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Colonial Viper Mark One


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Hi folks,

Here's the Moebius Viper I've been building for our club's Build-the-Same-Kit competition. It was a bit of a rush at the last minute since I spent half the last month painting my treeman when I should really have been working on the Viper :)

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Not a bad kit to build - some fit issues and quite a few sink marks, but it cleans up quite well and there's some nice detail. I added the Paragrafix etched set for the cockpit and engines, plus my own lighting rig using an ATTiny85 microcontroller and some RGB and plain LEDs. The battery power is on-board - 4 AAA cells should give enough runtime for a whole show, but they were a fiddle to squeeze into the space.

Paint is Alclad and Tamiya with some Citadel paints for details. I used hairspray and masking fluid chipping for the first time and definitely want to do that again! I also masked and painted the stripes, which meant that since I didn't have to apply any decals I was able to avoid the varnish step and preserve all the metallics. I used MIG and AK enamels to weather which didn't cause any problems over the hairspray.

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It was predictably a lot of fun writing the code for the lights - here's an edit of the complete sequence, which takes about a minute and a half.

There are also more/bigger images on Flickr: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjYSotM5

Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement on the WIP thread - it always helps to get other opinions - and thanks for looking, I hope you like it!

Cheers,

Will

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This is so nice and also very well presented. I am now going to watch the video. Thanks for posting.

Edit.

The lighting effects are simply stunning. I will have to find the WIP. One question, how do you replace the batteries?

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Thanks for the kind comments folks!

One question, how do you replace the batteries?

The rear engines are all one piece and they're a pretty good friction fit so I just left them unglued. It's still a bit of a pain since I have to restuff the wires each time.

Thanks for the comment on the presentation, I've been inspired by Andy Moore on Flickr - he's much better at it than I am!

https://flic.kr/ps/WkxFS

W

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That came out beautifully Will. The lighting is just fantastic (I've watched the video twice now and will show the boy tomorrow)

Thanks for doing the WIP too, very informative and has given me plenty of food for thought

Look forward to the next subject

Si

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Thanks for the kind comments folks, they're much appreciated.

Jörgen I know what you mean about the lighting - I think it's legitimate to call it a gimmick - but it does make for a surprisingly satisfying new dimension in the still photography. Balancing the exposure for the lights and the model is tricky but I really like the results. I'll definitely be doing it again :)

Cheers,

Will

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Thanks folks! I bet it doesn't look like a piece of crap though - from what I can tell the Revellogram kit is pretty nice, and I suspect Moebius based their kits engineering on it pretty closesly.

W

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Thanks :)

Is your Tu-160 the big Trumpeter one? I really enjoyed making the small version, I still haven't built the tiny PE ladders though!

Will

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Looks great Will. From weathering to lighting it's pretty well perfect!

In fact I very nearly bought one when I last popped in to a local hobby shop despite having no interest in Battlestar Galactica, based purely on what you've done with yours. Though that was a Revell kit I believe. I ended up ordering a 16" long Moya from Farscape instead that day, so my Sci-Fi lust was somewhat sated.

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Thanks guys!

I ended up ordering a 16" long Moya from Farscape instead that day, so my Sci-Fi lust was somewhat sated.

Cool, hope you'll post it on here when you get to building it? I used to watch Farscape on and off and liked it, but it did get pretty weird...

Will

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