jargonking

The current heatwave here is probably not the best time to be pulling kits apart but after much gentle persuasion and an equal amount of swearing I finally managed to prise the wing halves apart.... Besides fitting the lights, the other incentive for getting them apart was to add a little more refinement to the rather rudimentary detail that I'd attempted inside the airbrakes over twenty years ago....this was done with some leftover etch from a Viper set and some solder wire...nothing to write home about here but it adds a little depth to the area.... I mirrored the detail on the opposite wing.... Just starting to paint the cockpit now...

The various Batman movie franchises have been pretty well served by kitmakers over the years....off the top of my head I can think of these.... Batman and Batman Returns.....Ertl Batmobile, Batmissile, Batskiboat, Batwing, Joker Goon Car...Horizon Batman (2 poses), Penguin, Catwoman...Biliken Batman and Joker Batman Forever....Revell Batmobile, Batboat, Batwing, Batman, Robin, The Riddler Batman & Robin...Revell/Monogram Batmobile, Robin's Redbird Motorcycle,....Hasegawa Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Mr Freeze There are a lot of kits from the more recent movies too

Along with the cockpit lights I really want to add the wing lights but had a problem since the wings were assembled twenty-odd years ago. I first used an extra long drill bit to try to feed some wires through the wing but couldn't manage it. In the end there was no other option but to break the wings apart. I used a fairly blunt blade and very carefully prised them apart at the seams.... There are also two small lights on the underside on the fronts of the wheel well bulges so I took the opportunity to drill out the wheel wells on the inside to feed the LED's....

Still on the cockpit but took time out to sort out part of the upper fuselage...this being an '80's kit the makers felt compelled to add some toy-like features such as the extending cable grabber in the nose and an opening hatch that reveals a gattling gun.... I decided to glue the hatch in place and fill the worst of the gaps with scrap plastic...once dry I'll fill the seams and hopefully make it invisible.... Meanwhile back in the cockpit I test fitted the figure which proved a tight squeeze....he's also packing a lot more muscle than I remember Michael Keaton carrying...looks more like Lou Ferrigno.... I wanted him to be holding the control stick and the throttle lever so some remodelling of the arms was in order...another issue is that he doesn't sit properly in the seat meaning his eyes don't line up with the spectacle sight... I carved away some of the seat and a lot of the cape....I also had to amputate his feet but they can't be seen anyway....here's how he finished after surgery.... More soon....

More progress on the cockpit....I fashioned some sidewall details from more spare etch.... Note the additional screen and the throttle handle... Here's a test fit of the instrument panel... I used part of the sprue to create the right hand control stick... Another test fit...this time with the seat....

I've been looking for a kit to build for the 'At the Movies' competition over on the SFM:UK site.... http://www.scifimodels.org.uk/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=3&func=showcat&catid=46 In sorting out my stash I came across this partially built Batwing..... I think I started this back in the early '90's when the kit came out...it all appears to be here... Wheels are up and there are some nice gaps to fill... It's interesting to compare the bits I've done to what I do now....back then I was happy to stick a few random scraps of styrene to the parts and call it superdetailing!.... The seat features the extending spectacle sight like the movie.... So....I've started by cleaning up the instrument panel and sourcing some etched detail from a spare ParaGrafix sheet....expect a lit interior on this one.... I was about to get started on detailing the cockpit with random detail when I found this pic online of a prop accurate collectable.... So I set about getting something closer to the movie....first up I found a suitably sized aperture in a brass fret...in this case the surround from part 26.... I cut out the brass with some scissors then trimmed it to it's outer dimensions... It was still oversized internally so one edge was trimmed off.... I pencilled in the actual screen size then drilled out the bulk using a pin vice.... The hole was then squared up using a sharp blade.... Two small sections of brass tube were cut to make the instrument bezels either side of the screen... Finally the pieces were applied to the kit instrument panel.... Now onto the side consoles....

If you want an awful movie with an all-star cast check out Solar Crisis.... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100649/ Apparently it cost $55M to make which is THREE TIMES what 'Aliens' cost....

Modelzone's woes lie squarely with parent company Amerang and not really with the shops themselves....they have been simply selling their stock at prices set by Amerang. A classic example of their flawed pricing policy is with the imported sci-fi kits from Moebius and Pegasus. Amerang appear to take the dollar retail price, double it and then add VAT at 20%. This resulted in the relatively tiny Battlestar Galactica kit retailing at £50. This directly due to the fact that Amerang were the sole UK distributor for Moebius. Moebius then do a deal with Revell to rebox the Galactica kits and the price miraculously drops to £19.99 due to Amerang having no say over Revell's RRP. It also led to the ridiculous situation of the Moebius and Revell boxings of the same kit sitting side by side on a MZ shelf with a price disparity of £30.....hmmm, which one shall I buy? I'm guessing the same situation applies to the Hasegawa prices...Amerang need to get real and stop taking us for mugs.

I've wanted to do this for a while as I felt that my old workspace on an old dining table was cramping my style. I've finally fitted out a room dedicated to my modelling with plenty of space to spread out and, more importantly, store everything relatively easy to hand.... View through the door.... Here's the main building area...I'm still sifting through all my boxes hence the temporary clutter on the worktop... All my tools are now easily to hand.... Another work area with my pillar drill....the plan is to have separate areas for assembly and painting.... All my paints are now stored neatly in drawers.... There's storage above for some of the stash.... Still need to sort out the lighting but I'm almost done....now for some serious building!

Before everyone gets carried away with the dream of printing all their kits at home, don't forget that the 3D printer takes cartridges....I'm a college lecturer and recently the art department installed a small 3D printer, something capable of printing an object the size of a small plate.....the cartridges for this machine are single colour and cost £300 each!....I think kits have a long life ahead of them yet....

You can get decals here..... http://www.culttvmanshop.com/War-Machine-decals-from-JTGraphics_p_2385.html

I have one in my stash....overall it's a good kit but has it's issues, particularly with some of the resin parts. Also, being solid resin it's near impossible to light. There was talk of AJA Models doing a larger scale one but this seems to have stalled....

As it happens I bought this from Wonderland Models....superfast delivery and great service!

Thought you might like to see something out of the ordinary....it's a new limited re-release from Revell Germany...only 1500 worldwide.... I think the original kit came out in the mid-1980's....there's a lot of parts.... Included are two gauges of thread and some vinyl strip for the extensive conveyor belts.... Final page of the instructions shows the complex final assembly.... The molds have held up really well for their age....there are multiple sprues of finely molded railings.... Not sure when I'll be building this beast....it's over a metre long....but if you want one then better get it now as they won't last long....

I've got the AJA Aries which, at 1/48, is the size of a bowling ball....not sure I could house anything bigger!

Call me cynical but isn't this thread just an advert for Models4hobby? No real information about the kit except for what 3 pallets of it look like and a link to their site to see some pics of the still-bagged parts. How about a proper review with sprue shots and a dry fit of parts?

Cool....some years ago they did a limited edition with a resin creature and photoetched parts.... http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10026174a/20/1

How cool is this?...I'm not a fan of the Ian Gillan Band (whose album cover this was done for) but I AM a lifelong fan of Chris Foss who painted it...he is a huge influence on my own work and ideas. Clear Air Turbulence has always been pretty much my all time favourite Foss painting. Yesterday a cardboard tube arrived containing this limited edition print signed and annotated by the man himself. It was a birthday gift from my brother Simon in Hong Kong. Certainly one of the best gifts I've ever been given, I was gobsmacked when I opened it. What is more surreal is that it is now up on the Foss site too. http://www.chrisfossart.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/DSCF5042IainsA3.jpg

Some minor surgery is needed on the hull to enable the ParaGrafix wheelhouse assembly to be seen. This involves removing some plastic in both sides and the forward upper hull.... I also drilled out the small window between the wheelhouse domes.... There are also two small windows in the pressure doors on the upper rear hull which were also drilled out.... The upgrade set also provides two tables to go either side of the central seating in the salon along with a chair for Nemo's desk.... These are REALLY tiny.... Now on with painting the interior.....

So, on with the build.... The salon interior is the first step and the ParaGrafix set provides girders and grilles for the ceiling. As I'm intending to light the interior I first chain-drilled the lighting panels out of the kit part... The panels were then carefully cut out with a blade...I find it best to use a worn blade here as with a really sharp one you run the risk of taking too much off.... The girders and grilles were then glued in place.... More tomorrow....:

Yeah, Brad's done a fine job of it although he didn't use the ParaGrafix set.

Just in from the USA is the latest kit from Pegasus in their Signature Series....the artist this time being Greg deSantis and his depiction of Jules Verne's Nautilus grappling with a giant squid.... Here's the boxart.... The detail on the hull parts is terrific...the moulds were cut by Trumpeter in China.... In fact detail throughout is first class.... Although the parts are really well packed with added foam in places, one area suffered minor damage in transit....nothing I can't fix with some plastic weld.... Clear parts are perfectly moulded.... Pegasus provide tiny self-adhesive masks for all those windows.... The interior of Nemo's lounge is well appointed with bookcases, a pipe organ and watertight doors... Pegasus provide etched brass for railings, bracing wires and steps on the hull... The base and squid are vinyl parts....the tentacles are individually keyed to only fit one way and simply push in... As an added extra I also bought the ParaGrafix upgrade which features interior details and lighting panels along with a complete wheelhouse interior.... More soon.....

Here's my take on the Moebius Black Widow... A pretty easy build with no major issues. I reshaped the left foot slightly as it appears she has been given two right feet by the sculptor....the bootstraps are in the correct place but the foot definitely looks like it's pointing in the wrong direction.... The face sculpt is pretty good although I think my painting makes her look more like Susan Sarandon than Scarlett Johansson. My only critisism would be the lack of a name plate for the base and the lack of any Avengers decals for the shoulder patches. This first one was taken with a flash which has washed out the hair a little and makes everything appear too shiny although it does highlight the drybrushing on the tunic.... The rest were taken without flash.... And with the base...

The rain is on it's way along with more grime....

Some final touches..... Miniature newspapers scattered across the street.... Close up....note the headline.... Sedan in place.....