PhoenixG

I have some serious catching up to do on this thread.   Adventure awaits! :)

 

She's lookin' good Bakster! You're making real progress now. 

Curious about your change of direction, so does the Jupiter II make a surpise visit to 'The Planet of the Apes' (aka far future Earth)? 

I have some serious catching up to do on this thread.   Adventure awaits! :)

Main power wires added, all connections tested, and the transmission cover secured using JB Weld 24 hour epoxy. 

Aside from a good bond, this epoxy has an added benefit. I found that I am able to remove smudges or excess without it damaging the paint. Of course, this is only true while it is in its soft state. I should also note that the paint is sealed in a clear. 

Where from here? I may have a surprise change in direction. You shall find out in a weeks time. 

End.

mustang1989

It's been a bit since I've been in here to check on progress but I like what you're doing with this Steve. VERY nice work on all the lighting. This is lookin' shuweet!! 

 

Gamera

Looks good Bakster. Glad that's out of the way. 

As you say I'm crossing my fingers nothing goes wrong since you can't get the model open again... 

 

It's been a bit since I've been in here to check on progress but I like what you're doing with this Steve. VERY nice work on all the lighting. This is lookin' shuweet!! 

Looks good Bakster. Glad that's out of the way. 

As you say I'm crossing my fingers nothing goes wrong since you can't get the model open again... 

Speaking of... I worked on this rats nest of wiring near five hours. Some of the time spent fishing wires between the floor and the pan. Impatience caused me to not entirely plan wire routing. I am darn lucky I was able to fish it through after the fact. It wasn't easy though. This stage could have easily killed the project. Mainly, it was wiring that goes to the floodlights at the top of the canopy. They won't be easy to deal with when I get there.

The other issue I had was poor connections. I like magnet wire but you need to remove its varnish well or you can end up wih intermittents, or, no power at all. That issue had me going in circles for a few hours. Best way to remove the varnish is with a lighter. You burn it off. But...it leaves a residue you need to scrape. I usually use a small torch for this and usually I don't have a residue issue. But because the wires were so close to the model, I had to use a lighter. It was pretty darn frustrating. It's a minor miracle I didn't short something out in all this. There'd be no fixing it at this point if I did.

Anyhow, by God's grace, I got it to work.

Now that the rats nest is done, I was able to test-fit the drivetrain cover. It fit very well; no more tension. I will recheck the wiring for good measure, then, epoxy the cover in place. Once I do that, no going back either. So, getting the cover attached is my next immediate goal.

"Also, stay inside, saw where it was 80°F in Duluth, y'all like to melt in that sort of heat."

Yeah, decided to work at the bench where it is cool.

Bakster

On this sad day in American history.

A new day has dawned despite the darkness of yesterday.  And, it's Bastille Day, so cast aside your cullottes and shoot off fireworks in rememberance that we in the commonweal are greater than the nuts and the crazies.

Also, stay inside, saw where it was 80°F in Duluth, y'all like to melt in that sort of heat.

On this sad day in American history. 


Before I can close the transmission assembly I must sort out additional wiring. Specifically, the exterior lighting. In order to do that, I had to mount some of the light fixtures. 

Not shown in an image, I epoxied the light engines flat to the pan. I need them flat or they create too much tension within the transmission cover. There is more wiring work to do though before the cover can go on.

Thoughts and prayers to DJT, his family, and to the spectators injured or killed today.

Gamera

For what it's worth I paint 'stucco' paint all over the inner wheels and hull bottom of most my tank models and then spray them a muddy/dirty tan/brown. 

 

Though now I'm imaging a very angry Major West forcing Dr. Smith to detail the underside of the Chariot with an old toothbrush as punishment after the doctors latest outrage.... 

 

Thanks for the tip. I am gonna stop before I go too far! Lol.

That's funny because it's West that is driving like a bat out of hell. Clouds of dust billowing up like the Chariot is on fire!

He's pissed at Smith and in a big hurry. He wants to get back to the Jupiter before he loses it. He's about to wring Smiths delicate neck. 

But he will probably make Smith do as you say, clean it with an old toothbrush. After all, it's Smiths fault for pissing him off. Hehe.

For what it's worth I paint 'stucco' paint all over the inner wheels and hull bottom of most my tank models and then spray them a muddy/dirty tan/brown. 

Though now I'm imaging a very angry Major West forcing Dr. Smith to detail the underside of the Chariot with an old toothbrush as punishment after the doctors latest outrage.... 

Gamera

They look perfect from here Bakster!!! 

I think dust on the inner surfaces sounds just fine. I wouldn't worry about it too much. 

 

Hey thanks, Gam.

Thanks too for your opinion. That is how I will go with it. I will give it a final sealer and call the assembly done.

They look perfect from here Bakster!!! 

I think dust on the inner surfaces sounds just fine. I wouldn't worry about it too much. 

Rain continues around here so it is good time to keep working on this.

Cleats are coming around. Camera is not capturing some of the details and colors, but this gives you an idea where I am at.

I mentioned I was going to dry brush. Well, I was about to, when I had an epiphany. How about using a marker? I tested it, and sure enough, it got me what I wanted. The beauty of it was it was so easy. Dry brushing is easy too but I'd have to be careful about getting paint where I don't want it.

1. I used a silver Sharpie marker to paint the cleats. 

2. They were too bright at this point. So, I sanded them back until I had a good compromise.

3. I applied a sand colored wash to filter them. 

I am happy with how they turned out and the ease of it.

What will not be so easy is dealing with the interior side of the tracks. On the fence about that. I can leave them and imagine all the dust covered things up. Which, it is feasable. It does not make much sence showing shiny metal where I modeled lots of dust. I will have to ponder that one. 

Later.

And today I added terrain dust. I used Vallejo Orange Rust thinned generously. I focused "mainly" within the track assembly. I imagined dust would get trapped and collect there the most. The camera loses some things in translation, but close enough.

Next up is to block out the metal cleats. Mainly, dry brushing.

End

And now the gear-cog is painted with Alclad Steel. 

More to come.

End

CapnMac82

 

 

Bakster

He says, unchuck the needle, pull the needle back some, then retighten. Then just press the trigger like a single action, you should get paint. I never thought of that. That should work.

 

 

Yeah, should work.

Mind, I find there's a lot of snobbery about dual versus single actions.  And, outside of the modeling world, there's rather a lot of "work" single actions get put through, and as a go-to choice.

Does that makes them ideal for miniature work?  Probably not.  Especially for where a person does not have the physical amount of room wanted to properly feather the spray.

A case can be made either way--and really, it's down to what a given modeler is most comfortable with.

 

Right on, Capn.

I just tested it and it works. Interestingly, some of the same issues arise. Very quickly paint stops flowing. But, pull back on the trigger, and it clears.

And that is a big advantage over a dedicated single action. Dual action keeps the needle moving, thus keeping paint from drying. With how I used it today, it is much easier to clear the clog by just pulling the trigger. On a dedicated single action brush you'd have to loosen the needle, pull the needle back to clear it, then reset it. A much more time consuming and annoying process. For the same reasons single action require a much more precise mix of paint/thinner.

I like this methodolgy. For my purposes, it works well.

Bakster

He says, unchuck the needle, pull the needle back some, then retighten. Then just press the trigger like a single action, you should get paint. I never thought of that. That should work.

Yeah, should work.

Mind, I find there's a lot of snobbery about dual versus single actions.  And, outside of the modeling world, there's rather a lot of "work" single actions get put through, and as a go-to choice.

Does that makes them ideal for miniature work?  Probably not.  Especially for where a person does not have the physical amount of room wanted to properly feather the spray.

A case can be made either way--and really, it's down to what a given modeler is most comfortable with.

Gamera

Looks good to me Bakster! 

And I had a Badger 200 years ago. Did not like it. I moved beyond it years ago. 

 

Thanks, Gam.

I must give the 200 a good soak. Not sure what is plugged. Everything looks open on it. Must be something in the body. 

For grins, I research brands and types of single action brushes. I came across a Reddit post where a guy said, why get a single action brush when you already have one with a dual action. He says, unchuck the needle, pull the needle back some, then retighten. Then just press the trigger like a single action, you should get paint.

I never thought of that. That should work.

Looks good to me Bakster! 

And I had a Badger 200 years ago. Did not like it. I moved beyond it years ago. 

CapnMac82

Looking Good.

 

Have a great Independence Day celebration ...

Looking Good.

Well, I did it today anyhow.

The tool worked well. The main issue is getting spray into the recessed areas. Not so easy. Also, since the wheels are so close to each other, I needed to cut a cardboard scrim to move in between wheels as I go. Otherwise, overspray would have made the whole excersize a moot point.

As a result of the tight maneuvering, the paint has some shiny areas. I was going to use my Badger 200 single action for more flow control, but the darn thing would not pass paint. Something is plugged. I hate that brush. Nothing but problems when I use it. Once I weather it more and flat coat, the shinyness should get knocked down.

Anyhow, more to be done. There is yet a gear I need to paint. You can see it is still taped. It is base coated in the Alclad. I dont want it silver. In the 1:1 it is black with mounting hardware in silver. Rather than the rubber black, I want to use something else. Maybe gun metal or something. It will still look dark but it will have a subtle difference. Also, left to do, I want to add terrain dust to the assembly, and I want to dry brush the cleats in a metalic. I want them to stand out and to simulate wear.

End.

PS: I masked using tape. I didn't want to risk the gumminess of my tack. 

Work has begun on the tracks.

1. Rims painted with Alclad aluminum.

2. Vallejo washes added to the rims. 

3. Tracks painted using Tamiya Rubber Black (LP65). I like this paint. It went on well.  I thinned it some using MR Color Leveler. Probably, I didn't need to thin the paint but I like to err on the side of thin. Less airbrush trouble. Which, there were none.

So, at this point, I can use the tool I made and finish the tires. Probably, not today. 

End.

CapnMac82

Looks good, it's all probably due to the spate of spring-like weather up there.

(It's scaring triple digits here, this last week, with heavy inversion domes to hold the humidity high, too--many complaints, but, this time last year we were into five weeks straight of 100+ )

Might be worth, on the next trip to Menards, to pick up a bag of sanded grout mix.  That dry powder has excellent texture for ground work dry, and will "set" nicely using 50/50 water/PVA glue.  A couple mounds along the track runs line wind-blown dirt might help with the present "float of the tracks.  Or not.

As wide as theose tracks are, IRL, they would "float" over most firm surfaces--whether IRL is "good modeling" is a more personal choice.

 

Hey, Capn... thanks.  Speaking of, it has been like monsoon season here. And yesterday, it was extremely humid with temps approaching 90. Today, it is dry and barely reaching 70. Quite the change.

I like your thinking about the mounds. Initially, I considered that but I tried to minimize the track depth, visualizing a hardpack with maybe an inch of sand. That said, a few mounds along the tracks could go a long way to add a little more visual. And truth is, in nature, sand blows around creating such domes. I will add some when I circle back towards the end of the build. Thanks for that. Good thinking.

Looks good, it's all probably due to the spate of spring-like weather up there.

(It's scaring triple digits here, this last week, with heavy inversion domes to hold the humidity high, too--many complaints, but, this time last year we were into five weeks straight of 100+ )

Might be worth, on the next trip to Menards, to pick up a bag of sanded grout mix.  That dry powder has excellent texture for ground work dry, and will "set" nicely using 50/50 water/PVA glue.  A couple mounds along the track runs line wind-blown dirt might help with the present "float of the tracks.  Or not.

As wide as theose tracks are, IRL, they would "float" over most firm surfaces--whether IRL is "good modeling" is a more personal choice.