Space Battleship Yamato 2199, Cosmo Reverse Ver. [WIP - Hull Interior & Wave Motion Engine]

Undoubtedly, the early steps of the Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Cosmo Reverse version) project are going to be quite boring to the neutral observer. For that I apologize. While my work-in-progress blogs may hopefully be of help to scale modelers looking to tailor an approach to painting a particular section of a model kit, it admittedly lacks the razzmatazz of projects at more advanced stages of completion. Sadly, the Hull Interior and Wave Motion Engine parts are no exception. But please bear with me as I hope to eventually make this journey worth your while. On that note, let us proceed.
  

Space Battleship Yamato work-in-progress: Hull Interior & Wave Motion Engine painted parts/sub-assemblies

Montage of instructions involving the assembly of the Hull Interior and Wave Motion Engine

To provide context as to where these painted parts and sub-assemblies are to be placed in the overall scheme of things, I created a photo montage (see above) from the instructions. In addition, I marked the parts involved with a green star so that they stand out from the general outer Hull Plate pieces. Meanwhile, it a conscious decision on my part to use spray cans (instead of airbrush) to paint the Hull Interior and Wave Motion Engine surfaces. This was a trade-off that was made to maintain a good pace in the progress i.e. not waste too much time on parts that will generally be hidden from view. 

Screenshot of a section of the Yamato's Hull Interior when exposed to an alien ocean

Above is an elongated triangular connector piece (left) and a circular Hull Interior piece (right)

Connector piece attaches to the circular Hull Interior piece, before eventually slotting into the Yamato

While the interior piece has been painted, the connector remains unpainted in its original molded colors

A rectangular Hull Interior piece and Hangar Bay Bottom Door Hinge, all painted and panel-lined

However there were consequences from hurrying through the painting process. (Essentially using spray cans to paint will always be so much faster because there isn't any of the airbrush cleanup process afterwards.) The slight dip in desired quality was, to me, evident. Compared to the screenshot below, the Tamiya TS92 Metallic Orange turned out to be a hue that was too dark for the engine. I'm pretty sure if I had airbrushed a candy metallic orange I would've achieved a lighter hue, closer to the one seen in the anime. It was generally the same for the Hull Interior as the Tamiya AS29 Grey Green looks a bit too dark compared to the anime screenshot (see above earlier). 

Screenshot of the Yamato's Wave Motion Engine, with the crew providing a sense of scale

Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Wave Motion Engine, painted in metallic orange and panel-lined

Note unpainted sections of the Hull Interior/Connector piece (left) and Wave Motion Engine (right) ...

... which connect the parts to each other, and eventually to the inner framework of the Yamato

Thankfully, as we move along the Yamato from its bow to stern things become way more interesting. Right at the end of the ship is the Engine Nozzle, and this part is going to receive special treatment in terms of technique, which I can now attempt seeing that I've an airbrush system. Normally I would just paint it metallic light gun metal or silver, then do a wash and panel-lining. Now though, I intend to try doing a scorched metal or burnt metal look on the nozzle akin to what you would normally see on a car's titanium exhaust. At the very least, it should make for a better read than this post.    

And on that note, I leave you with yet another tenuously-linked "quote". This is a simple outburst of pure joy; one that has to do with the color orange. The Wave Motion Engine is orange ... it's a power unit that propels the ship forward ... motion ... an orange race car moving fast ... the McLaren F1 car ... Lando Norris, third youngest podium finisher of all time at the Red Bull Ring, Austrian Grand Prix last week ... his reaction at the checkered flag ... Yeaaah Boooyy!!! Woo Hoo Hoooo!