Meerkat Six-Aurek

[Darth Marmalade]

I've begun sketching in earnest, and have a better idea now of what I want to do. Here's one idea I had for panel lines:

img.ly/6BAA

An earlier sketch, but with color:

img.ly/6qrs

And my most recent sketch. I saw a car out on the road yesterday, and realized that if I'm going with green, it'll look more Star-Wars-y if it's bright -- dull greens are too contemporary military. These panel lines are based on the RotS Jedi Fighter Burger King toy:

img.ly/6C5a

So, that's where I am right now. I'll have to sketch some more ideas for the hood, roof, and back, of course. Don't know when I'll start painting, but I'm feeling good about this.

Oh, and the car's previous owner had named it "Michiko", which I'm inclined to keep as the actual name. So I'm thinking "Meerkat 6-A" (prounounced "Meerkat Six-Aurek") as a designation, kind of like how the Millennium Falcon was Gold Leader in the battle over Endor. "6-A" is, of course, an unholy intrusion of Star Trek nomenclature into the Star Wars universe, which makes me smile.

[Darth Marmalade]

I have begun painting, just:

img.ly/7oso

[Darth Marmalade]

Here's the most recent photo; I did a little painting before hurricane Irene hit:



Concept sketches and some earlier work-in-progress (it still is!) photos here: picasaweb.google.com/darthmarmalade/MichikoMeerkatSixAurek?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCL76rNjjptHhiQE&feat=directlink

The previous owner's bumper stickers will be removed... when the time is right.

[Red Two]

The green looks good, maybe a little too chunky? But the rest of the paint needs to go down before one really knows what it's gonna look like. Will people think star wars when they see green is my only question. AN astromech in the back would change that, of course.

The funky black graphic on the side is funky. One of those Q icon things?

[Darth Marmalade]

Yeah, I really had my heart set on green, which isn't seen too often on Star Wars ships. I've been searching the web for pictures to show that it is done sometimes. I am planning on a few Rebel insignia, probably in some shade of red, that should signal "Star Wars" to folks in the know, along with the astromech.

The funky graphic on the side is meant to suggest a missing panel, exposing machinery underneath. I don't know if that really comes across, but I can mess with it some more. It's all done with stencils I made; I'll have to look up "Q icon" -- I don't know what that is.

Mostly I'm happy with how it's coming along; there should be a lot more green in the next few days. Thanks for looking! I do wish this board wasn't quite such a ghost town.

[Red Two]

I had to look it up again myself. QR Codes is what they're called. Since that symbol isn't one of them, no worries!

But yeah, some toning and colors and that will look like an exposed hatch. I didn't see it until you said it. Now, it looks like it.

[Darth Marmalade]

QR codes! That's actually a cool idea; I could put one in there that would direct folks to my web page! Which I'd then have to keep updated, so maybe it's not such a great idea. But I'll still have to think about it. Meanwhile, I haven't got a lot more done. I've started on the hood, and have a plan that I'm happy with for that. Rain is forecast for today and tomorrow, so no painting until dry weather.

[Darth Marmalade]

More photos have been added of the work in progress, at this link here: picasaweb.google.com/darthmarmalade/MichikoMeerkatSixAurek?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCL76rNjjptHhiQE&feat=directlink

And here are some photos from the Gaithersburg, MD, Street Festival, where I joined some other art car artists for a day of fun and outsider artistry and such: t.co/2rkxe6FV

[Darth Marmalade]

Some more progress. There are big green stripes on both sides, now:



And some unintentional battle damage on the hood (just visible in the above photo) is now repaired:



The back of the car is still almost unrecognizable as an art car. I'll have to do something about that soon. I've got ideas for the bumpers, and I'll want to start on some finer detail with paint markers and such, and add logos and lettering. Plenty still to do, but it's coming along.

[Darth Marmalade]

A little of that lettering I was talking about. Has it been a month already?



The two sides are different:



More images may still be found here: picasaweb.google.com/darthmarmalade/MichikoMeerkatSixAurek?authuser=0&feat=directlink

[Red Two]

Those are some tight letters! Is that vinyl masking?

I've been working on my dome, so have been posting that over at the astromech builders. Will link that work to my build here when I get some bigger progress to report. Just sanding and such so far.

[Darth Marmalade]

Haven't done too much over the winter, even with the mild weather. But December saw some maneuvering thrusters:



And a little more paint on the back of the car:



And at some point, I decided that a Meerkat Squadron Pilot should have his own uniform. So, I spent some time in March putting one together:



Still to do: Front and rear bumpers, more detail on the driver's side, and the roof, of course. And think about the wheels, and maybe some non-paint modifications.

Oh! The lettering is all spray paint, done with stencils. It turned out okay, although there's some overspray visible close-up. It's the Star Wars universe, so I'm not going to worry too much about that.

As always, more images may be found here: picasaweb.google.com/darthmarmalade/MichikoMeerkatSixAurek?authuser=0&feat=directlink

[Darth Marmalade]

I've been working on the full-scale upgrade to my astromech!

[Red Two]

Posted on YT as modelmantom a few mins ago.

Freakin' awesome look to that dome!

Wow!