B7 Attack Craft - front section nearly done

Hard to make out here, what with the hull and some of the Lego pieces being clear, but i'm almost done on this section. Don't want to put on any more panel lines as, with it being a compound curve, the nearer i put them the more difficult it is to keep them symmetrical. Also holding off putting on any more detail at the mo' as i've run out of nice, tiny, detailed greeblies and i'm hoping the donor kits (which, AGAIN, didn't turn up today) will have some and don't want to put on any old piece, only to regret it in a couple of days.

Ditto the Glazebrook and Battlecruiser.

B7 Attack Craft - the Probes

Still modelling standing up, and it ain't 'alf doing me back in - but a nice, easy bit of work done this morning.

Because the blue shroud i've put on the front is attached to the mouth-piece of the inhaler, which is open, there's no real way of glueing it nor the probes in place.

Got round that by filling the shroud with Milliput and pushing the shroud over the mouth-piece. The slow setting time of the Milliput has the double benefit of allowing me to move the shroud until i was happy with it, and then i could push the seperate probes into the Milliput, taking my time making sure everything was level and nicely spaced out.

In the background you can see i've painted the inside of the EMA Hemispheres with Tamiya Clear Red. I was toying with the idea of adding darker shades or a different colour and swirling them around to try and convey an energy vortex as the power source. But each coat darkens the colour further and i don't think it'd show with the panel lines on. And i also don't want to balls it up.

Blakes 7 System Attack Craft

Probably lunacy to take another project on with so many at various stages of completion already.

But, with me sitting here twiddling me thumbs waiting for various donor kits to arrive, why not?

My good friend Ian Ward came round yesterday, bringing tons of graphic novels to read during my recuperation.

He also brought this shape that another good friend Dave Trelfer had passed on, thinking i could use it in some way.

Its a nice bunch of compound curves and straight away reminded me of the System Attack Craft seen in the second series of Blakes 7. These were smaller, combat ships built by the same race that built the Liberator, hence the design similarities.

As i say, it reminded me of them, no more, and of course i couldn't use this shape i had to make my own.

But a few years ago i made my own Liberator but, rather than slavishly follow the original, i did a riff on the design, keeping enough elements to make it reconisable.

And that's i think i'll do here. I'm going to make it up as i go along, keeping these basic elements:

probes at the front,

white,

panelling in the mid-section,

red ball at the back with white panelling.

Apart from that, gawd knows where's its gonna go. Had a play around with some bits this morning. You can see here i've put a shroud thing where the probes will be attached and dug out two clear EMA hemispheres for the ball. They might be a bit too big. Don't know whether to have the ball just attached to the main section like this, or have the tube part that the original sports.

By the way, the screen grab of the original comes courtesy of John and his excellent Titan Find site, the maker of my B7 Pursuit Ship, along with the Liberator and Attack Craft (how i wish i'd got them when i ahd the chance) and his new Scorpio:

http://www.titanfind.com/

U.S.S. Glazebrook - starting

Right, about time i started adding things. There's not too many areas Andrews left bare so its going to be quite simple to finish them off.

The top pic shows how i've used - i think - Fine Moulds TIE Fighter parts to cover a couple of areas.

Next pic has the start of covering up the two rear facing blank areas. I've used "Baco" bricks for this, which are kind clunky but i really like them (used them on the top of my Battlecruiser too).

I was put on to them by Martin Bower who used them extensivly on his 1999 Dragon Ship (see last pic).

Battleship - more progress

Can get out of bed now, but can't sit on anything other than the computer chair. Been modelling though - by standing at the bench. As you can see, i'm still adding bits and pieces to this beastie. Got 3 kits on the way for the Gateway Station ship build so figure i'll have even more to add soon.

Ripley - ding DONG!

Never seen this shot before - and thought i'd share it. Nuff' said.

Gateway Shuttle - discrepencies

Curiouser and curiouser...Just printed some pics off for reference - and there's a jarring discrepency. Take a look at the front mandibles

A circular plate, vertically attached to the framework right? Now look at the next shot.

Instead of the flat plate, we now have something curving in towards the centre of the ship. And on the other side from it, a projecting piece facing foward. Are we seeing the same thing i came across with the Psydon Ship - photos show the ship some time after filming, when parts had fallen off or new parts were attached in way of repair?

Creature From The Black Lagoon

Watched this again for the first time in about 5 years. And, while the Creature design is a rightful classic and Julie Adams is very easy on the eye, i still don't rate it that much.

Sure it had plenty of impact at its time, but the plot is so old and cliched now that it makes for difficult viewing.

Ditto anything filmed in 3D but shown in 2D - there's only so many wobbly claws being dangled in front of me that i can take.

But mainly its the AWFUL signature theme for the Creature that seems to be used every 5 seconds or so. Did they have to use it that much? And, if so, did it have to be played on such jarring, blaring trumpets????

Getting back on the modelling topic, here's my Horizon version of the fella - still in my mind the best kit produced of him.

Gateway Shuttle - puzzle solving

I said in my last post that i thought Bob Skotak had trimmed around the rear of the side windows.

Looking at this angle though, its obvious that he'd kept all the side section (coloured blue) but, if he'd done that, he'd have kept all the canopy. But, if you look at the area circled in yellow, the detail doesn't match the kit.

Looking then that what we've got is the whole part, with something laid on top of the very rear of the top of the canopy.

Am enjoying this mystery.

My Holy Grail

Off-topic, but real chuffed with this.

Back in the early 70's when i were a nipper of 10 or so, i used to regularly get this book out the library.

Don't think i ever read it - just poured over the photos. It would be many years before i saw all the films pictured here, but that didn't matter - i was enthralled by the creature designs and i'm sure the book started me on my way into SF, a huge love of 50's B Movies and a preference of B&W over colour stills.

Anyway, i've always wanted my own copy. Pleaded with the library to sell me theirs but no-go. Then one day it was gone. Resigned to never seeing it again, as i couldn't remember at all the name of it. But last week realised Amazon have a "published before" function to their search engine so typed in before 1980, had a scroll and there it was, published in 1971.

So, a happy, happy bunny.

Its way out of date of course, but recommend tracking it down as the pics are excellent, and some very rare, even now.

Gateway Shuttle - the basis

When i got back from hospital yesterday, the Tamiya Porsche kit was waiting for me.

Frustrating that i can't get started and just have to be content with looking at the parts.

The Porsche is, of course, the main front section of the Shuttle. Comparing the body shell to the finished craft, its obvious Bob Skotak only used some of it, cutting just to the rear of the canopy and losing most of the sides. You can see by the green line where i've roughly got to cut.

The kit is a little disapointing in that i'd kinda hoped Bob had used other parts from it on the build, and maybe he had - but there's none on show in the photos i've got.

The parts that i need for the rest of it are slowly coming together, but what i'm really stumped on right now is what was used at the front to cover the original wheel arches. They look like halves from an aircraft or helicopter.

But which?

U.S.S. Glazebrook a question of command

Hi there.

Sorry for the delay in updates, but i went into hospital yesterday for an operation.

Home now and i'm pretty much bed-ridden. But i have to get up from time to time to stop me seizing up, so thought i'd take a few snaps then go on the Net for a short while.

Can't do any modelling right now, but been umming and ahhing over what to use for the Command Deck for the Glazebrook. The first thing to decide before i can go any further is what's the scale of thing.

You can see in the top pic that i've placed a kit part from the SRN4 over the Plasticard blanking plate i'd already attached. Quite like this part as it suggests windows, and makes the ship pretty big. But its kinda clunky.

Second pic is more in keeping with the lines of the rest of the ship - but isn't really a command deck. So, if i use that, it'd be more a shroud for sensor devices that'd i'd put in there.

Thinking of using neither. What i'm on the lookout for is a slit-shape as i want the front to be sorta like the bridge of the Prison Shuttle in the Dredd film, or ditto of the Galactica Shuttle from the original series.

U.S.S. Glazebrook

Well, what else to call it?

Andrew Glazebrook has very kindly sent me this model that he started about 10 years ago and wondered if i'd like to finish it off?

Not 'arf!

Lovely, lovely work there Andrew and quite a daunting challenge to do it justice. But i knew it was coming so have kept back all my fine detail pieces that i might've used otherwise on my Battlecruiser.

Looking at it, the big question is what to use to fill the open space at front, which i figure will be the command deck.

Sulaco all done.

Nice timing, finishing this as i get my suit back. Its a lovely simple kit and love the tiny Dropship that comes with it. A nice touch that Halcyon didn't have to do - and must've been a bugger to master.

Battlecruiser - 3 parts attached

Here we are with the three sections all together. That was a lot easier thyan i thought it'd be as i found a marker pen was just the right diameter to fit in the orange part so it was just a case of making holes in the two foamboard parts and everything glued togther very well with Superglue.

What's proving to be a problem is that i never counted on the amount of parts i've used on the engine section moving the centre of gravity towards that end. So my plan of having it displayed on a rod going into the bottom at the front will need a rethink.

Still applying tons of panel lines and the odd tiny kit part. Tricks gonna be knowing when i'm done.

Aliens Gateway Station Shuttle

Never seen shots of this before, and its a nice, clunky design.

Looks to be a mix of helicopter tails, racing car parts and other stuff.

If i can figure out what to use, might have a go at making one - or at least a riff on the design.

My Aliens Colonial Marine Outfit

Nothing to do with modelling but i'm a happy bunny so thought i'd share it.

Back when Aliens came out, Film Review ran a competition and i won these Colonial Marine fatigues.

Treasured them dearly - but in '93 left my then home in a pretty traumatic way and it wasn't until about a year later i realised i'd left them behind. As the years went by the wounds healed but the more i left it, the more i couldn't justify getting back in touch - and potentailly causing huge upset - just for the suit.

But, 16 years on, decided to open up communications again and, to cut a REALLY long story short, got them back this week.

Rather stunned as i'd figured they'd have been chucked out years ago.

So, am a happy bunny again. The question still remains from back then - who's suit was it? The good thing 16 years later is the Internet, and i've asked this question. Inconclusive at the moment, all i know is that its not Hicks or Hudson's.

But they're original, they were used in the film, and i own them again.

And that's enough for me.

When Worlds Collide effects shots

What a joy to come across these. This is what its all about for me.

Battlecruiser - the top area

Quite a bit of progress - had a 15 hour shift at work Saturday all by myself so took the ship and loads of bits in and worked on it whenever i had a spare 10 minutes or so. You can see i've stuck with my idea of the upper midship area being the most detailed. I've also filled the rest of the bare upper area with some corrugated Plasticard. I'm also sticking with my initial idea of the sides being mainly bare. They actually look busier than they are because of the different coloured Go-Fasta stripes i've been using for panelling. Of course, once all the same colour, they won't be too noticible.I hope.

Battlecruiser - more detail

Okay, had another go at some detailing. What i like about doing a scratchbuild is the ability to go at your own pace, adding bits randomly, just wherever and whenever you like. Which is what i've been doing here. Put some more on the front - which the photo makes parts look wonky, but they're not. The dark green pieces are from 1/72nd Revell helicopter that i bought just because it has loads of tiny detail. The big grey slab thing is, of course, the mandible insert from the MPC Millenium Falcon.

I've ummed and ahhed as to what to do with the top, and here's the start of it. Thinking the main detail will be in this mid-section, with thinner detail fore and aft. To the aft are two pieces left over from a M.a.K project and the white large piece is from the Airfix SRN4 Hovercraft.

And here i'm building up the engine area. The grey pieces are from the HMS Belfast (great kit for parts) and, again, the white pieces are SRN4.

Battleship - the three sections

Okay my modelling chums, leaving you tonight for a weeks holiday but thought i'd show you where i'm up to with this beastie.

And here's the three separate sections put together. I toyed with different shapes for the engine area, mocking them up with Foamboard, but eventually decided to try and follow the lines of the main section. The connecting piece is interesting. Martin Bower sent me a bunch of greeblies last summer and in there was this. Its nothing more than a length of EMA tube with BIC disposable razor safety covers glued all round. Very simple and very effective.

Here's a closer look at that piece, and the very end of the engines. I was going to go with a traditional engine bell affair but then changed tack and went with this - two pices from two Starfury kits glued togteher. I was going to busy up all around them, but am now going to put a frame around it to just show these two.

Battlecruiser - paint scheme

Been thinking too that, after all the matt, camo schemes i've been doing for the Ma.K kits of late, that it'll be refreshing to go the opposite way.

So, a Peter Elson/Chris Foss scheme it is then. Thinking yellow with green detailing - think the colour opposite of Thunderbird 2.