Box Model Prototype Painting Site

All kit parts are sprayed with a base color of a very light grey. Photo etched brass automotive detailing parts trees that will be used for painting the complex tile work on the hull surface are visable to the left.

The photo etched tree is held over the surface of the model and sprayed with a darker shade of grey. This method of painting was repeatedly applied over every square inch of the model surface with 2 other shades of grey.

The main grey shaded modules are completed with the tilework. Although hardly visable here, the very subtle and tiny gridwork here was visable to the naked eye.

The solar collectors are painted with a dark grey. The upper 'arm' of the station was then tiled with the dark grey.

Two wide bands of medium grey were painted onto the central cylinder. After this painting was complete, lighter grey tilework was then sprayed over these bands.

Detailed strips on the solar collectors are masked and painted dark grey. Thin strips are are masked around the central cylinder and also sprayed with dark grey.

White stripes are masked and sprayed onto the central cylinder and on the solor collector arm supports.

Burnt orange is masked and sprayed onto the power section. Tan and brown tilework was then applied to those orange areas. The cargo modules on the arm were masked off then sprayed white.

The cargo modules are now painted red. These are represented by decals in the kit.

The aft reactor core is painted a brownish-grey. The forward part of the power plant has a purple-grey painted onto the raised bands. This purple-grey is also applied the the upper arm along with the brownish-grey paint from the reactor core.

Blue panals are masked on the central cylinder. Tamiya clear blue was then lightly misted over the masked areas.

With the central cylinder painted with the clear blue, the solar collector arms were masked and painted with the Tamiya clear blue at the base of the arms where they plug into the station. Metallic blue was then painted on the collector panals. A 'star burst' was airbrushed on with white on the base. Blue was painted into the Babylon text, then outlined white, and finally the 5 and the surrounding base was painted black then it was given a coat of dullcote.

Higher-ups decided that there was going to be a decal for the 'checker' pattern around the command globe. This area was masked off and painted with the Tamiya clear blue.

Finally, a very light mist of the base color was airbrushed thru the photo-etch stencil over the blue areas to tone them down. The support arms were painted black and all sub-assemblies were then dullcoted.

All sub-assemblies were secured together with super glue, completing the build-up. No decals touched this prototype model which is on the first edition release of the kit. All detail was painted on as shown here.

The completed model - aft view. I know that there are missing blue colored panals on this prototype. Only the areas painted blue to represent the kit's decals were painted.

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