Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[Big s]

49 minutes ago, Papa Rat said:

Just putting this out to the group. When painting a VF-1 are you thinking white, gray or something in between for main body color? What’s your go to? 

Personally I usually use gundam white from Mr color. It’s really a very pale grey. Kind like if you added a few drops of grey to a white mix. Basically not so white that it’s blinding and not so dark either 

[Papa Rat]

@joscasle  @Big s thanks 

[derex3592]

FYI, the Hobby Lobby by my house has ALL boxed Model Kits for 40% OFF right now!  I have a $100 gift card....So I looked around tonight and the 3 Star Wars Bandai kits they had, I've already built years ago, they had the Revell 1/48 Top Gun Mavrick F-18 Super Hornet and the 1/48 Revell Top Gun Tomcat and a small 1/35 WWII Tamiya Tank kit that caught my eye, and also some LARGE Gundam's up on the top shelf that retail for like $90 each. I've never built a Gundam kit, but heck for 40% off I might give it a try! I left without buying anything, but I might go back before the sale ends...

[Papa Rat]

15 minutes ago, derex3592 said:

FYI, the Hobby Lobby by my house has ALL boxed Model Kits for 40% OFF right now!  I have a $100 gift card....So I looked around tonight and the 3 Star Wars Bandai kits they had, I've already built years ago, they had the Revell 1/48 Top Gun Mavrick F-18 Super Hornet and the 1/48 Revell Top Gun Tomcat and a small 1/35 WWII Tamiya Tank kit that caught my eye, and also some LARGE Gundam's up on the top shelf that retail for like $90 each. I've never built a Gundam kit, but heck for 40% off I might give it a try! I left without buying anything, but I might go back before the sale ends...

Oh wow that’s a great deal! Hobby lobby? I’ll have to see if those exist out here in the PNW. 

[Big s]

2 hours ago, derex3592 said:

FYI, the Hobby Lobby by my house has ALL boxed Model Kits for 40% OFF right now!  I have a $100 gift card....So I looked around tonight and the 3 Star Wars Bandai kits they had, I've already built years ago, they had the Revell 1/48 Top Gun Mavrick F-18 Super Hornet and the 1/48 Revell Top Gun Tomcat and a small 1/35 WWII Tamiya Tank kit that caught my eye, and also some LARGE Gundam's up on the top shelf that retail for like $90 each. I've never built a Gundam kit, but heck for 40% off I might give it a try! I left without buying anything, but I might go back before the sale ends...

Now’s the time to try some Gundam. Try out one of the newer kits if you’re feeling lazy 

[Papa Rat]

Got the main color down on the VF-1 Alaska. Tried out some pre shading in a black metallic over a gray primer, followed by an off white, then went in with the poly fill scraps like my previous build and filtered a very light gray in areas. It’s so subtle and difficult to photograph on my phone. Maybe you can see it in the final two images? Anyway, I’m not sure if it’s effective. Maybe higher contrast would be better? Anyway. I’ll mask off tomorrow and get the green down. This one’s coming together quick. It has so very few pieces and the masking on this color-way is very minimal.

edit* wow there is a bunch of dust and crap on the surfaces I will need to buff that out. It always finds a way to get stuck on my painted pieces. I’m cursed  

Edited Tuesday at 05:49 AM by Papa Rat

[slide]

2 minutes ago, Papa Rat said:

Got the main color down on the VF-1 Alaska. Tried out some pre shading in a black metallic over a gray primer, followed by an off white, then went in with the poly fill scraps like my previous build and filtered a very light gray in areas. It’s so subtle and difficult to photograph on my phone. Maybe you can see it in the final image? Anyway, I’m not sure if it’s effective. Maybe higher contraction would be better?

I can see it in the final image when I expand it to full-size. Looks good, nice and subtle like OTEC materials and paint should imo.

[Papa Rat]

1 hour ago, slide said:

I can see it in the final image when I expand it to full-size. Looks good, nice and subtle like OTEC materials and paint should imo.

Cool. I‘m glad it’s not completely lost. I plan on doing a wash and panel lines later. Hopefully it brings it all together nicely and doesn’t overpower the surface variation too much. This is a fun super simple little build so far. 

Edited Tuesday at 06:09 AM by Papa Rat

[derex3592]

Small, and I do mean small USS Texas update...all parts either flat or clear coated as need be, getting close to final steps. Bunch of tiny fiddly parts added to the deck and got this little guy painted up and installed on the launch catapult. Pretty happy with how it came out! More updates this weekend hopefully if work doesn't interfere 

[Papa Rat]

4 hours ago, derex3592 said:

Small, and I do mean small USS Texas update...all parts either flat or clear coated as need be, getting close to final steps. Bunch of tiny fiddly parts added to the deck and got this little guy painted up and installed on the launch catapult. Pretty happy with how it came out! More updates this weekend hopefully if work doesn't interfere 

Wow. That’s looking great! It’s hard to judge the scale of that but I imagine it’s tiny tiny. 

[derex3592]

@Papa Rat - Yeh, you could pretty much cover the plane with a quarter and have room left over....😆

[Papa Rat]

1 hour ago, derex3592 said:

@Papa Rat - Yeh, you could pretty much cover the plane with a quarter and have room left over....😆

👀

That’s bananas 

[slide]

12 hours ago, derex3592 said:

@Papa Rat - Yeh, you could pretty much cover the plane with a quarter and have room left over....😆

I don't think I have the eyes, hands or patience for that... Well done!

 

 

I realized I mentioned my new workbench but didn't post any pics:
 

 

and I made some slight progress on the Mig tonight: clearcoat and the first few decals
 

Edited Wednesday at 05:31 AM by slide

[Thom]

Nice looking work station, @slide!

[Papa Rat]

@slide so clean and organized.  My bench is a pigpen 😂

[derex3592]

@slide - NICE bench area!!!!

 

My dream is to be able to airbrush and have a vent to outside, but in my house that ain't EVER gonna happen, especially in TX with the heat and humidity the way it is most of the year, also the wife is like NOPE. I get away with spraying teeny tiny parts with Vallejo acrylics because they don't smell and clean up with Windex, everything else I have to paint out in the garage. 

Edited Thursday at 06:51 PM by derex3592

[Urashiman]

On 3/31/2026 at 6:53 AM, Papa Rat said:

Got the main color down on the VF-1 Alaska. Tried out some pre shading in a black metallic over a gray primer, followed by an off white, then went in with the poly fill scraps like my previous build and filtered a very light gray in areas. It’s so subtle and difficult to photograph on my phone. Maybe you can see it in the final two images? Anyway, I’m not sure if it’s effective. Maybe higher contrast would be better? Anyway. I’ll mask off tomorrow and get the green down. This one’s coming together quick. It has so very few pieces and the masking on this color-way is very minimal.

edit* wow there is a bunch of dust and crap on the surfaces I will need to buff that out. It always finds a way to get stuck on my painted pieces. I’m cursed  

Nice to see someone else building the Plamax VF-1. have fun!

[Papa Rat]

39 minutes ago, Urashiman said:

Nice to see someone else building the Plamax VF-1. have fun!

Oh Yeah! It’s a great kit. Hope to get the small stuff finished brush painted and cured by the weekend. 
 

I finished up the airbrush portion of the build. Got to do touch ups and panels etc…

 

Edited Thursday at 07:55 PM by Papa Rat

[slide]

Thanks guys! I'm trying to keep it tidy as best I can, but it's an exercise in discipline! 😇
My favorite thing about the set-up is the Adam Savage inspired lights... GAME CHANGER, highly recommended if you're looking for more lighting!

 

@derex3592 I paid someone who knew what they were doing to put my vent in. I'm glad I spent the money (and I'm glad I didn't have to drill a hole in my exterior wall myself) but it weren't cheap🤑
One of the youtubers I watch recommended Lysol all-purpose cleaner for acrylics, and it's worked wonders and smells great once I'm done airbrushing!
I'm also glad I did it so I don't have to subject my cat to VOCs when I use solvent-based paint and make her even more 'special' than she already is.😸

 

@Papa Rat That Plamax is looking real good!
What did you use for the green? It looks like a great match for the scheme.

Edited Thursday at 09:49 PM by slide

[Papa Rat]

59 minutes ago, slide said:

That Plamax is looking real good!
What did you use for the green? It looks like a great match for the scheme.

The base is a mix of MR Color 66 bright green and 56 IJN green. 4-1. Then put in some highlights using same color mix with a little white added. Then I sprayed straight IJN green through poly fill to get some random texture areas. In hindsight I think the texture is a bit too heavy handed but I’ll work with it. 

Edited Thursday at 10:46 PM by Papa Rat

[derex3592]

Pets are a MAJOR factor in my model area - my female long hair cat claims my model desk as hers so I always have to 100% clear off and put away ALL parts/paints/tools/glue completely off the desk every single time I even leave the room for more than like 3 minutes, otherwise........things tend to get munched on....LOL. 

 

.........then there's the random floating cat hairs......😺😂

Edited yesterday at 05:05 PM by derex3592

[Papa Rat]

It’s here!!! After a total of $140 spent, I can finally add this to my to build list for summer. I will have to give it a full 75% effort. Hahaha

 

The Q-Rau golden ratio. 😂

Edited yesterday at 09:06 PM by Papa Rat

[Big s]

9 minutes ago, Papa Rat said:

I will have to give it a full 75% effort. Hahaha

So more like 110% compared to the majority of us

[Papa Rat]

Just now, Big s said:

So more like 110% compared to the majority of us

Hahahaha. No way 🫠

[Papa Rat]

Getting closer. Need to clean up the oil wash a bit, enamels for lights etc… and lastly decals. So far so good. 

[derex3592]

So I went back to Hobby Lobby this morning while the sales are still on and after my gift card and taxes, I paid $5 out of pocket and got these 3! Never watched, know anything about or built anything GUNDAM, but I think this is like the main guy right? Anyway, I KNOW Bandai makes excellent kits and I've heard people say Master Grades are cool so....We'll see what happens! Also a cute little Tamiya 1:35 M-41 WW II US tank and a Revell 1:25 1969 Chevell SS 396 that I'm going to build for my mother in law because she's awesome and she actually HAD a blue one!!! Shame she didn't keep it.... 🤣 🤣 🤣 

[Papa Rat]

23 minutes ago, derex3592 said:

So I went back to Hobby Lobby this morning while the sales are still on and after my gift card and taxes, I paid $5 out of pocket and got these 3! Never watched, know anything about or built anything GUNDAM, but I think this is like the main guy right? Anyway, I KNOW Bandai makes excellent kits and I've heard people say Master Grades are cool so....We'll see what happens! Also a cute little Tamiya 1:35 M-41 WW II US tank and a Revell 1:25 1969 Chevell SS 396 that I'm going to build for my mother in law because she's awesome and she actually HAD a blue one!!! Shame she didn't keep it.... 🤣 🤣 🤣 

What a good score!

[Papa Rat]

Plamax VF-1 Alaska scheme. Just using an unfinished Hasegawa stand for photo purposes. I would like to get a brass rod and make my own stand later.

This was a fun one, but think it’s a bit sloppy. 🤷

don’t mind the dog hair  😂

Edited 5 hours ago by Papa Rat

[slide]

15 minutes ago, Papa Rat said:

Plamax VF-1 Alaska scheme That’s using a Hasegawa stand for photo purposes. I would like to get a brass rod and make my own stand later. 

It looks like she's spent a couple winters in Alaska.

Well done!!!

[Big s]

3 hours ago, derex3592 said:

So I went back to Hobby Lobby this morning while the sales are still on and after my gift card and taxes, I paid $5 out of pocket and got these 3! Never watched, know anything about or built anything GUNDAM, but I think this is like the main guy right? Anyway, I KNOW Bandai makes excellent kits and I've heard people say Master Grades are cool so....We'll see what happens! Also a cute little Tamiya 1:35 M-41 WW II US tank and a Revell 1:25 1969 Chevell SS 396 that I'm going to build for my mother in law because she's awesome and she actually HAD a blue one!!! Shame she didn't keep it.... 🤣 🤣 🤣 

That 3.0 is a good score. Very intricate. Don’t use lacquers on the ABS parts unless you paint them before assembly. But from what I remember, it doesn’t really need paint and seams are very minimal.

if you’ve never seen Gundam, I’d highly highly recommend 08th MS team. It’s a short side story to the og one year war and doesn’t really have a big connection to the main series, so you won’t get lost and it’s probably the best looking of the Gundam franchise while also being short, so you don’t have to spend 50 something episodes on the story. It’s also pretty easy to find streaming since out here it’s on Hulu and a few other spots. It’s also one of those shorter stories that’s better and feels more complete than most of the longer ones. Again I can’t stress how highly I’d recommend that one.

[derex3592]

@Papa Rat Alaska Base looks fantastic to me! I like my Valks dirty! 

@Big s ok, thanks for the recommendation, I'll see if I can find that! 

Over here the shipyard was very busy this morning! 6 more PE stairs, main railings and 3 other microscopic PE parts plus the flag and I think we can call the Texas DONE sooner than later! It's been a journey! Can't wait to get her across the finish line! 😁 

[Return To Kit Form]

G'day guys,

 

I just thought I'd drop a few images of my Ninja that I finished last year. 

 

It is the first MaK kit in years and went together pretty well except for the large rear tank