October 19, 2025

I began the week painting my scratch-built Star Wars’ building with the dome roof. It came out well.

When I bought the Micro Galaxy Squadron Ghost, I was very impressed by the quality of the paint job done on that toy. I believed that all I was going to do was paint the windows black and add it to my collection. But when I sat down to paint the windows, I noticed for the first time that there was a large empty space at the rear of the ship (see blue circle) with two clips. I checked into that and found that there is another version of the Ghost that comes with a shuttle that goes in that empty space and is held in place by the two clips. That version is called Secret Mission. I didn't like the empty space so I looked around my odds-and-ends box and discovered that I had the top of the Razor Crest's cockpit. I cut the rear of that off and set it in the Ghost's empty space (see other blue circle). The problem then was painting it so that it was reasonably compatible with the rest of the ship. I did my best.

I’m fortunate to live about 40 minutes from Disneyland and enjoy having an annual pass, so in addition to being able to visit the Magic Kingdom regularly, I also have access to Disney toys that are only available at the park.   Among those toys are two versions of land speeders. I have four of them and have modified and repainted two of them and left two in their original form but repainted.  They are compatible with 28mm figures.

One more Star Wars transformer Republic fighting tank arrived in the mail this week and it got a new paint job to match the others I have.

I found a structure at the swap meet a few weeks ago.  It was probably part of some GI Joe playset.  I thought if I cut it down to a size that would be compatible with 28mm it would make a nice out-of-the-weather shed for both my Star Wars’ secret base and my terraforming space station complex.  Once it was cut I gave it a simple paint job.

The week ended with the painting of a sand skiff I got at the swap meet for $3.  It is in perfect condition.  All that was required was a new paint job.

October 12, 2025

I began this week with a focus on Star Wars’ Republic fighting tanks.  I am using Hasbro transformer tanks because they are reasonably compatible with 28mm figures.  Because these came with gun darts (missing with the ones I have), I lengthened the guns with plastic rod by Evergreen plastic.  The color scheme I decided on was khaki and burnt red by Vallejo Model Color.

With those done I turned my attention to painting my last TIE ship, a bomber by Action Fleet.

I also decided to give a quick paint job to a couple of additional modular pieces for the large hauler I did last week… a gun mount and a large disk.

On Sunday (a week past) I picked up another Millenium Falcon at the swap meet.  I added a gun, a disk, and a loading ramp.  It was $13 and I have no justification for buying it other than I wanted to paint one in a new color scheme: gray, burnt red, and khaki… painting this stuff has a grip on me; I love it!

That same day (Sunday) I also found the TMNT’s Tank Taxi.  What caught my eye was the mushroom-shaped dome.  What I envisioned was the roof for a Star Wars’ building.  I’ve been wanting to scratch build a Star Wars’ building for a while.  Most of my Star Wars’ buildings are the same I used with my earlier Space Port collection, but I have added several new ones (3d printed) but none that I had scratch built and that was bothering me, so this was my chance.  I set the dome roof on a clear plastic base that I cut to a height of 3”.  The building is now constructed, but not yet painted, and it’s the painting that really tells the story of whether I did the job well enough for it to be included with the other buildings.

October 5, 2025

This week I got around to painting my Action Fleet Sky Hopper/Skyhopper.   The big work was constructing the missing rear cabin panel and a base that would keep the Hopper steady.  Evergreen plastic and Milliput did the job.  The painting was actually easy.

On Wednesday I went with my wife and granddaughter to the fabric shop so that they could find material for my granddaughter’s Halloween costume.  While there I made a great find for myself.  For months I’ve been wondering what I was going to do for a background for my Star Wars’ battles in deep space.  I found the answer at the fabric shop… a section of cloth that is 3 ft. by 4 ft. called Space Odyssey.

I finished my workbench time this week painting a giant hauler that was inspired in terms of size by the Clone’s turbo tank.  I’ve also seen huge space-related haulers advertised by 3d print sellers on Etsy.  Two weeks ago, I saw a Space Maxx toy at the swap meet that seemed to me perfect for the hauler I had been imagining.  After removing the launching tower and replacing it with a bed made of Evergreen plastic, I had to decide on the cargo/structures it would be hauling.  The crazy shape of the Ninja pizza thrower and the fact that I found two within a week of one another (one at Savers thrift shop and one at the swap meet) decided me on one option and a Hot Wheel storage carrier (also found at Savers) offered another option.  I’ve decided to keep this modular and removable for easier storage and painting, and because it allows me the possibility of other options as they turn up.