{"id":1746,"date":"2003-10-25T06:14:53","date_gmt":"2003-10-25T14:14:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fichtenfoo.net\/blog\/?p=1746"},"modified":"2009-02-12T07:21:06","modified_gmt":"2009-02-12T15:21:06","slug":"in-progress-%c2%bb-powered-gm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fichtenfoo.net\/blog\/in-progress-%c2%bb-powered-gm\/","title":{"rendered":"In Progress \u00c2\u00bb Powered GM"},"content":{"rendered":"

09.11.03 \u00c2\u00bb I’m on
\ncloud 9<\/p>\n

I decided after all the annoyances
\nwith the MG ALEX, that I would put it away for
\nnow and move onto a project that I am way more
\nexcited about. I Ordered the Powered GM conversion
\nset and Type C GM from Ako Hobby in Hong Kong
\na few months ago. It’s a plastic (not resin) conversion
\nparts set to turn the RGM-79 Type C MG kit into
\nthe Powered GM from the first episode of Gundam
\n0083.<\/p>\n

I never go with the standard color
\nscheme anymore so I came up with an idea for an
\n“Ariel Drop Assault Unit” based on the
\nPGM. Basically, this unit would be dropped from
\na plane over an enemy target as a surprise attack.
\nBeing that it would come from above, I am giving
\nit a “cloud camo” scheme.<\/p>\n

Modification\/addition-wise I’ll
\nbe scratch building a booster parachute ala 8th
\nMST. This will attach to the bazooka mount on
\nthe rear of the kit. I have a rough idea of how
\nI’d like this to work\/look and will put a scan
\nbelow.<\/p>\n

Decal-wise, I went with a Mario-esque
\nangry cloud symbol for the shield and some various
\ncustom markings for the rest of the kit. Also
\non the shield is the lyrics for ‘I’m just a little
\nblack rain cloud” from Winnie the Pooh. Once
\nagain… I have an odd sense of humor.<\/p>\n

Cloud Camo Color Scheme \u00c2\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Booster-assist Parachute Sketch \u00c2\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

09.17.03 \u00c2\u00bb Test Fit,
\nGlue, and Putty<\/p>\n

Okay, all of the parts are cut out.
\nNow I’m in the process of puttying and sanding
\nthose parts that are in need of it. I also wanted
\nto test fit the option parts to make sure all
\nwas well. There was parts of the shoulder assembly
\nthat needed IMO some putty. There is a seam down
\nthe top of the shoulders and on the sides as well.
\nYou can see in the pics where I have puttied those
\nparts.<\/p>\n

Next up I will need to start sanding
\nand smoothing out these parts.<\/p>\n

I am also waiting on an order of
\noption parts so that I can begin construction
\nof the booster-assist parachute. Hopefully by
\nnext week I’ll be able to get started on that.<\/p>\n

All of the parts cut out. They are
\ncurrently separated into those that will be painted
\nwith internal colors and those that won’t. I have
\na system, believe me! \u00c2\u00bb<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I had to dremel out the posts inside
\nof the head so that I can slide in the lens innards
\nlater. \u00c2\u00bb<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\"\"\u00c2\u00ab
\nTest fit of the PGM leg parts. Needs some
\nsanding and putty, but fit well.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\"\u00c2\u00ab
\nYou can see here where I have put putty in
\norder to fill in the gappy seams.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"\"\u00c2\u00ab
\nDetail of side seam (puttied) and test fit
\nof shoulders\/backpack.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

09.26.03 \u00c2\u00bb Ugly Feets<\/p>\n

Yeah, the GM Type C has ugly feet.
\nNormally, I’m not a stickler for proportions and
\nwhatnot, but what the hell was Bandai thinking
\nwith these!? So because of this I have been forced
\ninto a modification.<\/p>\n

I’m going for a simplified Katoki
\nstyled foot. Not an exact Katoki foot, but something
\nsimilar.<\/p>\n

First I cut 2 pieces of styrene
\nand glued them at an angle. Then after they were
\ndry, I glued them to the front of the foot. I
\nthen put a piece or sprue inside as support for
\nthe sides which are of thinner styrene sheet.
\n\u00c2\u00bb<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Then I glued precut styrene to the
\nsides. \u00c2\u00bb<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In this picture you can see the
\npre-cut styrene to add the details to the top
\nof the foot after it has been puttied initially.
\nThe white you see inside the styrene is crappy
\ntestors putty that i used to fill in the foot.
\nThe only reason I used that crap as a support
\nis because the tube has a thin enough tip that
\nI was able to squirt some in there. \u00c2\u00bb<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Not shown here is the feet with
\nthe putty applied. I used Milliput to fill in
\nthe corners and big gaps. I’ll smooth out the
\nputty with sandpaper when it is cured, then glue
\nthe feet details on.<\/p>\n

09.27.03 \u00c2\u00bb More Feet
\nProgress<\/p>\n

Since yesterday, I was able to putty
\nand sand\/file down the feet. They’re almost done
\nnow. I primed them to see if I missed any areas
\nthat might not be filled in or that need smoothed
\nout more. Of course there are, so I’ll have to
\nputty a little more with the Tamiya Basic Putty
\nand sand to finish. But for my first major modifications,
\nI’d say this isn’t half bad.<\/p>\n

Here’s some pics. \u00c2\u00bb<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"
\n\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

09.28.03 \u00c2\u00bb Scratchbuilding
\nthe Booster-assist Chute<\/p>\n

Wow, I’m on a roll today. Gotta
\nlove the rain. Okay, I started on my booster-assist
\nparachute this evening. So far it’s going together
\nmuch easier than I had anticipated.<\/p>\n

Here’s a shot first of all the parts
\nfor the “box”. \u00c2\u00bb<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Next up in this series of shots
\nis how I built the “X” on the front
\nof the box. First, I took my small round file
\nand drilled some holes near the corners. Next
\nI began cutting lines between the boxes. When
\nthat was done, I smoothed out the edges with my
\nfile again. The result was a rounded edge “X”
\ndetail that I glued to the front of the chute.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"
\n\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Lastly is a shot of the bazooka
\nmount, back vent for the box where the bazooka
\nmount poles will attach, and the box in it’s current
\nphase.<\/p>\n

The mount is a piece of styrene
\ntube and extra arm\/minus molds from my Gundam
\nVer. Ka. kit. The strap attachment bars are extras
\nfrom my GM (G) kit. I’m debating on using them
\nuntil I see what the booster part will look like.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

09.28.03 \u00c2\u00bb More Chute<\/p>\n

Here’s a shot of the parachute as
\nof today and a shot of my PMG build-drawer. I
\nhave a nifty little drawer system where I keep
\nsupplies and parts for specific projects.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

09.29.03 \u00c2\u00bb Option
\nParts!!!!!<\/p>\n

My option parts came today from
\nJ-Hobby<\/a>.
\nNice new store! Anyway, since they came, it was
\nthe perfect excuse to do about 45 minutes of modeling
\ntonight. Now that I have the boosters, I can measure
\nfor the side assemblies.<\/p>\n

First I made a couple wedges like
\nI did for the feet. Then I glued the 2 half boxes
\nto the sides. Next I measured out some triangles
\nby holding notebook paper up to the edges and
\ntracing. I did 4 for the wedge sides, and then
\nmeasured more out for the angles. (see below)
\nI still need to make the angles for the back,
\nbut now you’ll have a better idea of what they’ll
\nlook like when completed.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

09.30.03 \u00c2\u00bb Getting
\nthere…<\/p>\n

Okay, tonight I only got to start
\na few quick control boxes and finish the basic
\npaneling on the side assemblies. All of the above
\nneed putty and sandpaper.<\/p>\n

Here are some pics. \u00c2\u00bb<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

10.04.03 \u00c2\u00bb Aww Chute!<\/p>\n

\"\"You
\nknow… if I had known that scratchbuilding something
\nwas this easy, fun and satisfying, I would had
\ndone it a long time ago.<\/p>\n

For todays update I have images
\nof all the chute parts so far. The first two are
\nshots with the Milliput applied. The last is of
\nthe parts after being filed and sanded to smooth
\nout the Milliput. Tamiya basic putty was applied
\nto fill in any little gaps\/pockets left from the
\nMilliput.<\/p>\n

You can see where edges have been
\nbeveled. The control boxes for example are beveled
\non the corners and the upper edges.<\/p>\n

The fuel tanks are still missing
\ntheir “ball” for the ball joints. I
\nneed to crack open my epoxy for that.<\/p>\n

Here’s a key as to what is in the
\nfirst image.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. Bazooka mount. Made
      \nup of two 8th MST cannon holders, 2 minus
      \nmolds, and styrene tube.<\/li>\n
    2. 2 shoulder roll bars
      \nfrom my GM (G)<\/li>\n
    3. Angled mount for back
      \nof parachute. Contains Kotobukiya mesh and
      \nsheet styrene.<\/li>\n
    4. Parachute<\/li>\n
    5. Control Box<\/li>\n
    6. Detail for inside of
      \nbooster assemblies. Will be more “visible”
      \nonce it is primed.<\/li>\n
    7. Kotobukiya Boosters<\/li>\n
    8. Fuel tank assembly<\/li>\n
    9. Wave G-Tanks<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \"\"
      \n\"\"<\/p>\n

      10.04.03 \u00c2\u00bb More shots<\/p>\n

      Here are a few shots of the parachute
      \nin a near-complete state. The control boxes, boosters,
      \nand Wave tanks are just temporarily held on with
      \nsticky tack.<\/p>\n

      I had to change my bazooka mount
      \ndesign since neither the Tamiya cement or the
      \n5 minute epoxy would hold my parts very well.
      \nSo instead I drilled some 1\/16 inch holes and
      \nused 1\/16 brass rod. Then I added styrene tubing
      \nto make it look piston-like.<\/p>\n

      I still have more sanding to do.<\/p>\n

      \"\"
      \n\"\"
      \n\"\"<\/p>\n

      10.06.03 \u00c2\u00bb Test fit
      \n(whew!)<\/p>\n

      After seeing bhops PGM pics, I got
      \na bit worried that the bazooka mount would be
      \ntoo wide and the parachute pack wouldn’t fit.
      \nSo I decided to do a test fit. It was easy enough
      \nsince I only had to put about 9 pieces together
      \nto test it.<\/p>\n

      As a result, I can rest assured
      \nthat all that work was not in vain! There is plenty
      \nof room to spare. In fact, I could probably fit
      \na bazooka in there instead if I wanted to.<\/p>\n

      \"\"
      \n\"\"
      \n\"\"<\/p>\n

      10.09.03 \u00c2\u00bb Paint Time<\/p>\n

      All the sanding and scratchbuilding
      \nis done so it is time to paint! The first color
      \nin my plan is the sandy yellow color. I base my
      \ncolor-painting order on what would be easier to
      \nmask off later. The yellow goes into a lot of
      \nholes that can be masked by Stycky-Tack. The yellow
      \nis actually not as saturated as it looks here
      \nin the pics. It is duller in real life.<\/p>\n

      The first picture is all the parts
      \nthat needed yellow paint. These parts are placed
      \nonto bamboo skewers so I don’t finger up the paint
      \njob..<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      These are the after shots. The yellow
      \nwill be masked off and the parts will be painted
      \nwith their other colors.<\/p>\n

      \"\"
      \n\"\"<\/p>\n

      10.09.03 \u00c2\u00bb Paint Colors<\/p>\n

      I’ll be using many colors to achieve
      \nthe look I’m going for in the lineart. Here’s
      \na breakdown of my pallet so far. All the paints
      \nmarked with an asterick (*) are custom mixed,
      \nthe rest are straight from the jar. \u00c2\u00bb<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. \n
          \n
        1. Medium Metal Gray* (internals,
          \nweapons, exposed metal)<\/li>\n
        2. Bronze* (boosters, cables)<\/li>\n
        3. Gunmetal* (boosters,
          \nweapons, internals)<\/li>\n
        4. White (clouds, armor,
          \nhighlights)<\/li>\n
        5. Light Blue* (cloud base
          \n1)<\/li>\n
        6. Light-Med Blue* (cloud
          \nbase 2)<\/li>\n
        7. Red-Orange* (crotch,
          \ndoor plates, boosters)<\/li>\n
        8. Yellow-Orange* (crotch
          \nemblem)<\/li>\n
        9. Sand-Yellow* (minus
          \nmolds, control boxes, highlights)<\/li>\n
        10. Chrome Silver (lenses,
          \nminus molds, rivets, buckles)<\/li>\n
        11. Clear Red (lenses)<\/li>\n
        12. Black (panel lines)<\/li>\n
        13. Green-Grey* (cloth parachute
          \n“bag” and straps)<\/li>\n
        14. Blue-Grey* (Guns)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          All those colors plus several will
          \nhave black mixed with them in small amounts for
          \npost shading. In all, I’ll have 21 colors.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \"\"<\/p>\n

          All of my paints are Tamiya Acrylic.
          \nTo thin them for airbrush use, I use 91% isopropyl
          \nrubbing alcohol. How much? As much as I need.
          \nI never measure my paints and thinner exactly.
          \nI just eyeball it. If it’s too thin, I’ll need
          \nto spray more layers. To thick? Add more thinner.
          \nSimple as that. I try to thin to the consistency
          \nof milk.<\/p>\n

          10.10.03 \u00c2\u00bb Red-Orange<\/p>\n

          Tonight I got to paint the red-orange
          \nparts. There are only a few parts that will need
          \nthat color. The door and crotch emblem and the
          \nboosters. For the boosters, I first sprayed down
          \na coat of my sand color. Then around the edges
          \n(as seen in the pic) I sprayed the red orange
          \nfor a faded effect. (I remember the days when
          \nI used to think booster colors were unnecessary.)<\/p>\n

          Next up will be the booster external
          \ncolors.<\/p>\n

          \"\"
          \n\"\"<\/p>\n

          10.10.03 \u00c2\u00bb Painting
          \nthe Boosters<\/p>\n

          The booster and gun barrel painting
          \nis done. Here is a step-by-step of how I did the
          \nboosters.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. \n
              \n
            1. Painted insides of boosters
              \nlight yellow<\/li>\n
            2. Painted red-orange around
              \nedges of boosters<\/li>\n
            3. Placed sticky-tack inside
              \nof boosters to mask them<\/li>\n
            4. Sprayed boosters with
              \na mixture of bronze and copper<\/li>\n
            5. Sprayed mixture of Gunmetal
              \nand Silver around middles of boosters leaving
              \nslight bit of bronze mixture showing.<\/li>\n
            6. Sprayed a wash of Alcohol,
              \nTamiya Clear, and Black as a post shade around
              \nedges of boosters<\/li>\n
            7. Removed sticky-tack<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              That’s about it. I’ll ink a few
              \npanel lines and the inside tubes for the boosters
              \nlater when I am at the inking stage.<\/p>\n

              Here are some images in order of
              \nthe steps above. \u00c2\u00bb<\/p>\n

              \"\"
              \n\"\"
              \n\"\"
              \n\"\"
              \n\"\"
              \n\"\"
              \n\"\"<\/p>\n

              10.11.03 \u00c2\u00bb Whites
              \nand Lens<\/p>\n

              Next up on my paint list was the
              \nfirst of the white parts. I split the whites into
              \ntwo sections depending on what is easy to mask
              \nnow and what is easy to mask later. For example,
              \nthe forhead sensor and the knee fronts will be
              \nmuch easier after the blue is painted.<\/p>\n

              The forst pic is the parts with
              \nthe sand color masked off either with sticky tack
              \nor Tamiya masking tape. The second is the whate
              \npainted parts with the masking materials removed.<\/p>\n

              \"\"
              \n\"\"<\/p>\n

              The next pics show a method for
              \npainting GM lenses I am experimenting with. I
              \nam painting the inside silver like I normally
              \nwould, but instead of painting the clear window
              \nwith clear red, I painted the inside part with
              \nthe clear red (inked too). I am hoping that this
              \nwill look good while keeping the clear red from
              \ngatting scratched.<\/p>\n

              \"\"
              \n\"\"<\/p>\n

              Lastly is a shot of all the parts
              \nneeding my gray color that I’m using for internals.
              \nSome of these parts still need masked off such
              \nas the fuel tanks and feet boosters.<\/p>\n

              \"\"<\/p>\n

              10.12.03 \u00c2\u00bb Internals
              \nand External Metal Gray<\/p>\n

              Mix Tamiya Neutral Gray, White,
              \na touch of Blue and some Metallic Gray and you
              \nhave the internals color for the Cloud 09. As
              \nyou can see, I masked off some parts like the
              \nstripe around the fuel pods and the minus molds
              \non the back pack.<\/p>\n

              \"\"<\/p>\n

              10.13.03 \u00c2\u00bb Cloudy
              \nGun<\/p>\n

              First off I glued the painted control
              \nboxes to their skirt plates and legs. They were
              \neasier to paint first and mask later than to glue
              \nthem first, then mask them.<\/p>\n

              \"\"<\/p>\n

              Secondly… I started the cloud
              \ncamo!!! Doing the camo\/special masking is always
              \nmy favorite part. Especially when I get to see
              \nthe results of a first try effort and they look
              \ngood!<\/p>\n

              First I painted the metallic gray
              \nand then I post-shaded it. The reasom for the
              \nspeckles on the handle is not due to lumpy paint,
              \nbut to light hitting the metal speckles. Next
              \nI masked off the gray and sprayed down the gray-blue.
              \nThen I sprayed my clouds on. I used white + clear
              \n+ alcohol for the clouds. The clear white made
              \nthe fadedness of the clouds easier.<\/p>\n

              \"\"<\/p>\n

              There’s more detail than shown in
              \nthis pic, but I need better lighting to show it
              \noff. Trust me, it looks great!<\/p>\n

              10.14.03 \u00c2\u00bb Guns in
              \nthe Sky<\/p>\n

              Okay… 20 minutes to spare tonight,
              \nso I painted the other guns clouds. Same deal
              \nas above. I may go back and paint the round part
              \non the back the same gunmetal as the barrel though.
              \nMaybe.<\/p>\n

              \"\"
              \n\"\"<\/p>\n

              Also, I took a pic of what I use
              \ninstead of foil stickers for my gun lenses. Basically,
              \nit’s a part of a package. I think for lightbulbs.
              \nYou can use action figure plastic or whatever.
              \nI sprayed it with chrome silver, then clear red.
              \n(or green, yellow, orange, bule, whatever) I cut
              \nthem to the shape I need and glue them into place.
              \nPerfect for the little lens on the back of a Gundam
              \nor GM head and the lenses on the guns.<\/p>\n

              \"\"<\/p>\n

              10.17.03 \u00c2\u00bb Calm Before
              \nThe Storm<\/p>\n

              Well, I haven’t updated in a few
              \ndays because I really didn’t have too much to
              \nshow. Here’s what I have as of today however…<\/p>\n

              I made the straps for the parachute
              \nas well. For the “in flight” straps
              \n(seen on the skewers) I used very thin styrene
              \nand bended it to look folded with hot water. The
              \nstraps taped to the screws are for if I have the
              \nkit standing up. I wouldn’t want the straps blowing
              \nout so I used sliced up video tape and painted
              \nit the same gray-green color. These straps will
              \nflow downward nicely. Gravity-style.<\/p>\n

              You can also see my work area. Much
              \nneater than some of the other work areas I’ve
              \nseen. I never could work in a messy area. You
              \ncan see the jars and the 2 blues I will be using
              \nfor the sky-camo. Mmmm… Cherry Coke.<\/p>\n

              \"\"<\/p>\n

              I painted the darker of the blue
              \nparts only to find that the blue dried darker
              \nthan I had anticipated. So I lightened it up and
              \nrepainted them. Here is a shot of the chest and
              \na part of the backpack with the darker blue. The
              \nwhite was painted first, then masked off before
              \napplying the blue.<\/p>\n

              \"\"<\/p>\n

              Next you can see some of the masked
              \nlighter blue parts. The crotch-plate shows both
              \nthe darker and lighter blues. Notice that they
              \nare not too drastic as far as dark\/light goes.
              \nThis is what I wanted from the start and you can
              \nsee that on the lineart.<\/p>\n

              Also, you can notice the color of
              \nthe sand-yellow on the foot. Almost the same color
              \nas the Tamiya tape. The white circle on the head
              \nhas since been touched up around the edges.<\/p>\n

              \"\"<\/p>\n

              Finally, here is a shot of all the
              \ndark and light blue parts. You can see that this
              \nwas taken before I got a chance to remove all
              \nthe masking tape.<\/p>\n

              \"\"<\/p>\n

              Next up will be putting some of
              \nthe parts together so that I can do the clouds.
              \nI don’t want to paint each cloud piece separately
              \nbecause it’ll look odd\/unnatural when put together.<\/p>\n

              10.18.03 \u00c2\u00bb Cloud City<\/p>\n

              The clouds are painted and the masking
              \nis removed. Next up is a few misc. parts that
              \ncouldn’t be painted until this was done. Maybe
              \n10 parts total. Here’s some pics.<\/p>\n

              \"\"
              \n\"\"
              \n\"\"
              \n\"\"
              \n\"\"
              \n\"\"
              \n\"\"
              \n\"\"
              \n\"\"<\/p>\n

              10.18.03 \u00c2\u00bb Finishing
              \nTouches<\/p>\n

              All the painting is done so now
              \nit is time for the finishing touches. This will
              \ninvolve several steps:<\/p>\n

                \n
              1. \n
                  \n
                1. Spray all parts with
                  \ngloss Future Floor Acrylic (done!)<\/strong><\/li>\n
                2. Ink panel lines on all
                  \nparts (done!)<\/strong><\/li>\n
                3. Spray all parts with
                  \ngloss Future Floor Acrylic to seal in the
                  \nink (done!)<\/strong><\/li>\n
                4. Apply custom designed
                  \nwaterslide decals.<\/li>\n
                5. Spray all parts with
                  \nSemi-Gloss Future Floor Acrylic (10%:90% Tamiya
                  \nFlat Base:Future)<\/li>\n
                6. Apply weathering<\/li>\n
                7. Spray all parts with
                  \nFlat Future Floor Acrylic (30%:70% Tamiya
                  \nFlat Base:Future)<\/li>\n
                8. Build Kit<\/li>\n
                9. Photograph Kit<\/li>\n
                10. Show off (best part)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  So tonight I will spray the first
                  \ncoat of future and allow it to completely dry.
                  \nThis takes about 1 day.<\/p>\n

                  10.18.03 \u00c2\u00bb Step 1
                  \nis Done<\/p>\n

                  Everything is coated with Future.
                  \nThe gloss of the future really brought out the
                  \nblue in the flat paint. I like it, but it will
                  \ngo back to “normal” when I apply the
                  \ndull coats of Future. Now I have to let it dry\/cure
                  \nfor a long time (12-24 hours but my impatience
                  \nwill make it closer to 12) before messing with
                  \nit.<\/p>\n

                  10.19.03 \u00c2\u00bb Step 2
                  \nis underway<\/p>\n

                  Now that everything has been Futured,
                  \nI am in the process of inking all the parts. I
                  \nuse several sizes of technical pens for this.
                  \nThey are Kohinoor Rapidograph and are refillable.
                  \nThe photo below is of my smallest size pen.<\/p>\n

                  What’s great about these pens…more
                  \nspecifically their ink is that is cleans up on
                  \nthe furuted surface with only a little 409\/water
                  \nmix. About 30%\/70% respectively. Use a q-tip or
                  \nlittle pieces of paper towel. So because of this,
                  \nit’s like using a pen and<\/em> a wash for
                  \npanel lines.<\/p>\n

                  Now the ink goes on glossy and shiny,
                  \nbut will even-out when a clear or flat coat is
                  \napplied.<\/p>\n

                  \"\"
                  \n\"\"
                  \n\"\"<\/p>\n

                  Here’s some shots of the parts I
                  \nhave inked so far. I’ll still have to go back
                  \nand do a little clean-up with the 409\/water solution.<\/p>\n

                  \"\"
                  \n\"\"
                  \n\"\"<\/p>\n

                  10.20.03 \u00c2\u00bb Step 2
                  \nand 3 are done!<\/p>\n

                  I finished up the inking that I
                  \nhad left and still had time this evening to put
                  \nthe second coat of Future on. One thing I like
                  \nabout doing the Future, Ink, Future, Decals in
                  \nthat order is that I get 2 coats of Future to
                  \napply the decals to.<\/p>\n

                  For those that don’t know, gloss
                  \nis better for water-slides that flat. Less silvering
                  \nthat way.<\/p>\n

                  Now I get to apply those many decals!<\/p>\n

                  10.21.03 \u00c2\u00bb Step 4
                  \nis in production<\/p>\n

                  The decals are going on very nicely
                  \nso far. Thanks to Peter (Bawoo) at Models4You<\/a>
                  \nfor the wonderful print job on these. Here is
                  \na shot of what is done so far. The large EFSF
                  \ndecal on the right shoulder is in the process
                  \nof being set. Notice that the decal currently
                  \ndoes not sit into the panel lines. That will be
                  \nrectified tomorrow.<\/p>\n

                  Okay, since this is a tutorial\/progress
                  \npage, here’s my decal setting process.<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. \n
                      \n
                    1. Cut decal from sheet
                      \nwith sharp exacto knife<\/li>\n
                    2. Brush Micro Sol onto
                      \narea to be decaled<\/li>\n
                    3. Dip decal into water<\/li>\n
                    4. Slide very wet decal
                      \ninto position (on top of Micro Sol)<\/li>\n
                    5. Position very carefully
                      \nas to not tear the decal<\/li>\n
                    6. Carefully bruh Micro
                      \nSol on top of Decal<\/li>\n
                    7. Let dry<\/li>\n
                    8. Prick any air bubbles
                      \nand apply more Micro Sol<\/li>\n
                    9. Let Dry<\/li>\n
                    10. Whatever you do… DON’T
                      \nTOUCH until completely dry. Decals becom sticky
                      \nand very soft in Micro Sol<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      Onto the images.<\/p>\n

                      \"\"
                      \n\"\"
                      \n\"\"<\/p>\n

                      Gotta love a macro lens!<\/p>\n

                      \"\"
                      \n\"\"<\/p>\n

                      10.22.03 \u00c2\u00bb Step 4
                      \nis still in production<\/p>\n

                      More decals have been added and
                      \na solution to the EFSF circle has been decided
                      \nupon. I needed to cut it. Later, after the next
                      \ncoat of Future, I will re-ink it to hide the white
                      \nof the decals that sank into the gaps. Here’s
                      \nsome pics.<\/p>\n

                      \"\"
                      \n\"\"
                      \n\"\"
                      \n\"\"<\/p>\n

                      10.25.03 \u00c2\u00bb Step 4
                      \nand 5 is Done. Step 6 is skipped.<\/p>\n

                      All the decals have been applied
                      \nand the semi-gloss coat has been applied to the
                      \nentire kit. I decided to skip the weathering on
                      \nthis kit. It’s a beautiful piece as is and when
                      \nI started to add weathering it just wasn’t looking
                      \nright. Perhaps on another kit.<\/p>\n

                      I did however add the inked lines
                      \nto the decals I had to cut. No images right now,
                      \nbut you’ll be able to see it in the finished photos.<\/p>\n

                      Next up is the final coat of flat
                      \nFuture, building, and photography.<\/p>\n\n\n