Imagine if you will, that you are a Smuggler. You are cruising the galaxy as most Smugglers do, just trying to survive and earn a few credits along the way. Now imagine that your name is Captain B. Hudson, and you just made a few enemies in your travels . . . some as recent as the last couple days, and you are in need of a little escape. So you blast out of Mos Eisley and low and behold you end up in the Hoth system.
Not the most desirable location to be sure. The ski resorts are shut down, its cold as hell, and the Empire left the Rebel Base in total ruins. But, on the bright side it is a place to lay low for a little while and if you can keep the Wampas away visitors should not be a problem. It will give you some time to come up with a new plan and reform. As your once friend Han Solo used to say, "I'll do what I always do . . . talk my way out of it."
Now, you fly your beat up Corellian freighter to the remains of the rebel base and have a look around for supplies. The rebels did in-fact leave in a bit of a hurry. Surprisingly due to the remote destination and crappy weather, there is still a fair amount of parts and pieces to scavenge. Heck, some of this stuff could be worth a few credits, or at the very least a cold glass of Jawa juice and maybe a plate of deep fried Ewok legs.
So you poke around, and what do you come across? Well I'll tell you . . . a dumped and abandoned Astromech Droid.
And what is a Smuggler to do in this situation? Well take it of course! I mean, you don't just have credits lying around waiting to be spent on an Astromech droid do you? And why not have it for yourself. Imagine the doors that could be opened . . . literally by having this guy around. You could use a new companion too couldn't you. Since that time you were ambushed on Mandalore and those Fett's killed your Wookie and made stew out of him, you've been looking for a new partner of sorts anyway. Why not a droid?
So you take him back to your ship, and you get to work!
First; you sort all the parts and make sure you have everything you need. You are sure to wash everything in warm soapy water. (yeah yeah, you have to melt the snow, and then wash. Its a real pain, but an important step as the resin parts will need it.)
Then you sand all the parts down. 320 grit sandpaper will get the job done. It leaves the parts smooth and still provides the paint a place to grip.
now don't forget to pour a glass of Jawa juice while sanding and cleaning. This is tedious work and a refreshment is very important!
More sanding and prep and more parts. Yes I see it, the tube has been cut out and routed already. I had one too many Jawa juices and forgot to properly document that step. So sue me, its Hoth, and its damn cold so I forgot!!!
lets just remember I "found the droid" right? (don't worry, i have reference of that somewhere in the archives I'll find for you all on what we do with the body)
Next up we do a little primer work on some of the parts. Maybe you don't work in a specific order, maybe you get easily distracted, maybe you do what you want . . . get off my back already I'm doing the best I can here!!!!:wacko
Now on some of the parts you want to recreate the look you found him in. I mean, I know you got all his parts cleaned and a fresh coat of primer on them, but you don't want him to look all pretty do you? This is not a beauty pageant here he need to look rough and worn just like you and your ship. Its a used universe out there after all isn't it!
So what you do is lay down some primer, and then a base coat. Maybe you lay down some silver or metallic spray paint (like Krylong fusion metallic shimmer, looks pretty cool and shines nice.) Then you apply a little rubber cement (the cheap stuff you used to huff as a kid . . . I mean use, use as a kid:unsure) Then you let that sit for a few minutes or even a couple hours. Then you apply another layer of color, and add a bit more rubber cement over the new color)
Let that dry over night, and then just rub away the rubber cement spots . . . instant weathering!!!
The initial weathering technique can be used on all the parts. This one is going to be really beat up, and i get carried away (yep, you guessed it . . . jawa juice) so remember, less is more in most cases, but I'm good with this so far.
Next you are going to repeat this step and this process for all your parts. Tape them off, apply primer, rubber cement the areas you want, layer the paint, dry, and repeat. ***NOTE, let the paint dry completely, you will be tempted to mess with it, but if the paint has not entirely dried you will absolutely end up with a muddy mess! the paint will smear and look goopy, and trust me it will not look weathered it will just appear that you rushed it. I speak from experience:wacko
L3-FTY has a long way to go, but there are Wampas beating down the door so i'll have to deal with that first. I'll be back before long to keep this party going!
Not the most desirable location to be sure. The ski resorts are shut down, its cold as hell, and the Empire left the Rebel Base in total ruins. But, on the bright side it is a place to lay low for a little while and if you can keep the Wampas away visitors should not be a problem. It will give you some time to come up with a new plan and reform. As your once friend Han Solo used to say, "I'll do what I always do . . . talk my way out of it."
Now, you fly your beat up Corellian freighter to the remains of the rebel base and have a look around for supplies. The rebels did in-fact leave in a bit of a hurry. Surprisingly due to the remote destination and crappy weather, there is still a fair amount of parts and pieces to scavenge. Heck, some of this stuff could be worth a few credits, or at the very least a cold glass of Jawa juice and maybe a plate of deep fried Ewok legs.
So you poke around, and what do you come across? Well I'll tell you . . . a dumped and abandoned Astromech Droid.
And what is a Smuggler to do in this situation? Well take it of course! I mean, you don't just have credits lying around waiting to be spent on an Astromech droid do you? And why not have it for yourself. Imagine the doors that could be opened . . . literally by having this guy around. You could use a new companion too couldn't you. Since that time you were ambushed on Mandalore and those Fett's killed your Wookie and made stew out of him, you've been looking for a new partner of sorts anyway. Why not a droid?
So you take him back to your ship, and you get to work!
First; you sort all the parts and make sure you have everything you need. You are sure to wash everything in warm soapy water. (yeah yeah, you have to melt the snow, and then wash. Its a real pain, but an important step as the resin parts will need it.)
Then you sand all the parts down. 320 grit sandpaper will get the job done. It leaves the parts smooth and still provides the paint a place to grip.
now don't forget to pour a glass of Jawa juice while sanding and cleaning. This is tedious work and a refreshment is very important!
More sanding and prep and more parts. Yes I see it, the tube has been cut out and routed already. I had one too many Jawa juices and forgot to properly document that step. So sue me, its Hoth, and its damn cold so I forgot!!!
lets just remember I "found the droid" right? (don't worry, i have reference of that somewhere in the archives I'll find for you all on what we do with the body)Next up we do a little primer work on some of the parts. Maybe you don't work in a specific order, maybe you get easily distracted, maybe you do what you want . . . get off my back already I'm doing the best I can here!!!!:wacko
Now on some of the parts you want to recreate the look you found him in. I mean, I know you got all his parts cleaned and a fresh coat of primer on them, but you don't want him to look all pretty do you? This is not a beauty pageant here he need to look rough and worn just like you and your ship. Its a used universe out there after all isn't it!
So what you do is lay down some primer, and then a base coat. Maybe you lay down some silver or metallic spray paint (like Krylong fusion metallic shimmer, looks pretty cool and shines nice.) Then you apply a little rubber cement (the cheap stuff you used to huff as a kid . . . I mean use, use as a kid:unsure) Then you let that sit for a few minutes or even a couple hours. Then you apply another layer of color, and add a bit more rubber cement over the new color)
Let that dry over night, and then just rub away the rubber cement spots . . . instant weathering!!!
The initial weathering technique can be used on all the parts. This one is going to be really beat up, and i get carried away (yep, you guessed it . . . jawa juice) so remember, less is more in most cases, but I'm good with this so far.
Next you are going to repeat this step and this process for all your parts. Tape them off, apply primer, rubber cement the areas you want, layer the paint, dry, and repeat. ***NOTE, let the paint dry completely, you will be tempted to mess with it, but if the paint has not entirely dried you will absolutely end up with a muddy mess! the paint will smear and look goopy, and trust me it will not look weathered it will just appear that you rushed it. I speak from experience:wacko
L3-FTY has a long way to go, but there are Wampas beating down the door so i'll have to deal with that first. I'll be back before long to keep this party going!
