electric indigo

They should dig out William Gibson's script for Alien3 sequel eventually link

Art stores sell single pieces of pastel chalks in a wide range of colors, so you don't have to start with a big investment. The chalk can be applied with a firm brush, paper towel, small sponge or make-up applicator. I used post it papers to mask certain areas of the wing like the trailing edge of a panel, then aplied the chalk with a crumpled paper tissue to get irregular streaks. A small brush was used for detail work like the accentuation of panel lines. Much easier than pre-shading with an airbrush and gives you good control over the effect. -i-

It's snap together, and it fits perfectly. The parts seperation was designed in a way that the coloring of an unpainted kit is very close to the original paint scheme.

I suggest you buy the Falken and convince Bandai that producing Ace Combat kits is a good investment that way. Maybe they'll give us a Morgan then. -i-

Did a little work on the kit. The Falken is basically a "shake 'n bake" kit, with all the parts falling together seamlessly. But Bandai doesn't want you to feel totally stupid, so they left a major seamline on top of the nose to putty. With that done, everything is ready for priming now. -i-

I'm still busy with details + chalk weathering. Did an insert of a Mave for size reference.

Wow, that was plentiful! Thanks. -i-

Does anybody here have screencaps or other pics of the Falken with camo pattern or the new schemes from AC0? I'm thinking of an alternative paintjob for my Bandai kit. -i-

pastel chalk weathering in progress

Received the Falken today. The Falken is a big bird, at 1/100 scale it's slightly longer that the Yukikaze (the figure is not from the kit). The parts show the excellent detail level of Bandai's EX kits, optional parts are open airbrake, canards in landing position, and laser cannon in firing position. It also has clear parts for the camera "eyes" and moveable exhaust panels. The kit's weak points are the under-inspired landing gear and the decals, which appear rather thick and have a visible printing screen. -i-

I suggest blue for the "moved" and "locked" icons to blend them into the IPB background, the grey ones look like dirtspots in the overall beauty. Otherwise, everything looks fine for me. -i-

More masking & airbrushing. The circles on the dome at the center of the top wing are the windows of the carrier's bridge.

Masking the pattern with airbrush masking film and result

I'm very happy with the direction things are taking lately, and I felt inspired to contribute another basic "kite button" design from which the other icons could be derived.

Top level wings with base coat of paint, ready for masking.

The key designs were done by Ikuto Yamashita of Evangelion fame, he was working on Yukikaze together with the guy who did the mechanical designs for Mamoru Oshii's movies and whose name I keep forgetting. His style is often similar to Yamahita's. -i-

Hobbysearch has new pics, contents + assembly guide to drool over 'til the box arrives. clicky

Pattern + airbrush weathering on the second level wings. I also build the forward gantry from styrene rods, hope it won't be destroyed by the airbrush blast.

Pattern on the first set of wings (underside, too). I already know I won't build this kit twice...

They basically had everything from the show except the transporters/gunships. Lets hope we see some of the fighters soon. I completed sanding and did a test assembly. Also started on the pattern for the stencils.

I posted a first look at the Banshee kit over at the models section go here

I just received the kit of the impressive Yukikaze's "Flying Dutchman" today, so here are first impressions. This is what you get - about 40 parts of resin, a set of dry transfer and waterslide decals, comprehensive instructions and a color laser print for the paint sheme. The quality of the engravings and the details is nothing short of spectacular. Parts require a minimum of cleanup, so the main challlenge will be getting everything aligned properly, and the paintjob. The CG model shows heavy weathering and has a kind of multitone tribal pattern on it, so I'm thinking of tracing the pattern in Illustrator, scaling it to the right size and cutting it from masking film. If you feel tempted, HLJ still has it in stock link -i-

Well, Emmerich made "Das Arche Noah Prinzip" before, basically in a garage, but that was also his last good movie, IMO. -i-

Here are some snippets from the artbook

There actually IS an art book out now http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/B...8-9975565?? The Fairy Air Force At War DVD comes with a VERY nice art book. Very comprehensive too. The DVD it comes with is kinda lame, but that's not what I bought it for It's 50 bucks VERY well spent! 372672[/snapback] Got the artbook yesterday - highly recommended!!! C-31 Gunship anyone?