1/144 Hammerhead Corvette scratch build

[Bauble]

Hi, Monsterpartyhat! Its good seeing you here. I am blogging here precisely because I am about to post updates on my blockade runner. Keeper of the force is pretty dead - I am sad but it seems to be a reflection of the decline of model making.
Anyway the blockade runner is 1/144 (same) and has been my pressure release valve during this pandemic. Here is a quick picture. I just started painting.

 

[Bauble]

There appears to be a widespread shortage of Tamiya flat red paint. None in my nearby hobby store and Amazon has limited and expensive options. I dont really trust mailing during cold months - it seems to mess with the chemistry of the paint. I am still fussing with the exact mix of red to use. I have about 10ml left - it is not enough to experiment for the right mix and be able to paint. So the progress may be slow till my store starts carrying red again....

 

[monsterpartyhat]

WOW. That looks amazing. What a pair of ships!

 

[Analyzer]

Hi, Monsterpartyhat! Its good seeing you here. I am blogging here precisely because I am about to post updates on my blockade runner. Keeper of the force is pretty dead - I am sad but it seems to be a reflection of the decline of model making.
Anyway the blockade runner is 1/144 (same) and has been my pressure release valve during this pandemic. Here is a quick picture. I just started painting.
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That was a great site. It is a shame it has gone so quiet

At any rate, excellent work all around and great to see your stuff here!

 

[madebyap]

Absolutely amazing. Great work!!

 

[Toadmeister]

There appears to be a widespread shortage of Tamiya flat red paint. None in my nearby hobby store and Amazon has limited and expensive options. I dont really trust mailing during cold months - it seems to mess with the chemistry of the paint. I am still fussing with the exact mix of red to use. I have about 10ml left - it is not enough to experiment for the right mix and be able to paint. So the progress may be slow till my store starts carrying red again....

Do you use the Tamiya Red strait or mix it with anything else?

I tried using Tamiya Red over Insignia White and found it too bright on my X-Wings.

 

[Bauble]

Effete, I haven’t forgotten your request about interior shot. It is difficult to take shots with my ipad. I am still waiting for the right light conditions to get the shots.

Toadmeister, I agree straight red would not work. I have seen good realistic coloring by using mostly brown with just a little red added. It will take some experiments to get the exact right shade for the blockade runner. The task is made even more complicated by the off white foundation color already on the runner.

I am very particular about tweaking the color just right for a realistic look. Here are two pictures. In the first, I thought I got the grey shade right. But, the contrast was still too drastic and made the model look off scale. The wrongness of the color choice wasn’t apparent during the initial color contrast test. It only became clear when I painted the whole thing. In the second picture, I applied a much lighter shade of grey. The entire color scheme came together better. On a smaller model, such tweaks are easy. With a scratch build at this size, the color tweak required a couple of days of prep work of difficult masking. The crazy thing was the shade of grey was so light, I never expected it to work.

 

[Toadmeister]

Toadmeister, I agree straight red would not work. I have seen good realistic coloring by using mostly brown with just a little red added. It will take some experiments to get the exact right shade for the blockade runner. The task is made even more complicated by the off white foundation color already on the runner.


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Yes same experience here. On my 1/72 Bandai Falcon I found if I airbrushed some dark grey over the Insignia white first, the Red was toned down nicely. This also helped provide some tonal variation to the red depending how heavy I airbrushed it down.

Adding some brown or red-brown is another good approach.

 

[eagledocf15]

I would love for this Hammerhead and the REbel Blockade Runner to be 3D printed!!! These are incredible!!! Well done

 

[Analyzer]

That is one of the most impressive builds I have seen

Toadmeister, I agree straight red would not work. I have seen good realistic coloring by using mostly brown with just a little red added. It will take some experiments to get the exact right shade for the blockade runner. The task is made even more complicated by the off white foundation color already on the runner.

If you can get Tamiya Hull Red ( it is like a brick red) and mix in your remaining flat red that might be good enough

I also find if I lay down a tan or ochre base before the red it really helps reduce the layers of red you have to lay down to cover properly over white or especially over a black primer. It should also help save the amount of red you need

 

[kermet]

Knocked it out of the park super work Thanks for sharing

 

[Bauble]

Thanks, Eagledoc, Toadmeister and kermet! I appreciate the red paint suggestion. As that subject pertains to the 1/144 Blockade Runner, I am going to move that discussion to the Runner thread. Its useful information and I hope to preserve it for future modelers.

Here is the link to the Runner thread:

1/144 Blockade Runner scratch build

Hi everyone. I have been working on a blockade runner during this pandemic. I wanted it to be a partner to the 1/144 Hammerhead Corvette I scratch built last year. I thought they would look nice together on top of my wife's piano. I have not been able to convince her to let me put a plywood...

www.therpf.com

 

[Bauble]

Hi, everyone. I have been working on my hammerhead in preparation for Wonderfest. I am a little more confident about weathering than 2 years ago. I used a combination of fine point airbrushing, oil painting and a very small amount of very subtle splattering to season the hammerhead. Here are the results.

 

[Bauble]

 

[Bauble]

Here is a picture of the Hammerhead next to the Blockade Runner and a x-wing. all in 1/144 scale. I am not done with the Blockade Runner weathering yet, but it is getting there.

 

[Bauble]

Disassembled and packed up for Wonderfest! This is my first time attending Wonderfest. Not sure what to expect. Will there be outlets for me to plug the lights in? Will we be struggling for space? I would hate to dangle this model near the table edge.

 

[Bauble]

Special shout out to Jaitea. His weathering is inspiring.

 

[Hagoth]

These are fantastic looking scratch builds. Beautiful detailing and craftmanship. Excellent work on these. Best of luck at Wonderfest.

 

[joberg]

Best of luck at Wonderfest. It's a learning experience for sure and yes, don't get those models near the edge of the table

 

[Aegis159]

Jeez, it's time for Wonderfest already?! Going to miss another one, PLEASE take lots of photos of the display!

Love your work!