u/PreviousRow5012

Finished off the Fliege, which I had been building side-by-side with the Wave 3Q Kauz I posted earlier.

Being the completely new Wave tooling it's a nicer build, with improved pilot figure, interior and poly joints (I don't try to paint them, I leave them alone, and they leave me alone!) compared to the older models - I know plenty people replace them or use putty, but I like the ability to re-pose the model based on what I'm displaying it with.

Finish is as close to the box art as I can get. The base armour colour is the same as the Kauz; Ammo MIG Cold grey + Ammo MIG Sea Blue (5:1 mix), and the dazzle camo pattern was a combination of Ammo MIG Cold grey + Vallejo Model Air Ocean grey + Ammo MIG Sea Blue + Vallejo Mecha Colour Magenta (10:5:5:3 mix). Regular Vallejo RLM04 for ID bands, Vallejo NATO black for hand, flight stabilisers and cannon barrels.

Chipping effects are Ammo MIG Ghost Grey, Vallejo Model Air Panzer Dark Grey, Ammo MIG ATOM Steel, followed by AK Streaking Rust blended with white spirit. After that I dug out the old Tamiya weathering master pastels (I've had them close to 20 years!) and did a bit more blending of rust, soot and dirt with them. Hoses, joints etc got a little bit of staining and fluids with AK Fuel Stains, AK Engine Oil and AK Winter Streaking Grime.

Vallejo concrete and light brown weathering fx around the feet and lower legs. Finally a little light dusting of Vallejo concrete pigments and then AK Ultra Matt to seal it all.

I mentioned previously that it's slightly bigger than the old Wave/Nitto Kauz, and you can see it when they're next to each other. I'm half tempted to pick up a modern Wave Kauz and build it to join the Fliege... but I've got a Rapoon, Fireball SG and a Jerry (in that order) already on the workbench, and then I've promised myself I'll go back to some half-built Space Battleship Yamato kits that are looking at me in a sad sort of way....

Unboxing, parts and full build diary: https://www.target-earth.net/wiki/doku.php?id=blog:models:mak:fliege

The normal use of the enamel based AK Streaking products is obviously to apply them, wait a while, then use a lightly moistened brush with thinner to pull the paint down and away from the point of application, to get those lovely streak effects we love on dirty, grimy models.

I decided to try something different with the Fliege I'm finishing up and did the opposite - wait for the paint to virtually dry, then use a stiff, flat, dry brush (no thinner at all) to push the paint back towards the point of application... and it has produced this lovely grubby effect around the edges of panels and raised surfaces, as if engineers have had their filthy, oily hands around the edges.

I've used oils previously to get a similar effect, but they have the issue that they take ages to cure and move about quite easily if you retouch them.

Above is using AK "Streaking Grime for Light Grey Ships".

Not a huge discovery, but a nice little hack that I'll probably include in future finishing processes.

My second suit to roll over the finish line after my Luna Pawn, this one is also done in the same off-white / space white finish per the Snake-Eye manual (though not the box art).

With this one I went for less of a chipped look and more pock-marked from individual micro space debris, since I figured it spends less time on the ground compared to a ground-based lunar suit and shouldn't be stomping through rocks all of the time - but in a similar theme to the ground suit. Also, yes; rust in space, I know, I know.. 😂

Paint finish is the same Vallejo off-white as the Luna Pawn, then Abteilung dark grey/off-white and brown oil pinwash to break up the flat white finish. Then plenty of AK streaking grime + fuel stains + engine oil enamels. Abteilung brown oils blended around joints/panel lines, chips/rust effects with Vallejo acrylics - panzer dark grey, insignia white and spots of AK rust streaks over the top.

I remember seeing a video from Jon Bius where he built a Jerry and layered two decals over the top which looked good, so I thought I'd try it with the two seperate playing cards included on the decal sheet, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Finished with Ammo MIG pigments (various grey/brown).

Well, that's two merc suits done. Next on the build pipeline are a Kauz (the Wave/Nitto 3Q release) and a Fliege (the modern Wave tooling). They will be a different challenge as I'm planning to follow the dazzle camo markings of the new Fliege scheme for both of those.

Build diary: https://www.target-earth.net/wiki/doku.php?id=blog:models:mak:snakeeye