Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[wm cheng]

That process was quite unintentional - it was a desperate repair job on botched clearcoat (Mr. Hobby lacquer) reaction to the Tamiya (Acrylic) paint underneath with the added complication that I had already applied the decals.  After the repairs were done, I tried that thinned ink with sponge/brush technique and it was an ok first attempt.  I need to get better before I try it on a F-14 TPS scheme.

[Papa Rat]

10 minutes ago, wm cheng said:

That process was quite unintentional - it was a desperate repair job on botched clearcoat (Mr. Hobby lacquer) reaction to the Tamiya (Acrylic) paint underneath with the added complication that I had already applied the decals.  After the repairs were done, I tried that thinned ink with sponge/brush technique and it was an ok first attempt.  I need to get better before I try it on a F-14 TPS scheme.

Well the outcome looked beautiful to me. Hahaha. Sometimes we get into rough waters and discover cool things as we attempt to right the ship. I’m sure your next go at the process will yield even better results. 👍

Edited Wednesday at 07:15 PM by Papa Rat

[SteveTheFish]

20 hours ago, Papa Rat said:

So I decided to try adding some mottled texture to the Bellvine. My kid was kind enough to let me perform surgery on one of their old stuffies to extract some poly fill to use as a filter to spray through.  It’s hard to photograph but I am digging the outcome. Less is more that’s for sure.

 

A vivisection on a plushie shouldn't be necessary. It's been forever since I lived in America, but I believe you could use a Bounce dryer sheet. Dad and I used to call those "Mom Bombs" when I was growing up because sometimes putting on clothes one might fly out of a sleeve or something. I use a vent filter to get that sort of effect. In fact I used that on the Valkyrie I posted pictures of a week or so ago. Just make sure there isn't a pattern going in one direction and that it's an even pattern. 

In any case, give your kid a hug for lending you that stuffing. With all the kits you're building one after another, make sure you get plenty of "dad time" clocked in. There's an ebb and flow to parenting, it seems. A few years ago, I used to get a lot more hobby time as my daughter was off in her own world most of the time and I had to give her space. Now that she's nearly 18, she's become a magnet girl again. Sometimes she'll walk into my hobby room and demand I come and flop on the pile of pillows on the floor with her. Hobby time is sacrificed, but by tomorrow she'll be a day older. 

This is my hobby room/nerd cave. The pile of game pillows has increased since then. https://stevethefish.net/stuff/index.php/2024/08/31/my-nerd-cave-late-at-night-updated-august-2024/ She says my hobby room is relaxing.

 

  

5 hours ago, wm cheng said:

 I need to get better before I try it on a F-14 TPS scheme.

Did you get the memo about the TPS reports? We need to talk about your TPS reports.

Edited Thursday at 12:22 AM by SteveTheFish
added another response

[Papa Rat]

@SteveTheFish oh yeah time with my kiddo is number 1. I get most of my bench time after they are sound asleep and I work into the late night which can be quite productive. I pay for it the next morning though. Hahaha. I’m a zombie until my morning cup of coffee. 
 

Oh and the T-Rex stuffie only shed a little stuffing, is stitched back up and is supposed to make a full recovery.

 

Tonight my kid is building a BB8 Lego and goofing off before bedtime. ♥️

Edited Thursday at 04:17 AM by Papa Rat

[Papa Rat]

Well it’s late…I mean early anyway Bellvine is done. I was super loose on this and had lots of fun. Didn’t mask anything and tried out some paint layering and filtering that was new to me. I should have spent more time on seam removal and surface prep but here we are. 🙃
 

Edited Thursday at 07:27 AM by Papa Rat

[Big s]

1 hour ago, Papa Rat said:

Well it’s late…I mean early anyway Bellvine is done. I was super loose on this and had lots of fun. Didn’t mask anything and tried out some paint layering and filtering that was new to me. I should have spent more time on seam removal and surface prep but here we are. 🙃
 

The colors are absolutely stunning. Great work. This thing is a real beauty and definitely competition worthy

[electric indigo]

That's a nice bug you got there.

[Papa Rat]

@Big s @electric indigo thanks you two. I‘m really happy with how this one turned out. Honestly the amazing killer design/sculpt helped carry me to a nice conclusion. I did learn a few things along the way and had a lot of fun with the work flow which is the best part for me. 

Edited Thursday at 01:16 PM by Papa Rat

[wm cheng]

Wow!  Gorgeous!!!  I can't believe there was no masking... oh to dream - parts breakdown must have been awesome.  Love the subtle textures and shading.  Congrats @Papa Rat.

[Papa Rat]

@wm cheng Thanks so much. I really appreciate it. 😊

The way the kit is made/parted out allows for no masking if you are feeling handy with a brush. I ended up using lacquer, enamel and acrylic. I might go back in with more enamels to brighten up some small details. 

[Papa Rat]

 I’m on a roll. Next up is the 1/100 R3 release L-Gaim MK-II. Started test fit tonight and hope to wrap it up tomorrow then get to work on surface prep over the weekend. This kit builds itself. Lots of under gates on the armor bits which I appreciate and the fit is perfect! It really feels more like an action figure than a model. It’s wild.

There are a few elements that are made of colored rubber material so I guess I just leave them be. Too bad there aren’t any resin or plastic replacements for those parts. 
 

Edited Friday at 07:00 AM by Papa Rat

[derex3592]

I remember building all the the 1/144 Tomytec Valks back in the day, those all were pre-painted and ALL the parts were undergated, and everything fit perfectly.  Amazing quality, wish they had continued their Macross line of kits.   Undergating is one of those things you don't realize you want until you have it and then you don't have it! 

[Papa Rat]

2 hours ago, derex3592 said:

I remember building all the the 1/144 Tomytec Valks back in the day, those all were pre-painted and ALL the parts were undergated, and everything fit perfectly.  Amazing quality, wish they had continued their Macross line of kits.   Undergating is one of those things you don't realize you want until you have it and then you don't have it! 

The first under gate kit for me was the first Hasegawa Q-Rau which was helpful on some of the giant seam lines. Speaking of Q-Rau. Finally had to ship the TV version today since my free storage like yours, had run its course. 
over $100 to ship a $40 kit. Ouch

 

Edited Friday at 04:30 PM by Papa Rat

[Big s]

4 hours ago, derex3592 said:

 Undergating is one of those things you don't realize you want until you have it and then you don't have it! 

Personally I’m not a fan of undergating. It’s one of those things when I find it is very finicky and can accidentally cause more damage to edges and if sanded just a slight bit too much can widen the seams that may need filling. Although I do see a huge benefit in pre painted or metal coated parts.

[Big s]

2 hours ago, Papa Rat said:

over $100 to ship a $40 kit. Ouch

That had to hurt a little.

[Papa Rat]

@Big s I totally see your point. I have a kit that had a “special” coating on it. I didn’t want that version but that’s all that was available. It didn’t have under gates so it left bruises all over the place. I knew it was going to be an issue and one that could have been avoided if the gates were hidden. I may go back and strip off the coating and paint it later. 
 

Yeah didn’t want to pay $140 for the the Q-Ray TV version but that’s what happened. 🥵 
Hate to say it but EBay might be a feasible option these days. 

Edited Friday at 09:49 PM by Papa Rat

[Big s]

Just now, Papa Rat said:

Yeah didn’t want to pay $140 for the the Q-Ray TV version but that’s what happened. 🥵

If you do a good job on the paint, it will look like it’s worth more than that

[Papa Rat]

4 minutes ago, Big s said:

If you do a good job on the paint, it will look like it’s worth more than that

For sure. That’s a motivator 

[derex3592]

I'm going to have to ship my TV Qau and Glaug tommorrow - I checked last night and the CHEAPEST option was like $175 for both. Absolutely ridiculous, if I could just cancel the order I would. It's $70 worth of models, jeeeeez. 

[Big s]

25 minutes ago, Papa Rat said:

For sure. That’s a motivator 

We all saw the Bellvine, I’m sure this could be quite impressive 

[Papa Rat]

1 hour ago, derex3592 said:

I'm going to have to ship my TV Qau and Glaug tommorrow - I checked last night and the CHEAPEST option was like $175 for both. Absolutely ridiculous, if I could just cancel the order I would. It's $70 worth of models, jeeeeez. 

Same here. I wanted to cancel and just buy off eBay for cheaper. Too late. HLJ has a small pack option for kits in average sized boxes and it’s not completely horrible for price

Edited Friday at 09:00 PM by Papa Rat

[Papa Rat]

1 minute ago, Big s said:

We all saw the Bellvine, I’m sure this could be quite impressive 

Hahahaha. Thanks. It means a lot to hear from you guys on this stuff. Same goes for all the amazing builds that I see here. It’s so inspiring. 

[slide]

I've decided to stop lurking now that I have something to share, and time on my hands since I'm off work thanks to a Gallbladder removal earlier this month.

After years away from modelling I have a remodeled hobby-room and workbench, and some nice new tools to go with it [absolutely worth the money... how did I model before them?!]

I promised a friend a 1/48 F-16 as a gift, so I'm doing a couple warm-ups before tackling that: I'm doing him up a pair of Briefing Stick models using the Mig-29 Fulcrum and F-14 Tomcat in the Macross zero boxings. [I'm going to save the Macross decals for my own use on other kits]

I think it's going pretty well so far, considering it's been something like 12 years since I've built anything... still needs decals, weathering, and the brass rods to mount it to the stick.

 

Also needs a few paint touch-ups before decals/weathering

Edited Saturday at 02:04 AM by slide

[derex3592]

@slide - Welcome back to the model bench!  I've always loved the Mig-29!  And that camo scheme is great! 

[Gabe Q]

14 hours ago, slide said:

I've decided to stop lurking now that I have something to share, and time on my hands since I'm off work thanks to a Gallbladder removal earlier this month.

After years away from modelling I have a remodeled hobby-room and workbench, and some nice new tools to go with it [absolutely worth the money... how did I model before them?!]

I promised a friend a 1/48 F-16 as a gift, so I'm doing a couple warm-ups before tackling that: I'm doing him up a pair of Briefing Stick models using the Mig-29 Fulcrum and F-14 Tomcat in the Macross zero boxings. [I'm going to save the Macross decals for my own use on other kits]

I think it's going pretty well so far, considering it's been something like 12 years since I've built anything... still needs decals, weathering, and the brass rods to mount it to the stick.

 

Also needs a few paint touch-ups before decals/weathering

Great job so far on the Mig! Paint job is looking sweet. 😁 

Please update us when there's more progress. Also, wanna see that F-14 too.

[slide]

9 hours ago, derex3592 said:

@slide - Welcome back to the model bench!  I've always loved the Mig-29!  And that camo scheme is great! 

7 hours ago, Gabe Q said:

Great job so far on the Mig! Paint job is looking sweet. 😁 

Please update us when there's more progress. Also, wanna see that F-14 too.

Thanks @derex3592 and @Gabe Q! 

Tomcat is progressing:

Hasegawa's ancient Tomcat crew are... special🫤

 

The seats are acceptable though.

Edited Saturday at 11:58 PM by slide

[Papa Rat]

@slideVery cool. Excited to see more. 
 

While I work on the L-Gaim MK-2 I decided to crack into the Deculture. What a simple smart kit. I’m going with the Alaska version. 💚

 

The MK-2 is  a 1/100 and here it is next to the Volks IMS 1/100. It’s slightly smaller but will look good next to the FSS builds in my collection. Also the binders in the kit have a beautiful clear blue. They will look even better once I put silver behind them. 

Edited 59 minutes ago by Papa Rat

[Big s]

23 hours ago, slide said:

Hasegawa's ancient Tomcat crew are... special🫤

 

I see that. Definitely the short bus crew there. But there’s a certain charm to them as well and they make me feel like I could accomplish anything since even they became Tomcat pilots.