Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[Thom]

All the details are making it pop! @pengbuzz

[Cheese3]

Quick lil project in between projects!

[electric indigo]

Little progress in the sparse moments of daylight.

[Big s]

On 12/4/2024 at 6:17 PM, Cheese3 said:

Quick lil project in between projects!

Is that one of the nichimo kits?

[Cheese3]

21 hours ago, Big s said:

Is that one of the nichimo kits?

Sure is! 

[Big s]

2 hours ago, Cheese3 said:

Sure is! 

Cool, you don’t see enough builds with these anymore 

[Cheese3]

Current projects! 

[Big s]

34 minutes ago, Cheese3 said:

Current projects! 

Some interesting figures there. 

[Urashiman]

Got this on my workbench now:

 

[Big s]

1 hour ago, Urashiman said:

Got this on my workbench now:

 

Can’t wait to see how it turns out 

[derex3592]

Flory's Grime all over and panel line wash got done and decals on the A-10 were started over the weekend and went down great. Apparently 2004 Academy decals are much better to work with than much much newer Academy decals.. (The more modern F-18's were just very very difficult I think due to the much much thinner film maybe?) whatever, these go down like a dream! 😀 Pressing on! 

Edited December 9, 2024 by derex3592

[MechTech]

@pengbuzz That's cool! You continue to show that you are THE MASTER with a roll of tape!

@electric indigo Beautiful looking paint and weathering on that SLUF!

@Cheese3 For a second I thought you were building the Minerva and the related tank for Crusher Joe😁 You've also reminded me why I wouldn't let my children drink beer, play with guns, and ride German armor - all at the same time🤣

@derex3592 Great paint and panel lining!

 

If you guys recall, I told you how the 1/35th Dougram kit has voids molded into a lot of parts. Roll bars or whatever you want to call them ALL were like that. What a pain. I tried filling them with the Vallejo filler and it SUCKS! I tossed it out since it dried like rubber and had MAJOR sinkage as it dried. So I've been trying to rebuild these dumb bars! I tried styrene. Its impossible to get the same temperature and bending radius. I litterally wasted several feet of styrene rod and sprue. I tried heavy electrical wire, but it wouldn't hold the paint with its flexible insulation. The only option was to bend 1/8" (3mm) thick brass rod. I encountered the same problems with it too. I finally realized I needed a wire bender. Sometimes you need a special tool for a special job.

I watched some videos online and figured out the simplest version. Just three pieces for the whole thing! The base is a solid bolt body that the bottom half had filed away two sides so it would lock into a bech-top vice. Then that has a channel cut through it for the wire to go through. And finally, a socket head screw was threaded into it. Here's the parts with a couple of tests.

And a close-up to see how simple it really is. You can see I filed away some of one side to work out the radius angles.

Four weeks later, I FINALLY got a full set of roll bars! Thank God they came out OK and are done!

This is where each roll bar goes...

I think its on to the weapons back-pack next. Thanks for checking in guys! - MT

[Big s]

56 minutes ago, MechTech said:

@pengbuzz That's cool! You continue to show that you are THE MASTER with a roll of tape!

@electric indigo Beautiful looking paint and weathering on that SLUF!

@Cheese3 For a second I thought you were building the Minerva and the related tank for Crusher Joe😁 You've also reminded me why I wouldn't let my children drink beer, play with guns, and ride German armor - all at the same time🤣

@derex3592 Great paint and panel lining!

 

If you guys recall, I told you how the 1/35th Dougram kit has voids molded into a lot of parts. Roll bars or whatever you want to call them ALL were like that. What a pain. I tried filling them with the Vallejo filler and it SUCKS! I tossed it out since it dried like rubber and had MAJOR sinkage as it dried. So I've been trying to rebuild these dumb bars! I tried styrene. Its impossible to get the same temperature and bending radius. I litterally wasted several feet of styrene rod and sprue. I tried heavy electrical wire, but it wouldn't hold the paint with its flexible insulation. The only option was to bend 1/8" (3mm) thick brass rod. I encountered the same problems with it too. I finally realized I needed a wire bender. Sometimes you need a special tool for a special job.

I watched some videos online and figured out the simplest version. Just three pieces for the whole thing! The base is a solid bolt body that the bottom half had filed away two sides so it would lock into a bech-top vice. Then that has a channel cut through it for the wire to go through. And finally, a socket head screw was threaded into it. Here's the parts with a couple of tests.

And a close-up to see how simple it really is. You can see I filed away some of one side to work out the radius angles.

Four weeks later, I FINALLY got a full set of roll bars! Thank God they came out OK and are done!

This is where each roll bar goes...

I think its on to the weapons back-pack next. Thanks for checking in guys! - MT

They came out great. Keep up the work, it’s great to see 

[Chas]

Yep ! Great job on those. I too have sworn off the Vellejo putty. Same problem as you loads of shrinkage and it never hardens just turns rubbery.

[MechTech]

@Big s @Chas Thank you guys! I'm glad it's just not me! Whoever formulated that putty was on crack - or crack was part of the formula🤣 How are you supposed to sand rubber? That stuff would have been fine for calking tiny bathrooms, but not model building, that's for sure. - MT

[Big s]

46 minutes ago, MechTech said:

@Big s @Chas Thank you guys! I'm glad it's just not me! Whoever formulated that putty was on crack - or crack was part of the formula🤣 How are you supposed to sand rubber? That stuff would have been fine for calking tiny bathrooms, but not model building, that's for sure. - MT

If I’m not mistaken with the Vallejo putty, you don’t sand it. From what I’ve seen , it’s used with water and something like a q-tip or tissue to smooth it out. I don’t use the stuff and the only thing similar that I’ve tried is perfect plastic putty. Although even though the name says perfect, it’s far less than perfect. My understanding is that the Vallejo consistency is supposed to grip edges better and stick so it reduces the leftover lines in the areas that need filling.

 Personally I don’t use these kind of putties because of my dislike for perfect plastic putty. I’ve really only had a couple of successes with it and most of the time I’ve had to just add super glue to fix it. Although, at least it doesn’t melt the project the way a solvent type like Tamiya can. 

[electric indigo]

Too little daylight to finish the Corsair, so I started the Airfix Fairey Gannet.

This is not your Dad's Airfix anymore, btw. The engineering is perfect, details in abundance, and a thoroughly enjoyable build so far.

Now I just need to get some depleted Uranium to meet the nose weight requirements...

[derex3592]

Regarding the Vallejo Putty, I LOVE it. It's the only one I use anymore. Tried the Perfect Plastic Putty, Tamiya, others, and I like the Vallejo the best. It's not meant to fill the grand canyon or anything, but very small seams. Yes, there is a little shrinkage sometimes, but I always expect to have to add a little more to a problem area. You really don't have to sand it unless you just feel the need to. Apply, gently wipe off any excess with a moist q-tip and you're good to go. YMMV. 

[Big s]

5 hours ago, derex3592 said:

Regarding the Vallejo Putty, I LOVE it. It's the only one I use anymore. Tried the Perfect Plastic Putty, Tamiya, others, and I like the Vallejo the best. It's not meant to fill the grand canyon or anything, but very small seams. Yes, there is a little shrinkage sometimes, but I always expect to have to add a little more to a problem area. You really don't have to sand it unless you just feel the need to. Apply, gently wipe off any excess with a moist q-tip and you're good to go. YMMV. 

It seems to be a love it or hate it kind of product. I’ve seen a lot of people that swear by it and others that can’t seem to make a seam disappear with it. I personally haven’t tried it out yet and really can’t speak for it other than what I’ve seen from other people’s experiences.

How long do you wait to wipe it away?
I got a couple older kits that have a couple tough spots to get to and was wondering about some tips on the process from someone that’s actually had success with it since I’m not sure how to sand a super tight spot and the seam bugs me

[derex3592]

@Big s - Pretty much right away after applying it. Usually with a small slightly moist q-tip or just a moist finger. 

[MechTech]

Thanks guys! Yeah, the voids molded into the parts class as grand canyon gaps. I filled it way over the void to sand and it STILL had major shrinkage. The water evaporates and nothing is there to take its place in the formula. It's probably good for thin seam fills, but as Big s said, I just use CA myself. CA and Baking Soda for thicker expanses. Oh well, the voids are gone now😁

@electric indigo That is a BEAUTIFUL kit! Someone brought it in to our club meeting a little further along than yours and the cockpit details look awesome (out of the box). - MT

Edited December 12, 2024 by MechTech

[Urashiman]

Workbench stuff. After the VB-6, I am Building something more „traditional“.

I haven’t build anything 1/48 in ages. Totally forgot how big 1/48 stuff is haha.

Anyway, this seems like hasegawa took everything they did wrong with the 1/72 and fixed it. Like a revision B, just in 1/48. would be cool if they could update their 1/72 mold with the improvements the 1/48 has. Just dreaming.

As the 1/72, it can be broken down into build groups. So I am doing this group by group.

[Big s]

3 hours ago, MechTech said:

Thanks guys! Yeah, the voids molded into the parts class as grand canyon gaps. I filled it way over the void to sand and it STILL had major shrinkage. The water evaporates and nothing is there to take its place in the formula. It's probably good for thin seam fills, but as Big s said, I just use CA myself. CA and Baking Soda for thicker expanses. Oh well, the voids are gone now😁

@electric indigo That is a BEAUTIFUL kit! Someone brought it in to our club meeting a little further along than yours and the cockpit details look awesome (out of the box). - MT

Even the stuff I’ve seen where people were successful with the product, they basically said it wasn’t for larger gaps. It seems more for smaller areas and spots where there is a lot of detail that could accidentally be sanded away.

[Cheese3]

Quick lil project, it was on sale at wise guy hobbies. Not a paid ad! Haha  Somthing just for fun. Wasn’t too concerned with seams or flaws. Love these small kits. 

[Cheese3]

I forgot it’s bubble! 

[Cheese3]

I forgot it’s bubble! 

[Big s]

3 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

UPDATE: no ink for decals, no usable decal paper and such, I finally got sick of it and just printed decals for the Callisto on printer paper and glued it on.

(rest of the model is half paper anyways).

No class name as of yet; with that though, I'm calling this one done-

Dorsal and Ventral views:

 

Primary Hull Registry:

 

Warp Nacelle Pennant and Registry:

 

Impulse Engines and Stellar Observatory/ Cartography Dome:

 

Navigational deflector:

 

Secondary Hull rear sensor suite:

 

Bussards in daylight:

 

Stand for the model (no blueprints this time):

See everyone next project!

-Pengbuzz

 

The paper markings fit the project fine

[MechTech]

@pengbuzz WOW! That's a LOT of detail you put into the starship! It looks REALLY good and especially cool since it's a rare subject. - MT

[Big s]

1 hour ago, Cheese3 said:

I forgot it’s bubble! 

Now that I think about it, I’m not sure I’ve ever used the little bubble personally. I’ve seen other people flip it over and use them as stands though 

[Thom]

5 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

UPDATE: no ink for decals, no usable decal paper and such, I finally got sick of it and just printed decals for the Callisto on printer paper and glued it on.

(rest of the model is half paper anyways).

No class name as of yet; with that though, I'm calling this one done-

Dorsal and Ventral views:

 

Primary Hull Registry:

 

Warp Nacelle Pennant and Registry:

 

Impulse Engines and Stellar Observatory/ Cartography Dome:

 

Navigational deflector:

 

Secondary Hull rear sensor suite:

 

Bussards in daylight:

 

Stand for the model (no blueprints this time):

See everyone next project!

-Pengbuzz

 

@pengbuzz That is a great looking model! If they made that in kit-form, I'd buy one!

 

[Urashiman]

Did a bit priming and coloring this evening as well as further building.

This is a big one…

(probably not as big as the plamax 1/20 one, but 1/48 big)

[sketchley]

@pengbuzz

That's a very dynamic looking ship!  I especially like how visually different it looks from the 3/4 views (front top, rear top, rear bottom, etc.)  You've also added an impressive amount of detail—phaser banks, escape pods, station keeping thrusters, etc.  The crème de la crème are that the windows aren't just drawn on, but are indented into the hull material.  The specular highlights really sells it!

Question about the bridge area: is it the smallest dome on top of the top ventral dome?  To my eyes, it looks like those forward facing windows on that top ventral dome could be the ship's 'Ten Forward'!

12 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

Primary Hull Registry:

 

 

Edited December 14, 2024 by sketchley

[sketchley]

47 minutes ago, pengbuzz said:

Thanks Sketchley! For the windows, I used a soldering iron (variable heat setting station) at about 859 degrees to burn the windows into the hull!.

Oh!  That's quite different from what I had imagined!  Nevertheless, as I said before, it's really effective!

 

47 minutes ago, pengbuzz said:

As for the dome on the top: the very smallest one is the top of the bridge, followed by the bridge itself. The forward windows on the somewhat squarish bulge are indeed a lounge.

Thanks for the confirmation.  It's a testament to your research and detailing work that I immediately thought exactly what you're intending to depict. 👍

[sketchley]

Been a while since I updated my models-in-progress.  A few months ago, my Rigādo factory was really getting into the swing of things, when I got a bad case of gotta-get-it-done-itis, and ended up nicking my thumb with the Xacto knife.

While I was letting it heal, I reverted to the other major project on the workbench: dusting!

At one point, I tackled the Death Star II.  The big hole in the back is great for letting dust in, but terrible for getting it out.  As I didn't glue it together, I was able to tease all the pieces apart:

Then I remembered that someone on MW had painted the interior of their Death Star, and realized it was my chance to do the same.  The red and silver paint is really obvious.  Can you see any of the Burnt Iron paint?  Alas, it's basically indistinguishable from the black water colour wash 😭:

Regrettably, once assembled, I realized that the outer surface was too plain, and something needed to be added to it:

In researching the details, I came across a buildup that essentially said that the 'city sections' on the Death Star's surface are darker than the surrounding areas.  The modeller had painted all of the raised panels in a rainbow of darker colours, and then dry brushed a light grey over top to get the desired effect—essentially the opposite of what I had achieved with my wash.

That's when I recalled another MW member having used pencil to add Aztec details to their Enterprise kits.  As the test panels came out quite nice (bottom right Death Star in the image above), I went gangbusters on the rest of the surface.  The results were nothing like I expected, and much too dark for my tastes:

I decided to wipe off the pencils and resolved to find another way to achieve the desired finish.  And that's when the happy accident happened: the wet-wipes I used didn't take all the graphite off, and I ended up with something extremely close to what I was aiming for:

Thankfully, when I was laying on the pencils I had the presence of mind to resist scribbling, and pencilled in the areas with uniform top to bottom strokes.

My overall goals were to ① break up the the monotony of the even-thickness layers in the back by drybrushing horizontally to suggest different layer thicknesses, and ② suggest that there is more detail than there really is with strategically placed vertical bits of colour to break up the monotony even further.  I think it works—as long as you don't look at it too closely!

What do you guys think?  Does it look better now compared to when I started?

⇩ The unmodified Death Star

[Big s]

7 minutes ago, sketchley said:

Been a while since I updated my models-in-progress.  A few months ago, my Rigādo factory was really getting into the swing of things, when I got a bad case of gotta-get-it-done-itis, and ended up nicking my thumb with the Xacto knife.

While I was letting it heal, I reverted to the other major project on the workbench: dusting!

At one point, I tackled the Death Star II.  The big hole in the back is great for letting dust in, but terrible for getting it out.  As I didn't glue it together, I was able to tease all the pieces apart:

Then I remembered that someone on MW had painted the interior of their Death Star, and realized it was my chance to do the same.  The red and silver paint is really obvious.  Can you see any of the Burnt Iron paint?  Alas, it's basically indistinguishable from the black water colour wash 😭:

Regrettably, once assembled, I realized that the outer surface was too plain, and something needed to be added to it:

In researching the details, I came across a buildup that essentially said that the 'city sections' on the Death Star's surface are darker than the surrounding areas.  The modeller had painted all of the raised panels in a rainbow of darker colours, and then dry brushed a light grey over top to get the desired effect—essentially the opposite of what I had achieved with my wash.

That's when I recalled another MW member having used pencil to add Aztec details to their Enterprise kits.  As the test panels came out quite nice (bottom right Death Star in the image above), I went gangbusters on the rest of the surface.  The results were nothing like I expected, and much too dark for my tastes:

I decided to wipe off the pencils and resolved to find another way to achieve the desired finish.  And that's when the happy accident happened: the wet-wipes I used didn't take all the graphite off, and I ended up with something extremely close to what I was aiming for:

Thankfully, when I was laying on the pencils I had the presence of mind to resist scribbling, and pencilled in the areas with uniform top to bottom strokes.

My overall goals were to ① break up the the monotony of the even-thickness layers in the back by drybrushing horizontally to suggest different layer thicknesses, and ② suggest that there is more detail than there really is with strategically placed vertical bits of colour to break up the monotony even further.  I think it works—as long as you don't look at it too closely!

What do you guys think?  Does it look better now compared to when I started?

⇩ The unmodified Death Star

I think it looks pretty cool for the size.