I’ve started work on the Airfix 1:48 scale Ju87 Stuka, built straight from the box. The kit seems to fit together quite well. It’s been fun to assemble so far. 

Here are a few pictures of the painted cockpit. After taking these pictures, I closed the fuselage and assembled the wings. 

Adding details to model kit ejection seats

I just started building a 1:72 scale F/A-18F Hornet from Hasegawa. The kit's detail overall is pretty nice, but the cockpit is very plain. This isn't a big deal to me since I want to build this kit with the canopy closed. Still, the orignal seats are a bit too simple. 

What I did was really minor yet I believe adds interest. After an hour of effort, I made harnesses from Tamiya tape and sliced up a few stryene bits to suggest mechanical shapes missing from the original part. I just used scrap styrene and stretched sprue heated over a candle. 

I painted the seats in the same style I would use for game miniatures; high contrast and edge highlights. No need for washes or drybrushing. Simple painting techniques are yet another way to add details.

Khorne Bloodreaver

Finished painting a Khorne Bloodreaver last week and I have another in progress. World Eaters space marines were among the first 40k models I ever painted. Always fun painting red.

Here are some magnetic paint handles I recently made. Rather than just glue a magnet to a cork, I designed a holder in Fusion 360. The idea is that this larger, flat surface offers a more stable attachment with the base than a bare magnet atop a cork. The magnet is only 0.5mm below the surface of the holder, creating a strong connection.

The square base shown in the photo is what I call a “reference base.” I use it to orient the polarity of the holder’s magnet. I simply place it below the resin part while I glue the magnet in place. Every magnet I’ve used in the hobby has been oriented using that same square base, guaranteeing that I’ve always used the same polarity.

I used a 10x2mm magnet in the holder. I often use a 8x2mm magnet in my bases.

Still painting my Seraphon Stegadon. I finished the Skystreak Bow and one of the two platforms. Most of the colors are fairly neutral with details in gold, red, and turquoise. There are a few spots that deserve a little touch-up, but I think I'll just move forward. I have one more platform to go and then I can move on to the dinos.

Return of the King

Since the release of The Old World, many hobbyists have posted pictures of their old Warhammer Fantasy armies. It’s a fun bit of nostalgia. Although I never played WHFB, I did like the miniatures and painted a few of the heroes when I was young. I thought it would be fun to try painting one of these models again.

Rather than buy any of the re-released kits or pay an outrageous price on ebay, I chose to buy & print a 3D file of a Bretonnian-inspired figure. Shown above is the one I picked: Robert the Gallia from Highlands Miniatures. It’s a proxy for the classic Louen Leoncoeur, the king of Bretonnia, riding upon a hippogryph. I built the original (poorly) long ago. Hopefully I'll do a better job!

Using my favorite resin, Phrozen Aqua 4K, I printed the mini on an Elegoo Saturn (original model, not a 4K, 8K, or whatever else is now available). Zoom in and you may see a few layer lines. From past experience, however, it’s likely this will be largely hidden under the primer and final coat of paint.

The sculpt is terrific - lightyears better than the original GW pewter. Highlands Miniatures offers two weapon options: a sword and lance. I printed both to see which pose I prefer; I think it’s the sword.

Hopefully I can paint the model soon after finishing up my Seraphon Stegadon. Unless, of course, I’m distracted by something new!

My airbrushes

My current collection of airbrushes. Clockwise from top:
Tamiya HG-SF with aftermarket condensate collector,
GSI Creos PS-770, Iwata HP-CS, and my retired Tamiya HG-T. 

I've worked with airbrushes for decades, starting with artwork in high school before discovering their use for scale models and game miniatures. I've dabbled with various types, including siphon-fed and gravity-fed paint cups, as well as single and double action design. My current collection of airbrushes are from Tamiya, Iwata, and GSI Creos (aka Mr Hobby).

For years, I relied upon only two airbrushes: the Tamiya Spray-Work HG-T and HG-SF (0.3mm and 0.2mm nozzles, respectively). They covered all my needs, from small details to large areas. Though affordable, parts availability was occasionally an issue. 

Recently, a leaky needle packing prompted my retirement of the HG-T. Seeking a new large nozzle airbrush, I opted for the highly-regarded Iwata HP-CS Eclipse (0.35mm nozzle). It's an awesome general purpose airbrush that's well suited for priming and base coats. I really like how the Iwata handles viscous paints such as Vallejo's Mecha Black primer with ease. The airbrush cleans up easily, too.

For years, my go-to airbrush for miniature painting has been the Tamiya HG-SF (although my new Iwata may soon takeover the throne). Once a model is primed, I routinely turn to this airbrush for applying the base coat. The small cup size is great for quickly switching between colors. Despite having a fine nozzle, it works well with acrylic paint and rarely clogs. 

I also own a GSI Creos PS-770. This is a true speciality airbrush best used with inks and very dilute paint. The fine nozzle (0.18mm) is a double-edged sword: it allows you to spray incredibly fine lines but it’s more likely to clog and difficult to clean. Although I don’t use it often, it’s an incredible tool.

If you enjoy miniature painting but have not done so yet, definitely consider purchasing an airbrush. The Iwata HP-CS Eclipse may be a good place to start.

Links to manufacturer’s site:

• Tamiya Spray-Work HG-T (MSRP US$230, Retail approximately US$120)
• Tamiya Spray-Work HG-SF (MSRP US$230, Retail approximately US$100)
• Iwata Eclipse HP-CS (MSRP US$207, Retail approximately US$170)
• GSI Creos PS-770 (MSRP Unknown, Retail approximately US$250).

WIP: Seraphon Stegadon

My first model of the year is a Seraphon Stegadon. Shown above is a picture of some detail bits I started painting.

This is an older kit, circa 2015 I believe. The parts fit together ok, but not great. This is especially true of the dino rather than the skink riders or gun platform. I used a generous amount of sprue goo (sprue dissolved in Tamiya extra thin model cement) for much of the construction. This filled the gaps reasonably well - no greenstuff required.

I sometimes lose momentum on larger models like this. So, I decided to try posting my progress as motivation. My hope is that I can look back at these posts to remind me where I started and (hopefully) realize the finish line is in sight.

Necromunda Bases

I'm starting to build a Goliath gang from Necromunda. The industrial bases that come with the kit are really nice. I decided to magnetize these bases in case I'd like to store/display them in a special manner down the road.

I chose a subdued color palette. Here I airbrushed a light grey over black, painted small scratches and rust marks with German camo black/brown, then stippled with a very watered-down mixture of turquoise, and later purple. Once dry, I used enamel washes to create the rust and the darker shadows.

Fun one-day project.

Handles for Painting Miniatures

I've been painting minis for years and, throughout that time, I've always used winebottle corks for handles. They're essentially free (if you enjoy wine) and are a reasonable size to hold your model. But there are a few shortcomings related to their size and shape. They're rather small in diameter which can lead to some fatigue if painting for awhile. Also, you need to saw off one end to assure the model/handle can stand on its own. Even with this easy modification, it's still easy to topple. 

I do think these are minor quibbles and I clearly haven't given it much thought after all this time. That is, until I finally tried something new.

A size 20 cork with 1/4 inch balsa wood strip. 

The old way (which is still fine, especially for small parts).

I've started using a large size 20 cork stopper with a 1/4 inch strip of balsa wood attached to the top. I can easily attach/remove a pinned model, place a model to the side without fear of falling, and my hand no longer aches after a long painting session. 

Another trick is to place a small piece of paper beneath an unpainted model before attaching to the balsa strip. Now I have a handy way to hold a model for spray priming. The paper keeps both my hand and the cork handle clean. Once the model is dry (easily standing on its own), I can just remove it, discard the paper, and re-attach the model. 

Moisture Vaporators

I don't often take pictures during each step of a project, but I thought it might be fun to try it this time. Who knows, I may paint some more moisture vaporators in the future and can look back at this for reference.

1. Prime white.
2. Airbrush a dark grey into the recesses.
3. Airbrush base coat of white, letting grey remain in recesses as a shadow.
4. Using a torn sponge (from discarded packign material), blot scracthes onto model using dark red-brown paint.
5. Apply weathering with a small brush. This includes chips of the same dark red-brown paint used previously, followed by spot washes of sepia ink, and finally black-lining around crevices with a dark grey enamel wash. Paint radar/antenna with silver paints.
6. Attach models to a base (already primed in black) and apply base material.
7. Paint a thin coat of a sand color to base material. Follow by re-applying a second thin coat.

Star Wars Legion B-1 Battledroids

Here's a batch of B-1 Battledroids I painted for Star Wars Legion. I followed Sorastro’s video where he almost exclusively used GW's contrast paints. This was my first time using the paint and it wasn't as easy to use as I imagined.

Here’s what I learned:

• Don’t treat GW’s contrast paints like GW’s shades.
• Unlike shades, contrast paints dry reasonably fast.
• Unlike shades, contrast paints transition to a glossy, sticky phase before they fully cure with a flat finish. If you touch the paint when it’s sticky, it will lift the paint and the spot will appear as nothing more than lightly tinted primer.
• If excess contrast paint is not removed, the final color can be much darker than you intended.

My technique was to first load my brush with water, wipe away the excess on a paper towel, then dip the brush into the paint and coat the model. I then quickly proceeded to wash out brush, load with contrast medium and wipe away the excess on a paper towel, and finally mop-up contrast paint from flat areas and high points on the model.

GW's contrast paints seem like an easy-to-use product for models that appear weathered. I'm not so sure about clean models, though. I have a box of Clone Troopers. Perhaps they'll be good candidates to explore that technique.

Imperial Fists Primaris Space Marine

After packing away my brushes for years, I finally got around to painting a few minis. I've always struggled with yellow, so I thought I'd try painting an Imperial Fist. Main colors (all airbrushed) are Vallejo Game Color Orange Fire for shadow, followed by Gold Yellow for base coat, then white ink for highlights and covered with a light coat of Moon Yellow. After sealing with Tamiya X22 clear gloss, I black lined the joints using Dark Brown panel line accent color (also from Tamiya). From there, I simply painted all the other details using a range of Vallejo Game Colors.

It's been a long time since I last painted and weathered vinyl tank tracks. Here are the in progress pictures from my current model, an old Tamiya 1/35 1A2 Marder.

They're ok. Not sure the final drybrush of Stone Grey was necessary but they just looked so monochromatic before that application. I think I'll add more pigments once the tracks are mounted to the chassis. Next time I may try Vallejo's Panzer Ace Track Primer instead of the combo of Tamiya's Flat Aluminum + Flat Earth. I avoided using Vallejo since I wasn't sure it could stand up to the abuse of weathering.

Revell U-Wing, Part 2: Primer and Engines

I made a small amount of progress.

I've now primed all of the parts using an automotive lacquer from Duplicolor. After the paint cured overnight, I gently sanded the surfaces with my new favorite model tool: 3M's Ultra Fine Sanding Sponge (Item 02601). To get into the tight corners, I followed-up the sanding by scrubbing the parts with a mix of water and baking soda via a toothbrush. The end result is a super smooth finish ready for paint!

I also started weathering the engines. I airbrushed a basecoat of Tamiya's Nato Black (XF-69) followed by light coats of assorted Tamiya greys (mixes of 10% paint, 40% X-22 Clear, and 50% X-20 Thinner). I also included a bit of Hull Red (XF-9) to suggest some modest rust. After sealing under a clear coat, I applied an enamel pin wash to better define the details. I'll likely do some more weathering to the engines after assembling more of the kit.

Next up: Wings.

Revell U-Wing, Part 1: Cockpit

I just started work on my 1:100 scale U-Wing from Revell. This snap-together kit is generally simple and intended for young modelers. There are no sprues; the parts are trimmed, painted, and blister-packed. It also features a gimmick to illuminate the interior with a green LED and trigger a sound effect when you press a button on the rear engine deck. Although designed to be more of a toy than a model, I’m hopeful some extra effort with painting and weathering will bring it to life.

Here’s my progress so far: the completed cockpit and engine deck. If you’ve seen Rogue One, you can easily see that the interior isn’t remotely accurate. However, it is really nicely done! As for the engine, it certainly looks terrific and compares well to reference photos. The big, chunky, pre-assembled grey part houses the gimmick. A small speaker is located on the bottom and the light beams outward from the rear of the cockpit.

I really enjoyed the challenge of painting the two pilots - wow, are they small! I did my best to paint them to appear like the images I found of U-Wing pilots from Blue Squadron.

Next up: the 4 X-Wing style engines!

Modeling the Ocean

A series of terrific articles from Chris Flodberg to model the ocean:

Main tutorial.

Working with plaster to create a calm sea.

Working with foam to create a calm sea.

Working with cotton to create white-capped waves.

Creating swells with wire grinding tool or a cigarette lighter.

Paint colors.

Thermal Expansion and Photo Etch Railings for Model Ships

Over the years I’ve read numerous tips to avoid attaching long, continuous lengths of photo etch (PE) railings. The reasoning usually follows that it’s easier to work with railing no longer than 3 inches. I also recall that I would occasionally read a warning that a long length (> 3 inch) of railing may break away from the model due to changes in temperature. As I’m about to start work on a model ship, I thought I would first examine this effect and share what I learned.

The property of materials to expand and contract with changes in temperature is a well-known physical phenomenon. We can estimate how much a given material’s length will change using a simple correlation:

Δl=α·l₀·ΔT

Where Δl is the change in length, α is a coefficient of thermal expansion for the material of study, l₀ is the initial length of the material, and ΔT is the change in temperature (T_final-T_initial).

Given the equation above, we can now study the dimensional changes in both the styrene plastic as well as the brass PE railing. Experimentally derived values of α for styrene and brass are 70x10^-6m/m∙°C and 18.7x10^-6m/m∙°C, respectively; values for other materials are also available.

Let’s consider a model ship stored in two different locations: one where we control temperature and one where we do not. In this analysis I’ll say that a room with and without temperature control has a change in temperature of 11°C (27°C-16°C or 80°F-20°F) or 35°C (35°C-0°C or 95°F-32°F), respectively. We can then calculate the change in length for various materials and for different lengths of each material. See Figure 1.

Figure 1a. Linear thermal expansion for different lengths of
styrene and brass heated from 16 to 27°C and 0 to 35°C, respectively.

Figure 1b. Same as Figure 1a in English units.
The figure illustrates the following:

Styrene expands nearly 4 times more than brass. So, it's not that you need to worry about movement of the railing, but rather the model to which it's attached. You can calculate this as a ratio of the coefficients of thermal expansion (70/18.7 = 3.7).

Expansion/contraction is 3 times less in a room with temperature control compared to one without. You can calculate this as a ratio of the changes in temperature (35/11 = 3.2).

Despite the calculated differences, the magnitude of the change in length is always small (<< 1 mm for most conditions). This is true for all storage conditions, materials, and lengths examined.

It’s worth stating that this basic analysis lacks insight on several notable issues, including the adhesive strength, construction technique, and effect of repeated temperature cycling. There may very well be compromises where spots of a PVA adhesive offers mechanical flexibility or perhaps a continuous bead of CA glue proves quite rigid and strong. One may even speculate that years of seasonal temperature changes could cause small cracks to form and allow the railings to break away from the ship - it’s unclear.

For short lengths (< 3 inch) it would appear that you have little to worry about regarding changes in temperature. However, for longer lengths (< 6 inch) it may be worthwhile to slightly overlap the ends of the railing to allow for seasonal movement and avoid the potential formation of gaps between each run.

Good luck!

Firmware for Naze32 rev6 using Cleanflight on Mac OS X

Update (25-Apr-2016): Check out the video on Flite Test. If their instructions don't work, feel free to try what I did listed below.

Here's a short guide for anyone using a Mac to install the latest Cleanflight firmware in a new Naze32 rev6 flight controller. At the time of this writing, Cleanflight Configurator is version 1.1.0 and the Naze32 firmware is version 1.11.0.

Solder a bridge across the two pads marked "boot" on the board. See Figure 1. I did this simply using a bare wire; very easy to remove later.

Figure 1. Solder bridge across Naze32 boot pads.

Do not attach the Naze32 to your Mac. Be patient.

Download and install the USB to UART Bridge VCP Driver.

Download and install the Cleanflight Configurator at the Google Play store.

Restart your Mac.

Open the Cleanflight Configurator app in Chrome.

Do not make any changes to the Welcome screen. Switch to the Firmware Flasher by clicking the tab in the sidebar.

Figure 2. Switch to Firmware Flasher.

Choose the most recent, stable NAZE firmware from the drop down menu.

Switch on the options for "No reboot sequence", "Flash on connect", and "Full chip erase."

At the bottom of the window, click "Load Firmware [Online]".

Figure 3. Options in Configurator.

Connect a USB cable to the Mac and then the Naze32. The flight controller should only illuminate the blue LED.

Click "Connect" at the top of the window. The firmware will now transfer to your Naze32. An orange progress bar appears at the top of the window (sorry; no screen capture). LEDs on the Naze32 will not flash to indicate a file transfer. Instead, expect the LED to remain a solid blue.

Once transfer is complete (requires less than a minute), close Cleanflight Configurator and then disconnect the Naze32 from your Mac.

Remove solder bridge that connected boot pads in the first step. Desoldering braid works well for these small pads.

Re-open Cleanflight Configurator.

Connect a USB cable to the Mac and then the Naze32 rev6 board. The board should illuminate blue, gree, and red LEDs. Once the Mac has recognized the Naze32 (within a few seconds), the red LED will stop flashing and you will see a solid blue LED and a flashing green LED.

Click "Connect" at the top of the window and have access to the many configuration screens for the Naze32.

Since your Naze32 now has Cleanflight installed, you will not need to solder a bridge again in the future. If you choose to later install a new version of the firmware, do not choose "No reboot sequence" from the Firmware Flasher.

Good luck!

Want to learn Linux? Try playing with a Raspberry Pi.

I’ve been playing with a Raspberry Pi (RPi) for some time now but haven’t made much headway until recently. I originally thought it would be a fun little device for mundane tasks like web browsing or simple coding. What I learned, however, is that it has some serious limitations so aspiring to be a simplified desktop environment is really asking too much.

I now appreciate that the RPi is a great way to learn Linux and develop simple circuits paired with scripted logic. The RPi makes this attractive by giving you the freedom to hack anything without fear you’ll do damage to the computer. If something runs amok, with a few keystrokes you can wipe out the memory, operating system and all, and just start over. Sure, you can do all that with your PC or Mac but the reinitialization is far more time consuming.

If you want to get your own RPi up and running quickly, here are a few resources that I found helpful for a fresh install. Beyond a keyboard and mouse, you’ll also need a WiFi USB dongle.

• Start by formatting your SD card with SDFormatter.
• Download the latest Raspbian image.
• Flash the uncompressed image onto your SD card. This is surprisingly more complex than merely moving the image from your computer to the card itself. Well-written instructions are available from Adafruit for both Mac and PC.
• Insert the SD card into your RPi and boot (i.e., plug in the power!).
• On your initial boot, the raspi-config tool will open. This is the best time to modify configurations that will make your life easier. Overall instructions are listed here but the highlights are as follows:
• Expand root partition to fill SD card.
• Open the “internationalisation options” submenu.
• Change your locale. Use the spacebar to turn off/on locales. For the US, turn off GB (en_GB.UTF-8 UTF-8) and turn off US (en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8).
• Change your timezone.
Change your keyboard. This is a very important step. Unless you change these setting, your keys may be incorrectly mapped and cause you an amazing amount of frustration!
• Reboot the RPi upon exit.
• Connect the RPi to your wireless network by editing wpa_supplicant configuration file.
• Now that you have a wireless internet connection, update and upgrade Raspbian.