monsterpartyhat Posted November 26, 2018 Author Share Posted November 26, 2018 Indeed, they're so useful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterpartyhat Posted November 26, 2018 Author Share Posted November 26, 2018 (edited) Did some panel washing last night - mostly with Flory's clay-based washes, augmented by Citadel shades in a few spots. Here's a quick look, next to my previous U-wing build, after that step: Then this morning I did some basic paint chipping around the edges, using the torn makeup sponge method. It does manage to look more warn in closeup - at a normal viewing distance for a palm-sized model is does look a little more subtle, at least to my eyes. In case you were wondering, I haven't finished applying decals to the engines, hence why there's no weathering on them yet. Next up is some more controlled chipping with a brush and Vallejo Duraluminum metallic. Edited November 26, 2018 by monsterpartyhat 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterpartyhat Posted November 28, 2018 Author Share Posted November 28, 2018 I got another session of detailing in - I added yet more decals to the top side, decaled the underside and the engines, and did a lot more weathering. It's nearly done. Here's a few pics of the evolution of the back end, from painted but un-weathered: After this shot I decided to paint the middle deck metallic. Decaled but no weathering: With panel washes: And the current state, with some decal additions, paint chipping, and additional wash details (notably fuel leaks, using Seraphim Sepia): Wide shot: And from the side: 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpopandchips Posted November 29, 2018 Share Posted November 29, 2018 Looks totally fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterpartyhat Posted November 29, 2018 Author Share Posted November 29, 2018 I did one final paint chipping step last night - I wanted some subtle variations in the red and dark grey sections. I mixed up a slightly darker red and a slightly lighter grey. I may have gotten *too* subtle on some of it. Here's a couple of exemplars of the grey: (and of course I forgot about the red panels on the bottom 🙄) Red end bits before: And after: Since even just a couple of drops of mixed paint was waaaaaaay more than I needed, I pulled out a bunch of my other primarily red ships to add some dark red chipping to, like my 1:144 Tycho Celchu "Bacta War" X-wing: I also added some to my previous U-Wing, and my custom half-plated "Consular Escort" Y-wing. And here's the overall top view - I also added some minor streaking with Tamiya Weathering Master "soot". I'm calling this done. I'll take some proper glamor shots the next time I set up my desktop photo studio. I'm going to start on a proper landing pad diorama for this as well - I just have to decide on snow planet or sand planet 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted November 30, 2018 Share Posted November 30, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, monsterpartyhat said: I just have to decide on snow planet or sand planet What about a landing pad over water ? With connecting bridges to other pads and structures. Edited November 30, 2018 by Corsairfoxfouruncle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterpartyhat Posted November 30, 2018 Author Share Posted November 30, 2018 Mostly because I've never modeled water before, and that's a whoooole new set of materials and skills to work with. Snow and sand over rocks I've got down pretty well 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterpartyhat Posted December 3, 2018 Author Share Posted December 3, 2018 I haven't taken finished gallery photos yet, because instead I immediately started work on the landing platform, which is as much fun as the ship was. Started with a basic frame out of square styrene tubing. It's sized to match 2 Bandai large bases, which is the same footprint as two Bandai Death Star tiles, and still fits inside a Vehicle Model box for storage. Add some I-beam bracing: And some interior cross-bars, and then I started greebling the underside, mostly with leftover pieces of sprue as pipes: Cut a sheet for the top: I had this idea to cut a familiar Star Wars pattern out of the top to view the greeblies through: But when I cut it out, it wasn't nearly straight enough for me, so I went another direction. Just cut the offending portion off: And instead I'm using some micro-mesh: I skipped a couple of steps without photos - cutting out notches in the end and cementing the off-cuts onto the side, as well as scribing panel lines into both sides. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterpartyhat Posted December 3, 2018 Author Share Posted December 3, 2018 So this is the top with mesh laid on top of the greeblied frame: Like the Gundam decals I used on the U-Wing, I applied a few Gundam photo-etched aluminum after market detail parts - circular exhausts here: I also used some brass photo-etch from the Green Strawberry 1:144 Millennium Falcon detail set, with some pre-cut copper tubing from the craft section of a local art supply store: On the underside, I'm finally implementing something I've been thinking about trying for a long time -- this is a steel plate; the support legs will have neodymium magnets on them, allowing the platform to be removed easily for storage (or re-configuration; if it works well I plan to build more platforms with the same mounting style). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 Looking fabulous. It just keeps getting better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterpartyhat Posted December 3, 2018 Author Share Posted December 3, 2018 Thanks! Getting caught up, here's the overall look so far: The small detail near the notch on the right side is another Gundam detail part. Greeblies through the mesh: I started experimenting with molding parts recently. I'm using several casts of half of a Jedi Starfighter engine on the underside: And it's a tight fit, but the modified U-Wing does fit. This landing pad is for a rough field outpost - not a lot of extra room or equipment available for safety! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterpartyhat Posted December 3, 2018 Author Share Posted December 3, 2018 I'm keeping the top and the base separate until they're painted, as I won't be able to paint the greeblies visible through the mesh once the top is attached. Now I'm facing the WORST decision -- what base color to use? I've used primer grey (visible here), Imperial TIE fighter Haze Grey (seen here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aalpern/37806952855/in/album-72157689721575254/) and Gunship Gray (seen here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aalpern/25101775297/in/album-72157688265980483/) as base colors for similar structures before. I'm leaning to Haze Grey, as the U-Wing features Gunship Gray prominently already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterpartyhat Posted December 4, 2018 Author Share Posted December 4, 2018 Back when I started my first box-scale dioramas, I embedded little neodymium magnets in a bunch of crates and stuff. It turns out they're just strong enough to attach to a steel plate under a .020" styrene sheet, so I added steel strips to the underside of the top in a few places. If I'd thought about it sooner I'd have done the whole thing. Here's the full underside pre-priming: Then I primed, and painted in Haze Grey: I painted all the pipes that will be visible through the mesh before putting the top on: It was at this point that I realized painting the under structure Haze Grey was a mistake - the whole thing needs more contrast. The answer to "Haze Grey or Gunship Grey?" was actually "Both". So...some careful masking: Yeah, much better: I also ended up replacing the mesh, because it had accumulated too much paint and gotten a bit damaged - I was over-eager actually gluing it in place so early 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 1 hour ago, monsterpartyhat said: Yeah, much better: I concur. Hats off to you, sir! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterpartyhat Posted December 5, 2018 Author Share Posted December 5, 2018 (edited) Yesterday I got the time to decal and panel-line the landing pad. My process for that is the same as I've worked out for ships: * After base and accent color painting, I apply decals directly to the paint. I don't bother with a gloss coat prior to decals. At 1:144 scale I do try to minimize the number of layers of spray paint, especially since I don't have an airbrush. * Seal the decals in with gloss coat, which also preps for the panel lining. * Panel line with Flory's clay washes. So easy to use. With the gloss coat and cleanup using a slightly moistened cotton bud, you can really get the wash only in the panel lines. * Seal the panel washing with a flat clear coat. Things like dry-brushing edge highlights and adding fuel/oil leakage washes I do after the flat clear-coat. Continuing with the theme of the U-Wing's decals, the majority of the landing pad decals are from Gundam sets. I did use a couple of the 1:72 decals from the Rogue Leader X-Wing 2-pack that I never used because I fully painted my 1:72 X-Wing. Edited December 5, 2018 by monsterpartyhat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterpartyhat Posted December 5, 2018 Author Share Posted December 5, 2018 Almost forgot these shots with the ship! Can't decide which angle I like best, so you get both. 10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harveyb258 Posted December 5, 2018 Share Posted December 5, 2018 I like that very much indeed. Lovely job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 Definitely excellent work 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterpartyhat Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 Just realized I never linked to the finished gallery from here -- just in case anyone comes across this thread later and wonders where the glamour shots are -- 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 I saw this evolving on Flickr so I've been a bit slack about posting here, but it's lovely work. The "playset" aspect of the magnetised diorama makes it even more appealing somehow Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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