Jaitea's Falcon Projects

[Jaitea]

Your painting looks spot on Jurasikfrank, thanks for the support.

There really are so many methods to achieve the right look, I suppose the thing that is in the back of my head was the size of the kit when I was a kid.....my first MPC Falcon I really just painted the red & darker grey panels...my second one in the late 80's I hand painted the whole ship....and I kept painting & touching up for years...I was never happy with it.

Now all these years later...I have an airbrush....BUT...no compressor. I use the compressed propellent cans....which are rubbish....there is no sustained pressure.

I'm going to have to buy a compressor. I've got a FM Falcon, a FM Slave 1 & various other things almost ready to paint.

J

 

[JohnSimmons]

Yeah you have to bite the bullet and get a compressor. I have a real cheap entry level revell one and it does me proud. I didn't pre shade my falcon, it's not a must by any means but you won't get the right colour for the base coat of the falcon from a rattle can lol

 

[Grendels]

Agreed!

 

[Captain Han Solo]

If you are going for the 5' Falcon look(the 32" From Empire was painted differently), You want to prime the model with Flat Black first(that's what ILM did).
Then spray the base coat of 50%"floquil Reffer White"/50% "floquil grime'. Be sure to spray it outside as the paint stinks to high heaven!

Then I did all the red's using again Floquil colors, Gray's ETC...But keep this in mind, you want to paint it to scale..Some guys weather their Falcons to a point where it does look like a piece of junk!!

With you talents, you can make this a show stopper(it already is!!)!

Just my two cents.

 

[Jurasikfrank]

What Captain Han Solo says makes a lot of sense but keep a few things in mind: the smaller the kit the lighter you want to go with your base color. Making a 100% match color with the 5' foot model with a 12" model will give the impression that the ship is actually darker then what is is.
On top of that, I'm sure you're planning on weathering it: weathering goes on much heavier on a small kit then on a bigger one.
The models made by ILM where made to be filmed. In order to get all the details on camera, the base colors add to show exagerated contrasts and the weathering needed to be applied very heavily a bit like an actor in a musical, lots of makeup so that everyone in the room can see the actors expression (sorry if its a bad exemple, I didn't find anything more clever LOL)
Last but not least, whenever I paint something, I learned not to go crazy on paint color research. Yes, I try to match the color from the original model but in most cases, I end up using filters to fine tune everything.
Just my 2 cents (kinda long, feel more like 5 bucks LOL) ;D
For a cheap reliable compressor, check out harbourfreigh.com
Cheers

 

[Jaitea]

There's a lot to consider there in pre-shading (or even not pre-shading in Jurasikfrank's AMT Falcon)
Thank you all for your help, it's very much appreciated.

It looks like I'm gonna have to buy a compressor, I have been putting it off for a long time, but I think nows the time.

I haven't done a lot in the last 3 or 4 days as I've been very busy in work, and more for the next couple of weeks, but I'm sure to be able to squeeze in some precious kit building in somewhere.

J

 

[Jurasikfrank]

Hey Jaitea,
I was going through your wip, again (always inspiring), and that made me think about compressors.
By no meens am I an expert but here's what I'm using and from where I bought it:

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-8-eighth-hp-40-psi-oilless-airbrush-compressor-93657.html

The great thing about this little compressor is that it comes with a moisture trap and the airpressure dial is pretty accurate. Anyway, I really like it.
I don't know if you're from the USA but this is where harbour freight is based.
I'm from Montreal, Canada and was able to have it delivered to my door.

So cheers and can't wait for your future progress!

 

[Jaitea]

Thanks Jurasikfrank, your work is also inspiring....in fact due to this site and its input, I've got that old got to be building something feeling.

Thanks for that link.....I'm in the UK...but I used your recommendation to find this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AIRBRUSH-KIT-AIRBRUSH-COMPRESSOR-AIR-BRUSH-COMPRESSOR-/370268372610?pt=UK_Crafts_DrawingSupplies_EH&hash=item5635b6fe82#ht_5453wt_1156

It looks almost the same (heres a screen grab....cause the real link will disappear):

Its a pretty good price.

I've made a cockpit window....still to cut out the frames...I will post progress tomorrow night

J

 

[Jaitea]

Some updates to the build:

Cone was made by wrapping thin plasticard around original cone

Today after adding some styrene strip:

Still loads to do

J

 

[Quaralane]

Looks like it should do the trick quite nicely

 

[Grendels]

That looks very sharp!

 

[Jaitea]

Thanks very much guys,

I decided to go ahead and order that compressor on the previous page, looking forward to giving it a go!...even though I'll not be ready for painting for a while

J

 

[Jurasikfrank]

Good for you Jaitea!

 

[Jaitea]

Compressor has arrived!....brilliant job.

I was looking at the 1/72 Falcon that I have & I noticed that the diameter of the Jawbox Is a lot wider than the diameter of the cockpit & docking rings, I did a bit of research & I found this thread in hobbytalk.com where a guy called gourounaki is undertaking the job of narrowing the jawbox, heres a link to the thread:

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?s=5bff0a8c137c40a135af756ea862fc43&t=206236&page=8

I know what you're thinking....."don't do it!"....but its annoying me now, soooo......

.....OK, this is it in place, marks on Jawbox indicate what the diameter should be

This is her with it removed

& compared with the other parts with the same dimensions

J

 

[Quaralane]

Your call on doing it or not.
Good luck with it, either way

 

[JohnSimmons]

You've done it now!!! Waiting with baited breath... Good luck buddy.....

 

[Jaitea]

Thanks guys, it took a lot of gluing & breaking apart again to get this part square

Heres the modified top jaw faced with the un-modded lower jaw

The pieces just set in....I re-removed the mandibles (I did this mod a few years ago, but could only toe-in the mandibles slightly due to the Jawbox size) and I like the angle they can achieve now

Tis one shows the how the jaw effects how much you can pull in the mandibles

My other baby crying out for attention

J

 

[JohnSimmons]

Looks fantastic! You should email the pics to fine molds and show em how it's really done lol

 

[The Nylon Gag]

But don't mention it on SSM or you'll start a riot. ;D LOL

Gag

 

[Quaralane]

More excellent work.
Way beyond my patience level, though