Planet Express

This is a great example of how cool the Garage Kit industry is. Anyone who says there’re no models out there, need to discover such great kit makers as Skyhook Models. The Planet Express is a timely, accurate and fun kit - one of the best I’ve ever built.

This was the first resin spaceship kit I’ve ever built. I’ve built other resin kits, but no spaceships, so there. I began by cleaning the kit in warm soapy water (learned that the hard way - see my Mars Attacks alien lamentation). After clean-up, I sanded it a little and tried to find the ever-present air bubble holes one finds in all resin kits, but could find none to putty.

The only thing that needed any attention was the rear of the ship, where the exhaust rocket attaches. I sanded this level and used a bit of paper-clip to finish the bumper so it wrapped all the way around. I thought of just painting it, but hey, the 3D thing is much better, don’t you think. I used a dollop of Squadron Green putty to fill in the gap between the new bumper and the old.

I drilled a hole in the bottom of the ship to accept the clear acrylic rod which would hold it to the stand. I vised the ship down and using my hand drill and a 1/4” drill bit made an angled hole. I was careful, but still surprised that I had no mishap - I guess major power tools and expensive models can go together.

I made the turret how the instructions suggested: a dollop (I just love that word) of superglue on the end of a little wire. It worked just peachy. I used CA glue for all the assembly because that’s what I should have used.

I primed the kit with white sandable automotive primer - Plasti-Kote Sandable Primer. I’ve used the gray primer before and loved it. Since I wanted a brighter undercoat, I thought I’d try the white. It worked wonderfully. Before painting, I cut a round mask for the tail fin decal. The decal is transparent and I was warned in the instructions to have a white circle under the decal. So I did.

I mixed my own colors for the ship, which is my way, using Liquitex Phthalocyanine Green and Titanium White. I mixed a lighter and a darker shade obviously. I think I matched the colors pretty well. I couldn’t contact Bender for the exact match - he was too sober to come to the phone.

To get the brightest red I could, I first painted a white undercoat then applied a well thinned red. I found that undercoating makes all the difference when color brightness and value are important.

I am particulary pleased with the engines. After watching the opening credits carefully, I used a white undercoat in the engine cups and then a carefully applied blue oil paint wash inside. A nice touch for a nice model.

I hit the ship with some Future before putting on the decals. I was discouraged to discover that I had cut the circular mask a little too large. I wasn’t about to repaint the ship so I made the best of the situation and just centered the decal in the circle. It looks fine and if I don’t say anything, no one notices the flaw.

I sealed the kit with Testor’s Dullcoat - magic in a can.

I painted the base gray and heavily dry brushed it to get the detail. I stuck the acrylic rod in the ship and the base and viola, a great model.

I built this kit right before Imagination Expo. I even took it with me to Vegas with the intent of entering it in the competition. However, I learned that my plane left Vegas before the judging so it sat in my room all weekend. It would have been a nice addition to the model ship table, but it wouldn’t have any awards unless the judges were on Fox’s payroll.