Friday, October 26, 2012

KBoP, Part 8

Okay, last time I said there would be lighting in my next post. As Kirk told Maltz, "I lied."

Actually, I've been designing and testing lighting, as you might guess from the breadboard visible in this picture, but this post is about exterior improvements to the upper hull. At right you see where the old detail is removed and partly replaced. I forgot to take a "before" picture, so the next picture shows the same area on my old AMT KBoP.
I built when it first came out in the '90s. The engine deck has this raised structure with a trapezoidal recess in it that looks like a docking port. Maybe it's a port for transferring power or fuel. If it's for transferring power, it'd be like the PTO on a farm tractor, and the KBoP does have some similarity to a farm tractor. But I digress...

One thing that bugs me about the AMT kit is the molded in tubing detail on either side of the raised structure. If the tubing were tight against the hull, it wouldn't matter, but it isn't, as you can see in this studio model photo. It's minor perhaps, but it bugs me, so I'm fixing it. About an hour to remove the old detail and putty and sand, and about an hour to add new detail.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Klingon Bird of Prey, continued (Part 7)

Since last time... This scratchbuilt stuff needed a coat of paint to pull it together, so here's a look at it. The main interior color is Polly Scale Panzer Red-Brown with a wash of Grimy Black and dry brushed with their Panzer Dark Yellow mixed with white. Of all the paints I've used, Polly Scale acrylics are about my favorite for brushing. This dull brick red fits into the Klingon palette of colors, and it contrasts with the green that will be the predominant exterior color. The warp core is Testors Gunmetal acrylic.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Klingon Bird of Prey, continued (Part 6)


It's been a while since the last post, but I've been a-workin' on it.











Let's back up a bit. Here's how it looked earlier this evening.