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MiniModelPaint

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  1. If this were an episode of The Crystal Maze, I'd be looking at getting locked in the room right now. Either that or escaping without the prize. It takes a loooong time to paint these dreadlocks. Prepping them was a nightmare, but once primed and gloss black, I've had to paint each individual bead in a shade of gold, brass and silver - and then touching up the black where I've run over the lines. 43 dreads with an average of 2 beads per strand. So here it is at 23.41, just shy of 20 mins before the Group Build deadline tolls, and I still have 9 strands of predhair to attach. They're all painted in metal, and one has been tidied with black I love blu-tack. It's the best - after this build, I will never hear a word against it. But I digress. I have moved the paint on for the main figure - there's not a single part that isn't basecoated, nothing left just in primer. The Alien head is untouched - the zealous stupidity of attaching it early on has meant not getting any freehand pattern painted on the head (yet) - the angles are awkward, and it should look jaw-dropping, rather than "didn't he try hard?". Likewise the base - the supplied plinth is cool as a rooftop with cables and pipe, but in context with this new victim, I need to change the venue. I'll still use the base, but maybe turn it into a spaceship corridor. I've managed to get a bit of detail sorted, too. No. Not the netting. Green blood - "If it bleeds, we can kill it" - will be added towards the end, but for now, here's where I got to before getting locked in the room: So thanks for following this thread, guys - it's been a real blast sharing. I'll be finishing this fella off, and you'll see the results on another thread on Britmodeller. Alternatively, I'll be posting on twitter, and my own blog, too - @minimodelpaint, and www.minimodelpaint.com cheers!
  2. It's Sunday - the last day of this Group Build. I'll be honest - I'm not going to finish this Predator today. I could, but I'd rush and ruin. What I do intend to get done later is finish the dreadlocks. Last night I had another late one - got the armour washed, and got some more dreads attached. So, fingers crossed I get some time today - Family day out to the park first - and then I'll get the last glue, paint and photos done for this build.
  3. Had a really late night getting the legs and armour done. 2am finish. And I only took this photo… …which doesn't show the legs or armour. Well, maybe the arm armour. It's a combination of copper/brass/gold - mostly GW paints, like Tin Bitz and Brass Scorpion, and will be weathered to match the shoulder. Legs have been spotted, and matte sealed to remove the purple sheen. And that's all for now. Let's see how much I can get done before this GB closes on Sunday.
  4. Cheers Kallisti, That's the plan - and no wet palette for that job, either. Still. there'll be a *lot* of breath-holding. I may pass out. Chainmail looks great on her, btw - clearly proving a lot of protection. =p
  5. Managed to get some more dreads attached last night - 23 to go - almost halfway there! and I've dull-coated the skin, so no more purple sheen. I've also done some work on the shoulder weapon - gunmetals and chrome highlights, with a black barrel. I was worried I'd fitted it upside-down, but it's meant to swivel round when it deploys. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP2IFFQQFpU It looks less like a quiver of arrows now. I also made some progress on the tusks, and started work on the necklace - good practice for the netting (I want to cry when I think about the netting), and some metal-work on the armour. I still have the rest of the lower body and the alien to do as well, so I'll try not to get too hung up about silly little details...
  6. I performed a little test, to check how varnishes behave when applied to the Sharpie spots. I want to lose the purpley reflection, but don't want the ink to bleed or smudge. I had a spare hand in the Predator box, so I quickly primed and painted similar brown shades on the plastic, and then finished off by drawing spots with the pen. After drying, I applied Vallejo Gloss, Satin and Matte in strips across the spots. As you can see, each of the varnishes behaved well, except over plain primer, where it feathered past its original edge. This won't be a problem on the main model. Onwards...
  7. Thanks Hunter - believe it or not, it's actually just a base of white/offwhite layered with 2-3 red ink washes, allowing to pool in the gizzard-y bits. I'll re-gloss the shiny areas (they're still wet in the photo).
  8. Weekend update - with a week to go until the end of this group build, I'm not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Plodding on regardless, I've made some alterations, and got some more paint on. As I planned last week, I added some Green Stuff to the sword - to reshape the blade, hide the reinforcing wire, and to replace the leather binding. It'll take a day or so to fully cure, so I'll worry about painting it then. I've filled the gap in the leg holster and painted the legs - darker than the body, with slightly paler patches. Spots will follow, and then the fishnets. The skull is less bright white than this photo suggests, and I'll have some skin tidyup to do - especially after the netting. And I've splashed another load of Red Ink in the gullet. It's starting to look really gross and angry. I still have 2 layers of hair to glue...
  9. Love this. Ripley and Jonesey look great, the corridor feels gritty and authentic, and the Peeping Tom Alien is a fantastic touch. Can't wait for final photos.
  10. Spoil sport! about 15 mins. Years ago, when I was a part of the old thehive.net forum, some of the members would repaint their Hot Toys AvP predator figures. They found that a Sharpie was much more efficient than a brush and paint - no runs or accidental splodges, but with a risk of a purple glossy sheen. My only concern is how it will react with clear coat sealants. I'll test on spare parts first! Next bit now - I've been a bit worried about how the Alien head has been moving. After cutting the sword and attaching the ends around the head, the assembly would wobble. I've added some wire to the sword as reinforcement, as I don't want it snapping at the wrist. I'll need to decorate with some Green Stuff or similar - the cloth wrap should go over the wire, and then it will be a part of the Pred's own customisation.
  11. Always jumping the gun, me. I'm not 100% happy with the skin-tone (not light enough around the centre, I think), but I just have to try out the fancy technique I read about a few years ago to get the skin mottling. Who can guess the method, and how long it took?
  12. I was asked last week to build a blaster prop for a friend. He's off to Secret Cinema's showing of Empire Strikes Back this weekend, and has been told he has to dress as a 'mercenary' - basically a Han Solo-type. He's got enough clothing to pull of the general look, but doesn't want to spend silly money on a prop on Etsy or eBay. "Pete, can you finish it in 10 days?" he asked me. Challenge accepted. A DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol. Not screen accurate, but more 'look and feel'. First job - I told him to order a toy Mauser from eBay. £4.99 and quick delivery It arrived last weekend, so I only got it Monday. Han Solo's gun came from a Mauser C96, and is quite distinctive. This thing makes a clicky noise when you pull the trigger. Cheap, plasticky rubbish. Let me give you a quick rundown of my schedule. 10 day turnaround was a pipedream. By the time this arrived, it was already 5 days after the initial conversation. He's going Sunday. I work from home on Fridays, which meant bringing in a finished prop on Thursday. Which means finishing it Wednesday. 3 day turnaround. First job on Monday night. Assemble the gun. On my way out of the office, I asked the IT department if they had a PC graveyard I could defile. I got a couple of heatsinks and a knackered GPU filled with capacitors and microchips. Win. I also found a toy sniper scope - my stepson broke the scope off his toy rifle, and it had been sitting around for 6 months. He said I could have it The batteries are flat, but I think there's a laser pointer (red light) in there. Next - shave the unnecessary bits off the pistol Glue the scope in place. JB Weld is strong, but takes a long time to set. Gaffa tape will help, and hide unwanted gaps. It's a prop, not a showpiece. 3 days, people - gimme some slack. I know, I know - gaffa tape. Add some capacitors and other greeblies to hide the tape, and give some visual interest, and we're nearly there. I even got some Warhammer on it. The problem was the muzzle - although not a replica/facsimile of Solo's weapon, I wanted it to look as part of the same custom-built family. There are at least 5 different versions used in the films - some of the early production photos don't even have a scope! What they all have in common, though, is the flared muzzle-end - a drilled I found the answer in the supermarket. A bottle of mouthwash had the perfect shape lid. Worth 65p, I think. I drilled the muzzle holes and found a couple of other bottle lids to glue it to, cut the main barrel and attached. This was Tuesday night. I ran out of JB Weld as well, so Araldite was found in the garage recesses. I gave it 24hrs to cure, and then set about painting. Mixed materials on the gun, so Alclad II lacquer primer and gloss black, and metals, and acrylic brown for the handle. A few touchups here and there where the silver oversprayed, and it's done. 1am tidy up, but 3 days from start to finish. Fun little build. Next one will be tidier, I reckon. I'll post a photo of this one in use after Sunday's event (if he send me one)
  13. This looks great! I was never a fan of the clear flying displays, but it works well for this formation.
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