Building The Death Star - PRODUCTION

[PHArchivist]

Hey no fair showing me up in my own thread!

Nicely done. Yeah - consistency is tough.

 

[PHArchivist]

 

[PHArchivist]

Holy crap Jones!! That is spot on!!!

Rob, I think we have a problem!

Brad

Maybe we should invite HIM over on Saturday...!

DJ, was that with an airbrush or rattle-cans?

 

[Davy Jones]

Maybe we should invite HIM over on Saturday...!

DJ, was that with an airbrush or rattle-cans?

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Rattle-cans. Duplicolor if it helps. They have a nozzle different from other spray paint. Maybe I was able to get more speckles because of it?

Also for scale, my panels are about 3.5 inches high.

 

[PHArchivist]

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Rattle-cans. Duplicolor if it helps. They have a nozzle different from other spray paint. Maybe I was able to get more speckles because of it?

Also for scale, my panels are about 3.5 inches high.

I'm using Crown/Ace Hardware's house brand which uses the same nozzle as the Duplicolor cans I have, with the "flap" on top.

 

[Davy Jones]

Rattle-cans. Duplicolor if it helps.

Check that, the black I used was a Rustoleum and it too had a nozzle different from normal spray paints. Even different than the Duplicolor etc.

I wish I had kept better track of my methods. I was only curious to see if I could demonstrate the "no darker grey on the panels" theory.

Are you going to try out this method?

 

[modeleers]

Remember: Smoke & Mirrors.

 

[vaderdarth]

That's lookin perfect!

 

[Dyonisis]

"No preliminary base coat says ye... Properly explain this, says I!"

Seriously, thanks for the comps, and I respect your feed back.

The section I'm working on now may have been base-coated, or just had heavier application of darker colors hard to say. But I'm pretty sure they laid down a base coat on at least some areas of the model.

Clearly,you can see that the speckled pattern is no more dense on the left than it is on the right is this top photo. This indicates that there is some darker paint colour under this speckling.

I love what your doing Rob! I've been watching this from the begining,and I'm glad to have a chance to add something here that I hope will be of some use to you,or the other members here. I just wish I could come over,and help,but I have a few projects lingering over me right now.

Here is a quick paint test I did just now.
There is no darker paint for the panels here. Just masked and misted black, white, and basecoat to get it kinda even. Consistancy is extremely hard to achieve and if I actually spent time trying to get it even, I dont know if I could.
I dont envy you.

I see that there looks to be the same effect,but supersize this photo on your home computer,and you'll see that the although the speckling pattern is similar,it's not exact! The stippling effect from the spray paint cans that you're using is different than the ones that Rob is using,even though they are the same type of spray button. Your surface is more uneven,and subdued by the darker hues than the actual Death Star,and Robs' version.

My guess is that it's all in the hand movement,and the speed at which this applied determines the density,and the size of the paint droplets the form the speckling pattern. This also contributes to the hue of the panels to some extent,but to truly appreciate the value of the paint scheme itself,and all the hard work that went into it - you must look past what seems obvious to see what might actually elude our perception of what is truly is. Robs' on the right track with this - go slowly,and carefully,as it only takes one moment of indiscretion to ruin months worth of work!

 

[vaderdarth]

From 3 feet away, won't make a hoots worth of difference how it's done as long as the speckling is there and there is variation in shades among the paneling. I respect my colleague's opinion, but I still say you attack it with wild abandon Rob!!!

Dave

 

[PHArchivist]

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Rattle-cans. Duplicolor if it helps. They have a nozzle different from other spray paint. Maybe I was able to get more speckles because of it?

Also for scale, my panels are about 3.5 inches high.

Would you say you were rather heavy-handed with the cans (kept at it with multiple passes)?

 

[PHArchivist]

We're not out of the woods yet...

While the speckle debate rages on, I have to revisit my geometry. This first row of cityscape panels rises too high on the dome. Not by much, but enough to bug me.

The top line of this first row - by my best estimations - should be about a centimeter lower as juxtaposed against the midline of the dish. Otherwise, the center row will not be tall enough, and where the center row, upper row, and the vertical strips above the dish converge, the geometry will not be correct.

So...

I will need to mask off this first row, leaving about 5mm - 10mm exposed at the top, and respray with my base coat. And of course this will leave a slightly raised area where I've covered over the speckling, and this also introduces room for error on the latitude line (which is a pretty nice line right now).

Also, this will effect the geometry of each block, as reducing the height will make them all a bit more "squat". So I may have to trim the widths of the blocks here and there, again by masking and spraying base coat.

Good god... :rolleyes

But...

If I don't correct it now, then both sides of the entire upper hemisphere won't be quite right. Once I get it down perfect, then it should be a bit more free-wheeling on the project.

 

[vaderdarth]

Yeah that sounds like an issue you had better correct. Rob, It may not distract you at all once it's repanelled with the speckles. I would only sand after the fact only in the event that it bothers you or looks bad on camera.

 

[PHArchivist]

Yeah that sounds like an issue you had better correct. Rob, It may not distract you at all once it's repanelled with the speckles. I would only sand after the fact only in the event that it bothers you or looks bad on camera.

Exactly, Dave.

Once I have the base coat down (lowering the height of this first row of blocks), then I will reassess the raised aspect (if raised at all; the speckling is not too thick in releif). Then if so, I can sand from there, while the rest of the block is still masked off.

But this is something that must be corrected now. The problem is that the dish of course is a focal point. The way the blocks line up around it - if off - will bug you, me, and everyone else that loves this subject, either consciously or subconsciously.

Its like all the wonderful bust sculpts we see around here. Our artists can get 90% - 95% dead on with teh likeness, but if the nose is off a bit, we see it one way or another because we know the actor so well.

 

[PHArchivist]

Perfect example below - if I do not correct now, the block of the upper row I pointed at in red would be off.

If I maintain an accurate height of the middle row, then it would be pushed up too high and too close to the strip pointed to in green.

If I bring the red-pointed block down to where it should be (compared to the green-pointed strip), then the height of the middle row (red bracket) would be shrunken on my model, as is.

You all would pick up on this, again either consciously or subconsciously.

There are other factors and "mental gymnastics" to play with (such as "Is the green-ponted strip located properly, or can it me adjusted). But I've considered them as well, and they all fade in imporatance to the main problem.

.

 

[tgreco]

...it's... it's your future....
I see....

I see....

A reapplied base coat.....

go with your gut... if it bothers you now, it's only gonna bother you more when your drilling hole 22,458

 

[PHArchivist]

...it's... it's your future....
I see....

I see....

A reapplied base coat.....

go with your gut... if it bothers you now, it's only gonna bother you more when your drilling hole 22,458

Exactly. And once it corrected, everything else should fall into place.

 

[Straycatt]

First off, you are doing an outstanding job, don't let anyone make you think otherwise ...

On the subject of basecoating the cityscape panels, could you possibly be thinking in the wring direction, so to speak. Might they have, instead, oversprayed the lighter panels with the base color to lighten them up?? I mention this as the black speckles in the lighter portions do not look nearly as black as in the darker sections.

-Adam

 

[PHArchivist]

First off, you are doing an outstanding job, don't let anyone make you think otherwise ...

On the subject of basecoating the cityscape panels, could you possibly be thinking in the wring direction, so to speak. Might they have, instead, oversprayed the lighter panels with the base color to lighten them up?? I mention this as the black speckles in the lighter portions do not look nearly as black as in the darker sections.

-Adam

Very possible.

And as my old man used to say (and to play off your screen-name), there's more than one way to skin a cat. Regardless of technique or method, end goal is to get the correct look.

Thanks for the comps!

 

[Davy Jones]

Would you say you were rather heavy-handed with the cans (kept at it with multiple passes)?

Not really. I either held the styrene at arms length and spray or proped it up so it was still vertical.
Remember that smaller paint specks will travel farther than the larger ones. So I just sprayed in about 4 or 5 short bursts from about a foot and a half away to get the smaller dots and for the larger ones, I held the can well above the panel area so the larger dots would fall and hit it.
I didnt get the tone very even so I just hit it with some of my base color and adding those speckles evened it out.

Also it should be noted that a few of the panels in my picture dont have the white in them. Remember this was super quick and sloppy. No measuring or protractors. Just showing how I think you can get both the lightest and darkest panels with no darker grey.

I see what you mean about the location of those panels Rob. Good thing you spotted it now instead of later.