Losing grip – Hatching plans
Yo and happy generic weekday! May it be a good one and provide you with a bit of relaxing hobby time. Failing that, let it at least provide you with some time of day dreaming of your next project – I’m sure there is one. I myself spend way too much time thinking of upcoming hobby projects, be it RC, Lego or miniature gaming.
I think anyone reading this is to some degree the same. Thinking, planning, building and finding deep satisfaction in seeing what once only existed in your brain turned real. A couple of years ago I was really into Lego trains an one of my biggest accomplishments was building a Lego train in my head, ordering the pieces, and assembling it needing to do only a couple of minor adjustments. From head to real life without passing neither paper nor computer, it was great!
In my head currently is Vanquish Phoenix take two. I have two sources of inspiration. First, the name itself: Phoenix. Duh! Obviously the paint scheme has to be a phoenix, somehow. Second: the treal wheels above. I first saw them here on BigSquid when they were released and they not only looked good but were only seventy bucks for a full set, including a scale hex driver! At that price, I knew I had to check them out.
As much as the price, I liked the color. It should fit the next paint job perfectly. I’m thinking red wheels, read body, and a phoenix in hues of yellow and orange. Maybe with some black for contrast. Maybe a bit of blue as well. Lots of ideas bouncing around in my head currently. Always eager to try new techniques, my basic plan for this job is to first spray the inside of the body in Tamiya matte varnish, then paint a phoenix using brush, airbrush and acrylic paints, then finish off with Tamiya metallic red rattle can.
Level of ambition? Way too high, of course. Where would the fun be otherwise? I’ve done some browsing for phoenix pictures on Pinterest and have found a couple which are really, really cool, but would be really, really difficult to do on a lexan body. Unfortunately I probably can’t publish any of those pics here, due to copyrights and such, so if you’re curious you’ll have to have a look at pinterest. Cool and difficult, that’s what I’m going for.
The really difficult bit is that I will have to do it all backwards, since it’s a lexan body painted from the inside. Mistakes can’t be easily covered since the first layer of paint on the inside is what will be visible on the outside. I’ll have to lay down the highlights first and shading last, which is the opposite of what I would do on a plastic model.
This should be interesting, I’ll keep you posted!
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