[mmmmp]

Hi Gang,

I'm hoping for a tech-tip here, although I'm sure this must have been touched upon before. If there's a link somewhere, please point me to it as I don't want to waste bandwith. Anyway...

I've been doing some detail work on the J2's com. station, upper control panels and tape recorder/General Alarm areas. I've done the light sand and flat green colors and have now bare-metal foiled the small control panels. I've applied Tamyia clear colors to various buttons and it's looking realy good.

However, in spite of this detailing, these parts still seem a little 'fake'. I haven't finished anything with a sealer or Future, but I'm thinking maybe a little wash of flat black might help. This makes me nervous, but perhaps I'm being too concerned.

Any thoughts?
Mark

 

[RSN]

No matter the scale, when I see a model on film, it looks fake. No offense to the builders, it is just how I see it. I know it is a model, and depnding on how light generates shadows, and raised details, I can judge the size. Don't risk your work to try and make it look more "real", if you are somewhat happy to this point. Give it a while, then go back and look at it again to see how it looks. Just my .02 cents.

 

[Paulbo]

Well, there's always this option, or if you're planning on lighting there's this. :wave:

But part of your problem might just be the slight rounding of parts as the small roundness of the edges is 35 times larger than it would be on the real thing. Unfortunately, it's nothing you can get around.

 

[Gilusions]

Hi Gang,

I'm hoping for a tech-tip here, although I'm sure this must have been touched upon before. If there's a link somewhere, please point me to it as I don't want to waste bandwith. Anyway...

I've been doing some detail work on the J2's com. station, upper control panels and tape recorder/General Alarm areas. I've done the light sand and flat green colors and have now bare-metal foiled the small control panels. I've applied Tamyia clear colors to various buttons and it's looking realy good.

However, in spite of this detailing, these parts still seem a little 'fake'. I haven't finished anything with a sealer or Future, but I'm thinking maybe a little wash of flat black might help. This makes me nervous, but perhaps I'm being too concerned.

Any thoughts?
Mark

Hi Mark,

If you have already painted the panels you can use Minwax Polycrylic clears you can find it at Walmart or Home Depot, it comes Gloss, Semi-Gloss, Satin finish. The price of one can is a little bit more then some model paint but you get ten times as much. and you get nice results. Try it on some painted scrap plastic first so you can see which finish works best for you.

 

[mmmmp]

Hi again,

Thanks for the replies, but I knew the answer even before I posted. (Just wanted some other opinions I guess.)

I've used the decals and photo etch on my Space pod with good results. This was an option I considered for the J2, but I wanted to keep my costs lower this time. I'm going to buy the Hero legs and Core lighting so I figured I'd try to take a shot at these details myself. Everything looks really good, but as RSN pointed out - it's still a model. (A great one indeed, but still a model.)

My 'problem' is I'm looking at things too closely when parts are being worked on....when integrated into the final build. When I add in some subtle floor / back lighting these small details will blend in to the overall effect. Since this my 'grail' kit and for once, I have plenty of time to lavish on it, I'm just trying to avoid having any "re-dos" - except for some,possibly, light touch-ups when close to completion. In short, I'm quite happy so far, so I'llleave well enough alone. I've messed up work before by trying too hard.

The one thing I've gotta' say: I really appreciate so much help from you skilled craftsman. (I'm not kissing a** here either) These forums are truly a Godsend especially now that high bandwith pictures can be posted. I only build a model or two a year, but I like it to be something I'm happy with. Lord knows how many I've rushed through.

Thanks for the help,....now, those freezing tubes look like a potential disaster....Grrrr.
Mark

 

[Chuck Eds]

The best reults I get when working on small details is to thin the paint (& use a really small brush!) I use plastic soda bottle caps for mixing small amounts of paint & for control panels and such I'll mix a little silver to give it a slight metallic look.

I hope this helps you out a little!

 

[mmmmp]

Chuck...everything helps my friend...

Cheers,
Mark

 

[m jamieson]

Another thing to try is to "dirty" the color by adding VERY small amount of the complementary or opposite hue color. This will make it less bright which in scale will appear much less toy like.

 

[Y3a]

Here's an observation......

I've painted interiors and small models in colors w/out weathering or washes and 'fixed it' with the lighting. This has been mostly HO scale (1/87) size models. The important thing is to get the TEXTURE correct. flat to high gloss. The Jupiter 2 seems to be a grayish silver semi-gloss. The Robot is a brighter silver, but the same finish. The Robotoid was Gloss with rust and friction scoring.