BSG Defender

[Sky Seeker]

Very nice greebling there! Patience and dedication, that's what it's all about... Nice work!

Dan,

Hey thanks! BTW nice work on the Hunter killer. Love the LEDS and the light dispersion effect.

Sky Seeker
:tank:

 

[Sky Seeker]

This looks really good. I like detail and greebles that you are putting into this model!

Rhaven,

Thanks! The detailing is quite slow. The smallest pieces take the longest time sometimes to cut and edge color. The engines have the most detail on everything on the ship. Still trying to figure out an efficient way to cut the circular sections. Guess I have to find some hole punchers. At the rate I've been going, I might have this done by the time my oldest gets to college.

Sky Seeker
:tank:

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

Rhaven,

Thanks! The detailing is quite slow. The smallest pieces take the longest time sometimes to cut and edge color. The engines have the most detail on everything on the ship. Still trying to figure out an efficient way to cut the circular sections. Guess I have to find some hole punchers. At the rate I've been going, I might have this done by the time my oldest gets to college.

Sky Seeker
:tank:

Dealing with painting the edges of small parts, use fine point tweezers.
If you can not get a hole punch, use a fine tip knife and a steady hand.
I have faith that you will get it done in a reasonable time. I am closely following this thread.

 

[Sky Seeker]

Dealing with painting the edges of small parts, use fine point tweezers.
If you can not get a hole punch, use a fine tip knife and a steady hand.
I have faith that you will get it done in a reasonable time. I am closely following this thread.

Rhaven,

Hey thanks for your guidance there master builder and your confidence! For this model I've found a freshly sharpened pencil and fine tip black marker work well. The pencil helps to removed some of the glare that the bottom laminated piece creates when the detail piece is laminated with additional cardstock to create a raised effect. This is about the best way found so far to give a black, gray, and white model some detail other than just printing the features.

If you have any other ideas please share them.

Zathros and Revell Fan think that I ought to recess the engines for more detail effect. This will require a bit of "surgery" on the model which is not going to be done UNTIL the surface greebling is completed.

Have a great day!

Sky Seeker
:tank:

 

[zathros]

I am of the opinion now that the engines are fine the way they are. This may be because you have enhanced (gettin' tired of the word greeble) too such a high degree, you eyes are no longer drawn instantly to the rear. The phenomena of your eyes going from front to the "Rear" is a problem with advertising .

See what I mean.

This bicycle company didn't sell one bike, if you look hard, you can see it why it failed. They sold millions of robots though.

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

Rhaven,

Hey thanks for your guidance there master builder and your confidence! For this model I've found a freshly sharpened pencil and fine tip black marker work well. The pencil helps to removed some of the glare that the bottom laminated piece creates when the detail piece is laminated with additional cardstock to create a raised effect. This is about the best way found so far to give a black, gray, and white model some detail other than just printing the features.

If you have any other ideas please share them.

Sky Seeker
:tank:

I (myself) use watercolour paints and a "dry brush" technique. (*NOTE* They have to be TRUE water colour paints for this particular technique to work properly)
I start out with mixing the colours that I need. I then allow the paint to dry into a "cake". Once I have the dry paint "cakes", I will dip the paint brush in water and re-activate the paint. I will only get a very small amount of paint on the brush. Then I very lightly paint the edges (BEFORE I glue the parts together).
Once properly mastered, this technique will give you excellent results (even with very thin paper, like printer paper).

 

[zathros]

The best way to get rid of white lines on parts that are greebled on is to sand the parts at an angle so that when placed onto the surface, only the painted/printed, surface shows, the "white' edge having been sanded back, and also providing a much better surface for glue to adhere too. Even if you color them in, you get a part that looks added on. You put the piece on the model, and whatever is white gets sanded off. If you sands it real thin, it will look like there is no line at all.

 

[Kjev]

I (myself) use watercolour paints and a "dry brush" technique. (*NOTE* They have to be TRUE water colour paints for this particular technique to work properly)
I start out with mixing the colours that I need. I then allow the paint to dry into a "cake". Once I have the dry paint "cakes", I will dip the paint brush in water and re-activate the paint. I will only get a very small amount of paint on the brush. Then I very lightly paint the edges (BEFORE I glue the parts together).
Once properly mastered, this technique will give you excellent results (even with very thin paper, like printer paper).

Would that work with paints like Delta Creamcoat or Apple Barrel? They are really thick to begin with.

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

Would that work with paints like Delta Creamcoat or Apple Barrel? They are really thick to begin with.

I am not familiar with those brands. If they are true watercolour paints, you should not have a problem with the technique that I posted. I would go with the tempera watercolour paints. You can find them at Michael's craft shop.
Another thing that you can do is use a dense sponge (like you would find in packing material for speakers and musical instruments) that is about 3 inches square and about 1 inch high. Take a small amount of paint on your brush and put it on the sponge in a clump, and take just barely enough to wet the brush with the paint and then paint the edges.

 

[Kjev]

They're craft paints. Pretty thick, (like wall paint or runny pudding) but thin easily enough with water. I started using them when I was making wargames terrain on a regular basis. I use them to edge my models now, with a small flat brush and drybrushing the edges. They have a hard time covering up sharpie pens, however.

 

[zathros]

You shouldn't have white lines. This is not taking time to mate parts properly. The other main cause of this is using tabs, which is the worse thing that has ever hit paper modeling. How can you line up to edges when they are not on the same plane.. When you cut off the tab, you can then glue it, or another piece of paper, on the backside, and then you bring up the part to mate, it will be on the same plane, and you still still have a surface to glue onto. Tabs ruin models. It is the major cause of white lines showing.

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

They're craft paints. Pretty thick, (like wall paint or runny pudding) but thin easily enough with water. I started using them when I was making wargames terrain on a regular basis. I use them to edge my models now, with a small flat brush and drybrushing the edges. They have a hard time covering up sharpie pens, however.

If that works for you, continue doing it!thumbsupthumbsupthumbsup

 

[DanBKing]

I have found that if I use a 'wet' glue, that soaks into the paper, because the paper becomes soft, I can use tweezers to compress the edge of the paper to make it as flat as possible, thereby minimizing the 'edge', in relation. Paper is very pliable when dampend, and with careful use of the tweezer tip, you can almost blend an edge/join.
But, to make the edge/join 'disappear' well, careful edge colouring is required. Try to accurately match the edge colouring to the surface texture colour.

 

[Kjev]

You shouldn't have white lines. This is not taking time to mate parts properly. The other main cause of this is using tabs, which is the worse thing that has ever hit paper modeling. How can you line up to edges when they are not on the same plane.. When you cut off the tab, you can then glue it, or another piece of paper, on the backside, and then you bring up the part to mate, it will be on the same plane, and you still still have a surface to glue onto. Tabs ruin models. It is the major cause of white lines showing.

Honestly...I never thought of that.

I have also tried peeling half the thickness of the tab away (doesn't work that great) or even shaving edges down on thicker parts.

Next model I tackle though....

 

[spaceagent-9]

emory boards work good for micro-sanding.

 

[zathros]

Emery boards work great, especially on the fine side. Always sand going along the longest side, this will prevent you from bending/creasing the part.

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

I use emery boards as well and feel that they would be included in every paper model tool kit.

 

[Kjev]

Dealing with painting the edges of small parts, use fine point tweezers.
If you can not get a hole punch, use a fine tip knife and a steady hand.
I have faith that you will get it done in a reasonable time. I am closely following this thread.

I use one of these:

It's for leather, but it works on paper, thin cardboard, and plastic as well. What I like is that it's got several different sizes of holes.

 

[Sky Seeker]

I am of the opinion now that the engines are fine the way they are. This may be because you have enhanced (gettin' tired of the word greeble) too such a high degree, you eyes are no longer drawn instantly to the rear. The phenomena of your eyes going from front to the "Rear" is a problem with advertising .

See what I mean.

This bicycle company didn't sell one bike, if you look hard, you can see it why it failed. They sold millions of robots though.

View attachment 148340

Z - Thanks for the ad "advice". I'll still make up a new engine assembly, before I replace the old one to see if it would work. Most of the detail I've added so far you can't see, but can "feel" instead. It's quite "tactile".

Sky Seeker
:tank:

 

[Sky Seeker]

You shouldn't have white lines. This is not taking time to mate parts properly. The other main cause of this is using tabs, which is the worse thing that has ever hit paper modeling. How can you line up to edges when they are not on the same plane.. When you cut off the tab, you can then glue it, or another piece of paper, on the backside, and then you bring up the part to mate, it will be on the same plane, and you still still have a surface to glue onto. Tabs ruin models. It is the major cause of white lines showing.

Z - That makes sense. I used both techniques on the Omega Destroyer and found that when I made the tabs separate from the main model body on the underside of the surface it joined smoother than the tab method. Although as a reference for new beginners it works well to start. As one gets more advanced and comfortable with paper modeling in general it is sort of akin to training wheels on a bike (a least that's what I think).

Sky Seeker
:tank: