Griffin Miniatures Greys - Chrome paint on the saucers

[anevilgiraffe]

Do you have any pictures? Sounds interesting

  I forgot to paste the link...

https://anevilgiraffe.blogspot.com/2008/08/saucer-project.html

[Daeothar]

Very nice indeed!; thanks for sharing

And I realised I forgot to post a picture of the UD-12 Chickenhawk, which can btw still be downloaded from toposolitario.com. I slightly modified this version in Photoshop at the time to match the description of the dropship our characters used at the time. This one is made of thick paper, but what I'm planning will be about 120% of the size, and made out of polystyrene...

[Battle Brush Sigur]

@Crysalid picture:


That Chickenhawk looks nice too. Papercraft models probably are a good way to replicate the boxy look of the original Skyranger anyway.

[voltan]

Definitely back to the skyranger.

I wonder if anyone makes a cloaker/shroud figure that would be suitable for Etherals.

[Daeothar]

A quick update here, nothing major to report though.

I managed to get paint on the three pilots during an unguarded hour or so this weekend. Paintjobs are a bit sloppier than those on their footslogging compatriots, but I'm figuring the cockpit domes will hide most of the indiscretions…

Then I had the luminous idea that I want the saucers to be painted as if they're made of a chrome-like material, so I dove into the rabbithole of hobby chrome paints. And that goes pretty deep down, let me tell you

The absolute best in our niche is Revell Chrome Paint spray can. Expensive as heck, but the results are near mirrorlike with the right prep. The only downside is that it is vulnerable to scratching and peeling, since covering it with a gloss varnish will dull the result right down, making the result look like the silver paint I've used already.

But then, during a long drive home yesterday, while I was pondering how to best proceed with that paint on my project, I started weighing the pros and cons and came to the conclusion that a completely mirror finish is not what I want. It will be too vulnerable for actual gameplay, the mirror effect will be distracting and also, it I feel like it will just not look good on the table.

So in the end, I've decided to use a chrome spray paint, but a less effective (and also cheaper) one. So I can have it stronger, because of a layer of varnish or two, and not as reflective, while still maintaining at least the illusion of the surfaces being chrome.

The things we inflict upon ourselves eh...

[Commander Roj]

I can't tell you how impressed I am with the pilots and cockpits. Magnificent work on this army!

[OSHIROmodels]

Brill 

[AKULA]

Saucers 

[Daeothar]

Another small update, but I thought I might as well share how I do my flightstands/bases while I'm at it

I'm not a fan of the ubiquitous clear plastic rods sticking out of the ground, straight into the lowest point on the 'flying' model. It has always felt to me as if the model was just standing/balancing on top of said rod and that puts me off.

So a long time ago already, I came up with my own method of making models fly or hover (not actually ). I use a piece of metal rod, bent into a curve, at the nominal back of the base, and either glue it or attach it by magnet to the rear lower half of the model.

That way, the lowest point of the model is free hanging, and the thin wire, when painted in the same colours as my usual basing are quite inconspicuous, especially when looking down onto the table. Also, the curve is more natural looking than the ramrod straight readitional clear flight stands, and I've used it before to sort of suggest a curving or spiraling flightpath, as if it's a contrail or something like that.

And that's what I did here as well. I opted to glue the rods in this time, because I will also have a landed and a crashed saucer. So in those cases where they a saucer is shot down but not destroyed, I'll simply replace the model.

Interestingly enough, I did magnetize the first Cyberdisk. But that was probably more out of habit than any thought out plan. We'll see how I move forward with that plan.

Anyway; I bulked up the location inside the two saucers that will actually be Flying with some glued in offcuts of thick styrene sheet, since the putty I had placed there initially came off when I drilled the holes. These are welded into place, so will most likely be much sturdier.

Then there's the underside of the bases, where you can see how I've enlarged the contact surface as much as possible by bending the wire to and fro before glueing it in place with superglue and baking soda.

Once that was dry, I also added some putty on top (under? a matter of perspective, really) of the wire and its glued edges, to give some extra strength to the connections. That's drying now, and as soon as it's fully cured, I will get on with the basing.

Basing will mostly be the same as on the infantry bases, but with such an amount of surface, I will probably add some more visually interesting items, like some particularly heroic rock or some mutilated livestock.

Anyone know a good STL of a dead cow?

[Malebolgia]

Don't you mean burning cows...?
Looking good man, really interested in the final result with the rod as flying base.

[Daeothar]

Again some incremental progress. Or you would probably see it that way; to me, this was a giant leap. Because even though I had decided that I wanted the saucers to receive more of a chrome finish, I found that applying that finish was a bit nerve wracking.

Spraying the chrome paint could only happen on smooth, dust and grease free Surfaces. And since the saucers have quite a bit of smooth, curving surfaces that would reveal every single blemish and irregularity, I was a bit nervous going ahead.

I first did a test on the one saucer that will be crashed, figuring that any fails on there could be disguised with soot and dirt anyway.

But to my relief, the result was pretty good with he first try! However, due to the nature of the spray paint, it dries a lot slower than 'normal' acrylic spray paint. And even when the surface is dry, it will take quite a bit longer to really harden out under the surface.

As I found out when taking the two halves off their spraying mounts. This left several fingerprints pressed into the surface. Luckily, they're all on the underside, so they can be hidden with a bit of weathering.

Meaning that after I sprayed the other saucers and the cyberdisk, I am now leaving them to dry on their mounts for the rest of the week!

Also, it appears I've sprayed some areas with too little paint, resulting in a surface that can only be described as 'a bit bubbly'. But then in a mirror finish. This means the surface finish is not uniform and has some structure in some places, but I'll handwave that away by saying that the saucers are made of a 'memory metal' that ripples and swirls when one looks at it.

Problem solved

And to not let the drying time go to waste, I've also started on the 3rd batch of Greys...