Starfury Model... COMPLETE!

That's right, true believers! I finally got around to finishing the thing.

I lost a lot of enthusiasm for the project after I saw how horrible the paint job was turning out. The decals fared a little better, although they are much more impressive if you don't look at them very closely.

With that in mind... uh... here's a close-up.



Yikes! Sorry about that. I should mention that all of these pictures are clickable for larger versions. That said, I don't recommend clicking that first one. The blur only gets worse.

The one smart thing I did was to start on the underside of the model. I wound up re-gluing that decal later and it's better, but the ones up top were done after I kinda figured out what I was doing.

Speaking of the top, here's a progress shot...



I gotta say, those long narrow decals were not fun. I thought the itty-bitty tiny little ones were a pain, but those long ones were a special kind of wiggly pulling breaking re-gluing challenge.

And now, two logos...



There's the main attraction, the "Black Omega". And the top-side version of that Earth Alliance logo, much better attached than the one on the underside.

Here's a nice overhead shot of the model.



Try not to notice how off-center the decals are, OK? :)

I think Starfury's were meant to be seen from one side or the other. It gives a better sense of how the ship moves through space. Plus, it also nicely obscures how imperfect those decals are...



So, there you have it. The Starfury model adventure is complete. I now have my very own Black Omega Starfury, which is not quite fit to see the light of day. It looks alright from a distance, but up close it looks like it was assembled by a tipsy ten-year-old. :)

Even so, it was fun and I'm glad I did it. I'm also very, VERY glad it's done.

Read More

Starfury: Andy's Triumphant Return!

You remember Andy, right? He's the dime-sized pilot of my Starfury model, which is currently mostly painted!


Yeah, I know. It's a blurry pic. That's OK though, because it's a bad paint job.

I know it's been nearly a month, but I have an excuse. You see, I had to start painting outside due to the *lovely* paint / paint thinner fumes. And then, Oklahoma Summer happened. Every time I'd step outside and open up the jar of thinner, the fumes would catch on fire.


So, there it is, in all its glory. Now I can probably work on it inside, since any last painting will be little details here and there.

Up next... cockpit glass, a few last paint details, and then DECALS.

I'm terrified.

Read More

Step 7.2-ish

Hey, I made progress on the Starfury model again!



I didn't say I made a *lot* of progress.

Also, yes, that is my back porch. I had to move outside due to the nearly-visible mixture of paint and thinner fumes. Even while I'm outside I've got a fan blowing to make sure I don't get a face-full.



So... two weeks later, I've got three of the four engines painted.

I'm starting to come to terms with the idea that I stink at this.

Here's hoping the end result is worth it.

Happy Friday!

Read More

Step Seven... We're Gonna Be Here A While

Not much to report here except that I am a slow and bad painter.



I've had to move my painting stuffs outside, because the paint and the thinner fumes are far too overwhelming to keep inside. Still having trouble with brush strokes and gloppy paint. I've decided it's OK though, because models were never really intended to be seen in good light anyway.

*sigh*

Read More

Step Seven. Ish. Still. Kinda.

Not a whole lot of progress this week. I did get the rear thrusters glued on...


Not bad. I'm holding off on the paint job, though. I've learned that with acrylic paints, you really shouldn't try to clean the brushes by simply soaking them in water. I think this is why the black paint on the base stand turned out so bad. Also, the wood handles of my brushes soaked up a lot of water and then split open like old fireplace logs. Oops.

So... I need some new brushes. Again. Heh.

I did manage to get Andy ready for his close-up, though.


Not bad. Not perfect, but I'll take it.

I had a feeling about this next decal. First, I figured it would be difficult, and second, I figured it would look stupid. It *did* make for an excellent test to see if I know what the heck I'm doing with those decals...


Nope. I have no clue what I'm doing with those decals. Excellent.

So, Andy is faceless again. Frankly, he's so small that it won't matter. I hope I figure out how to do this and make it look good before I get to the bigger ones.

Wish me luck...

Read More

Step Seven!

Holy Progress, Batman!


This was the easy part
The "thrusters" step looked pretty intimidating, but turned out easy. At least at first.


Red Bull gives you wings?
These others look to be a little more tricky.


Just chillin'
And then there's this guy! The pilot, resting on a toothpick. Now get this... the Starfury is pretty much all dark gray. The stand will be all shiny black. But this tiny little guy will wind up having THREE colors painted on him! Blue suit, black boots / gloves, and he's gonna have a coating of gray on his helmet and shoulder strap. Yikes.

I'm also thinking about writing "ANDY" on the bottom of one boot. Who here actually thinks I can paint letters that small?


The Stand (non-apocalyptic version)
I skipped ahead a bit, figuring I'm about to hit a point where the 'fury has no "flat" surfaces to rest on while glue dries. The stand went together just fine...


Ew.
... but the paint job was kind of a disaster. In average light, it looks OK. In bright light, it looks bubbly and lumpy and awful.

I'm glad I did that first, because I do NOT want the Starfury's paint job to look like this. Anybody have any simple advice for me to make sure this doesn't happen again?


Whee!
A lot of progress, but a lot of painting still left to do. And suddenly that step worries me...

Read More

Step Four!

Not much to say on this one, really. Progress continues at a very slow pace. The biggest thing I learned was that the flash on my camera is what was making the cockpit look blue.


That's much nicer. Less than halfway through, though.

Have a good weekend! I'll try not to glue myself to my chair...

Read More

Step Three!

An update on that Starfury model I've been working on...


Last week, I made it all the way to step 2. This week, I conquered step 3. Yeah, only one step. But in my defense...


... step 3 does cover two whole pages. There's even an arrow on the second page three that points to a piece it calls, "Completed assembly from step 3." But we're still on step 3. I think. Between the instructions and the glue fumes, I can't really be sure of much.

I did manage to glue on enough bits that the thing is starting to take shape, which is obviously pretty nice.


On a whim, I checked eBay. I found my model on sale for 50 bucks. A few days later, I checked again. I found my model again, this time for 63 dollars.

Holy buckets. If I hadn't opened mine up ... wow. I don't remember what I paid for it, but I'm sure it wasn't more than 20.

Anyway, I also painted the cockpit.


The instructions say, "Metallic Gray". I used "Metallic Gray". In real life it doesn't look quite as blue as it does in the picture, but I'm still not sure the final product will be dark enough look right. I'm a little concerned.

Also, I really need to figure out how to squeeze that "model cement" tube without having huge streams of glue pump out. I keep having to open up windows to let the hallucinations out.

Glacial progress continues! Next week... step 4! Maybe!

Read More

Snap-Tight?

So, last week I showed you my un-assembled Starfury model from 15 years ago.


I actually worked on it a bit last weekend! As promised, I have no idea what I'm doing. Also as promised, pictures. First, a pic from the back of the box...


This shows the 4 versions of Starfury I can build. I'm going with "Black Omega", in part because the paint job will be easier. Also, because I wanna be Alfred Bester when I grow up.

Anyway, here's the stuff that was in the box.


I started with P-Ziddy's expert advice, which was: "Don't twist the pieces off, cut them off. Leave your fingers attached." I was really hoping that at least some of the pieces would snap together and the amount of gluing I'd have to do would be minimal, but...


Holy buckets. I miss Snap-Tight. What the heck am I doing?

Even with my complete lack of skills and foresight and common sense, I still managed some progress. No cut fingers! No glued fingers! Only mild hallucinations from the glue fumes! Check it out...


This represents a good two and a half hours of work. Note the page number on the right. "2". That's right. I'm on step 2.

It may not seem like much, but I let this thing sit in the box for 15 years before I even started.

I'm gonna try to get to step three before I die.

Wish me luck!

Read More

Starfury

I don't have much for you this week, so I thought I'd show you my project for the next few... eh... well, I'd probably better not commit to a timeline. :)

It's a Starfury model:



For those not in the know, Starfuries are the little fighter spaceships from the TV show "Babylon 5". I actually bought this model at a Star Trek convention more than 10 years ago. It's just been sitting in a drawer, waiting to be loved.

I haven't put together a model since I was a kid. The only models I even did then were puny little "Snap-Tight" things.

So basically I have no idea what I'm doing. Wish me luck! I'm sure I'll super-glue a few fingers together before it's all over.

I'll share pics if I actually do crack this thing open. Yes, even of the fingers.

-------
Blog Note: I won't have a post again this Friday. Go outside and play, instead.

Read More