Will Vale Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 (edited) Hi folks, I was going to save this until it was finished - I'm loath to clutter up the forum with yet another WIP thread when I should be finishing off some of the things I started last year - but I could do with some advice. To wit: I'm building Bandai's tiny little Salamis light cruiser and it's going OK, but I'm not sure if my paint scheme works: (Click for bigger) I think the green is OK, and the red on the inset prow section is a bit loud but what the hell. What I'm not sure about is the striping on the "ball rack" thing on the front. I wasn't sure about using this initially since it spoils the lines of the ship a bit, but the tiny balls are just too cool to leave out. I thought the wasp stripes would look cool against the green, and the rest of the rack is intended to be grey to mark it out as a retrofit. What worries me is that I don't reckon I can mask the stripes better than this, but they look pretty wobbly and give the thing away as a wee model rather than a nice big ship. They also maybe create a "too much going on" effect in the front section, what with the red. I'm tempted to get rid of them as a result, but I thought I'd solicit some opinions first. One thing that might work is masking just a thin section of the stripes off to retain it, and painting over the rest. Or just keeping the front-most stripe which is the neatest one. Suggestions most welcome! Thanks, Will Edited January 6, 2013 by Will Vale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madhatter Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 You could create some decals for that job ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amcb10 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Use decals if possible or good old Tamiya tape, easy to cut and should work ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Thanks, I did find some small stripe decals in my toolbox, but even at about 2 stripes to one of my painted ones I think they might be too coarse-scale. I've got some warning flashes which should look better. I like the idea of printing decals but I'm not really set up to do that, must give it a go *some* day though! or good old Tamiya tape, easy to cut and should work ok The stripes above are done with Tamiya tape, I just can't manage much thinner than 0.75mm and that's not fine enough It's also a pig to line up at that kind of size. (Click for bigger) I've Klear-coated the ship and rack, and started painting the details on the balls. A bit messy yet, but getting there and I think a wash will help sharpen everything up. Bit worried about that seam at the back (horizontal one running through the guns to the middle of the engine bell) - I thought I might get away with it, but it looks bad under the gloss. There's a lot of detail crossing it and I'm not sure how to eliminate it while preserving the surface. The two long seams where the top and bottom panels join the sides were a pain - lots of filling with superglue just to get them to look like panel lines rather than "a snub fighter will fit down here" trenches... Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted January 6, 2013 Author Share Posted January 6, 2013 Hi all, the family are away for a couple of days so I've been modelling. Got the decals on, sealed them, and have now given everything a wash of MIG Dark. The decals are from some Gundam or other - I sometimes buy a sheet when they're on sale on HLJ since they're pretty useful. Especially in this case since there were the handy EFSF logos (click for bigger) I was surprised how long it took to clean up the wash - it always takes time, but the tiny surface area ought to be quicker, right? It wasn't, probably because every square inch of the thing is covered in detail. I like how the red looks under the wash, that's come out well. The rack decals also add a bit of colour without being as clunky as the stripes. Need to retouch various spots - despite sealing the surface I managed to mildly damage the finish here and there while removing the wash. I quickly stopped using the cotton bud (just a brush) and the rest of it has gone quite well. Now to have a rest, let the wash dry up properly, then de-fluff it and do the touch-ups. Cheers, Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorheadtx Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Is that the EX-model kit?? Looks very nice..... I've got one in the stash, good to know the pitfalls beforehand. Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted January 6, 2013 Author Share Posted January 6, 2013 That's the one, you get the Salamis and Magellan in the box. They're disconcertingly small, but the parts fit well so far (those pesky seams aside) and the detail is really nice. It might be worth filing or sawing half a mil off the various locating pins when you bring the front, back and middle together to get a tighter fit there as well. I didn't, and spent an hour or so dribbling CA into the gaps. HTH, Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoppaMoomin Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Looking cool, I normally use tipex for very tiny seams but have recently been using Vallejo filler cos it has a fine applicator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 Thanks, that sounds interesting - if it's from Vallejo then presumably it's water-based? I decided to sort out the rear seam and fill the engine nozzle fairings at the same time now that the engine is permanently attached. The kit suggests you paint it red, in which case the seam would be less of an issue, but it was pretty deep and I wanted to carry the green all the way to the back. CA is my weapon of choice - you can be sanding in a few minutes, and it doesn't shrink. The downside is it takes a while to get things flat. After doing this I realised I could squeeze a hull number decal into the new space - which is good because I wanted one but couldn't see where to put it earlier. (click for bigger) I think this is finished - I've painted up the balls and installed them, blackened the ends of the gun barrels in lieu of drilling them out, and then dullcote-d everything and touched up the metallics. I've also painted the stand (Chaos black) and run the wiring for the LEDs. The bridge and engines are illuminated, and the power is supplied by a CR2032 coin cell in the stand. I'll take some pictures of this, and some better pics of the model for RFI tomorrow - the camera battery is flat. Cheers, Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 (edited) Duplicate post, sorry. Not sure what happened there? Edited January 7, 2013 by Will Vale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorheadtx Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Wow! Beauty!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyro-manic Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Cracking stuff! Very nicely done. I have the Argama kit from this range, and I'm very impressed with your results here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 Thanks folks, I've put an RFI post up now with some nicer pics. I have the Argama kit from this range, Is that the one with the spinny bit? It looks cool, I have the Albion in the stash with is similar-but-different, I'm looking forward to see how that comes out. Cheers, Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyro-manic Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 Yes, the Argama is the ship from Zeta Gundam, with the "spinny bit" and is quite spiky compared to the Albion, White Base etc. It's a nice-looking ship, but unfortunately the one I have is one of the limited edition ones that's metallic plated, and I need to strip all that horrible coating off before I can paint it. One of those jobs that is just going to be a pain, and I keep putting it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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