Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey

Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Printable Version

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Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 01-27-2010

Gentlemen,

Here is the 3D model I have been working on. I started with Charles Adams Version I set of plans and have been tweaking and reworking them since about 2003. The long research time has been due to the almost utter lack of good pictures until the Chris Pappas DVD set came out.

This is where I am at now, this is drawn at full size so any measurement I need for the build is handy! Rebuilding the replica will be held to a minimum since I will know all the parts will fit before I ever put any pieces together.

[Image: battlestar1.png]

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - LastBattlestar - 01-28-2010

Awesome Richard, it looks good to me!

I envy you guys starting out on these builds. Being built so long ago, but constantly being modified, I'll never have an accurate Battlestar unless I start again. That ain't happening! Smile

Mike

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - 427 Cobra - 01-28-2010

Don't sell yourself short,Mike! There may be someone making the kit parts available,so that everyone can have an accurate Battlestar!

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - JAWS - 01-28-2010

Wow Richard that is just Fantastic! I love it man wow. Nothing like research mate. If your going to build it might aswell make it as accurate as possible. Very impressive work. Everyones going to love your ply mockups mate!

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 01-28-2010

(01-28-2010, 06:55 AM)jasonwright.1972 Wrote: Wow Richard that is just Fantastic! I love it man wow. Nothing like research mate. If your going to build it might aswell make it as accurate as possible. Very impressive work. Everyones going to love your ply mockups mate!

Jason,

Thanks, It has been a long road to get this far but along the way I have met some really fine people so the journey has been a pleasant one.

PS the mock ups are balsa ;-)

(01-28-2010, 01:13 AM)LastBattlestar Wrote: Awesome Richard, it looks good to me!

I envy you guys starting out on these builds. Being built so long ago, but constantly being modified, I'll never have an accurate Battlestar unless I start again. That ain't happening!

Mike

Mike,

Thanks mate! Your Battlestar has been one of my inspirations and even with all that I know is not super accurate about it it still is one sweet looking ship and you have a right to be proud of her. Just remember that the Apogee team rebuilt the original a lot as well, they just did it a lot faster than us ;-)

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 02-03-2010

Gentlemen,

Here are the Balsa physical mock-up pictures Jason mentioned earlier.

these are almost 2 years old now and were of immense help in getting the virtual mock-up into the shape it is now. There were many, many more partial and half mock-ups as well but I did not take many pictures of them as I did not have a good camera at that time and they all came out too blurry to use.

[Image: mockup50.jpg]

[img][IMG=http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/1425/mockup53.jpg][/IMG][/img]
[Image: nosecone1.jpg]

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - JAWS - 02-03-2010

Richard OOps!!! Sorry Balsa.... Confused

Hey love this pic. I molded this & comes out great but after looking at reference realised I took that little part off the back Dodgy

Now I have to remold it with it back on so its accurate. Bugger!!

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 02-03-2010

Jason,

hehehe learning experience! The 257 is a very hard cast to do the others are much easier to mold :-)

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - JAWS - 02-03-2010

Thats why I did the solid cast... But once I sorta knew what I was doing I can get the thin casts done most times with no gaps. I also added a bit where a little etra resin could flow which you can see on the back of the hollow cast just to help. It'll be kool, I know alot more now than I did when I made that mold & it still came out ok.

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 02-03-2010

Jason,

By the time you are done casting up parts for a battlestar and the Star Wars Ships you will be a PRO at it!

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - LastBattlestar - 02-03-2010

The mockups look really great Richard. It looks spot on in all areas to me. However, styrene is cheaper than balsa, so why not use that instead? If the styrene mockup is correct, then you already have your Battlestar done instead of building it twice...

Sorry, I'm an 'on the fly' builder. Mockups, schmockups! Big Grin

Mike

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 02-03-2010

Mike,

Thanks!

At the time I was building the mock-ups I had a lot of balsa on hand leftover from various RC ship and plane projects plus the hardware store in town carries it as well so I had a good continuing supply of it.

Blame Charles for the mock-ups he is the one who got me started on them. lol Also it was easier for me to figure out proper angles, sizes and parts fit with the mock-ups and build the real deal once.

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - LastBattlestar - 02-03-2010

Hey, sorry bout that, I'm just an impatient bugger, that's all!

Charles? That sounds about right. I've been waiting TEN YEARS to see decent pics of his Battlestar! Big Grin

Yeah, we're old timers in this project that's fer sure.

Mike

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 02-03-2010

(02-03-2010, 10:19 PM)LastBattlestar Wrote: Hey, sorry bout that, I'm just an impatient bugger, that's all!

Charles? That sounds about right. I've been waiting TEN YEARS to see decent pics of his Battlestar! Yeah, we're old timers in this project that's fer sure.

Mike

Mike,

No problem mate! I am pretty easy going about things, no harm done ;-)

I have seen Charles replica twice in person, it is stunning!!!!!!!!! but he has been trying to sell it and start over with the custom replicas stuff he has been working on, which I have seen some of those parts he had as well and they are magnificent!

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - KrokoHunter - 05-08-2010

Hey Richard

Great to see those pics of your mockup again. Been a while since I last saw them Big Grin

Guys, I'm telling you. I've been following Richard progress----setbacks----progress---progress---setbacks---- progress for years and year .. and the amount of hours and love he's put into this research .. it's well .. word can't describe it ... your work is awesome, mate ... can't wait to see you get started on the G herself ... and I hope to see it IRL sometime in the future.

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 05-09-2010

Niel's,

Glad to see you buddy and thanks!

Hopefully when the weather stops raining down on me I can get out the welder and assemble my armature.

Helping out Jason I found some problems with my waist section, but I have a handle on it now so all is going according to plan (the plan is to get it right before building this expensive critter)

Take care!

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Wombat - 07-20-2010

Hey Richard,

Well it's been a couple of months now,has it stopped raining down on ya yet?

I guess really all i wanna know is any news mate?With all your years of work you along with Charles and Mike,should be the ones to have completed Galactica's there to be very proud of.Mike is well on the way with his own and Charles just posted where his previous build had got up to.That thing looks awesome mind you,i'm sure it looked bloody killer seeing it in person!I fully understand from seeing Mike's that pictures just don't caputure the real size of it all.They are sick as you fully know!

Anyway,hows it looking there,i'm looking forward to seeing your build underway at last! Cool

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 07-21-2010

Phil,

Yes, it has gone from raining every day to nice sunny and hot! I am getting a lot done outside in preparation for welding up my armature. Nothing to show so far but I found a serious problem with the nose on my 3D mock-up and had to rebuild it. I have almost got it ready for making patterns for the head bulkheads. I am in material stockpile mode of operations at the moment and I am still working on the building dock (workbench), so I have room to work on this beast inside before the fall and winter months. I am still needing several very expensive kits that have parts that are the base for detailing as well so I have to save up money for that too. All in all it is still going forward with gusto if not speed. Smile

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Wombat - 07-21-2010

Well thats all good to hear,well except for the lil problem you discovered.Infact that you discovered it is good really but i'm sure you know what i mean.So your armature design is settled on there right?Understand the gathering of materials and especially the kit's.It's all time and lot's of money but i'd hope once you have things design wise settled on you'll be making a start and getting those kit's when you actually need em.A good dockyard is a must and something i don't actually have here at present,that will need to change pretty soon for a build of this scale.It's a bloody big thing alright! LOL

Anyway,good to hear you are making progress,still looking forward to seeing you make a start up there sometime soon! Smile

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - JAWS - 07-22-2010

Yeah Im glad to hear your making a start Richard. I really look forward to your build.

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 07-22-2010

Phil & Jason,

Rest easy boys I will post it here first for sure!

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Wombat - 07-22-2010

And we look forward to that!

More importantly though will be just the fact that you'll finally be starting on the actual build though.Thats what it's all about,you having this beastie under construction and you on that final journey with it all after all the years of researching mate.

Hope that fun begins there soon,Richard. Smile

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Battlestar1563 - 07-23-2010

Richard,
Cant wait to see your G start to take shape. you've always been a great help and friend to me for years.It's time to get it off the page and into reality. LET"S GO!!!! I have no doubt that it'll be one of the greats out there. !!
Ron

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 01-02-2011

Gentlemen,

I have been working on figuring out all the scribe lines and plating detail on my replica and for the last 3 months tweaking everything to fit it all in. Since the original is not symmetrical in many areas, this required some fancy finagling of line and plate placement to catch the look correctly. My replica will not be exact, I knew this going into the project almost a decade ago but I must admit it is turning out to look a lot better than I had originally hoped for. I am happy to report that I would be in the same boat as a lot of other builders in not being happy with my replicas accuracy if it were not for the 3D modeling fixing errors before construction begins. I would recommend to anyone starting a Scratch-build SS replica model or a freelance design to plot it out in 3D, it relieves a lot of headaches!

I rebuilt the head, waist, and engine sections totally in the last 12 months to incorporate a lot of the character of the original but maintain symmetry, Jason and Phil have seen a lot of the waist and engine areas over this last year to aid in their builds and know the effort it takes to get parts to fit in former asymmetrical areas made symmetrical.

Here are a few of the of the pictures of my labors:

[Image: battlestarhead1.jpg]

Thanks for looking and heres to a great 2011!

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Wombat - 01-02-2011

Wow,that looks absolutely fantastic there,Richard!!

I honestly don't know how you guys draw this stuff up on a computer but it's obviously a lot of work when you get to see such things as these shot and some of the others that you have mentioned.Seriously that is so cool on one hand and a little intimidating on the other.This build ain't just about gluing part's on,not that that would be easy either but the scribe work alone is a job upon itself on this monster.

You must be getting close ta starting the building,is that armature together yet?
Looks good on the computer,it's time ta see the practical build now!

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 01-02-2011

Phil,

Thanks! it is a lot of work to build it in the computer, but really it is much less effort than building a physical model several times to get it right! Right Mike?

I am close to actual construction only one more area to figure out before building left and that is the cross tubes/coffin interface which should be fairly easy. Wink

Like Joe, I made an armature, actually about the same time as Ron (Battlestar1563) did his, but it was built prematurely and needed a total rework so I purchased new armature material with my Christmas Money and am going to build up a new one. Big Grin

Hopefully I will have pictures of it before the end of the month if all goes well. Then comes the structure and skinning oh boy! Smile

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - JAWS - 01-02-2011

Good to see you chipping away at this still Richard. Fantastic work as usual.

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 01-02-2011

Jason,

Thanks! Still plugging away little by little! Big Grin

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - LastBattlestar - 01-02-2011

(01-02-2011, 07:04 PM)Richard_2001 Wrote: Phil,

Thanks! it is a lot of work to build it in the computer, but really it is much less effort than building a physical model several times to get it right! Right Mike?

Maybe!

It's gonna be REALLY interesting to see mine parked next to Phil's- I'm positive that it will be at least 10% bigger overall! The poor thing has been sitting collecting dust since the last major overhaul.

The CG model looks fantastic Richard.

Mike

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - LastBattlestar - 01-02-2011

(01-02-2011, 07:04 PM)Richard_2001 Wrote: Phil,

Thanks! it is a lot of work to build it in the computer, but really it is much less effort than building a physical model several times to get it right! Right Mike?

Maybe!

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 01-02-2011

Mike,

Thanks! It would be very interesting to gather up a dozen or so replica's and see how everyone solved the myriad of problems compared to everyone else! I bet no 2 would look identical for sure!

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - darkimmitator - 01-03-2011

That is some amazing scribe line details on your CG Model there Richard . Some really good stuff !!!!!

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 01-03-2011

darkimmitator,

Thanks! It turned out better than I had hoped for. Big Grin

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - star-art - 01-04-2011

Looking good! Smile

Happy New Year to all!

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 01-04-2011

Charles,

Thanks! Glad you are back online for a bit again Smile

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Wombat - 12-28-2011

[COUGH] BUMP!! [/Cough]

You must have something ta show by now other than just crates? Tongue

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 12-28-2011

Phil,

Actually, it has been furious activity behind the scenes making changes, designing patterns and jigs in what little free time Charles has left me: the slave driver has got me working hard on his stuff that is taking up all my shop room Wink

getting all those fancy new parts shipped to you is just the tip of the iceberg mate, there are more crates to build so Charles can ship the rest of his parts to other customers. I did dig out my metal cutting band saw to start cutting steel tube now that my plans are locked. If Charles lets me have any time I might even get them cut up Smile

another thing is my budget for this build is minuscule compared to yours, Jason's etc so I have to go really slow in just about everything collecting kits materials

think studio scale on a Ramen noodles budget and you are probably close lol

Rest assured that things are moving forward though at a pretty steady pace Smile

Happy New year everyone!!!!! Big Grin

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - star-art - 12-28-2011

That's great. Now, back to work!!! LOL (ducks and runs for cover)

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 12-28-2011

hehehehehehehee Tongue

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Wombat - 12-29-2011

Well good yo hear!

That being your own behind the scenes progress that is. Finally tweaked it to the point you are good to go then, been a while getting there but if ya finally happy with it all then thats positive news. Now time to put all that into practice and get those jigs made so you can build your armature. You'll just need to BS to Charles for a bit while you do something towards your own build. He'll be fine, he's gotta build em first before they need crates. Wink

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - LastBattlestar - 12-29-2011

C'mon Richard, it's time to start building. 10 years without even an armature must be frustrating? Trust me, you don't want it to be a 10 year plus build like mine either! I do it on zero budget too, just taught myself how to resin cast and find creative solutions. Once you get over your starting phobia, you'll be wonderin why you didn't do it 5 years ago.... Smile

Just remember, that 1mm inaccuracy will probably be covered by ten kit parts.....

Mike

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 02-13-2012

Gentlemen,

Well it has been a long time coming but I finally started cutting parts for my build. Thanks to Phil's poking and prodding and nagging I began modifying kit parts for my engine lid, getting them all to fit properly has been real intense job and I learned a lot of things I thought I knew about the Galactica were not entirely correct.

But with out further delay here are the pictures of the progress so far. I used a trial version of Sketch Up Pro Layout to print out a full sized copy of my lid 3D model to put the parts on to get the size they needed to be. Then came the nerve wracking part cutting expensive plastic without screwing it up! managed to get over the shock pretty fast though and I am now an old hand with the razor saw and files.

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Wombat - 02-15-2012

Richard,

It's looking PFG to my eyes what you got there so well done on getting where ya are with it there. Of course this is only the start of it but least ya know all of that is gonna transfer straight onto your lid once you've had that cut. That'll speed that side of things up if nothing else. Sorry though, i wont be letting up on ya, it's time ta pull that finger out and get building my friend!! Smile

Look forward to seeing the CA in action soon!! Cool

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - JAWS - 02-16-2012

That looks outstanding Richard.

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 02-16-2012

Thanks Phil!

Thanks Jason!

I am pretty happy with how it is turning out myself Smile

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - star-art - 02-18-2012

You already know what I think. You've done an amazing job laying everything out and this sort of thing takes making a mockup to a whole new level. Still, now that you've got it figured out, it's time to get building! LOL

Hopefully you can get a real plastic base panel soon and then all those parts you so carefully trimmed can be glued down for good. Smile

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 02-18-2012

(02-18-2012, 03:30 AM)star-art Wrote: You already know what I think. You've done an amazing job laying everything out and this sort of thing takes making a mockup to a whole new level. Still, now that you've got it figured out, it's time to get building! LOL

Hopefully you can get a real plastic base panel soon and then all those parts you so carefully trimmed can be glued down for good.

Charles,

Thanks! Yeah I am pretty stoked about how it is coming out too and drooling over getting a lid manufactured to glue parts onto. First gotta learn how to make laser cutting patterns Wink

Richard

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - joewhite - 02-19-2012

Sorry....I haven't read the entire thread but what program are using to make vector drawings for laser cutting?

Don't throw rocks at me guys but I've never seen an episode of BSG. Just never got into it for some reason. I do know I like the original Raider based off of the look of it and also the donor part choices. I'd like to eventually get a kit from Jase.

But the Galactica I've never paid attention to at all. Your build, Richard, is making me want to learn about and watch the OG episodes. I love the assembled parts in the last pics! Really cool...and really expensive looking! Tongue

Can't wait to see more!

Joe

RE: Richard's Battlestar Galactica Journey - Richard_2001 - 02-19-2012

(02-19-2012, 08:31 AM)joewhite Wrote: Sorry....I haven't read the entire thread but what program are using to make vector drawings for laser cutting?

Don't throw rocks at me guys but I've never seen an episode of BSG. Just never got into it for some reason. I do know I like the original Raider based off of the look of it and also the donor part choices. I'd like to eventually get a kit from Jase.

But the Galactica I've never paid attention to at all. Your build, Richard, is making me want to learn about and watch the OG episodes. I love the assembled parts in the last pics! Really cool...and really expensive looking! Can't wait to see more!

Joe

Joe,

Thanks! I output my Sketch Up model in layout to make a orthographic drawing and now I am attempting to learn Corel Draw to trace it for the vector drawings needed by the laser cutter.

and yes the parts needed can be really expensive ;-)

Richard