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Its way out of date of course, but recommend tracking it down as the pics are excellent, and some very rare, even now.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

Battlecruiser - getting started

So here we go with putting on plasticard panels and also the tried and tested Go-Fasta stripes.

I want to have a slab-like feel to the sides so won't be putting anything on that juts out too far. You can see that i've put on a rounded shape, which is the underside bit to a tank turret. Thinking that maybe its an airlock, i scribed the plasticard vertically underneath it to suggest doors.

What i don't want though is everything to be 90 degrees to each other and pretty bland, so will be having a bit of variation in places. This applies to the front, which i don't want to be just a flat surface. Was thinking of building a command deck area out from this bit and my son's suggestion that it looks a bit like a Jawa Sandcrawler has me thinking i'll try and emualte the front of that. A bit.

Battlecruiser

Been looking around for something new to build - but spare cash is non-existant. So thought i'd have another go at a scratchbuild - they're cheap, uses up a lot of ammased junk and no-one can tell me i'm wrong.

So three quid spent at the craft shop gets me a large sheet of 3mm foamboard and here's the start.

I've deliberatly gone for a design that's a lot of flat surfaces - for some reason most of my scratchbuilds have been curved shapes, which create all sorts of problems and limitations when adding detail and i wanted to do away with all that.

I wanted a nice blocky battlecruiser look, with a big bulbous front a la the Dreadnaughts in Babylon 5 or Mark Harrisons ships in Durham Red. I also wanted to contrast it with some curves somewhere to break it up a bit and went with what you see here - a nod to Henry Flints brilliant ship design in Shakara.

Not started yet will be an engine section at back joined by a tube i think.

Psydon Ship - thank you Mr Bower

These bumps either side of the neck were always going to be a problem. I've known for quite a while that they're from the AMT "Man In Space" kit, which is pretty scarce these days and a LOT of money when i only need a couple of tiny bits from out.

Talking about it to Martin Bower and it turns out they're actually a combination of that kit and EMA.

Depression sets in - but next day Martin had bunged a couple that he'd made up for me in the post and here they are.

Dead chuffed with them. The only thing i have to do is widen the blanking plate they sit on as i'd not made it quite wide enough.

Lunar Dweller

This is the start of the group build project over on the SFMUK site, to commerate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing.

Basically, do anything you like as long as it has some connection to a Lunar landing.

Not giving too much away just yet as i may well change my mind how i'm going to go about it.

But here's the start - its an Airfix Lunar Module that'd been part built and painted (rather badly) and that's why i got it cheap.

Didn't mind though as i originally bought it just for its feet, needing them for my Psydon Ship.

So i'm gonna end up with a footless LM, but a few carefully placed lunar rocks should disguise that.

Andrew Glazebrook's Blog

About time i pointed you in the direction of Andrew's Blog page - always entertaining, always interesting and one i check out most mornings with a coffee.

http://bsmbow.blogspot.com/

Top work there Andrew. Jealous much that mine's not so much fun.

Psydon ship - another disaster

So, still pleased with myself for getting that Saturn 1B, even more so when i realise the part for the neck fits really snugly over the B&Q piping i've used for the support rod (pic2).

But now i've got this far, something that's been bugging me for a while now is how does the neck attach to the very curved rear of the Command Module? (pic1)

I first thought it must actually be recessed into the beak, but the neck is situated very low down on it - pretty much half on the beak, half hanging down, as does the flange around it (pic3 shows the flange hanging down on the underside).

But as you can see from pic 4, the neck seamlessly fits onto the CM.

Was having a natter with Martin Bower last night and he said the reason it does that, and i REALLY should have spotted, is that the back of the original was flat. Mine's not, it being a vacform of a 44inch Eagle beak.

So what the heck am i to do?