Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[Thom]

Will be well worth the effort @Urashiman.

As for canopies, I'm finally getting mine in place. Not the most perfect fit, but it's what I got

And since my kit is missing the PE fret it left the factory with, I had to make the DF loop and repurpose some unused inner framing as an antenna.

I think I can get to masking and paint tomorrow!

Happy times with plastic torture devices!

Thom

[Rock]

@Thom Use some canopy glue like Ammo Ultra to fill the gap between the halves?

Got the light box refreshed for the first time in 12 years. All new lights and backdrops. Tried it out on my PG Double O Gundam. Needs a bit more light balancing and possibly another led strip (down low in the front to kill the shadows,) but pretty happy. Will leave it up this weekend and try to snap a few pics of last years finished builds before it goes back into storage. 

[Thom]

@Rock Don't have that glue, but I'll look into getting some. I put some clear Gator glue into it, then followed that with some PPP. Hopefully that'll 'fix' it.

And your light box looks very light!

[pengbuzz]

UPDATE: continuing to work on "the Lady":

Still working out details, as well as trying to source turbo boost nozzles for her. Figured I'd spin the main rotor before snapping a pic just for fun; ended up looking like it does in the show!

Waffling a bit still on weapons, as I would have to cut metal on the sponsons and rig a way to plug the ends in in both deployed and underemployed mode. The ADF isn't so much of an issue, as it can attach via magnets. But you never see the pod without the chain guns, so I'm still fussing on this point.

Stay tuned...Dom's out getting a sandwich while String is fishing...

 

Edited April 4 by pengbuzz

[Rock]

Let there be light(box)

[pengbuzz]

UPDATE:

Next, on Airwolf:

[electric indigo]

4 hours ago, Rock said:

Let there be light(box)

Much better than the former background which was getting in the way of showing off the beautiful textures you put on the kit.

[Thom]

@Rock Wow, great lookingf -19! Love the colors on it.

@pengbuzz Airwolf is looking great! Bring us moar!

As for me, suffering from some paint scullduggery, but it's still moving along.

 

[Urashiman]

@Rock great one!

 

I started panel lining mine and am reminded that I should have recarved the VF-19A panel lines. Stuffs not sticking properly, but sticking enough to give a nice effect.

 

[Rock]

18 minutes ago, Urashiman said:

@Rock great one!

 

I started panel lining mine and am reminded that I should have recarved the VF-19A panel lines. Stuffs not sticking properly, but sticking enough to give a nice effect.

 

If you did the black primer/base, you may just score the lines with a knife and able to remove paint instead of a wash.

[pengbuzz]

2 hours ago, Urashiman said:

@Rock great one!

 

I started panel lining mine and am reminded that I should have recarved the VF-19A panel lines. Stuffs not sticking properly, but sticking enough to give a nice effect.

 

You could try using a mechanical pencil to do the panel lining, followed by a very light buffing with a cotton bud (swab) and some clearcoat.

Edited April 5 by pengbuzz

[arbit]

17 hours ago, Rock said:

Let there be light(box)

Very nice photography.  What's your set up?

[Urashiman]

@Rock & @pengbuzz maybe next time

 

 

Edit:

going to „no step“ country soon…

Decals take ages man.

Edited April 6 by Urashiman

[pengbuzz]

UPDATE: New sponson/ weapon end doors made and undergoing final fitting. Also started on a stand for this one:

   

Stay tuned...

[Thom]

Got that theme song reverberating in my brain, @pengbuzz!

[Big s]

14 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

UPDATE: New sponson/ weapon end doors made and undergoing final fitting. Also started on a stand for this one:

   

Stay tuned...

With the stand, it would look really cool with a sandy look. I always remember a lot of scenes of it flying low along the desert 

[pengbuzz]

4 hours ago, Thom said:

Got that theme song reverberating in my brain, @pengbuzz!

Here ya go then, Thom:

https://www.airwolf-online.com/openingintro

1 hour ago, Big s said:

With the stand, it would look really cool with a sandy look. I always remember a lot of scenes of it flying low along the desert 

Was considering that, but I have another idea I want to try....

[SteveTheFish]

The gloss white/gloss black scheme is interesting, but unfortunately I think I applied too many layers of silver paint, making the black panels a bit too subtle. The wing flaps are Mr. Color 8 Silver, while the rest of the plane is Mr. Color SM201 Super Fine Silver 2. You can barely see that the nose, engine cowlings, rear parts of the nacelles, and vertical stabilizers are a bit deeper color. I should not have applied too many layers of paint and let them show the darker color more. It was my first time attempting this, and I thought that after the paint dried, they would be more visible.

So... I dunno... Do you think it's worth re-masking and giving these panels another shot? Or just fall forward?

BTW, in the background you can see the old Imai 1:100 Armored Valk that I am building up as Millia's red VF-1J.

[SteveTheFish]

Sorry for the double post, but I figured that I would include a pic of my Imai 1:100 Armored VF-1J Valk. Instead of Hikaru's, I'm building it as Millia's. I know there is an old 1:200 scale Millia Armored Valk by Nichimo, but their proposed color scheme is just a bit weird. I've decided to make mine uniform with Hikaru's, particularly because I have leftover paint mix from my simultaneous Hasegawa 1:72 Armored Valk build. I just realize that I need to paint the head cannons and mono eye too. Other than that, I'll be ready to do a clear coat and apply some aftermarket decals. The decals this kit comes with are most likely toast.

As you can see, I have articulated the crap out of this, using Wave's ball joints, Hobby Base's mecha hands (I don't like the silly ham fists the kit comes with), and some polycaps leftover from Gunpla builds. I'm too chicken to put them together just yet, and will wait until I'm ready to do so at the end after the decals are down and sealed. Hopefully it won't look awkward, but at least it won't be in such a stiff pose as it would be built straight out of the box without augmentation.

[Big s]

24 minutes ago, SteveTheFish said:

The gloss white/gloss black scheme is interesting, but unfortunately I think I applied too many layers of silver paint, making the black panels a bit too subtle. The wing flaps are Mr. Color 8 Silver, while the rest of the plane is Mr. Color SM201 Super Fine Silver 2. You can barely see that the nose, engine cowlings, rear parts of the nacelles, and vertical stabilizers are a bit deeper color. I should not have applied too many layers of paint and let them show the darker color more. It was my first time attempting this, and I thought that after the paint dried, they would be more visible.

So... I dunno... Do you think it's worth re-masking and giving these panels another shot? Or just fall forward?

BTW, in the background you can see the old Imai 1:100 Armored Valk that I am building up as Millia's red VF-1J.

I think it looks great, I can see the differences in the shown pictures between the different metals. I’m not sure if you have a real world example that you’re trying for that has a bigger contrast. If you’re personally not satisfied though then go ahead and give it another darker coat, but I think it looks great as is.

[SteveTheFish]

4 hours ago, Big s said:

I think it looks great, I can see the differences in the shown pictures between the different metals. I’m not sure if you have a real world example that you’re trying for that has a bigger contrast. If you’re personally not satisfied though then go ahead and give it another darker coat, but I think it looks great as is.

Thanks. the panel variations are more pronounced in the example model photo on the box. I'm afraid of losing some detail if I was to do yet another gloss black coat and redo the silver. There might also be bleed-under. I was lucky to have clean masking lines the first time. The way it is now, it is subtle. I guess I'll be satisfied with that.

[pengbuzz]

Hawke: "DOM!! I NEED CHAIN GUNS!!!"

Santini: "YOU GOT"EM STRING!!!"

 

[Thom]

On 4/4/2024 at 2:40 PM, pengbuzz said:

UPDATE: continuing to work on "the Lady":

Still working out details, as well as trying to source turbo boost nozzles for her. Figured I'd spin the main rotor before snapping a pic just for fun; ended up looking like it does in the show!

Waffling a bit still on weapons, as I would have to cut metal on the sponsons and rig a way to plug the ends in in both deployed and underemployed mode. The ADF isn't so much of an issue, as it can attach via magnets. But you never see the pod without the chain guns, so I'm still fussing on this point.

Stay tuned...Dom's out getting a sandwich while String is fishing...

 

That's means Caitlyn is flying! Weeee!

I totally missed this post. Looks so cool with the rotor going,.

[Thom]

10 hours ago, SteveTheFish said:

The gloss white/gloss black scheme is interesting, but unfortunately I think I applied too many layers of silver paint, making the black panels a bit too subtle. The wing flaps are Mr. Color 8 Silver, while the rest of the plane is Mr. Color SM201 Super Fine Silver 2. You can barely see that the nose, engine cowlings, rear parts of the nacelles, and vertical stabilizers are a bit deeper color. I should not have applied too many layers of paint and let them show the darker color more. It was my first time attempting this, and I thought that after the paint dried, they would be more visible.

So... I dunno... Do you think it's worth re-masking and giving these panels another shot? Or just fall forward?

BTW, in the background you can see the old Imai 1:100 Armored Valk that I am building up as Millia's red VF-1J.

If you have some Tamiya Smoke, you could try using that to shade some selective panels. And mask and spray some other ones with the same silver from the wing flaps, or even mix the MC8 with MCSF2 for a third shade.

4 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

Hawke: "DOM!! I NEED CHAIN GUNS!!!"

Santini: "YOU GOT"EM STRING!!!"

 

Cool seeing the guns on her... except they look a little oversized IMO. Do you have any thin metal tubes? If not, most hardware stores carry some, like K&S brand, that are not that expensive. 

This is just an example.

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/hardware/metal-sheets-and-rods/brass-rods/5172721?store=04731&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIw96Bzpm1hQMVEUVHAR34QQbCEAQYASABEgIFFfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Loving the progress on the Lady!

[pengbuzz]

6 hours ago, Thom said:

Cool seeing the guns on her... except they look a little oversized IMO. Do you have any thin metal tubes? If not, most hardware stores carry some, like K&S brand, that are not that expensive. 

This is just an example.

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/hardware/metal-sheets-and-rods/brass-rods/5172721?store=04731&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIw96Bzpm1hQMVEUVHAR34QQbCEAQYASABEgIFFfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Loving the progress on the Lady!

Yeah, the 50 cal. barrels look a little big in particular on her, especially in comparison to the photos of her actual guns:

Thankfully, nothing is glued in yet, just taped on. I sized them directly from the parts layout on the Aoshima kit instructions, but I think they look a little big as well. I don't have any thin metal tubing per se (and money is tight right now after some unexpected expenses), but even if I have to use stretched sprue and cut off the old barrels to fit them in, I'll get it taken care of.

Edited April 9 by pengbuzz

[Thom]

7 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

Yeah, the 50 cal. barrels look a little big in particular on her, especially in comparison to the photos of her actual guns:

Thankfully, nothing is glued in yet, just taped on. I sized them directly from the parts layout on the Aoshima kit instructions, but I think they look a little big as well. I don't have any thin metal tubing per se (and money is tight right now after some unexpected expenses), but even if I have to use stretched sprue and cut off the old barrels to fit them in, I'll get it taken care of.

I'm sure you will, Peng, you are a wiz at this!

[SteveTheFish]

11 hours ago, Thom said:

If you have some Tamiya Smoke, you could try using that to shade some selective panels. And mask and spray some other ones with the same silver from the wing flaps, or even mix the MC8 with MCSF2 for a third shade.

I actually thought about maybe doing that. Or Gaia Notes Clear Black would do it too. I did a Hasegawa Eggplane Girl wearing a bunny girl costume, and I used the Clear Black on her pantyhose to give it a sheer look. The effect was pretty nice.

[pengbuzz]

3 hours ago, SteveTheFish said:

I actually thought about maybe doing that. Or Gaia Notes Clear Black would do it too. I did a Hasegawa Eggplane Girl wearing a bunny girl costume, and I used the Clear Black on her pantyhose to give it a sheer look. The effect was pretty nice.

You could try using #0000 steel wool lightly, then some ground up black pastel to add the color differentiation. It would allow you to do so without adding a lot of layers to the paint job, and as a bonus, be subtle about it.

[pengbuzz]

UPDATE: chain guns revised-

I know the 40mm cannon still looks a little big, but it's probably because it's light colored in contrast to the rest of the craft. We'll see how it looks painted, but comparing it sizewise, it seems spot on to the specs.

Also; I got my idea for the stand going:

 

Stay tuned...Archangel and Marella want a word with me about something...

Edited April 11 by pengbuzz

[Big s]

44 minutes ago, pengbuzz said:

UPDATE: chain guns revised-

I know the 40mm cannon still looks a little big, but it's probably because it's light colored in contrast to the rest of the craft. We'll see how it looks painted, but comparing it sizewise, it seems spot on to the specs.

Also; I got my idea for the stand going:

 

Stay tuned...Archangel and Marella want a word with me about something...

That’s a pretty cool display 

[Thom]

Nice looking guns, @pengbuzz. And that display stand looks great.

[pengbuzz]

21 hours ago, Thom said:

Nice looking guns, @pengbuzz. And that display stand looks great.

UPDATE: thanks, but I ended up with some trouble:

1) The internal support for the sponsons tore out on me while I was doing final adjustments for the non-weapon sponson covers. It took with them the entire support structure for the wheels, wheel wells and cracked the bottom hull plate of the model, requiring a rebuild of the lower hull plate.

Anyways, a friend on another forum is sending materiel support, so in a few days, I should have this back on track.

Stay tuned...

 

Edited April 12 by pengbuzz

[Urashiman]

Went to the hobby store with the kid again.

We got this:

I never build a Minicraft kit before. So I was eager to try it. Looking at the UK flag I was expecting a pile of rubbish. BUT, it was okay.

The kit is super small, it has some nice details. The quality is mediocre. There are seems everywhere.

CLAMPS!

The raw build.

The kid wanted to help mask the canopy.

he did a few patches. Then he wanted to Airbrush the primer as well.

And almost done:

While building this, a box arrived with new stuff

 

Edited April 12 by Urashiman

[electric indigo]

Still crouching towards the day it all will come together.

[Big s]

4 hours ago, Urashiman said:

Went to the hobby store with the kid again.

We got this:

I never build a Minicraft kit before. So I was eager to try it. Looking at the UK flag I was expecting a pile of rubbish. BUT, it was okay.

The kit is super small, it has some nice details. The quality is mediocre. There are seems everywhere.

CLAMPS!

The raw build.

The kid wanted to help mask the canopy.

he did a few patches. Then he wanted to Airbrush the primer as well.

And almost done:

While building this, a box arrived with new stuff

 

That’s a cute lil Harrier. And seems like you’re getting a lot of use out of that portable airbrush

 

3 hours ago, electric indigo said:

Still crouching towards the day it all will come together.

And this is one I’m eagerly waiting to see the end results of