Y Wing - basecoated

Ok, so i've bottled it.

Was nervous of using untried Tamiya paints though an airbrush i've not used for so long on such a nice kit.

And the paint i'd chosen when painted by brush is FAR too dark.

So, instead, i've put on a coat of white then a very light dusting of Ford Ivory, which i had left over from my 2001 Orion project.

That's a very intense colour but, put on lightly, its not a bad match for the "creamy grey white" that the Y Wings seem to have.

Not that its apparent in this pic - decided to take some shots outside. And, even though its an overcast day in Kent, its washed the shot out something chronic.

Alien 3

Figure there's a heck of a lot of hardware here just lately, so lookee what i dug out the back of the cabinet - the Halcyon IP kit that i got when it first came out.

Still pleased with the paintjob, which i did with loads of acrylic washes built up over time and heavily glossed.

Y Wing - primed

Gonna basecoat it tomorrow.

Bit apprehensive as it'll be (a) the first time i've used my airbrush in 13 years, and (b) i'm gonna use Tamiya paints.

Y Wing - as far as i've got

Eye, eye - Cyclops

Here's an attempt to show what i mean about the window having "depth"

Y Wing - cockpit

That's that all done. Not too noticible here, but the 1/72nd scale pilot has 3 (3!) decals on his helmet!

Short interlude

Off to France in the morning to pick up my Son and be pampered by the In-Laws.
Back on Tuesday so expect i'll be updating Weds.

Fine Molds - Y Wing

Got one of these at the start of the week and all i can say is:
(A) Its every bit as good as folk say it is
(B) Sorry for no pics yet - its so good and i'm having so much fun, that time i could use taking and uploading pics, i'd rather use on building a bit more.
Promise i'll post some once i've got the body done ok?

Cyclops - Panelling

I’ve gone to the next step, outlining all the panel lines in pencil, and highlighting the areas where I’d put on the Raw Sienna.
I’ve taken off the masking around the cockpit and engines just to see how things look. These will need covering up before I put on the Matt Varnish.
I’m really pleased with the cockpit – by sticking a clear button onto a clear hull, its given the cockpit real depth and does look like there’s more going on inside than there is. Not at all apparent here but I’ll put a clearer pic on soon.

Cyclops - VERY orange

So, here she is based in a coupla coats of Games Workshop "Golden Yellow". This is a much deeper yellow than I’m used to and was kinda put off by it at first, figuring it was too similar to Thunderbird 4.
Was also surprised to see, once she had a more "solid" colour on her, how reminiscent she is of the Spindrift from Land Of The Giants. It wasn’t intentional and I had no inkling of it while building.
I’ve also put on a very thin wash of "Raw Sienna" into the grooves on the sides and around the detail in the nose.

Cyclops - then primed in white

Cyclops - primed in grey

Cyclops - ready for priming

Turned the upper airlock into a proper docking clamp now and bunged some more panel lines all over, but especially around where the cowls meet the body.

Cyclops - end in sight

Here i've wrapped the painted engine area in a plastic, glued on the engine cowls and stuck on the cockpit window.

Roy Batty - finished

Was a bit of a slog after finishing the face, being just a pair of shorts, trainers and a dove.

Cyclops - more detail

Starting to put on tiny pieces on the hull and some sort of docking mechanism up on top for when it attaches to the mothership.

Cyclops - nose detail

Decided not to have the nose as one big sensor array, but insted have it as the docking port, with the round part of the green bit being the airlock.

Cyclops - putting panel lines on

Really like this part, and this is where to me it starts looking like what i've in my head.

ARC 170 - Hmmm...

... what to do?

Realised that its gonna be a bugger to get in and paint the inside of the opening wings as seen here.

Decided to paint them before assembly then Blu Tac the wings down when spraying.

Cyclops - engines painted

Primed in black, sprayed in Games Workshop Boltgun Metal and the smallest of black washes over the top.