1/72 Atreides Ornithopter build - FINISHED

[bingoh]

I actually rather like the gray over NATO brown, especially after some oil washes or dot filtering. Maybe a happy accident, there.

 

[modelerdave]

I actually rather like the gray over NATO brown, especially after some oil washes or dot filtering. Maybe a happy accident, there.

Yeah, I liked the brown when I first applied it, but as I looked at more and more reference photos I decided that some sort of gray would be better. I think neutral gray is perfect for what I'm after.

 

[Analyzer]

The NATO brown you had in those pics you posted does seem way to light/brown for the base color. It is better as an overspray/mist color to a darker base IMHO

 

[Analyzer]

And for those who might be interested, Norm from Tested just built and weathered the Harkonnen ornithopter. He did some nice work! And fast! I feel like it takes me forever to build something.

surprisingly there really are not a ton of parts for as seemingly complex a kit as it looks.

Most of the part count involves the landing gear as they have a landed version and in flight version.

The main body and wings goes together quite quickly and everything is snap fit

In fact, I am not sure entirely what plastic it is made from, but plastic glue like Testors plastic solvent glue does not work on it. If you glue, you need CA or possibly something much stronger solvent glue wise

 

[Fett_Ish]

surprisingly there really are not a ton of parts for as seemingly complex a kit as it looks.

Most of the part count involves the landing gear as they have a landed version and in flight version.

The main body and wings goes together quite quickly and everything is snap fit

In fact, I am not sure entirely what plastic it is made from, but plastic glue like Testors plastic solvent glue does not work on it. If you glue, you need CA or possibly something much stronger solvent glue wise

I found that tamiya extra thin and MEK worked for my builds. These days I use CA only on resin, I just like a nice welded piece of plastic I guess.

 

[modelerdave]

And that's a wrap. This was a fun build. The weathering was really basic. Mostly dry brushing with Tamiya Deck Tan and a little bit with oils. I did paint the base and added some sand to it, even though it's the wrong kind of sand (but it was all I had on hand).

This thing is huge with the wings deployed. I don't think I'll bother with the landed position even though I did finish the separate landing gear parts for that.

 

[modelerdave]

A few more.

 

[masterjedi322]

Great job! Really surprised and pleased to see some of the kit’s detailing!

Thanks for sharing your build!

Sean

 

[agazoom]

This is a very well engineered kit. Bandai-like in its design and fit. So far it's been nothing but a pleasure to build.

I'm going to use AK Nato Brown as the main hull color. Nothing fancy, and I'm not going to stress about whether it's a perfect match for the filming set or CGI model. Close enough for me.

I started with the cockpit. The figures are very well defined for this scale. I painted the stillsuits with German Gray, though Dr. Kynes' stillsuit was done with Desert Khaki. Dry brushed some details followed by a wash. Here are Paul and Dr. Kynes.

View attachment 1856906

The cockpit floor was done in Nato Brown and weathered with Vallejo's Desert Dust wash, AK Black Camouflage panel liner, and AK Sand and Desert Camouflage panel liner. I then dry-brushed some silver to show worn edges. The control panel and throttles were done in black and dry-brushed in silver.

View attachment 1856907

I have to say, I love how that looks. I'm building this model myself and I've been stuck on how to achieve the effect you mentioned here. I used Nato Brown as you did to base coat the cockpit. I've tried a couple of experiment on how to apply the Vallejo Dust wash to achieve the look here.

I know it's tough but is there anything else you can share regarding the technique for applying the wash? Did you gloss the Nato Brown before the wash? Did you just apply the entire wash and then wipe?

 

[modelerdave]

I have to say, I love how that looks. I'm building this model myself and I've been stuck on how to achieve the effect you mentioned here. I used Nato Brown as you did to base coat the cockpit. I've tried a couple of experiment on how to apply the Vallejo Dust wash to achieve the look here.

I know it's tough but is there anything else you can share regarding the technique for applying the wash? Did you gloss the Nato Brown before the wash? Did you just apply the entire wash and then wipe?

Thank you! It's been a while since I built this so I went back and looked at the photos and what I had written. I rarely cover everything in a wash. I think I try to keep it where I want it and build layers and weather sections like corners and where people would walk. I usually use oils for weathering so this was kind of an experiment for me, and I haven't done anything with it since. Hope that helps!

 

[agazoom]

Thank you. I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. I'll give it my best shot.

 

[Analyzer]

I have to say, I love how that looks. I'm building this model myself and I've been stuck on how to achieve the effect you mentioned here. I used Nato Brown as you did to base coat the cockpit. I've tried a couple of experiment on how to apply the Vallejo Dust wash to achieve the look here.

I know it's tough but is there anything else you can share regarding the technique for applying the wash? Did you gloss the Nato Brown before the wash? Did you just apply the entire wash and then wipe?

For what it is worth, I went down a similar path, but a tiny bit of Tamiya hull red and a bit more of Tamiya Flat Earth mixed in with mostly Nato Black black and did some "misting" over the Tamiya Nato Black base coat

If you want the blacker looks vs the browner look, skip the hull red part of the mix and just use a very tiny amount of flat earth or even a grey mixed into the Nato Black for misting and move on to the oils/weathering powder part

Correct 1/72 Atreides Ornithopter Body Color?

Just got my 1/72 Atreides Ornithopter from Meng but I'm very confused by the paint color reference guide. The instructions (pages 18-20) are showing the body color to be MC-214/N72 Sand Yellow...is that correct? The body color in all the illustrations look more like a dark drab color, not sand...

www.therpf.com

Then I used some white and burnt sienna oil paints to kind of lighten/fade certain areas followed by Vallejo grey vallejo powder pigment for this effect. I did not gloss coat the model because I wanted some "grit" for the paints to hold onto.
Basically get some paint on the brush, wiping most of the excess off leaving a dry brush type of effect, then just dab it onto areas and blend it

again, if going more for a faded black vs reddish brown use mostly white oil paint with just a touch of the burnt sienna to get a light creamy/sandy color

I did not really wait for the oils to dry before moving to the next step with the vallejo powder

For the Vallejo powder pigment I added water and let it dry
Once dry I then wipe off the excess leaving the dusty film concentrated in recessed areas and an overall "dusty" sheen
the effect can be seen here

Correct 1/72 Atreides Ornithopter Body Color?

and with a bit of weathering using white/brown oils and grey vallejo powder pigment

www.therpf.com

I can go into more details in that other thread, or step by step if needed. I just don't mean to hijack this thread

 

[agazoom]

Awesome detail! Thanks. I like the thread and I'll consider it for the exterior.

My question was about the interior cockpit however!

 

[Analyzer]

Awesome detail! Thanks. I like the thread and I'll consider it for the exterior.

My question was about the interior cockpit however!

hah, my reading comprehension sometimes sucks.
Totally blanked out the cockpit part and just saw the bit about the weathering powders