Stellar Republic of Texas Diamondback

[sotoolslinger]

Finalizing the construction
Ventral main counter gravity field generators


Atmospheric vertical stabilizers/hypermagnetic shield generaters with defensive missile pods

[Weaver]

Yeah  I know  that is my biggest problem  :banghead:I have been looking at all my sci fi spaceship books an I HAVE NO FREAKIN IDEA  how to paint her
Suggestions are welcome

I had a mad idea which I thought wasn't worth putting forward, but then I remembered who I was talking to.......

Since this ship can be used to HIDE on planets, asteroids, or the hull of a merchant ship, might it not have adaptive camouflage, which changes colour to match the background? You do this on the model by putting it on a diorama base of your choice, and then painting the top side to kinda, but not perfectly, match the base. To make the point, the base needs to have several colours on it, and the adaptive cammo wouldn't extend over things like the cockpit, exposed mechanisms or external stores, and would have "missing pixels" and imperfect/simplified colour rendition.

The underside and the outside of the fins wouldn't need the cammo, so they could carry relatively bright national/unit markings.

Probably the easiest base would be the side of a merchant ship. Stick some greeblies and pieces of plasticard to a flat base and paint it in shades of grey with black panel lines/holes. Then place the fighter across the lines at a slight angle (so they don't look like it's own panel lines) and paint the top side of it to sort-of match the base: grey panel lines and black holes both become black, slight colour changes are ignored whilst bigger ones are exaggerated etc.....

[John Howling Mouse]

Gotta say: every one of your updates is like a breath of fresh air.  Fantastic.  Just keeps getting better and better, STS! 

[AeroplaneDriver]

Agreed.  This one is turning out great!  Only in Texas could this thing be considered a 'light fighter'!!   

[Taiidantomcat]

I Like weavers suggestion. I had the idea of doing an "anti Camouflage" vivid colors like an orange life jacket that can be more easily seen (no one wants to drift through space forever should something break):



Or something with purple, you never see any purple on models.

[sotoolslinger]

All very good ideas , thanks ya'll.

[Taiidantomcat]

All very good ideas , thanks ya'll.

Sotoolslinger's polite way of saying "No thanks on the purple" 

[HOG]

Howdy SoToolSli`

Just on a catchup of progress after being away from home for a couple of days and its looking nice.
With regards camo`, on the last page you had it posed on your safety modelling shorts, where the very very off white and greenstuff is showing thro` the sanded very very off black primer.  That looks like serendipity and an interesting camo, so just follow your boxers and "may the shortz be with you" to paraphrase Mel Brooks 

Cheers 
Gary

PS Alternativly I suppose in space black would be the obvious colour altho` I did hear somewhere that scientists have decided that the colour of space is biege

[Sisko]

You could always go with some sort of marine based scheme.

By that, I mean fish have evolved over the last 500 million of years on earth a vast range of colour schemes. Some of them are way cool.

[sotoolslinger]

Dangit Sisko all I get is the dreaded red x Here is some further detailing
Electro magnetic pulse projectors. This is a seldom used weapon ,used only on confirmed energy shielded craft or emplacements as around 30 % of the time it interferes with the main sensor suite for up to 10 seconds after use.It is however ,very effective as each pulse is the equivalent to a 1.5 megaton blast concentrated into a 145 meter diameter sphere at 1000 meters


Wingtip counter gravity projector/ directed thrust steering complex
upper wing

lower wing

Upper energy field moderation radiator assembly


Drive thrust vector plates
upper


Lower

[BlackOps]

I sure feel sorry for the ordinance crew that has to service this baby! Diggin' the updates 

[Eddie M.]

How do you sort all those ideas into a bad donkey machine like this? Simply amazing!
   Eddie

[Bryan H.]

If you're looking to Mother Nature for color scheme ideas - howzabout...





Or you might try an  modern update on an old idea; the P-61 Black Widow scheme to be exact.  Instead of gloss black use metallic black.  It'll be dark without being a 'hole' in space - it should reflect enough back to fool the eye.

Bryan

[sotoolslinger]

Actually  purple is my favorite color. I am trying to figure out a way to incorporate all these great ideas into one build. Right now I am thinking about doing the entire craft in pretty much every metalizer color I can get my hands on in panels. Then I will do a multicolored surface dio for it to be lifting off from and them partially camoflaging it with transparent colors like it is just transitioning from one camo to another I hope my painting skills are up to it.

[sotoolslinger]

Painting begins
All terminatory