Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[UN_MARINE]

12 hours ago, MechTech said:

@UN_MARINE Those look cool, especially for that scale!

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

Thanks!

Those look great! Sometimes, I wish I still had the patience to scratch build like that.

12 hours ago, Urashiman said:

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.

 

What did you print that with? PLA? Looks nice

Great work on the 3D model!

They're printed with ABS, and it's working out well so far. Thanks!

[derex3592]

Finished up the cockpit detailing yesterday, just have to paint the pilots now. Was thinking about a multiple grey camo pattern for the plane, maybe something like the old WW1 ships had. I watched a YT video of a guy the other day doing it on a 1/350 WW1 aircraft carrier build.  I know there's a name for it but can't remember it. Hard edges, like 3 color of grey at differing angles, might look kinda cool...  Paging master of everything ships @MechTech for the name...

[Convectuoso]

I made more progress on my Tornado Messiah this weekend

I still need to build its gun, landing gear and a few other parts. And to apply a lot of decals

 

 

[MechTech]

Thanks guys!

@wm cheng Great recovery on the canopy! I hate it when the color stripes on missiles get mixed up. You don't know what the warhead or engine is! Don't worry, most people won't notice. We won't tell!

@Convectuoso It's coming along great! Have fun with the decals

@derex3592 If I'm the master of ships, we're all going down on the Titanic! Are you talking about dazzle camo (see sample)? Take some Dramamine and do a search. It will make you sick just looking at it! WWII is a little milder. You can also search "Razzle Dazzle" camo. Have fun masking that! - MT

 

[derex3592]

OMG! @MechTech You were totally right on that! Need Dramamine for that Google search!  How good must the drugs have been back in the early 1900's right?! There was a phase on some ships that was like giant zebra stripes going in different directions!  Anywhooo, Yeh, dazzle camo is....interesting to say the least, I was thinking something along maybe these lines. 

 

Edited October 5, 2020 by derex3592

[Gabe Q]

@derex3592 A Cat's Eye! What's your plan on the canopy? You mentioned a fit issue earlier.

@Convectuoso I like decaling a lot but that kit looks like it has many, many decals. Sometimes, when there are too many, you enter "decal hell". Does that particular kit have lots of decals?

Anyway, work started back up for me a few weeks back so no progress on my builds. Right now i have: 

1/72 vf-1a max theme 90% done

1/72 vf-1s super gerwalk hik theme 50% done

1/72 f-14 tomcatters theme 90% done 

1/72 zentraedi soldier 30% done

1/100 arii vf-1d trainer theme 30% done 

Massive backlog...

[Convectuoso]

16 minutes ago, Gabe Q said:

Does that particular kit have lots of decals

It does, and they're a pain to apply. Hence, I'm seriously considering paying one of the guys who usually build my kits to do that job

[Sanity is Optional]

45 minutes ago, derex3592 said:

OMG! @MechTech You were totally right on that! Need Dramamine for that Google search!  How good must the drugs have been back in the early 1900's right?! There was a phase on some ships that was like giant zebra stripes going in different directions!  Anywhooo, Yeh, dazzle camo is....interesting to say the least, I was thinking something along maybe these lines. 

 

Because back in WW1-2 era it was important to be able to estimate the heading of an enemy ship visually. That camo is designed to make it hard to see which way a ship is pointing by eye.

Completely pointless in the modern day with radar-guided ranging and aim.

[MechTech]

@Gabe Q Bummer, BUT - work is good! Now you can buy more kits!

@derex3592 I'm glad that is what you're looking for. I don't even know how they painted that full size. Probably caused deaths in the process from dizzy people falling to their deaths. Go with the Sea Shepherd and you can save the whales @Sanity is Optional is right. I think it was just a throw-back. Isn't there a guy around here from Ft. Worth? Check out her namesake (LCS-3) - also with a throwback pattern. The two darkest areas of the pattern are diesel exhaust. Coincidence? Probably not. But more fuel for the fire. - MT

[joscasle]

On 10/1/2020 at 12:06 AM, 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.

Edit:

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

WoW!!!!

[MacrossJunkie]

On 10/4/2020 at 5:39 PM, wm cheng said:

@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.

 

Yep, will do! The way I look at it is that it's more dirt wear than paint wear. Like if you've not washed your car in a while and close the trunk door, leaving clean spots where your fingers were or something like that, except the dirt and stains are more stubborn than what you're normally dealing with on a car. It all seems to be along panel lines, or where moisture might streak and remove dirt or even wear down paint at high speeds, and also along raised surfaces where there may be friction. Due to it being a transforming vehicle, you wouldn't necessarily see some of this on normal jets, like probably this wear on the bottom (maybe). 

Also if you look closely at the patterns of the dirty areas, the edges are a bit darker. So it seems less the case of merely paint fade and more like the dirt getting pushed around from more exposed areas and collecting at the edges of where the dirt is, which I was able to somewhat replicate with my method since I'm literally pushing paint around with a swab after I've sprayed the paint on.

Quote

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).

I think it just requires the right lighting and such. Regardless, I think it looks very good.  Regarding the canopy, I couldn't even spot where you had sawed it open at first and had to zoom in and look carefully to figure out where you did it. If you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have noticed at all. You did a good job putting it back as it wasn't easy to tell.

Is it possible to attach a canopy with magnets? Like with magnetic paint and embedding magnets inside the cockpit or something. Just brainstorming for if I ever put together a model like that as I don't think I'd want it permanently sealed.

Quote

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)

Love that show. Waiting for all the season 2 episodes to release so I can binge watch it. Are you doing set design or art direction on it?

 

Edit: I'd say my VF-0D is around 80% complete now. Did the arms, legs, and head and applied a white filter with a brush to tone down the overall darkness and add more texturing. The 0S is being decaled. I kind of hate doing the decaling and wish I had the premium finish version with the tampos already on it. These decals are fragile as hell and the U.N. SPACY decals came apart while still on the sheet... ugh.

Edited October 6, 2020 by MacrossJunkie

[arbit]

On 10/5/2020 at 1:39 AM, wm cheng said:

back to work, no more models in a while - everyone go watch "The Boys"! my next gig)

Hi William, My son wants to know which season you worked on and what you did?

[wm cheng]

@arbit I'm just starting this month, it will be for Season 3 which we are prepping to shoot.

@MacrossJunkie  As I've said, I've just started but will be Art Director - but I do miss Set Design.

Edited October 6, 2020 by wm cheng

[pengbuzz]

Finally, some pics of my newest in progress:

Yeah...it's a bit of a mess right now: I'm still in the "how the heck is this supposed to work" phase of designing this one out.  The cockpit/ front body in white is not staying in that particular config for long; I just need to add more plastic as I build this. At this stage, the parts are merely "forms" that I am using for primary building blocks to establish the basic transform. Once the transform is assembled and tested, then it's on to adding plastic, details and grinding parts to shape. And I plan on this one being a real doozy...

 

Stay tuned folks...

Edited October 6, 2020 by pengbuzz
spelling

[Chronocidal]

On 10/5/2020 at 8:03 AM, derex3592 said:

Finished up the cockpit detailing yesterday, just have to paint the pilots now. Was thinking about a multiple grey camo pattern for the plane, maybe something like the old WW1 ships had. I watched a YT video of a guy the other day doing it on a 1/350 WW1 aircraft carrier build.  I know there's a name for it but can't remember it. Hard edges, like 3 color of grey at differing angles, might look kinda cool...  Paging master of everything ships @MechTech for the name...

Don't know what the name for the ship scheme might be, but for aircraft, you're probably thinking of one of the "Ferris" schemes?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Ferris

I didn't realize this, since I've only ever seen his name attached to the jagged zig-zag gray pattern, but according to this page, he developed several other aircraft paint techniques, including the false underside canopy.

[electric indigo]

I think the splinter camo pattern goes back to as early as pre-WWII. Ferris' new concept was to disrupt the contour of the aircraft with high-contrast patterns.

Flankers should provide plenty of inspiration, but here's a nice Czech Mi-24; the hull is similar to the Cat's Eye:

https://www.airliners.net/photo/Czech-Republic-Air-Force/Mil-Mi-24D/1014508/L

[derex3592]

Thanks guys! @electric indigo ohhh...I LOVE that grey paint scheme on the front of the Hind!  Always was my favorite helicopter when I was growing up! I use to get wallpapers from airlines.net all the time! Had totally forgotten about that site! 

 

EDIT -- Damn you @MechTech!!!  Now I want to buy and build the Trumpeter 1/350 USS Fort Worth that's out! I have been watching a lot of Trumpeter ship builds on YT lately, and think I want to branch out and give it a shot!  It even comes with the Photoetch parts included! 

Edited October 7, 2020 by derex3592

[electric indigo]

You can actually download the instructions for the Eduard kit of that very helicopter and find the Mr. Color codes for the scheme:

https://www.scalemates.com/de/products/img/8/1/7/1006817-50-instructions.pdf

 

[MechTech]

@derex3592 Ha ha, sorry! I have the LCS-2 and it's a great kit. It has a lot of the same details as the LCS-3. It even comes with the MQ-8B and MH-60S helos - which are both good kits in themselves for that scale. This version has the 30mm turrets on the back which is another bonus. I'd get it too!

Finished the life raft canisters! On to the decoys and smaller stuff now... - MT

[NZEOD]

On 10/6/2020 at 4:03 AM, derex3592 said:

Finished up the cockpit detailing yesterday, just have to paint the pilots now. Was thinking about a multiple grey camo pattern for the plane, maybe something like the old WW1 ships had. I watched a YT video of a guy the other day doing it on a 1/350 WW1 aircraft carrier build.  I know there's a name for it but can't remember it. Hard edges, like 3 color of grey at differing angles, might look kinda cool...  Paging master of everything ships @MechTech for the name...

Dazzle camo

 

[pengbuzz]

On 10/5/2020 at 3:51 PM, MechTech said:

Thanks guys!

@wm cheng Great recovery on the canopy! I hate it when the color stripes on missiles get mixed up. You don't know what the warhead or engine is! Don't worry, most people won't notice. We won't tell!

@Convectuoso It's coming along great! Have fun with the decals

@derex3592 If I'm the master of ships, we're all going down on the Titanic! Are you talking about dazzle camo (see sample)? Take some Dramamine and do a search. It will make you sick just looking at it! WWII is a little milder. You can also search "Razzle Dazzle" camo. Have fun masking that! - MT

 

Otherwise known as "achoo" camo (gesundheit).

[MacrossJunkie]

Almost done with the 0D. Redid some areas because I think I overdid the darkness over some of the lighter parts and wanted it more subtle.

Selectively sprayed a white filter over some parts. 

Added streaks to the vent areas.

Blended the colors more because the contrast of the worn areas was still too much. 

Before:

After:

 

Still need to do the hands and feet. 

I think I've just about finished decaling the 0S and need to move on to weathering the arms as they are still completely unpainted.

I will also need to blend in the decals since they look clean and freshly painted.

The yellow stripes on the 0S head bothered me. They were far too short and didn't look right. So I painted over them with black and and put better stripes on it.

Added some additional markings to the head as well while I was at it. I think it looks tons better now.

[electric indigo]

Man, that D is a work of art! Good luck with the rest of work on the S.

[arbit]

10 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

Almost done with the 0D. Redid some areas because I think I overdid the darkness over some of the lighter parts and wanted it more subtle.

Selectively sprayed a white filter over some parts. 

Added streaks to the vent areas.

Blended the colors more because the contrast of the worn areas was still too much. 

I have a question, when you guys weather with oils like that, is the surface rough, or still smooth like a base paint? 

[MacrossJunkie]

42 minutes ago, arbit said:

I have a question, when you guys weather with oils like that, is the surface rough, or still smooth like a base paint? 

I have been using oils on top of a gloss coat, but if doing stippling, you probably want to got with a flat coat. The only oils I used here on the 0D was a white oil paint brushed on to the gloss surface that I had pre-dampened with turpenoid to give some visual texturing and partially serve as white filter (but most of the white filtering was done with airbrushed acrylic) and for the oil streaking. The oil paint dries flat though.

Did I understand and answer your question correctly?

[arbit]

9 minutes ago, MacrossJunkie said:

I have been using oils on top of a gloss coat, but if doing stippling, you probably want to got with a flat coat. The only oils I used here on the 0D was a white oil paint brushed on to the gloss surface that I had pre-dampened with turpenoid to give some visual texturing and partially serve as white filter (but most of the white filtering was done with airbrushed acrylic) and for the oil streaking. The oil paint dries flat though.

Did I understand and answer your question correctly?

I meant is it rough to the touch after all that weathering?

[MacrossJunkie]

18 minutes ago, arbit said:

I meant is it rough to the touch after all that weathering?

No, not at all. It shouldn't be if it's thinned down properly.  You shouldn't feel any bumps, ridges, or whatever.

[arbit]

Thanks. My oil weathering is always rough. So I need to improve on my process.

[MacrossJunkie]

3 minutes ago, arbit said:

Thanks. My oil weathering is always rough. So I need to improve on my process.

What are you thinning with? Does it end up with micro clumps or something?

I'm using the oilbrushers products from AMMO by Mig which are made for model weathering, if that helps to know. It's already pre-mixed and comes in a bottle with applicator. I just thin it further for my purposes. But it's great and there's no mess to clean up other than the brush you're using to weather with. If you're having issues with oil paints, I highly recommend these oilbrushers.

[arbit]

15 minutes ago, MacrossJunkie said:

What are you thinning with? Does it end up with micro clumps or something?

I'm using the oilbrushers products from AMMO by Mig which are made for model weathering, if that helps to know. It's already pre-mixed and comes in a bottle with applicator. I just thin it further for my purposes. But it's great and there's no mess to clean up other than the brush you're using to weather with. If you're having issues with oil paints, I highly recommend these oilbrushers.

Weathering is something I've struggled with for years. The first problem is you seem to need a gloss coat about an inch thick to make a workable top coat. And that is really tough for me to do.

Then, I started off with a six pack of AK Enamel washes. And they were really clumpy and dry right out of the bottle. I've tried filtering them, mixing them, everything, but no go, they just suck. Even sent video to the manufacturer and they told me they don't look right.

I also got Winsor and Newton artists oils, which I also struggle to thin with all types of odorless mineral spirits.  

But I'm working on it and trying to figure it out one of these days.

  

[MacrossJunkie]

17 minutes ago, arbit said:

Weathering is something I've struggled with for years. The first problem is you seem to need a gloss coat about an inch thick to make a workable top coat. And that is really tough for me to do.

Then, I started off with a six pack of AK Enamel washes. And they were really clumpy and dry right out of the bottle. I've tried filtering them, mixing them, everything, but no go, they just suck. Even sent video to the manufacturer and they told me they don't look right.

I also got Winsor and Newton artists oils, which I also struggle to thin with all types of odorless mineral spirits.  

But I'm working on it and trying to figure it out one of these days.

  

Well, you shouldn't really need that thick of a top coat as long as the mediums you're using on top are not reactive to it. I just give it a once over using an acrylic for the clear coat, then the oil paint or enamel wash can be applied or removed without affecting it once it has dried and cured. 

I really do recommend those Oilbrusher products I mentioned. They can be used for both weathering and panel lining/washes. I'll never go back to using the gross, messy oil paints in metal tubes. 

I haven't used any AK products before so I can't comment on them.

Also what are you using for your clear coat? Perhaps that could be affecting your results as well?

I used to use Future, but have since switched to the Vallejo Mecha line of gloss/satin/matte varnishes as it is tougher and more scratch resistant.

Edited October 9, 2020 by MacrossJunkie

[Urashiman]

I was happy to find something nice in the mail today.

But then I checked the model... look at those panel lines and the bad mold issues.

What is the mold from? The 70s? This'll be a lot of work I guess...

[MacrossJunkie]

47 minutes ago, Urashiman said:

I was happy to find something nice in the mail today.

But then I checked the model... look at those panel lines and the bad mold issues.

What is the mold from? The 70s? This'll be a lot of work I guess...

Oof... That's pretty unusual for a Hasegawa kit...

Are you going to try to rescribe the panel lines?

[Dobber]

That’s their reboxed original mold. Always have to double check before you order to make sure it’s not their old mold.

Chris

[arbit]

1 hour ago, Urashiman said:

But then I checked the model... look at those panel lines and the bad mold issues.

Those are the infamous raised panel lines. And I believe that the upper and lower fuselage will have part-fit issues as well.