Sprue Cutters Union #6: Can't Make Me!

This week, the Sprue Cutter's Union asks a question I originally thought I could have alot of fun with answering, however, after giving the issue further thought, I discovered my answers were actually somewhat boring.

- What will never make its way on to your workbench? -

I've pondered this question for days now, and the conclusion I came to was this: I can't honestly say there is anything I won't try. At least once, anyway. 

     

Now, don't get me wrong here, there are some things I truly would rather eat a bowl of broken glass than force myself to work on (vacuum form kits spring to mind), but even then, if the subject is right, or the commission is good enough, they will see my workbench. That said, I suppose instead of answering this question as "what will never make it's way on to your workbench?" I'll respond as "What would you rather not see on your workbench?"

1.) Vacuum form kits. I absolutely hate these things. I really do. Not only are most of them expensive, they are crudely detailed, and a pain in the ass to work on due to numerous factors including the thinness of the material and the work involved to clean up the parts.

2.) Mega kits. You know the ones I'm talking about. Those kits where the parts just never end, like SOAR Art's DORA railway gun with it's epic 3,000 parts. They're not bad kits by any means, they just bog me down because they seem to go on, and on, and...

3.) Anime figures. This is one that has nothing to do with parts or quality. I just have ZERO interest in the subject matter, and you know how it is, no interest equals stressful project. 

4.) Planes. I absolutely HATE filling seams and re-scribing detail. Period. In my experience aircraft of any type seem to be the worst offenders for needing epic amounts of both, therefore I avoid them like the plague if I can. 

5.) Ships. This one kind of falls into the category of "mega kits." It's not that I don't like ships, actually there's many I would like to build, they just take so long to finish I end up exhausted and feel like I'm treading water whenever I attempt one. (no pun intended.)

And if you're interested in what the other members of The Union have to say:

Lt. Smash's Models
Eternal Wargamer
Yet Another Plastic Modeler
Scale Model Workbench
Doogs' Models
Build The World With Me
The Combat Workshop

Simple Wood Grain Effects

Introduction
There are numerous ways to replicate a wood grain in plastic. The most common (mostly used on model car dashboards and the like) are waterslide decals, which are available from numerous companies, and may be somewhat costly. The other is dry brushing, which involves painting the piece a dark color, the highlighting the wood grain areas with a mostly dry paintbrush. My method, on the other hand, is a simple three step process utilizing the versatility of oil paints that can be used on almost any surface with excellent results every time.

Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant

About The Build

Manufacturer: Verlinden Productions

Scale: 1/5

Subject: Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant

Kit Number: 2032

Date Built: August 2013

Modifications:

• N/A

About The Build

I built Verlinden's Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant as a companion to my earlier Gen. Robert E. Lee.The entire experience was fairly straightforward as far as large scale resin busts are concerned, with the majority of assembly time being spent on paint work and detailing. Though the uniform appears black, it is actually a very dark blue, Tamiya TS-55 Dark Blue to be exact which, according to my research, is actually a close match to the blue shoe polish used to dye Union Army officer uniforms. As with my other large scale figures, I blended the basic skin tones in oils, then used pastels for the shading and highlights, which I find a far easier process than blending them with oils. After a coat of Mr. Topcote clear flat, the buttons and other details were picked out in various shades of Testors metallic enamels, then the pedestal was painted according to this tutorial on replicating wood grain effects with oils. For being my second bust, I'd rate the effort as "good," definitely not a show winner, but acceptable for my growing shelf of Civil War soldiers.

Finished Build
click thumbnails to enlarge

Poll: Which Project Do You Want To See?

With two projects coming to a close soon, it's time to start thinking about the next item on the to do list. That being said, I'm having a hard time deciding on just which kit I want to build. That's why I've decided to ask the readers with a simple online vote. The project with the highest number of votes will be the next subject of a W.I.P. series here on Havoc Models. If your choice is "something else," let me know your idea in the comment section. If there's enough responses with the same subject, that project just might make the lineup.

survey software

Working With Cast Resin Parts

Introduction

When you buy a model kit these days, chances are almost one hundred percent the material used in casting the pieces will be polystyrene plastic. But when it comes to kits manufactured by smaller companies and aftermarket suppliers, you will find that the majority of them are cast in a slightly different material known as polyethylene resin.
       When it comes to assembly, resin parts require almost the same approach as your standard styrene kits, with a few little quirks. That's where this tutorial comes in. Here you will learn the basics of the resin casting process, parts preparation, defects to watch out for, and how to repair them.

Sprue Cutters Union #5: Philosophy

This weeks installment of The Combat Workshop's Sprue Cutters Union asks a simple question with many complex answers depending on who you ask:

 - What is your modeling philosophy? -

Interestingly enough, I've never had just ONE philosophy when it comes to model building. It's been a changing game depending on many factors including mood, money, age, and many others. In my younger years, It was all about the fun. Slapping something together with tube glue, making a mess, then destroying it with a BB gun later. Once I became a teenager, however, things started to change.

I was sixteen when I discovered the model contest, and for the first time, we see a philosophy shift. Now modeling was no longer about the fun. It was all about the winning and the trophies.In short: PERFECTION. This was an era where a single imperfection, lump of dust, or minorly crooked piece would cancel an entire build. I had to be perfect in every way or there was no hope of me winning that trophy. This was also the time I discovered the aftermarket and started spending hundreds of dollars in an effort to keep pace on the show tables. But in the long run, that didn't work out for me or my wallet. And  besides, as I got older, I finally learned the harsh lesson anyway that no matter what you do, how much you spend, there's ALWAYS someone better than you.

And so we come to the next philosophy shift, which is also my current one. It's the same principal I use in my fiction writing (actually all of my writing) and so far, it's worked out pretty good.

K.I.S.S. 

KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID!

The acronym is exactly how it sounds. I keep things to the bare minimum. If I don't need to go overboard on detail, I don't. While fully wired motors complete with dipsticks and every line appeal to the eye, you need to ask yourself, "who's really going to see this?" Honestly, in most cases, not even me. Take my 1972 Corvette LT-1 for example. Fully wired engine and chassis and it's been eight months since I've even taken it out of the display case. That being said, that's why I concentrate on the big picture these days. The highly visible parts like bodies and paint schemes, and try to make them look good from a distance with as little effort as possible. It keeps it fresh, fun, and it saves my eyes (and my sanity) whole lot of undue strain.

So in short, when it comes to the question "what is your philosophy?" Keep it simple stupid and just have fun. That's all there is to it!

Unless of course it's a 1:350 Titanic, then all bets are off...

If this post interested you, perhaps you'll be interested in what some other members of the Union have to say

Yet Another Plastic Modeler
The Combat Workshop
Kermit's Bench
Martin's Scale Models

Sprue Cutters Union #4: FML Moments

http://thecombatworkshop.blogspot.com/2013/08/state-of-union-fml-moments.html

In response to a question asked on The Combat Workshop blog, I've decided to put together a list of the top "FML" moments from my modeling career. These are the moments that make you tear your hair out, maybe even make you cry... or carpet bomb the house with a barrage of words that start with the letter F. So without further adieu, lets start the FML countdown with...

Black paint on a white carpet!

I can't think of another thing more jaw dropping than this. Especially when it was caused by my own stupidity. This is how it went down: I needed to paint something flat black. The lid was stuck. Instead of thinking about it logically, I thought it would be a good idea to put the little glass bottle in a bench vice and crack the lid with a pliers. BAD IDEA! Instead of the lid coming off, the pressure shattered the entire bottle, spraying black paint all over my workbench, my legs, and my off white carpet. Despite the fact that it was acrylic (thank God) and washed up mostly with soapy water, there was forever a gray stain to remind me to never put a paint jar in a vice again.

The leaning tower of paint stand...

Number two has caught me with my pants down at least a few times. This is the one where you have a freshly painted car body on a makeshift wire hanger stand. It's glass smooth and dust free, ready for the drying period before polishing- but gravity makes it's presence known and the whole thing falls over. Picking it back up to see your body encrusted with chips, dirt, and leaves... It's enough to make a grown man cry.

Final assembly issues.

With this one, I'm not talking about minor things like a tiny spot of glue on a windshield. No, I'm talking bigger.. way bigger. Say mounting a custom body to the chassis and stresses in the assembly crack the entire bumper off. The one you spent days massaging with Bondo and sandpaper until it was perfect. And to add insult to injury the only means of repairing the damage is to strip your custom lacquer paint job and start from scratch.. FML

Dropping a completed build

Last but not least, this one needs no explanation really. Picking up a model to dust it or move it, and your butterfingers drop it onto the floor, shattering it into a million pieces.

I'm sure there's plenty more to tell. Some I've probably forgotten, others I've simply blocked out because of the trauma involved.  I hope there are no more added to the list for future posts, but we all know where scale models are concerned, Murphy's law is king.