After taking a break for a few years (after it was initially cancelled), I recently binge-watched the last four Amazon-commissioned seasons of the incredible hard SF series The Expanse.

There are many ships of various kinds in The Expanse, but the most notable is Rocinante, the home and workplace of the main characters of the show. She’s a salvaged MCRN corvette, armed with point-defense cannons (PDCs), missiles, and in the later series, a rail gun.

I found a good quality 3D model of the Roci and was compelled to paint it for display on the shelf above my desk.

Oye beltalowda beratnas and sésatas, kewe to pensa ere kapawu?

A few (actually almost ten) years ago I posted some pictures of the Battlestar Galactica model kit. Not long after I posted that article, I picked up a Mk II Colonial Viper kit (originally produced by Moebius, now by Revell).

That model sat in my pile of shame for almost seven years, until I decided I needed a pallet cleanser towards the end of last year.

Completing this model was a pleasurable challenge: the model is not super-high quality and needed quite a bit of filling and sanding to put together. This is the first model that I’ve had to paint the interior cockpit for, seal up and mask, and then finish the exterior. The final step was to remove the masking on the canopy which was very satisfying!

After I’d applied the decals and finished painting, the model looked beautiful, but it’s the weathering that makes a model like this really pop. I used a mix of weathering powders and sponge chipping to add an appropriately lived-in level of wear and tear.

More pictures below the fold!

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