Ready to Paint
I’ve finally reached that point where it is time to paint, which in this case will be a very time consuming process. Not only will there be a sizable palette of colors, but they have to be applied in a particular sequence to produce the desired effect.
Of course, the other tedious part is masking off all the windows and spot beams, engine grills, deflector dish, and so forth. The window portholes were cut out using a punch and die set to desired size and maintain consistency. The spot beams are a little more challenging because, to the extent possible, I want to direct the light purposefully. This requires the use of oval masks in some cases. Hopefully, this works.
So, first step is primer. The primer will help smith out rough edges, but also reveal flaws that need to be fixed. I anticipate many flaws requiring patching. Once that is done, I will apply yellow to thruster areas and phaser emplacements, followed by gray and black details, masking off in sequence as I go along. The next phase will involve metallic paints, probably 4-5 shades to distinguish various panels and sections. When this is done to my satisfaction, I remove all the masking to reveal the ship. At that point, a gloss coat will be applied to seal the paint. Decals will be applied, followed by another set of masks for all the windows. A dull coat will be sprayed on. When the masks are removed, the windows will retain their glassy sheen.
After all of that, weathering will be applied and the model will theoretically be finished. The matter of mounting the thing on a stand remains unclear to me, but I’m not terribly worried about it. I’m think of a wooden base with a decorative brass rod, not unlike what is used to mount clipper ships.
