Very cool! LEDs are pretty forgiving, the first models I tried lighting back in the '80s I used small bulbs hot enough that I melted the secondary hull of one Enterprise kit!

Still working on all the greeblies:

Got the Fast Tramp Lighting kit in the mail and the Booster pack and the Wall Power kit.  Going all out:

Did this:

I'm playing with the LEDs, trying to figure out how many to use behind the cockpit back wall and how to make the light wrap around to the wall adjacent to the back wall. Still researching online about lighting models. This is my first attempt at that.

Thanks for looking.

hey senormodeler

that cockpit s totally cool. i'm still catching up on GBs and figuring out what lights to order (not the kit) for my T2 AHK. i may start on the tank since i can build the entire suspension before worrying about lights for it,

That PE set looks amazing and the backlighting really sets it off!

It'll be a little while before I get around to it.  My basement/workshop is being renovated right now, and I have no where to put that big kit as of yet.  Some day though!

Thanks, guys.

@Gamera, yeah, there might be a little too much for such a tiny cockpit, but I love that it willy imply that there's more to see if you just take a closer look. It sort of invites you to examine the detail, which I think is fun.

@silentbob - Can't wait to see your work. Scratchbuilding is something I've never really tried and I'm always amazed to see what people can accomplish.

Fantastic detail there!  Whenever I get around to doing my AMT Falcon I'm going to have to come up with something.  That cockpit is more than awful, and there is nothing at all for the ladder area leading to the turrets in the center of the ship.  It'll be a test of my scratchbuilding skills

Yeah, that's just amazing! Only issue I have is that much detail in such a teeny cockpit will be hard to see!

All you need is a tiny little Han and Chewie to fit in there!

Dude, that backlighting is awesome. Great work thus far. Wish they had a PE set for my 1/48 X-Wing!

I'm working (carefully) on the cockpit. The PE is fantastic, but it's delicate. I've made a few mistakes, but nothing that's not fixable.

Primed the PE with white primer so that the decals would be bright.

Applied the decals to the PE.

The backwall of the cockpit folded into place.

Everything looking good, except... wait for it... the center console is glued on backwards! (fixed it later)

I had a hell of a time sealing the PE between the sidewalls and the lower back wall, so there is some massive light leakage. But I think I can fix that with some paint on the outside of that seam. Also might deepen the reds by putting some thinned red paint on the back where the red dots are.

Thanks for looking!

Some great work going on in here!

The detail on those parts looks amazing.

I love Paragrafix PE, Paul always does a great job with his sets.

Looking forward to seeing more on this.

Not escape pods, docking rings.  Or whatever they are. Cool things. 

I started putting on some of the tiny tiny greeblies on the falcon. Also worked on the escape pods. 

Also rec'd these in the mail today. 

And soon I'm gonna tackle the cockpit which I plan along with the engines and headlamps. 

The Falcon build is going to be fun to watch!

The only boxed lighting kit I've ever used is the R2 TOS Enterprise.

I hope you have better luck with whatever lighting kit you choose.

Ohhhhhh nice looking Falcon! I've tried lighting a few models with LEDs etc but so far haven't bought any of the boxed sets so far.

Not much of an update, but I did finally break out the FM Falcon. I started by notching out the little... notch-outs... in the other rim of the hull.

I'm also thinking that I might light this guy.  I've got the paragrafix PE cockpit with the really nice decals, so it seems like a waste not to light it. Problem is I'm trying to decide between this:

http://www.culttvmanshop.com/Madman-Fast-Freighter-Lighting-from-Madman-Lighting-_p_2889.html

Or the VoodooFX kit that's 2/3 down this page:

http://www.voodoofx.com/fiberfx.htm

I've been looking online for people who have worked with these kits and haven't come up with much. I'm not sure which one to go with. Any opinions out there?

S

Cool Mach71, next one I build I'm thinking of going with the accurate scheme!

These are crappy photos of my D-7 with the MJ paint.

I took them with my cell phone and the quality is not great

but you can get the idea on the paint.

The green is celery, the grey is matt gull grey. It should have a hint of purple in it

to be completely accurate.

Thanks guys!

Not the best fit but a really neat little kit.

Love it Gam...very cool ship and excellent build!

Great work Gamera!

Thanks Mach71!

Guess I shouldn't knock it, I have a great deal of respect for Jefferies, he designed some really cool stuff.

Gamera your D-7 looks great!

This is the best looking villain space ship ever to grace the screen,

big or small.

Don't knock the filming model paint scheme, I did it about 6 years ago and it really

looks good. I got to see one of the originals years ago at the science fiction museum

in Seattle. I can see why Matt Jefferies  chose them. The colors are very subdued.

Wayne: Actually it was on a colour TV but considering the '60s resolution of the film they always looked a light grey to me. Or maybe it was just me??? I haven't seen the new revamped and cleaned up versions of most of the original episodes though I assume they'd go with more a greenish shade from the Next Gen/DS9 series. I like the grey idea, I've seen Universal monster figures like Dracula and the Frankenstein monster painted in shades of grey like the movies and they looked pretty darn awesome.

She's pretty much done, the problems I noted were two small areas where I masked the navigation lights or whatever they are on the top just forward of the bridge and the masks were a shade too big so the paint needs a little touch-up there. I'm not sure it's even visible on the photos. I might see if I can get a black poster board for better photos but the model itself is all but done.

Bob: Yeah, please kill my food before I eat it please!  

Have you ever seen them eat gak?

Gamera

Sorry, I finished the D-7 over a week ago and have been planning to get some black poster board or something to take photos against. So I went ahead and took them against my black jacket. I should have laid something over the base now that I look at them. Still she's pretty much finished, a few little areas that probably could be touched up but I'm afraid I'll make a bigger mess fooling with them rather than just leaving it.

BTW: I completely disregarded the kit instructions and the information I found on the internet about the 'real' paint scheme of the model. Seems it was painted a purplish-grey with greenish-grey engine nacelles and details. Sounded gawdawful to me so I pre-shaded her with a little dark grey and then painted her a light grey. Which to me looks closer to how she appeared on my TV screen.

 

maybe because you watched it on a black and white tv. looks good. i will await the final decision on the final finish.

now that would be an interesting GB. take a lit, preferably something multi-colored and paint it ONLY in shades of gray as it would look in gray scale.

Thanks! I think it's one of those things were you have to disregard the truth and go with what looks 'right'!  

I don't think even Klingons could have that bad taste...

Looks good to me!  Glad you made that choice on the paint colors...I can't even imagine how those other colors would have gone together...