dilute and then experimented until I got what I liked. I couldn't tell you exactly what the ratio was but it was probably one part ink/dye to maybe 50 parts future? What you want is a pretty obvious purple when you're done. Wait a day for it to dry, see what you think and if it's not good enough, add more, rinse in windex and repeat. I stored my mixture in a small container with a lid on it (10ml paint container, I think) and it kept pretty well. I think it's still useable actually and it's been at least 6 months since I mixed it up.

I must never have seen any of those reviews where the parts were referred to as imaging cameras but I suppose that's as logical a description as any! They strike me as being the same color as the fold quartz so I always assumed they were some sort of fold sensor sort of thing. But then again, nobody knew what fold crystals were until well into the series so that probably doesn't work... Oh well, they're cool jewelly thingos on the nose - works for me!

Edited July 4, 2010 by mickyg

[Lolicon]

You can add blue food coloring to the purple ink + Future mix to get the shade you like since acrylic ink is often way too purple.

[mickyg]

Very true. Although I stopped with purple because I think the ink alone was 8 dollars or something crazy. If I did it again, I'd probably add a touch more blue.

[GU-11]

Thanks for the info, guys!

I can't really remember if I saw the term being mentioned in a review or some Macross shrine. I do remember it had something to do with the YF-19.

[mickyg]

Well, if I'm not mistaken, that was the first fighter to really have the "jewels" on the nose, so that makes sense (the VF-0/SV-51 doesn't count in my opinion as it's after SK came up with the "new" designs). Someone can correct me if I'm wrong - it's highly likely since I'm relatively new to all this (didn't even know there were any other Macross series until about 2 years ago!).

Progress:

• I put a very dark grey wash (almost black) on the missile covers and intake "plugs" and wiped them down carefully.
  
• The little triangle feature on the missile cover was going to get decaled but I decided just outlining it in black oil wash had the same effect and it was less frustrating than trying to get those decals to lay flat (I didn't even try after seeing the result of the wash).
  
• I got the white trapezoid decals on the missile covers and happened to get them lined up about as perfect as I can see them being
  

I'm considering gluing up the legs, the constant drooping is driving me nuts! I've got blutak on the area that comes into contact with the arms, but it seems the weight distribution from the gun mount to stand interface, causes extra stress on the whole model so much so that the end result is the legs pull the arms right out of the pegs in the back piece. Not completely, but I'll come in after it's been sitting for a few hours and find both legs slightly out of position and the read shield with a big gap where it should be tight up against the rear of the body, and sitting slightly lower. If you've got one of these, you'll know what I mean. If you don't, none of that will make sense!

Lolicon, I know we've chatted privately about the VF-27 and I know I've said I want to build it. But man, I'm having second thoughts! That Bandai DX is looking very tempting! Too bad it'd be completely out of scale with the '25G and since it's the only other Frontier piece I've got, I'm conflicted. I love how this model is turning out, looks wise. There's really nothing that can touch it in terms of looks and intracacy and just "wow, that's really cool" factor. But I just don't know if I want to build another kit that I can't transform! I really want something that looks amazing and can also be transformed and posed and provide some entertainment value beyond just looks. Is that too much to ask? Yes, I know the answer to that one...

I digress... So what's left? I think I just did this list recently but here's another (revised) one:

• gloss coat inside of the missile covers so I can do an oil was and pick out the details (cause they're cool but basically invisible with the current flat gray)
  
• apply wash to said insides of covers
  
• flat clear coat the missile covers and intake plugs
  
• devote some serious thought to how I can add some subtle weathering to the parts that need it. My work colleague that's most interested in the project thinks it looks too "clean" to be real. I keep telling him it's a space ship after all and there's not much to "dirty it up" out in deep space. He's not buying it and I think I get it.
  
• At the very least, get out the tamiya weathering kit and try to do some convincing exhaust blackening around the feet.
  
• Probably play around with some Tamiya smoke in the airbrush for some extra weathering. Although I don't know where.
  

And that brings me to yet another question (Man this post is long!): How well does the weathering kit stuff stick? I mean if I come along with an airbrush to try to seal it on the model, is it going to blow off?

Thoughts and criticisms are most welcomed!

[GU-11]

Well, if I'm not mistaken, that was the first fighter to really have the "jewels" on the nose, so that makes sense (the VF-0/SV-51 doesn't count in my opinion as it's after SK came up with the "new" designs). Someone can correct me if I'm wrong - it's highly likely since I'm relatively new to all this (didn't even know there were any other Macross series until about 2 years ago!).

Yup. As far as I know, the VF's in MacPlus were the first Valks to ever employ those "imaging cameras/nosecone jewels". I think SK fell so deeply in love with the idea that he used them in all his subsequent Macross VF designs.

The MacZero VF's though, as you said, are a time paradox.

[mickyg]

Well my first item on the above list is done (gloss coat the inside of the missile covers). And that's pretty much it! No oil wash yet.

Slow going lately. Been busy with home and family stuff and had a rough few weeks so modelling has taken a back seat recently. Should be able to get back into it again more steadily soon though.

[mickyg]

Got the following done this weekend:

• gloss coat inside of the missile covers so I can do an oil was and pick out the details (cause they're cool but basically invisible with the current flat gray)
  
• apply wash to said insides of covers
  
• flat clear coat the missile covers and intake plugs
  
• devote some serious thought to how I can add some subtle weathering to the parts that need it. My work colleague that's most interested in the project thinks it looks too "clean" to be real. I keep telling him it's a space ship after all and there's not much to "dirty it up" out in deep space. He's not buying it and I think I get it.
  
• At the very least, get out the tamiya weathering kit and try to do some convincing exhaust blackening around the feet.
  
• Probably play around with some Tamiya smoke in the airbrush for some extra weathering. Although I don't know where.
  

Actually, the first and second items were done a week or so back. The flat clear I did yesterday. This airbrush continues to impress. I used about .2ml of paint/thinner mixture and because I had a lot left, I decided to play around with doing some spot flattening of the body. I especially wanted to try to dull down the darker blue on the front of the canopy/nose area. The glossy nature of the satin coat on that darker portion was bugging me. To my amazement, just free-handing with the tip really close to the surface, I was able to completely flatten the portion I wanted and I can't see any overspray on the rest of the lighter blue colour. I'm pretty blown away (Hah! Get it, blown, airbrush...) by this tool! I went on to add a few spots here an there over various panels, just to add some variation. I also applied some to the inside of the booster nozzles, as the glossy nature of the metallic finish wasn't very realistic to me. With all that done, I still had left over paint (although not much). The Iwata HP-C Plus is the best tool I've purchased yet!

Pics coming soon...

Edited July 26, 2010 by mickyg

[mickyg]

I've had a rough week and need to post something to make me feel like I've actually accomplished something. This isn't really "finished" yet but it's close. So here's some Pics:

...Oh, and I'm still experimenting with cameras and perspectives. This is a Canon S60 point and shoot that does raw and full control over all settings. I can go wide angle and get really close. This is supposed to give the effect of this thing being life sized. Not sure I've pulled that off and since the photography experts don't normally comment on such things in these (model) threads - now's your chance!

Edited July 27, 2010 by mickyg