Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[Chas]

Oops!

Edited 20 hours ago by Chas

[pengbuzz]

3 hours ago, wm cheng said:

Hey @Gabe Q, there's a much easier way to remove that moldline now (I used to scrape it with an exacto, then sand, then Tamiya Polish and clear coat by dipping it in Future). I found these GodHand sanding sponges and you work from 2000, 4000, 6000, 8000, 10000 lightly sanding the seam and it dissappears crystal clear!  I still dip my canopies in Future to make them extra shiny though, but its not to hide any scratches from the sanding anymore.

Hey @pengbuzz that Klingon Battlecruiser turned out amazing!!!  Great paint finish on it too!  Thanks for the colour info, I have to bookmark those for future reference.

 

Hard to believe it's been 20yrs since I bought this kit!  Here's the VE-1 I did 18yrs ago for comparison when I was trying to do the smoothest coat of paint I could and weathered everything (post shading) with an airbrush - it looks too clean and slick (although I purposely tried to restrain the weathering on both of these as I thought they'd be better kept than something in used in war).  Not that I've been building consistently for the last 18yrs, I've taken many years off but I like seeing the progress.

Nice save/ work on these, WM!! And thanks! It's still kind of a work in progress; glad the references are of help to you! 

[Papa Rat]

@wm cheng I did a test fit on the VE-1 I got for my birthday a month ago. My wife and kid know what I like. ♥️  Anyway, I have been focusing on old vintage kits mostly but look forward to jumping back in and getting it all built up this year. If you have a link to more photos or post them here I’d love to see more. What you have shared so far is beautiful and very inspiring. 👍

Edited 18 hours ago by Papa Rat

[nightmareB4macross]

You guys really know how to make a kit really stand out. Excellent talent.

Working on the gun details. And yes, definitely keeping the firing mechanism.

Pew, pew, pew.

[SteveTheFish]

Tonight I finished laying down decals for my 1:2500 scale Enterprise E model kit. Next I'll have to apply a satin clear coat and color in the windows with an alcohol pen.

[Goodman Models]

On 7/25/2025 at 3:19 PM, Big s said:

It’s doable, but can be very risky. You kinda have to sand the lop layer a bit, and poke a tiny hole for the softener to soak through. This method runs a few scary risks since the weathering is already applied and can just make everything even more noticeable, or ruin the decal

the best way I’lve found to do decals from the start is after the base colors are layed down to use a gloss coat and then lay them down. After they dry, use the softener like microsol or Mr marksofter and usually that allows it to conform better. You can do the needle trick if there is a spot the decal didn’t conform to well like with a panel line and the softener gets under there and usually does the trick. Then there’s a couple other techniques that work well for blending the edge to make it disappear. You can mix your base color with some clear and spray around the edges to blend them in, or there’s the method that takes a bit more work and that’s to put a few layers of gloss over the decal and use a smoother sand paper and gently sand at the edges to level them down. Be very careful not to over sand and ruin the decal or the base color. Then add a final gloss to make sure the edge is gone. As long as the edge is gone using whatever method works best, then you can do all the weathering and final top coating to finish up.

All of what big said; I’ve had success removing decals by carefully sanding them off and doing a bit of touch ups with the airbrush and then reapplying new decals. Just take your time. 

[Papa Rat]

24 minutes ago, Goodman Models said:

All of what big said; I’ve had success removing decals by carefully sanding them off and doing a bit of touch ups with the airbrush and then reapplying new decals. Just take your time. 

Thanks. 

[Big s]

1 hour ago, Goodman Models said:

All of what big said; I’ve had success removing decals by carefully sanding them off and doing a bit of touch ups with the airbrush and then reapplying new decals. Just take your time. 

I think that’s a good option, but there are some cases where there isn’t another set of decals easily available. I think he was working on an older kit, so finding a replacement would also be finding the older kit again 

[Papa Rat]

4 minutes ago, Big s said:

I think that’s a good option, but there are some cases where there isn’t another set of decals easily available. I think he was working on an older kit, so finding a replacement would also be finding the older kit again 

This brings up a question…do people print their own decals and if so is it something that requires special equipment? I have a scanner and printer if it’s as easy as using a special decal paper or something. 

[pengbuzz]

3 hours ago, Papa Rat said:

This brings up a question…do people print their own decals and if so is it something that requires special equipment? I have a scanner and printer if it’s as easy as using a special decal paper or something. 

Actually, people do, and it is as easy as special paper! They sell blank decal paper (both clear and white blank films), and you can buy them for either inkjet or laser printer. The only drawback is that unless you have an "ALPS" printer, you cannot print white (hence the white decal film). When you print it, you do need to seal it with clearcoat (unless it's laser), and you have to cur the decals out individually, as the film is one solid sheet across the paper.

Link to Expert's choice (instructions and maker of one brand): 

https://www.bare-metal.com/experts-choice-decal-film.html

Edited 1 hour ago by pengbuzz

[Papa Rat]

10 minutes ago, pengbuzz said:

Actually, people do, and it is as easy as special paper! They sell blank decal paper (both clear and white blank films), and you can buy them for either inkjet or laser printer. The only drawback is that unless you have an "ALPS" printer, you cannot print white (hence the white decal film). When you print it, you do need to seal it with clearcoat (unless it's laser), and you have to cur the decals out individually, as the film is one solid sheet across the paper.

Wow!!!! That’s wonderful. Thanks so much. 

[pengbuzz]

4 minutes ago, Papa Rat said:

Wow!!!! That’s wonderful. Thanks so much. 

I updated my post with a link to one of the sites.  But here it is again:

https://www.bare-metal.com/experts-choice-decal-film.html

Also: if you don't have photoshop, there's a version very much like it online called photopea that works the same way for designing decals (and other stuff):

https://www.photopea.com/

You can load fonts into it as well, and there are a lot of places online that have free fonts to use for various projects (as long as you don't try to sell the work!). I've found many for star trek ships, macross, star wars, etc. as well as symbols and whatnot.

 

Edited 1 hour ago by pengbuzz

[Papa Rat]

10 minutes ago, pengbuzz said:

I updated my post with a link to one of the sites.  But here it is again:

https://www.bare-metal.com/experts-choice-decal-film.html

Also: if you don't have photoshop, there's a version very much like it online called photopea that works the same way for designing decals (and other stuff):

https://www.photopea.com/

You can load fonts into it as well, and there are a lot of places online that have free fonts to use for various projects (as long as you don't try to sell the work!). I've found many for star trek ships, macross, star wars, etc. as well as symbols and whatnot.

 

Wow. Thanks for all the info and links. Maybe I’ll order some sheets to play with. I imagine I could scan in decal sheets from these old kits and make backups if the scans work out. You rock Pengbuzz

Edited 1 hour ago by Papa Rat

[pengbuzz]

12 minutes ago, Papa Rat said:

Wow. Thanks for all the info and links. Maybe I’ll order some sheets to play with. I imagine I could scan in decal sheets from these old kits and make backups if the scans work out. You rock Pengbuzz

No problem, Papa Rat!  I often use a digital camera to photograph sets I think may not work, or I'll look them up online (sometimes scalemates.com has images of decal sheets for specific kits). 

[Papa Rat]

16 minutes ago, pengbuzz said:

No problem, Papa Rat!  I often use a digital camera to photograph sets I think may not work, or I'll look them up online (sometimes scalemates.com has images of decal sheets for specific kits). 

👍