GM - that sucks, but sounds like maybe there was a resin residue effecting the sprayed on copper?

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Shiv - neat work on Superman's face, to me he looks to have that vintage 40's or 50's look.  Oils is something I've never tried, not even canvas painting, but you look to have good control of the techniques.

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Aaron - good to see Dredd is still on the bench.  Amazing how much these larger figures need primping before painting.

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I think I've got Red's eyes 'squared' away.  Viewing it blown up like this (actual height from chin to top of hair is only 7/8"), can see a few areas need tightening up.

The metal necklace was pretty straight forward, but looks good enough to leave as is.  Was covered in flesh colour paint, after which was added a dark brown/blue wash, followed with a dry brushing of Tamiya's metallic grey.

regards,

Jack

Super, man!

I had a paint disaster. Online the copper spray of choice was Rustoleum Briallant Copper. I did a test on my primed scrap and it seemed OK, but when I blasted Nemo it spider webbed all over the place.

I'm going with Testor's Copper, but I need to find a bottle.

I am also sticking with his silly hands until I can find something better.

Great work all.

Hey Greg, nice work on Supes there, he looks pretty darn good!

Aaron: The Judge is coming along really nicely too.

Yeah,  pauldron it is- don't tell me I didn't learn anything from role-playing games...

Nice work, Aaron! And the pics I took turned out, too. You need some moisturizer for those barren wastelands you call hands.

Pauldron. The word is pauldron.

GM - You're absolutely correct. When Aaron and I counted the chain on the model, I think it came out to be roughly 8 links per inch. Micro-Mark has 9 links per inch available, and I think he can get that from a local hobby shop here. No one wants Dredd's chain of justice to look chintzy. 

I've decided that Nemo has Minnie Mouse hands. Like a half finger each. I'm going to raid the GI Joe scrap box for hands that actually have full length fingers and then have gloves added.

Quizzical.

Aaron its about time. I was thinking Judge Dead.

A word of, well, caution from a salt. There's chain, and then there's chain.

All chain is not equal. Most cheap jewelry store chain is a quarter twist.

Dredd has a chain that's a simple Torus link. Like you'd find at Ace to lock a gate.

Guys,

Great looking work all the way around!

I have some progress to show on Dredd. Most of his body parts are cut out and ready to be primed. HOs torso had a couple of shortcomings I wanted to correct.

I shaved the chain molded onto his chest running to the badge. 

I'm going to replace it with a metal chain 'cause it'll look better. In the meantime, I am carving out a little trench I will fill with Green Stuff and sculpt the zipper. I was worried about the vinyl getting too thin, so I added a layer of Apoxie Sculpt behind it.

The shoulder pad — Tim knows the technical term — was badly warped. I applied a layer of Apoxie Sculpt to make it smooth.

I wasn't very happy with my progress on it, so I've gone a different direction. I bent a piece of styrene over the piece and super glued it in place. It's nice a smooth now, and I can attach the ridges using styrene strip with ease.

More to come next week.

Cheers, Aaron

Wow! The stunning work you guys are doing is both inspiring and really (really) daunting, but since the deadline is looming ever-nearer, I figure I'd better get off my kryptonite and get going on my "Man Of Steel."

I went with what I used in the old days (for figures), oils over an acrylic base. I do basic skin tones with various proportions of titanium white and burnt sienna, then a day or so later go back and "pink it up" a little with alizarin crimson.

Here's Superman with basic flesh tones in place (but pre-crimson), eyes done in slightly-tinted acrylic gloss white, ready for the Archer eyeball decals.

Here are the Archer eyeball decals. (The first try I used blue, and they were a bit too large. I picked the next-largest size for the second try, and decided to go with hazel instead of blue, which looked a little too "cartoony.") Just to note, the eyeballs on the decal sheet are round, but here the upper and lower portions are trimmed to give a natural-looking iris.

A slightly less ashen-looking, pinker Superman, with eyeballs in place:

It has a sort of Gerry Anderson puppet-looking quality to it, I'll grant you, but I'm reasonably happy with it. I'll avoid looking at it for a day or two, then go back and see if anything in the face needs tweaking. (Any suggestions or corrections happily entertained. Jack's "mini-tutorial" on painting figures was very helpful, by the way.) The hair is also unfinished at this point, some highlights (at least) to be added.

Hearty congrats to Eagle for finishing Mr. Scott in fine style!

As "young Mr. Grace" would say, "'You've all done very well....!'" Looking forward to seeing more flash, especially from the barbarian contingent.

GMorrison

And Shiv you totally get a pass from me if you don't do his back! Yes that's a great looking fig.

Jack your red looks really amazing.

Congrats on finishing Scotty, Eagle90.

I'm waiting a couple of days for the primer to cure before i get into color coats. Keeping busy finishing another GB and thinking about how to make Nemo's scuba tanks.

Thank you G!

Eagle90

And Shiv you totally get a pass from me if you don't do his back! Yes that's a great looking fig.

Jack your red looks really amazing.

Congrats on finishing Scotty, Eagle90.

I'm waiting a couple of days for the primer to cure before i get into color coats. Keeping busy finishing another GB and thinking about how to make Nemo's scuba tanks.

shivinigh

Tim- your chest turned out really nice. I love the wood look that it has. What would you use as a varnish on that. A regular wood varnish?

Hi Shiv,

Thanks for the compliments. I'll end up sealing it with a clear acrylic matte varnish. I've used Ceramcoat in the past on other wooden models, but I'll probably end up using Vallejo this time around. 

I have to say that going with the "Venom" Spider-Man is inspired. Second, lining the suit's webbing with strip plastic is a challenge that I don't think I would have volunteered for. I'll salute you with an extra bourbon tonight. That's definitely not something you can rush, but I think it'll look one-of-a-kind when it's finished. <clapping>

jgeratic

Tim Kidwell

Eagle,

Well done! I think Mr. Scott look fantastic. Jack's advise about the 5 o'clock shadow is spot on, although I  more often use a wash or stippling. With that said, I have a large collection of Pan Pastels and have been thinking about using them on Conan. That might be the place to do it.

Tim

--

Yup, as Tim said - you want to use a stippling motion as opposed to dragging the brush across the surface when applying powder.  This gives a grainy look like actual stubble, however again I stress being very light handed in this approach.

Here's a couple examples on 1/35 scale figures done a few years back:

regards,

Jack

Jack, wow!  Those are great looking figures!  I can see what you mean by stippling.  If you drag the brush, it would be streaky looking.  I'll practice on a light piece of plastic first, before actually hitting Mr. Scott with the brush!    Thanks!

Eagle90

Tim Kidwell

By the way, Mr. Scott is now in the Hall of Fame on the GB's first page.

Thank you sir!

Eagle90

Tim Kidwell

Eagle,

Well done! I think Mr. Scott look fantastic. Jack's advise about the 5 o'clock shadow is spot on, although I  more often use a wash or stippling. With that said, I have a large collection of Pan Pastels and have been thinking about using them on Conan. That might be the place to do it.

Tim

--

Yup, as Tim said - you want to use a stippling motion as opposed to dragging the brush across the surface when applying powder.  This gives a grainy look like actual stubble, however again I stress being very light handed in this approach.

Here's a couple examples on 1/35 scale figures done a few years back:

regards,

Jack

By the way, Mr. Scott is now in the Hall of Fame on the GB's first page.

Tim Kidwell

Eagle,

Well done! I think Mr. Scott look fantastic. Jack's advise about the 5 o'clock shadow is spot on, although I  more often use a wash or stippling. With that said, I have a large collection of Pan Pastels and have been thinking about using them on Conan. That might be the place to do it.

Make sure to add the group-build ribbon to your signature line! And don't bug out on us just yet. There are still lots of figures still to come, and we definitely want your comments.

Tim

--

Thank you Tim!  That means a lot coming from you guys!  I was thinking of the same thing.  Using pastels (very lightly!) for just a hint of a 5 o'clock shadow. 

Bug out?  No way.  Too many very cool builds here!  Many of which are now on my wish list!  Great work everyone!  I'm watching and learning!

Eagle90

Gamera

Eagle: Wow, fantastic work there! Just a great job all around! Good luck on finding the rest of the figures, I got the three piece set of Jim, 'Bones', and Scotty some years back and they're really well done figures that capture the likenesses of the actors very well. Guess I need to hunt down the Spock figure some day to have the complete set though.

Shiv: That's going to look awesome when done, just hope you don't get burnt out before then! I have a bad habit of starting projects that seem cool but wear out before I can get then done.

Thank you Gamera!  I'd definitely get the Spock to have the whole set.  After doing this one, I will have the others to go along with it!  Thanks again for all the help!

Eagle90

Eagle,

Well done! I think Mr. Scott look fantastic. Jack's advise about the 5 o'clock shadow is spot on, although I  more often use a wash or stippling. With that said, I have a large collection of Pan Pastels and have been thinking about using them on Conan. That might be the place to do it.

Make sure to add the group-build ribbon to your signature line! And don't bug out on us just yet. There are still lots of figures still to come, and we definitely want your comments.

Tim

--

Eagle: Wow, fantastic work there! Just a great job all around! Good luck on finding the rest of the figures, I got the three piece set of Jim, 'Bones', and Scotty some years back and they're really well done figures that capture the likenesses of the actors very well. Guess I need to hunt down the Spock figure some day to have the complete set though.

Shiv: That's going to look awesome when done, just hope you don't get burnt out before then! I have a bad habit of starting projects that seem cool but wear out before I can get then done.

Thank you Jack!  It has really shown me some other techniques and I had a blast doing it!  I'm seriously looking into getting the other 3 to have a complete crew up on the shelves!

See, I'm still learning things!  I never thought about a 5 o'clock shadow!  One thing I learned is the subtlety of the details.  Like the finger nails for example.  Hard to see in the pics, but I lightened the flesh tone with some white and it made just enough difference to add cool detail to the kit.  I'm definitely going to do the 5 o'clock shadow tonight when I get home!  Thanks!

Eagle90

Thanks Shiv!  Yeah, the transporter was a quick thing and of course with his scale, the regular paper size didn't quite fit, but it was kinda cool.  Thanks again and great work on yours!  You've got the detail work down much better than I do.  Looks great!

Eagle90

Eagle, great job on Scotty and glad to see that this group has opened up your interest in figure modeling.  

One other item I forgot to mention is the 5 o'clock shadow.   If you have a dark brown, dark grey or black weathering powder, apply a very very light amount to the appropriate areas.  It should be barely visible, I suggest even walking away for a few minutes after application, and when you come back to the work bench you will notice it.  It can be easily over done.

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shiv - slow but steady work, I think this will uniquely make this your own.

regards,

Jack

Eagle- incredible job on Mr. Scott. He looks right at home with the transporter in the background? I applaud your workmanship.

Tim- your chest turned out really nice. I love the wood look that it has. What would you use as a varnish on that. A regular wood varnish?

Jgeratic- Red's eyes really have that "don't mess with me" look to them. Kinda of scary. Nicely done.

Here is my progress report. The work is going slower that I hoped but the strips are laying down nicely. After all the strips are down I will go over it with Mr. Surfacer to fill all the connections in to make them look smooth than paint them silver.

Touch up all the black than on to the base. The ingraved webbing on his suit is helping a lot to guide the strips into place.

Thank you all for the help with the engineering equipment question.  I may take some time to work that, but I think Mr. Scott is ready!  I've gotten to the point where I fear I may over do the detailing and make it start to look really bad.  So, I gave him a touch up here and there and had him "beam" over to the transporter room to report for duty!  So without further ado.........Chief Engineer Mr. Scott! 

Many thanks to all of you who graciously helped with my novice questions and gave super advice and assistance!  This was a great build and taught me a lot of new techniques.  I am actively watching eBay to get Mr. Spock, McCoy, and the Capt. to round out a complete set!  They will look great all together on the Sci-Fi section of my display shelves......when I get the shelves finished!  Thanks again everyone!  Greatly appreciate your help and support!

Eagle90

Ahhh, sorry so it's a different doohickey than the thingamabob I was thinking about 

BTW: GM is that figure modified for a 'Mirror Universe' Evil Scotty? 

Tim Kidwell

Eagle90

So, here is another question...this may be better suited for the Sci-Fi threads, but thought I'd start here.  The kit has what they are calling a "Deuterium Flux Orientation Sensor" that goes into Mr. Scott's hand. 

Possibly this thingy?

BTW Tim that shot is a good example of how they hid Doohan's right hand.

Gamera

Jack: Looks great! I can't really tell about the size of the eyes from the angle but they look perfect otherwise. I see you're starting to lay in the highlights, looks really good so far. I love the red hair even with nothing more than the wash, looking forward to how it looks with the highlights added.

Tim: Great job there, a little paint and staining and she's be the real thing.

Eagle: Not totally sure there, I have the kit somewhere and will have to look it up. I think the doohicky though is one of the standard props that ended up repurposed a dozen or more times over the series. If it's the one I think it is I'm thinking it was a dark bluish grey with aluminum fittings - pretty much the same colours as the phasors.

Thanks Gamera.  I was thinking of the aluminum/steel idea too.  The blue/grey would be a good color for one of the ends.  The box pic for Mr. Scott shows a silver and goldish looking coloring.  Not what I would do.  Don't remember seeing too much gold color tools in the series.  Thanks again!

Eagle90

Jack: Looks great! I can't really tell about the size of the eyes from the angle but they look perfect otherwise. I see you're starting to lay in the highlights, looks really good so far. I love the red hair even with nothing more than the wash, looking forward to how it looks with the highlights added.

Tim: Great job there, a little paint and staining and she's be the real thing.

Eagle: Not totally sure there, I have the kit somewhere and will have to look it up. I think the doohicky though is one of the standard props that ended up repurposed a dozen or more times over the series. If it's the one I think it is I'm thinking it was a dark bluish grey with aluminum fittings - pretty much the same colours as the phasors.

Tim, that wooden chest turned out super, IKEA has nothing over you.

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I can see what you are saying about Red's expression as well as the eyebrow, though the rest of her face is not supporting that particular look.  I wish it could be explained away like that, but no it will need to be fixed - thanks.

regards,

Jack

jgeratic

Tim - liking that sword.  I almost built Red's dagger the same way, just the pommel and handle were separate.

Thanks, Jack. Red looks good. I can see what you're talking about with her eyes. However, and it might be the angle, it looks like you have her arching her left eye brow more than her left--a sort of "You said what? To me?" look. That would naturally have her left eye a bit wider than her right, yes? Don't know if I'm helping on that one.

Regardless, she's starting to come alive. Nice work!