# Moebius....Dragonfly SST



## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Fantastic Kit and Loved the show! I spent many of Saturday mornings With Jonny Quest and the gang. The kit is great, simple and easy to put together. 

A Quick little review of the kit-





I know there is going to be excellent builds of this kit so I wanted to take a different approach and light mine up. Wired up some leds, one for the thruster and I will have one or two for the cockpit and window area in the fuselage.


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## Joe Brown (Nov 16, 1999)

Got mine in on Thursday; very nice kit!

I'm thinkin's the scale is about 1/288 -ish? 1/144 just seems... incorrect.


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## Xenodyssey (Aug 27, 2008)

Can't wait for mine to arrive...But just watched your video, No landing gear? Just as well I have plenty to choose from in my scraps ziplock bags.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

The kit does not come with landing gear so for the after market side of things I will be doing a vacuform kit of the landing skid as seen in the Jonny Quest ending credits.






Someday may have to print out a Jack Armstrong decal for the "JA" that's on the tail of the Dragonfly.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Today drilled out the fuselage windows with my pin vise and then cleaned up the window openings with a sharp #11 blade and a couple of strokes with sandpaper on the inside to clean up the rest. Then I tested the windows with an led to see where i need to place it inside the fuselage and Tamiya tape is used to mask off the canopy windows.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Before I go any further I wanted to show everyone my lights. Three leds to light the Dragonfly, one for the engine, fuselage windows and canopy lights. Since the canopy is clear I will frost the canopy to defuse the light and all this will run off a 9 volt battery.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Time to button her up!Went back in and secured the leds with hot glue and glued both halves together with the aid of clamps. Fit is great no misalignment or tail warping. Light blocking- I do not light block on the inside as I prefer light blocking the outside of the models. This way I like the glow of the inside of the white plastic when the leds shine on it.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

The Clamps removed, testing the lights and next some very little sanding on the seam on the fuselage and then light blocking.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Next up on the to do list is to tidy up the wires and put the Dragonfly on a Round 2 Universal dome base. I prefer the dome bases when i light a model as it makes it easy to hide the 9 volt battery and speaking of battery I do not have a switch to turn it on and off. I think a switch is more of a hassle and just plugging in the battery just simplifies everything. With the aid of the sanding stick got the fuselage sanded and put on all the remaining kit parts.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

For the Round 2 Polar lights dome I have to omit the solid metal rod and replace it with a K & S aluminum rod same diameter to fish down the wires to the battery plug. Primer duty begins on the dragonfly, tape off the stand and I will shoot a couple of coat of primer on. I use cheap automotive primer straight out of the can for priming a model. To finish light blocking I will go back in with either flat black rattle can or load up the airbrush and address the light leaks.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

So With a couple of coats of primer on now it is time to light block it. Krylon Fusion flat black was used. Just a couple coats the light leaks are gone. I am spray a couple of heavy coats at the canopy where I have the windows masked off so with the added thickness of paint I can make window frames just by building up the paint.


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## Xenodyssey (Aug 27, 2008)

I am likely to borrow some of your ideas about lighting. Certainly would like to drill out the other windows. I would like to do a rudimentary cockpit for mine. Your external lighting blocking is effective...but how many coats of white are you going to need over the black?


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

If you paint white for the fuselage color i recommend painting in layers and that way the black base coat can act as shadows and shading but Once I get all the light leaks taking care of i will give a final coat of grey primer then preshade the panel lines and go with a base coat of a light grey mixed with some white. Personally I don't care for a solid white aircraft that is just my preference. I know it is an animated vehicle but i want to have a real aircraft feel to it.

The only light leaks i have left is the engine section which I am Addressing.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Still had some minor light leak around the small fins and canopy area. To fix this I used Tulip fabric paint. This paint is thick and can fill small gaps and cracks where putty would be a hassle and since it is thick makes a good light blocker. Next I am going to put down one more final coat of grey primer and then begin painting.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Working on mine today. Not thrilled with the textured plastic (I'm guessing it has something to do with how the Chinese add the klunky recessed panel lines, because the 350 TOS Enterprise's saucer has the same texture). I sanded the whole thing to smooth it out a little.

Makes me wonder why every airplane model I buy has perfectly smooth skin and very VERY fine panel lines.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

No more light leaks and I got the final coat of primer on the dragonfly and now is ready for paint. I will let this dry and most likely go with Vallejo light grey with White mixed in for the base color. But...... Preshading first!


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

The Art of pre-shading.....Pre-shading is a method of darkening areas, such as panel lines, shadow areas around detail and control surfaces, prior to the main color coats. Pre-shading is very simple, take your airbrush and at low setting say 10-15psi and draw the panel lines on the kit and you can pre-shade anything such as monsters/figures, tanks, starships etc.... I like to use greys with a little black mixed in which I think gives a more realistic shadow/definition that using straight black.


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## kdaracal (Jan 24, 2009)

Nice job AND helpful review, sg-99. My big problem (which is my lack of skill, usually) is the hull or fuselage seams. Especially the longest center one. What's your take on that?


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Gave mine a coat of gray primer, and found some scaly surface areas I missed when I tried to sand it smooth. :/


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

The dreaded seams.... Now this is my view on this matter and the secret to eliminating seams is.........Wet Sanding

Again It doesn't matter what you are building Starships, figure/monsters, cars ships and planes and tanks this technique can be applied to all aspect of model construction. When building a model try not use putty, now I'm not saying never to use putty because it does has it place and it needs to be used to fill scratches./imperfections etc.... For the fuselage I clamp it together and once I got a good bond I was ready to wet sand. wet sanding is easy, get a bucket or bowl of water and some wet/dry 220 sandpaper or different grades of your choosing and submerge kit and sandpaper and begin sanding. When you wet sand it keeps the sanding dust off and makes seams you sanded disappear and smooth like glass. You may have to rescribe a few panel lines but that should not be an issue. Also the key to sanding is in a circular motion not up and down or side by side. When sanding just remember the teachings of Mr. Miyagi "Wax on, Wax off".


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

After the preshading now it is time for the base coat. I am using a light grey with white added. First pass is with Vallejo light grey with some white. After this coat I will use liquitex basic light grey mixed with white as I prefer the pigment better. When I thin paints I use this home brew method 



 that Genesis Models came up with. If you watch the video the cost of the material is about $30 and last a long time mixes well with just about any acrylic paint brand. I had to tweak the formula for myself but it is great stuff and highly recommend it. When I mix paints for airbrushing I prefer them to be thin and transparent I like to build up the paint basically like a filter which is
a technique that involves applying a number of thin transparent colors evenly over a surface. These colors will add hues while giving depth and making it more realistic.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

I am notorious for changing my mind on paint when i paint models. I did not like the light grey at all and was not looking right to me. So I tested some colors out and i am now going with Model Master Duck Egg Blue. I think this is a great color and it keeps it realistic while catching the cartoon feel. Next some some post shading and some panel highlights.


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## kdaracal (Jan 24, 2009)

sg-99 said:


> I am notorious for changing my mind on paint when i paint models. I did not like the light grey at all and was not looking right to me. So I tested some colors out and i am now going with Model Master Duck Egg Blue. I think this is a great color and it keeps it realistic while catching the cartoon feel. Next some some post shading and some panel highlights.


Duck Egg much nicer. Thanks for the build along and tips!


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Your welcome! The hobby should be fun and informative and I love to help out fellow modelers any way I can.

The Needle..... Moebius does give two needles for the Dragonfly which is a good thing and since I broke mine off not once but twice I decided to replace the Dragonfly needle with a sewing needle. You can pick up sewing needles at any craft store, they have all different sizes and have many uses for models.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Re-drilled the the needle nose and superglue the sewing needle in the Dragonfly. On Superglue I like to use a toothpick for the applicator and superglue can go a long way and I personally use a gap filling medium type and I use a micro paintbrush for accelerator. Next up took some Aves Apoxie sculpt and blended the new needle to the hull.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

In the final stretch- I use a lot of ink for airbrushing as I like the weathering effect that can be achieved. I use Liquitex and daler rowney ink they are acrylic and airbrush ready, all you have to do is shake up the ink well and pour into you airbrush cup and shoot it on the model. So I took my airbrush and Daler Rowney grey ink and post shade the panels and panel lines which gives it a very subtle look and very little weathering on the fuselage and wings. I personally like the used look rather than the weathered look when it comes to models. Up next is to shoot the Dragonfly with some Future to seal it and remove the masks.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Masks removed and to show the lighted cockpit.


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

sg-99 said:


> Masks removed and to show the lighted cockpit.


sweet job!!!
hoping Moebius will make a pre-built version as well....

Bubba 123


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Finishing it up I took a micro brush and added the nav lights which are hard to see and with another micro brush I took some Future and put a drop on the red and green nav lights to simulate depth. Then took loaded my airbrush with some Future and sprayed the entire model from a distance as I wanted a very faint semigloss appearance.

In closing the Moebius Jonny Quest Dragonfly is a fantastic kit, fun to build, paint and for the simplicity and subject matter I highly recommend the kit to any scale modeler!

Brad Hair


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## scooke123 (Apr 11, 2008)

Nice job - I like the lighting esp the engine.


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## spock62 (Aug 13, 2003)

Like your choice of the Duck Egg Blue color. And the lighted windows/exhaust look great too!


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## aurora fan (Jan 18, 1999)

Really cool!


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

Joe Brown said:


> Got mine in on Thursday; very nice kit!
> 
> I'm thinkin's the scale is about 1/288 -ish? 1/144 just seems... incorrect.


Visited my friend who did the big resin kit a couple of years ago.

He scaled that kit out at 1/144.
That kit measured out to 24", so yes, at 12" - 1/288 seems correct.


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## WOI (Jun 28, 2012)

I believed that it was a 1/350 scale kit.


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

WOI said:


> I believed that it was a 1/350 scale kit.


Imagine, 12" at 1/350 scale.
Thats 350 feet long....... Larger than a 747 (231'), by over 100'.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Thread revival time, Long story short I build a lot of models for people and wanted to revisit my Dragonfly build with the addition of a diorama base. The idea is to (within reason) to recreate the end scene seen at the end credits of the show. The base will be 12 inch square and I used peg board and celluclay mixed with wood glue for the ground texture. Pegboard is used so the celluclay mix with bite into pegboard holes and with the woodglue mixed in will keep the warpage and down to a minimal. For the mountains I rolled up some tin foil and covered it with the celluclay mix and blended it into the ground base. For the landing skid I used my BHP vacuform landing skid conversion kit for the Dragonfly, got the skid cut out and glued on and the wires fished through.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Next up the base I am letting the celluclay dry/cure and find the center of the base so I can drill a hole and fish the wires through. Once the base dries I will go back in with chip brush and wood glue water mix and brush the bash with and sparingly use sand/gravel/floor dry mix for the ground work.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Drilled a hole in the center of the base to fish the wires through and always do a test lighting just to make sure everything always works. Next up with a chip brush and a water/wood glue mix I brushed on in a few areas where the ground material mix will go, since the diorama is roughly 1/288ish scale I am not going to cover the entire base with the material just in certain areas and use the celluclay texture as well. After I get the the ground work mix appliec I will seal everything with a couple coats of primer and then begin the sand base color.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

On the base I shot a couple coats of primer and let that dry for a day or so, next for the base color I used Tamiya sand straight out of the rattle can. I thought this color really did represent the feel of the shows end credit scene and color pallet. The base will require two full coats of Tamiya sand for coverage and using the lacquer paint it will have a durable finish and once this dries I will go back in with the airbrush and of inks and do some shading on the base.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Second coat of tamiya sand applied and once dried I went in with the airbrush, Liquitex transparent raw and burnt sienna was used to shade the base and the highlights. Next is to take Krylon crystal clear and seal the base and then go back with with a two inch chip brush and do some minute dry brushing to bring out some of the detail and make the base pop.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

For the BHP vacuform Quest skid conversion kit and with all vacuform kits that I do I take a #2 pencils and outline the part this way it gives me a cutting line and a line where to stop sanding, you always want to have a little extra material than cutting it straight to the part. Fished the wire through took some 5 minute epoxy to reinforce the landing skid and a drop or two of super glue attaches the skid. To fill in any gaps on the conversion I used Aves apoxy sculpt and tulip then Model master Duck egg blue is what i used for the base coat followed by a simple wash to bring out the part. Next I will do some dry brushing to replicate some scratches on the skid.


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## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

I only ever saw a few JQ cartoons in passing. Did the big jet only have a single monopod landing gear? That seems... funky, even for Hanna Barbera.


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## MykTurk (Nov 27, 2006)

Owen E Oulton said:


> I only ever saw a few JQ cartoons in passing. Did the big jet only have a single monopod landing gear? That seems... funky, even for Hanna Barbera.


It's shown in every episode's closing credits...

https://youtu.be/L0kg_tzQvf4

Now, one could speculate it's just used for irregular surfaces, like a desert, and there's a more conventional landing gear too, but I don't remember ever seeing it in any other episodes. But I could be wrong. I don't feel like digging out the box set and doing a Quest-a-thon right now to find out ether.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

For the base I finished up with some simple dry brushing to bring out some detail, one of those where it needs to be seen in person as camera doesn't show it. My conversion kit is base off the end credit single skid version, there was in the 90's The Adventures of Jonny Quest and jet in that series did have conventional landing gear. I am close to being done and I am waiting on custom tail decals that represent "JQ" or "JA" Jack Armstrong markings so I can finish up the Quest base andshow everyone what it looks like with the decals on.


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## veedubb67 (Jul 11, 2003)

Although you only see it in the credits, I wondered why they didn't put a "JQ" decal for the tail fin in the kit...


Rob
Iwata Padawan


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Finally got the custom tail markings in so I can finish off the Jonny Quest Diorama. The JQ tail markings are stickers not decals, never fear if you can get custom waterslide or dry tranfers made you can get stickers made. It just takes a little extra prep work, first shoot the area with future cut of the sticker real close as you would a decal that is on a continuous decal sheet, apply the sticker and burnish down with a soft blunt tool. Once the sticker is on shoot a few coats of Future on and layers of future will (for better words) level out and once dry any flat can be sprayed to matte the finish. In closing the Dragonfly is a fantastic kit and the simple diorama and tail markings brought it to life and make me start to hear the drum beats and start of the show's end credits!


Brad Hair


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## veedubb67 (Jul 11, 2003)

Brad, 
I took a slightly different route. I contacted one of my favorite vinyl mask guys (cough, cough Aztek Dummy...) and asked him to make up a couple of "Q's" for me (yeah, yeah I know it's supposed to be 'JQ'). They're on their way and should be in my mailbox next week!

Rob
Iwata Padawan


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## veedubb67 (Jul 11, 2003)

Got my templates from Lou and waiting for the Gloss White to dry so I can start preshading before I spray the whole thing Duck Egg Blue.


Rob


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Excellent, looking forward to seeing it!


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## veedubb67 (Jul 11, 2003)

Finally got around to finishing this kit. I won't tell you how many times I broke off the probe while building/painting the darn thing!!!!



Here's a closeup of the tail. Lou did a great job with the "Q" script!



All I have to do is paint the wingtip markers and this sucker is done!!!

Rob
Iwata Padawan


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## Warspite (Aug 3, 2013)

Well that is just the bee's knee's there Boss. I can almost hear the opening title from the cartoon just looking at it. The decal really sets it off. Well done sir.


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## veedubb67 (Jul 11, 2003)

Thanks Warspite. Technically, the only decal is the one on the base. Everything else is painted. Aztek Dummy provided the tail template and I masked off the windows.

Rob
Iwata Padawan


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## Warspite (Aug 3, 2013)

Let us not split hairs, the end result is a great looking model. 

What are the masks like to work with? Is there any problem with the adhesive after they are removed? Inquiring minds want to know.


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## veedubb67 (Jul 11, 2003)

I've been using AD's paint masks for years and never had an issue with paint lifting. In fact, he's switched to a lower-tack vinyl to reduce any chance of that occurring. The ones he did for the Dragonfly couldn't be any easier to place since they're in the shape of the tailfin!



Rob
Iwata Padawan


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## Warspite (Aug 3, 2013)

That looks really sharp, thanks for showing that. 

I've wondering about masks for another project. Do you know if anyone does custom masks?

A really well done kit and thank you for sharing with us here.

Best regards,
Don


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## veedubb67 (Jul 11, 2003)

LOL - these are custom masks!

Aztek Dummy (aka Lou Dalmaso) - aztekdummy 'at' att 'dot' net

Rob
Iwata Padawan


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## Warspite (Aug 3, 2013)

Mea Culpa, i see that I left myself open for that one.

To be clear, I thought your mask was one that was commercially available. 

I am working on a modelling project for the 1934 Air Race from London to Melbourne. In particular I'm thinking of using a mask for the underside registration letters for one of the Dutch entries, the Pander S.4.

The underside of the aircraft is painted medium bright orange over aluminium dope with the letters being either white or aluminium. So the choice is giant orange decal with the letters or a mask. The mask idea is looking better all the time. Don't know how big a mask I'll need as I'm still getting the scaling down and don't have exact measurements just yet.


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

I see Moebius is coming out with a Pre-Built/Detailed Version soon :thumbsup: about $49 . but if you're handicapped (arthritis & Neurological Disorders) OH BOY!:thumbsup:

Bubba 123 :wave:


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## WOI (Jun 28, 2012)

You certainly captured the image of that version of the Dragonfly perfectly
well!!Just the way I remembered it!


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