1/32 Colonial Viper with STRIPES!
 

Here are some shots of my Monogram Viper. I had to make modifications to MnM's resin cockpit and Landing gear sets....mostly because my landing gear set was probably a very last run with very thick flashing, holes and missing details.

All raised panel lines and surface details were removed and then all the panel lines were hand scribed.

The curved fuel lines you can see are electric guitar strings.

The rear engine plate was scratch built...as some of you may know....the Monogram kit had that rear piece set back in too far.

You can see the top stabilizer that is not painted yet and how the raised details were replaced using thin stryene. The Grey stripes on the intakes are airbrushed.

Thanks for looking!

Suweeeet! Nice job Viper 04. :salute: Keep up the great work. :thumbsup: Hope to see more pics soon. Me likes! :bounce:

very nice..can't wait to see her in her colours..

Cheers,
Lara

G'day Lara!

Thanks!

Hows things down under?

You're welcome..

Down here its currently cool (its winter) & quiet (its not summer holidays and TV is in a no ratings zone)..in fact just the right weather to catch up with the reading stack or go see a movie!!

Cheers,
Lara

Sounds like a good idea!

Seeya and oh yeah.....Tie me kanga's down sport!

I'd be really interested seeing/reading in more detail how you did each of these things.


For instance, what exactly is the process for hand scribing? How do you take the old raised details off? What tools do you use? How do you keep the lines straight?

If you file all of the lines and surface details off? How do you remember where they go when you go to scribe and replace them with styrene?

How do you cut your pieces in styrene and keep them shaped correctly?

What parts did you use for your rear engine plate? It looks like some of those parts are resistors? What was the plate itself made out of?

Brilliant to use electric guitar strings for fuel lines. How did you manage to file/cut away the old ones so perfectly without completely destroying all of the plastic around them?

Good questions and thank you for looking!

I'm at work right now...and I'm on pacific time so I will answer your questions later today.

Troy :-)

Cool thanks. I'm really interested in your reply.

For instance, what exactly is the process for hand scribing? How do you take the old raised details off? What tools do you use? How do you keep the lines
straight?

Well....Most raised panel lines are so fine and small they come off with just a bit of sanding...I also sometimes use a panel line scraper made by Squadron tools the same company that makes the scriber, Its a little thinner than a pencil made of steel with a curved sharp edge at the end...I'll find a pic of one and post it later. You can get these tools at finer Hobby shops, ebay or on line. I keep the lines straight by using my own home made 'flexible' guides....I cut sections out of soda ( Dr. Pepper ) cans and fold them in half, I run my finger down hard on the crease and that makes a nice straight tool that I can cut as short, long or as wide as I need and they bend around fusalage shapes etc. They make scriber line tools but I have never seen the difference and mine have smooth edges untill they get worn.....then you just make new ones! For some lines I tape the tools down to help keep the lines straight.

If you file all of the lines and surface details off? How do you remember where they go when you go to scribe and replace them with styrene?

On most aircraft or what ever your working on ....you can work on one 'side' or 'one wing' at a time..... that way you have reference to go by. For the other raised tid bits I put paper over the patterns and went over it with a crayon.

How do you cut your pieces in styrene and keep them shaped correctly?

Using the method mentioned above I have the relief art work to go by....I just use my eye and cut the shapes out on thin stryene using a standard number 11 blade.....after they where carefully glued back into place I use 2400 sanding cloth to give the edges a slightly rounded look and feel.

What parts did you use for your rear engine plate? It looks like some of those parts are resistors? What was the plate itself made out of?

The rear plate started as a piece of .04 styrene, and a combo of car parts and brass rods and yep! those are resistors...an old studio detail trick ;-)

Brilliant to use electric guitar strings for fuel lines. How did you manage to file/cut away the old ones so perfectly without completely destroying all of the plastic around them?

Thanks! :-) .....They were just raised details ...so I dremeled away like a mad man and finished up using verious sanding sticks.

Here are some NEW pics!

Hey Buddy!
Been talking with Cobywan lately, and he says you're quite the modeler in a P.M. that he sent me. And from what I can see, he is absolutely telling no lies!
I need your help with something, could you e-mail me or p.m. me as soon as you can?
Thanks.
Mike

:D :D Close..but you need Rolf Harris and a wobble board to do it properly.. tho he got banned in Singapore for that song becos of a verse that was racially offensive (unlike Jake the Peg, with his extra leg.. that one slipped by the censors)

Tie me kangaroo down, sport, tie me' kangaroo down...

http://www.rich.durge.org/rolf/kangaroo.html

and for the rest of our etiqette:

http://www.southcom.com.au/~seymour/...aussieman.jpeg

Cheers,
Lara

Thanks man. I may give some of that a shot myself. Though, the thought of hand scribing still makes me a little nervous.

Also, what heads do you use for your Dremel? Which ones do you use for which jobs?

I use small re-chargable dremel for rough removal of unwanted items and plastic either cut or sanding wheels. Then go to sanding sticks....simular to beauty nail files. My Hobby shop sales them in all kinds of grains, shapes, lengths and widths....very helpful.

I use the regular 120 V dremel for bigger jobs or to cut or sand down large resin parts from thier trees or stubs.

Hand scribbing panel lines is easier than you would think...buy a tool for 7.00 to 12.00 bucks and practice on some old kit parts ....you can do it!

Yeah, and it'll end up looking like this:


http://www.nwlink.com/~hutch/office/wflips/scribble.GIF

Found some of the tools your talking about:

http://www.internethobbies.com/sqststscto.html

http://www.internethobbies.com/sqststsesc.html



I think the biggest challenge to hand scribing would be the curved surfaces, like the thrusters on the viper.

Do you have a pic of the guiding tool, the piece of tin can you were talking about?

Yeah, and it'll end up looking like this:

LOL!!!!

Here is a shot of her on the wheels and a shot of the tools and one example of a folded and creased piece of alumninum can. I just cut a piece out....fold it and at the crease I make it tight by pressing down with my thumb nail along as I go....it automaticly makes it 99.% straight.

Hope this helps!

Wow....Lara and Micheal....I missed your posts some how and only just saw them.

Lara....Thats awesome! love it mate!

Mike Thanks for the kind words. For Coby to say something like that is nothing to kid about.....I wonder what he wants? :-) I'll drop ya a line or e-mail.

Troy :-)

Here is my Viper after a hour of masking and some airbrushing.

Couple other things, how do you scribe without cutting all the way through the plastic? Also, how do you use the scribing guide tool on curved surfaces, and still get a straight line?

If you are scribing on a regular plastic kit you would have to dig pretty hard and pass many many times to go through the plastic.

BUT! I have used that method to open up doors and panels on helicopters and other kits.....you just handle the tool like you were drawing a fine line on paper....one or two light passes to start with just to get started and that also helps to keep the lines straight. The thinner the plastic the more careful you need to be.....but it takes some pressure and more passes to cut all the way through. Some use a certian style of tape to mark their scribing lines but I can not imagin how that guids your scriber tool in a firm and even fashion?

On curved or 'fusalage' type situations?......well those thin tools I make out of aluminum pieces are thin and flexible ...I pre shape it on a round object that is slightly smaller than the curved item to be scribed and I simply hold it down in place or use tape to hold it while I scribe. I make measurements from the edges to where the lines is to be scribed from top to bottom connect the two with the scribing tool/guid and thats it.

I also use the scriber tool to cut all my shapes out of stryne sheet. It makes it so I just have to bend and snap it apart. then for a clean and 'even' edge I run the edge of the 'cut' side of the styrene on a flat piece of snad paper.

I work on a think piece of glass taken from a COPY MACHINE.....its perfect for working on...cleans easy....I just scrap glue and paint off with a safety edge razor...it's a great surface to work on for photo etch parts and fragile/small assemblies.

Hope that helps! :-)

is your cockpit set from MMI?
I never heard of MnM.
Here's my viper, still not finished but close.
Mine has a figure but no real cockpit.
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...z28/viper7.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...z28/viper9.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...z28/viper8.jpg

Barry, I see you do scribing as well. do you use the same technique as Viper 04, or soemthing different?

I'm wondering if I can just do scribing with an appropriate head for my Dremel.

Because I have the use of just one arm, my technique is a little different.
I like to use 1/8” or 3/8” 3M Fine line tape and the end of a fine tooth razor saw.
The 3M tapes is a plastic tape and will guide the razor saw beautifully.
I lay the tape down and just scribe lightly with the razor saw using the tape as a guideline to start the line.
After a few passes, you can add more pressure to make the scribe line as deep as you want it.
The best part about using the tape is that you can curve the tape as you lay it down.
The viper did not need any curved panel line but it worked great on my car models when rescribing hood or trunk lines because of the slight curves.
You can use other items to scribe lines, such as a metal dental pick or “Hasegawa modeling saw scriber set” from HLJ.com.

Here’s a few links to give you an ideal of what I’m talking about.

http://www.hlj.com/product/HSGTP-4
http://www.widgetsupply.com/page/WS/...azor-saw-blade
http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdpro...e+Masking+Tape

I'm guessing that the tape your using has a bit of thickness to it to allow you to rest the blade against it?

Also, since you have a different method in scribing, I'm interested what your method is for taking off the old lines and remembering where they go.

you know what would actually be great, is if you guys could do a video of your scribing techniques and upload it to youtube.com

I like to use a 300 or 400 fine grit sand paper to remove the lines.
Remove most of the line but leave just enough to see where the line was.
Sand across the line with light strokes, not with the line or you will lose it.
I try to remove just one line at a time with sanding so that you still have a frame of reference to go by.
If you remove all the line, not to worry, just use spray primer and the line will reappear and then you can lay the tape down.
Just like 04 said, do one side at a time and use the unmolested side as reference.

And yes to your question about the tape, it does have thickness that the blade can run along.
It can also be used to create crisp borderline between two separate colors.
After all, it is masking tape designed for the auto body industry.
I used it to create all the stripes on my model.

Scribing isn't hard at all, just takes patience and a little practice.
This is the second model that I've scribed.
If you mess up, just repair the mistake with body filler and sand and try again.
This model has many mistakes that were repaired with this method.
Most of the mistakes were carrying the line to far.
Hope this helps, cause if I can do it anyone can.


Later, Barry.

COOL! Barry your Viper looks Great! and yup....it's the MMI kit. Not quite the way they wanted it to fit in though.

They wanted the modeler to remove a portion of plastic around the exsisting cockpit....install their unit, file and sand then add a sheet styrene over all that work. I figured .....why not just work the cockpit to fit inside the Monogram fusalage? and I used a 1/35 scale Huey joy stick...it was far better than the resin part with the right details.

My viper will have some ware and tare but I'm going to preseant it as a farely newer model with only a few missions.

Great avitar too! snicker...snicker

I wanted a cockpit set but MMI doesn’t make them at all.
MMI does however make all the figures and optional kits for the viper except the cockpit.
Boo hoo woes me, been waiting forever to get my hands on two cockpit sets.
You can see all the viper add-ons at Federation models.

This Viper is quite dirty but wait and see the next one that I am doing.
She will be just as dirty and heavily battle damaged.
The two will be part of a diorama that I will call “The escort home”.
I plan to have both lit up with the battle damaged one flickering and electrical sparking added.
Hopefully it turns out ok.
I’ve been working on this first Viper for months and there are still areas and options that still need to be added.
The second Viper has been started and the electronics for it are being built as well.
With the time I’ve invested in the first Viper, I don’t see the second Viper going together any faster.

Later, Barry.

Check out eBay. They actually pop up every now and then.