Original Series Batman (Moebius Models)
Interstellar Ranger
After seeing "Interstellar" I was one of the many hobbyists who hoped someone would produce a model of the Ranger and perhaps some of the other ships as well. Our hopes were answered when Moebius announced a release date for the Ranger kit in 1/72 scale.
It's a pretty simple kit, with only about 40 parts. No interior and no clear parts, but that's ok. It makes a great looking model even without those details. I assembled it in an evening and will begin painting it soon. It will look great next to my DS9 runabout and Colonial Vipers which are also 1/72 scale.
USS Enterprise, NCC 1701A "refit"
I've been wanting this kit for a long time. It's one of the most popular large kits of the Enterprise, and it is made for lighting and detailing. There are multiple detail sets, lighting kits and add-ons to make this a truly impressive model. It is a Polar Lights kit, and runs about $90 at most hobby stores.
First of all, this model is HUGE. It's 1/350 scale, which makes it nearly three feet long. The engine nacelles alone are nearly as long as my arm. Here are all the parts spread out on my dining room table.
And these are the decal sheets, which nearly cover my coffee table.
This model will be getting the full treatment, with all available detail sets, photoetch and lighting being used. Once I've started it I will start posting progress pics. I still need to purchase the lighting kit and photoetch detail sets too.
There really isn't a ton that I can do on this kit until I get the light kit, since it has to be installed throughout the assembly of the model. However, I was able to start with some of the interior pieces. I assembled and painted the Arboretum using some railroad landscaping gravel and green flock, along with some small pieces of lichen for the trees.
The holes in the floor are for the kit trees, which were basically just cones and spheres. I opted to replace them with lichen trees for more realism, but first I had to get the ground layers applied.
The pathways were painted with brown acrylic and then sprinkled with fine tan gravel. I then painted the grassy areas green and applied flocking, lichen hedges and flower gardens. A few larger rocks and trees
help to break up the space even more. Most of this will be visible through some large windows on the hull, so it needs to look good!
The only unpainted area left is where the water will be. I will apply the water with clear acrylic over a blue/gray base to create the ponds. The walls have light blue sky decals with clouds on them, and the roof is a clear piece that will have lighting installed. I may also pick up some 1/350 scale photoetch figures to add to the scene.
Battlestar Galactica kits
So Say We All!!
I've been wanting some nice Galactica models for a long time, and Moebius has delivered in spades. These kits are fantastic, with great detail and simple construction. I picked up both Galactica and Pegasus over the holidays. They are the same scale and will look great together.
I also decided to use some new paints by Vallejo. A friend and fellow modeler turned me on to them and I was impressed enough to try them myself. I bought five or six shades of metallic, black and gray to paint the two ships.
I'll be posting more details soon, as well as additional photos. This is going to be a fun build!
....after a great deal of time, I'm finally far enough along on these to show some progress. The Vallejo paints are fantastic, and while they are not screen accurate they do look really good. I'm still working on the detail painting for the engines and flight pods for both kits.
I started by airbrushing the assembled hulls with metallic black, then used small and medium brushes to start painting the individual hull panels with steel, aluminum, gunmetal and dark gray. I also mixed colors occasionally for a little more variety.
I toyed with the idea of lighting Pegasus' engines, but in the end decided not to. I may get a second kit to do a full lighting package on if I find the motivation.
Pegasus is not quite there yet, but Galactica came out great!
These kits have been a blast to work on.
Once I have the base finished I will shoot some better pictures of Galactica.
I also picked up the new Colonial One kit earlier this year, and it is just as nice as the Battlestars. It's 1/350 scale, the same as my Enterprise refit kit. Assembly on Colonial One is pretty much done, and I just started painting it last week. It's also big enough to be lighted but I decided to build it straight from the box.
Assembly on the Colonial One model is very straightforward, and even with some minor filling and sanding it only took an evening to put 90% of it together. I left off the engine pods and thrusters to make painting the main hull easier.
The main hull is light blue and white, similar to Air Force One. I used Vallejo Sky Blue as the base color and mixed different shades using grays and white to give the hull paneling some variation. It's pretty subtle so far but the next few steps will bring out more detail.
After all the blue paneling was painted, I sprayed the hull with clear flat lacquer and then added a thin blue gray wash to the lower hull.
After wiping off the excess and letting it dry, I used chalk pastels to dirty up the hull a bit.
Once the pastels were applied, I masked the lower hull and rear engines and sprayed the hull flat white. I will use other shades of white and light gray with some additional washes to accentuate the details on the white areas of the hull.
Warhammer Ork Trukk
When I was in high school, a group of friends introduced me to Warhammer 40k. While I was never a hardcore player, I love the models that are produced as gamepieces for tabletop play, particularly Orks. The design of the miniatures have a chaotic, schizophrenic feel that I fell in love with. The insane level of detail that can be accomplished doesn't hurt either.
My most recent Ork project is a 40k Ork Trukk. It started as a straight from the box build, but over the last couple of years it has morphed into a crazy little mini-diorama that I am very excited about.
With the addition of an expansion kit, a landscaped base and additional figures I think I have brought the intended attitude of the Ork character into the build, and given a much more dynamic look to the model.
Unfortunately I don't have many photos of the first part of the build, so there will be some pretty big leaps in progress. I will do my best to explain what I've done with the photos I have.
From the box, the kit looks pretty much like this.....
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| Copyright Games Workshop |
With the addition of the extra weapons pack, things get a little crazier.....
While I thought this was cool looking, I felt that having it sit flat on a table just didn't do it justice. I needed a dynamic base to put the model on to really show off its insanity. I created a base out of high density foam and decorated it with flocking, rocks and a little bit of fake mud and water to created a base that I felt would look good with the model. I then had to re-work the suspension on the truck to fit the radical terrain. The results were everything I had hoped for.
During this time I was also experimenting with different paint techniques. The entire model was painted using artists acrylics. It still has some detail work to be done but it's coming along nicely.
These closeups show some of the insane detail these kits are known for. Just painting them the right way brings out all the detail one could want.
Once I had the model on the base how I wanted it, I realized that only having three figures in the diorama was insufficient. I found a set of Gretchin figures that will round out the display and give it much more action.
These figures are also painted with artists acrylic, and they will be placed in the diorama once the truck is completely finished and glued down.
For the figures, I typically start with a dark green base, then put down a wash of a very dark green or brown for shading. Then I drybrush two or three coats of progressively lighter greens to give the skin some depth. Clothing and accessories are painted later.
added 4-2-16
I recently bought a set of Ork "Killa Kans" to go along with this diorama. They have a lot of character and I think they will make a great addition to the scene.
IT'S DONE! IT'S FINALLY DONE!
It took WAY longer than I thought it ever would, but the Ork Trukk diorama is finally complete! I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I even had time over the Thanksgiving weekend to build a photo box and take some completion pictures.
Enterprise NX-01
I've had this kit for quite some time, and I fiddled with it a little bit when I first got it but didn't really do too much. It's a large model (nearly two feet long), and when I got it I didn't really have a good place to work on it.
This kit is from Polar Lights, and it's impressive. Lots of detail, but relatively simple construction. The model is designed to be easily lit, and that is something I will definitely be doing. Fortunately I won't have to make the lighting myself, as several premade light kits are available. The light kit will give me everything I need to illuminate the warp engines, windows, impulse engines, and formation lights, with all the correct flashy, blinky and steady programming already done.
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| pretty much where things are at right now.....two completed (nearly so) halves, almost ready for the light kit. |
I have a lot of photos of the initial construction, which I will be posting once I have everything else caught up. This one will be interesting - with the lighting, painting techniques and construction issues that will come up there will be a lot to talk about.
There is still a little bit of filling and sanding to do on some areas of the hull, so while waiting for the filler to dry between sanding sessions I masked off the areas where clear parts are. I also masked them on the outside using black paper tape and vinyl masking material. (That's what the yellow dots are on the first picture.)
These masks will stay in place until all the painting is complete. Once I am ready to join the hull halves together I will remove the interior masks. The exterior ones will remain in place until any additional painting or touch ups are complete.
Enterprise E
This Ertl kit is one I picked up on a whim at the hobby shop - it's a nice example of the smaller scale Trek kits. It's about a 18" or so long, and it's a pretty simple build. The paint and decals are what really make this model 'pop'. It can also be lit, but I built mine straight from the box.
I have a lot of progress photos of the masking and painting of this kit that I will be posting. I didn't do the intricate panel 'aztecing' on this model, but I still could with a little extra work.
Like many of the smaller Trek models, there are not a ton of parts making assembly pretty straightforward. This model went together in an afternoon, everything lined up very straight with no warping around the nacelles (a common problem with Trek starship models). A little filler in a few spots was all that was needed. I went ahead and painted the clear red parts and installed them, then masked them for painting.
Once the filler was dry and sanded, I sprayed the basecoat light gray and set it aside to dry for a couple of days. I used the very sturdy metal mounting rod provided for the base to handle the model during painting as well as to hold it on the styrofoam block as I was masking.
The instructions provided excellent diagrams for masking the different areas of the hull for paint. I blocked in each section with low tack masking tape, then used the molded panel lines as a guide for cutting out the shapes. If you're careful, it works very well. Just make sure your paint is COMPLETELY dry between masking sessions, or you'll damage the paint underneath.
Once I had all the masks in place and cut, I sprayed the second lighter shade of gray.
I let this paint dry to the touch, and then started removing the masks. I prefer to remove masks while the paint is still a little soft, as it gives me nice clean lines without having to worry about edges lifting.
With all the masks removed, the model is really starting to come alive. The last shades of gray are only on a few areas and will be painted in by hand. Pretty much all the other detail will be decals or hand painting.
The phaser strips, nacelle sides and a few other areas are painted in with dark gray. Once that was dry, I began applying the decals. The decals are excellent, very crisp and with great color. They are a little glossy but a matte finish overcoat will take care of that later.
Nearly all of the detail here is decals. I also started painting in the individual windows with a fine black marker so they show up a little better. The nacelle tops are clear pieces I airbrushed with Createx transparent blue acrylic with a backing coat of silver. It won't be long before this one is done.
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