Tamiya's
1:100 scale Space Shuttle is a good kit but slightly dated but fit was great, as
usual with Tamiya kits. However, the kit is very basic and seems to be based
mainly on the Enterprise which wasn't a real spacecraft. But this means there
are hardly any tiles on the surface and other details like the thermal blankets
are absent completely. At first I planned to purchase the decal set for this kit
but the price (48 euros) just for decals made me decide to approach this
differently.
Click on
images below to see larger images
|
|
I
decided to manually engrave the tiles. This was a mammoth task but in the end
worthwhile because I think it worked out very well and looks pretty convincing.
Besides the tiles I also simulated the thermal blankets that cover a significant
part of the shuttle. I did this by using simple band aids, which I stuck to the
surface over a relief I made from thin strips of styrene. This also looks quite
convincing even though the relief is actually the wrong way around. The cargo
bay also got a special treatment with band aids of a different type. I added
lots of little details like cameras, screens and cables.
I painted the
shuttle with lots of white and dark greys. I highlighted numerous tiles to make
the underside of the shuttle a bit more interesting. A little bit of weathering
shows how these machines suffer a fair amount of abuse during space flight.
And I know, the
wheels are out while the cargo bay doors are open. I got carried away ;)
Klaasjan
Schuurig
Click on
images below to see larger images
|
|
|