Ertl Klingon Bird of Prey

Gallery Article by Ben Pardini on Oct 8 2009

 

First of all I want to thank everyone for their feedback on my last post. It is very much appreciated. Mahalo to you all. Now onto the model. I had noticed that the sci-fi section needed an update, so here is my Klingon Bird of Prey. My girl was finally able to drag me away from the sun, surf and sand long enough to get me into the house. Much to her dismay I saw my workbench, and this marvelous sight along with much crying and many beers, helped me come to peace with the fact that I would not see the beach for a whole afternoon. So construction began. Lucky for me this one was easy.

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This is a very simple kit, as with most sci-fi kits there's no interior to worry about. In fact I can summarize the entire construction process for you. Open beer, glue wings together, attach guns to wings. More beer. Glue hull together and attach bridge to body. Yet more beer. Attach wings to hull and pau. You got yourself a spaceship bruddah. There is a large gap underneath where the wings join the body, but I figured no one is going to be staring at the underside of the ship, so I just drank some beer and forgot I even saw anything. The painting was pretty straight forward. First I started by spraying the bottom feathers with Tamiya Dull Red. I masked those off and sprayed the rest with olive drab. I used the cheap stuff you can get from Walmart. The color is reasonably close to the studio model, and my wallet was much more appreciative of this choice. As you all know wallets are like wives. As they say, Happy wife, happy life. Happy wallet...well nothing really rhymes with wallet that makes any sense, but you get the idea. The engine baffles were done in black then given a silver highlighting. Accents to the upper wings and hull was done in green chromate, light gray, and rust. I gave it a very, very light wash. I know many like their Klingon Birds very dirty. But by now beer was running low, so it was pau hana time.

All in all a decent kit. Not much detail and a Waimea Canyon sized gap underneath, but a fun and quick build. Plus it actually looks like a Bird of Prey. Which is really all that matters brah. So grab some beers and meet me at da beach. Until next time. Aloha.

Ben Pardini

Photos and text © by Ben Pardini