Klingon Cruiser Build

[chromdome35]

I recently returned to model building after a 12 year layoff. Before I tackle anything tough I decided to build a couple of kits I had laying around to shake off the rust.

One of those kits was a 1984 AMT Klingon Cruiser.

I chose to build this one because I figured a mass market kit from the early 80's would have fairly poor moldings and fitting so it would push me to really work on getting a decent end product.

I started the build 2 nights ago and quickly determined that my assumption about poor quality was correct.

The pictures below show where I've gotten to. I still have a LOT of sanding and filling work to do on the Bridge section before I move on.

The kit box




The sprues...all in a nice eggshell blue color


Lots of flashing from the molds


I think the Gap Band visited the factory The two major sub assemblies for the bridge are not attached yet, this just shows the test fit.





Filling and sanding...




I hope to finish prepping the bridge tonight and move on to the neck that spans supports the bridge.

Thanks for looking, please remember, I'm not a pro...yet.

[bullardino]

I'm a big Star trek fan

Count me in

Will you do also the aztec patterns?

[chromdome35]

Nov 29, 2012 16:54:31 GMT -5 bullardino said:

I'm a big Star trek fan

Count me in

Will you do also the aztec patterns?

I'm not really a Star Trek fan so when you say Aztec patterns I'm not 100% sure what your talking about. I'm assuming some type of paint scheme?

[chris0423]

Looking good Chromodome, that's a real neat bench!

Chris.

[chromdome35]

I've been working on the bridge all evening...waiting for some putty to dry fully so I can sand it down.

Decided to start getting the neck section ready. HOLY SMOKES this kit is terrible! The fit on the section where the neck joins the main body of the Fuselage isn't even in the ball park of close. I may have to buy stock in a putty company. This is where I need DickyF's elite Styrene skills.

Fitting of the two bridge sub assemblies is much tighter now.


Filling in the gaps progressing...need to sand some more


The gap between the two bridge parts should be fairly easy to eradicate after I glue them together.


Joining of the neck to the bridge is fairly poor with a lot of gaps that will have to be fixed.


The Grand Canyon has nothing on this chasm


More quality molding


The two outer pieces just kind of sit on the side of the neck...major filling work ahead here.


Starting to take shape

[bullardino]

Nov 29, 2012 17:12:58 GMT -5 chromdome35 said:

Nov 29, 2012 16:54:31 GMT -5 bullardino said:

I'm a big Star trek fan

Count me in

Will you do also the aztec patterns?

I'm not really a Star Trek fan so when you say Aztec patterns I'm not 100% sure what your talking about. I'm assuming some type of paint scheme?

Aztec patterns are those light grey paints used to replicate panels all over the spaceship

BTW nice progress, looks like you're going to spend some time filling and sanding...

[Deleted]

These old AMT kits are a labour of love... I've a set of 1/2500 scale Enterprise's to build for a Trekkie friend and for something so small there are might big gaps

So I know what I'm saying when I say .. Great work buddy, attention at this stage will pay off later . As Nemo says, no such thing as experts, we're all learning all the time

[chromdome35]

The kit is fully assembled with all the gaps filled and sanded. I primed it using Tamiya Grey primer cut 50/50 with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner and airbrushed on at 18 psi.

After the primer dried, I covered the entire model with Tamiya Nato Black cut 50/50 with Tamiya Acrylic Thinner. I added a few drops of Tamiya's paint retarder to improve flow and prevent drying at the airbrush tip. After the NATO black dried, I topped it with a coat of Tamiya Neutral Grey prepared the same as I did with the black.

Looks pretty decent, most of the gap filling work I did has disappeared under the paint. This build has served its 1st purpose which was to give me a good workout on filling and sanding.

Up next is my next goal which is to work on painting and weathering.

The top and bottom of the fuselage feature a lot of small angular raised sections, my plan here is to paint them in a fading pattern of grey and muted reds. I'm going for a look that is reminiscent of an Aztec feather pattern (think bird of prey). Once I have the main painting done I'm going to focus on weathering it. I'm not going to go overboard on the weathering.

I'm not very good at stopping to take pictures along the way, sorry. I'll post some more after I get the core paint job done.

[armorguy]

A couple of pics just before the paint goes on would be great mate...

[chromdome35]

Here are some pictures of where it is at now.

Side view


Rear View


Front Side


Bridge


Bottom


There are several seams where I could have done better, I just lost patience with it . Rule #1 for building a great model: Be mentally invested in the subject matter.

[armorguy]

Man that Klingon Cruiser looks awesome !!!!

[deafpanzer]

It looks great despite the kit not being that great!!! Now where's the Enterprise so we can call our stations into battle?

[chromdome35]

I have a new definition for the word tedious: The act of applying masking tape to a Klingon Cruiser in preparation for airbrushing.

This took about 4 hours to do.


1/4 of the way there. I have the whole underside to mask as well.


The panels are comprised of three levels. The base level which will remain in the Tamiya neutral grey XF-53 color you see applied to the entire model. This is what is being masked off to prevent the 2nd level paint application from over spraying.

The 2nd level will be painted in Tamiya XF-24 Dark Grey.

Once the 2nd level is done and dry it will be taped off to expose only the 3rd level.

The 3rd level will be painted in Tamiya XF-66 Light Grey which is fairly close to the XF-53 Neutral grey used as the base coat.

Instead of going Neutral/Dark/Light I'm considering going with Neutral Grey/Dark Grey/German Grey. German Grey is considerably darker.

Any of you have suggestions?

[chromdome35]

In the first picture, the sawtooth edge on the lower center left section has to be re-masked, it was late last night and I was getting wonky eye'd.

[Deleted]

You're certainly giving this old bird plenty of attention
I'd go for the mix of colours that gives the best contrast while keeping the tones looking right. If the greys are too close all the work you're putting into the masking wont show

[chromdome35]

Dec 4, 2012 16:27:11 GMT -5 @dickyf said:

Tedious work alright but well worth the effort - one suggestion...practise yer three shades on a scrap sheet/old model to check there is sufficient tonal variation.....you're not going to know in this case if it's worked until you remove all that fine maskwork and it would be a disaster if they weren't different enough to show...if they then need modifying you can easily tweak them with darker/lighter washes as necessary without resorting to re-masking which could be a deal breaker??? Great work, really looking forward to seein' yer progress

Good ideas guys!!!! I think i'll take a scrap of sheet styrene, mask it off and do a color mock up.

[chromdome35]

Just a quick update. I've spent the last week+ masking off the nooks and cranny's of this model. It's taken forever and I had to walk away from it for a couple of days.

I'm close to applying the paint job, will post pictures after I do.

I took a spare sheet of styrene and tested several different color patterns. I am going to go with the light/medium/dark scheme.

[chromdome35]

I am close to done with this build. The paint is on and the weathering is going on. I still need to touch it up in a few places. In a few of the pictures you can see some white fuzz on the model. It's left over from a cotton pad I was using to wipe off the wash. It will be removed before I finish up.

My goal when I started this build was to get some practice on filling and painting before I started more extensive builds on subjects I care about. This build wouldn't win any awards; but for the most part I'm happy with the results.

The bridge section




You can really see the AK Interactive Wash I used here. First time I've ever used one of their washes. Maybe I over did it???




A good view of the overall color scheme. I used some Vallejo rust pigments on the darker area. I think I'm going to tone those down a bit more. The "grill" areas were all done in Alclad 2 Steel another first time use for me.


The rear of the ship

[deafpanzer]

The prey bird looks GREAT!!! I think you did good applying AK wash... if it was me I would have applied more. LOL

[chromdome35]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I really appreciate it.

[armorguy]

Dicky has the same idea as I have, drybrushing with a much lighter grey, but sooo subtle it may not be that visible. My daughter and I love this one.

[bbrowniii]

I love this! These Sci-Fi kits give such leeway to experiment and try really cool and funky stuff. I really like where you are going with this. That masking/paint scheme is really well done!

[robbo]

Nice job fella, looks really good

[Mence]

I thought it looked good in primer, then I saw it masked up and got even more excited, now it has paint on it, well...

Brilliant!

[Deleted]

Hey Chrome - Can you help me? I've got the EXACT SAME KIT, but minus the instructions! Might you still have yours and be willing to give/sell them to me? I'd really appreciate it. Either way, thanks and GREAT BUILD!

[Leon]

Hey Chrome-that reminds me of the kit i built when i was a kid.Nice work fella.

[spud]

wicked paint job. masking that must a been a small nightmare

[thenylongag]

More of a Star Wars guy than Trekkie/Trekker but i always loved the shape of this ship.
I really am diggin your paint job on this, i hate masking so i appreciate anyone who does a good job with it.

Nice work Sir.

So what's next, are you going to stick with Sci-Fi or try something else?

Gag

[chromdome35]

Feb 18, 2013 16:23:43 GMT -5 @gibby said:

Hey Chrome - Can you help me? I've got the EXACT SAME KIT, but minus the instructions! Might you still have yours and be willing to give/sell them to me? I'd really appreciate it. Either way, thanks and GREAT BUILD!

Sorry I just saw this. I would be happy to scan them into a PDF and email them to you. Will that work for you?

UPDATE: Sorry I spoke too soon. I threw them away a couple of weeks ago after I finished building. Sorry!

[chromdome35]

Feb 20, 2013 7:31:46 GMT -5 thenylongag said:

More of a Star Wars guy than Trekkie/Trekker but i always loved the shape of this ship.
I really am diggin your paint job on this, i hate masking so i appreciate anyone who does a good job with it.

Nice work Sir.

So what's next, are you going to stick with Sci-Fi or try something else?

Gag

WW2 armor was my next build. I did the old tamiya PZII ausf G that I bought at hobby lobby for 7 dollars. I am starting the build of Tamiyas flak 36/37 88mm right now.