Brodies MB-1 "The Wasp"

Cool tools you've linked there, GM.
Brodie. Love that headstock shape, man!

Really digging the headstock shape Brodie. How did you go with that screw? I find that the rock maple is the worst for screws, both the neck screws and the tuners. I find it useful to always drill a pilot hole and make sure it's deep enough by marking my drill with a piece of sticky tape. Having them snap off really is the pits - we've all been there. I feel your pain.

cheers,
Gav.

@Gav B: Thanks for the links, Gav. However, I believe this goes very much against my desire for suggestions that won't ruin me financially. :-P

$70 for a piece of gear I may use once just isn't a viable option. The screwdriver set, however, may come in handy.

@Lawry: Cheers mate. :)
I spent many an evening drawing out potential designs and I didn't even use one! I was just doodling on the headstock after a moment of inspiration and this was the result. Very happy with how it turned out, and it suits the body style perfectly.

@Gav T: Removal has thus far been a no go. I'll have a play around and see what creative ideas I can come up with. I've got one in mind that might just be crazy enough to work. Keep an eye out. ;)

UPDATE:

So, having fretted (pun intended) about what paint to use, I have come to a decision. After seeing Mike's awesome results with Rust-Oleum I have decided to use that for my colour coats. This decision slightly alters the original colouring (below):

Original:
http://i.imgur.com/gcnepuP.png

But I think it ultimately works better with the decal anyway:

http://i.imgur.com/GpViTpr.png

Not quite as wild as I first planned, but hopefully it still comes up a treat.

What are your thoughts? :)

look wild enough mate - in fact I like the new colours more

where about do you live, perhaps someone can help with the screw...

Hey Stan, thanks for the feedback. :)

I live in Adelaide at the moment. As for the screw, I think I've come up with solution, that won't involve removing the screw at all. More details on that later. ;)

Looks pretty good either way - ultimately when you get down to it there will be slight variations in colour anyway - depending on a range of issues. I like how it is going though!

They both look pretty damn hot, man.

Quote:

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/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from lawry on June 7, 2014, 18:47

Quote:

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/<\\/p>[/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/]<\\/p>/Quote from dingobass on June 7, 2014, 16:20
Stryper were as bad as it can get... Wussie big hair pseudo christian metal band that sounded even worse than they look..... Sad thing is the band still exists...
PS. No offence towards those Christian folk amongst us... Most of you who have had the misfortune to be old enough to actually remember this band will no doubt agree with me as to how abysmal their "music" is..

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I'm old enough!

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OH I remember them ...sad very very sad

UPDATE (and it's a biggun!):

So, as I have been slack, I have not been providing you good folk with what you love. Pictures. So this post will have lots. First, my repairs.

When I plugged the neck hole, I bought the smallest dowel possible, which still wasn't small enough. Left was original, right is after I slaved away with sandpaper:

http://i.imgur.com/roPBxye.jpg

I also fixed the crack caused by blunt drill tear out in factory:

http://i.imgur.com/K2fncl6.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/DOH4P0F.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/iIg7QmU.jpg

Then, I moved on to drilling. I had to re-drill new bolt holes, as well as drill the ferrule counter-sinks with a forstner bit.

Marked out:

http://i.imgur.com/MOL1tG9.jpg

Countersunk:

http://i.imgur.com/jbOL42H.jpg

After that, I sanded from 320-400-600-800 and applied primer. I used Rustguard and I must say I very much like it. Thanks for the suggestion Gavin T! ;)

My very fancy painting jig:

http://i.imgur.com/Squ3Abm.jpg

My very fancy drying station:

http://i.imgur.com/8eTro9B.jpg

After 1 primer coat (it now has 2, but I don't have a photo):

http://i.imgur.com/Cdd7hbl.jpg

Only issue is a slight dent I somehow put in after sanding. It is quite deep (unfortunately) but I should hopefully be able to sand it back out (or Timbermate it):

http://i.imgur.com/tGg62NZ.jpg

Anyway, there you have it! Colour coats will be happening soon.

Please feel free to let me know what you all reckon. :)

a bit of skilled sanding should fix your dent. Nice slick base you have created there, it should paint up well, good going Brodie

Brodie, your drying station looks a lot like mine! Great work with the sanding and primer. She's looking great. You could sand back and fill the dent with timbermate if you have half a mind. Not sure I could be bothered myself ;).

cheers,
Gav.

So, minor update.

I was able to sand back the dent without ruining the overall curves of the horn (thankfully).

I just used up the can of primer, so will give it a going over with 800 tomorrow, and begin colour coats.

Lastly, my decals are on the way! Cannot wait to see the awesome product Andy has created for me. :)

UPDATE:

Let there be colour! I have successfully applied two coats of yellow today without a single run, drip or other mishap. Pleasantly surprised, I must say. This Rust-Oleum is a fantastic product too, so thanks to Mike (Custom JM-1) for showing me the path to awesome! So, here it is, in all its yellow glory.

http://i.imgur.com/iQ3Ih8l.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/iy06jIA.jpg

Just note, it looks much better in real life, but a point-and-shoot digital camera and fluoro lights struggle to capture that. :P

Thoughts?

That's a nice yellow man, a lot more subtle than the original concept. it's gonna look killer once the black goes down.

That's a f@#$@ng beast mate. The yellow looks rad.

Thanks guys, hopefully the black takes it to the next level.

Did a digital mock up of what I want it to look like:

http://i.imgur.com/kaF140Y.png

Not really sure how to mask off the circle to get the pinstripe around the decal, but I'm sure I can work something out.

its a stunner mate, awesome yellow!

Brodie, great painting job! The yellow looks killer. You could buy yourself some Frisket film from an art shop and cut yourself a circle of exactly the diameter you need. I used Frisket to mask off the hot rod flames on my BC-1 and it worked very well. Might take a couple of passes to get the inner and outer circles etc.

cheers,
Gav.

UPDATE:

Thanks Gav, I'll look into that. The black inner circle is included in the decal, so all I'll have to worry about is masking off the yellow circle (making life slightly easier).

I did some sanding on the body a while back (after only a few coats) and broke through in places, so I had to build up again. This time I have applied approximately 8 thin coats, hopefully giving myself plenty of room to wet sand the orange peel off. As is customary, here are the photos of the new, improved yellow coats. ;)

http://i.imgur.com/h2la3AN.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/B25Wi3j.jpg

good stuff Brodie, looking nice and glossy. Keep up the good work

Looking great Brodie!

cheers,
Gav.

UPDATE:

https://www.dynadot.com/community/image?image_id=676

Things are heating up in the Wasp kitchen!

Got a sweet little package in the post on Wednesday, containing three of these bad boys:

http://i.imgur.com/VmZxJ6W.jpg?1

Andy has done a phenomenal job, at a great price. If you're reading this, thank you good sir, for such quality. :)

Today I spent about 1.5 hours wet-sanding, and 3 hours masking the body off for painting. To say I am tired is an understatement. But here is the fruits of my labours:

http://i.imgur.com/XT9Qoma.jpg Back

http://i.imgur.com/tUz3wIT.jpg Top Side

http://i.imgur.com/43EdEp8.jpg?1 Bottom Side

http://i.imgur.com/pLtO3IW.jpg Front

http://i.imgur.com/DdUwVog.jpg?1 Front w Decal

Masking off the circle for the decal to sit on proved to be a lot easier than I thought it would be. The hardest part was finding something the right size to mark out the circle with!

What I ended up doing was cutting my painters tape into thirds (making it more like pinstripe tape) allowing me to bend it at very sharp angles for the circle. I can't believe how well I got it to turn out, having never done this before:

http://i.imgur.com/KdTeIms.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/VegSdDO.jpg?1

Tomorrow is when the black will be going on. Excited, and nervous. If it stuffs up, that will be 4.5 hours of work today for nothing, so fingers crossed it doesn't. Pictures will be up the moment I have them.

Enjoy. :)

Ooooo exciting bro!! I love it when a plan starts to come together. Diggin' that sticker too man, Andy's done a bang up job!

Thats an amazing job Andy. Looking great Brodie

Great stuff Brodie. Kicking goals!. Heck of a masking job there.

Brodie, your vision is coming alive and you are building what seems to be the best mockingbird body I've seen on these pages. This is a ripper mate.

nice job Brodie and love Andys Wasp logo. Its all worth the time to mask it properly.
My 4D mate Wayne has drilled into my head the 3 P's, Preparation,Preparation,Preparation haha

Love the creativity on this board!

Cheers lads. :)

@Stan: Don't know about that mate. Barrylicious' dipped design was pretty fantastic I thought.

@Wokka: Hopefully I have been able to prepare it well enough. If this stuffs up I will be right pissed. :P

About to go paint, so pictures should be up in the next few hours and/or this evening. Wish me luck!

Good luck with the black man, cannot wait to see her in all her stripy glory!!

Nah man you've got this. If the quality of work so far is anything to go by, you'll nail the black.

UPDATE:

Great success! Black coats are on, and my tin is empty. I managed to squeeze a mist coat, and four full coats out of the can, which should be more than enough, I'm hoping. Not sure when I will remove the tape yet (want plenty of dry time first) but I am so very excited to see whether the masking has worked. But, here it is, in all its glory whilst still taped:

http://i.imgur.com/7OuBZen.jpg Front

http://i.imgur.com/F7Jwtvg.jpg Back

Any pointers from the pros as to when I should think about tape removal?

Cheers lads (and ladies). :)

Straight after the tack has gone, did you use a 3m straight edge tape or straight with masking tape? If no straight edge tape then very lightly run a blade around your mask. For bleed free lines you should be using a bleed free straight edge tape.

3M Scotch-Blue Painter's Tape, Jarrod.

Now you've got me worried. :P

UPDATE:

PRAISE BE TO THE FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER!

Something had to go right for me in at least one of my builds, and I am over the moon that it was this that worked!

Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, may I present to you, my WASP!

http://i.imgur.com/5UWpPlH.jpg Front

http://i.imgur.com/QomuRVF.jpg Back

http://i.imgur.com/HI16N7M.jpg Top

http://i.imgur.com/8w254UE.jpg Bottom

http://i.imgur.com/pVh6vjh.jpg Lower Horn

http://i.imgur.com/AFyE52g.jpg The worst bleeding I had (there's a few spots like this)

I am so friggen ecstatic right now! Just wanted to say a big thanks to everyone who's helped me get to this point.

Homeward stretch, baby! Yeah!

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RJysC3ecYl...0/smiley03.jpg

I for one love the wasp. Excellent!

Well done dude. Outstanding result.

Looks really nice man. Great job.

You pulled it off man, beautifully done Brodie! Now for the shiny bits :-)