Space Craft

Recently we worked on the Five-Story Pagoda from Microace. We don’t sell any Microace kits in the shop (sorry to disappoint), but it so nice that we had to show it off here.

This 1/250 kit consists of all you need to make your own mini Japanese garden. It comes with plastic sprues for the garden structures and seeds to grow the plants in the garden. In our built we decided against planting the seeds because keeping things alive, in general, isn’t one of our forte.

1) Included in the kit are: a base to hold the scenery, a pagoda, a bridge, the entrance and surrounding walls, and seeds.

2) We completed the main model as per the instructions. Instead of planting seeds in the area under bridge we decided to model a river.

3) To start off, we covered the river base with texture paint.

4) Next, we painted over the texture paint to create a realistic riverbed.

5) The riverbed was sealed with a layer of varnish then rocks and grass were added to the riverbank.

6) An even layer of Javis Simulated Water was poured onto the base and left to dry.

7) Here is the finished model.

First introduced in 1972, the Mi-24 “flying tank” is the first Soviet helicopter capable of transporting cargo and troops without compromising its attack capabilities.

1) Included in the kit are:

2) The canopy was carefully masked over before brush-on primer was applied.

3) Individual parts were painted before assembling.

5) This is the assembled model with decals added:

6) To finish off, a layer of dark wash was applied to accentuate the panel lines and protect the model.

Our latest build is the King Tiger from Meng World War Toons series – welcome to the world of cartoon tanks!

1) Included in the kit are the sprues, rubber tracks, and a small sheet of decal – which is a nice change from the Airbus A350.

2) This is a snap kit, the parts fitted nicely together but glue might handy for smaller parts.

3) The sprues come in grey, but we decided to prime it with a matt grey coat for a more realistic look. The finer details are picked out by hand.

4) In the final stage, decals are added. All the areas were nice and flat – no dramas here.

This is simple and straight forward kit, which can be built in an hour. The tank feels very sturdy, despite almost no glue was used.

The A350 is the first Airbus airliner with wings and fuselage made primarily from carbon fibre. Compared with traditional materials, carbon fibre is lighter and more robust. Thereby reduces fuel consumption and the cost of maintenance. Furthering fuel efficiency is the adaptive wing design. In mimicking the movement of birds, the wings can change shape whilst in flight to achieve maximum aerodynamic efficiency.

1) Included in this kit are:

2) The plastic components were pieced together to ensure everything fits. Test fitting the parts helps to work out which parts need painting and which are going to be covered up. This ensures that paints are not wasted and joints won’t be clot by layers of unnecessary paint.

4) Once the fuselage was glued together, the model was primed. Revell Color Stop was applied to mask out the windows before the primer was sprayed on. This is a white gel that turns clear when dried. After priming, the gel was peeled off.

5) Decals were added to the model before a layer of varnish was applied to protect the paint and blend in the decals.

6) Here is the finished plane:

In our latest project, we tried out an ‘easy-click system’ model by Revell. This box set contains everything you need to build a glow in the dark Ghost Ship.

1) Included in the kit are coloured plastic sprues, stickers, paint brush, and a bottle of  glow in the dark solution.

2) This is a snap kit, which means the parts are simply pushed together and no glue is required.

3) This is what the complete model looks like:

4) The glow in the dark solution could be painted directly on the coloured plastic, but we decided to add some colour to the ship.

5) The model was covered with several layers of the glow in the dark solution. The solution is a bit thick like PVA glue, you will need to thin it with water and blotted onto the model. Once it is dried you can’t see it.

5) If you are wondering what it looks like in the dark, we are saddened to report that we have tried but failed to get a good photo. The solution gives off very little light, which our camera was unable to capture:

Ladies and gentlemen, brace yourselves for some chibi cuteness. For in this project we are building an eggplane!

“Eggplane? You mean something that is edible and can be flown in?”

Well no….

“A vehicle that transports poultry away from the cruelty of mankind?”

What…? No!

“Please don’t tell me it’s just an egg-shaped plane?”

Without further ado, here is how we built our egg-shaped Mustang:

1. Inside the box, we were confronted with some chubby airplane parts.

2) The parts were cut out from the sprues and pieced together. We masked the canopy ready for priming.

3) We sprayed on an even coat of primer before we started painting.

4) Carefully we separated and painted the individual parts. Once all our parts were painted, we glued it back together and applied the decals.

5) Finally, the paint was sealed with a layer of varnish and our eggplane is ready to roll!

Today, we are working on 1:24 scale Volkswagen Camper Van (otherwise known as a Samba Bus). Now, with a glossy car body, you’d think anyone would be insane to try and paint it by hand. Using an airbrush would make it so much simpler, enjoyable, and produces a professional result. We’ve thought about this, and we were going to use one…but to cut a long story short: we chickened out.

Here is the construction of our hand painted Camper Van:

1) To start, we painted the rubber tyres. It was little difficult to paint directly onto the rubber and took several layers of paint. It may be better to prime the whole tyre first before painting.

2) Next, we went on to the interiors.

3) The mechanical parts were very detailed. Be careful not to paint over any joints or the parts won’t come together, which we learnt the hard way.

4) Next comes the car boot, where the engine sits. The instruction gives you a choice of two colours for the car body; blue or red. We decided to pick a third. “Ew, pink!” we hear you say. No, my friend, this is no ordinary pink. This is in fact the no-longer-in-production Citadel Tentacle Pink! The name alone gives this shade undeniable coolness.

5) To paint the straight window edges, we employed the help of some masking tape.

6) Here are the completed car body parts.

7) The car body was glued together and we’re almost there!

8) Finally, we added the decals and glued on the glass panels.

Best known for their role in the Battle of Britain, Spitfire Mk-I fought alongside the Hawker Hurricane to defend Britain against the Luftwaffe, and arguably changed the outcome of the war. Many variations of Spitfire were developed during WW2 to counter the ever-threatening German air force. Over 20,000 Spitfires were produced during the course of the war.

1. Included in the kit are:
   • Laser cut balsa parts
   • Plastic nose cowl, canopy, radiator, propeller, and wheels
   • Wire propeller shaft
   • Covering tissues
   • Decals

2. The frame was assembled using the building plan. Each basal piece was lined up with the drawing to ensure they were correctly placed.

3. Once the main pieces were glued together with wood glue, the stringers were cut to the required length and glued to the main frame. Here is the finished fuselage:

4. Building the wings was a slightly messy process. We made use of a few items available on hand to create the dihedral angle.

5. Here is the completed frame:

6. To cover the frame, the cover tissue was cut slightly large than each section and glued on with diluted wood glue. Finally, any excess tissue was trimmed off.

7. This is what it looked like after all the frames are covered, notice the winkles on the tissues:

8. We lightly sprayed water over it. Once dried, all the winkles are now removed. To protect the tissues, the frame was covered with a diluted layer of wood glue.

9. The plastic and additional parts are added. To make the rear windows, we used the paper and plastic film from an envelope. I’m told the plastic film from a tea cake box works well too, but can you imagine the awful process of eating the cakes inside?

10. The plane was painted with enamel.

11. Lastly, the decals and landing gears were added. Here is the finished plane: