Space Battleship Yamato 2199, Cosmo Reverse Ver. [WIP - First Bridge & Missile Launch Tower]

 With water decals application on the hull and deck of the 1/1000 scale Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Cosmo Reverse Version) now complete, it's time for the next stage. Among others, this involved the assembly as well as the final stage of painting of selected details for the First Bridge (the structure with the clear green piece atop it) and Missile Launch Tower (the red funnel-like structure behind the First Bridge).  This was followed by the application of a water decal on the tower. Both were then attached onto the deck of the space battleship via a snap-fit assembly process.

Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Cosmo Reverse Ver.) work-in-progress: First Bridge & Missile Launch Tower

Additional painted details are the clear green 'windows' of the admiral's private quarters ...

... and the opaque greens of the what seems like spotlights at the base of the Missile Launch Tower.

 As to what details were painted, let's just say only one color was involved but with one being opaque and the other clear. Previously the First Bridge had its hull basecoated in the space battleship's iconic grey, and its bridge windows painted a clear green, while the Missile Launch Tower was basecoated in grey and red. Both were then panel-lined with black. 

 On this particular step of the build, the windows of the admiral's private quarters (located at the very top of the First Bridge) was painted clear light green. Additionally, the Missile Launch Tower openings was painted in a gun metallic hue while a series of spotlights at the base of the tower were painted in an opaque light green hue. Once the part details were painted, it was time for the assembly process.

Apart from the continuation of the assembly process and added painted details ...

... the other piece of work done at this stage was the 'square-dash' decal on the Missile Launch Tower ...

... however still missing from space battleship's deck are its primary/secondary guns ...

... as well as four more anti-aircraft (AA) guns on each side of the hull ...

... and these will be located relatively lower than all the existing AA-guns.

 While assembly of the First Bridge already completed prior to painting the admiral's room windows, the Missile Launch Tower was still mostly in its component parts or minor sub-assemblies. Putting the launch tower together was a straightforward task without any complications (see below). 

First Bridge, plus base structure of Missile Launch Tower and pieces of the tower itself

Base structure that holds the Missile Launch Tower, which at this stage, is in three separate pieces

Yet to be assembled pieces of the space battleship's Missile Launch Tower

Missile Launch Tower of the Space Battleship Yamato 2199 after it has been assembled

Base structure that holds the Missile Launch Tower and the tower itself

Missile Launch Tower, after it has been attached to the base supporting structure

Missile Launch Tower with water decals applied, attached to its base supporting structure

First Bridge of the Space Battleship Yamato 2199, with all its 'windows' painted clear green

First Bridge (left) and the Missile Launch Tower atop its supporting structure (right)

 Once these two main sub-assemblies i.e. the First Bridge and Missile Launch Tower were fully-assembled, it was then time to snap-fit them onto the space battleship's deck. If my memory serves me, this process was a bit nerve wracking because (a) the fit was quite tight even though I had placed masking tape over the connecting holes to prevent paint from clogging them up; and (b) there were a lot of thin, fragile parts sticking out from both main sub-assemblies thus exposing them to potential breakage during the assembly process. This scenario tends to happen to me a lot mainly because I like to paint the individual parts or sub-assemblies before assembling them. 

Before attaching the First Bridge and Missile Launch Tower onto the space battleship's deck ...

... the Hangar Bay with its docked space fighter aircraft was moved out of the way, and then ...

... the holes onto which the bridge and tower fit into were exposed by removing the masking tape (note: tape's function is to prevent paint from getting into the holes and making the fitting too tight) ...

... before the Missile Launch Tower and its base structure was attached onto the space battleship's deck ...

... followed by the First Bridge; the assembly process was tricky with so many fragile parts sticking out, and with the fitting still being quite tight even without having paint clogging the aforementioned holes.

First Bridge and Missile Launch Tower after being attached onto the space battleship's deck

 At this stage of the build, there are still large chunks of empty space on the deck and hull. So essentially there is a ways to go before the Space Battleship Yamato (Cosmo Reverse Version) can be considered complete. For one thing the photos on this post show a ship that's missing her Primary/Secondary Deck Guns, Rocket Anchors, Spacecraft Catapults, Stabilizing Fins, and the Third Bridge. Most of these structures have been painted with the exception of the ship's main stabilizing fins. Moreover, there is also the matter of applying decals onto the deck guns.  

Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Cosmo Reverse Ver.) work-in-progress: fully-painted First Bridge and Missile Launch Tower with its base supporting structure attached onto the deck (side view, from left)

Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Cosmo Reverse Ver.) work-in-progress: fully-painted First Bridge and Missile Launch Tower with its base supporting structure attached onto the deck (side view, from right)

 Other than the items mentioned in the preceding paragraph, there is also the matter of the base itself and the accessories for the base. The base itself needs to be painted, and the appropriate description sticker applied to its side. Meanwhile the base accessories consists of tiny 1/1000 scale miniatures of various types of spacecraft that appeared in the anime.

Shown here is an isometric view of the Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Cosmo Reverse Ver.) ...

... and from this zoomed-out isometric view we can see that the space battleship is still ...

... missing its deck guns, anti-aircraft guns, fins, third bridge, catapults, rocket anchors, ...

... and the tiny individual spacecrafts (excluding ones in the hangar bay) for placement on the base.

 If my experience with the hangar bay fighters is any indication, then I have a feeling this project will hit a speed-bump when the time comes to paint the aforementioned tiny spacecraft. I didn't particularly enjoy painting those tiny fighters in the hangar bay so it stands to reason that I won't like it any better painting different types of spacecraft. Who knows, if there is less repetition involved then maybe I won't hate it as much. Anyway, up to now at least, the project seems to be progressing along at a steady pace. I'll deal with the potential speed-bump when I get to it. So here's to small victories in our hobby projects. Cheers, and see you soon in my next post!   

Space Battleship Yamato 2199, Cosmo Reverse Ver. [WIP - Water Decals on the Hull & Deck]

 Before any further work can be done on the 1/1000 scale Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Cosmo Reverse Version) model kit - be it continuation of the assembly process or painting of the few pieces I had inadvertently left unpainted - first, the ship's hull and deck needed to have the water decals applied on them. Below are the results of my attempt at detailing the ship's hull and deck with decals.

Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Cosmo Reverse Ver.) work-in-progress: water decals (side view, left)

Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Cosmo Reverse Ver.) work-in-progress: water decals (side view, right)

 Above are photos of the battleship's hull while the two photos immediately below this paragraph are photos of its deck, after water decals had been applied. These first four photos showcase a zoomed out view, which allows you to see all the decals that had been applied on the hull and deck.

Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Cosmo Reverse Ver.) work-in-progress: water decals (top view)

Positioning of decals on the deck meant the deck guns will sit above them in most cases

 Luckily for me this kit came with its own water decals. Bandai's water decals are usually of very high quality. With them in hand the chance for a successful decal application increases dramatically. This is of course in comparison with third party water decals which vary in quality. Sometimes they can be pretty bad, and are a nightmare to work with. That being said, some third party decals have reasonably good quality. At least good enough to work with without pulling your hair out.

Water decals that came with the Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Cosmo Reverse Version) kit

 Unfortunately not all water decals were applied onto the space battleship without incident. While most of the decals went onto the hull and deck almost flawlessly, there was one in particular that gave me some problems (see photo immediately below). On the lower rear section of the right side of the hull, the decal became crooked while being applied. Worse still the decal actually folded in on itself at one point, the fact that I managed to salvage as much as I did is testament to the decal's quality. End result is a misshapen decal, but better that than it becoming a complete write-off. 

A rare instance where the water decals were damaged while being applied (see lower left section)

In most cases though, the water decals were applied as intended, in a near flawless manner

At the battleship's bow, there is a host of dash line decals that were fragile and difficult to apply

 Whenever the option to do so is available, I always try to use original Bandai water decals because as I mentioned earlier, their quality is extremely good. This allows me to manipulate the water decals for longer periods when trying to get them in place. Moreover, the chances of the decals tearing or folding in on themselves are lower, though not completely eliminated.   

Water decals on the deck were sturdier and easier to apply compared with the ones on the hull

Deck guns (not shown here) that will be placed onto the deck will have their own decals

Apart from the deck, the rear left section had no decals due to an absence of the hull plating

 Without a doubt, the battleship looks much better with water decals than without. If you're going to make the effort to paint your kit, then by all means get some water decals on the painted kit. The only time I would use alternatives such as dry transfer decals or stickers is if the kit didn't come with water decals and I was unable to source some good quality water decals for the kit in question. 

 Despite the abundance of decals you see applied here, there are actually more decals that I haven't applied yet. These are to be applied onto the missile launcher and deck guns, and will be done later just prior to them being attached to the battleship's deck. So there is much more to come for the 1/1000 scale Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Cosmo Reverse Version) model kit. Until my next hobby blog update, thank you for reading, and as always stay safe and be well.

Custom Candy Coated Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type [Assembly Part 5 of 5: Final Assembly]

 Candy Metallic Finish on a mecha model kit ... check! That's one more tick on my must-do-bucket-list. More than that though, I've learned a technique that I plan use again on future mecha projects. In fact, it's likely I'll use a candy metallic finish on another Evangelion project namely the EVA Unit-02, which has red as its predominant color. That, however, is still something too far into the future to worry about. For now, let's concentrate on the here and now, and on what has actually been completed which is the Bandai Limited High Grade (LM-HG) Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type.  

Bandai LM-HG Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type custom paint job (candy metallic finish)

 After assembly of the various sub-sections like the head, torso, and limbs, all that remained to be done was put the separate sub-assemblies together into a recognizable EVA unit. The final assembly process itself was fairly straightforward with the hard work done during the assembly of the sub-assemblies. Everything slotted in as expected with the end results you see below.

Fully-painted individual parts/sub-assemblies of the EVA-01 Test Type, prior to final assembly

Bandai LM-HG Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type completed (front view)

Bandai LM-HG Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type completed (back view)

 Against my usual go-to black background, a lot of the EVA-01 Test Type details were obscured. This was because the candy metallic finish tended to mirror its dark surroundings thus accentuating the overall dimness of an object that's photographed in a dark environment. As such I had to instead carry out the photo shoot with the Evangelion posed against a white background. With the EVA unit placed in brighter surroundings, I found its details to be significantly more visible in the photos. Of course it helped that the candy metallic finish now reflected/mirrored its brighter surroundings.

Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type posed in a squat (front view)

Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type posed in a squat (back view)

A white background was chosen as the primary background because ...

... when a black background was used to shoot photos of the EVA-01 Test Type ...

... I found that the candy metallic finish will partly reflect/mirror its dark surroundings ...

... thus accentuating the overall dimness of the surroundings the EVA-01 was posed in ...

... this was especially true if the candy metallic hues were the darker purples and blues ...

... and do here you see the EVA-01 Test Type against a black background followed by ...

... a white one, which partly reflects its brighter surroundings thus showcasing its details more clearly.

 Although I had an inkling of how cool candy metallic finishes could and did look, I was still relieved to find that the Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type did not look out of place with a candy coating. While most mecha-type kits will look good in a candy metallic finish, I believe this is not a given as I've seem some mechas look terrible when saddled with candy hues on its outer armor.

Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type (isometric view, front left)

Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type (back view)

Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type (isometric view, rear left)

 Rough handling on my part has resulted in the paint chipping on the Evangelion's thighs. That won't be a problem though as the chips look natural i.e. how it would look like if candy metallic surfaces were scratched. Paint chips can also be partly blamed on the fact that I didn't apply a protective clear topcoat on top of the candy metallic finish. That I did not do out of choice because I liked how the candy coating looked as is, and did not want to alter the finish anymore.   

Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type (isometric view, rear right)

Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type (isometric view, right)

 If there is one gripe I have of the fully-assembled model kit is that the joints in its spinal column seem a tad loose in that the upper body tends to sag downwards/forwards on more than one occasion. I guess it's not all bad when you consider that the Evangelion's default pose is one of it hunched forwards. So in essence the kit is just fulfilling its core aesthetic quality. The joints on the limbs seem fairly robust for now, and the EVA Unit can indeed stand on its own two feet. However a Bandai Action Base will be needed to pull off more dynamic poses other than it just standing still.  

Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type (isometric view, front right)

Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type (isometric view, left)

 It's obvious from the photos above that the Evangelion is still sorely lacking in the weapons department. While I've assembled the EVA Unit's weapons, I've yet to paint them. Once those are completed, I plan to pair the EVA-01 Test Type with an Action Base in order to shoot photos of some dynamic poses. However there is a high possibility that other projects will be completed first before I eventually come around to working on the weapons. So there won't be any updates for this project anytime soon. Anyway, that's it for this post. Until the next, please stay safe and be well.  

 Important Note: Videos showcasing a more in depth view of the Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type assembly process, of which there are five parts, have been released simultaneously on my YouTube channel FourEyedMonster Miniatures. If you are the type who prefers watching instead of reading, then the videos will be more to your liking. Be sure to check those videos out. To access my YouTube Channel, you can also click on the banner promoting the channel directly below this paragraph.