AMT/Ertl "Lost in Space" Movie Robot

[Glorfindel]

Looking really sharp!

 

[jellis11]

That is some beautiful work! very inspiring.

 

[Grendels]

That is a much better color than what was in the movie...

 

[Beork]

wow, this cleaned up really well... the lower part ust seems a bit empty now, never noticed that in the movie...

Will be ace with weathering and ten times as mean

 

[Ian]

Thanks everyone! Hoping to finish it off this week.

wow, this cleaned up really well... the lower part ust seems a bit empty now, never noticed that in the movie...

They mostly shot the robot above the waist, something I noticed when taking screengrabs for reference.

 

[mr lucky]

This is so cool! Love the finish colors too. Really nice choices.

Erik

 

[Quaralane]

Definitely looks better than it did in the movie.
Bring on the weathering.

 

[Ian]

Starting weathering last night, but it's slow going just playing around with the AK products. I wish I had a clear intention of what I was doing with the model. Suggestions welcome.

 

[ModelMakerMike]

This design reminds me of some British Comic book type sci-fi, like from the title "2000 AD"
Have you ever seen a low budget post apocalyptic movie called "Hardware" ?
By looking at the design of this robot, I would say he's either a mechanical/repair type droid, or a combat droid. I would be tempted to go all combat mode with him, and add a lot of personalized markings such as troopers might paint onto their tank, or helicopter, or gun.... Kind of like what the space marines did in the movie "Aliens". If you have ever watched the special features, you can see how the actors were allowed to personalize their armor, and weapons.

 

[Ian]

Some great suggestions, thanks Mike! I was just talking about "Hardware" a couple days ago with friends —love that film. The "Aliens" idea is spot on too. I'd forgotten about that being mentioned in the documentary.

 

[Ian]

Ok, I think I'm at a good stopping point. A little rough around the edges in parts but I'm pretty happy with it.

 

[Dusky]

Very cool!

 

[Ian]

Things I leaned from this build:

• Parts don't always fit together well (cheaper/basic kit problem)
• Spend extra time on filling gaps and seams so that they look good before priming
• You don't always have to stick to the color scheme
• It's fun to improvise weathering
• AK Interactive products are pretty darn great
• CA glue can be a lifesaver
• Use real life reference more for finishing - less time staring at model wondering how to complete it

 

[Dusky]

All great points. Even with the historical stuff you can build it and paint it how you want.

 

[Ian]

Oh, and I need to get better with decals. I can still see the clear edge around them even after spraying with future.

 

[Grendels]

She looks good, and just so you know. Most Sci Fi kits suffer from bad seams. There are exceptions, like Fine Molds, and some Hasegawa kits are pretty good. But anything older than a year or two will have bad seams to work with.

 

[Ian]

The seam knowledge is very useful. Prepares me for the various Star Wars kits I've been getting on eBay.

 

[Dusky]

AMT kits are rough.

As far as decals go, I use a gloss coat before applying the decals and after, but some decals just don't want to go down, like some of the older decals and Academy decals. I use multiple applications of MicroSol and ice to get stubborn decals to go down.

 

[Ian]

They went on well with Micro Set and Sol (I just acquired some recently) but it's the clear edges I'm most concerned with. They look like decals instead of the 'real' thing. Should I have trimmed them before applying?

 

[Dusky]

You don't really want to trim the decals. The clear part of the decal "silvered" which is why it doesn't appear clear. This happens often with older decals. You can find lots of threads about decal silvering and how to prevent and/or fix it using Google. I think it's because the decal isn't laying completely flat, but I'm not positive on that.