Space Craft | Page 4 | Model Shop in Broughty Ferry, Dundee

Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day

We started this project towards the end of 2018. And yes, it has taken us over a year to finish!

“Well, what took you so long?” we hear an intrigued reader asks. We’re not sure either, but you see Rome wasn’t built in a day.

“Of course not! But you’re not building Rome, are you?” You must be the smartest person we’ve spoken with today because, yes, we have been building Rome!

Roman diorama Rome villa Italeri Model Shop Broughty Ferry Space Craft Dundee Scotland Scale Kits — This saga began when we decided to build this Pax Romana kit. It consisted of a Roman villa, and Roman and Celtic figures.

Roman diorama Rome villa Italeri Model Shop Broughty Ferry Space Craft Dundee Scotland Scale Kits — The Roman villa is made from laser cut MDF and card.

Roman diorama Rome villa Italeri Model Shop Broughty Ferry Space Craft Dundee Scotland Scale Kits — The laser cut parts fitted together superbly and was assembled it in no time.

Roman diorama Rome villa Italeri Model Shop Broughty Ferry Space Craft Dundee Scotland Scale Kits — It is one thing to know that there are 109 figures in the kit, and another to see what 109 figures look like in flesh. We were very tempted to put the figures back in the box and pretend we never opened it.

Roman diorama Rome villa Italeri Model Shop Broughty Ferry Space Craft Dundee Scotland Scale Kits — After getting over the shock of seeing the number of figures there are to paint, we got to work. We glued the weapons and shields to the figures and arranged them onto cardboard ready for priming.

Roman diorama Rome villa Italeri Model Shop Broughty Ferry Space Craft Dundee Scotland Scale Kits — Once primed and painted, the figures were varnished with a layer of dark wash. Here is a before-and-after picture. The figure on the left is without the dark varnish, and the figure on the right shows what it looks like after varnishing. The same colours were used for the two figures except for their hair and swords.

Roman diorama Rome villa Italeri Model Shop Broughty Ferry Space Craft Dundee Scotland Scale Kits — Here is another before-and-after picture. The same colours were used for both figures except for their hair.

Roman diorama Rome villa Italeri Model Shop Broughty Ferry Space Craft Dundee Scotland Scale Kits — Another before-and-after picture. Same colours were used on both figures except for the shields.

Roman diorama Rome villa Italeri Model Shop Broughty Ferry Space Craft Dundee Scotland Scale Kits — On completing the figures, we went on to design the layout of our battle scene. Once we marked out the location for roads, garden, and a river, we built the individual elements.

Roman diorama Rome villa Italeri Model Shop Broughty Ferry Space Craft Dundee Scotland Scale Kits — Here is the river. We first painted some textures onto the base before adding simulated water.

Roman diorama Rome villa Italeri Model Shop Broughty Ferry Space Craft Dundee Scotland Scale Kits — Next, we made some sheep. We have seen a few “you must be crazy” faces when we told customers that these are supposed to be sheep.

Roman diorama Rome villa Italeri Model Shop Broughty Ferry Space Craft Dundee Scotland Scale Kits — Here are the finished version. We still get a few “you must be crazy” faces when we say these are sheep.

Roman diorama Rome villa Italeri Model Shop Broughty Ferry Space Craft Dundee Scotland Scale Kits — Finally, all 109 figures were added to the battle scene.

Roman diorama Rome villa Italeri Model Shop Broughty Ferry Space Craft Dundee Scotland Scale Kits

Roman diorama Rome villa Italeri Model Shop Broughty Ferry Space Craft Dundee Scotland Scale Kits

Roman diorama Rome villa Italeri Model Shop Broughty Ferry Space Craft Dundee Scotland Scale Kits

Construction of EM-4 Universal Spacecraft

In the search for a quick and simple project, we set our sights on EM-4 Miniatures’ Universal Spacecraft.

This kit comes with 12 spaceships, each with its own unique design.

2) For our project, we split the spaceships into six groups. Each group was painted with its own colour scheme.

3) Once painted, the models were vanished with a layer of dark wash to enhance the details of the ships.

Construction of 1/72 Spitfire MkIa

Spitfire MkIa Airfix Starter Set Dundee Model Shop Scotland Fife Broughty Ferry Hobby

Taking a welcome break from painting millions of minute Roman figures, we are building a Spitfire!

Spitfire MkIa Airfix Starter Set Dundee Model Shop Scotland Fife Broughty Ferry Hobby — 1) First things first – the sprues are given a quick rinse and primed in white.

Spitfire MkIa Airfix Starter Set Dundee Model Shop Scotland Fife Broughty Ferry Hobby — 2) Inside the cockpit – the pilot sitting smartly ready for take-off.

Spitfire MkIa Airfix Starter Set Dundee Model Shop Scotland Fife Broughty Ferry Hobby — 3) The plane is assembled.

Spitfire MkIa Airfix Starter Set Dundee Model Shop Scotland Fife Broughty Ferry Hobby — 4) A dark green base coat is painted.

Spitfire MkIa Airfix Starter Set Dundee Model Shop Scotland Fife Broughty Ferry Hobby — 5) A layer of dark earth-brown is added to create the iconic camouflage.

Spitfire MkIa Airfix Starter Set Dundee Model Shop Scotland Fife Broughty Ferry Hobby — 6) Finally, markings are added to the plane.

Spitfire MkIa Airfix Starter Set Dundee Model Shop Scotland Fife Broughty Ferry Hobby — Our Spitfire is complete!

Construction of Miniart Greek Hoplite

Our latest completed model is the Greek Hoplite – a common citizen-soldiers that can quickly take up arms to go to war. They are typically armed with a spear, shield, and sword.

Miniart Greek Hoplite Space Craft Broughty Ferry Dundee Model Shop Scotland

1) Included in the kit are the sprues for the 1:16 figure, armour, weapons, decals and a base.

Miniart Greek Hoplite Space Craft Broughty Ferry Dundee Model Shop Scotland

2) Here is the partially assembled model ready for priming.

Miniart Greek Hoplite Space Craft Broughty Ferry Dundee Model Shop Scotland

3) The skirt was shaded with three colours, here is the finished outcome that we are particularly proud of.

Miniart Greek Hoplite Space Craft Broughty Ferry Dundee Model Shop Scotland

4) This model came with some decals for the shield, but some details on the artwork are missing. For example the edge of the shield had to be drawn on and painted by hand.

Miniart Greek Hoplite Space Craft Broughty Ferry Dundee Model Shop Scotland

5) Once all the parts were painted, they were varnished with a wash. Various shades were applied, for example, a flesh tone was applied to the skin and a purple/blue tone to the armour.

Miniart Greek Hoplite Space Craft Broughty Ferry Dundee Model Shop Scotland

6) Another detail that was not included were the ropes inside the shield, lining the spear, and attached to the sword. To make the rope, we plaited together three threads (to add thickness) and glued onto the various parts using superglue.

Miniart Greek Hoplite Space Craft Broughty Ferry Dundee Model Shop Scotland — Details of the rope shown on the inside of the shield

7) Finally, we stuck the figure on to the base and added vegetation.

Miniart Greek Hoplite Space Craft Broughty Ferry Dundee Model Shop Scotland

8) Here is our finished model:

Miniart Greek Hoplite Space Craft Broughty Ferry Dundee Model Shop Scotland

Miniart Greek Hoplite Space Craft Broughty Ferry Dundee Model Shop Scotland

Miniart Greek Hoplite Space Craft Broughty Ferry Dundee Model Shop Scotland

Construction of Hasegawa Eggplane

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:

Space Craft Model Shop Dundee Hasegawa Eggplane Mustang

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

Space Craft Model Shop Dundee Hasegawa Eggplane Mustang

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

Space Craft Model Shop Dundee Hasegawa Eggplane Mustang

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

Space Craft Model Shop Dundee Hasegawa Eggplane Mustang

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

Space Craft Model Shop Dundee Hasegawa Eggplane Mustang

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

Space Craft Model Shop Dundee Hasegawa Eggplane Mustang

Space Craft Model Shop Dundee Hasegawa Eggplane Mustang

Space Craft Model Shop Dundee Hasegawa Eggplane Mustang

Space Craft Model Shop Dundee Hasegawa Eggplane Mustang — Not all the eggplanes come with a figure. We made sure we our plane had one; here is our focused-looking wide-eyed pilot.