Lunadude's U.S. One

[lunadude]

(original post: 29 Dec 2007 03:45 pm)

Yay, got to shoot some primer today.

Good to make some progress.

We just closed on a house, the family holiday activities, and general life events. We're moving in a couple weeks, so I get in what I can.

[lunadude]

(original post: 01 Jan 2008 02:33 am)

Went into Houston yesterday. G&G Models, on Times Blvd., is the oldest model shop in town. Lots of great raw model parts.

Picked up some HO train detail parts.

(click to enlarge)

[lunadude]

(original post: 14 Jan 2008 06:44 pm)

I have a project taking over. My full-scale diorama, commonly known as our new house. Spent the weekend filling gaps, masking, and painting.

At least I'm getting a bigger studio space to work with.

[Model Man]

(original post: Tue Jan 15, 2008 12:56 pm)

'New house' is definitely an awesome diorama!

Are you going to make plexiglass walls so that viewers can get a detailed look inside form all angles?

[lunadude]

(original post: 20 Jan 2008 07:08 pm)

Apr 25, 2008 16:08:09 GMT -6 Model Man said:

'New house' is definitely an awesome diorama!

Are you going to make plexiglass walls so that viewers can get a detailed look inside form all angles?

Probably more like part of a huge planet-sized train set. Very realistic.

[lunadude]

(original post: 03 Apr 2008 03:34 pm)

I unpacked the model last night. Laid it out on my new workbench. That felt really good.

I've got the itch to modify some plastic.

[lunadude]

Hey, I actually cut some plastic panel pieces, and opened up the model bits bags! I sure would like to glue, cut, sand, and putty, this weekend.

[lunadude]

, got to mess with plastic today. Small progress, but going well.

[Model Man]

That corrugation looks nice there, Mark.

A train wheel you say? HO presumably? It's tough to see from that angle and lighting.

I have to stop by the local train shop to look at O gauge track for a camera dolly system I'm contemplating. I will look also for spare HO stuff. There are probly some nice greeblies in the N scale too.

Glad to see your life has freed up some! I think this is my month now too. If not, I should have time going into, and through, July.

Look forward to seeing more, dude!

[lunadude]

The wheel is an HO, but looking at it now, kinda wish I had gotten a little larger wheel. I like the effect, but it is a little small. If you go that way, you might look into the next scale up from HO.

I Have been cutting and gluing little styrene rectangles on the surface of the model. Mmmmm, it is looking nice. Will post photos soon.

I've been using thin Cyanoacrylate glue (Mercury Adhesives M1100G) to stick the little buggers on. I made a applicator tool. Squadron sells one, but it is easy enough to build. I used a small dowel, drilled a hole in the end, glued a large needle in the hole, and cut the thread hole end off. The whole thing is about the length of a pencil. The end looks like a very small Fondue fork. It is great for grabbing a single drop and placing it where you need it.

[lunadude]

To catch up a little...

Weekend before last, I worked with the aft end. I had mounted the engine plate in place, and was test fitting the corrugated edge plates. The edge if the engine plate wasn't flush with the outer walls, so there was an uneven gap. The edge plates slipped down into the gap on some places. So I built a kind of decking, around the inner edge. This would level out the area.



I sketched up a display idea, on my white board. I though this might be more fun then just hanging it. Also means more work.



After reviewing my detail parts compost piles, I decided to order some detail parts from the Starship Modeler store. Fun vents and stuff. They showed up on Wednesday. They are listed here, if you want some (www.starshipmodeler.biz/index.cfm?currentpage=2&fuseaction=category.display&category_id=76).



I intend (as long as tropical storm Edouard allows) to post progress from the last couple days.

[lunadude]

Here is where her surface detailing is, right now.

Overall image.


Lower front.


Lower aft. The ribbing inside the engine recess, really turned out nice.


Some of the details on the mid section. Yes, that is a "googly eye", made for a nice small dome. Oh, and I used a 5mm jeweler's bezel cup, for the nice round detail on the "aft connector" section.


I'm still debating if I want to dremel out the stuff in the "exhaust ports", and use some mesh. Just don't want to botch the dremeling. Any tips on where I might find a nice hex mesh, for the insets? That would tip the balance.

I'm happy with the progress. Not as far along as Tom, but a good steady pace for me.

I also started puttying up the inset lip on the tower's wing tips. My focus is shifting to the tower/neck area.

[Model Man]

That train wheel looks perfect!

As for me being way ahead, consider that everytime I take a few steps forward, I change my mind and redo a few steps back. With the current paint job, I pretty much have to remask the entire thing. I've got a couple diff gray tones now and won't be mixing on the fly as I did on the first' final' attempt.

Can't wait for more shots, Mark!

[lunadude]

We headed off to Tomball, on Thursday. It is good to have extended family we've camped with, since we lost power Saturday morning at around 1am. We did well together, talked, laughed, played games. Yay. (who would have expected to be without power 90 miles inland)

Monday noon, we headed back home, in Friendswood. Our house was in good condition. About 70% of our fence was down, a tree in our front yard will have to be removed (the neighbor's tree kept it from falling down), and some minor roof damage (causing some water stains on the bedroom ceiling.

We have no power, or internets, so I'm posting from the lobby of the local Best buy (thanks).

We have food, water, and safety. I trust all of you are safe too.

[Model Man]

But do you have glue and putty, Mark?!? Were the nukes secured? Are they alright???

Seriously though, glad to hear you and yours made it alright. Sounds like you had a good adventure to boot.

[lunadude]

Sept 16, 2008 19:25:38 GMT -6 Model Man said:

But do you have glue and putty, Mark?!? Were the nukes secured? Are they alright???

Seriously though, glad to hear you and yours made it alright. Sounds like you had a good adventure to boot.

Nice to know you are looking out for my models.

Yep, all good. Still no power, but all good.

May pick up some parts and tools, and go model at a friend's house, who has power.

[Model Man]

In times of crisis like these, some homes are able to open up and bring in entire families. Living in a compact apartment 1500 miles away, makes that difficult in my case.

Other homes are able to open up and bring in dislocated pets. Having a very private cat, she would not take well to strange animals around.

But I can still help by opening my home to models! I have plenty of ceiling space for aero craft. And I can rig wall mounts if I run out of shelf space for 'other' kinds of models.

All conditions accepted, no model will be turned away (especially if she's chestnut haired, around 5'6 w/ a playful smile)!

[lunadude]

I glued some more parts together, this weekend. I know this is slow, but it is progress.

[lunadude]

Ok, time for an update with images. Huzzah for progress.

So I've been making and gluing tiny parts, shooting primer and display methods.

First, here is a look at the surface detail on the middle and aft body sections. I am very pleased with how this working. I still have some edges to clean up, but that should be short work.







This are the pieces being prepared the the nose inset. They started life as a 1/48 scale Sidewinder missile, from a Hasegawa Aircraft Weapons: C collection. I sliced off sections and drilled out a hole for an alignment pin, to hold a small section of aluminum tubing.



Oh, and here is a shot of a stand prototype. The foamcore is easy to work with, and I can make test changes quick. Clear plex may be the least visually obtrusive material. This configuration seems to hold the model securely. It has some nice tilt, so the model won't appear too static.



Looks like I'm moving again, so more updates soon.

[Model Man]

You have every reason to be pleased with this build, Mark. Those missiles will look interesting in place. Look forward to more!