This is my latest finished model: V.I.N.CENT from Disney`s "The Black Hole“. I got this kit last year and started it in December 2004 as a weekend project... well, needless to say there was much, much more work to do than I thought!

The fit was extremely awful – build a 'vintage' kit, and you`ll be able to appreciate the fit of all the AMT-models you can think of – so I had a lot to sand. A good amount of putty was involved, too. First I planned to make one or other flap movable, but in the end I wasn't able to get rid off all those nasty seams. The overall shape of the kit is not bad, the only issue I corrected was the position of the feet: Mounted in the way they are supposed to be would let them stick too much out. I just left the inner part of the sphere off, the result looks much more like what can be seen in the movie.

The whole kit was painted silver out of a rattlecan (automotive color), the black and red areas are handbrushed. The red of the blasters is a little bit darker than the color I used for the head. The toughest part was the 'backpack“; there was a little masking job to do.

I made a new graphic for the chest monitor and the row of lights beneath it, our fellow modeler Carlos from Brazil (aka Arthur Pendragon) was so kind to print decals for me from the file I designed. Now it looks much more convincing than the ridiculous monitor-decal that comes with the kit, doesn`t it? I got also a sheet of JTgraphics replacement decals, but I used only the eyes from that one. The original kit decals were a bit tan instead of white (I don`t know if this was intended by MPC or if they yellowed over the years!), just like those areas appeared in the movie, too. Only the eyes are bright white. By the way, the fit of the decals is as bad as is the fit of the kitparts.

The plaque on the display base is covered with bare metal foil "chrome“, I wanted to give it a look like being pressed into stainless steel. And so, finally, a weekend project was completed in only 6 months.

Image: Another look

Image: Closeups: Front

Image: - Right

Image: - Left front

Image: - Right rear

Image: - Left from rear low

Image: - Left from rear high

Image: Lots of work: Fixed feet

Image: - Puttied all over

Image: - Masked backpack

Image: - Mask removed