I'm happy to say that I've now completed my second Sci-fi/Space subject, which is another commission piece for the same customer that I built the Moonbus for. My first impressions upon opening the box were very similar to that of the Moonbus, however, as the original release date of this kit is much later (1998) the quality of the parts is considerably better, making clean-up and assembly a lot easier.
Although the kit includes both an upper and lower deck and a three piece hull - allowing it to be dismantled for viewing - I decided from the outset that I was not going to build it as such. Instead I built the lower deck merely to support the upper deck, with only the upper deck being painted and detailed with the aid of a TSDS decal sheet. Unfortunately, I was not impressed with the latter product as when I placed them in water the ink immediately began to float off, confirming that the decals had not been sealed. In an attempt to remedy this I applied several coats of Future to the decal sheet, which although it did seem to work was not the perfect solution. Therefore, if you have one of these decal sheets in your collection and you have not used it as yet.......then be warned!
To
assist me in this build I also bought a copy of the relevant Sci-fi
& Fantasy Modeller magazine, which helped a great deal. This
provided me with the solution for getting rid of the join lines on the landing
legs, which was to apply plastic card on both the front and top faces of
the steps. Whilst doing this I also removed the struts, so that the lower
ends could be built up with plastic card for a better fit and then be drilled and pinned for a stronger join. All of which was well worth the extra effort.
With the interior now in place I then assembled the hull, all of which went together without any problems. I then sealed the front window with Gator's Grip and masked all of the clear parts in preparation for painting. I then filled and sanded the seam around the top of the hull to ensure a smooth join, after which several coats of Tamiya, Grey, Fine Surface Primer were then applied. The model was then lightly sanded with Micromesh 4000 and two coats of Tamiya TS-76 Mica Silver applied. Once this was dry I then applied the one external decal near the main cabin door. The model was then spayed with two coats of Tamiya TS-79 Semi Gloss Clear, which gave it a really nice clear, smooth finish just like a space ship should have. The landing legs were then attached, masks removed and all clear parts given a final coat of Future. Viola.........another one finished.
