WIP: Tau Piranhas

Having completed GTA V, (a masterwork, BTW) I return to my hobbying full force. Pics and progress after the break!



My monthly progress was seriously cramped by the one-two punch of vacation and the release of GTA V, but my recent battle with Clinton inspired me to complete my own Piranhas, so I dove in, and got my hobby wheels spinning again.

I work primarily in sub-assemblies, so that I can complete the models without a lot of masking. (I once purchased a completed, unpainted, drop pod from a friend -- and spent weeks slowly masking off areas and working around the complications of the built model. Won't ever do that again.) Above you see the main fuselage, masked and painted - this would be a lot more difficult and time consuming with the wings and engines in the way.

In order to reach the details on the pilots and controls, I'll finish this sub-assembly separately from the main body. It allows me to complete details that would be difficult or impossible if the model was fully assembled. The white overspray will be cleaned up with a detail brush before the oil wash is applied.

The wing/engine assemblies proved to be the most time consuming. They needed to be primed, then painted white, then I needed to mask the model to paint the dark metal, and finally needed to mask off areas for the red accents. Each wing took about 3 hours from sprue to this stage.

Overall, a productive weekend. Next will be clear satin varnish, followed by an oil wash to bring out the details, and add engine grime. Once each piece is completed, I'll assemble the entire model and finish with details like paint chips and scorch marks.

Have you built a piranha? Have tips or tricks for vehicles? Share below.

-trip