Space Battleship Yamato 2199, Cosmo Reverse Ver. [WIP - Hull Plates: Basecoats & Panel Lines]

After a break of nearly 15 months, the Space Battleship Yamato project is back on the work table. As there will be a few different versions of this iconic space ship entering my project pipeline in the future, it should be noted this particular kit shows the physical form of the Yamato on its journey back to Earth from planet Iscandar in the year 2199. At this point, the ship's prow had been retrofitted with the Cosmo Reverse System - an Iscandarian device with the potential to restore life on Earth - thus effectively decommissioning the Wave Motion Cannon (parts are included to showcase this fact).

Bandai 1/1000 scale Space Battleship Yamato Cosmo Reverse Ver. work-in-progress: Hull Plates

In terms of workflow order, I started on a section termed simply as "Hull" in the instructions (see below) which involves the assembly of the Yamato's Hull Plates, Hull Interior, Hangar Bay, Wave Engine, and Wave Motion Gun/Cannon. And to get the project rolling again after such a long hiatus, I have kept to the more straightforward task of basecoating and panel lining the Upper and Lower Hull Plates. It is this first meaningful step for the Space Battleship Yamato 2199 project that you'll see here. Also included is a short video on how the basecoat layer was applied to the hull pieces.

Hull Plates form the initial parts of the assembly section listed in the instructions as "Hull"

Materials used comprised the Tamiya Fine Surface Primer, the basecoat lacquer paint mixes I had prepared over a year ago, the Mr.Super Clear semi-gloss topcoat, and the oil-based Mr.Weathering Color paints used to panel line the painted Hull Plates. In a nutshell, the Hull Plates were first coated with a light gray colored fine surface primer before being airbrushed with specially mixed basecoat colors representing the iconic grays and reds of the ship. Then a protective topcoat was applied onto the basecoat layer before commencing with panel lining. Of course, sufficient drying time of about a day was factored in between each step. Simple, straightforward steps to kick-start the project.

Light gray primer coat on the Upper Hull Plates of the Space Battleship Yamato 2199

'Yamato Gray' basecoat layer on the Upper Hull Plates of the Space Battleship Yamato 2199

Upper Hull Plates of the Space Battleship Yamato 2199 top coated with semi-gloss clear, then panel lined

One thing of note is the Hull Plates aren't finished yet, not by a long shot. They still need to be weathered. And that is going to be a time consuming process if I want to do it well. Firstly a lot of research will have to go into finding the right effects and hues to use on a gray/red ship that can fly in space and in a planet's atmosphere as well as sail its waters. Secondly I will have to paint up some test pieces (i.e. spare sprue parts, plastic spoons or even styrene sheets) in order to try out some of the weathering ideas. For a scale modeler with OCD tendencies, this looks like a long hard slog. 

Light gray primer coat on the Lower Hull Plates of the Space Battleship Yamato 2199

'Yamato Red' basecoat layer on the Upper Hull Plates of the Space Battleship Yamato 2199

Upper Hull Plates of the Space Battleship Yamato 2199 top coated with semi-gloss clear, then panel lined

Without an airbrush, it would not have been possible for me to achieve the paint job I wanted with the Hull Plates. Prior to getting an airbrushing system I had relied on spray cans to paint scale model kits with large surface areas. While results with spray cans can be pretty good, they cannot hold a candle to the inherent abilities of an airbrush to deliver paint at a fairly consistent velocity and volume. Add to that fine control over the paint's spray pattern, and we now have the means to slowly build up numerous thin layers of paint over large surface areas. This is essential to painting smooth basecoats that aren't too thick as to cover up molded details. The video below is a short take on this process.

Admittedly though, the video above may be too short to really explain the process to getting smooth layers of the basecoat color onto your scale model kit. With that in mind, I plan to do another longer and more in-depth video, voice-over and all, in upcoming video productions. Up next for the Yamato are its Interior and Hangar Bay sections. Meanwhile I've so many unboxed projects - like the Star Wars Scout Trooper and Speeder Bike, Neon Genesis Evangelion EVA-01, and Sturmgeschütz III Ausf.B - all raring to go as well as the Bumblebee Volkswagen to continue working on.  

Speaking of which, that latter project would likely be the one I do a detailed 'airbrushing smooth basecoat process' video when I eventually start painting Bumblebee yellow onto the Beetle car body. Anyway the weekend is here and it's an unusually exciting one for me as Formula One racing returns at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. As an F1 fan, that means I get to end my blog with my all-time favorite Kimi Räikkönen quote ... Just leave me alone, I know what to do (see here).