1/35 Zeon Mobile Scout in desert colors - W.I.P.

Modeling Subjects Science Fiction
21

Hey David, good to see you again. I wondered about where you were at.

Agree about the wind, that’s why I really was hoping to use the figure head w/ the goggles, maybe sculpt a bandanna wrapped around his face. I think that would have been quite dramatic. I also want to try to give the impression of high speed on the finished model (you’ll see what I mean), and since I’m placing it a desert setting, protection for the face seems all the more important.

Yeah, the link above shows everything that comes w/ the kit: two sets of binoculars w/ tripods (one folded for transport, one open), some extra fuel cells(?) for the engine, and an impatient guy looking at his watch.

[:D] I thought about doing all sorts of mods to it too when I first got it, but then one day I took an objective look at my stash… I realised that I couldn’t go all out on every model I owned, or I wouldn’t have time to build them all before I died of old age. And that’s just the stuff I already have, it doesn’t count all the cool stuff that will undoubtedly be released in the future… [:D]

I was hoping to knock this one out quick to get the GB badge, but as you can see, at each stage of building I get an inspiration that slows the process down… [(-D]

I gave serious thought to modifying the CRTs too, maybe w/ some photo etch bits. The kit supplied ones are decals, somewhat underwhelming. Not gonna do it though, I’ve got to try to get this thing done soon because my next kit is calling out to me…

22

i added brass mesh to the intakes the other night, now I just have to set about painting, the whole brass mess is holding me up thing just had to get out of the way and be settled. it is what it is. On the harness I plan to get a 1/32 German WWII set from Waldron or Eduard and install that on the seat as well as a lot of other junk including a slightly modified Jerry can.

My thoughts on the helmet:

In universe the helmet serves as a data link to other ships as well as to protect the crewman and is the ground pounders equivelant of a Normal Suit. In 0083 the new CO wears a Normal Suit on his first mission out, and learns why they do not normally wear them inside the cockpit of the GM’s in the tropics. He was inside a closed environment full of electronics and displays, but its a different world when your hanging in the breeze. It would be pretty rough going to have to ride on this thing leafhopping and dodging bugs as well as dust. If you want to go the bandanna route Verlinden makes and older 1/35 USMC Desert Storm set that has a face with a bandanna and painted it looks fantastic. I havent cut the body parts off the sprue yet, that vinyl is going to be tough enough to fix so I may wind up adding layers of epoxy to build up the suit in places to halp hide some ofthose seams. I plan to use the standing officer looking impatiently at his watch, and grind out the helmet to hang from the back of the MG 34.

Finally get to use those WWII equipment items on this prjoect!

23

Looks very cool man can’t wait to see it when its done.

24

Hey David, when you put the brass mesh on the rear fan, did you find that the fit of the fan cover got a little snug? I had to lightly sand mine to get it to fit better.

Good point on the helmet. Between those fans and atmospheric noise, the only way this guy would be able to communicate would be w/ a headset, so might as well give him a helmet.

I was trying to convert Afrika Korp figures because I started this kit as part of the WWII Paint Scheme group build. I looked at some Academy Helicopter pilots too; good poses and detail, but they didn’t fit the theme, know what I mean?

I’m not sure what you mean by vinyl parts, my kit doesn’t have any; does yours?

I wanna use the impatient figure too, but not w/ this piece. I’m going to pose him w/ a Gasaraki Raiden, for scale. I just haven’t decided on the setting or the armor’s pose yet.

Be sure you paste your final results, I’d like to see them.

Thank you. I’m making slow but sure progress. Mostly slow. [:D]

Thanks guys - John

25

IIRC the figure is hard vinyl. I hate hard vinyl, its difficult to clean up and the paint wont always stick even with a good primer. I may recast it once I get it the way I want it.Anyway I have not fited the brass embellished turbine covers yet, I thought they may tighten up some, so I made the covers as small as practical. i really worked to induce the correct curve into them so they would fit directly into the opening but no luck with that so I had to glue them on the inside, Ill adjust as needed.

Over the weekend I will get to paint it up, that will get me motivated to finish!

26

You’re in luck, the figures are made of the same plastic as the rest of the model. At least they were on mine. [:D]

They don’t have any sort of positive alignment marks on them, so assembling them is a bit tricky, and the engineering on them is not nearly the same standard as the rest of the kit. I used a lot of Mr. Surfacer 500 to fill gaps and seams, w/ a q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol to smooth them over.

Good news is they will take any sort of paint.

27

So I’ve made a little progress on this kit. I painted the fans and the interior of the engine mounts Testor’s Steel, and the searchlight and part of the “legs” w/ Silver. I then masked those sections off, using Tamiya tape for the silver sections, and a salt mask for the engine bits.

I painted the engine covers a mixture of Camouflage Grey and Light Sea Grey, which I then highlighted w/ pure Camo Grey. There’s a small gas can looking thing mounted behind the pilot’s seat, and I sprayed that w/ these colors also.

When that was dry, I burnished down some dry transfers from Verlinden. These markings are for WWII era Soviet tanks; but they were the right size and looked suitably odd for this project. For the gas can, I masked it w/ 1mm strips of Tamiya tape in a cross pattern.

Next I sprayed on the shadow color, a 1 to 3 mixture of Raw Umber and Sandgelb. I tried to get all the surfaces w/ a nice even coat of paint, including the engine interiors. It was a bit darker than I would have liked, and it had some green to it, but I persevered.

I then added a layer of pure Sandgelb, mainly highlighting the center of each area. I didn’t go for a uniform appearance, rather just ‘noodling’ the color on in a semi-random way. This gave the parts some depth and a suggestion of wear.

Lastly, I mixed 1 part Radome Tan w/ 2 parts Sandgelb to get a highlight color. Again, I just sort of randomly sprayed it on areas that needed highlighting. Here it is w/ the masks removed. I used pieces of tape to lift the transfers; they didn’t come out perfectly (too many paint layers), but they do have a field applied look to them, so I’m pleased so far. I also washed off the salt masks.

28

Impressive. I really like the way you do your highlighting. It comes out nice and subtle. Its come a long way from sickly green plastic.

29

I know, right? What a huge difference a couple of coats of paint can make. [:D]

Thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it.

30

I’m lovin’ it!

31

[:D] Thank you. [:D]

32

So, I’ve been doing a little work on this kit lately, thought I’d share.

Taking some advice from ajlafleche, I bought a box of desert plants from a company called Pegasus - specifically Cactus Set #2:

They’re tiny and delicate, but well detailed. The box was only $6, and you get two complete sprues of plants, so I was very happy w/ my purchase - I recommend these to anyone interested in something similar.

Then I used some cheap casting resin and some molds from Woodland Scenics to cast up a bunch of rocks:

I arranged the rocks and the plants on the base in a way I thought might be aesthetically pleasing…

I then filled in the groundwork w/ Aves Apoxie Sculpt. I built up the lee sides of some of the rocks, to simulate the blast caused by the engines. The effect is harder to see now that I’ve added the sand, but I’m going to exaggerate it w/ shadows and highlights when I airbrush the base.

Then I glued down a layer of sand. I also added the decals to the kit, and made sure I like where everything is going.

I still have a lot of clean-up and painting to do, but it’s coming along nicely. So far, so good! [:D]

33

Excellent work Cosmic J

34

Thank you, Buddho. You’re very kind to say.

35

I have been waiting to see this guy done forever! I’m impressed with how it’s going CJ. Your base looks great. Your scout also looks really good. This project is well worth the time I have been following it. Can’t wait till its finished bud.

36

LOL! I hear ya, it does take me a long time to get stuff done. [:D]

I’m actually taking a break from working on the base now, maybe I’ll have some progress shots by this weekend.

37

As promised some photos of what I’ve been up to.

To paint the groundwork on the base, I started by painting the rocks and plants w/ acrylic paints. I used Apple Barrel acrylics from Hobby Lobby, and I varied the colors some by mixing multiple shades of each color, which I applied in a semi-random fashion.

(Painting the plants once they were attached to the base was slightly more difficult than I thought it would be. I originally left them unpainted because I was worried that they might get messed up when I put down the groundwork, but that turned out to not be a problem. Next time, I’ll paint them beforehand.)

Then, I airbrushed Tamiya XF-57 Buff over everything, letting a small amount of the overspray get on the plants and rocks.

Next, I mixed some XF-64 Red Brown and XF-52 Flat Earth into the Buff and sprayed it in the places where I wanted some suggestion of shadows, and also behind stuff on the ground – I wanted to give the suggestion that the Scout’s engines were blasting the sand and gravel clear.

The effect was kind of garish, so I went back w/ pure Buff and toned it down some.

Then it was ready for washes and dry-brushing. Because the next steps will bring the colors together and blend them some, I was worried that I may have toned it down too much…

I used Testors Burnt Umber to make a wash and liberally applied it to all surfaces, even the plants. This gave everything a more three dimensional appearance. Then I drybrushed the ground material w/ Buff, and the plants and rocks w/ variations of their base colors.

I like the results, and it seems to go well w/ the vehicle, but it doesn’t have that blasted sand appearance i was hoping for. Not sure how to fix that. I may do some more work on the plants later, and I have to clean up the base where some paint leaked under the masking, but I’m liking the way it turned out.

Next, a few remaining details on the vehicle, and then on to weathering…

38

Hello, have you finished your weathering? Great build, I enjoyed reading about it.

39

Unfortunately, not yet. I’ve painted the detail parts like the tarps and the gun, but then I stalled… I set the kit aside for a bit, so I could do a little work onsome other things that have been calling to me.

I still have the model on my workspace however, and I think weathering it is the next project I’ll tackle, so don’t give up hope yet! [:D]

40

Keeping my eye on ya, nice and can not wait to see you weather that puppy. I also am a slow builder, thats what makes them look so good when finished. Reminds me of the 2 bulls, 1 young and in a hurry, the other a seasoned ole vet, the young 1 says lets run down to those cows, the ole bull says why run and get all tuckered out, lets walk, take our time and get to know all those cows! [:P]