45" Dumas Scarab

[srislash]

I think it is a better contrast with the red on white... On white background

[Ken_NJ]

Thanks Shawn. The red on white seems to be the majority so far.

BUT, I joined an offshore powerboat forum, the real classic offshore boats. They are telling me the real color was orange and the color changed from all the film images converted to digital.

[srislash]

What the heck? That kind of changes everything. Which orange? LOL

[Ken_NJ]

The one person said international orange.

[srislash]

Always a glitch hey Ken, hehe.

BTW, Merry Xmas

[Ken_NJ]

Merry Christmas Shawn, and to everyone here on OSE!

Been neglecting updates so here they are. Painting, at last! This part has been slow. Sand, mask, paint, wait a week+, repeat. I used Duplicolor white primer, gloss white, gloss black and adhesion promoter. As in previous posts, still figuring out what color red or orange to use. I used construction paper as a template for the masked off area, pic#2. The white vinyl paint mask Callie made up for me, this is the 89 on the bow. Tedious work.

More pictures can be found here on the slideshow: http://s11.photobucket.com/user/ken_...l?sort=9&o=148

[Ken_NJ]

Like nobody has done this before.

More pictures can be found here on the slideshow: http://s11.photobucket.com/user/ken_...l?sort=9&o=148 (same link as before)

[Ken_NJ]

I waited 2-3 hours after painting to remove all the masking. The vinyl mask is great. You'd figure it would be hard to remove those little areas, but just start it with a fingernail and it comes off real clean and leaves a nice smooth paint edge. Love this stuff.

[Ken_NJ]

Final result. Had to put it together like this for a portrait.

[Ken_NJ]

The graphic on the bow deck, again used vinyl mask from Callie. We went back and forth a lot on this to get it right. Removing those hatches on the deck made applying this sooo much easier. Came out great IMO. The masking near the tip of the bow I still need to determine what color to use, so that stays for now.

[Ken_NJ]

More graphics. After Christmas I'll wet sand everything to remove any of the hard paint edges. On my test board I already tested using U-Pol #1 on the black and white. So far that will be used for the final finish. Not sure about applying regular decals from Callie on top of the finish or apply the decals and coat them with U-POL embedding them in the finish.

That's it for now. Have to get back to the cockpit-hatch.

[Ken_NJ]

Since I could not find figures to my liking, made my own. Don't look so good now, but when you see them done they will look good, I think so.

Bodies were carved & shaped months ago. The heads will be just helmets. The third picture they are not quite done yet.

For the arms made an armature out of 12 gauge Romex and soldered anchor wire on it. This gives the Sculpey something to hold it in place. Using Scupley for the arms and life jackets.

More pictures here: http://s11.photobucket.com/user/ken_...l?sort=9&o=175

[Ken_NJ]

Building up the thickness of the arms with thin sheets of clay rolled flat making sure each layer stuck to the previous one. Once the thickness was built up I can start shaping the arms. I looked at the creases of a winter jacket then used toothpicks and other tools to create the creases in the clay. Put the arms in the over for 15 minutes to harden the clay. I'll add hands later.

[Ken_NJ]

For the life jackets, rolled some Scupley flat, cut it with a template, then formed it around the body. In the oven for 15 minutes to harden it. The back of the life jacket is sliced so it comes off the body in two sections for painting. Last picture shows all the parts before painting. The bodies and helmets were sealed with Z-poxy.

[Ken_NJ]

You have to spray Sculpey with Acrylic before spraying with enamel so I used Krylon clear Acrylic on the arms and life jackets. If you spray straight enamel on it, supposedly the enamel stays sticky or tacky. I sprayed everything with white Krylon Satin as a base. The bodies and arms stay white. I used Model Master International Orange for the helmets and life jackets. Still need to add the hands and straps to hold the front of the life jackets closed. The figures are 4 inches tall.