by John Cook

This is my Revell Germany Star Wars Republic Cruiser. I installed a MadMan Lighting lighting kit in this one to bring out the engines and window lights and am very pleased with the results. There are hundreds of fibers and nearly a dozen LEDs installed in several sizes giving a real plus to the realism.

Painting was mostly by the numbers from the kit instructions which came out surprisingly well. Kit instructions are very detailed, requiring several precise mixes for correct colors. Painting began with a base coat of primer gray followed by pre-shading of all the panel lines by airbrush. A base color of light gray was followed by several masks and shoots with airbrush. Detail work on the many raised and recessed panels was done by hand with a fine brush.

Engine work is a point of pride and was done almost entirely by airbrush. A light gray base was covered in carefully applied layers with darker gray, aluminum and titanium metalizer layers. Highlights were done with a brush.

I told my wife she'd be proud of this one AND be able to read by it. Well, she can!

Image: Right/rear view

Image: Engines aglow

Image: Underneath, rear

Image: Underneath, front

Image: Bottom