09/08/2007
WAIT!
Well, finally finished this beast, the main reason I'm behind in my C4D learning :D<br />
<br />
This has been a bit of a mammoth task. It just kept evolving. It started as a mergance of a few old dioramas, remaking a new town scene. Then I had a Rocket Launcher being protected by a Gradiator, this changed to a Tiger, out of action in the rubble. The Sherman I had coming in the other side was replaced with the Amphibious version, vents still attached.<br />
The middle ground, originally just going to be rubble had a Beetle and an old bit of Artillery added.<br />
The SAFS were given a brand new colour scheme, and unfortunatley one has taken a direct hit at some point, but is still going....which is some indicator of just how much trouble the Allieds are in.<br />
<br />
Only left 2 problems....it just about fitted into my light tent...and also just fitted onto a shelf in my toilet. I know, what a place to end up LOL
You can get a good look at the full pictures here:
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08/21/2007
For Sale: Ma.K / SF3D / Maschinen Krieger Collection
I recently cleared out my modelling room to add an office to it and decided to wean my collection a bit. The kits to be sacrificed to space are the Maschinen Krieger/SF3D/Ma.K kits I've collected over the years. So here's the list:
All kits are 1/20 scale in original packaging.
Box Name: Kit Name: Price £:
SF3D Original Hornisse 30
Ma.K Fledermaus 30
Ma.K Krote 30
Ma.K Fireball SG 20
Maschinen Krieger Racoon 10
Maschinen Krieger Heinrich 10
Maschinen Krieger Kauz 10
OK, now the next list are kits that have all been started (not by myself I add) and thus will all need a little care and attention to bring them to a state your happy with. Because of this, I have marked them at exactly half the price I would sell if they were in good condition. The condition does not affect these kits being completed to a normal standard, but they will need some attention.
SF3D Original Jerry 15
SF3D Original SAFS 5
SF3D Original Konrad 5
SF3D Original Fireball 5
SF3D Original PKA 5
SF3D Figure Set 1 5
SF3D Figure Set 2 5
And to end with I have the Tamiya Pit Crew that some people like to customise to 1/20 figures/pilots etc. £5
Please feel free to make your wishes known as to which kit(s) you would like but I reserve the right to give first call to anyone who wants to buy the complete set for a reduced price of £150 (full price would be £185) so I will wait a while for such a buyer before committing to smaller sales.
These will be advertised elsewhere too.
Payments can be made by PayPal
Postage will be calculated on actual weight and destination. If you would like to upgrade postage to a carrier service that can be arranged.
Please feel free to PM me or e-mail directly to faraway.pictures@virgin.net
Pictures of kits can be viewed at this website: http://www.maschinenkrueger.com/mdls.html
Update: Well that was quick....ALL SOLD!
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08/02/2007
Happy Birthday
Just a quick note.
I visit and post on Scale Model World's website every now and then, they have a very diverse range of interests there, from female figures to scratchbuilt tanks, something for everyone.
It's still pretty new, in fact, it's 1 year old!
Scale Model World.Net
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07/30/2007
Mushroom House
I've started a sketchbook to jot down ideas for my 3D work. This was a based on a small sketch I made of a Mushroom House. It's pretty close to the drawing except that also had a telescope room in the roof. Instead of doing it on computer though I got the Sculpey out.
I was surprised how well this came along. I completed the whole thing in a few hours. Even the painting went well. I undercoated it black, then sprayed a bit of white on it. i liked the look so much I did'nt finish painting it to the original idea but just added some muted ink washes.
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03/26/2007
Good News Everybody
Good News Everybody
I know....another Futurama sculpt.
I actually did attempt a more realistic sculpt, but it went horribly wrong. Possibly because I foolishly started without a reference picture. Anyway, to boost my fallen confidence I played safe and sculpted this. It went pretty well, I thought the lab coat would cause problems, but the hardest part was actually Benders eyes!
Anyway, must get a reference pic and have another crack at something more life like.
10:59 Posted in Scale Models | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
01/23/2007
Starting to sculpt
Well, I have'nt done a modelling post for a while, so I thought I'd do one on sculpting.
Now, first off, this is for people like me, not the experienced, but those who are thinking, hey, I'd like to give it a go, I wonder what you have to buy etc.
Myself, I started a couple of months ago. I'd taken O'Level Craft at school and loved it. Also I had a little play at my friends pottery when my mate Austin owned Spiral path Ceramics using earthenware clay.
However, I did'nt want to start thinking of buying a kiln and huge amounts of clay, so what do the pro's use?
Now, I must say that I had tried sculpting a few years ago, and bought a box of Sculpey. It turns out from comments I've read since that Sculpey is responsible for stopping a lot of people taking up this hobby. I did'nt get on with it very well and ended up using it for filling seams on resin models.
Model_Citizen
So, I was very interested to make a go of it this time. my first port of call was of course The Clubhouse where there is a forum dedicated to sculping, and this is intimidating, because these guys are the pro's. They do this for a living, and it shows.
Anyway, the clay to go for is called Super Sculpey (not Sculpey, as I'd bought years before).
Super Sculpey, it says:
Used by movie animation studios and professionals worldwide for prototypes, maquettes, and all kinds of dolls. Super Sculpey has a long track record as a superb clay for sculpting. The finest detail is achievable and added clay can be smoothed in seamlessly.
Polymer Clay is a highly versatile modelling material that is hardened by baking in the home oven. Once baked it is permanent and can be cut, sawn, glued, painted or added to and re-baked. It comes under the brand names of Fimo, Sculpey, Premo, and Creall-Therm to name those usually available in Britain. Polymer Clay is sold in a wide range of colours and these can be mixed together to make further colours. Most brands also produce a “transparent” or translucent clay which can be used on its own or mixed with colours to make delicate translucent pastel shades. There is also night-glow, various pearl and metallic clays and fluorescent clays. Doll makers are well provided for and all the manufacturers produce clays especially for dolls.
Now I had this info, the place I went to to buy it was: www.polymerclaypit where they do a good deal for a bulk purchase of Super Sculpey 8lb (3.6kg) - UK customers Colour: pink-beige £48.50
Now, as for what else you need this is what I was told. Because this pink/beige SS has an almost translucent quality to it, it's quite hard to see what's going on when your sculpting. So you also need to buy some Premo Sculpey in Black and White. What you do here is take a small slice of each and mix it in with the SS to get a flat grey media. Now because this is pretty tough on the wrists the pro's recommend also buying a Pasta Roller. I bought mine from Argos for about £12. The gears are a light metal and can't handle a huge amount of clay at once, so I found that if you make sausages and feed them through a bit at a time that's best.
One more thing to buy before you leave the shop, you might never need it, but some Super Clay Softener might come in handy if your clay should dry out over the years. just add a few drops and it will soften it again like magic.
Well, that's all the clay sorted out. I ordered mine in one big lump spending about £80. I know that sounds a lot but I reckon I've got a fair few years worth.
So, now you have the clay, what else do you need.
First, tools. The ultimate set of tools are dental instruments. I found a stall selling them at a local boot sale for 50p each and stocked up on a complete range. Also look out for loop knives, and a trusty scalpel. Other than that you can just make your own. Get some dowel, cut it into pencil lengths and just glue or drill things on the end. Guitar wire, paper clips, bits of wood all work great. i think the rule here is if you think it's what you need - try it.
The picture I've added also shows a palette knife, which is pretty useful. The green tools are rubbish, and the large double ended wooden handled tools are also not that good. i use them now and then, but the dental and loop tools are the workhorses.
What else....
Wire. For most things you need to make an armature. Dont be put off by this, as this can be as simple as a lump of clay with a wire sticking in it. But you will need some sort of flexible wire that can be bent with pliers. Other than that, a heat gun. Because SS is baked in the oven (I bake it for 30 mins at 150°, slightly longer and cooler than specified), when you've sculpted a bit and like it, just blast it on the lowest setting with your gun, let it cool and keep working. It really helps not to muck up what you've worked on, because SS is ultra sensitive. It will pick up every fingerprint if you let it, and is very malleable, so work and heat is a great way to work I've found.
Model_Citizen
Well, at time of writing I've finished 4 sculptures with a 5th almost done. My first two were Nibbler from Futurama and I also tried doing a female bust. Probably a bit adventurous for a first go, and they look a little rough, but you got to start somewhere. next I did Dr Zoidberg, again from Futurama. This went a little better, then I did Malfuntioning Eddie from the same show. I used some tin foil in this sculpture to pad out his stomach and save on using a really thick bit of clay.
Model_Citizen
Model_Citizen
I'm almost done with Slurms Mackenzie, and then I might try something a bit more adventurous and realistic. The great thing about Futurama is I have loads of reference pics to copy, which you will need to work out your model.
Well, that's my lot from my own experience. If you nip on over to The Clubhouse you'll get heaps more advice and tutorials as well as tips on DDVD's and books to help you. I have'nt seen those so can't comment.
Last but not least a couple of links that might help and wet your appetite.
Concept Art 1
Concept Art 2
12:20 Posted in Scale Models | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email this
12/04/2006
The Hulk...or...Making the Most of it...or...A Labour of Love
The Hulk...or...Making the Most of it...or...A Labour of Love
First a little history. I bought this months and months ago from a sculptor at The Clubhouse . It cost £60, which is a lot of money for me, but I really liked the look of this Hulk kit, in my opinion, the best I'd seen. I saw it at Buc Wheats excellent site and made some inquiries as to who the sculptor/supplier was. i found out it was fellow Clubhouse member Mikey B and placed an order. After a month or so with no contact I was getting a bit worried. I e-mailed and PM'd but got nowhere. In the end Uber Moderator "Spock" stepped it and helped me and other panicing customers get there kits. For me it took about 3 months and when it arrived I was none too pleased.
1. A view of the head. it was so bad my first thought was to bin it. Maybe garage Kit fans have become spoilt in the last years with kit's being produced that need hardly any clean up, but one look at this and I contemplated the months it would take to clean.
2. The head is'nt on it';s own. Take a look at the hands.
3. In this pic you can just make out a huge bubble waiting to cave in. It was really depressing to look at. As said £60 was a lot of dosh for me and it looked like it had gone down the drain.
4. Holes were'nt the only issue, there were resin protrusions aplenty. Now, a big question: Why did'nt I get my money back? Well, it took so long to get with so much "persuasion" I figured I'd never get the money. Also When I commented in the original post from Mikey about the quality I got no reply. At the time I was fuming and contacted other buyers to see if I'd been sold a duffer. it turned out I had'nt, they were all like this with customers saying they'd never make it. In Mikey's defence, it turned out he was going through a crisis, I dont know the nature of it, but having had them in my life it may have been very bad, at the time I did'nt care that much just thinking this is no way to run a business....now I can afford to be more philisophical and gracous....read on.
5. OK, well I thought about putting it back in the box (again) and putting it back on the shelf...yes, it really was that daunting, but instead I got out the dremmel and got to work.
6. The dremmeling I got done in 2 sittings, next it was time to fill. Some of the gaps were horrendous, and as a rule only the worst kit's I've done have needed a hacksaw on them!
7. The gaps between seams were pretty bad. i filled them with Sculpey, which i've got more confidence in now I've started sculpting a bit. i added some veins to mask the seams and blasted it with a heat gun to make it rock hard.
8. Legs, well i decided to pin these together. Although this is only a 1/6 figure because he's so muscley it's more like a 1/4 one. So I thought with all this weight a little pinning would'nt hurt. In case you dont know I'll just explain the easy way to pin.
9. basically, just put the bits together and make 4 pencil marks over the seam you want pinned. place the marks at 4 points around the area.
10. terrible picture, but the next step is to use a ruler to join the lines together, this will give you a cross....and X marks the spot. Easy huh?
11. Then just drill on the cross and insert the pin. I super glued the pin in and then glued the 2 together.
12. Well, this is the 3'rd priming. I've primed, filled, primed, filled then lost so much detail in the head I've dremmeled in the hair and eyes and primed again. This is the end result.
13. A few coats of grass green with my airbrush and the base coat is down. At this point I really started to enjoy this kit. For all the pain you cant get over how well this model has been sculpted. My plan now was to just go round the muscles in a darker colour, a style I've used before on military vehicles believe it or not.
14. Here he is finished! As said, for all the hassle Mikey B did a fantastic job on the sculpt and I'm glad I persevered with what may become one of the rarest hulk kits around. You can see the dark shading has gone down, and I've highlighted the veins with bright green. I wanted to make them noticeable and also thought it could show the Gamma pumping round his body.
15. The shorts I did in grey with some pastel on them to add age. The last thing I wanted to do at this stage was add washes that could run onto the skin, so pastels it was.
16. The base....it's kitty litter. no....really!
17. You can see on this close up i've lost a little detail on the face, but it's good enough.
18. Last pic, I added some brown to his hands and feet to show the use those fists have had. Thanks for reading this far. Mikey if you ever read this, all in all this was a great sculpt, well done. If you have one of these on the shelf, it's definatley worth the hours/weeks/months to finish it.
10:55 Posted in Scale Models | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this
09/15/2006
Fellow Model Bloggers
Fellow Model Bloggers
Here are 5 of the best fellow Modelling Bloggers I've come across.
Resin Dog
A great gallery, tips, work bench, reviews and show news.
Here Be Monsters
Not strictly a Blog I know, but John Allred's site needs to be seen!
ToddP
Becoming a very well known site with very detailed reviews.
Figure Dreams
A good gallery as well as a Blog section.
Sakurastar
Sakura offers a painting/building service, and a Blog that shows progress of her work.
Update:
Just now Thad from The Clubhouse has started a Blog, looks very promising: http://blog.garagekitzombie.com/
11:25 Posted in Scale Models | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
09/08/2006
Talk about Superdioramas!
I just saw this, then as I was looking at the photos I suddenly realised what scale it was.
Honestly, take a look and prepare to be gobsmacked!
Click Here
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08/24/2006
Silver Award
Just a quick post. I got my certificate yesterday for winning second place in the International Modeling Competition hosted by E2046. I took 2nd in the Diorama catagory for my model "It's Dead".
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08/21/2006
She's a big girl!
She's a big girl!
Ray Vandamme (aka Naked Potato) has produced 2 of my most favourite kits of recent years. Both of them Lara Croft from the hugely succesful Tomb Raider franchise.
The first was the 1/3 Bust which I finished last year and can be seen by clicking here:
by Model_Citizen
Recently Ray has finished altering this bust into a full 1/3 figure. Since I loved the bust so much I could'nt wait to get my hands on the full figure. There is a clothed and nude version available. I went for the clothed.
You can see the pieces here. Ray has taken every comment and advice to heart regarding the bust and fixed up all the small issues that modellers had with seams. What he has ended up with is a work of genius that all modellers should take note of. If all kits followed the simple but extremely effective breaks of this kit there would be a lot more happy builders without so much grey hair.
Here's a pic with my 1/6 Gladiator bust that I had just finished before starting this kit. You can get some idea of the size. Like the post says she's a BIG girl!
As I was saying, Ray has put all major seams along natural clothe lines. For instance, that big chunk of resin at the bottom of her head is not waste to be chopped off, but an extremely well fitting plug that slots into the top of the t-shirt. It really is a joy to see how it all fits together. The only seams to worry about are where the hands meet the arms.
I started and finished the boots first. I dont know why, but both Ray's Lara's have made me think of Mod looks. So I gave her some Union Jack boots and planned to give her a Who top.
I sprayed the skin in one sitting. I mixed up a lot of pale flesh and tanned flesh paint from MP Paints and gave her about 4 or 5 coats. Then using just pale flesh added highlights, and that was that. It did take patience, as my brush got clogged quite a bit with this amount of paint flowing through it, but I have to say, it was actually easier than a 1/6 figure! I had some paint leftover, which was just as well, as I did have a few nicks at the end that needed a slight bit of touch up.
I started work on the head last. I chopped the end off her pony tail and used a brush for the hair instead, there was a few strands left over which I thought I'd attach to the sides in front of her ears. Also I sed some very thin wire for some strands coming down at the top.
All that was left was to put her together. I wanted a base for her and knocked something up in clay. I painted it to resemble marble which is more in keeping with the bright shiny look of her clothes.
And now the finished pics, as you ccan see she only just fitted into my light tent:
Hope you enjoy. if you want one of these colossal beauties then Ray can be contacted at The Clubhouse under the name of Naked Potato.
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07/24/2006
Alien DVD Head
I managed to get one of these 25th Anniversary Alien DVD Sets in HMV during there sale for £50.
When it arrived, though impressive (and heavy), I did'nt like the overall matt black look to it. Due to it's size, which I believe is 1/2, I thought i'd try my hand at some oil painting, as I did'nt want my usual acrylics drying out before I'd got round this huge figure.
by Model_Citizen
by Model_Citizen
by Model_Citizen
I have'nt worked with oils since college, and though not my favourite medium, it seemed the only one I could think of to achieve this.
So, after some masking and undercoating, I started work. I bought some very cheap oils (yes, you can criticise me now) from the pound store, and mixed with a little white spitit I started.
by Model_Citizen
All went well, until I tried doing some washes. The result was horrendous.
by Model_Citizen
So, I started to think of a way to recover the work I'd done. I came up with an idea for mixing inks with Johnsons klear, that would add layers of translucent colour and start to give the Alien a shine.
This seemed to go OK, so I finished off with some brown then red ink washes. Finally I highlighted some of the pipeing with umber and reds. A thought kept coming to me as I was doing this, all the pipes meks it feel rather robotic, and at one point I considered following this thought and making it a robot!
Anyway, I did'nt and stayed with what I had.
by Model_Citizen
by Model_Citizen
by Model_Citizen
by Model_Citizen
by Model_Citizen
Gallery of the day at E2046:
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07/17/2006
Camper Creative Works
Since my time as a member of The Clubhouse I've come across some of the mose talented scale modellers on the planet. Some build and paint models, some sculpt models and some do both, these are the most intimidating LOL
I've bought a few busts from Jeff Camp of Camper Creative Works , both of which have been of excellent quality. Namely the Steve McQueen tribute to The Great Escape "The Cooler King"
by Model_Citizen
and the excellent new bust of Indiana Jones form Raiders of the Lost Ark "Indy with Idol"
by Model_Citizen
Anyway, I've come to have a lot of respect for Jeff's work as a sculptor and a painter, just look at his gallery to see how these busts are painted properly LOL. Well, last week I saw something that just blew me off my feet. Just when you think you've seen everything something like this comes along. Now you tell me, is this a model or a painting:
You were wrong! It's a model. I've never seen anything like this! Again, go over to jeff's site and view his gallery for more images of this incredible bit of work as well as a host of iother superb pieces and there's also a couple of kits you can buy too.
Visit Here
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07/05/2006
Scale Model World
There's a brand new site about to hit the net! It's so new only the forum is available at present, but people are signing up as I write. It covers all aspects of the scale modelling hobby from Military to Dinosaurs.
If you have any interest in this hobby then this may be a good site to make your home.
To register click HERE and follow the instructions at the top.
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07/03/2006
EZ Skin
Model Citizens EZ Skin
I thought I'd do a quick tutorial on painting skin....the easy way.
It involves a bit of skill, but nothing like that which is required if you want to airbrush.
I've used this method lots of times, so without further ado, here we go.
After priming the model, I paint over the skin with white primer (from MP Paints, as are all the paints I use), now if there's going to be a tricky part this is coming. After it's dry I paint the skin with Pale Flesh. When this is dry I get both Pale Flesh and Tanned Flesh out, tops open and start adding Pale Flesh again to the model, but instead of letting it dry I add a bit of Tanned Flesh on as well and basically start blending it all together on the model. You can be as clever as you like at this stage by adding slightly more Pale Flesh to the lighter areas or a bit more Tanned Flesh to the darker areas, but the thing is you have to move pretty quickly, as these acrylic paints dry very quickly. Try and avoid using water and use them neat. If you muck up, just let it dry and give it another go, I've been known to have 3 go's on it to get it right, but it's quick, and once you get the nack, it's pretty easy. There, that's the hardest part over.
Next I add a bit of Chestnut Brown Ink. Now this I do water down. Basically there's no reason to add this neat as it will look bad, but you can opt to go to light, and if you need it darker, then add another wash after. The trick to this is to add the ink all over the skin otherwise it will leave a water mark on the edge, though again you can use this for a dirty sweaty look if required. It's best to let it dry naturally, though near the end a hairdryer can be used if you dont make the ink run.
Next step is more ink, this time some Chocolate Brown. I just did the exact same thing I did before. I also took a pic of the brush, that is the only one I've used so far on this kit. Also, dont worry about the eyes, you can sort all that out after.
Last stage, told you it was EZ!
This next bit is where I add the highlights. I'm just going to add a bit of drybrushed white, or cream, to the face. Again, err on the side of caution, and go lighter rather than darker....what i mean is use less paint rather than more, if it's not light enough you can always add another pass.
There. Finished. All I did next was paint the eyes, add some Tanned Flesh to the lips, with a bit of light red and ink washed and drybrushed the clothes in the same way I did the skin.
Finished item below.
I was very pleased to see that Indy made Gallery Of The Day at E2046
10:45 Posted in Scale Models | Permalink | Trackbacks (0) | Email this
Aliens
I was very pleased to see that quite an old model of mine, the Alien Vs Power Loader, which I recently reshot got Gallery Of The Day at E2046
If you'd like to take a look at the full size images, they can be found Here
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06/19/2006
LXG: Read the book, seen the movie and made the model.
"The League Of Extraordinary Gentleman"
I'm one of those people who actually liked the film. The idea of putting together Alan Quatermain (note, that's Quat, not Quart) with Captain Nemo, Dorian Grey, Dr Henry Jeckyl and his not so tame alter ego Edward Hyde was just brilliant. Throw into the mix a common thief Rodney Skinner who has taken the formula to become The Invisible Man, Wilhimina Harker, the last victim of Dracula and also a young American Tom Sawyer, and you have a rip-roaring adventure.
I also liked the usage of Professor Moriarty as the villain hiding behind the position of "M" a role more widely known in the Bond world. Moriarty is using the alias 'The Fantom", linked but not the same character as the Phantom of the Opera.
The novelisation by Kevin J Anderson, adds a little more to the story, for instance we meet the character Campion Bond, an underling of M, a created character when James Bond was not allowed to be used. Also, we find out that Special Agent Tom Sawyer is seeking revenge for his murdered partner Huck Finn. We also learn that The Invisible Man is displaying the characteristics that H.G. Wells believed would happen to someone with this phenomenon i.e. they would have a godlike complex, basically doing what they want at the expense of lesser mortals. This is seen when we learn Skinner was caught at a Girls Academy after incidents of Immaculate Conception. And lastly at the end of the book we learn of the sightings of gas emissions from Mars, which is of course a reference to the original works.
Before that I must mention the models of the film. The pure glossy white Victorian look of Nemo's vehicles, with silver chrome embossing I thought was wonderful. There are 2 models available at present, both injection plastic from the company Wave. They are the Nautilus and the Automobile.
I have both in my gallery and they can be viewed here:
Nautilus
Automobile1 Automobile2
Next we come to the start of it all. Alan Moore's graphic Novels, illustrated by Kevin O'Neill.
The first sees the League, this time only 5 strong. Quatermain, a very old drug addict, Nemo, an aggressive Indian, Dr Jekyl timid as usual, Mr Hyde, who steals the show whenever he appears and Mina Murrey, still the victim of Dracula, but with none of the abilities displayed by her film couterpart. and Hawley griffin, the original Invisible Man.
They set off at M's request through Bond to track down a chinaman in the west end, who I gather is Fu Man Chu, though never actually named, this is so the Napoleon of crime can once again rule unchallenged. The mission to snare the League is to retrieve Cavorite, the substance invented to reach to the moon.
Also worth mentioning is the short story at the end where Quatermain after taking the drug Tuduki, has an astral voyage where he meets Randolph Carter, Carters Civil War hero Uncle John and the Time traveller. Together they learn about the "Others" from the outer realms and do battle of a sort.
Uncle John is of course John Carter of Mars, who we will see shortly....
The second sees the last outing for the team in this guise (yes, there have been teams before, and will be again!), it starts with an uprising on Mars led by John Carter with help from Gulliver to get rid of the invaders. These invaders flee to Earth to start the War of the Worlds. The Martians proove a bit to efficient and the League splits, with Nemo and Hyde left to defend the Thames and Mina and Allan in search of a mysterious Dr. Moreau who has something that will help win the war...and as for Griffin....well, read it for yourself. The book finishes with the splitting of the League, but fear not, the Black Dossier is out soon....
13:17 Posted in Scale Models | Permalink | Trackbacks (0) | Email this
06/06/2006
Fatima gets noticed
I'm absolutely amazed at this. I was experementing on doing a figure completely in pastel shades. The result was very pale and delicate as I hoped, but weather it made a good finished kit, well I was in 2 minds.
Anyway, I was very dubious about even showing her off, but I did, and E2046 has made her gallery of the day!
Anyway, for a larger look at her please click on my gallery to the right.
09:39 Posted in Scale Models | Permalink | Trackbacks (0) | Email this
05/22/2006
Motoko Kusanagi gets lit up
This is a project that I started a few years ago. I say a few years ago, because that is when I bought the model of Major Motoko Kusanagi, the lead female from the Ghost in the Shell series. This model in particular goes by the name Hard Disc. For the uninitiated, the series deals with a pseudo future where people can have upgrades and cybernetic enhancements as well as sockets for connecting to the net etc.
Motoko has had more than her share of models sculpted after her, this being my second, almost time Buc Wheat did a page about her for his excellent site Here eh Buc?
Anyway, here are the bits. You'll notice a tonne of wiring comes with the kit, and this is what has taken me so long to get round to doing. I always wanted to change some of this wiring for Glo Wire, or Electroluminescent wire, or even Surelight as it's called. it's basically very thin neon tubing.
1:
So, first step was the soldering of the kit that I bought on eBay. I chose the thinnest wiring, just over 1mm thick. This wire is stripped at the end to reveal 3 smaller wires, some are as thin as a human hair, which means the chances of a mistake are huge in the trimming and soldering stage.
What I found worked best was to solder the thin wire onto a thicker more robust peice, which in turn was soldered to the tranceiverthingumybob that plugs into the power supply. When I had a join and this was tested I immidiatley coated the join in hot glue to protect the fragile soldering. This was repeated 3 times, and tested along the way to make sure it was glowing correctly.
2:
A nice easy bit now, here's a pot I dug out of my bits box. I'm going to house the wiring in here and sit the model on top of it. I'm undercoating it in and ou for a good tough finish.
3:
Sorry for the blurry picture, by now I've pretty much finished the base and fitted the wires through some holes I've dremelled. I had to make sure the wire passed cleanly so not to pull on the connections. When it's through, and tested again, I put some super glue in place to hold the wiring some more.
4:
Now onto the model, it's a very clean casting, and fits together very well with it's own locater pins in resin to aid the join. There's just a bit of work needed on the legs. For this type of thing I use anything, I've used Milliput, hot wax, Super Sculpey, but this time I'm using Mr Putty, which is smeared on, wiped clean and then dries very quickly.
5:
The finished seam. I have a tendency to add superglue to things to fill in tiny gaps after and then sand down smooth.
6:
now, a first, the masking. Again, I've used many things for masking, white tack, cling film, tape, but this time I want to try latex rubber. It's used for mold making, and I'm thinking it will do for such a complicated shape. I followed the instructions and added it to my paint job with a soft brush. it looks like milk but dries clear. i gave it about 3 coats and left it over night.
Here's a quick look after the third coat
7:
Well, amazing! It worked, and so easily. I gave the model a few coats of silver clear cote and when dry just peeled off the mask. I'll definatley use that again.
8:
I finish the paint job on Motoko with metallic colours, the idea being that I want as many reflective surfaces as I can get.
9:
Well, here are the finished images. I've added the wires, trying to make the 3 Glo Wires prominent. I rebuilt the hair piece too, instead of using the resin lump of wires I made one out of real wire.
10:
The wiring is crazy to add on, and I kept having to tighten it, glue it with PVA or super glue and then go back to it. I drilled plenty of holes in here for the wiring to go beforehand.
11:
The first close up.
12:
I should note that the model has creases and grooves in it where the wire should go, though I added a few more too.
13:
And finally a brief shot showing her illuminated. The exposure on the camera has compensated for the light so it's not as contrasty as it should appear.
14:
All in all a good project, and she now has pride of place in the living room. I'm waiting to add an X 10 unit to the plug so she can be controlled by remote for on and off.
Update:
Very pleased to hear that Motoko made the gallery of the day at E2046:
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05/11/2006
And another fellow Blogger
I must just add a quick post here regarding another member of The Clubhouse .
He's Todd P and he's been very busy the last few months promoting new scupltures.
He can be found here by clicking his avatar:
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A Fellow Blogger
My fellow modeller at The Clubhouse has got a Blog going. He's Andre Kevermann from Brazil. he has a great Blog site dedicated to moddeling and sculpting. He's also got a terrific "links" section that can be used as a portal to many great modelling sites.
Pay Andre a visit by clicking his avatar here:
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03/29/2006
Memro March 06
Had a great time at Memro on the weekend. What is Memro? It's a science fiction/fantasy convention that takes place a few times every year at the NEC in Birmingham. Website: Here
Waiting at the gates
Right from the word go it's fun. There are two types of tickets. The main ticket let's you in when the gates open at 11, but you can also buy an early bird ticket that get's you access at 9, 2 hours before the horde decends. The advantages of this are you get to see the opening procession, as Darth Vader along with about 20 Stormtroopers, Boba Fett, Tusken raiders, Alien Marines, Super Heroes, Matrix characters arrive to take up position at the barriers. It's these guys who make sure you got your ticket!
Also, getting in early means you miss the clamour to get autographs. There's a wide variety of stars every time, I usually look beforehand at who I'd like to see and then get the autographs first. this time round I wanted to meet Lou Ferringo, I was a great fan of The Hulk when I was a kid, and Lou still has that crazy Hulk look!!!!
This is Lou with my son Nathan.
I also wanted to see little Kenny Baker. Meeting anyone from the original Star Wars trilogy is like brushing up against a genuine slice of history. He was great fun, but took a real shine to my sister....it was hard seperating them, the more they talked the more squiggles and beep-beep's he was drawing on my autograph LOL.
This is Kenny with my daughter Elionwy.
My sister Alison got all excited when she saw Kiran Shah, she'd seen something recently with him in which had scared her husband, so of course she got an autograph for him.
Also spotted there was Flash Gordon, pictured seated alongside Dale and Prince Vultan. Some of these guys look nothing like how they used too. So, when you've collected all your autographs, it's time to do some serious shopping!
Here are the kids in front of a typical stall, you can pretty much find anything here, but a plan before helps as there is so much gear here you could easily spend all your cash in the first 5 mins.
Also, as you walk around, you'll find familiar faces (and masks) walking around with you. it's great to stop them and have a picture with them. Here's Spiderman, I also saw Trinity, Batman, a Dalek and various bad Jedi.
These guys were making a lot of noise, Red Dwarf still has a huge following. There was also a big Bond presence with 3 Miss Moneypenny's amongst others.
An absolutely great day out, I should have taken more pictures, but it's all a bit overwhelming and I forgot LOL. But there were some great modelling stalls I should have photographed as well as more of the stars. Still, there's always next time, which for me will probably be next year when my wallets recovered.
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03/20/2006
The Golden Years
This is a real blast from the past. My sister was over last Friday and she bought with her all my folks old photo albums (we're working on a 50th Wedding Anniversary suprise for them). Anyway, as we're hunting through the albums I saw this:
This was taken back in the 70's on my bed. It's an Eagle transporter from Space 1999 obviously doing some work with an Apollo moon landing vehicle and some Airfix 1/72 astronauts.
Those were the golden years of modelling. In those days I would get my pocket money, save up then nip into the "Make A Model" shop in Newport South Wales. You'd get a ticket on the bus showing a little man saying "Go by bus" and it would cost 5p.
I always chose sci-fi kits, I remember I had these kits above as well as the old MPC R2 D2, C3PO and Darth Vader with his glow in the dark lightsaber. I also had some Captain Scarlet kits, basically anything that looked spacey.
Then, I would rush home, go up to my box bedroom, get on the bed, put the kit together with some airfix cement. Paint it after borrowing my dads Humbrol enamels and have it all finished in time for Basil Brush and Dr. Who.
When I finally left home in 89 my Dad with (with my acceptance) boxed up all my old models (except for a few which by then were starting to look quite good and I gave away to some friends) and gave the lot to a young boy down the road.
The bedspread did'nt last long either as I later spilt red gloss all over it!
it's made me come over all remeniscent seeing this old picture. I even remember the camera. A Kodak 110 that I got for Xmas. Ah, those golden carefree days :)
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03/16/2006
Paints and Airbrushing
How do you mix paint for airbrushing, and what do you use?
I keep seeing this same question over and over on different modelling forums. It's a recurring theme, and though I'm no expert I'll tell you what I do.
The paint I use for all my modelling is MP Paints, from Gamecraft (I could'nt find a website for them but they are based in Liverpool and there address can be easily found on the net), I buy mine from D9 Models in Newport, South Wales.
I know others who swear by other brands like Tamiya, Vallerjo or Mr Colour, but I'm going to tell you what I do with MP, though I expect the formula would be the same for the rest too.
The actual paints come in nice screw top bottles with a huge variety which means I hardly do much mixing and use a lot of the paint straight from the bottle, they also have a range of inks. The bottles are great for reuseing to store your mixed colours in, though I find they last so long it's easy to run out of jars. Now I've spent hours looking for small inexpensive jars for keeping my mixes in, they do sell spare jars in hobby stores, but I found they are either the same cost as the paint or more expensive! This seems ridiculous to me, why would you pay the same price for a small jar empty as one full of paint? Incidentally, MP Paints are £1 a pot.
So after much searching the result I came up with was Sample Bottles, yes that's right, for doing samples in LOL, you can buy them in 10's, 20's and 30's on eBay for around £6-7. I think I got 30 for £12. This worked out at the cheapest bottle I could find (pictured at the top on the left).
Incidentally I keep one of those sample Bottles full of washing up liquid, when I've finished painting and cleaned my brush I dip the end in the liquid and it helps keep a nice tip to the brush as well as look after it.
OK, so for mixing for my airbrush it's pretty simple. I have a bottle of water that has boiled water (now cooled) in it, this I use for the mixing rather than straight from the tap. It's the equivalent of distilled water with impurities boiled out of it. I roughly mix 50-50 paint and water, though sometimes a little less water. You should get a pretty runny consistency, too this I add a couple of small drops of the washing up liquid to help break up surface tension. Some people sieve there mixes but I've never bothered.
What your aiming for in spraying is a nice fine spray, not watery that leaves droplets on the surface, but not too dry that your airbrush clogs up every few minutes. Also remember that your not going to get a clean finish in one spray, especially if it's a darker colour (lighter are more forgiving).
One tip is to have a bit of card next to you and before you spray the model, just put your finger down on the trigger whilst aimed at the card, but not back, any droplets on the tip will fly off onto the card rather than your model.
I keep a hairdryer next to my spraying area and when I've given it a light coat, I give it a blast of heat (you can usually see the paint drying very quickly) then re-coat. I might do this 3-7 times to get a nice flat finish.
I have put inks neat through the airbrush, but found this can be a bit hit and miss, with glossy finishes where you dont want them and sometimes the ink will not dry very well. I've also tried mixing ink and paint and water together, but again this can be hit and miss, so I "go for what I know" and now just use paint.
Well, I hope that helps some. As usual because this is'nt a definitive tutorial, and things may be different for your paints and airbrush, my advice is to head on over to The Clubhouse where you are almost gauranteed someone has the same set-up as you.
Good luck spraying!
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01/23/2006
The Eyes Have It
My second project for 06 was a bit of light relief after The Undefeated mammoth task. So I went for the last bust I had from NT Productions . Busts, and also SD (Super Deformed) figures are a great way to unwind after a long project, there's very little building, if any, and you can relax and just enjoy the paint job. They're also great for doing experimentation on....so I thought I'd try the glass eye technique on this Joker bust.
So, first thing first, after the minimal cleaning and undercoating this is what I had:
Then I took my Dremel with a quite large flat ended sander attached: These tools are invaluable for the resin modeller, they're great for cleaning joints, adding detail back into hair, and also cleaning needle files!
So, all I did was drill a small hole about 0.5mm deep in the eyes.
Then I took a smaller blunt sander. This pic shows the usual amount of bits that you can get with a small drill. I picked mine up on eBay with But It Now for about £6!
This next picture shows the smaller hole drilled deeper in the middle of the first:
Then I used some of that Crystal Resin stuff, you may have used it as a kid to make paperweights out of leaves or jewellery. It mixes 2 parts to 1 to form a hard clear resin. i used a toothpick to mix and apply the tiny amount into the now painted holes. I painted the outer hole yellowish and the inner one dark green
And the finished article is here. The picture on the right probably shows the glassy look a bit better. It was quite a nice experiment, and with all such things I think you realise now you know hoew it's done, the way to do it a bit better next time.
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01/16/2006
The Undefeated
The Undefeated.
This refers to the Gundam in the largest scene I've ever tackled. I got the idea from an opening scene in the Anime series Full metal Panic and just thought Wow, what a cool idea for a model scene, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
I took some Work In Progress pictures along the way, so sit back and see the drama unfold LOL
Here is the beginning. I had this 1/35 Blackhawk under a desk for ages, thinking one day I'd make a Desert Storm dio, but that went out the window in favour of this idea (it also means I have a spare Abrams Tank I'll need to think of something for).
Here is the troops and the canoe (see if you can spot it later on). Also note my first mistake. The pilots don't have legs so I made them some very simple ones from Milliput, unfortunatley when I came to fit them they were too big and the heads came out the roof! So I chucked them away, you really dont notice that they have'nt got legs in the finished scene.
Here I am building the Gundam, and next mistake. In hindsight, it would have been a lot simpler building it in parts because the painting was quite tricky when complete.
Also take pity on the tiny amount of space I had to make this huge beast!
The undercoating has begun. Also notice the helicopter is on a dowel pole fixed into a base. The base was filled with cement to take the weight. Third and Fourth mistake: The base still could'nt take the finished weight so I had to add another secondry base. And also the pole was'nt strong enough to hold it all upright without bending so I had to add an anchor line to the tail.
You can also see that I've sprayed a simple chamo scheme onto the chopper, which was undercoated in the blue colour using Halfords auto spray. White and Red also used for other parts.
Here is a close up of the wire coathanger (how hard was it to find one of those!) that I will use in the hook gun assembly to help keep the robot up in the air. You can also see the troops have been added to the chopper, and the windows and doors fitted.
Here's a shot of the jetpack showing the compromise I made in weathering. I love the really clean crisp looks of Gundams and also the weathered look, so went somewhere in the middle with a super clean look only weathered where the exhaust fumes would be. The shot also shows my "good" brushes, the chunky handled Revell brand.
OK, here come the finished shots:
Here are the full shots. It's around 3' high so would'nt fit in my light tent. I had to wait for a sunny day and take some pictures by the window.
Just a quick update. I'm very proud to say this scene made Gallery Of The Day at E2046
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12/19/2005
Photography Update
Well, I've been having some trouble with my light tent set-up. I just could'nt get this Batwoman bust photographed properley. There was just too much glare (still) and even some noise. So I scoured the net for help and got quite a bit at the EZ Cube site Here .
Also I got some help at The Clubhouse about lamp positioning.
So, here's my fist pic:
You can see it's pretty dreadful, and a real dissapointment when you spend so long working on a kit and then the photo turns out like this!
So this is what I did. I took these photo's with simulated 100W energy saving bulbs in Anglepoise lamps (better to position) about 30-40 cm away from the light tent. I changed the backdrop (I think the black velvet was effecting the exposure) and used different camera settings: Aperture priority set to the smallest hole (F8.0) with a +1.3 exposure compensation. I also used the remote to take the picture and the shutter speed was about 6-7 secs!
All this info was gleened from the net, did it work?
Well here's the new pics:
Result: I'm very pleased.
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11/04/2005
The Model Museum
The Clubhouse must be the biggest modelling community on the net. Not only packed with modellers just like myself, all at various stages of skill level, but also the sculptors and producers that make those products we're so fanatical about.
Recently, The Clubhouse has been spotlighting some of the areas of the site that are lesser used. For instance, there is a FAQ section covering nearly every aspect of the hobby HERE and, even more breathtaking, a gallery of some of the finest built models you'll find anywhere on the net, This gallery also contains an excellent search function as well as a dealer locator. Want to take a look? Warning, you might not surface again for hours! But here it is: Model museum
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10/17/2005
Dragonet
I've been asked on more than one occasion to part with one of my beloved models for a heap of cash. Unfortunatley I've turned them all down. I just find it so hard to part with a model that I've invested so much time and effort into.
So where can you buy finished models, that you know are going to be good quality and wonderfully painted?
Let me introduce you to:
Dragonet, AKA John Pilkington, a fellow Welshman, has been selling beautifully made up models as far back as I can remember. I was first awed by his work when I came across it on the old Gremlins In The Garage site, now John is a regular contributor to the Total Model site, and if you'd like to look at his gallery there, then just click HERE.
To have a look at John's site and see what he's currently got for sale, or contact him with questions then just click the Dragonet logo.
12:38 Posted in Scale Models | Permalink | Trackbacks (0) | Email this
10/12/2005
Making a Photographic Studio for £59
I've been a modeller for years and years now, but it's only in the last 5 years I've made any effort to display my models professionaly, which is crazy when you think about it...why spend weeks and months on a kit and then take a quick snap of your most accomplished work to date with a cheapy camera on your back patio (Yes I used to do that).
It's only in the last year or so that I've felt like I've gotten anywhere with my photos in any sort of controlled environment, and only recently that I think I've finally got somewhere worth mentioning about.
So, here goes with a quick tutorial on how I made up a small photo studio, and how I display the results.
The light tent (pictured above) is the best way I've found of controlling a diffused light. Why is that important? Because before I invested (£35 for an 80cm cube from eBay) I was having major problems with glare. A strong light source just can't seem to stop things looking shiny.
(Total So Far= £35)
Take a look at these two images of a Steve McQueen bust that particularly frustrated me:
Old:
New:
The newer image shows a lot less glare, just look at the hand and face, but also look at the colours in the jacket and base. The second is much more real to the finished item.
So, once you've bought your light tent, I built a frame around the edge. On hindsight I think I should have made it a bit bigger, I chose a 1 meter size, but the wood was pretty cheap, just £2.50-5.00 for 2.5 meter lengths at B&Q.
(Total So Far= £45)
The next and last three bits needed are as follows:
If you have'nt allready got one, you'll need an extension lead. About £5
(Total So Far= £50)
Also, while I was at B&Q I bought a set of energy saving bulbs (pack of 6 for £9). I find that energy saving bulbs, apart from being cheaper to run, give off a purer white than a normal bulb. I know some people swear by halogen bulbs, but this seemed to work well (actually that's for you to decide when you see the finished article).
(Total So Far= £54)
And lastly, I bought about 5 clip on lamps. They are brilliant, and I bought all of them from my local pound shop. Yes, just £1 each.
(Total So Far= £59)
So, after I positioned the lamps around the cube, it's just a case of swithing it all on, letting the bulbs warm up a bit and taking the shots.
This is the second digital camera I've owned, the first was a Sony F505V and was about 3MP, I've just invested in an 8MP Olympus C8080, this is a beauty of a camera and won best of class at
Digital Photography Review
So I should be future proofed for the forseeable future. (It also takes hi-res video, which I have set up on a 1GB flash card, pictures on a 1GB XD card, it can use either at the touch of a button).
Photo Manipulation:
I'm not a big fan of this at all. I like people to see as near as possible what it is I've made and painted. however, being in the digital graphics business for the last 14 years I've learned a few tricks. I'll show you the one I use most:
Before:
After:
You might not like the second image, but it's the one that truly resembles the model. All I did was use a simple correction filter in Adobe Photoshop (sorry, that's the only package I use for Jpeg images), it's the Auto Levels command and 99 times out of 100 will give you the correct level of your colours. For instance, I know the background should be white and Auto Levels has put that right as well as everything else.
There. Finished. Hope this helps some of you with what has been a learning curve for me for a few years.
11:20 Posted in Scale Models | Permalink | Trackbacks (0) | Email this
09/30/2005
Fraggensteins World Of Monsters
I've not come across many modellers from Wales that like Garage Kits, so I was very pleased when Fraggenstein joined The Clubhouse
Now, Fraggenstein, or as some know him Peter, has started his own website displaying the incredible horror kits he builds and paints. WARNING! I've looked at this site and there is not one bad build up here.
Just click here:
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Howls Moving Castle Paper Model
For anyone who missed the free Epson download of the excellent paper model, I trauled the web and found that there's still a download site here:
PDF FILE
50MB - Not a small download - 26 pages.
You'll need instructions:
INSTRUCTIONS
Download these while you can, and try to keep them handy for others in the future
10:26 Posted in Scale Models | Permalink | Trackbacks (0) | Email this
09/05/2005
Banner Me
I've seen a lot of sites now use a simple banner sytem for linking, so I thought I'd get in on the act and make one too. So if you would like to link me to your site (and please do) then go right ahead and take a copy of the banner above and link to: http://modelcitizen.blogspirit.com/
Thanks for all that do.
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08/30/2005
I'm in heaven.
Just found a new site....well, actually I was sent the link from a fellow modeller. The site is called E2046. Not only do they have a great shop selling anime kits, but they also have a very good multinational forum. There are competitions, from which you can win shop vouchers, and an excellent gallery showing the very high level of skill amongst the mecha and anime model makers there.
Well worth a visit.
16:27 Posted in Scale Models | Permalink | Trackbacks (0) | Email this
08/08/2005
The Usual Suspects
Here are some of the most basic methods for finishing models. Most modelling sites have at least one or two of these methods listed, but for a beginner they can still be a bit tricky to figure out what is going on. So, here's my crack at the usual suspects with as little gobbledygook as possible.
So, first here's:
Drybrushing
The point of this is to expose the detail in your kit, you know, all those little raised rivets or creases or even to show off all the pits and scratches. How you do this is pretty simple. Just get a really old brush. In fact you can even buy new ones from your local pound shop in different sizes (like the thick stubbly brushes you were given in primary school to paint with). The point is it should be thick with short hairs and not really needed for anything else as this method of painting is a brush killer. Anyway, all you do is get a lighter paint than the one your going to drybrush onto, put it on your brush, then wipe as much of it off as you can (I just brush it on my work board) until practically nothing is coming off, then quickly brush it over the surface of the kit. What happens is the paint that is left on the brush will stick to the raised bits and give you a nice weathered but detailed look.
Washes
This is almost the exact opposite to drybrushing. With this your making a very watery mix of paint or ink with the intention of letting the colour seep into all the nooks and crannies in your model. This is great for surfaces that have grooves or panelling, but also good for hair and clothes. It's best to do a lighter wash and build it up over several coats for subtlety, or just do one big one for oil spillages or rust streaks. It's time consuming though as you need to let it dry as naturally as possible, a hairdryer can move the still wet paint around too m