# Atlantis....Flash Gordon



## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

I believe it is time for another one of my buildalongs, first off the Atlantis reissue of the Revell kit is fantastic! It is one of those kits that does capture imagination in styrene and can build up as a fantastic model. For the youtube modelers my review here https://youtu.be/R17QimZXGO0

The fit of the kit is pretty good, the kit just requires a little time and clamps to ensure a good fit/bond.Sub assembly goes really quick, even "Carl the Matian" is only two pieces out of the roughly thirty piece part count. Very little putty was used on one leg due to me not being able to align the leg properly and the rest of the kit's seams was wet sanded with 220 grit sandpaper and in a circular motion.

The Flash Gordon kit is what I like call a sanding kit, he does have seams and I do recommend this kit to all modelers from beginners to pros as this is a good teaching tool how to sand folds in figure kits and sanding a model in general.

Many years ago I built an original kit for a customer and I said to my self if the kit ever got reissued i would do some things to the kit to put my spin on it and make an accessory kit as well. After I got the kit sanded shot some primer on it and finished any spot that I might have missed.

For the base I was never a big fan of as it was just very simple, so I came up with an idea of doing a Aurora style Rocket ship base for flash which will be a two piece vacuform kit. Also the helmet i wanted to do something differently and make it a two piece seamless helmet.


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## Rob P. (Jan 26, 2004)

Nice write up and project ideas! Look forward to following your progress, and seeing your custom ideas!

Rob


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

For the planet surface of Mongo my new base needed some groundwork. If you ever build any diorama's or vignette's any groundwork material can used, celluclay, Durhan rock hard putty, etc.....To name a few. I used a two part automotive putty for the Mongo surface. When the putty is wet you can sprinkle some gravel or other surface material and embed it in the putty for more added realism.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

After sanding and primer on Flash Gordon's space suit I had a couple of very small gaps where the legs connect to the torso. Instead of using putty I used Tulip. Tulip is a thick acrylic paint (fabric paint) which is available at any craft store. Tulip is not a putty and can not be sanded but is a good alternative for those hard to reach places where putty would be troublesome and Tulip is a very good blending tool.


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## scooke123 (Apr 11, 2008)

Thanks for the tip - never heard of Tulip. Nice job so far on Flash.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

For the helmet I wanted to do something different (my take on it) and to find a way to hide the seam in the fish bowl helmet. So I came up with a two piece vacuform helmet kit to make it unique and seamless.

Next is a quick test pull of the new Rocket ship base vacuform kit.


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

Enjoying watching the progress.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

As I am letting things dry (in between customer related projects) and prepping the figure for painting, had to do some research of the old comics for what color to paint the space suit. The customer one that I built earlier wanted the suit painted white that is depicted on the beautiful box art. Andy Yanchus did his fantastic build up that is on the side of the Atlantis reissue box where he is in a gold suit. So after looking through the comics I decided I will go with Flash Gordon in a red space suit, almost his signature color throughout the comics and film.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

With my new two piece vacuform helmet kit I cut out the bottom helmet piece off the sheet and attached it to the body, this way it is secure and I can sand the lip of the helmet down. Working with vacuform kits are easy they are essentially simplified styrene kits. To cut a part off the sheet is to cut around the part (leaving extra material around the part) and sand it down to the kit parts edge.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

As I sand down the new bottom helmet and wait for the primer to dry I wanted to tackle the lazer gun Flash holds. Just to make my a little different I took some telescoping styrene tube and made a scope for Flash's sidearm.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Bottom helmet is just about done as is the lazer pistol so i will begin to lay down some paint. Now there is not a right or wrong way to paint a model which ever by hand brushing or airbrushing again whichever way is relaxing and fun is the way hobby needs to be. I am going with the airbrush method and over the primer base coat I took some flat black and did some preshading. Preshading is a technique that gives the appearance of shadows once the primary colors are applied. Preshading by no means has to be neat or perfect, I get in places where it is darker in spots and lighter in spots just to have different shades when the base coats are applied.

On a side note painting a figure is like painting a model tank, plane, ship or science fiction vehicle, all of these use the same modeling techniques in one form or another.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

The soft detail vacuform kit of the rocket ship base consists of 4 pieces, two for the base itself and two for the clear PETG re imagined helmet. When I cut parts of the vacuform sheet I always cut around the part with extra material attached, Then with a pencil I measure and draw a 1/16 of inch line all around the part. This gives what i call the sanding line. If you try to cut or carve the plastic part you will get uneven and discouragement will set in. With some sand paper just sand the part down to the "sanding line" and you will have nice flush kit part.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

The red suit is a good idea. I tried white, totally screwed it up. Put the kit away for a while.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

As I sand the base down to the sanding line I went ahead and cut out the rocket ship door window, next I will sand down the edges and back the window with clear PETG (lexan, clear styrene) plastic, when I paint the base the window will be smoked.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

After sanding the vacuform base edges down I added a piece of scrap clear petg for the window and masked that off then I assembled the two piece kit and to make the base more sturdy I glue it to some 0.040 styrene sheet, next will be to sand this down to base shoot a couple coats of primer on it and begin painting the rocket ship base. 

Speaking of painting with the airbrush I took some opaque red and shot a light coat on the upper space suit just enough to blend in the preshading which gives the red on the suit some depth. next I will had some white to the red and with low pressure setting shoot the highlight areas of the suit, but first I will paint his space suit pants a dark blue with a yellow stripes just to pay homage to the Flash Gordon cartoon animated show.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

When I paint multiple colors on a model I always like to wait a day just the to make sure the paint is cured even if it is acrylic paint. So while I wait I wanted to cut the clear dome off the PETG sheet for the BHP Rocket ship base kit. On clear vacuform parts it hard to use a pencil to draw the sanding line and a permanent marker makes the line to big, so what I will do is tape the circumfrance of the clear helmet part and sand down the edges that way.

Also wanted to just test fit the new helmet and show everyone what it looks like on the Flash Gordon kit.


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## BrianM (Dec 3, 1998)

Great stuff! I love the idea of scratch building a base, maybe a rocket ship interior or art deco palace.... For the sake of nostalgia, I might just paint it all Testors Gloss colors!


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Back to painting I went with Tamiya flat blue and airbrush the space suit paints to pay homage to the Flash Gordon Animated show. My original thought on painting the space suit red and take the color scheme of Flash from the show Defenders of the earth but I think the red, yellow and blue scheme will pay tribute perfectly. Up next is to airbrush the yellow trunks, leg and arm stripes I always like to let any part dry for day when I paint just make sure everything is dry or cured and I like to seal my work as I go so I use Krylon Krystal clear to seal the model. it is a clear sealer which helps prevent any unwanted scratches on the paint and I use it since I will be masking off the trunks and stripes it will prevent (if) any lifting of paint.


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## scooke123 (Apr 11, 2008)

I like the red and blue colors with the yellow accents. Great work so far.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Masking duty- Sometimes I don't know which is more time consuming masking or sanding? Tamiya tape is used to mask the stripes on the arms, legs and trunks of the suit which I will be painting yellow, next is to take a burnisher (a #2 pencil) and burnish down the edges of the tape to prevent any paint bleed and the keep the edges sharp. Another tip for eliminating paint bleeding from another color is after you have masked off the part airbrush the base color you used, this will seal the tape if you will and the color can be applied without worry.


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## Marko (Jul 11, 2002)

really enjoying your build up. thanks for sharing your tips on painting. gonna try the preshading with airbrush.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Since yellow is one of the hardest colors to paint because it only needs a backing color black or white. Black base coat will make the yellow more darker and white will make it more vibrant. I am going with the white as i want the yellow to pop. Since the space suit stripes is masked off I took a paint brush and basically did a light dry brushing over the stripes just to get a light layer of paint down then i will go back in with the airbrush with more white and then yellow top coat.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

As I continue to build up the yellow on the space suit by coats i needed to do the same thing to the BHP space ship base. Since it represents the exterior door of a Rocket ship Aluminum color will be use but first to make the aluminum color vibrant a black base coat needed to be applied. Some modelers use a gloss black for their aluminum finishes I am the odd modeler out as I like to use a flat black, for me it gives the aluminum finish a little more weathered look than super shiny aluminum.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Some modelers like to use Alclad for their aluminum finish for I like to use the acrylic equivalent version, with the black base coat dry I use Tamiya flat aluminum and did a pass with the airbrush, next will be a second pass to build up the aluminum because this way it achieves a worn look and not shiny metal. Once I get another layer of paint on I will probably do so post shading on the door just to define it and seal everything and then proceed to mask off the Mongo surface of the base


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

After I removed the tape for the yellow painted areas and With a # 5/0 brush I went in and started painting the straps, belt and blended areas that needed touch up. Also painted inside the BHP replacement helmet a medium grey blue, this color will help make the Flash head visible and subtle in the new helmet. next up is to put a little texture on the yellow trunks and some washes.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

With a wider paint brush and this may go against all that you have read about painting, I took some Basic yellow acrylic paint and painted some brush strokes on the trunks. This method is to add a little bit of texture to the trunks and not have the figure look to animated (cartoon look) and to break up the smoothness of the suit. I like to use a lot of washes when painting, it basically a filter and filter wash is building up layers of a wash to create levels of depth. 

You can use paint and water and mix a wash or and I like to use The Detailer line of washes. I took some rust and some brown Detailer washes mixed them applied to the yellow areas and once the wash dries it can wiped off using a damp cloth, q-tip or paint brush and the rest will be left in the crevices to replicate depth.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

One thing about Detailer washes is once dry you can go back to them when ever you want to create depth, so i took the opportunity and painted all the small accessories belt, straps, buckles and ray gun. For the gloves went with Tamiya flat blue and now I will finish him off with some more washes and knock out the filter wash portion of the suit.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Finish painting the odds and ends, next i added some Detailer red, black and blue washes throughout the figure and in places I want it a little more worn look. As the washes dry I am starting to lay down the flesh tone on Flash which is just a couple of coats of basic flesh skin color applied. when painting faces I always like to keep it simple, after the base coat will come some pin washes on the face to get shadows and basically some flesh color mix with white and a little dry brushing/blending to get the highlights on the face.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

There is no right or wrong way to paint a face and there are a lot of magazine articles on face painting and my way of doing is by no means the correct way it is just the way I do it. After the flesh base coat dries I go in with a pin wash of Burnt umber, a pin wash is water down paint (more water than paint) like a filter wash and applied to the crevices and let the capillary action do it's trick and once dry you will have dark shadows around the eyes, nose and ears.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

After the dark pin wash dries i like to take the flesh base coat and light blend in the wash with the skin tone and to touch up any unwanted stains by the wash. Next is where I like to deviate from the general rule of painting faces, with the airbrush and at a low setting I take the flesh base coat and add white and airbrush the highlights of the face, forehead, cheeks, nose etc..... Also using the airbrush blends the skin tone naturally and for me gives it a soft realistic tone. 

Most modelers usually paint the eyes first then out I do the opposite I paint the eyes last, for the whites of the eyes I mix some flesh with some white (at 1/8 scale the eyeballs should not pure white) then with the same mixture I add just a touch of red to make a pink color and paint the lips (mouth) and then finally Mixed up some yellow and Buff to paint Flash's blonde hair.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

The eyes- Again like I said before there is not a wrong way or right way in painting faces and the eyes on a figure model is the same way. There are tips a tricks and articles on how to how to paint the eyes but I like to keep it simple and use decals for the eyes. Archer makes eyeball decals in all scales and they look great on a figure just like the painted counterpart.

To make the eyeballs realistic and to make them wet (this can also be used on the painted eyes as well) , with a brush you can brush on a High gloss, Future or clear fingernail polish on the eyeball and once dry apply the decal and you will have no silvering and a realistic eyes on larger scale figures.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

After I let the head dry i attached it to the new helmet on the body with a drop or two of superglue. With a damp cloth/paper towel I began wiping away the Detailer wash so that only what is in the crevices of the suit remains and also gives a little depth to the yellow painted parts. The top clear new helmet dome got trimmed and sanded down for a flush fit inside the bottom helmet, also no need to glue in place as it is a snug fit and is removable if so desired. Moving along I added the oxygen tank backpack and went with a bright red color to break up the red I used on the suit.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

After finishing up painting and everything was dry I too some Testors flat coat to give Flash's suit a matte look. Next Got Flash attached to the BHP rocketship vacuform base with a little dowl rod drilled into the foot and base and secured with a mix of a two part five minute epoxy.

The Atlantis Models reissue of the Flash Gordon kit is a Fantastic kit and as I have said earlier the model kit does capture Imagination in styrene, Highly recommended to all modelers who build, customize or collect!

Brad Hair


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## Atlantis1 (Sep 16, 2013)

Amazing job Brad and Thank you the Phantom is next!


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

Thanks and that is great news and I will do another Full video review and build along series when the Phantom is released!


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## Rob P. (Jan 26, 2004)

Great job on the build and the WIP thread! Well thought out on the diorama and the choice of suit coloring! 

Rob


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## Marko (Jul 11, 2002)

Beautiful job. Well thought out and again, thanks for sharing!!


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