Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[derex3592]

@hal9000 - Sure, I can when I get home from work today.  

[wm cheng]

9 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

 

There's a lot more work that will need to go into it, but I think I finally have a good starting point.

Wow!!!  Never occured to me either (i would have just tried to airbrush it) but it looks absolutely fantastic!)   Now, I'm not happy with my VF-0S...   Might try that on an F-14 one of these days.  How did you rub the top grey filter off without disturbing the white layer underneath?

[MacrossJunkie]

3 hours ago, wm cheng said:

Wow!!!  Never occured to me either (i would have just tried to airbrush it) but it looks absolutely fantastic!)   Now, I'm not happy with my VF-0S...   Might try that on an F-14 one of these days.  How did you rub the top grey filter off without disturbing the white layer underneath?

The white layer was just the bare plastic underneath, but the filter was easy to remove because it was mostly airbrush flow improver which slows drying time. 

The swabs I used to remove it were these Tamiya craft cotton swabs which are hard and have a point at the end, allowing for gentle yet precision removal of paint. So while the filter wasn't dry yet, I just used the swabs to rub it off. If the paint has dried, dip the swab in thinner, pat it down so it's merely damp and continue working.

 

Now that I think about it, I could probably have used a bottle of MIG heavy chipping effects I had to achieve this also. You'd spray it on first, then spray the paint you want to remove. It creates a slow drying layer underneath the paint and makes the paint on top of it easy to remove. With just some water on the swab, I probably could have achieved similar results.

This shows it being used to create dirt streaking effects, but same principle. Just removing paint after spraying it on:

https://youtu.be/b2Zlf0i6h4s

 

Edited September 30, 2020 by MacrossJunkie

[pengbuzz]

Planning out my next project: another transforming fighter design. This time around, it's one of several stealth fighter designs developed in an inter-fleet contest in the campaign me and some friends were role-playing in Macross. I'll try to get some pics in a little bit: my camera is in the other room and I ache (old injuries) too much to go grab it at the moment.

[Thom]

Take your time. We are here and patient. Mostly...

[Thom]

Leia's blaster is getting closer to being closed up. I cut some styrene to fit the open sections by the hammer. They are fine for a toy, but not right for a prop gun.

Then the interior of the muzzle was painted flat black, since I opened the gas release port and put a greeblie in there.

On the other half, some plumber's putty was pressed in like play-do for added weight. And a nut... A nut always needs to go in somewhere. There's a law...

And back to the other side, with the muzzle weight, greeblie and puddy packed in. Doesn't look pretty, but when it's not going to be seen, it doesn't have to be!!

Let that dry a little longer and I think I can get the halves back together tonight!

Model on!

 

Thom

...or now...

 

Edited September 30, 2020 by Thom

[MechTech]

@Convectuoso That's coming along great!

@MacrossJunkie That weathering looks awesome and realistic!

@Thom Are you competing with Peter to see how much hardware you can squeeze into a model Just don't drop it now! That sucker will have some weight to it. It will feel more realistic though. Now you REALLY need those Leah headphones to go with it! - MT

[Convectuoso]

Thanks, @MechTech

[Thom]

46 minutes ago, MechTech said:

@Convectuoso That's coming along great!

@MacrossJunkie That weathering looks awesome and realistic!

@Thom Are you competing with Peter to see how much hardware you can squeeze into a model Just don't drop it now! That sucker will have some weight to it. It will feel more realistic though. Now you REALLY need those Leah headphones to go with it! - MT

Thanks MT. I may have to invest in a set.

[Dobber]

On 9/29/2020 at 5:48 PM, Thom said:

Currently on my desk, redoing this toy into a 'true' prop of Leia's blaster from ANH.

Good work on the blaster Thom. Also, like the modified Shenzou.

Chris

[Thom]

2 hours ago, Dobber said:

Good work on the blaster Thom. Also, like the modified Shenzou.

Chris

Thanks! That's the USS Sprite, a Hopper class frigate. She also has the nacelles from the 1/2500 DiscoEnterprise, though her scale is now 1/1000. Still need to get her painted up, finally!

[MacrossJunkie]

I tried to do the same thing with my PF VF-0D as I did with my 0S, but the pre-applied black filter they sprayed on it is difficult to remove. So in the end trying to do the same thing felt more like trying to sculpt a statue using a shovel and sledgehammer compared to using a fine chisel and sculptor's mallet. To get it off required pressure and a lot of scrubbing instead of a simple swipe. so it was harder to control and the result is not as fine compared to what I was able to achieve with the 0S. 

The underlying plastic was also a very light blue and looked odd, a shader had to be sprayed over the area I rubbed the filter off in order to tone it down. 

I can't say I'm totally happy with it, but I wasn't happy with how it looked out of the box anyway so I'm at least making the attempt. Only did the top minus the fuselage for now just to see how it would turn out.

Edit:

Additional WIP pic. Did the fuselage and added some additional mottling effects.

Edited October 1, 2020 by MacrossJunkie

[Thom]

6 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

I tried to do the same thing with my PF VF-0D as I did with my 0S, but the pre-applied black filter they sprayed on it is difficult to remove. So in the end trying to do the same thing felt more like trying to sculpt a statue using a shovel and sledgehammer compared to using a fine chisel and sculptor's mallet. To get it off required pressure and a lot of scrubbing instead of a simple swipe. so it was harder to control and the result is not as fine compared to what I was able to achieve with the 0S. 

The underlying plastic was also a very light blue and looked odd, a shader had to be sprayed over the area I rubbed the filter off in order to tone it down. 

I can't say I'm totally happy with it, but I wasn't happy with how it looked out of the box anyway so I'm at least making the attempt. Only did the top minus the fuselage for now just to see how it would turn out.

 

I like it! The 'white fading' around the panels really stand out. Looks as good as the OS.

[MechTech]

@MacrossJunkie That looks REALLY good! Much more realistic and helps to give it a bigger size. I think you caught the airflow and dirt areas just right. - MT

[wm cheng]

Beautiful @MacrossJunkie - just so beautiful - the best VF-0D I've seen yet!!!

[derex3592]

On 9/30/2020 at 8:55 AM, derex3592 said:

@hal9000 - Sure, I can when I get home from work today.  

@hal9000-- Sorry for the delay --- The saucer section is just about 57-58 centimeters in width on the 1/2500 Enterprise A. 

[pengbuzz]

2 hours ago, derex3592 said:

@hal9000-- Sorry for the delay --- The saucer section is just about 57-58 centimeters in width on the 1/2500 Enterprise A. 

Derex, no offense bro... but either you mean milimeters or that's one pretty hefty saucah!!!

[MacrossJunkie]

Made some additional progress on the 0S. I made some screwups over the past few days on the way there though. I clearcoated the top section to prepare it for additional weathering and waited a day for it to dry. Somehow some of the clearcoat was still wet so when I touched it, whole areas of my work came off with my finger... argh...

So I had to redo some sections. Then I found I must not have sprayed enough clearcoat because when I tested doing some weathering with some oil paints and didn't like the result, I wiped it off with some turpenoid which shouldn't react with the acrylic and up came the weathering again... le sigh... redo and clear coat again.

This time, I added some additional mottling freehanded with an airbrush to the top section and started on the sides and front of the legs and as a precaution, I added thicker layers of clear coat after finishing the first stage.

 

 

Edited October 3, 2020 by MacrossJunkie

[derex3592]

1 hour ago, pengbuzz said:

Derex, no offense bro... but either you mean milimeters or that's one pretty hefty saucah!!!

Yeh...what he said--long f-ing day.

[arbit]

I just got a Nail Laquer Shaker on Ebay that I highly recommend for your paints. It's the grey one with a pink label.

I put my most problematic paint, Vallejo Air Gold, which has very thick pigment and never mixes well even with an agitator, and after a minute of shaking it came out finely mixed and smooth.

I also put a Mr. Color Lacquer putty, which is always thick and gummy, and it came out silky smooth and very well hydrated.

[derex3592]

2 years ago, when I was single.. LOL.. I began building a Captain America Cat's Eye. I stopped after the basecoat went down and never got back to it for a few different reasons. I found the 2nd picture waaaay back in this thread the other day for inspiration... So here we go again.. Sanding base coat off....

[Chas]

Working on a 1:100 Wave VF-1J fighter. I figured seeing as we all get worried about paint chipping and scratching with transformative models, then the 'real' thing would necessarily have a fair bit from all the moving parts, so that's what's informed the weathering so far.

Had an accident with the 'UN SPACY' decal on the left leg. As you can see it shifted, twisted a bit and I completely lost the 'Y'. Don't know how I'm gonna recover from that. I'll just have to figure something out.  Still a ways to go.

 

[hal9000]

19 hours ago, derex3592 said:

@hal9000-- Sorry for the delay --- The saucer section is just about 57-58 centimeters in width on the 1/2500 Enterprise A. 

Thanks, Ill post the project once I get started.  Friend got a resin 3d printer, going to play with some prints and try some clear print lighting ideas I've had. 

[MacrossJunkie]

1 hour ago, Chas said:

Working on a 1:100 Wave VF-1J fighter. I figured seeing as we all get worried about paint chipping and scratching with transformative models, then the 'real' thing would necessarily have a fair bit from all the moving parts, so that's what's informed the weathering so far.

Had an accident with the 'UN SPACY' decal on the left leg. As you can see it shifted, twisted a bit and I completely lost the 'Y'. Don't know how I'm gonna recover from that. I'll just have to figure something out.  Still a ways to go.

 

If you go to the decals library thread you can pick out one of the sheets with a black U.N. SPACY on it and resize as needed, change the background to white and print it out on clear decal paper. There are some 1:100 Wave decal sheets there, but I don't think the font matches. Worst case, you could remove the U.N. Spacy off both legs, print new decals and apply to both legs so that they match.

[derex3592]

My French High Altitude pilots look pretty close to what Misa Lisa was wearing in the episode with the Cat's Eye IMHO....Close enough anyway. Cockpit canopies are still a fit issue... 

[electric indigo]

The pilots look really cool. And once you get past the canopies, the rest of the kit will be a breeze!

I've been visiting an old friend, too:

Pulled the age card and used decals for the eyes...

Edited October 4, 2020 by electric indigo

[UN_MARINE]

Currently doing R&D with these.

Still tweaking the landing gear - they're pretty fragile and finicky to assemble. The paperclip is a key component (and for scale).

[arbit]

2 hours ago, electric indigo said:

Pulled the age card and used decals for the eyes..

That's the only way to go for me. If I can't find eye decals decals, then I don't do the figure.

[MechTech]

@MacrossJunkie You make dirty look good! Wait...that sounds wrong.

@derex3592 Cool! I always did like that kit. Too bad the canopies are such a pain.

@electric indigo Forget the age card, eyes in any scale other than 1:1 are a pain!

@UN_MARINE Those look cool, especially for that scale!

@arbit Thanks for the info on the paint shaker. I already use nail supply sanding blocks, why not a paint shaker too!

The way 2020 is going, I thought some life rafts might be a good idea! I made the smaller life raft canisters (that almost look like beer kegs), but I don't think they quite look right. So I made another larger style of canister. Still waiting on the glue to dry before I clean up the edges and glue the ends on. - MT

[Urashiman]

Had some time again today and made some progress on my long time project. One day, I'll 3D print it. Scale will be 1/72.

I try to make it as acurate as possible, so I am held up on trial an error, trying to match it to Kawamoris sketches. It also took me a while to get the Macross M3 pilot suit correct and still needs tweaking.

 

2 hours ago, UN_MARINE said:

Currently doing R&D with these.

Still tweaking the landing gear - they're pretty fragile and finicky to assemble. The paperclip is a key component (and for scale).

What did you print that with? PLA? Looks nice

Edited October 4, 2020 by Urashiman
grammar

[wm cheng]

@MacrossJunkie  When you're done, could you summarize the process, what type basecoat, clearcoat, filter and solvent to wipe off the filter please?  I'd love to try it.  It looks so good.  I love that you discovered this process and it looks so anime accurate.  Does real planes weather like this?  I wonder if I can apply your process to F-14 TPS dirt realistically.

 

Well I finally finished it after way too long...  I did manage to saw apart my canopy to get inside and wipe out all the fogging.  I managed to repair the saw marks which chipped the paint all around the canopy - its not as good as it was before, but given the canopy is not fogged now, I guess the remedy was worth the damage in the end.  Its weird to have a glossy bird and sometimes looks a bit toy like, but I really tried to keep the weathering down because it was brand new when they delivered it to VF-1 in 1973/74.  I do love this colour scheme almost as much as the VF-84 Jolly Rogers.  All the ordinance is on, but unfortunately, I followed the instructions in decals and they were wrong with some of the placements of the stripes on the missiles (should have doubled checked with reference) - but its too late now.  Overall a very detailed kit especially for 1/72 scale, but lots of mistakes in the instructions.  Its almost like I had to build one to find all the mistakes and then build a proper one after (but there's too many kits in my stash to rebuild something).

Enjoy... (I think I did when I built her, but now I will enjoy looking at her more! - back to work, no more models in a while - everyone go watch "The Boys"! my next gig)

[Photogirl]

New kit on its way for my next Macross Project.
And my current Automotive project

[pengbuzz]

53 minutes ago, Photogirl said:

New kit on its way for my next Macross Project.
And my current Automotive project

 

Love the job you did on Prowl! All you need is some decals and a copy of Inner Circle's "bad Boys" and you're good to go!

[Thom]

On 10/3/2020 at 11:23 AM, derex3592 said:

2 years ago, when I was single.. LOL.. I began building a Captain America Cat's Eye. I stopped after the basecoat went down and never got back to it for a few different reasons. I found the 2nd picture waaaay back in this thread the other day for inspiration... So here we go again.. Sanding base coat off....

Ugh! Mine is still awaiting completion!!

Effed up the canopies, but at least I still have the bucks in case I ever decide to get back to it and press-mold replacements.

[Bolt]

You're rocking it @MacrossJunkie keep going!