danimalmagic

Hi all i am currently building the MFH Ferrari 512 BB LM and i need a copy of the Template for the floor, it is called the Aluminium sheet guide, if someone could scan this and send me a size for size copy that would be great. I am not happy with the floor as it is and i want to re do it with plasticard painted with Alclad Gloss Aluminium but i need the sheet guide, i would be grateful for any assistance here. Regards Danny

Next up was fitting the engine to the chassis, this took a little while to get right as the mounts did not quite align, all the parts have dimple in them so you can not go wrong when drilling but as you can imagine with everything being cast white metal and resin you will get a build up of tolerance errors. I had to do a number of test fits to get right but eventually it snapped into place and could have the mounting screws fitted. With that done i could mount the breaks and hubs, i just need to re set the the left carb funnel bracket as it cam loose during the engine test fitting, nothing a drop of glue will not cure. I would be interested to know how the breaks work as there is no break piping supplied or shown in the instructions which for the detail of this kit is unusual, there is a solid break line that runs under the transmission and fits into a hole in the lower suspension strut as below but nothing that links that to the caliper. I did the usual google search and from the images i have seen there does not appear to be any link pipe, very curious? Still an awful long way to go yet so i will see you all next week.

Adding the wiring and carb piping was the most difficult bit to date and it took a couple of days, very fiddly with my porky old fingers, another nasty old seam on the pipework that will have to go Rear shocks painted up, damper rods polished up with auto-sol prior to painting and assembly. Rear drive and breaks, i need to do a darker wash here. Chassis ready for engine mounting.

Hi all, i have been steadily working away at this for the last two weeks, i have to say the accuracy and detail of the kit is very impressive, not the easiest of projects but quite satisfying as it comes together. Most of the parts are white metal and nearly all need to be drilled in one way or another, there are some resin parts too, still a number of weeks to go until completion and a great deal more parts to prep and paint. Basics of the Carb's done just some fine detailing to do. Tamiya TS-17 Gloss Aluminium, i was tempted to use Alclad but i could see no real benefit over the Tamiya spray Timing belts and cogs, not really a fan of the tape supplied in the kit but they will be covered by the cases. Cases on, seam on the oil filter will need to go before final painting. Transmission in place, i will add a wash later on. The car has for lift jack for tyre changes in servicing as the parts are white metal the rods can be polished up. Another two to do. Chassis assembly, along way to go yet. Next wiring and piping the engine.

Thanks guys.

Thanks Chaps. Danny

Thanks guys. Danny

Thanks Guys, a very cool project for me, may still have a tinker with the weathering yet.

Hi all, last job before i have a break for a few weeks, this is the Halcyon Models Nostromo, a vinyl kit that has its issue but for the most part was a pretty good project. As with all vinyl kits there is a fair bit of warping so plenty of hot water dips straighten up parts. The lighting is all bespoke apart from the use of an old control card for the engine lighting, this gives it a random flickering effect, not that you will see it from the images. I have built the kit to incorporate the strip lights on the belly and the landing lights, in regard to the landing lights these were never part of the production model as the lighting was supplied from an external rig and hidden with smoke that you see in the film. The landing lights are an important part of the model and none are supplied in the kit so it was a must to replicate them though you will have to afford me some artistic license here Light rigs. Belly strip lights are quite random. The landing gear is also lighted and in the film there is a ring of lights at the top that does this. Landing Lights complete, the 5 x main landing lights are on an independent touch dimmer so they can be turned on/off and dimmed as required. For the engines i have drilled out all the holes and will fill with the appropriate size optic cable, this will all be illuminated from the LED positioned on the inside behind the optic cables. Engines done, these are on a control card that gives a flickering effect and again they are on an independent touch dimmer switch which means they can be turned on or off and dimmed independently of the other lights Touch Dimmers and DC Input. Once painted i have weathered a little, trying to gauge this with Sci-Fi is always tough and i took lots of stills from the film but these are quite dark and grainy as you would expect so getting a balanced result was quite tough. For me less is more and you can always add more later but it is far harder to remove it if you go tooo mad:-) Landing gear and belly lights only. All lights. Engines Well that is me for a while, motorcyles to strip and clean for the silly season that will soon be upon us. Regards. Danny.

It was a commission job so you tend to do a lot more hours than normal, i had hoped to get it done in 3 weeks but the odd snag slows you down that is for sure. Thanks for looking. Danny

Round 2 decals, they are Cartograph made so much better that the usual Round 2 offering, there are a lot of them and you will need some Microset but other than that they were very easy to apply.

Hi all, with just under 5 weeks work i am calling this done, i used the rather good Starling Technologies lighting kit as a base with alot of bespoke lighting on top. The lighting kit comes complete with a sound card and real lasers to add to the overall effect. This is a short video from my Website. http://www.modelmasteruk.com/video Thanks for looking. Danny.

Model made it safely all the way to Albuquerque NM, happy days

Thanks guys. Danny

Hi all, its been a while, a short Star Trek project for me, this is the AMT/Polar Lights K'T'Inga Class Battle Cruiser with Madman Lighting, 2 weeks from start to finish. No real issue with this other than light sealing and the fact that the light kit is not designed for this model but more for the Bird of Prey, you find this out when you are running the optic cable through the neck but hey ho there is always a solution. Lights on. Next up another monster dolls house, topping up on Testosterone as i type. Thanks for looking. Danny

All good with me, its why I post articles so please pass it on. Damnation to PB

I finished it up this morning, it had has some additional lighter filters applied once it was all standing and i have added some other minor details but the guy is happy so i am done. The last picture is both of them together, the customer wanted the battle damaged one more heavily dirtied and weathered. All sealed with Tamiya XF-86 Matt. I am not sure if i would want to build a lot of these kits as they are quite complicated in terms of spraying, it would be easy to build up the parts but then you would have a real problem masking. Hey Ho, Here You Go. Thanks for Looking. Danny

Hi all its been a while but i have been busy, this is a follow up to a build i did last year and with fractionally less than the previous 600 parts was still quite a challenge. I did have the original to copy from this time which made the masking a little easier. Before you ask it is a Mecha model from a PC game called Metal Gear Solid 4, i am no gamer so its a bit out of my wheelhouse. In the game it has been left alone unused in the Arctic for years so it needed to be a little more weathered. The guy i built them both for supplied me digital renderings from the game so i could use those as a guide. These kits are so cleverly designed and you could snap fit the lot if you wanted the sheer engineering thought involved is mind boggling, needless to say it goes together without issue. The main difference with this kit to the first one is it comes with additional parts to replicate the internal structure once the armour has been blown off, needed a little more work than that. The sub assemblies are all sprayed up using a darker base coat and a lighter filter coat. Ready for masking. Next the fiddly bit and that is the masking for the camouflage, the book has a colour guide but i need to change a couple of bits as per the digital rendering. Ready for weathering. The next step was to replicate the battle damage/blast marks, i had a play with a soldering iron on a bit of spare plastic, the idea was to try and create the coarse surface texture as in the images supplied from the game. With that dome i added matt black then hull red over top then finished with silver dry brushing. Last of all was the various washes and to add a bit more rust i used the orange rust from my Tamiya dry weathering set. Regards. Danny.

Thanks chaps, battle damaged Rex still to do at some point. Thanks for looking. Danny

Many thanks, a very different project for me but enjoyable all the same. Thanks for looking. Danny

Thanks chaps. It is fully poseble though you would need to be careful. Danny.

Yes i know what you are thinking " what the hell is that", well the simple explanation is it is a model of a character from the gaming world. The game is called Metal Gear Solid 4 and apparently it is very popular, Kotobukiya do the kits and i have to say they are superbly thought out and engineered, you would not believe just how many parts there are. The model is called Ray and it is a follow up to the Rex i built for the same customer last year, that was even more complicated but an enjoyable job all the same. http://www.network54.com/Forum/47751/message/1477143478 I am not a gamer so my knowledge is limited, it is basically a manned underwater Mecha, the face opens up to reveal the gun, i am not showing it like that as the future is still drying, no touchee. The finish is meant to replicate an aqua marine blue with hints of green blended in, i used a base silver and then a light metallic blue covered with filters of clear green and clear blue. I am quite happy with the rendition, i have another coat of future to add tomorrow but essentially that is it. Just sent the completed images to the customer so hopefully a happy chap. Regards. Thanks for looking. Danny.

I used to pre shade all the time but now i find post shading and the use of filters gives me a much better weathering effect, certainly more controllable than pre shading alone, a little to much spray and the effect is easily lost. Once the decals are on i will add some pin washes, this is when i will see if re-scribing the panel lines was worth the pain. Thanks for looking. Danny

Danny

Danny.