Bandai TFA MF and Fine Molds MF comparison.

[blakeh1]

A question about the plastic color of the model..... would that color work if you didn't paint it, and just painted or used the decals and then did some grime, rust, blast marks, etc. and used the plastic color as the body color? I was thinking that a lot of the tiny detail might fill in if not careful with the paint.

You could absolutely get away with it,however, he biggest issue is getting rid of that plastic look.

I found it best to spray it with something like Testors dull coat or a matte sealant first before weathering. I like the Testors dull coat or Game Workshop Matte Varnish because it tones down the shininess of the plastic in addition to giving a better surface for the washes and pastels to stick to.

I have done that exact thing with some of the Revell kits since I just did them as out of the box quick builds...

Revell Y-wing (a painted Fine Molds on the left, a dull coated and weathered Revell on the right)
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo32/blakeh01/Star Wars models/DSC00167.jpg

Revell ARC-170 easy kit
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo32/blakeh01/Star Wars models/IMG_3796.jpg
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo32/blakeh01/Star Wars models/IMG_3794.jpg

And this Revell Snowspeeder
http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo32/blakeh01/Star Wars models/DSC00167.jpg

In this case though, based on past horror stories regarding the Bandai plastic cracking, I would stay far away from oils washes using turpentine or mineral spirits or enamel washes without a proper paint layer first.

If your just going to use acrylic washes and weathering powders, than you won't have anything to worry about.

If your looking for a quick, easy color that seems good to me, you might pick up some Tamiya AS-20 Insignia White. I used it straight from the spray can without any primer on my Fine Molds falcon and it seems like a great color (the color is bit off in the photo though due to lighting conditions and no flash)

 

[astroboy]

When you look at these images it is really hard to fathom that they're of a model that small.....looks like detail on 1/72 or bigger

J

I REALLY hope that the eventual 1/72 isn't a 900 piece puzzle like the fine molds. I loathe sprue cutting. There's no reason that most of those greeblies were separate. (Mind you, I would love it if ALL the piping was separate)

 

[sqbiedoo]

Good info Blakeh:thumbsup

 

[Robiwon]

Bandai Falcon in the house!!!

 

[JeffBond]

Ah, this makes me nostalgic for the good old days when everyone was screaming about Bandai taking the license away from FM, how nobody could beat FM's quality and no one would be caught dead buying Bandai's toy-like snap-together crap.

 

[newmagrathea]

Geez I'm going to wind up with a fourth Falcon kit before I start building my first one. Can't deny that detail is outstanding.

 

[Zombie_61]

...For those of you still waiting for the Falcon, these are parts that is very fragile so BE CAREFUL!

Pfffff. Piece of cake. :wacko

 

[Mike J.]

Pfffff. Piece of cake. :wacko

https://youtu.be/nQlF-dpU5lw?t=2m34s

 

[Galactican]

LOL! :thumbsup

 

[Galactican]

Aargh!!! Be careful putting things back in the box, as I found tonight that putting them back in last night, still in the bag, I must have pushed down and something snapped off one of the gun halves, snapping off both barrels and leaving them attached to the sprue. Son of a........

Yep, I noticed that on the other kits. That's why I take photos of the unboxing for "personal packing reference" to document the sprue packing order which proved to come in handy many times. There is so less "air" in it compared to the Revell boxes...

I also scan the decals before I cut them to have a backup just in case something goes wrong.

 

[sqbiedoo]

I also scan the decals before I cut them to have a backup just in case something goes wrong.

Good thinking :thumbsup

 

[Zombie_61]

...If your looking for a quick, easy color that seems good to me, you might pick up some Tamiya AS-20 Insignia White. I used it straight from the spray can without any primer on my Fine Molds falcon and it seems like a great color (the color is bit off in the photo though due to lighting conditions and no flash)

http://i.imgur.com/PiqfvKx.jpg

That's a thing of beauty! I've seen far too many Falcons over the years with weathering so heavy-handed that they looked like they had barely escaped a fire, but yours has just the right amount. Nicely done! thumbsup

 

[Robiwon]

Love it as well. It may not be the most accurate color buts good enough for me. Building to please my eye. Great job on that one and agree about the weathering. Some are very over weathered.

 

[sqbiedoo]

Love it as well. It may not be the most accurate color buts good enough for me. Building to please my eye. Great job on that one and agree about the weathering. Some are very over weathered.

"Building to please my eyes". That is what most of us should do :lol

Good one Robiwon.

 

[Jaitea]

If your looking for a quick, easy color that seems good to me, you might pick up some Tamiya AS-20 Insignia White. I used it straight from the spray can without any primer on my Fine Molds falcon and it seems like a great color (the color is bit off in the photo though due to lighting conditions and no flash)

http://i.imgur.com/PiqfvKx.jpg

That's a thing of beauty! I've seen far too many Falcons over the years with weathering so heavy-handed that they looked like they had barely escaped a fire, but yours has just the right amount. Nicely done! thumbsup

Wow,....looks beautiful;,....of all the Falcons I have,....I don't have any finished

Thats the look I'd love to acheive

J

 

[sqbiedoo]

Wow,....looks beautiful;,....of all the Falcons I have,....I don't have any finished

Thats the look I'd love to acheive

J

Really? I though I was special :lol

 

[Axlotl]

Amazon 3rd party sellers too. They ship from Japan but they're pretty reliable.

I can't find one anywhere on Amazon. What am I doing wrong?
How do I find 3rd party sellers?
(I've never ordered from Amazon before - please excuse my ignorance )

 

[E Williams]

I can't find one anywhere on Amazon. What am I doing wrong?
How do I find 3rd party sellers?
(I've never ordered from Amazon before - please excuse my ignorance )

http://www.amazon.com/Millennium-Falcon-force-awakening-Bandai/dp/B014VTPQ22/

I just searched for Bandai Millennium Falcon. First link from search results usually brings up the cheapest option, and then the listing itself has a link that says "60 new from..." which brings up a list of all the other sellers.

 

[Axlotl]

Oh - I've been under the impression that that's the pre-built, pre-painted kit. Am I wrong? Is this the one I want?

EDIT: Okay, nevermind. Just found the reviews and somebody was kind enough to post pictures OOB.
Man, I would have pulled the trigger on this last week if I hadn't thought this was pre-painted and pre-assembled