Last update before completion pictures. Last night I finished up the last bits of masking and painting for the kit. The crystal pieces have had ample time to fully cure up so that the masking process doesn’t mar the finish. And the last bits of detail parts were painted.
The crystals have braces that attach to it and the kit actually came with six of these parts for some odd reason. Perhaps in the case that one of the parts is lost. But there are four attachment points on each crystal, and each crystal has 2 of these frame pieces already molded as part of the crystal; so only four are needed, two for each pieces. The four framing pieces are painted the same gaia gun metal color as the main chain attachment point pieces. Also, the bow that goes on the top of Velvet’s scarf is painted and clear coated to match.
The crystals are masked off, the frame pieces are painted in gun metal then allowed to cure for a good 10 to 15 minutes, then unmasked. The end cap piece and the lose framing pieces are glued together with five minute epoxy glue for maximum adhesion and tensile strength.
For the purpose of traveling with the kit, the crystal assemblies are not glued to the chain and are only held on by friction. And with that, the chain part is done. I also sprayed on a clear coat over the chain so that the paint on the chain doesn’t rub off onto the arms when I place and remove them – or at the very least, minimize the chance of rubbing off paint. So the chain is sitting and curing before I put the entire kit together for final pictures.
