Protocol, Gonk & Mouse droids

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Loving the effects you are creating and I really appreciate the detailed descriptions of how you are creating them.  

[Andy Moore]

Thanks guys

 

4 hours ago, rockpopandchips said:

The resin friends look great, are putting them all on a dio/base together? The weathering is looking exceptional all ready, very nice.

 

They'll probably all have individual bases of some kind, but I'll keep them removable so they can be displayed individually or together

 

3 hours ago, Portaler said:

For the chipping effect on the back of the head did you use anything special to get those line type scratches ?

Does the hairspray lose affect over time, so further chipping doesn't happen, or do you need to apply a clear lacquer to protect it ? Is a clear lacquer for the "masking agent" chipping method also needed ? I assume not as it is more localised.

 

 

Sometimes I'll use a toothpick or the point on a pair of tweezers to make scratches, but you need to be careful or you can go through the base coat as well. On this one I just used a stiff bristled brush in a stabbing motion and as the bristles splayed out they made the scratches.

I don't know if the hairspray will lose affect or not, but the paint will get harder to remove the more it dries. Some paints are easier to remove than others. Vallejo will come off easily, and probably still be removable the next day. I always find Tamiya harder the chip, so I do it pretty much strait away. If I leave it more than about 10 minutes I can never shift it without scrubbing so hard that I tend to rub away the base coat too. For that reason I never bother with a clear coat to seal it unless I'm varnishing the model anyway. I do sometimes add a gloss clear coat over the base layer before the hairspray as it tends to make the chipping easier than if I do it over a matt finish.

 

Andy

[Hunter Rose]

Wow this is looking cool. Love the weathering, and the hint of green goes with it really well, think thats a good colour choice I find light greens take rusty weathering very well.

 

Look forward to more!

[Madmonk]

Just noticed this one Andy, great work as always!  Are you lighting the eyes?

 

Looking forward to to seeing what you do with Nigel.

[Andy Moore]

11 hours ago, Hunter Rose said:

Wow this is looking cool. Love the weathering, and the hint of green goes with it really well, think thats a good colour choice I find light greens take rusty weathering very well.

 

Look forward to more!

 

Thanks Hunter. Yes I agree, pale greens are great for weathering effects. I think in this case I should have gone with a more saturated green, just to make the chipping stand out better.

 

8 hours ago, Madmonk said:

Just noticed this one Andy, great work as always!  Are you lighting the eyes?

 

Looking forward to to seeing what you do with Nigel.

 

Thanks Warren. I'm not lighting this one. There's just some silver paint behind the clear eye parts to give it some reflectivity. I think I might add some lights to the Gonk though. The bottom of the body is big enough to hold a battery, and feed an LED and fibres in the top half.

 

I've got the upper body, waist and head together now. The body and head have had some further weathering with a brown AK filter which has added a nice stained look to the metal. There's also been some light rust stains and streaks added. I'll add more weathering, but only when it's all together or the weather patterning won't look cohesive

 

 

 

 

Andy

 

 

 

 

[Pete in Lincs]

He looks like he's been staked out in the desert!

Very nice weathering indeed.

[Richard E]

The poor fella actually looks quite "down on his luck" - an interesting diorama idea though, what menial job(s) might a destitute protocol droid end up doing in order to make ends meet?

 

In the words of the song: "Two hours of pushin' broom buys an eight by twelve four-bit room"

Edited November 3, 2016 by Richard E

[Sgt.Squarehead]

4 hours ago, Richard E said:

The poor fella actually looks quite "down on his luck" - an interesting diorama idea though, what menial job(s) might a destitute protocol droid end up doing in order to make ends meet?

 

Maybe you could model him pushing the sci-fi equivalent of a shopping-trolley (possibly containing all his worldlies)?  

 

B0-R15 the Bag-Droid!  

[M_Sinclair]

I actually quite like the look of the clear flat that was sponged all over. Nice layer of gunk/dust that's very subtle. Just had another weird thought. Big ol bloody hand print on his face or something lol. Kinda like of Fin's storm trooper helmet at the beginning of Force Awakens. 

 

You look like you're having so much fun Andy, I feel like I might have to jump start something myself. 

 

-matt

Edited November 4, 2016 by M_Sinclair

[Andy Moore]

6 hours ago, M_Sinclair said:

You look like you're having so much fun Andy, I feel like I might have to jump start something myself. 

 

-matt

 

Cheers Matt,

It is a lot of fun having free licence to do what ever you want.

 

So, I was putting the legs together last night, and it was bugging me that the grey green chipping on his right lower leg didn't stand out more. There's not a lot I can do about it now, but I should have used a more vibrant shade. I added a dark green wash which helped define it more against the other leg, but I still wanted the left leg and upper right to be obviously different. So, to that end, he's now acquired a a rather jazzy stripe on the other leg parts. This was done with Vallejo Blue Green and hairspray chipped like the lower right leg

 

 

 

 

 

 

The legs will need more grime added to blend the stripes in, then I can connect top with bottom and look at making a little base for him.

 

Andy

[Portaler]

Excellent !   Glad you added that, I agree he needed something a bit more defining and visually different which stood out.

 

Blue stripe maybe designates spare parts from the discount bin :-)

[Blackbrazen]

Andy, can I ask whether you thinned the AK Xtreme Metal when you airbrushed it? If so, did you use their own brand thinner or just alcohol? I'm interested in trying it instead of Alclad...

[Hockeyboy76]

Loving your work Andy. It's great to see this coming together and all your helpful tips. 

[Pete in Lincs]

Like the stripe too.

 

I was thinking of the Gonk,

A dent in the side & tiny holes

like it's been shot with a 12 bore.

[spaddad]

On 02/11/2016 at 4:52 PM, AndyRM101 said:

I've stripped plated parts in the past and found translucent plastic underneath. I assume there must be some technical reason why they do it, but I've no idea what it is.

 

Probably cost. All raw resin (plastic supplied in granule form) is basically colourless, any colouring being achieved by adding a small %age of masterbatch which is basically pellets of pure colour and therefore very expensive compared to the basic plastic granules. Because of this the %age of masterbatch to resin is nearly always very small and usually never more than 3% and usually much less than this. Therefore it seems logical, in a product which is to be 100% plated, to avoid this unnecessary expense.  Hope this makes sense, excellent work on the model, very tasty, look forward to seeing the finished article,

cheers,

spad

[jaitea]

Simply astounding..

 

That poor droid looks like he's seen a lot of action

 

J

[Andy Moore]

Thanks guys

 

2 hours ago, spaddad said:

 

Probably cost. All raw resin (plastic supplied in granule form) is basically colourless, any colouring being achieved by adding a small %age of masterbatch which is basically pellets of pure colour and therefore very expensive compared to the basic plastic granules. Because of this the %age of masterbatch to resin is nearly always very small and usually never more than 3% and usually much less than this. Therefore it seems logical, in a product which is to be 100% plated, to avoid this unnecessary expense.  Hope this makes sense, excellent work on the model, very tasty, look forward to seeing the finished article,

cheers,

spad

 

Yes, that makes sense. Why add the production cost of colouring the plastic when you don't need too.

 

7 hours ago, Blackbrazen said:

Andy, can I ask whether you thinned the AK Xtreme Metal when you airbrushed it? If so, did you use their own brand thinner or just alcohol? I'm interested in trying it instead of Alclad...

 

No, there's no need to thin it. It's airbrush ready strait from the jar. It's about the same consistency as Alclad, but it's enamel based rather than lacquer. If you're thinking of trying it, I'd say go ahead. It sprays well and the finish is as good as Alclad, but cleaning the airbrush is much easier with Xtreme Metal. Another option is Vallejo Metal Color, which I think is equally good and has the advantage of being water based. I did a little mini review of them during my X-Wing build.

 

I've been working on a small base/stand for him, which I've made from the top section of an old solar garden light. The casing that held the solar panel had an aluminium frame which I've sprayed with some rust coloured streaks, then I've blanked the top off, where the panel was, with a square of styrene, which I'll paint up as a section of floor plating, maybe with some hazard stripes or something. I'll add more rust effects to the frame, which is just there as a decorative trim. He'll be attached to the base with a machine screw, through the hole in the styrene, into his foot

 

 

B0-R15 (I think that's the name I'll be going with, cheers Sarge) has been fully assembled now. I'll add some more weathering, but only when he's bolted to the stand, as he's getting hard to hold without damaging the finish

 

 

 

 

 

The hands have had some red primer added to bring a bit more colour in. The paint was chipped simply by scrubbing it with a brush before it was fully dry

 

 

And the left foot has had a few rust washes just to make it stand out a bit

 

To be honest, I keep looking at him now he's together and thinking he's not decrepit enough. I probably should have had more limbs in different colours. Well, I've got an R2 waiting to be built, so he may get the full abusive treatment. It'll be R2 and 3P0, the down and out years.

 

Andy

 

 

[Sgt.Squarehead]

He looks superb to me Andy, another weathering masterclass.  

 

Not convinced that he needs it, but maybe you could dust on some dry-pigments to enhance the battered look?  

[spaddad]

Is it just me or do his shoes remind anyone else of brothel creepers, maybe paint them blue!!??

[Orangesherbert]

Very cool Andy. awesome work as always. really like his forearms.

[Pete in Lincs]

Looking the business.

I too thought that about the shoes,

I keep wondering if they need laces.

[The Sheene Machine]

Wow, he's a real parts bin special! Fantastic and inspirational work as always Andy. 

Edited November 6, 2016 by The Sheene Machine

[rockpopandchips]

Looks like a pile of junk!

 

Fantastic work.

[The_Lancaster]

wowza! looking brilliant!

[Andy Moore]

Thanks guys

 

On 11/4/2016 at 23:12, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Not convinced that he needs it, but maybe you could dust on some dry-pigments to enhance the battered look?  

 

Yes, you're right. He needs a bit of dirt and dust on his feet.

 

And that's exactly what he's had. Some dust coloured pigments fixed in place with a similarly coloured wash. Some of the wash was splattered up the lower legs too

 

 

As you can see, he's on the base now as well. The top was base coated in Alclad, then the panel at the back and the stripe were masked off, sprayed and had some hairspray chipping. The sides of the base were coated in acrylic resin, then had dry pigments stippled over to give a flaky rust effect

 

 

The rest of the body's had a little extra weathering to. The knee joints have had some rust and grease added with oils and enamel washes

 

 

The forearms have also had more rust washes, together with a dark wash to add more contrast to the details

 

 

And lastly I've added some rust streaks to the chest and the back of the head

 

 

So, all in all, I think I'm going to call him done now. I could add more weathering, but I think it would be a case of diminishing returns. I'd just be covering up what I've already done

 

 

I'll put him up in RFI just as soon as I've taken the final shots but, in the meantime thanks to everyone for following along. I'll extend this thread to cover the Gonk and Nigel rather than start a new one, but It might be a couple of weeks before I get going on them.

 

Andy