components
basic
raw bottom
raw top
nude
red
aft
nose
bottom2
One of the highlights of Wonderfest is the Iron Modeller competition. Teams of up to three modellers are tasked with building something using the same couple of parts. Each competitor brings all the spare parts they want, but dump them onto a table to be shared by all. Afterwards at the pool-party, the leftover parts remain on the table, and anyone can take any of them for their own. This year, as opposed to next, I didn't compete, but afterwards I did snag a handfull of parts, out of which I built this ship.
These basic components pretty much arranged themselves into the archtypical anthropomorphic head-torso-waist-hips form. I wanted to leave all the donated components recognizable so the detail parts got mostly stuck to the plasticard and tubes I added. This left a lot of large, smooth expanses, which is what a fancy paint job is for!
Basecoat was black followed by RLM red - A color I've always known as Bronson Red, after the color of the fuel tank and fenders on his motorcycle - Red, to which yellow was added until it just barely started to look almost orange. I then applied strips of one-quarter-inch Tamiya masking tape I cheerfully bought from John Lester at Wonderfest. A coat of millitary tan later... A red ship. No, really - If you were to use one word to describe it's color, you'd have to say Red. But it's a red made all the richer from the alternate color. I wanted a few markings, but something that would complement instead of contrast, so I went with light-green JBOT alien writing decals. Also at Wonderfest I attended a pre-shading seminar taught by Terry Miesle who mentioned using Future Floor Wax leavened with few drops of black ink as a wash, so I tried it. I also remembered a video tape I'd bought that advocated smoke trails airbrushed with clear flat with a few drops of black paint, so I added a little more ink to the future and used that on the gun barrels and leading edges of things.
All in all, a good time, with a fairly attractive result. To those who donated parts, my thanks!
