Windu Assualt Squad

Nov04
by kelvinknaff on November 4, 2012 at 1:38 am
Posted In: Commentary, Model Kits

The goal of this build was to make an AT-TE transport using the Republic Attack Shuttle. Originally, I was going to use the Gunship like the movie. But we’ve already seen that. Both the AT-TE and Shuttle are pre-painted easyfit kits. Prime pickings for repainting and modifying. The attachment won’t be anything fancy, just a hard umbilical using a strong magnet from the bottom of the shuttle. I like to build the things we don’t get to see and  that could have been.

I never really liked the design of the Gunship style AT-TE Dropship. It got the job done, but if they could drop the AT-TE AND some troops. That would be strategically better. The specifications of the shuttle say it can hold 30 passengers. The AT-TE can hold 38 passengers on top of being well armed. Then, if one or two of those passengers are Jedi? This would be a formidable assault force. The premise seems plausible for a small recon or infiltration group. So on to the build.

The light in the display room isn’t that good for taking picture. Thusly, the colors aren’t as vibrant in the photo. Using Tamiya Purple and Gunship Gray I repainted the colors of both pre-painted models while keeping the yellow bits. The red on the cockpit stayed for contrast and the fact that I didn’t want to mask and repaint the small cockpit canopy. The imbilical is barely visible under the shuttle. I used a Soyuz Space capsule from an extra International Space station kit.The magnets came from an old hard drive. The magnets in a hardrive are really strong and could support the weight of the walker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The red glow is from the nacelles of a nearby Enterprise. The base holds the models about 3 inches from the surface of the table. Aside from the canopy not staying closed and a few minor adjustment to keep the two from banging into each other. I think it came out pretty well. Now, it can be proudly display with the Mace Windu Jedi Starfighter. Without a doubt and assault force to be reckoned with.

 

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USS Titan By Starcraft and Voyager by Alliance

Jun26
by kelvinknaff on June 26, 2012 at 1:45 pm
Posted In: Commentary, Model Kits, On the bench

 

 

 

Next on the bench is the USS Titan. This ship was mentioned in the motion picture Star Trek Nemesis and will be captained by William T. Riker. At the time there was no design for the luna class starship. A contest was held, and the winning design was created by Sean Tourangeau. This resin kit by Starcraft is in 1:1400 scale. Which is an odd scale. I only have one other kit, the USS Voyager, in this scale. Thusly, they will be displayed in an inflight diorama.

First Prep.

I already glued the hull and saucer section together in the picture to the side. There was a pretty good sized gap between the two pieces. So I ended up using a general purpose adhesive to bind the two together. Next the struts were attached to the nacelles. One of the nice things about resin kits. There are usually only a handful for parts to deal with. No small parts to cut off trees. Which, for me, make most resin kits a quicky build. You get to complete a model quickly and proudly add another ship to the display case.

Normally the process goes sand, prime, sand, paint. This time I tried priming first. Which in the initial phase seems to be working out well. It’s much easier to see where i need to sand. The resin took the primer well and the casting is really good. One detail that really stands out are the escape pods. Most plastic kits just give you a decal and a smooth spot to place it. They took the time to sculpt the escape pods onto the model. Giving you the option of just foregoing the provided decal and paint the pods in place. This is the first time I’ve seen this on a kit. But most of the other resin kits are all in 1:2500 scale. Maybe the 1:1400 scale allows them the room to do this. Although it means more work for the builder. In the end, the model will display much better by taking the extra effort.

 Base Coat

   For whatever reason the painting gods are not with me on this one. To get the Federation blue\gray. most kits tell you to mix aggressor gray and blue or some even white. Honestly, I hate mixing paint. Mix too much and you have to story it. Mix to little and you hate to remix and that may not match. After a trip to the hobby shop, and bringing two new potential colors, tamiya Royal Gray XF-80 and Ocean Gray XF-82. Both are interesting colors, but neither were quite right. I settled on Model Master Flint Gray. The same color that was used to paint the Argo Shuttle.  This will most likely be my official Starfleet color. Since I had the paint and was going to display the Voyager with the Titan, it got painted as well. The nacelles for the Voyager aren’t painted yet. But the paint laid down well on everything else and the color is spot on for me. Next I’ll assembly the two ships and retouch the base coat. Hopefully then we will be ready for detail painting and decals.

Paint and Decal

     It took paint real well. Due to the fact that I didn’t have a small enough brush the windows didn’t get painted. But it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Surprisingly, the decals were easy to remove from the backing and didn’t dissolve. Once everything dried. The ship was assembled for a final clear coat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Showtime

The Voyager was built along side the Titan using the same paints. I had the usual trouble with the decals and ended up using Federation decals from other models. Pictured together they look really good. Both kits were a basic resin build. Aside from the cost of resin making the kits a bit pricey. I’m still glad they are in the collection. This may be the only way we get a USS Titan. For that reason alone it was worth the purchase.

 

 

 

 

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Wonderfest Dress – The model kit you wear.

Jun08
by kelvinknaff on June 8, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Posted In: Commentary

I would hazard to guess that people have been showing up at conventions dressed as their favorite character since the themed convention was invented. It’s so common place that people just expect to see them. Most people have no real idea of how much work it can take to get the look right.

Clone Armor ready to unbox and build.

Wonderfest in more that the perfect venue for this. It’s one of the few places it can be truly appreciated. Why? Because it’s essential a giant wearable model. I spent hours learning to sew to make my Jedi costume and was awe-struck when i got my clone armor. I was just a box full of vacuum formed plastic. It’s still in the box in my garage. I haven’t even laid it all out for fear of having a panic attack. But it’s a challenge and we don’t just run away from things that are tough. I’d just like to take a moment to tip my hat to all of the all the people that took the time to make the costume and show up. Here are a few pictures of some of the people who have shown up at Wonderfest over the past few years.

 

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Argo Shuttle by Alliance

Jun07
by kelvinknaff on June 7, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Posted In: Model Kits, On the bench

Featured in Star Trek Nemesis, the Argo shuttle, designed by John Eaves, was assigned to the Enterprise E. Unlike most shuttles the Argo also came with an armored land craft.

First impressions of this rotary cast model are promising. The detail is excellent with very few if seams to sand. It’s scaled a 1:72 which means you can use other kits in the same scale to create a really nice diorama.  The wings can be displayed in either flight or landing mode. The base is standard and comes with a copper rod for mounting. The decal sheet is also standard. this is looking to be a quicky build.

So far, I’m happy. This model has so much potential. I considered cutting the back door out and building a loading ramp and buggy. I’d have to build the interior from the blueprints or make up my own design. But that would defeat the idea of this being a quicky build. I’ve sand what few seams I could find, washed the body and applied the first coat of primer. We’ll get back to you one the first painted coat is on.

Second Day

The Argo is painted. For the most part this is a simple kit. For the main coat I chose Model Master Flint Grey. I used Insignia Red and Sky Blue for the nacelles and semi gloss black for the  windshield.

 

The wings were still drying, but aside from their application, a bit more painting and the decals. This will be ready for display. Hence the term “Quicky Build.”

 Final Paint and Decal

The painting went as well as can be expected. The only arguable problem with paint would be that one of the paints I used was a bit old and didn’t flow that well. It was on the bottom of the model with the landing gear, so i wasn’t too worried. The decal on the other hand were a nightmare. First let me stay that I don’t blame Alliance at all. The decals were printed well and looked great. They were easy to cut out and released from the paper normally. Unfortunately most of the decals broke apart. Let me be clear. This is normal for the printed decals of the resin kits and no specific to Alliance. I’ve had several other kit with the same decal problem. The only other thing i could probably do is get a production kit and use the decals from it. Since this isn’t going to be a show quality build and only another modeler builder or scifi junky can really tell. I decided to just leave it alone.

 

 

 

 

 

The only thing left to do is to decide how to display it. The basic base and post will work just fine. I did have the thought of using an in scale Humvee or armored assault vehicle with Star Fleet markings in a LZ diorama. From the beginning this seemed like it was going to be a simple build, and   it was. Alliance and the sculptor have done a wonderful job at recreating this ship. The scale is perfect, the prep work is minimal and the painting is simple. I’m sure if I spent a little more time with the decals I could have done a better job. All in all this is a great kit. Great Job guys.  A+++++

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Open the floodgates.

Jun01
by kelvinknaff on June 1, 2012 at 11:29 pm
Posted In: Commentary

First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to read my post. Science fiction and model kit building have been and will most likely always be the hobbies I end up on. Both for the most part are taboo to some extent. Combine them into one hobby and you’ve a double whammy dork stamp. We not only embrace our dorkness. We celebrate it. If I’m lucky, we will all get something out of this blog. So hang on and enjoy the ride.

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