Now … Voyager…

[Heavy Metal Spike]

Thank you for the great photos. Threads like this are what makes this type of forum so useful to fellow modelers!

Along with those of us that don't know which end to hold a paintbrush


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[bucketfoot-al]

Thank you for the great photos. Threads like this are what makes this type of forum so useful to fellow modelers!

Along with those of us that don't know which end to hold a paintbrush

To hijack this thread (slightly) Spike - have you missed that I have been LIGHTING UP your thread on "Star Trek Picard" the past few nights? We are watching it and I am commenting on each episode as we go. Feel free to chime in - BUT NO SPOILERS PLEASE!


https://theclubhouse1.net/phpBB3/viewto ... 3&start=40

[bucketfoot-al]

Duplicate post deleted.

[tay666]

Thank you for the kind words. It's really nice when someone recognizes the work that goes into taking and posting the pics. I enjoy doing it though, so not too onerous a task for me.

It also has the added benefit of highlighting things that need a bit of attention.
At least for me it does. Don't know how many times I have thought something looks good, then I process the pics and there is something just staring me straight in the face.

[Trekkriffic]

Thank you for the kind words. It's really nice when someone recognizes the work that goes into taking and posting the pics. I enjoy doing it though, so not too onerous a task for me.

It also has the added benefit of highlighting things that need a bit of attention.
At least for me it does. Don't know how many times I have thought something looks good, then I process the pics and there is something just staring me straight in the face.

Oh I know just what you mean. I have found that my modeling skills rise to a higher level when I build for the camera’s eye.

[Trekkriffic]

Delta Flyer on fantail. A tiny rare earth magnet under Voyager's deck and a matching one in the underside of the shuttle hold the little ship in place.
Actually, though, it's a good sized craft; you could barely fit it inside the shuttle bay behind it:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 320 by Steve J, on Flickr

Starting in adding aztec patterns using Tamiya grey chalk:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 321 by Steve J, on Flickr

Progress on hull panel random "aztecing" using Tamiya chalk.
After filling in the various panels to match what I could see on the poorly lit studio model I gave it a shot of Dullcote to seal the chalk.
Have to do the upper panels above the phaser strip before moving on to the underside.
Once all the aztecing is done I'll overspray with a thinned mix of the light grey basecoat for a more subtle effect:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 322 by Steve J, on Flickr

I wanted the aztec panels on each side to match the other side so I took a photo of the finished starboard side paneling
and flipped it horizontally for reference while I draw and rub the port side in chalk. Saves me having to turn the model back and forth to copy the shapes:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 323 by Steve J, on Flickr

Upper saucer Tamiya chalk aztecing complete and sealed with clear matte Dullcote:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 324 by Steve J, on Flickr

Dullcote darkened the aztecing somewhat but this is fine as I will be overspraying it with hull color A for a more muted aztec scheme:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 325 by Steve J, on Flickr

[tay666]

Dullcote darkened the aztecing somewhat but this is fine as I will be overspraying it with hull color A for a more muted aztec scheme:

That is always my experience with dullcote. Makes chalks really pop out.
I always scratch my head when people talk about sealing making their chalks disappear.

Great idea on using a reversed photo to use as reference.

[barad_dur]

Wow, using chalks on a starship paint up - I always learn so many new and cool techniques from your builds - thanks !

[Trekkriffic]

Next morning under my overhead bench LED tube light:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 328 by Steve J, on Flickr

The aztec (?) shapes are most visible under bright light.
The grey chalk I used, seen under the thinned basecoat, was a dead ringer for the color of the paint mix recommended in the instructions, a 50/50 mix of intermediate blue and white.
It recommended dry brushing the light blue gray paint mix over the area of the incised panels before overspraying with the base coat.

From the side the aztec (?) paneling is barely noticeable under the bright light:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 329 by Steve J, on Flickr

Now to spray the underside with hull color "A":


USS Voyager WIP Img - 330 by Steve J, on Flickr

I'll be laying the model top down on my "spraying table" next to the open garage door. It will rest on a clean sheet of white poster board.
Maybe unnecessary but I still decided to cover the spots on the topside where the model will touch the table with masking tape:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 331 by Steve J, on Flickr

One more rubbing with alcohol wipes for a clean surfaceand I'll be ready to use my new Iwata Neo airbrush
and my new air compressor to spray the underside with the light grey hull color "A". It's a mix of 70% light grey and 30% grey:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 332 by Steve J, on Flickr

Thanks for following along!

[bucketfoot-al]

This thread is more relevant to me right now, as my wife and I are watching through the Picard season 3 episodes these two weeks. I can't wait to see you finish it and light it up!

[Trekkriffic]

This thread is more relevant to me right now, as my wife and I are watching through the Picard season 3 episodes these two weeks. I can't wait to see you finish it and light it up!

Now you’ve got me wanting to start watching Picard.
I’ve been binge watching Discovery and Strange New Worlds now that I FINALLY have Paramount Plus! I am in the Trek watcher’s heaven.

[Trekkriffic]

Underside after airbrushing with enamel color "A" mix made from Revell tinlets... like the song... a lighter shade of shale...


USS Voyager WIP Img - 333 by Steve J, on Flickr

My soft spot to lay the model upside down for the Tamiya chalk aztecing (?) operation. Spongy foam padding and a clean, but old. t-shirt:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 334 by Steve J, on Flickr

Ready for the grey chalk treatment:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 335 by Steve J, on Flickr

Started in on the "aztec" underlayer for the center section of the ventral saucer bulge using "Grey" Tamiya pastel powder.
I had earlier finished the panels at the tip of the bulge.


USS Voyager WIP Img - 336 by Steve J, on Flickr

Pastel chalks for aztecing work very well but look best with an overlay of some thinned down basecolor for a muted effect.
Much less masking involved too:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 337 by Steve J, on Flickr

Center section of lower saucer finished after chalking and sealing with Dullcote. Next will do the outer bands,
When done, everything will be overshot with more of the thinned basecoat "A" for a subtle effect like on top:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 338 by Steve J, on Flickr

This will look good under another shot of the basecoat:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 339 by Steve J, on Flickr

[Heavy Metal Spike]

Looking good Steve!

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[Trekkriffic]

Here's a short vid I did a short while ago about how I go about applying Tamiya chalks for "aztecing"...


USS Voyager WIP Vid - 008 by Steve J, on Flickr

Since then...

Finished chalking the trench. Masked off around the rim panels for easier cleanup. Have begun chalking same:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 340 by Steve J, on Flickr

Lower saucer aztec (?) complete and shot with Dulcote to seal. Just a few more areas that may need some aztecing
and then I can airbrush a thin coat of the light grey mix "A" over all:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 341 by Steve J, on Flickr

[bucketfoot-al]

Keeping an eye on the progress. Wouldn't miss the eventual "light her up" shot for the world.

[barad_dur]

Looking great.

Just so you know, I decided to sell all my unbuilt spaceship kits (except for the Neisen studio scale KBOP) because after watching your outstanding work I realized that I do not have the required expertise, skill, and patience to build all the ships correctly and as well as you do!
And I have a huge stash of kits that I want to build and I do not have time or space to build and display them all.

Please take my collection thinning down and selling decision as a sincere compliment to your incredible model building abilities!

[bucketfoot-al]

Looking great.

Just so you know, I decided to sell all my unbuilt spaceship kits (except for the Neisen studio scale KBOP) because after watching your outstanding work I realized that I do not have the required expertise, skill, and patience to build all the ships correctly and as well as you do!
And I have a huge stash of kits that I want to build and I do not have time or space to build and display them all.

Please take my collection thinning down and selling decision as a sincere compliment to your incredible model building abilities!

Seriously, Joe - if Trekkriffic will indulge this little hijacking of his thread - your post above brings up a story I must share with you. You said you will keep (and build!!! ) the Neisen Studio KBOP - great! "Go BIG or Go Home" I always say. Which brings me to the following story that is relevant here:

Almost 2 decades ago, I read and was mesmerized by the "Alamo-like" story of Battleship Yamato's final mission. She was, at 74,000 tons fully loaded, the largest battleship ever built, with 9 18.1" main guns. You can read about it all in the website I have created about her at www.battleshipyamato.com

A website that would have never been (nor the historical research that resulted in its creation, the many connections I've made in the historical community, as well as the personal satisfaction resulting from same - had I not decided to "Go Big" in 2007 and build a 1/200 scale Yamato model kit).

I had not built a ship in 30 years at that point, and the incredible work of modelers doing 1/700 scale small versions should have scared me off. But I decided to "Go Big", calculating that at that larger scale I would be able to handle it. Three years, massive after-market customization and do-it-yourself "accurizing" of that old kit, I had completed the ship - which now proudly crowns our bedroom at our Croatia Island vacation home in the Adriatic (where I am right now). See the photos that follow.

In the process of that build I did so much research on Yamato that it led me to create my Yamato site. [Yamato's story is poorly known - or understood - outside of Japan, where its final mission is remembered akin to the way we Texans remember the Battle of The Alamo. Its seemingly pointless sacrifice near war's end is seen, in a spiritual sense, as sowing the seeds of the rebirth of a new Japan. The symbolism of the name "Yamato", a medieval poetic term for Japan itself, led inescapably to the view that the sacrifice of this Flagship meant the death of the Empire (and Bushido), which enabled the new, prosperous Japan to be born it its place].

A story that I have been able to share via my website for the past 15 years, all because I decided to "Go Big" with that Nichimo kit, instead of "Going Home" (which might have seemed more prudent to do at the time).

There's a lesson, or two, in there somewhere.

Stepping out in faith will often lead us to places we would have never gone. [And don't get me started on the life-changing story of my Jolson Hobby - or Trekkrific will really get sore at me. I will leave that for another day - I wrote an article about it a couple of years ago that I'd be happy to email you at some future time. ] Now the pics I promised:

[Trekkriffic]

Masking off for chalking:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 342 by Steve J, on Flickr

Underchalk after unmasking and a shot of Dullcote. Tamiya gray pastel chalk:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 343 by Steve J, on Flickr

Fantail "aztecing" for "J" colored panels.
These panels will be overshot with a 50/50 mix of Revell grey and light grey enamel so slightly darker then the main hull color.
Random patterns for the most part. They will be muted once the "J" mix is on:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 344 by Steve J, on Flickr

I added aztecing/shading in chalk for the lower saucer "J" colored panels on either side of the secondary hull.
They will get an overshot of medium light grey but will be be visible underneath:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 345 by Steve J, on Flickr

Aztecing continues on fantail underside panels. The blue tape stretches and conforms to curves so great for curvy masking:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 346 by Steve J, on Flickr

Ventral saucer, fantail, and nacelle surface aztecing {?) chalk sealed with Dullcote clear matte lacquer.
Next I'll work on the secondary hull and the dorsal fantail surfaces.
Then I’ll airbrush a thin layer of the basecoat over all the panels and any areas I have to touch up after closer inspection:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 347 by Steve J, on Flickr

Flash photo. Ventral fantail center panels chalked and sealed with Dullcote. The lacquer darkens the panels so you can really see the pattern.
The pattern was done by blotting the grey pastel powder randomly over the surface before a gentle rubbing.
It looks close to the photos I've seen of the studio model.
I will airbrush over this with the 50/50 mix which should look nice with the pattern barely visible underneath:


USS Voyager WIP Img - 348 by Steve J, on Flickr

[Heavy Metal Spike]

So much expertise, patience, and talent.

"Impressive" doesn't really convey my thoughts sufficiently.

Wonderful modelling, explanation & photography.

As always - thanks so much for sharing this with us Steve.


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[bucketfoot-al]

Amazing ... the patience for such a detailed, long term project ... a labor of love ... ... thanks for the detailed step by step updates ...