KIRK BALLASH'S KIT MODELS

ALIEN ATTACKER, from the motion picture Independence Day (1997), manufactured by Lindberg , 1/72 scale, (styrene).  Built out of the box with a lot of putty to get the windscreen to fit.  I also inserted a .060 sheet of styrene to bring the egg shaped missile launcher back to a round shape.  I replaced the unusual “skin” pattern on the bottom of the craft sanded away during assembly with gesso.  A lot of hours went into painting the ship.

SPEEDER BIKE, from the motion picture Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), manufactured by AMT/Ertl , 1/12 scale, (styrene).  One of my early models, I was going for the “dirty” look but hadn’t quite mastered washes yet.

C-57D STAR CRUISER, from Forbidden Planet (1956), manufactured by Polar Lights, 1/72 scale (styrene). – I built this for my boss for the payment of a second kit.  The pictures are not display worthy but I was taking pictures to document the build rather than the completed model.  It was done out of the box and I used A LOT of sandpaper.

TIE FIGHTER, from the Star Wars motion pictures, 1/48 scale, (styrene).  This is the kit I built a number of years ago.  Wanting to make something more than just an OOB effort I popped the top off, fully detailed the cockpit and built up the inside of the canopy.  Compare this to the Speeder Bike and you’ll see how I finally figured out how to do washes and dry brushing.