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Home > Battlestar Galactica > 1/72 > Battlestar Galactica - Colonial Viper Mark II

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Battlestar Galactica - Colonial Viper Mark II

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Category: Battlestar Galactica
Subcategory: 1/72

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Manufacturer:Black Sun Models
Medium: Resin
Parts: 25
Status: Available
Release Date: 2007
Skill Level: Beginner
The Viper Mark II became the front-line fighter for the Colonial Forces following the initial attack by the Cylon forces that incapacitated the Colonial Fleet and its primary fighter, the Viper Mark VII. Thanks to a computer virus that was installed in the defense mainframe, the Viper Mark VIIs lost power, bounced off each other, and generally became sitting ducks for the inbound Cylon Raiders.

The Black Sun Models kit of the Viper Mark II was the first of the models from the revised Battlestar Galactica kit that I’ve built, and it was a nice kit. The parts were cast in light gray resin that was free from flash and bubbles. I opted to pose the Viper in flight configuration, but landing gears are included. My kit included two (2) vacuform canopies, which was helpful as I messed up cutting the first one. Oops!

I built and primed the main kit components, then started the detailing by airbrushing the main light gray airframe color. The engines, panels, guns, and cockpit were hand-painted with Tamiya Gunship Gray, and then dry-brushed with a bit of Model Master Chrome Silver to bring out the details. The canopy frames were hand-painted with Tamiya Sky Gray.

After the subassemblies were completed, I assembled the kit, and then sealed the whole thing with a couple of coats of Future, airbrushed directly from the bottle. After decal application, I got out my pastels and dirtied up the bird a bit, because it’s supposed to look abused. These were fighters that started out as museum display pieces, have been pressed into service, and are basically held together with spit and bailing wire aboard a Battlestar with a severe lack of spare parts. I kinda think that Chief Tyrol holds his breath every time one of the Vipers launches, waiting for one to come apart in a launch tube. So she’s dirtied up with blast damage, paint scrapes, and general dirt and wear & tear.

The kit includes a choice of pilot names, and also has all of the markings and stencils as seen on the fighters in the television series. I ended up marking my fighter as belonging to Hot Dog. I’ll admit that I gave my wife the choice on the name, and she didn’t want the “hero” birds belonging to Apollo, Starbuck, or Kat. After sealing the decals and weathering under a coat of Future, I applied the final topcoat of Testor’s DullCote. After that was dry, I glued down the canopy with some Elmer’s School Glue, and used a MicroScale fine brush to apply a small amount of DullCote around the join area between the canopy and fuselage.

I picked up an aftermarket display stand from The Model Base Guy that featured the Colonial Forces bird. The stand was painted flat black, and detailed with a Testor’s Gold model paint pen.

The completed Viper Mk II is about 5 inches long and has a wingspan of 2.75 inches.

Review by: Rich “Lonewolf” Dula

Entry created: January 1, 2012


ViperMk2

Completed model by Rich "Lonewolf" Dula

Comments: 0 | Rating (1-5): -- No rating -- | MSRP: $49.99

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