Pinky coffeeboat Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Hi crowe-t, you're making great progress on the MLP. Those rain birds look so good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 (edited) Pinky coffeeboat, Thanks for the nice words! :) Manfred, I did make the opening in the front. I used tubing to make the rainbird but unfortunately it was hard to get a picture showing the opening. If you look closely at the first picture I had posted you should be able to see the opening. You also might be able to see the opening in this picture below. Mike. Edited June 14, 2012 by crowe-t Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spaceman Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Hi Mike, don't worry be happy , it's my mistake. But you are rihgt, if one looks closely one can see the opening. This is probably up to the white color of the parts and the light, because these edges and contours are hard to detect, sorry. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 (edited) Manfred, You are right about the white plastic and the lighting. It's hard to take good pictures. I started making the other 2 rainbirds today. Tomorrow I'll apply some putty around the base of the middle rainbird so I can file it into a conical shape. I also attached the pipes to the SSWS piping, in the SRB chambers' corners, that go down into the water barriers. They'll rest on top of the red water barriers and hopefully give the illusion they go down into the SRB holes. Edited June 14, 2012 by crowe-t Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spaceman Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Hey Mike, the "singing" rainbirds look very good already, with every new detail it becomes more and more a really nice MLP. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 Manfred, Thanks again for the encouragement! I started shaping the putty I applied to the middle rainbird to make the conical shape to the base. It's just about done and then just needs the round shapes on the front and back. The rainbirds are simplified as are most of the details I've added to this MLP but get the job done. Mike. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mark31 Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Nice work on the rainbirds i like it. Mark Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spaceman Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Hi Mike, now the rainbirds are perfect and look good, very nice details. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Zombie_61 Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 (edited) Y'know Mike, between this thread and Manfred's current MLP thread I have all the inspiration and motivation I'll need to keep me going when I finally get around to starting my own. Brilliant work--awe inspiring, and great fun to read! Edited June 24, 2012 by Zombie_61 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevenichols Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Looking great Mike and I can't wait to see this when finished, truly inspirational. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkD Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 You need to extend the MLP further aft. It looks too short in length to me. Any tips for a 1/72 scale version? :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 You need to extend the MLP further aft. It looks too short in length to me. Any tips for a 1/72 scale version? :) Well, not trying to speak for Mike but he has stated many times in the thread that he's just using the MLP as is and just adding details to make it better (although I'd hardly call this great work "just simple detail"). As to making one in 1/72 scale, well...make it bigger. seiously though, get the plans, blow them up to 1/72 scale and start cutting plastic. Pretty much do what these guys are doing, bigger. Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 (edited) Thanks guys for all the kind words! It really keeps me going. Mark, the AXM paper Models site has nice downloads of the MLP in 1/144 scale. Those can be used to create 1/72 plans. Bill, you're a very funny guy!!! I managed to find some time to paint the base coat of the RCC wing panels and the nose cap. It's starting to look like a shuttle. :D About a week ago I noticed a crack in the starboard side of the tail. I made the repair and re-painted it white and sprayed on the off-white areas(again) today. Edited June 27, 2012 by crowe-t Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hotdog Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Looking badass. What did you use for the gray base coat? I picked up some Gunship Gray today to use as my base coat for the leading edges of the wings. Is that masking tape over the windows? It would scare the s#!t out of me to do that for fear that it might peel all the paint off the nose when I tried to remove the tape. Forgive me if I sound like a novice in this department. What's going to happen when its time to remove it and put the windows in? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 (edited) Hotdog, Thanks a bunch for the compliment! I used Testors MM Acryl 'Neutral Gray' for the gray base coat. It actually looks darker then in the pictures but I couldn't get it to photograph as dark. I have a bottle of Testors Acryl Gunship Gray which looks the part but it dries a bit too dark for my liking, however acrylics all seem to dry a few shades darker. Gunship Gray almost looks black to me. I tried lightening it with some white but it looked a bit on the blue side. Neutral Gray is exactly that, a neutral gray with little to no bias towards any particular color so I went with that. Yes, that's Tamiya masking tape over the windows. I tested an area by pulling it up and it seems OK. This is the first time I'm doing this so I'm hoping for the best. I'm still not sure if I'll attempt to apply the window decal around the tape and then apply the final clear coat before removing the tape. I'm leaning towards removing the tape before applying the window decal and then carefully re-applying the tape on the windows for the final clear coat. If anyone has a better way I'm open to suggestions. Mike. Edited June 27, 2012 by crowe-t Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hotdog Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Well crap. I put the Neutral Gray can down when I saw that Gunship Gray came in a kit with a few other shades that I needed. Oh well I'll figure out a way to make it work. There's a 2-tone look to the leading edges of the wings that I want to reproduce so maybe it will help. Seems like you will want to remove the tape before putting the window decal on! What if the tape strips the decal? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hotdog Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 One more question, is the Tamiya masking tape coated with any kind of clear coat, or do you airbrush without? How do you get such crisp edges? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 Hotdog, the Gunship Gray might work for you. Test it first to see if you like it. To me it just looked a bit dark. I agree about not wanting the tape to strip the decal. Removing the tape before applying the decal seems to be the best way. I'll just have to be extra careful when I re-apply the tape over the clear windows for the final clear coat. I didn't coat the Tamiya tape with any clear coat. I'm not sure if the tape itself has any coating. I have to give the Tamiya masking tape the credit for the crisp edges. It's amazing tape and well worth the extra money over standard masking tape. It's made for fine masking on models. I highly recommend it. Mike. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Zombie_61 Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Gunship Gray almost looks black to me. I tried lightening it with some white but it looked a bit on the blue side. That tends to happen when you use straight white to lighten black paint. Next time try an off-white color like Ivory, something with just a hint of tan/brown, which negates the "bluing". I'm still not sure if I'll attempt to apply the window decal around the tape and then apply the final clear coat before removing the tape. I'm leaning towards removing the tape before applying the window decal and then carefully re-applying the tape on the windows for the final clear coat. If anyone has a better way I'm open to suggestions. Assuming your final clear coat will be flat/matte, after you apply the decals seal them with a layer or two of gloss clear coat--it will insulate them from subsequent masking without "fogging" the clear plastic the way flat/matte clearcoats do. After that has dried you should be able to mask off the windows without the tape pulling up the decal. And, of course, low-tack masking tape will help. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 (edited) That tends to happen when you use straight white to lighten black paint. Next time try an off-white color like Ivory, something with just a hint of tan/brown, which negates the "bluing". Hey thanks for the tip, I'll give this a try next time I need to lighten black or a dark gray color. Assuming your final clear coat will be flat/matte, after you apply the decals seal them with a layer or two of gloss clear coat--it will insulate them from subsequent masking without "fogging" the clear plastic the way flat/matte clearcoats do. After that has dried you should be able to mask off the windows without the tape pulling up the decal. And, of course, low-tack masking tape will help. I'm attempting to leave the clear plastic uncoated. What I might do is apply the decal and then paint on some clear(either flat or gloss) over the decal to protect it before re-applying the tape to the clear plastic windows. I'm still throwing around some ideas but haven't decided yet. Edited June 27, 2012 by crowe-t Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I'm attempting to leave the clear plastic uncoated. What I might do is apply the decal and then paint on some clear(either flat or gloss) over the decal to protect it before re-applying the tape to the clear plastic windows. I'm still throwing around some ideas but haven't decided yet. Mike, I'm lovin' this build! Any idea how long we hafta wait to see the finished product? ... and are YOU gonna build the Crawler and all the other stuff too?? ... and that niart7 guy certainly is a hoot! Regarding the taping over a decal, I read on another forum that a lot of guys wind up pulling off the decals, even tho' they've been sealed with a clear coat. Please test it before you apply 'em on the model, and let us know if it works. Keep up the great work Mike! Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 (edited) Pete, I'm doing my best to get this one finished soon. Thanks for all the encouragement! I'm just going to finish the details on the MLP and be done with it. The Crawler will have to wait for a future build. :( I have to experiment and see what works best for applying the window decal. Mike. Edited June 27, 2012 by crowe-t Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Can I offer suggestion on masking the nose cap? Electrical tape. The black kind. I found that it's quite flexible and stretchy and if you cut it into strips, like 1/8" or 3/8" it'll wrap around that compound curve very nicely. Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted June 29, 2012 Author Share Posted June 29, 2012 Can I offer suggestion on masking the nose cap? Electrical tape. The black kind. I found that it's quite flexible and stretchy and if you cut it into strips, like 1/8" or 3/8" it'll wrap around that compound curve very nicely. Pete Pete, Thanks for the great tip of using electrical tape for the nose cap. I think I used about 6 or 7 pieces of Tamiya masking tape and never thought of using electrical tape. Mike. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted July 3, 2012 Author Share Posted July 3, 2012 (edited) I got a little painting done today on the RCC panels. I added a few drops of white to the Testors Acryl Neutral Gray and sprayed a few panels on each wing a bit lighter. I went very subtle on the lighter panels to keep them consistent with the base color. I'll use pastels and maybe some dry brushing to bring out the other details. I tried to follow the differences of the RCC panel colors of the Discovery as it appeared during STS-133 as best I could. I'm also working on the SSWS piping on the MLP and will post some progress pictures soon. Edited July 3, 2012 by crowe-t Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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