Hi all. I am finally ready to start on my build of the Battlestar Galactica. I've only recently come back to modelling and this will be my first build of a kit popped in the 21st century. Hopefully it goes together better than the two "vintage" 70s kits I've done so far.

I am planning to light the kit, which will be a first for me if I pull it off. I'll also be adding the Paragrafix photoetch and ACreations Aztek decals to the build.

I've started with adding hull inserts where the fighter bays retract into the hull. These have red lights when extended so I've cut some holes out to mount in some light through.

Then I began mounting the hull insert photoetch. The original kit part has no surface detail in this part and the hull inserts are designed to add some relief detail in here.

I had to also cut holes through the PE to allow the light through. Unfortunately the job wasn't done a cleanly as I would like. Can anyone recommend a way to cut/punch square holes about 0.5 cm or so square into a piece of thin brass?

I've also begun prepping the nose for lighting, by installing some white LEDs and then lining the lower part of the nose with metal foil.

Really looking forward to that APC Kaf...My and i'm sure most guys' favourite episode in the Alien legacy.

Hi, guys! I bought a house in November so I've been crazy busy, but as of this evening I am back in business with a big new work space and looking forward to getting started. Just a few things to finish up and then I'll be ready to start on my Aliens APC!

All the builds look awesome so far!

silentbob33

Looks better and better! I'll have to pick up some of that masking film the next time I'm at Hobby Lobby

me too. was at the LHS yesterday and noticed a number of different metal colors in VALLEJO AV. i think i will pick up a couple so i can have different colored panels. never done that before and it's that or try out my COMART gray washes airbrush set to get different colors.

Yeah the X-Wing looks fantastic!

REALLY great work on the x-wing!! Fantastic.

Nice job on the X-wing so far!

She is looking great.

That X Wing is looking absolutely spectacular..what a build!

Looks better and better! I'll have to pick up some of that masking film the next time I'm at Hobby Lobby

Thanks for the compliments so far! Update on the frisket use. SUCCESS! Better than I thought. I took the sticker sheet that came with the kit, taped it down, then taped a sheet of frisket over the top of that. I simply traced each "red 5" marking with a fresh X-Acto blade, and weeded out the bits that need exposure to paint.

For frisket film, I used  Grafix All-Purpose Masking Film, clear, .002 low tack. This stuff is awesome! I did not affect the underlying paintjob, and I had no bleed through. I got the stuff at Hobby Lobby...yes, that Hobby Lobby.

I'm finishing up the rest of the markings, adding the rest of the decals...and still deciding if I want to install the landing gear with the "s-foils" in non-attack position, or mound as if in flight with a nice wood base and brass rod supporting it....

Next steps:

Final painting, little weathering and dry-brushing and decals, gloss coat, oils, flat coat. Done.

silentbob33

Looks great so far! I really like the weathering

 i agree. it's art and i like the colors and the weathering. of course i don't know much about scifi (except for STARGATE, BABYLON 5, FARSCAPE, FIREFLY/SERENITY,THE HONORVERSE, THE FIRST FORMIC WARS) which may have been why i was the lead scifi judge at the last local contest. i will be starting on my T-2 HKT this week. less lighting than AHK.

if you want an insane color discussion, go to ships and ask what color the gunport line was on CONSTITUTION.

Looks great so far! I really like the weathering

Got a lot of work done this week. I completed panel shading using Tamiya Flat Black and Flat White and painted the exhausts Dark Iron. When complete I temporarily attached the canopy, and painted the whole ship FS 16440 Model Master Gloss Gull Gray. I used Testors thinner, and used a series of light coats with enough to barely cover the painted panel lines. I panted the nose Tamiya Radome Tan

When the paint was dry, I began the weathering process on the front end. Instead of using the decals, I masked and painted the marking for a more realistic effect. I began bringing out panel lines and initial weathering using Vallejo Black Wash. Word of advice, use only on glossy surfaces otherwise you will have a lovely stain you can't get rid of when used on a matt surface. However, I really like this stuff, and it really brings out the panels and adds more character to the X-Wing. I masked the canopy with Bare Metal and painted over the base gray with Tamiya Sky Grey. After some initial weathering on the canopy, I removed the Bare Metal Foil, cleaned up the glass with turpentine, and polished the glass to a nice shine (The canopy was Future dipped before masking and painting, by the way!)

Also also finished the Artoo unit, polishing up the primer with a fine sanding stick, then applying Mr. Metal Color chrome silver by brush since it's such a small area. I let it dry, then buffed to give it a nice shine. I hand painted the blue squares on top of the Artoo unit since the decal was useless, then applied the remaining decals with the help of MicroSol/Set. I brushed over the unit with a couple coats of Future to seal in the decals and finish. The "instrument unit" behind Artoo was given a wash of black oil paint thinned heavily, the drybrushed to pop-out the details.

X-Wing update. I've done some partial priming after I completed assembly of the main components. This is the tough part, what to assemble so I can paint the X-Wing properly. The kit went together for the most-part OK, but there are some problems with gaps you see until AFTER priming and assembly. (Sigh!).

X-Wing update. I've done some partial priming after I completed assembly of the main components. This is the tough part, what to assemble so I can paint the X-Wing properly. The kit went together for the most-part OK, but there are some problems with gaps you see until AFTER priming and assembly. (Sigh!).

Agreed SilentBob, and ya know, I'm going to just "trust my feelings" on this one.

I agree with you Beckyhead. There's not really a way to prove what an X-Wing "really" looked like. I typically paint mine white with a few light grey panels here and there, with the odd yellow ones too. Then I weather the crap out of it using pastels to create streaks and carbon scoring, so that Luke would think they've seen a lot of action.

An observation about painting my X-Wing. There is so much debate out there about what color the X-Wing should be. Is it Lt. Gray, gloss white over black, bluish gray, etc? It's too much, and this debate will go on forever!

What many SciFi modelers do not understand is that models were painted in such a way to look more realistic and effective on camera. It's photography thing. Photos that many folks see of ILM building models for principal/FX photography look different because those photos were taken under different lighting and other filming conditions in a blue-screen environment, and the end result is based on processing, composting, film type, etc. Actually, this can go for any model before the advent of CGI. An example would be TOS USS Enterprise at the Smithsonian; it has a greenish cast yet it appears grey to white on the show. Remember, Gene Roddenberry had the world of Star Trek reflect some aspects of the US Navy...which as very, very grey,

In conclusion, maybe we should attempt to paint our models based upon the story tellers intent of the finished film. That is, what where the things the story teller or SF artist was trying to describe. I say the X-Wing was colored like most modern fighters of today. Light grey, lots of different panel shades due to wear and tear, battle damage and weathering. The rebel alliance (or certain smugglers) didn't have facilities to make their space craft look shiny and pretty. Therefore, that is what I am going to do...and to heck with certain forums and sites (except present company, of course!) Ah, Freedom!

I did some work on the falcon. Mainly focused on getting the LEDs installed for the headlights. Had to dremel away some plastic and then secure the LEDs with a bit of additional styrene and white glue. 

What's interesting is that the headlight Photo Etch from Paragrafix is specific to the 5' model, not the 32". The headlights on the 5' model are off center, but on the 32" they are centered. ILM continued to use the 5' model here and there in episodes 5 & 6, but mostly used the 32". If you look closely at the scene when the falcon lands at Cloud City in ESB it is clearly the 5' model --- indicated by the headlights. In most other shots, the headlights are centered.

I'm thinking of my model as a hybrid between the two different models. There's battle damage on the 5' that isn't on the 32" just to the right of the jawbox on the topside that I really love. So I'm including that.

Thanks for looking.

BH: Cool!

Sorry, I have no idea how to smooth out rough primer other than fine sanding or buffing.

Looking great! I can't wait to work on an x-wing of my own.

What kind of primer did you use? Tamiya?

Okay, finished the priming and most of the X-Wing cockpit. Future dipped the canopy, now just waiting for the primer to completely dry, then I will do a little sanding to smooth the finish. By the way, does anyone have a better method of smoothing out the primer?

One very cool thing about the "snap together-ness" is that you can temporarily assemble parts, prime them, then take them apart for individual work. Makes things easier.

Thanks, Gamera. I'm mainly just following other examples that I found online. It's amazing how much you can put inside a model.

Thanks, Beckyhead. There are a lot of fidly pieces that barely that barely hange together. But finally managed to put it together and glue it all in place.

That is one awesome cockpit! Great work!

SM: That looks awesome, amazing you can pack all those electronics in there!

Beckyhead, that Rebel pilot looks incredible. Great work!

I have a tiny tiny update...

I've got the engine lights rigged up and all of the fiber optics threaded through the lower hull. I still have to wire up the headlights, which has been more challenging.

I also was finally able to assemble the cockpit. I'm not all that happy with the decals that came with the ParaGrafix PE set. The colors are off... they're more red than black and gray. But with the backlight that I have built into cockpit behind the back wall, it'll be hard to tell what color the console is.

Thanks for looking.

Great quad guns! Can't wait to see the completed work....now,  don 't get cocky! :>)

Love that Rebel pilot!!

Wow, he does look pretty awesome!!!

Wow, that Rebel pilot looks pretty good!