Renewed hobby - large scale models

[Mark_C]

Built tons of models as a kid.
Spent 15 years as a professional artist, building many things from scratch in free time.
Decided to get back into BIG models that I can detail the ^*$# out of - cockpits, pilots, lighting, weathering, mwaaahahahahahaaaaaa

So, got the starter kit together (with a 2 stage gravity feed airbrush and compressor, not pictured)...



Aannd, the first kit. MPC's TV scale prop of the Eagle Transport from Space:1999, baby is 2 feet long.
Going to have to had wire some LED lighting based on research, but should be fun.



On the list for future builds are Polar Lights 2' Klingon D-7 Battle Cruiser (with additional LED lighting kit),
and Polar Lights Enterprise OS 2' with LED kit.
Eyes on a 1:24 Babylon 5 Starfury and a massive 3' Battlestar (2004 version) as well.

And while we were geeking out anyway today and needed a new teapot...




I know Paul is doing the Steampunk builds, which I appreciate and have meddled with in the past, and probably will in the future, but is anyone in the club doing any plastic kit builds? I have a ton of new sealed enamels (50) sitting about as well as some smaller kits (PT 109, USS Indianapolis, and others) I don't plan on building.

If anyone wants to give a build a try I can offer a kit with some paints, brushes, and cement for, say, a frag.
Or if you've got a kid wanting to give it a shot I can do it for, say, free.

 

[MadReefer]

Nice, always need another hobby.
I was considering RC buids but decided to try and repair a broken phone and tablet.
I'm all thumbs though, so will see.

 

[erics210]

Sold my original Eagle 1999 toy and figures from 1976 this summer. SO sad to see it go.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/X1MAAOSwKIpWDjf4/s-l1600.jpg

NOT my pic. I had no box

 

[erics210]

Maybe pick up some reef safe paint and color up some cool display pieces for our FOWLR people

 

[Sponge]

Nice Mark. Not exactly what I do but I was a big time scale modeler back in the day and loved. Doing it. Of course I liked to fly most of what I built. The usual stuff. Christian Eagle. Ryan STA. A citabria or two. Hey even a cub here and there. Liked the military stuff what kid didn’t. But always liked painting weathered. Just love the look. I look forward to watching another of your threads. Post often buddy.

 

[Mark_C]

Eric,
FAntastic, hope you did well with that sale. THe amount of old SW stuff, Black Hole, ST, etc, that I threw out or let go would have put my kids through college.
And a Space 1999 theme tank would be pretty cool.

Matt,
I still do rockets with my son, we just picked up 2 new ones we plan to launch and lose in; a) trees, b) river/ocean c) anywhere else. We were doing well with smaller engines and able to recover most launches, but now we're getting stupid with the big engine. Usually we watch a chute deploy at 1,000 feet and watch as the $18 drifts over the horizon.

Also, per updates, I started for a few hours tonight. Skill level has diminished in 30 years. Did a mix of acrylic and enamel on pilots and cockpit background. Washing enamel over acrylic didn't work too well. Messy, but will re-edge, clean up, and put a second coat and acrylic wash on tomorrow or Saturday. Not too worried about this as this is inside the model and will only be seen with hard core looking, but its good practice to get back in form. Gotta re-learn some skills.

Here's the first few hours, my hand's not as steady as it was many moons ago...

 

[Sponge]

I could only hope to be so “not steady”. Great job. I am more of a builder than a painter. But truly appreciate the skill level required to do the work you do both physically and artistically. Great job. This is definitely going to be fun to follow.

 

[MadReefer]

I could only hope to be so “not steady”. Great job. I am more of a builder than a painter. But truly appreciate the skill level required to do the work you do both physically and artistically. Great job. This is definitely going to be fun to follow.

I agree, wish my hands were that steady too. Looks good Mark.
As a kid did many models but never painted to that detail. I built all the old Star Trek ships and painted them to some extend and hung them all from my ceiling.

 

[Mark_C]

Kit 2 just came in.
Its a Klingon D-7 at 1:350 scale, which puts this puppy somewhere around 3 feet.
Picked up the LED lighting and effects kit as well.

 

[MadReefer]

And my wife calls me a geek.......

 

[Mark_C]

This is sorta cool. Apparently models aren't just models anymore, a load of kits offer 'serious modeler' upgrades.
In my case I piked up an upgrade kit for the D-7 that included the LEDs, modified plastic parts to diffuse the light properly, and photoetched parts.
With some research, seems photoetching is a new thing in model building.
When there are areas that are heavily detail oriented that the plastic doesn't portray well enough, you can cut out the area of the plastic and replace it with a highly detailed alloy, which can be bent to shape then primed and painted with the rest of the model.
With the D7 a lot of it has to do with the windows in front and the mechanics you see near the back of the ship.
Here's one of the part sheets...



Found this very interesting.

 

[Sponge]

That’s cool

 

[Aheinz]

Built tons of models as a kid.
Spent 15 years as a professional artist, building many things from scratch in free time.
Decided to get back into BIG models that I can detail the ^*$# out of - cockpits, pilots, lighting, weathering, mwaaahahahahahaaaaaa

So, got the starter kit together (with a 2 stage gravity feed airbrush and compressor, not pictured)...

View attachment 26975

Aannd, the first kit. MPC's TV scale prop of the Eagle Transport from Space:1999, baby is 2 feet long.
Going to have to had wire some LED lighting based on research, but should be fun.

View attachment 26977

On the list for future builds are Polar Lights 2' Klingon D-7 Battle Cruiser (with additional LED lighting kit),
and Polar Lights Enterprise OS 2' with LED kit.
Eyes on a 1:24 Babylon 5 Starfury and a massive 3' Battlestar (2004 version) as well.

And while we were geeking out anyway today and needed a new teapot...

View attachment 26978


I know Paul is doing the Steampunk builds, which I appreciate and have meddled with in the past, and probably will in the future, but is anyone in the club doing any plastic kit builds? I have a ton of new sealed enamels (50) sitting about as well as some smaller kits (PT 109, USS Indianapolis, and others) I don't plan on building.

If anyone wants to give a build a try I can offer a kit with some paints, brushes, and cement for, say, a frag.
Or if you've got a kid wanting to give it a shot I can do it for, say, free.

i got my scale modelling desk set up whats your current project?

 

[MadReefer]

Mine has been going on for over 5 years.......getting rid of my spare tire.

 

[Mark_C]

i got my scale modelling desk set up whats your current project?

Going to set up a work desk downstairs today.
Plan on starting the MPC 22” Eagle this afternoon if time allows.

 

[Aheinz]

Going to set up a work desk downstairs today.
Plan on starting the MPC 22” Eagle this afternoon if time allows.

Nice I've got a su85, f4u, to finish before I start on any new ones

 

[Mark_C]

Cool stuff. Always loved the Corsairs and will probably pick up one in the future.
Probably loved them so much as I used to watch 'Black Sheep Squadron' when I was younger, a series that depicted the war in the Pacific in a 70's we're all having fun kinda way.
Per tanks, one word... weathering.
(Of which I currently suck at)

 

[Mark_C]

SO, back tto the Space 1999 Eagle.

As I am so out of practice with model building, I decided to use the 'new modern' techniques of auto spraypaint, makeup powder, spices (cinnamon does a great rust), and other crazy stuff to forge ahead. I serioiusly love how model building now encourages everything from automobile paints to the small Testor's jar paints, from Dremel tools to band saws. Having a blast.

I decided my Eagle's compartment was an older style rescue pod. I did this as it allowed me to do crap I havent done in 20+ years and try some new techniques. Then, just as my woodworking, I could claim that it was done in a quaint, basic style/

So, here's the base, painted with Rustoleum Painter's 2x Stone Grey as a base.
Second and mild third coat Rustoleum flat white.
Then it was masked and used Testor's flat red to make a 'medical unit'. For hardcore folks this varies from the show but F it. it's my model.

Here's the final spray of Testor's Flat Red over Rustoleum 2x Stone Grey bas and Rustoleum 2x Flay White.
It's a bit gaudy atm but the Rustoleum paints do a hreat job with initial coverage.


As a former military fly guy (flew SAR for the USCG) I had many a day and night helping the ground crews patching up the paint jobs on the planes, so I decided to add a bit of 'patchwork repair' to the rescue module by chipping off some paint, sanding random areas down, and adding the subtle details of 'patch paint' (arbitrary streaks of off color paint) in random areas...



Then we went to washes, something not around 30 years ago. Cool stuff involving severe dilutopm of a color, usually brown or black, which you generously apply to a model, work in with a brush, and remove reside. Experimented with a wash of 80% thinner and 20% acrylic black on the bottom to see if it would add some weathering and outline some panels...


It worked well, so I went to town weathering and outlining the unit. As the ship is based on the moon I decide to try to add some silver and get 'moon dust' to the components it might settle on.....
Did this by taking some grey and silver make-up powder, putting it on a cotton bud, and dabbing iy where moon dust might settle on a ship.
Think it worked well...




So, here's the transport unit of the ship done and drying...

 

[MadReefer]

Nice looking.

I always wanted to build the Red Dwarf mining ship and Starbug ship. I have no artistic talent so would not look as expected.

 

[Mark_C]

MODEL SCORE TODAY!

But first...
Finished that Space 1999 Eagle a while back and been through a few other models...



And today I stumbled across a rare model any 50yo Sci-Fi TV geek would address with, 'Holy S, I need that now!'.
So, it came home with me.

Mega complex kit, translation looks like it will build as 1.5 - 2' length, should keep me busy for a few weeks as I'm going to try to wire up some LED effects and such.

My next obsession...


Star Blazers ending (Space Battleship Yamao)

My Geek out build guide...