Topic: Ironpanda's Modelling Madness

[hemble]

10/10 mate.

Ron

[ironpanda]

Just started my Bandai Y-wing,and i thought i share some of my techniques with you.i'm sure most of you are already familiar with all this but perhaps someone isn't...

The Kit is great,i already built three Finemolds and i was surprised to see how much more detail bandai gets out of their Y-wing kit.there's only one Problem,at least for me: only one marking option is provided.I decided to use some surplus Decals from a FM kit and built Tiree's "Gold 2" with the famous burnt(rusted?) copper-coloured tubing.for that i built the kit OOB,but left the tubing on the Frame,were i first airbrushed it with Alclad 2 copper and then sprayed various shades of clear blue and orange very randomly.the pictures here show the finished sub-assemblys,coated with gloss-clear and ready for decaling as well as the tubing still on the frame
i have started to decal the cockpit wedge,using decal softener

[ironpanda]

next step is a wash.i still use washes extensively with my models,even though i try not to use them with figures,i just can't leave a vehicle unwashed.i use Acrylics,in this case Lifecolor Tensocrom.i mix white,brown and black with flow improver and fluid retarder.this gives me more time to work on the wash,as it dries slower and can be corrected more easily. i mix it 50/50 with water and use a relatively large brush to apply the wash.oh, and i don't wipe it of,i leave it to dry completly at this stage

(oh,and sorry about the mess on my workbench)

[Tamer]

Just some great advice here. Off to share.

[hemble]

Thanks buddy great technics.

Ron

[ironpanda]

Glad you like this,so let's continue:

this morning the wash had completely dried overnight,and i did some drybrushing,using plain white.
after this was done i needed to chip the blue bands on the engine-nacelles.i used a 3/0 brush and valleios Game effects "Rotten White" for this.

[ironpanda]

after this had dried for about an hour(one of the advantages of using acrylics is you can speed up the dryingprocess with a hairdryer)i started the weathering itself.first i stippled masking fluid over the model,using an old sponge for this helps keeping the chips in scale.

then i used a homemade mixture of brown,black,grey and dark yellow,mixed equally with flat clear to airbrush stains and spots over the model,quite randomly,as you notice,i have the nozzlecap removed from my airbrush for undisturbed airflow.keep in mind that the needle is now unprotected and handling needs to be careful.i keep several pictures of the"real thing" nearby to check what i do.after this i use an old toothbrush to carefully remove the masking fluid.

[ironpanda]

the results after all this:

now i seal everything with a clear flat acrylic varnish.this is just to protect the work done so far.there is still some work to do here...

next step will be the cockpit,the pilot,of course and finishing the base

[ironpanda]

final step:

the pilot was painted and the cockpit tub washed.i could have done more,but with the canopy in place you really can't see that much.
the most fun part for me ist the so called"mapping".i use a small but not pointy brush and very diluted brown and grey acrylics and stipple the surface.this creates irregular dark spots.this step can really carry you away,and can quickly be overdone.on larger models like let's say a vintage collection snowspeeder you can use the airbrush for this,but i prefer brushes.finally everything receives a final Clear coat,and this is the only time i don't use acrylics.i like Testors Dull cote,an enamel based paint.this gives a nice deadflat finish.

[ironpanda]

And this is it:Model finished!

hope i didn't bore you folks to much

[hemble]

I like it a lot mate just stunning work.

Ron

[ironpanda]

Thanks a lot Ron!

here are some more closeups.overall it's a great kit,but some more marking-options,a clear part for canopywindows and some decals for the astromechs would have made it even greater

[Tamer]

I found this one to be very informative and I appreciate you describing and documenting your entire painting process. it looks great. off to share.

[Sjefke]

That baby looks like she's seen some action.
Loved the weathering techniques.
I'm takin notes.

[Sjefke]

Is is the finished project?
I don't wanna waste good drool if it's not finished.