And... she's done.
And the money shot...
"Space. The Final Frontier..."
This one was a long ride.
Exterior hull color was done with Valspar "Gloss Azure Snow". A pain to work with, but the color has a hint of bluish-green, which worked out well. This model is all spray can and brush work. Not something I would enter into a contest, that's for sure!
The "Buzzard Collectors" (yes, I know it's "Bussard") were spray painted fluorescent orange, then Tamiya Clear Red was brushed over the sides. The filaments were penciled in and then covered in International Orange. They really should be more "whitish", but they're good enough for now. Next time.
The grids on the sides of the secondary hull at the front were made using some plastic card which was grooved using an x-acto blade. Rods made from paperclips were placed above and below the grids.
Dome lights were half-beads from the craft store that come in various colors and sizes. Very useful.
Windows were from JT Graphics. I cannot recommend using the white windows from these decals as they are just too light (if used on a light exterior color such as this one). I used the marking for the hatches and the black windows. I either painted the white windows or cut strips from a piece of white decal paper and made my own. The actual registration numbers, striping, insignia and name were printed on inkjet decal paper and worked well. The decals were a bit thick, but I found the Testors decal paper was very thin and ran when I tried to coat it with decal bonder. Not a good experience.
Ship was flat coated with Model Master Dullcote, and the end caps and dome lights coated afterwards with future for a shiny effect.
The insignia for the base was done by a talented artist called Balsavor. I downloaded it and printed it as a decal on label paper. Unfortunately, I almost messed it up in preparation. It didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.
Bish> Sorry, I went ahead and painted the base black. I needed to cover the writing on the handle of the foam brush I used. Only later did I realize I could have just sanded the writing off and left it natural wood! DOH!
And that's it. Thank you to Ken for running this GB and making me get this model done (eventually), and thanks to all of you who have followed along with encouragement.
Gary
PS> The pictures have pointed out a couple of things I need to correct. One is to touch up the paint around the hole for the base, or placed a washer or something around it. Another is that the observation deck just above the shuttle bay doors needs a window. Nothing too critical.