Colonial Viper 1:32 Revell/Monogram Build Album

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January 7, 2020
Box was so warped I knew I was in for some moisture damage to the parts; the eBay seller warned me!
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January 7, 2020
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January 7, 2020
Old, water damaged decals
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January 7, 2020
I created new decals by scanning the original sheet, retouching in Photoshop, and printing on a color laser printer
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January 7, 2020
Added rivets to canopy
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January 7, 2020
The nose required a good bit of putty and sanding
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January 7, 2020
Going to light this up, so filled lots of gaps/cracks with black 5-minute epoxy
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January 7, 2020
The biggest part of this project was, by far, learning how to cast transparent parts. First step was to saw off the parts I wanted to make transparent.
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January 7, 2020
Bed of clay
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January 7, 2020
Foam core box
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January 7, 2020
Trimmed to box dimensions
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January 7, 2020
Ready for pour
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January 7, 2020
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January 7, 2020
Flipped, removed initial clay, and added sprues
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January 7, 2020
Poured top cast
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January 7, 2020
Mixed resin with transparent blue, one drop of white, and injected with syringe. Notice all the rejects!
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January 7, 2020
After three full tries, finally happy enough with this set. Still quite a few imperfections that I hope to fill with putty and obscure with paint.
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January 7, 2020
Filled some bubbles and gaps
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January 7, 2020
Applied mask to inside and outside of exhaust cones circles (not the sides)
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January 7, 2020
Painted inside with light gray primer to help light reflect
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January 7, 2020
Removed liquid mask
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January 7, 2020
My messy soldering; still learning how to do this, but it lights up! [New add] Kids! I learned from reading about soldering to apply cold solder to hot wire, not the other way around. This would have made my joints much cleaner.
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January 7, 2020
A dab of super glue and each LED sits in its exhaust cone
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January 7, 2020
Rotary tool opened access via the connector to the display stand; an ideal setup for adding lighting
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January 7, 2020
Now wired to stand and with coin battery container and switch
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January 7, 2020
Main assembly complete and ready for paint
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January 7, 2020
Loving that first coat of primer black
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January 7, 2020
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January 7, 2020
I like the random mottling effect
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January 7, 2020
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January 7, 2020
Added a little bit of Vallejo brass and Oily Steel semi-dry brushing; super happy with how the grunge camouflages imperfections in the cast parts. Kind of makes it look all beat up.
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January 7, 2020
Decided to make it look like a panel had been replaced on the nose and Starbuck was out of gray paint
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January 7, 2020
Also "replaced" a panel on the starboard engine
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January 7, 2020
Gloss coat ready for decals
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January 7, 2020
Gray decals on the engine intakes were impossible, so I masked and painted those, somewhat imperfectly and, let's face it, this whole model is an exercise in joyful imperfection. Like, "What's that hole in the fuselage? I dunno."
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January 7, 2020
I used a fine wire brush on the rotary tool to give the illusion of scraped and weathered paint on raised surfaces.
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January 7, 2020
Lots of icky black oil wash, mmm....
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January 7, 2020
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January 7, 2020
For some reason, peeling off the mask from the engines was one of the most satisfying parts
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January 7, 2020
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January 7, 2020
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January 7, 2020
And, oh, my goodness, it lights up!
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January 7, 2020
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January 7, 2020
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January 7, 2020
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January 7, 2020

Comments

1 7 January 2020, 02:07

JD
Ahh..that's better...looks like a fun kit!

7 January 2020, 02:33

James White
Absolutely a blast. I blew so much time and money figuring out the casting thing, but it was so much fun. And what you don't see is when my wires came loose inside after I'd glued the whole beast together. I was so depressed I walked away for several weeks, hanging my head in shame for my poor soldering skills. Only this weekend did I do some major surgery to reconnect the wires. I learned this is possible from the Batwing model I just finished. Batman Batwing (1989) | Project by JamesWhite (1:25)

7 January 2020, 03:10

JD
Glad you pulled through it, the lights are awesome!

7 January 2020, 03:32

James White
Thanks, J D!

7 January 2020, 03:34

Spanjaard
very nice job. i like the idea of the transparent engines for the lighting

2 April 2020, 22:36

James White
Thank you!

2 April 2020, 22:45

Project info

Colonial Viper 1:32 Revell/Monogram Build

51 images

1:32

Completed

1:32 Colonial Viper (Revell Monogram 85-3617)

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