Colonial Viper model in need of constructive criticism...

[Chrisisall]

Hello! I here am new.
This forum was listed on Modelers Miniatures & Magic, so I decided to check it out.
Niiiiiice site!

I just finished a Viper model, and have another waiting to be built. If y'all could kindly tell me where I succeeded & where I failed with this outing, it will surely help me in my next attempt, as I will be going for a full diorama with landing gear, an open-able cockpit canopy & improved pilot (the face was so bland I didn't even bother trying to paint it up to be life-like).
The kits & artists on this site appear to be of the very highest caliber, so any input will be totally appreciated!

So, here it is:

The panel lines were drawn on with a silver sharpie, I'm thinking I'll actually etch them in on the next one...

Anyway, great to be here!

Chrisisall, would-be Hollywood FX dude :lol

 

[FunkPunkTwang]

I'd blend the seam on the top of the fuselage a bit more, I can't tell if you painted the stripe or if it's a decal. I scribed the lines on the fuselage for mine, but didn't bother with them on the wings.

 

[Chrisisall]

I'd blend the seam on the top of the fuselage a bit more, I can't tell if you painted the stripe or if it's a decal.

I don't generally use decals; it's painted on. Great point, you know, seeing it in pictures makes stuff like that jump out a bit more to me. I will definitely tend to that on the next one! Thanks Funk!! :thumbsup

 

[ZOMBIEREPELLENT]

Hey sorry, I posted on funks name by accident while I was at his house haha

Here is a picture of how mine turned out with the scribed lines:

 

[Chrisisall]

Wow! Yeah, that's definitely the way to go!:thumbsup
Is it just the lighting there, or did you decide to paint it dark, like the way it looked on full-sized mock up shots in the show?

 

[jessec]

This is a beautiful Ship - very nicely painted - {Thumbs up}

Only suggestion i have is - would like to see the stripe a little bit towards More Red.urs look like a bit orange or is it just the lighting.... & maybe a little but more Burn around the engines...

Beautiful Ship non-theLess

 

[Chrisisall]

Only suggestion i have is - would like to see the stripe a little bit towards More Red.urs look like a bit orange or is it just the lighting....

It may be the weathering- it seems to have possibly washed it out some, but I'll re-check it on the next Viper I build just to be sure.

& maybe a little but more Burn around the engines...

Yeah, I think I might have skimped on that a little.
Thanks!!! Always lookin' to improve! This is my favourite small spacecraft of all time.:love

 

[ZOMBIEREPELLENT]

Yeah I was going for a used and abused look, so I painted it dark, added different shades for panels and whatnot. I actually added a couple panels with styrene sheets to replicate replaced panels.

 

[Chrisisall]

- very nicely painted -

Oh, I also rotated the guns so that the triangular bits are horizontal, and I hollowed them out too. And the connecting struts had to be shortened at the front end by about 2mm to accommodate this repositioning, as well as just being plain more accurate. I looked at literally hundreds of photos & screencaps... I never researched anything more in my life. :confused
But with the help I'm getting here, my next one will be KILLER!!!!:love

 

[Chrisisall]

I actually added a couple panels with styrene sheets to replicate replaced panels.

I bought an old airplane model to scavenge for my Galactica model, and ended up finding a flat wing piece useful in making the top panel in front of the canopy of my Viper (the cap they put over the screw hole for filming it from the top). It's an optional addition to be sure, but I saw it in so many screencaps I decided to include it.

 

[ZOMBIEREPELLENT]

If you do scribe it, sand one side and scribe it, then sand the other and scribe it. That way you always have a reference as to where to scribe them.

Pick up some of that old school label maker tape, put it where you want your line and lightly run your scribing tool along it.

Or you can do it the way REL has shown people, cut some really think strips of masking tape, lay out your lines and hit it with a few coats of high build primer. Then remove the tape.

 

[Chrisisall]

Pick up some of that old school label maker tape, put it where you want your line and lightly run your scribing tool along it.

That's a totally excellent tip!!! Thanks! I was using the 'hold-a-ruler' method on my Galactica- needless to say, lots of re-painting ensued!:$

 

[Mike J.]

Looks like there might be a bit of the seam visible along the top of the nose. That's the only thing I can find wrong with it. Everything else looks real good

 

[Chrisisall]

Looks like there might be a bit of the seam visible along the top of the nose. That's the only thing I can find wrong with it. Everything else looks real good

Thanks Sheriff! I'll tend to that directly. I don't usually like to revisit finished works, but it's so glaring at this point, I *need* to correct it.
And add burn to the engines, as noted above.:cool

However, panel scribing will be for my next one. The ultimate one. This is the one I'll play with. You know- close one eye & zoom past my face whilst making a turbo noise not actually audible in space...lol

 

[Chrisisall]

Oh hey- there was so much snow up here in the Northeast that I got the idea to do a 'natural diorama' with my models- Gun On Ice Planet Zero style:

:lol

 

[3d-builder]

:thumbsup That loks great nice job........:love vipers!

I looked at this last picture and kept staring at it,
thats an amazing shot it looks like a screen grab
or something!!!

 

[Chrisisall]

it looks like a screen grab
or something!!!

In this digital age, nothing beats planting two models in a snow bank & calling it an FX shot!!!:lol

 

[phase pistol]

I am visualizing chromed Cylons stumbling around inside a mockup of Skylab!!! :cry

 

[jessec]

Oh, I also rotated the guns so that the triangular bits are horizontal, and I hollowed them out too. And the connecting struts had to be shortened at the front end by about 2mm to accommodate this repositioning, as well as just being plain more accurate. I looked at literally hundreds of photos & screencaps... I never researched anything more in my life. :confused
But with the help I'm getting here, my next one will be KILLER!!!!:love

Looking at yours :thumbsup i think m going to have to shed money on one, looks like a fun project.

 

[DS Operative]

Can you give me a tip, seeing that you did a lot of research?

It looks like you painted the inside of the intakes black, which looks like what they did on the filming minitures to me. But the full-size mock-ups seemed to have the interior of the intakes painted the same color as the outside of the Viper. So the two contradict each other. Am I wrong on this?