Bunny Rabbit Goonie build- Part 5: Make-up and War-Paint!

The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues...

 As you may have guessed, the only step left in the construction phase of this Goonie is the paint scheme.

 If you're a beginner, make sure the fins are all smooth, and the body tube either has a little scuff on it, or a layer of primer.  But I'd recommend a Paint and Primer combo that results in Gloss White.... and be done with it in one or two coats. That's the easiest way to end and be done.

 The one-sheet instruction suggests masking the tail after shooting it white, and adding some realistic highlights...browns, grays, pinks, etc.  I've decided to split the difference, masking the tail, priming with gloss white paint and primer, then masking the paws, and shooting the back and body tube with a light coat of gray.

 Note, I'm intentionally keeping the edges of my gray paint soft and thin, allowing the natural spray to fade out to white, as I think that's more realistic.  Unfortunately, anytime you lay painters' tape down, you're gonna get a hard line.  As a result, my paws are really white, and some of the lines are hard.

 Also note that I'm not painting the nosecone, but using a Sharpe marker to draw the face of the rabbit according to the notes on the plan.


 As for paint, well, there are as many opinions as there are types of rattle cans.  I think if there's only three rules that I've learned, it's these:
  1. Sand or smooth your rocket as good as you want to show through the paint.  This means filling spirals in body tubes, if they bug you. Some do, some don't.
  2. Priming isn't always necessary, but tends to bond the paint a little better than if you don't use it.
  3. Use the same brand of paint over the same brand of paint.  In other words, Krylon and Krylon over Krylon will usually work.  Rustoleum and Rustoleum will work.  Testors and Testors will work.  But you don't want to mix and match Krylon over Rustoleum or some other combination, as you risk a reaction between the paint that can crack, craze, bubble, flake or present in any number of problems.
Leave your painters' tape and masking on for as short a period of time as practical. And don't be afraid of letting that latest coat of paint dry overnight before proceeding.  Some painters' tapes are more adhesive than others, and will pull paint off when you don't want to.

There are no decals for this bunny rocket, so feel free to draw in toes, ears, or feather the tail...whatever you want.  I am not using a lick of the decals that came with my Baby Bertha kit. (PS: This also means that the four balsa fins that came with  the kit are officially extra scrap.  Save them. You never know when you'll want to kit bash something else down the line.)

Hence the line, Keep your glue capped, and save your balsa scraps...cause you never know when you'll need them!

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