The Stark Jegan has a wide, single piece rear skirt, which many other MS models also have. There is a problem, however, that most of these models share: the rear skirt is completely devoid of detail and interest, it’s just a big empty block, internally and externally. This simply won’t do!
Rear skirt internal
Rear skirt external
Here is a picture of the rear skirt still on the sprue from dalong.net, it’s very plain. So I’m going to scribe the skirt, to simulate hatches for the maintenance of the three thrusters on the bottom of the skirt. Before we start, bear in mind scribing takes both hands, so it’s helpful to secure the piece to the table using double sided tape or blutac. Once we have the sketch, we can lay on a piece of scribing tape to act as a guide for the scriber. I’m going to start at the top of the line, and draw the scribing tool downwards without applying any pressure, i.e. don’t push the scriber into the plastic. After a few passes, I’m going to do the same thing, but starting from the bottom. I might do this ten or more times from both directions before I feel the whole panel line is deep enough. Repeat the process for each of the other lines. Take your time positioning your tape and check your work often. After all the lines are scribed, we’re going to give the scribed surface a light sand to get it smooth again (I used 800 grit), and clean up with a toothbrush to ensure dust doesn’t accumulate in the lines. Here’s the final piece once it has been painted and panel lined, doesn’t it look so much better!
Next week
So that’s the end of the WIP posts for the Stark Jegan, next week will be the report on the complete model.