Project: Galaxy (Part 4)

Ever had that feeling where your goal seems to be further away even as you get closer to it? I’m there right now with Sheryl!

All the parts are painted (OK, the huge bow needs a little more work) but each time I look at her, I keep thinking that I need to do more!!

One thing is for certain though, Doing this kit has given me a real sense of appreciation for clean, well molded kits! Of course, blaming all my problems with this project on the state of the parts when I received her would just be making excuses but I’ll be glad to be working on something which has a better parts fit and won’t need so much sanding and puttying after this.

Here’s Sheryl without her Bow. In some ways I prefer her like this but it feels incomplete. Having sad that, the Bow did cause me all sorts of grief (and still is!)

The first problem is that it’s incredibly back heavy and Sheryl isn’t exactly the most balanced figure on the block anyway! The back tail also doesn’t touch the ground, which would have helped immensely if it did as it would then be a load bearing part. Heating it didn’t help matters as the part was too thick to bend to the desired shape! So in the end, I added a brass rod to provide the weight support.

Far from the most elegant method of dealing with the issue but on the plus side, it’s practically invisible from most angles.

Aside from the back-heavy issue, the 2 parts which make up the bow probably has the worst parts non-fit I have ever seen!! They just won’t stay together without 2 brass rods! They also rest on the skirt so there’s no leeway as to how they are positioned (hence the need for the brass rod above). Basically, there’s a massive gap and lots of putty needed!

I still haven’t stuck the last parts together and the hair needs to go on last as it goes over the bow.

Speaking of the hair…

I tried to make it look as though the hair goes from golden blonde at the top darkens into a more orange colour as you reach the tips. Not sure how well it turned out and it may not show up too well on the pics. The fact that my room lighting gives off a very yellow light doesn’t help matters either.

Regarding the arm which was giving me so much grief before, I eventually went for the “final solution” which probably caused as many issues as it fixed… Initially, I had hoped that wrapping some tape around the affected parts would be sufficient to protect the paint while I put the arm in, but after a few attempts, that obviously wasn’t going to work.

In the end, I hacked off the hand to enable me to slide the arm into the gap before gluing the hand back on afterwards.

I would have preferred to avoid this plan of action but it became quickly clear that it was the best choice without doing some irreparable damage. The reattachment wasn’t too bad but it’s not great either. I think the hand is at a slight angle. Not really noticeable but it does stick with me a little.

There’s also a slight gap and a little mess where the putty used to fix a larger gap distorted slightly when I put the arm through. Fixing it now would require me to break the whole kit apart, such is the way it was designed.

So aside from more cleanup, One thing I definitely need to do is differentiate between the Bow and the skirt. I’m planning to go over the bow with a very light pink and see what happens. Not sure if the hair needs another attempt tho, and the eyes look like they could do with some work as well…

What do you guys think?