Re: Norbauer's Notebook - adventures in recreational Star Trek (mostly) prop replicat
Beautiful paint job on the stone of Gol! I like the subtle highlighting you did to bring out the detail.
Agreed, in some cases you really do have to go with how things appeared on on screen, rather than the actual models -- otherwise you'd have things like a grey Romulan Warbird model (though on the other hand, I do kind of like the purple/green TOS D7 cruisers
).
I have a Dremel multimax oscillating tool that I use for bulk sanding when the belt/disc sander is not appropriate, though it's not high precision (it's also very useful for cutting parts). I'm also curious what other people use for that job since it's definitely not a perfect solution. Then sanding sponges and blocks are the next step (they can be used wet too). It looks like maybe you used just sandpaper in sheets by itself? A sanding block to help maintain the flatness of the sides along with a few grits of a sanding sponge would make quick work of those seam lines
Thanks! This is the first paint job that didn't make me want to murder myself. I used gray Plastikote primer and then custom mixed a dark gray in Golden High Flow acrylics, which I sprayed on lightly with the Iwata HP-G3. I then used shop rags to rub off most of it, letting the lighter gray primer show through from below. Then for a final pass I cranked the pressure way down on my compressor (an Iwata Power Jet), which causes a kind of spattering effect. I used this to spray from even darker gray flecks on the finish to lend a slightly more stony finish. Airbrush artists call this the "stipple effect" (
here is a tutorial). I then dry brush and rubbed the copper paint (a Tamiya copper I mixed with some transparent shading gray from Golden).
You're quite correct to infer that I was just using wet-sand paper by hand. A sanding sponge would have helped a bit probably, but I'm lazy and impatient (see prior posts re my ill-suitedness to painting work) so I wanted to try some kind of power assist. If I were just making one, I'd be fine doing it by hand, of course.
I have a multi-tool from Bosch that is similar to your Dremel. I have used it for tons of home repair stuff (I even used it to cut the trunk of my Christmas tree this year,) but it is a bit heavy-duty for prop work and I feared that it would leave sanding marks. I'm also not sure if the delta sanding pads come in super high grits above 1000 for example, which I want to give the scanners a really smooth-to-the-touch finish.
I ordered a
3" random orbit sander from Metabo with discs going all the way up to 3000 grit (will come in handy for refinishing my Portal gun). I'm hoping 3" will be small enough. If not, it's from Amazon, so I'll return it easily enough. I got a soft interfacing pad that is supposed to help it bend around curves (again, for the Portal gun). I'll post here when I find out how it works. I'm a little reticent about using an electric device for wet sanding, but very little water is usually actually required. This is why (along with the smaller disc sizes available) I would have preferred a pneumatic tool. But I don't see myself getting an 80 gallon compressor anytime soon. The 1.6 gallon one I use to drive my clear coat gun and pressure pot is millstone enough.
Another cool thing I've considered in the past is the
Proxxon disc sander. I believe it can be used with 3M Stikit discs, which also go way up high in grit. I also like that I could use it at angles to make bevels for two parts to fit together, which might be helpful in assembling acrylic and styrene parts on future scratch builds I have planned. A disc sander is also better for planar surfaces, of course, but can't really be used on curved surfaces like the Portal gun.
All of the sanding tools at the Artisan's Asylum where I'm working are for much larger work, mostly wood/furniture and large metal projects. So I've needed a better tool for sanding lately anyway. This is just an excuse for me to try to find it.