Mechwarrior

Got back to work with the models yesterday, since weekends are set aside for car project. I did plenty of sanding on the cats eye, brainstormed some ideas for custom sdf1, but that went no where, the kit looks great as it is. So this morning I went through my decals, which of course is always fun. I came across some unused printable decal sheets i had hidden. I bought them about 4 years ago on ebay, and wanted to know if they still worked. This printable kit came with just the blank sheets (no white back ground), and to seal the ink after it has been printed it had to be sprayed with some clearcoat. I had a can of glossy laying in the garage, so i decided to print some decals and give it a shot. Well, it appears the most time consuming process of making cheap custom decals is figuring out which ones you want to print and edit em if necessary. So i picked a few random images and some transformers images off the internet. Since i did feel like color matching and figuring out scale, i printed some random sizes shapes and colors. So since i decided to revisit the test model (Hasegawa jetfire ) I decided to break out the ole paint jars and do some touching up. Since i had not put a clearcoat of anysort on the model yet, I gave it a quick greywash also and cleaned off excess. I decided i only need a couple decals to make it look more tranformy and less macrossy. So i chose a few decals and then some for testing and printed em on the decal paper (Need to be printed in reverse by the way, i forgot this the first time, because i an idiot) , ok so the decals printed fine. I used highest settings for my 50 dollar canon 1500ip, and they looked good on paper, so i let em dry for a few minutes and then shot the decal sheet with the clearcoat. While that dried, i got a small bowl and put some water with a touch of dishwater soap. i am not sure if this is correct or not, but i been doing it since high school, so i go with what works. The most important is to make sure the area is clean where you are placing the decal. I trimmed out the first decal (blackone for redbooster), and applied it. Took a smoke break and came back to see it dried, still in one piece, no ink running and laying flat on surface. So i am stoked, and put the other ones on too. The big autobot logo on leg i cut into three parts and applied em one at a time, since i was not sure if it would work or not with the curves and stuff. The only problem i didnt like was the decals for the gun. I masked and painted a white coat of paint for the red sticker to be applied, but it looked crappy, I coulda spent more time to make it look good, but time is money so ill remove it later and repaint it i guess. So i am calling this one done, i feel comfortable to move on to the next model (Tomahawk), and get that one done asap.

If it is gonna be done, I hope it is at least done right.

Thats why I decided to go to a lighter color indeed. Just applying a black wash gives lots of depth and makes the sdf1 appear larger,bulkier and more intimidating. Since it has lots of lines and crevases most work as far detaling is accomplished by doing a black wash, which is time saving, considering all the time to cut and trim to get the parts to fit just right. I personally like the warped look, it gives it a more anime look. I never liked sharp edges or points on models of anykind, but thats me. I like the dimple in the top leg (3rd picture you posted LTSo) and the ovalish vernier is oddly something I would try to do, if i knew I could pull it off that is. I think it screams "I am the Macross" instead of that "I am a painted model"

Yes, a splinter camo sounds cool, Ill work on that , maybe mix in some rust/aged metal look. I did a rust look a few years ago on a Revell Robotech recovery model. (some unofficial release i guess). It takes a time for each layer, but i think it is a bit out of the norm look. i would like to try that splinter camo look for sure, i never did that scheme before. Earth tones would look on a Tomahawk, thanx for the idea, ill figure out how much of a rust look I want as i go i guess. As for the Cat's Eye colors, i was thinking maybe Angel Birds theme. I always thought it looked cool. The picture is a scan that Graham posted of a VF22. Maybe a color scheme like that would be unique, unless someone did one already : ( I came across some decals i bought along time ago, not sure what they are called, but I seen em around, perhaps a wild paint scheme with the decals would be cool too. I came across the pic of the SDF1 in some pic folder i had, not sure who did it, but i like the colors. Anyone mind if i use the look? I like the tones and blue tarmac markers. If anyone has more pics of this scheme, i would like to see more pics please As for availability of models, those not being produced, I agree. Get em now! Lol, many times before i always told myself "I get that model later" and ended up paying way too much for it, better to get what you can now if possible. I recently noticed the VF-0 Ghost version model was out, and it was not on ebay, so i had to get it from a website, so i am guessing these are getting rare, or not, what do i know? But I had to have one, and perhaps i paid too much i dont know, but the first 5 or so websites stores i went to were sold out. As for the casting of the sdf1, i got it a long time ago, i think about 5 years ago. i am sure it was an original , since the resin looked in good shape and if i remember had minor fitting work. Not sure what i paid, but i do remember it was back when yahoo and ebay were competing in the online auctioning, we know who won that one

Finally got some time today today to get some work done on the test model. Last night I shot the armor with the airbrush. I picked a glosy color on accident, thats what i get for being in ah hurry i guess. Since it is a jetfire color scheme, I didnt mind the glossy paint, i was gonna go for a toy look, but decided to test some black and grey washes I had laying around. So anyhow, after i painted the armor, it sat over night and this morning I decided to do some masking, just to keep the color uniform. Once i finished masking, i shot the secondary colors and while the pieces dried, gave a test of the black wash. Well, it was dried up, so i had to go with the grey wash. I tested it out on the hands, appeared to come out ok, so after I carefully peeled off the masking tape (I decided not to use primer on this build), i then washed the model. I could have spent time more time cleaning up, but for this project, wasnt a big deal. I did some touch up on the pieces that had overspray and glued misc pieces to the model. Then put it all together to see how the over all look, i liked it. Of course i could have spent more time with it, but at least i have the feel for modeling again. Next model i will spend more time doing it right. This one i am calling done for now. Later when i get around to it, ill print some decals for it, like the autobot logo and such, also do some detailing with the brushes too. I will have some to find the rest of the pieces for the model too, lol, then shoot it with some dull clearcoat (the cheap crap from walmart works for me). Now i am gonna spend alot of time sanding and fitting parts to the cats eye, and do some detailing on the sdf1. ill show better progress pics for those.

Ok, so far I got the working color i want airbrushed on the model (minus armor). I mixed a touch of grey with flat white and put two light layers on. I know it is hard to tell by the picture taken, but as you can see the panel lines show up a bit more. Also, if you look, the seems stand out , where the two half's are joined to form the leg and the node cone mostly. Now, this is an easy fix, just sand down paint, spread some filler in , sand and repaint, but since this is a practice model, I am not worried about it right now. Always give me something to do if I become anal down the road. Now that i feel more comfortable with the airbrush gun once again, ill do the armor next. The Cat's Eye is a recast for sure, I bought it a couple years ago from this board. It is an awesome model, and resin to boot. I have always enjoyed resin and vinyl models myself.

Last night I spent time sanding down the Cat's Eye and redrawing panel lines, very time consuming. Also decided on a paint scheme for the Battroid. I was gonna go with the Minmay Guard scheme, but decided on something else I thought would be a bit cooler, well to me anyhow. So right now I am gonna attempt another airbrush job, wish me luck!

So, I am gonna work on all four at once, I get side tracked easy. Last night I decided to test out the ole airbrush skills, so I took an easy approach and decided to throw a lighter color on the resin SDF1. I did a quick masking job for the parts I didnt feel like repainting later, loaded up the gun and threw a few coats of flat grey on it. Starting out was a bit ruff, I always assume I need high pressure for the airbrushing, so i started out at around 40 psi, and found a comfortable zone at about 15 psi, then i was in buisness, lol. Before i painting it, i just ran some warm soapy water over the model parts. I removed a few parts, to make it easier to shoot with the gun. The pics are before and after ......

As for tools, i use the basic stuff you get from wollymart. Cheap testors , enamel and acrylic for airbrushing. Sanding sponges (good for wet sanding also). I am still using the same hobby knives from 5 years ago, filler, super glue (ill buy you some more later Dean), regular model glue, thinner, masking tape, babys momma nail file, and cheap ole paint brushes. The paint brush pictured have the brushes cut down to almost nothing, good for detailing and cleaning out panel lines after sanding. Also pictured is a decal making kit. U used these in the past, and the decals come out great, considering they are made on a standard ink jet printer. Ill add some pics of a few decals made with the decal kit. A white background is necessary though, since the cheap inkjet printer i use does not print white. So it may be necessary to paint a white background where you place the decal to the model (masking tape).

Wow, fast post gabe, lol

Ill be using some cheap air compressor and dual airbrush gun i got off ebay a few years ago for a 100 bucks. I got it as a set. It came with the compressor , 2 dual stage airbrush guns, and 2 single stage guns. It was a good cheap investment, and yes, I am cheap, lol.

Next I'll be repainting a resin SDF1, I didnt like the color scheme I did for it 2 years ago, so I am gonna repaint it to a lighter color. Also I will be working on a Hase battroid 1/72 and a Arii Tomahawk 1/100, nothing special here. I just threw em together out of the box, no special techniques, just twisted em off the sprue and glued me together. I know, tearing em off the sprue is a bad technique, but hey, thats what filler putty is for. I did a light sanding on the battroid with 150 grit foam sanding sponge thingy (dont know the specific name, I got a pack of em at Walmart for a buck 50). The Tomahawk Ill sand later.

OK, so I check Macross World on a daily basis, pretty much only the "Model" section and the "How to build/Custom" . I have been busy of course with kids and gaming mainly. Recently not so much online gaming since SWg went down the tubes (Sony Pricks, lol), anyhow I have decided to get back into models again, and weekends dedicated to building a GT40 concept car with a friend, but thats another story So I have about 13 uncompleted models, and about 20 some New in Box models, but for now I am going to finish the uncompleted Macross models, (the rest are sci-fi related, ill do those next year, lol). I noticed alot of good fellow model builders here, you guys (and girls) do great work and look forward to seeing completed projects by others. I am not a big poster in these forums (like others im sure, we all have about 10 other forums we post to also), but Ill be sure to post pics and describe my wacky unprofessional techniques best I can. Like with past models I have done , I like to do a bit of custom work and dont usually stick to scripture, like paint schemes and such and sometimes go off in some weird direction. Ill post pics for sure, low resolution of course. Input is appreciated, and suggestion for a color scheme for the Cats Eye and Tomahawk, anything goes. So I guess ill start off with what I will be trying to build/rebuild/repaint. I was gonna start off with the Cats Eye (recast), which I started over a year ago. Apparently I got it assembled somewhat and some fitting (as with most resins), but alot needs to be done, like filling and sanding

I had fitting problems also, and a few misc other problems. I did alot of sanding, and filling, but overall i am happy having it for sure, then again and as with most resin models bubbles, fittings, etc are a minor annoyance, but the Cats Eye is worth it for sure. I got a little sidetracked and decided to change the order of models i am busting out, lol. I had to get used to the airbrush again, so I decided to practice on another resin model (Yellow Submarine SDF-1 ,Cruiser Mode) I had a darker original color, decided to go lighter, actually instead of turning this into a how to post, I will start one over in that section, as to not corrupt this one. Good to be back in making models again , very relaxing.

Finally have time to get some models done , been over a year since I had time to sit down and actually complete one. I should get four finished by April. My first one to finish is the Cat's Eye, one of my favorites for sure. Airbrushing refresher course is needed, then I am in buisness, lol.

Good info, I cant wait to get one to build.

I finally got time to recently to get some models completed, i would like to get one of those Ghost versions.

Have you decided on a template yet for the pages. I work with Dreamweaver myself, but as long as you have a standard template, then I can do whatever if needed.

Thanx for the scans! You are awesome.

I like how the Prometheus looks a bit like Armor 1 . Ok its a stretch, but we all see what we wanna see, lol.

Noone is for sure if that site is for real, but it did get some credibility from Attack of the Show yesterday. I know I would like to see some more FireFly.

I came to enjoy the ship from the inside first. Now I think its pretty kewl.

I like 67-69 Cameros also. When ever I finish current project, I wanna build a Crate Camero. Building and customizing is where its at for me.

Another great episode. I am sure we would all like to see our own version, but then everyone would bitch about it one way or another. So I am happy with the show, look forward to next week.

Well, crap! Go back a couple pages in this thread, and you will see i was in support of this game. I loved the game, I was obsessed! But damn, since the last NGE Patch in November, I became horrified, depressed and pissed. The game was totally dumbed down into a third person shooter, with crappy interface and horrible gameplay. But thats just me bithcing I guess, I worked hard for what I had, time invested and in one patch, all thrown out the window, and i was Noobified. Both my characters (Jedi and Bounty Hunter) were instantly neutered. Ok, 'nuff of that. Honestly the game is simplified so bad now, that it holds no interest for a player like me. I used to enjoy the how complicated it was before. I enjoyed the complexity of it, played for 19 months and still never knew half the gameplay of other professions. Now, I know this sort of game scared people away, not everyone understood it, which was fine by me, the interaction i had with other players was a mature enviroment. I hardly recall ever meeting players younger then 18. Most were adults, some not even Star Wars fans, and the gameplay simply was awesome. However, Sony had a bright idea to change the game by making it simple. It's new target audience is now specifically children now. To bad for us adults who enjoyed it, most of us quit. My server died in the process, most everyone i knew left. I gave up on a rollback and quit last month myself. The good news now? I have lots of time on my hands now, time to finish some of those models I guess!