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Another SS Galactica... - Satazius - 01-26-2014
...arrives
Thought I would start a new thread for the rest of the build.
You can see it get to this point here:
http://www.studioscalemodelers.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=1887
My Galactica in a nutshell: I admired SS builds from afar as I got back into modeling 7-8 years ago. Tried my hand at a few SS kits. Was wowed by the Pappas photos when they became public. And then Sean C’s maps changed my world. I bought a set of plans for Charles Adams in 2007 (and the revised plans in 2008). Eventually contacted Jim Key in 2008 and bought a set of laser-cut parts and a shitstorm of cast parts as they were working on their builds. The lasercut parts never shipped, as Jim found them to be inaccurate. Charles Adams came onto the project and in 2010 new parts were cut. The head was too complicated and needed to be made by Charles. “Mission creep” took over during the next year of slow progress and we eventually arrived at an agreement for him to assemble all the acrylic and styrene parts and I would detail it. Eventually we added the electronics to his burdens. In October of 2010 I went out to Seattle to visit Charles and go to the Galactica exhibit at the SF Museum. At that point the head was built and of course I got to see the finished CR Galactica build. Both were very inspirational.
As I waited for the hull to ship I started going thru the CR casts. This was very time consuming, especially since, at this point (starting in 2009), very few photos of the CR offerings were published and I was mostly going from the Seans maps or CR build photos. I had collected many of the kits I knew were not in the castings, so I worked on pulling those parts. This led to more and more styrene. I figured I’d like to build some of the other Galactica miniatures as well, so why not. Over the past 2 ½ years my build has slowly slid to about 95% styrene (not counting CR sub-assemblies). To date I have pulled about 3350 parts. All carefully bagged and sorted. I estimate there are around 3800 kit parts on the G.
Since I am a Cinematographer by trade, and effects photography is what got me interested in moviemaking as a kid, I have always wanted to film this miniature. This led to some additional demands on the lighting system Charles integrated into the build. Much of this is detailed in his “yet another SS Galactica” thread. He and Richard have done incredible work on it. I’m a bit embarrassed not to do more of that work myself, but it made sense and I would just never get it done in the limited hours I have available for modeling. And certainly I could never match the exquisite level of quality that they brought to bear or every facet of the build and electronics. I feel very fortunate they took on the job. I hope they both get a chance to work on their own builds soon, I know they have some special things planned for theirs.
As I really start digging into my part of the build, I want to thank Charles and Richard for there exceptional work. Well done sirs! Also Jim Key and the team at Custom Replicas. And all the folks who have built or are building one of these for the constant inspiration. Phil, Ken, Mel, Mike, Jase, Angelo DiSalvo, Sean Sides, Jim C. of course. Sean C. for all the work on the maps. Mr. Webac, SWhite, Bwayne64 and many others for part IDs. And a big thanks to Phil for his inspriarational work and warm welcome over the last few months into the SS Galactica community.
I'll try to attach some pics.
RE: Another SS Galactica... - Richard_2001 - 01-26-2014
Boy she sure does look pretty spectacular with all the islands on her
Glad you like the build thus far.
I can hardly wait to start mine
Richard
RE: Another SS Galactica... - star-art - 01-26-2014
You are most welcome! I have to say, of all the clients I have worked with, you are perhaps the nicest -- and definitely the most patient.
Can't wait to see the details go on. And the lights come on!
RE: Another SS Galactica... - Mr. Wabac - 01-26-2014
Best wishes with your project - even with the head start you have been given (amazing work Charles and Richard) you still have a long way to go !
RE: Another SS Galactica... - JAWS - 01-26-2014
Beautiful!
Look forward to the detailing.
RE: Another SS Galactica... - darkimmitator - 01-26-2014
Congrats on on the reciept of that fine piece of craftsman ship ( Amazing work and engineering Charles and Richard ) . Also welcome aboard this crazy group of Battlestar builders !! Looking forward to all and any posts of your build and progress . Buckle up , she's gonna be ride !!
RE: Another SS Galactica... - disalvo - 01-27-2014
(01-26-2014, 11:04 PM)darkimmitator Wrote: Congrats on on the reciept of that fine piece of craftsman ship ( Amazing work and engineering Charles and Richard ) . Also welcome aborad this crazy group of Battlestar builders !! Looking forward to all and any posts of your build and progress . Buckle up , she's gonna be ride !!
Great start!!!!! And welcome to this crazy hobby!!!!!! (Amazing work once again Charles and Richard)
RE: Another SS Galactica... - Wombat - 01-27-2014
It's just fantastic to see you finally have it home Jeff. What an incredible sometimes frustrating journey this has been for you already with things just getting to this point but really thats all a thing of the past now. There is hell of a lot of fun on the horizon at last for you which is all that matters now and you do have plenty to look forward to from here on end. It sure does look stunning even being naked! Even though you are hitting the ground running with what Charles and Richard have sent you theres still a hell of a lot to do as you know there. The good news is you can finally find that out for yourself there as the detailing goes on. Been fantastic talking with ya over the last few months there and having you join the small group of us crazy enough to be going down the same path. It may be a long path but get stuck into it and finally start having some real fun mate!
Congratulations!!
RE: Another SS Galactica... - LastBattlestar - 01-27-2014
Could this be the only Battlestar project in which the bare hull took longer to complete than the detailing?
Great to have you on board Jeff and welcome to the exclusive club! Ain't too many people on the planet brave enough to tackle this build!
Mike
RE: Another SS Galactica... - Mr. Wabac - 01-28-2014
I'm going for the longest build time record - I don't think anyone can out do me in that regard (unless you choose to rebuild your "G" another 3-4 times Mick)
BTW - Happy Australia Day (OK it was yesterday) to you, Phil, Jason and Brad and any other colonials I might have missed.
RE: Another SS Galactica... - Wombat - 01-28-2014
(01-28-2014, 09:17 AM)Mr. Wabac Wrote: I'm going for the longest build time record - I don't think anyone can out do me in that regard (unless you choose to rebuild your "G" another 3-4 times Mick)
BTW - Happy Australia Day (OK it was yesterday) to you, Phil, Jason and Brad and any other colonials I might have missed.
Thanks Bill.. Australia day was the 26th here but they gave us Monday off to celebrate it..
Oh please don't go giving Mike any ideas cos knowing Mike he may just give you a run for your money there.. He just loves looking for a new reason to rip that build of his apart.
RE: Another SS Galactica... - Satazius - 01-30-2014
Thanks all for the kind words of welcome. My day job pulls me away from modeling for extended stretches sometimes, so I fully expect to end up last at the finish line. (There is a finish line... right?). I know it will probably be years before those resin islands are glued down. But everything is here under one roof now, so that's progress.
Since I hope to build other SS Galactica models, and they share donor kits, I decided to wash all the kits before pulling parts. I really, really hate washing lots of little bits, so it seemed to make sense. But it was weeks and weeks of washing kits - over 300 at this point. I've build hobby kits in the time it took me to just wash these parts. And then going thru the maps and confirming (or not) the parts listed took 14 months. So I know gluing them down will be even more time consuming. And there are still the unmapped areas, which I've started going over, and all the un-identified parts and it can seem like a bottomless pit sometimes. But then I see all the people making progress and sharing questions and discoveries and it all seems doable. Just takes time, effort, camaraderie and cooperation.
I have to say once again how amazed I am at the work of Charles and Richard. The whole thing is a real jewel. I didn't realize that the various larger panels on the bay tops had mapped and lasercut, as well as the shark-tooth sweepback on the head by the bridge. I was not looking forward to doing that bit by hand with styrene for sure, so that was a pleasant surprise.
RE: Another SS Galactica... - LastBattlestar - 01-30-2014
Don't hesitate Jeff, there is an awesome amount of detailing work to be done. Even if you stick on a couple of parts a day, try and keep rolling. You might even finish before Charles and Richard...
But you have a great head start, particularly in the panel scribing and electricals. Pity we couldn't get the outer panels 3D printed with all the chips in place. Now THAT would be a time saver!
Can't wait to see her on film with lots of cool shots we never saw in the show.
Mike
RE: Another SS Galactica... - Satazius - 01-31-2014
Thanks Mike. It is a long journey. You get there by putting one foot in front of the other. I’ve set things up so I can be productive in 15-20 spare minutes here or there. And take advantage of every little chunk of time I can.
So, while I'm probably going to concentrate on the engine first, I started working over this front end a bit. I have a CR cast part to use as the basis of a nose plate, but I'll also be building one from scratch. I'm going to be making some swappable parts for my build so it can be displayed as the Galactica or as another Battlestar that has some variations. One of those variations is an opening nose cap that reveals a large weapon. I had started shaping this piece awhile back (sometimes I just really wanted to start gluing things together!) but I couldn’t do any final sizing until I had the head. I suspected there might be shrinkage in the CR cast part so I didn’t trust its contours to be exact. Now that the head (and everything else) is here I can proceed.
The CR part has the Doyusha Yamato part cast into it along the top, which is useful, since, as far as I can tell, it’s the only part of that kit that you need two of (its also used on the SB waist), but has only one per kit. So it precludes needing to buy another just for that part.
There are Leopold parts also cast onto the surface. Looking at photos, however, it looks to me like that part is ABOVE the surface. Note how the shadow falls in the attached photo. I have seen other photo evidence that is inconclusive, but this seems pretty clear to me. So I might end up sanding that part off or use the CR plate as my alternative part and live with it.
RE: Another SS Galactica... - darkimmitator - 01-31-2014
The leopold part definately looks to be above the surface of the noseplate body !
RE: Another SS Galactica... - LastBattlestar - 01-31-2014
Yep, separate part. Grind off the casting. Get moving Jeff, don't hesitate.
oMike
RE: Another SS Galactica... - padawan-builder - 02-01-2014
Welcome Jeff,
i don't get online much these days, but better late then never. I was wondering where Charles' latest creation was going to end up. It is an amazing work of art. I envy your starting point. But as everyone else has already said, there is still much to do. Look forward to your update postings.
As for that finish line, I think I may yet be the last to cross it. But it looks like there will be plenty of company as we get closer.
Again, welcome to the club.
Mel
RE: Another SS Galactica... - Satazius - 02-02-2014
Thanks Mel, never would have started the race if there weren't folks out there paving the road ahead of me.
You're right Mike. I need the Doyusha Yamato part as I don't have a second kit, but I think I can clean that casting up. The Doyusha is not exactly a example of crisp detail anyway.
RE: Another SS Galactica... - Wombat - 02-02-2014
That came out looking good so now it's time to go get stuck into it. It's a pretty good starting point and a little piece that looks pretty damn cool once it's covered in all the greeblies. Have fun and look forward to seeing it detailed there.