Paint really works wonders! - Out of the Box Hasbro Falcon

All, thought I'd share my little adventure with the Hasbro Falcon 'toy', which illustrated how dramatic an impact a bit of paint can have on a model.

My better half decided she would have a Star Wars theme in her 4th grade classroom this year. I volunteered to provide a celing hung Millennium Falcon using a Hasbro Rebels toy. So I applied the stickers to the bare plastic & blacked out the gun turret windows with a Sharpie marker. After a 'hmmm!' look, I decided it was worth a bit more dressing. and so gave it a black & gray 'sludge wash' using cheap acrylic craft paints ('Apple Barrel' brand from Walmart), thinned with water & a few drops of dishwashing liquid. I played with this, adding some touches of color, then did a bit of dry brushing with white (same acrylic paint.) It was looking pretty good by now, so I did some further detail painting on the cavity side walls with black and some gray paint on some of the exhaust flaps. I even experimented with black Rit dye as a pin wash! Once done, I coated the whole mess with Krylon brand 'gloss clear' coat. This resulted in not so much a glossy as satin or semi-matte finish.


[The materials & tools]

At this point, it was looking good enough, I decided to use Retiredadguy's decals to add just a bit more visual complexity (I used the ones made for the extra Legacy Falcon.) I didn't bother adding decals to the sidewall stickers but otherwise did a fairly complete job. I found Retired's decals were not compatible with the Microscale decaling system products, which tended to make them fall apart. I attempted to boost the decals with Microscale's liquid decal film but that caused the decals to curl up to such a degree that I had to use a 'white' glue to attempt to attach ones so affected. In the end, I managed to get most laid down and then secured with another coat of Krylon clear. (Sprayed on with the model hanging on its suspension rod made from a coated coat-hanger wire.)

Last thing, I applied pastels to various spots for smoke and rust/weathering effects, followed by a final coat of Krylon.

Although this started as a quick & dirty for SWMBO, it turned into a lot of fun. Not a 'high fidelity' model by any stretch, but still looks good from a distance which fits the bill perfectly. Now I'm wanting to add a couple of MPC X-Wings as an escort! ;^D



Regards, Robert

That really looks good!

TazMan2000

It always amazes me how much difference paint and weathering can transform our models. Excellent work, with the perfect mix of wear and use. I've seen some folks over do it and the result just looks over dirty and not realistic....you've nailed it perfectly...great job!

Great work sir! That's a fun quick little project you got right there.... Let's just hope the kids don't think it's a piñata !

Pcoz said:

Great work sir! That's a fun quick little project you got right there.... Let's just hope the kids don't think it's a piñata !

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Thanks for the kind words, mates. I'm glad you like it (and didn't look too closely!)

Pcoz, that is a definite worry! Though 4th graders are generally not that tall... ;^P

R/ Robert

Great job, Robert. Really cool that you did that for the kids, too.

Always wanted to try that myself. Pretty good effect! VMA-533 Hawks : ) was that your unit? Yes, those paints are nice -- good opacity, coverage, finish, easy to brush on, clings to anything.

crackerjazz said:

Always wanted to try that myself. Pretty good effect! VMA-533 Hawks : ) was that your unit? Yes, those paints are nice -- good opacity, coverage, finish, easy to brush on, clings to anything.

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CJ, the VMA decal was found on the 5-footer so Retiredadguy included it on his YT-1300 Freighter decal set. It was originally clipped from a Microscale 1/72 A-6 Intruder decal sheet, IIRC. It was overlaid on a red outline rectangle to create the graphic used. That was one of the details we sorted out in the MF Decal Survey project, documented in a couple of threads here in RPF country... do a search for 'decal survey' and you should find it. [Update: here is the link to the Survey thread in SS Models forum: http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=235349 ]

I had been hearing good things about the "cheap craft paint" line from Apple Barrel, but hadn't really tried them out too much. However, this gave me an opportunity to test them. I learned that they require shaking to mix up, as noted on the bottle. Also, there are paint 'strips' sold of small plastic snap-top cups so you can get a sampler to try out for very little outlay.

Although initially I applied the paint over the bare plastic, I think the Krylon coat acted a bit like a adhesion promoter since I didn't have any paint flaking or rubbing off. In any case, it worked out surprisingly well, considering how sloppy I was... ;^P

Regards, Robert

that paint job looks great.. really makes this toy into a model.

It's amazing what a good paint job can do for things

Great job. This a testament to how good this toy is. Ive always said a good paint job is 90% of a good model or prop.

Looks really good, a lot of folks don't realize how handy that cheap craft paint can be.

Robert,

I LOVE it!!! Frakin AWSOME!!!

Thks for the promo on the decals:cool!! Q?,.. You did read the instructions on the decal application sheet right? said with a smile.

When I was developing the decals I tested them on all three surfaces, Ie high gloss, semi gloss and dull coat finish. Surprisingly the Dull-coat finish worked the best. It might be due to the higher tooth in the finish giving the decals better adhesion with a lot less curling. I only used Solva-Set (available on Amazon) setting solution as it is the weakest setting solution I have found.

Here is a tip using these decals. 1) Apply the decal, let it dry even if the edges slightly curl. Spray a LIGHT coat of Dull-Coat, when it is still wet use a tooth pick to smooth out the edges, and apply another light coat of Dull-Coat let it dry. If the decal is still curling or bubbling, apply a small amount of setting solution repeat with the tooth pick, the setting solution will re emulsify the Dull-coat and help set the decal.

Hope this helps.

Again, sweet job on the "out of the box Falcon" !!

best regards,

ps. What no hash-marks?? there are only a few hundred,...

No hash-browns, uh, marks for a Q&D build like this. A solid 'three footer' by design instead of by accident. ;^P
Thanks for the compliments though. My wife's class appreciates it, too.

Curling wasn't really much a problem except when I used Microscale's 'Film' liquid decal coating solution, probably due to it shrinking slightly (since it curled in towards the MS film side.) Weirdly, some of the unaltered decals seemed more delicate than others, though I couldn't tell you if there seemed any pattern to this behavior. A few just wanted to start disintegrating almost immediately when I was placing them. If I'd paid better attention, I might have seen it was a 'color' thing since I can see how certain inks might not penetrate (adhere?) the decal paper coating as well as others.

Next time, I will experiment with the Pledge MSF 'bath' technique which should control just about any curling.

Regards, Robert

As an out of the box "toy" it looks lightyears better than it has any right to... and I mean that as a compliment when the year is over you should try your hand at scratching in the sidewalls with kit-bashed parts... if you're 1/2 as good as scratching as weathering - It'll be truly awesome!

Jedi Dade

Yes, beautiful job!!! :thumbsup

Hey, thanks very much; I'm glad you liked it.
JD, I have at least a couple more in the stash for building into proper models. One is slated for a 32" replica (using the Tony detailing set), another for a 5-footer and a third I want to do up 'free-form' to incorporate some of my own ideas. But at least I have some confidence that I can get a decent looking finish.

R/ Robert