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Nice work on the Lunar Mouse Meer_Cat, definately a big difference and improvement over what it came from.

I’m gonna echo the Lens advice, I think you need to go darker in the dark areas to get more contrast between the dark shadows “inside” the lens and where the light catches it to show colour on the “surface” of the lens.

Also, light on lenses is the opposite of how you normally look at it. We normally paint with light coming from above. But the colour on the light comes from internal reflection and refraction: it doesn’t “shine” off the side closest to the light source, it reflects off the inside to bring brighter colour to the side FARTHER from the light source! Light that DOES reflect from closest to the source (aka the upper corner) does so as a single dot, not as a broad swath of colour.

So when you have the lighter side be on the TOP of the lense, and the bottom of the lens still being fairly bright colours, it looks more like a glossy opaque surface rather than a transparent and reflective lens.

 Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll wrote:
I’m gonna echo the Lens advice, I think you need to go darker in the dark areas to get more contrast between the dark shadows “inside” the lens and where the light catches it to show colour on the “surface” of the lens.

Also, light on lenses is the opposite of how you normally look at it. We normally paint with light coming from above. But the colour on the light comes from internal reflection and refraction: it doesn’t “shine” off the side closest to the light source, it reflects off the inside to bring brighter colour to the side FARTHER from the light source! Light that DOES reflect from closest to the source (aka the upper corner) does so as a single dot, not as a broad swath of colour.

So when you have the lighter side be on the TOP of the lense, and the bottom of the lens still being fairly bright colours, it looks more like a glossy opaque surface rather than a transparent and reflective lens.

Thanks very much for the suggestion- and the optics lesson! You're quite right- I was painting what I 'thought' looked natural, instead of really 'seeing' things in life around for me what really _is_ natural. I've already repainted the whole lenses gloss black, and hope to have some time tonight to try again- I just can't leave them looking like they are, and I'd like to put these ideas into practice. Hopefully a quick pic later tonight!

I appreciate you looking in, and the advice.

I like the mouse car. An interesting scratch build idea for a truly unique shape for a vehicle. And thanks for the review on the light box. That is an interesting concept. What did you think of the quality of photos using it compared to your other photos?

I agree that getting the light effect on lenses takes some practice and I see plenty of folks have given good advice already so I won't repeat it. But I will add my own bit: Once the lenses are painted and the model has been given a matte/dull coat, I then go back and apply 'Ard Coat on the lenses to make them shiny again, next to the dull finish on the rest of the model. A little cheat to help give the light glaring effect with real light.

Good job.

Ja, if you still need examples for your lenses look up the "black gem technique" or something similar.
black basecoat,
Blend to the colour of your choice in a crescent shape (to match the shape of the lens/gem) at the lower edge, but not at the edge (should blend back to black at the very edge). As said, opposite where the light source would be.
The crescent should be lightest at it's centre, both length and width-wise. Can often go right up to white.
Then a white dot positioned at the point nearest the light source.
Most of the lens/gem should be black or almost black. Can use a dark grey if black is too harsh for the model/lighting conditions.

I've painted many examples of this, and you can browse my galleries if you like, but I can't remember if I've ever done a step-by-step.
Best example I can remember with black and non-black gems:

Good job on the mouse-mobile, nice idea and execution.

Thank you all for your interest and good advice- I'm looking forward to trying these ideas out! Work has been disrupted lately (as has everyone) so not a lot of progress to report painting-wise, but soon!

 The Riddle of Steel wrote:
I like the mouse car. An interesting scratch build idea for a truly unique shape for a vehicle. And thanks for the review on the light box. That is an interesting concept. What did you think of the quality of photos using it compared to your other photos?

I agree that getting the light effect on lenses takes some practice and I see plenty of folks have given good advice already so I won't repeat it. But I will add my own bit: Once the lenses are painted and the model has been given a matte/dull coat, I then go back and apply 'Ard Coat on the lenses to make them shiny again, next to the dull finish on the rest of the model. A little cheat to help give the light glaring effect with real light.

Thanks, Steel! I have some actual, by-gosh brush on gloss polyurethane in a craft paint-size bottle and I'll try doing just that. Originally, I wasn't going to overcoat the piece at all, because I was planning to use weathering powders for the final 'dusty prospector finish' and the overcoat would wash them away. I used chipping paint instead, so when I'm done messing/learning with the headlights, I'll hit it with overcoat and then touch up the lights. I may still add some weathering powders because it isn't done until it's overdone!

 Dr H wrote:
Good job.

Ja, if you still need examples for your lenses look up the "black gem technique" or something similar.
black basecoat,
Blend to the colour of your choice in a crescent shape (to match the shape of the lens/gem) at the lower edge, but not at the edge (should blend back to black at the very edge). As said, opposite where the light source would be.
The crescent should be lightest at it's centre, both length and width-wise. Can often go right up to white.
Then a white dot positioned at the point nearest the light source.
Most of the lens/gem should be black or almost black. Can use a dark grey if black is too harsh for the model/lighting conditions.

I've painted many examples of this, and you can browse my galleries if you like, but I can't remember if I've ever done a step-by-step.
Best example I can remember with black and non-black gems:

Spoiler:

click for a good look.

Great Jeepers Doc- that egg is extraordinary! I can see exactly what you're describing in the gems on it though. And I always like browsing through your galleries, so nice to have another look-through with the idea of gleaning examples of lenses, gems and reflections. (I've got an Eldar Wraith Knight floating about somewhere around here someplace- once I get a handle on painting up shiny things, that's a project I want to tackle.)

 monkeytroll wrote:
Good job on the mouse-mobile, nice idea and execution.

"Mouse-mobile"- I like that monkeytroll, and thank you for looking in! When Disney goes into space, this is the sort of scout vehicle I imagine they'll be taking with them (undoubtedly with two parabolic reflectors/antennae that can be deployed at need to look like mouse ears...... I may have to modify my build to include those!)

Thanks all, again. I will finish up my larnin' on the lenses and continue with the aerial delivery service terrain piece (although the Tehnolog Condor is too big for the flight platform, so- darn it (not)- I may have to scratchbuild a little gyro-copter thing to make the deliveries).

More follows soonest!

Sorry, Steel-

You had also asked about photo quality using the new, inexpensive light booth, and I have to say it is definitely better- a lot better. Before, I was shooting pics on my kitchen counter (which is a nice, neutral color) and using two desk lamps to try to illuminate the focal subject uniformly. It worked sort of okay usually, but sometimes was just terrible. And always the light effect was either too dark in places or very harsh.

With the light booth, for all that the light comes from two LED strips mounted at the top front and back, the light is very uniform and diffuse- much better than anything I was able to achieve before (I think). My only problem is even after a couple of test shots, I still needed to dim the LEDs down another scooch- it was still just a little too bright, I think (we're talking the Lunar Mouse-mobile pictures, here). Even though it looked somewhat dim in the booth, the pictures came out very brightly lit, indeed.

And with the booth, the colors in the pictures finally started to approximate the real colors on the model- at least to how my eyes perceive color.

I'm very glad I got it, and want to build a couple of terrain inserts for it (desert, city, woods, road, etc) to slide in the bottom. I'll still use the white or black backgrounds, I think, but might even build 'L' shaped inserts so that the field of view has terraining at bottom and behind (ha- maybe a complete box insert, lacking only a top, to let the light in!).

Hope this helps! More follows soonest.

I've experienced some challenges and am just now getting to a point where I can post here again. It will be a couple of weeks more yet before I can get any work done, but even being able to make an entry here is progress forward.

I'm a contractor, and the customer my company supports kicked us all out in mid-March, due to restrictions because of the COVID-19 virus. I maintain a small commuter apartment in Northern Virginia, but my wife and I actually live on a small hobby farm in Pennsylvania, about two hours away (she is there full-time). We had no guidance or details as to how long we'd be out, or what- if anything- we would be doing if we couldn't go back into customer spaces. After the first week I went back to the apartment to more permanently arrange things for the long term. I found that the kitchen sink had explosively backed up (this has been an on-going problem for the last five years, but never this bad) and soaked not just the kitchen area, but part of the dining/living area carpet as well. I reported it to both the property management company I rent through as well as the condominium management office that actually represents the owners of the units.

Two days later I was asked to come back down to coordinate what of my belongings might have to be moved to facilitate mold mitigation and repair. At the time I thought I was very fortunate that, while the kitchen and dining areas had to be emptied, and the right side of the living room, the left side- where the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling work area was (note the past tense) could be left in place. Skip forward two months and I'm asked to come back down to survey the repair work and make sure everything is all right. When I first entered, I found a completely empty kitchen, dining area and living room- everything was gone. It had been boxed and crammed into the one bedroom to facilitate installing new sheetrock, carpeting and painting. I was extremely distressed, as I had given my contact information to everyone involved and indicated my great willingness to come down within two hours of notification if it proved necessary to move anything else. I understand they had a lot of work to do and I'm grateful they did it- but I want to stress I was never contacted and never gave permission for them to handle my things and pack them away.

I'm still unpacking boxes. Part of the slow going is because- after being out of the office for three months and a bit, we're scrambling to catch back up with everything that needs to be done. My 3d printer is broken. Every figure that I've unwrapped so far- infantry, dioramas, vehicles, everything- has been broken, some extensively. This is because they just grabbed up handsful and wrapped a wad of packing paper around them and stuffed them into extra-large packing boxes. I'm still unpacking kits, but some of the boxes have burst, spilling their parts out. Some of the paints leaked from being placed at the bottom of boxes with the weight of everything else sagging down on top. This has caused less damage than you might imagine, because they wrapped them four to a package and the packing paper contained most of the leakage. It is disheartening to see six years of work pretty much totally ruined.

I have to be careful, or my Gaelic nature will grow setback into melancholy. The upsides, as I see them are: I have new carpet and painted walls. I can fix much of what is broken. I can go through the mounds of 'interesting bits of junk' and thin that out some (it was getting a little bit much, but you never know when you'll need that one really interesting piece). And I have Dakkadakka to vent my frustration and get on with my life.

At the end of the day, I still have a job, my wife and I are both still healthy, our rescued horses and ponies are safe and healthy and I still have some modest talents to use again for the fun of the hobby (once I can get my workbench set up again).

Thank you for your encouragement and kind words in the past and for providing a place where I can show off my work today and in future.

This is what I'm trying to recreate:

Hey, I have lots and lots of bits and kits. If you need anything. just ask. It'll be a pleasure.

I am so sorry they f'ed you over.

--Brian

Thanks for the offer, BrianCJ- I'll holler if I find myself in need. Mostly I just have to get things sorted out- most of us 'build up' or working areas on little thing at a time, and then we know just where it is when we need it again. Like stalactites forming- calcium drip by calcium drip- over the centuries. It'll just take awhile, but I'll get there.

I'm disappointed in the whole affair, because I tried to be an active part of the solution so everyone- me, the property management company, the condominium company and the insurance company- got what they wanted.

I do know that things could have some out worse, and many others have had a tougher time than me recently, so I'm lucky, I reckon.

I appreciate the sympathetic ear to whine to!

This behaviour is unacceptable. Hope you can get your Marksmen repaired or that they are unharmed, but I guess the thin barrels were pretty vulnerable to the mindless forces applied. Also hope you can get some compensation.

Time to rise from ruins, greater than before of course.

Thanks Max. I can't emphasize enough how valuable it is to me to have this venue as a place to have blown off some steam.

As I get everything unpacked, the attitude that I'm trying to maintain is this: Anyone/everyone can build and paint a nice model with pristine, new materials. But a true fanatic of the hobby can repair and restore anything and everything- and make it better by doing so.

Many of you here know that my great ambition at the moment (along with painting the mountain of plastic shame that eye me accusingly from around the apartment) is to learn to paint faces more gooder and more realistically. So, as I run through and repair or convert what needs fixing, I'm going to try to upgrade all my infantry with better done face paint jobs. I have new paints to try (backed a couple of kickstarters plus bought some Scale 75 retail), I've got some new tools to work with and new techniques to try.

Plus, I've got projects from two past LOER competitions that need finishing, and I've got .stl files to do it with, if I can ever get my recalcitrant and sub-standard Ender-3 Pro to cooperate (more on that Odyssey in a separate post- enough whining for now).

Thank you again for looking in- I hope to have actually hobbying to show soon!

Sorry to hear about the damage done by careless people, but glad you and the misses are okay. Have you checked your renters insurance to see if that covers damage done by “movers”, might get you some pocket cash to replace damaged items or redo your space.

I just got a Ender3 (regular), what sorts of issues are you having? If you want to post them I need my 3D printing thread, there are a few of us with Enders and we might be able to sort out the issue together. It’s why I made the thread: to grow the community .

Thanks for both ideas, Theo, I'll check into the renter's insurance.

I'll post on your thread, but the bottom line is that my unit had a horrible under-extrusion problem from the beginning: I never got anything other than 'open basket weave' prints until I started replacing stock parts with better, other manufacturer parts. And even then had poor results. I'll put pics up as well.

I'll restate my thesis: I believe Creality and the Ender-3 to be a good product (so many people use them and have good results); MY Ender-3 Pro was a piece of junk.

More follows on your thread.

 Meer_Cat wrote:
Thanks for both ideas, Theo, I'll check into the renter's insurance.

I'll post on your thread, but the bottom line is that my unit had a horrible under-extrusion problem from the beginning: I never got anything other than 'open basket weave' prints until I started replacing stock parts with better, other manufacturer parts. And even then had poor results. I'll put pics up as well.

I'll restate my thesis: I believe Creality and the Ender-3 to be a good product (so many people use them and have good results); MY Ender-3 Pro was a piece of junk.

More follows on your thread.

The under extrusion issues I had were primarily the PLA I used. Definitely sucks when a $200+ item doesn’t start working right off the bat. The other primary issue I had off the bat was a common issue others had (physically not much difference between Ender 3 and Ender 3 Pro) is the sensor on the z axis that attaches to the side of the machine.

Terrible picture, but I’m in the middle of a print and won’t move the machine during it.

The sensor is the piece under the QR code that senses when the z axis rail is all the way down. There is a nub that is supposed to rest on the bottom rail to give proper height for deck leveling and such, but this piece was just not right which causes the leveling to be an issue. I first combated it by loosening the two screws that held it in place and placing it lower than it should be. This got me actual prints, though not good ones. The next and biggest fix I did was to print the z axis levelers (two parts on the same print).
Link in video to the download at about the 5 minute mark. I linked this for Bobtheinquisitor in the printer thread, the video shows off some great prints to fix/make the Ender series better. Once those spacers were in I put the sensor back to the suggested spot and have been getting great results since.

Hope that helps.

I'm really sorry to hear about how so much of your creations were broken. That must be a very crushing feeling, especially since so much was original kit-bashes and crafted, so not easily replaceable. I think I speak for everyone when I say, we will be happy to follow along as you repair and resurrect your collection, so if you have time keep us posted on the repairs.

Thanks very much, Syro- just being able to vent it out and get on with things here has been a tremendous help.

I'm not sure which of these two jingles should be my theme song going forward:







Maybe both! It's good to have friends.

Never seen the first video, but that was awesome .

The second one is a timeless classic too me.

either way, be thankful that you at least had the fairly quick results of new walls, carpet and the like to give you some joy. For years I struggled with my job and choices feeling that i wasn't getting anywhere but further behind. It wasn't until about 6 months ago when Insurance changes at work, an overdue raise and a change of management brought the benefits i'd been struggling for. Lots of instant changes after a long struggle where you had a major change after a quick battle. I'm not trying to minimize the loss of the models in any way . Just trying to get you to look on the bright side . We had an issue when we first got married where the condo above us had the waterline to their refridgerator break in the middle of the night. I woke up at 4a.m. to the sound of water coming through our light fixture and into the metal sink, sounded like a steel drum. it took nearly a month of the three insurance companies fighting to get the work started, with a newborn in the house it was a pain to see the ceiling every day.

I hope the insurance does something, money won't fix the damage to handcrafted materials, but it might give you a new project.

The first vid is from the movie version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, starring Dick Van Dyke and Sally Anne Howes and also Gert Frobe (aka: Goldfinger) and Lionel Jeffries. The novel was by Ian Fleming and Desmond Llewellyn (Q, in the Bond movies) has a small role in CCBB also. That's Lionel Jeffries in this musical number, right after he has been mistakenly kidnapped by the evil Baron Bomburst to build a flying, amphibious car for him. An interesting side-fact I only recently became acquainted with is that Jeffries- who plays the father of Dick Van Dyck's character- is actually younger than Van Dyke; apparently they got quite a kick out that during filming. I highly recommend the movie.

Although I've never been arrears in rent, or been any trouble or even had an accident that resulted in damage that I was responsible for, I'm uncomfortable renting and living in someone else's house or apartment (I lived in barracks from the age of 17 until 35 during my time in the military, and the type of landlords you deal with after you are 'allowed' to live out on the economy are not usually the nicest people). So when I walked into what appeared to be a completely empty apartment, it was quite a shock to the system. My first panicked thought was that I had been evited and all my things had been confiscated or thrown away, even though I had nothing to do with all the kerfuffle.

But the bright side here is- new experiences fixing things, trying new techniques to maybe make them better. And, as you say Theo, if there is some compensation from insurance, oh the places I'll go!

I'm glad you are looking on the bright side Meer_Cat, and feel free to vent as much as you need.

Oh man, that really sucks, hope that some repairs are possible, especially seeing that most of your stuff is unique and can't be replaced.

The good thing is, repairs are possible, if I look at modelling like some musicians look at music: there are no mistakes, just variations on a theme. The further I get from the moment I walked in and found an empty apartment, the better I'm able to contemplate the idea of fixing everything. Especially with the support of all you folks.

Now, I'm quite certain I am the only hobbyist who ever bought far more than he can ever paint in a lifetime but I have some seriously cool things to paint up, and ideas to try out, and projects to finish; so I have to find a way to balance repairing the old, finishing the current and undertaking the new.

Toujours en avante!

Now, I'm quite certain I am the only hobbyist who ever bought far more than he can ever paint in a lifetime

Yes, I'm sure you are. I have never heard of it being a very common occurrence

Good luck finding that new balance, maybe just look through everything and just picking out things that would give you the msot enjoyment to paint or repair?

I can see how the life experience led to some uncertainty then. Extra battle damage and uniforms adjusted over the course of the campaign.


I do not have mre stuff than can be painted in a lifetime......Humans live to be 10k years old right?

Sorry to hear of the careless damage. But, as you say, it could be worse. You have all the parts and the glue and paint required.

Part of owning models is repairing them. Usually it's just the odd one that has fallen (possibly due to one's mother while dusting..*). So many at once is painful, but you seem to have a good plan to proceed.

I would suggest to have at least one new project on the go. So that it is not just a matter of repair, repair, repair... While glue/paint dries, repair the next model, then back to progress.

*Some of my oldest scale models have had more time spent on them repairing things that have fallen off or complete rebuilds, than was spent building them in the first place.

Crap happens,,, but this doesn't make it happening less discouraging and painful. Please, don't despair. Damage is easier to repair on a model than in ones mind. Good luck and steady hand! And less unforeseen moves by careless workers...

Thanks Doc, and thanks Wirecat! I've made a good start on getting everything out of the boxes and paper and semi-sorted to go back on the shelves and desk. On the one hand it is a bummer, because- like sediment accreting on the ocean floor- each little piece of plastic and semi-finished component and entire box of something-or-other found its place one thing at a time over a period of nearly six years. Finding everything and returning it more-or-less to where it was is an impossibly daunting task.

But it occurs to me that I can conduct two operations at once in the recovery phase: for one, I get to accrue all new junk; my wife even saves out interesting bits of rubbish for me. For a second, I can winnow out some of the old stuff- if it's a weird bottle cap and I haven't used it in the last three years, it can probably go (naturally, anything I throw out will immediately become crucial to the next build). It's all good.

I hope to have things sorted enough next week to start on a 'fun project reward' and just build and paint something for the fun of it. I only have a 'closet of shame' the size of a Mack Truck, so finding something to paint one off shouldn't be hard.

Thank you for the comments and the encouragement- more follows soonest!

Meer_Cat wrote:
I can winnow out some of the old stuff- if it's a weird bottle cap and I haven't used it in the last three years, it can probably go (naturally, anything I throw out will immediately become crucial to the next build). It's all good.

That is so true! Happens to me all the time.

I hope the cleaning and organizing can bring back some good memories while you work, and maybe a few "Hey, I forgot I had that" moments. I'm looking forward to seeing your great creations again as you repair, and create new alike.

Yep, always the rub when you go and clear stuff out and then have inspiration strike for using that part.