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1/350 Polar Lights K'tinga Battlecruiser


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So, the Bird of Prey is done and it's time to keep the bench warm with a new kit. I'd picked up the K'tinga in April, along with the lighting kit that Polar Lights makes for it. So far, it's far cry from the AMT kit I just finished. Everything fits perfectly, minimal flash and they seem to have designed it quite well to require minimal (or none) light blocking. 

 

Box!

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Stuck together to show size.....she's a big one. 

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Gonna need a bigger boat.......er, booth. 

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Working on removing seems on the bulb. The window sections are separate, so gluing each piece in requires a bit of sanding and CA to smooth the transition between each. 

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Bridge lighting. The LED's for the bridge, torpedo launchers and impulse intake are all warm white....so I've been dipping them in Tamiya Clear Red to up the color. Polar Lights also includes a resin replacement for the top of the bridge; for now it's staying in the bag till I'm ready to light block it and attach. 

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Let's get some Floquil Reefer White in there. It'll be a sad day when this jar runs out....

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Bulb and cobra head lit. Not bad!

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Forgot to attach the bridge, so bulb, cobra and bridge. 

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Hopefully, I'll have the two assemblies ready to have wiring glued in place this weekend, then start moving down the neck to the main hull. 

 

More to come!

 

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Continued progress. I painted the darker green on the bulb and cobra head prior to final assembly so that I can mask the windows and not worry about screwing up the lighting from them. Assembled the nacelles, wrapped the the clear lighting parts in aluminum tape so that all light was reflected into the part. Probably didn't make a difference, but.....yeah! Added foil to the inside of the bridge tube as well, can't hurt. And finally, hung the nacelles.....because I wanted to see!

 

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😁

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Nobody likes seams.....

 

Normal assembly, started with medium grit sanding sticks, working finer and finer and ended with a MicroMesh 3200 grit finishing cloth.

 

Now about that weird warping in the plastic.......

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Edited by Brett M
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On 6/6/2019 at 10:31 PM, Brett M said:

Let's get some Floquil Reefer White in there. It'll be a sad day when this jar runs out...

 

There is a company called Archive-X that makes enamel paints that are exact matches to early Floquil colors for use mainly on Star Wars models. ILM used Floquil paints on their studio models of the Millennium Falcon and most other ships. They make a Reefer White, though it is matched to the colors made by Floquil in the 1970s, before the company was bought out by Testors and the formulation of the paints was changed. Many (most) of the Testors colors are not the same as those used by ILM.

Anyway, they are based out of the UK. The paints are not cheap but come in large bottles. They have been selling through their Facebook presence but just started a web page. Check it out if interested. ILM wasn't the only effects company using Floquil paints back then.

 

https://archive-x.com/

 

P.S. the K'tinga looks awesome. I don't usually browse the SciFi forum but your build caught my eye.

Edited by Mstor
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37 minutes ago, Mstor said:

 

There is a company called Archive-X that makes enamel paints that are exact matches to early Floquil colors for use mainly on Star Wars models. ILM used Floquil paints on their studio models of the Millennium Falcon and most other ships. They make a Reefer White, though it is matched to the colors made by Floquil in the 1970s, before the company was bought out by Testors and the formulation of the paints was changed. Many (most) of the Testors colors are not the same as those used by ILM.

Anyway, they are based out of the UK. The paints are not cheap but come in large bottles. They have been selling through their Facebook presence but just started a web page. Check it out if interested. ILM wasn't the only effects company using Floquil paints back then.

 

https://archive-x.com/

 

P.S. the K'tinga looks awesome. I don't usually browse the SciFi forum but your build caught my eye.

Very cool to know. I have a Falcon as a "must do" someday, so these would come in useful. Guess I should start bringing these into the states :)

 

Thanks on the build. More to come, lighting is looking good so far. 

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59 minutes ago, Brett M said:

Very cool to know. I have a Falcon as a "must do" someday, so these would come in useful. Guess I should start bringing these into the states :)

 

Thanks on the build. More to come, lighting is looking good so far. 

 

Indeed, I have four big boxes full of DeAgostini Falcon parts. I haven't gotten up the nerve to tackle it yet. That plus I have to redo my entire work space to make room for it :dontknow:

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Minor updates for the evening. Paragrafix PE for the torpedo launcher installed and glued together. I can finally button up the bulb (and finish off the seams on it finally). 

 

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Annnnd, started on the secondary hull..umm...bulkhead. Tamiya Buff sprayed and ready for the Aztec Dummy masks tomorrow. Internal lighting is installed as well, but I still need to diffuse the plastic "glass" insert before I button up the hull. 

 

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More progress on the secondary hull bulkhead. 

 

First paint try, too dark. 

 

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Second try, much better. 

 

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And a new compressor from the wife for our anniversary. :)

Edited by Brett M
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Cobra head masking continues. I sprayed the NATO black earlier as well, but waiting for the paint to cure more before I add the masks.

I also am going to a spray test of the base color. Straight Tamiya Deep Green seems.....too dark. I've sprayed that on the sheet styrene and will do some lighter versions tomorrow. Has anyone else used any specific ratios that you liked with the Tamiya color?

 

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Progress....progress.....progress. Slight touch up to do around some of the masks, but overall I'm pleased. Once this gets sealed and washed, it should look proper dirty and Klingon.

 

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3 hours ago, Ken Cartwright said:

Very nice!  And looking at your masking reminds me of why my stuff never looks as good as what I see here - I just don't have the precision skill to get the sharply cut and shaped masks like that (among other deficiencies that I have) :).

 

I cheated this time Ken. I knew how long and annoying it would be to cut and mask Tamiya tape....so I bought Aztec Dummy masks for this one :) 

 

Thanks!

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Lot's of work on the neck an nacelle joins over the past two days, plus a summer cold, which is awesome. Masking using the Aztec Dummy masks for the many colors the next will have. 

 

The K'tinga definitely will dwarf the Bird of Prey!

 

Seams going away. I need to get the back plates for the wing installed so I can get rid of the final seams.
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Neck airbrushing, light green and buff.  I'll spray the darker buff tomorrow (after I apply about 50 separate masks).
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More to come!

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7 hours ago, Ken Cartwright said:

Again, very nice!  I love the shot of it next to the BoP.

 

Thanks Ken. I'll have to do some finished pics together, if I can figure out space large enough to do it!

 

More progress today. Neck and bulb painting. Detail painting, weathering and lots more to do still on those areas. Onto the secondary hull now though.

 

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4 hours ago, The Madhatter said:

That looks awesome mate! Love the subtle lighting. I know they're pre-wired but I don't suppose you know what sized resistors the LEDs use do you?

How's this?

 

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