SS ANH ISD DEVESTATOR

[JAWS]

Ok Ive been dreaming of this one one since I first saw Star Wars when it was first released. I actually went to the next session straight after it ended. totally blew my 5 year old mind apart...
So it begins.

Started working on the Bridge this afternoon.
I have to thank Julien for being a massive influesnce.
Eric Ckwanwoo, Isel & all the guys at the RPF for what they have done working on there projects.
Without there work I would not attempt this project.

I have started mocking it up in 1mm Styrene that I went & got from the storage shed.
I only have one kit that got delivered the other day for sizing which is the Fujimi M4A1 Sherman.
Looks like theres at least 3-4 of them used on the Bridge.
I am waiting for the Scharnhorst & Ticonderoga to arrive hopefully any day which will help with the scaling.
I hope to have my printer set up soon & will do as Isel did by printing the picture up until I can sit the pieces on flush. That should make it very accurate.
im just bored & need something to do.
Im relatively happy with what I did today & will just refine it over the next weeks until its right.
I will then post Templates for other modelers to use if they choose to have a crack at building this model.

Its currently held together with sticky tape so is a wonky & unsecured.

[scratchy]

Nice start Jase! Great things are about to happen,.... I can feel it in me bones

[darkimmitator]

You Sir , now have a lot on your plate !!!!!!! millenium falcon , ss bsg shuttle ,ss battlestar ,and now a ss stardestroyer !!!!! Do you sleep ? WOW !!!!! lol

[JAWS]

Thanks fellas I really appreciate your feedback & time. It makes all worth the while. Im going to have alot more builds 'started' before I actually finish any I think. Well the scratch builds anyway. I want to get all the 'Base' structures for builds I want to do done up over the next year or 2 so I can then work on detailing. I will share all the 'Paterns' that I get, make or buy for free here at the site for other modelers to use. Some things are out of my depth & will pay people to help me achieve my goals.

So I had 'From Star Wars To Jedi' arrive today! Yeeeeharrr!!!.
A couple of Scotches & thats me for the night.
Am waiting for 'The Making Of Star Wars' to arrive also.

So today picked up some 1/700 kits from my local.
Scharnhorst was on top of the list & now have some main parts of the Bridge for scaling it up accurately.
Thanks again everyone & Merry Christmas.

[JAWS]

Just ordered my 30mm Crystal door Knobs from here thanks to Pharchivast at the RPF.
http://www.myknobs.com/calcryscrysk5.html
Can't wait to get these!

[MonsieurTox]

Looking good so far Jase, good luck, it wont be easy but I know you'll achieve something great !

[swfan78]

Awesome!! Glad to see that someone else is building this!!

Isel

[JAWS]

Thanks Julien & Isel.
Did a little more today.
Working on the neck now.
These are just rough ups done with some spare 1mm Styrene.
I'll work with this until Im happy with the scaling & dimensions.
Its very challenging for someone like myself thats not very good at maths.
So Im learning alot as I go in rega5rds to 'extrapolation'.
Found a good site & got some very cheap Fujimi M4A1 Shermans.
$8.00 each + $16.00 shipping.
Can't wait to cut the little suckers up....
   
   
   
   

[darkimmitator]

Looks like a star destroyer bridge to me . lookin pretty darn good in fact !!! Nice job Jase !!!

[JAWS]

Thanks Kenny.
The back piece is just glued to stand it up. Theres 2 1/48 Bandai Hulls needed for the back of the neck.
I have 1 & another coming.
Think I'll try casting it up though.
The Bandai kits are beoming scarce & should try to conserve them for later use I think. Might even offer parts for this build.

[JAWS]

Hey everyone I finally got a computer to get back into it. Ive printed up a front on picture of the Bridge face to measure up for the plans. I will use this method to draw up the plans for the whole ship & cross ref with extrapolation of parts measurements.
I have a few parts to size up & will slowly accumulate the rest.
I need to concentrate on bying a house so my expenditure on models has to decrease considerabley.
My Domes never arrived either so have to reorder some....
Any way heres some pics of this slow project.

[JAWS]

Ok have been back at this aswell as a coupleof other projects.
Have developed a system of sizing up reference pictures to actual scale of studio models.
This relieves alot of guess work & stress obviously.
I have started with the Head & moved on to the neck & rear structure sections.
I will move around as I go.
So have used kit parts & measurements in Adobe Photoshop to produce printouts of scaled copies of studio model sections.
Its not perfect & every photo has its own requirements.
I have so far successfully scaled up the Bridge face, Port & Starborad sides, Portside & starboard side Neck Panels.
I am furiously working on the manin Hull Structure & Upper Body Structures.

I will now use the print outs as templates to cut & scribe the panels.
Heres some pics of whats been going on inbetween.

[star-art]

This is looking great! I had started working on one of these before the G way back in 1996 or so but I gave up due to lack of reference. Since then, I was lucky to actually see this model in person at one of the exhibits. It is a glorious miniature, that's for sure. This was the ship that I liked the most in SW.

When I first started making drawings, I assumed the "three foot" figure as did most people based on the information available at the time. I concentrated on building a 1/2-size mockup which just happened to be about the same size as the ERTL kit of the ESB model. Later I scaled up the plans to what I thought was full size and then started laying parts on it. I was shocked to find my drawings were WAY too small.

My best guess has this model about 54 inches long and nearly three feet ACROSS at the back end! That's as far as I got with the plans as Galactica took over all my time after that.

[JAWS]

Thanks Charles.
Since yourve got the G wrapped up maybe you can spend a little time with me on this?
Using Erics method of measuring with the 8 Radd piece we get pretty much 1216mm Length & around 760mm Width.
Outer front edges around 1109mm from nose to back point & bottom trailing edges around 456mm from side point to end point.
Thats rough right now.
Im actually trying to scale a picture up to lay a few parts on.
Have also been working on the upperstructure measurements & hope to cut some mock ups this week.

[star-art]

I haven't looked at this model since at least 2005. The only thing I could do is build a quick and dirty mockup in 3D to try and nail the shape. From that, plans can be generated that can be used to confirm dimensions. I don't recall exactly how I came up with a length, but I believe it was by measuring the large notch where the 8RAD part sits. Since that part is recessed inside, it's easy to misinterpret the exact dimensions of that notch. Everything else is based on that.

[JAWS]

Yep thats the part I used.
The first picture was taken from a Thread at the RPF.
   
The next picture is the total length of the 8 rad part
   
The next picture is the inner measurement of the 8 Rad part which is what Eric used to scale his build.
   
These are the best reference I can locate for now.
We can clearly see in the Portside 8 Rad piece that one end of the 8 Rad part has been removed.
This reduces the length of the 8 Rad part from 16.2cm(162mm) to 15.7cm(157mm).
We should be able to us that length to measure up the centre dimension, outer edges & tip to tip to give us a pretty accurate scale.
If anyone can produce an accurate plan for this I am happy to cover costs.

[star-art]

PM sent. . .

[MonsieurTox]

(03-08-2011, 07:37 PM)omes72 Wrote: These are the best reference I can locate for now.
We can clearly see in the Portside 8 Rad piece that one end of the 8 Rad part has been removed.
This reduces the length of the 8 Rad part from 16.2cm(162mm) to 15.7cm(157mm).

That's because the 8 rad chassis is actually cut from a resin Y-Wing pull.
So you have to take in account shrinkage, which could be minor for one part, but significative to measure the whole lenght.

[JAWS]

Julien you are a wealth of information. I can't believe your not older than 30!
How much schrinkage do you think there could be on a part?
1mm, 2mm, 3mm?
Even taking that into account the rough measurement Ive got already is about 2inches more than what eric got. Ive become obsessed with this build now So Ive printed the bottom picture up to scale.
Now I know this method is not perfect but for someone like myself its probably as close to getting a true measurement as I can.
Im pretty happy with the outcome for a start off aide.
Just need to straighten & align all the pieces as best I can but am confident Im going to get as close as anyone has to an accurate dimension.
Eric measured his out to 1216mm using the 8 Rad piece. From my brief calculations so far he may actually be a bit short.
I got length from Nose to Aft Tip at 'roughly' 1295mm.
I still need to align everything as accurately as I can but from where I am its looking pretty damn good
Still more work to go & now I think Ive determined the scale the picture needs to be may get it printed up full scale.
Looking at this print out its alot bigger than I remember seeing at the museum. I cant believe Juliens actually building one twice the size Now thats crazy

[MonsieurTox]

Jase, actually I just noticed it was a casting while I was looking at your thread lol The same casting is used in the 8 footer trench.

I used another method a long time ago... maybe 3 or 4 years to find the overall length of the 3 footer. Unfortunatly the board is closed now and I lost my pics I thought I had posted it on the RPF but cant find it !

Actually I used the diameter of the side mounting pipe. I cant recall the diameter I found... Maybe something like 2" ? The tube should be a pretty standard size, you can get a rought idea using the 8 rad then used the closest standard diameter. Then just count how many "diameter" you need to get the whole length. It's probably not better than using the 8 rad, I dont know really how much shrinkage... Depends of the mold shrinkage, how old was the mold, what kind of resin they used etc...

I dont know if Charles (Star-art) remembers that because he was a member of the board where I posted it (the sr-board).

[star-art]

I had forgotten about that (when you get to 40 you may start to forget things, LOL). I checked but I can't seem to find any info from that old board. I am usually pretty good about saving stuff, but it might be buried in a sub-folder somewhere.

As I told Jason, I've learned not to rely on one single part and especially not one image. I try to "cross reference" to at least one other source and see if I can confirm what I think I found. If it checks out from two or more sources, then I start to feel more confident. HTH. . .

---

PS I just noticed for the first time that much of the trench detail appears to be foam castings. You can see this where it is cut away for the mounting pipe. Maybe a good bit of it was taken from other models like the Y-Wing and Falcon?

[JAWS]

I know Im getting a lil excited & agree it will take some more cross referencing to get it right. I think we're on oir way though & thats exciting. Can any one give me the diameter of some LEGGS EGGS? They will help size up the rear width & height. Thanks for the help fellas. Its inspiring.

[star-art]

We just recently moved and ALL my stuff is in storage. . .

[Richard_2001]

Jason,

If I remember correctly (I am 47) I worked out the length of the Smaller ISD at 49.5" using what reference I had at the time. It is probably not correct to the last millimeter but I thought I was reasonable close in that all the parts would fit reasonably well.

Just my .02 cents not gospel

Richard

[JAWS]

thanks Richard. Always good to get as much feedback as possible. I know your extrapolation skills are well tuned & agree this model is definately between 49'' & 51''.
Dont suppose you have any Leggs Eggs you can give me the diameters of?

[Scott Graham]

Look what I found in my hoard of reference pics! My folder attributes this to you Julien. This must be what you're talking about, I hope. I believe that I found a lot of it on photobucket. If you're missing pics I might have many more for you as a backup.

By the way: I love the way you're going about this Jason. Thanks for sharing!

[JAWS]

Thanks Scott. I was having my work modified at another site so think I'll just work from here. Its a shame.
I have that picture. Julien posted it sometime. It will come in handy for when I start looking at the Frame work.
Dont suppose you got any Leggs Eggs?

[LastBattlestar]

Great R&D Jase; I wish I had your patience. This model's gonna be a cracker!

Mike

[JAWS]

Thanks Mike. I really want to contribute something positive to the community for all I Ive from them. So Im going all out to serve this up on a platter. Im actually having some good luck on this research which is motivating. I will be updating my maps tonight & can say the Head & Neck sections are 99.8% completed with just 2 small pieces left to find on the chin. Have made good progress on the upper structures also with some good finds thia morning.
Thanks for looking & the feedback.
Got any Leggz Eggs?

[MonsieurTox]

(03-10-2011, 01:59 PM)Scott Graham Wrote: Look what I found in my hoard of reference pics! My folder attributes this to you Julien. This must be what you're talking about, I hope. I believe that I found a lot of it on photobucket. If you're missing pics I might have many more for you as a backup.

By the way: I love the way you're going about this Jason. Thanks for sharing!

Awesome Scott ! Thank you very much I'm glad those arent lost forever ! lol I hope they will be of some help !

[Richard_2001]

(03-10-2011, 11:52 AM)omes72 Wrote: thanks Richard. Always good to get as much feedback as possible. I know your extrapolation skills are well tuned & agree this model is definately between 49'' & 51''.
Dont suppose you have any Leggs Eggs you can give me the diameters of?

Jason,

Sorry. No I don't have any Leggs eggs to measure for you, and you are most welcome as well as always

Richard

[JAWS]

All good. I scored 14 of the buggers luckilly so I think Im covered for a few builds.
Thanks Richard.
Ive been so submerged in iding parts I haven't had much structural progress.
Its my day off today so hopefully can get something done.

[Richard_2001]

Jason,

Cool, Are you going to attempt a casting of one for us people wanting to build a Y-wing in the future when the supply of Leggs will undoubtedly be much smaller and harder to get?

Richard

[JAWS]

Yep I surely will.
I don't see it as being a dificult subject to do well.
I have alot of stuff to mould up for you guys & am sorry I keep getting side tracked.

[JAWS]

After cleaning up the work shop & moving away from the ever frustrating Battlestar build moved over to check out these famous L'eggz Eggs.
I was lucky to score 14 of them so have a good stock for some SS builds.
I decided to clean one up & give a coate of primer.
I then wanted to check out the construction of the engine bells on the studio model.
Looking at the reference I have it looks to be T Strip running down the outside & C Strip used on the inside.
The thing is Im unsure as some pics it looks like T Strip on the inside...
My vision is just not as good as it once was.
Might have to get my eyes checked(yes I have not done that yet...)
Anyway I have determined the inside strips need to be 0.875mm apart to fit 24 ribs around the L'eggz Eggs evenly.

[JAWS]

Well I wanted to start seeing some fruits for my labour so decided to start cutting up a second go at the templates for the Bridge.
Ive cut the face 3 times already. The angles are slight so its hard to get nice sharp points in the centres.
Again this maodel is not totally symetrical.
It was apparently one of the last models to be built for A New Hope. Only missing the 4 parts from the Le Seine Fueler.

[ringa]

Legg's Egg is 2-3/4" wide. That is, I believe, about 70 mm, right?

I have my own thoughts on the wedge hull dimensions, which I am planning to build my third model to. You learn a lot about this filming model when you build it multiple times based on the countless photos of it, then referring back to those photos to see where you are off and by how much. When I built my second destroyer, I improved on many of the things I did wrong on the first, but then found new areas to improve.

The bridge and all the structures that proceed it on the real thing come to a length of about 23-1/2" to 24". The real thing is between 13-3/4" to 14" at its wides point. This is based on what I have been able to build so far. Mine is 23-1/2" long by 13-3/4" wide. I am giving a margin of error, as I can't say this is exactly what the real thing is, but it is very, very close. Knowing this much gives you an advantage in more closely figuring out the length and width of the wedge.

In my experience building two and a half star destroyers, I believe the length of the filming model to be between 48" and 50", and the width to be between 28" and 30". I am leaning in the direction of 48" x 30". I've already built a very accurately proportioned hull in my second replica. Even though it is at 3' long, when I go into the computer and scale it up to 48" (or 4' long), it closely matches what I have already built for the third. Any larger and it would look way off (to me, I should add). Even if it is a bit too short, it will still look right. When it is too long, that's when it becomes painfully obvious.

Anyway, There are other reasons why I believe it to be so. Actually, one of them was pictured in this thread. The one of the frame of the model on the work bench. Perhaps it was always called the 3 footer because maybe that's how long the frame is (give or take, it's not much longer)? Adding how much the nose and tail extend fore and aft from that and what do you get? I'm not saying it definitely IS 48" long. The only way to know for sure is to measure the real thing, or ask one of the ILM guys who worked on it. I plan to do one of these.

So, if you are still reading my ramblings to this point, then you are as interested in finding out as I am. At any rate, I hope this helps, or at least gives you something new to think about.

Cheers.

[JAWS]

Rick thanks. Im still reading & will continue to follow whatever you have to say. The only reason haven't started constructing the suoer structure is to make sure I get it as close as possible. Youve done a great job & this build is definately going to be between the 50 & 51" inch mark. I also wanted to Id & collect as many kits as I could before starting. These to use help get the dims right also. Im sure with us all helping each other we'll come up with the most accurate builds we can.
I recieved a package from my new friend Alan Anderson last night. He sent me some draw pulls. Their tiny.. Always imagine this stuff in real scale & when you get down to the basics the reality kicks in Thanks Alan.

[JAWS]

In between making some moulds that should have got done yesterday
I decided it was time to get the Panther G chasis shaped up.
In getting the part to be whats need the sides had to be removed.
That was easy enugh with some clipper.
Then it had to have what was left of the walls sanded away so it just left the little knobby bits on the inside.
I statted to do the sanding on the sanding belt & quickly stopped when Isaw the plastic start to melt & warp!
No short cuts for this stuff....
Its to valuable toi make a mistake that would render the part unuseable
So sanded it back the old fashion way.
Slowly
It took almost an hour to remove the sides & just leave the inside mounts attached
This will be a 'Master' as is needed twice for the neck & twice for the bay.

[Wombat]

Looks like you are really having some fun with this build there,Jase.
I always like seeing some plain styrene come to life with all that detailing,even if it is just be layed out.
Brings it to loife none the less!!

Good stuff mate!!

[JAWS]

Thanks bud. Nice to have you out of the burrow! Lol. Im really enjoying this project & Ive met some fantastic people that have truly restored my faith in the modelling community. This will be a beauty once she starts getting built up. Not long now. Just checking over dims to be happy its as good as I'll get.

[Wombat]

Measure twice and cut once,it's a good way to go about things.

Well it's been good here about this build a lil from you and i can tell you really have that spark back for building.Thats great as it's really the most important thing out of everything.If your not enjoying it you might as well not even be doing it.
This will be a beast when done,not quite the same as the old G now but still,a beast none the less.

Glad ya having fun my friend!!

[MonsieurTox]

Now you have nice balls Jase !

[JAWS]

Har ha ha! Funny French man.
I bought a sheet of 2mm styrene to start mocking up.
I believe the hulls & syructures are 2mm acrylic on the studio model. This will be a rsearch run to get the dims sorted. I may build 2 replicas.

[scratchy]

Nice looking work Jase, the Devastor really is coming together nicely. Sweet score on the "L'Eggs"!

[JAWS]

Thanks Jay. Im having alot of fin with this build when i get time for it. Was hoping my kits with the last parts i needed for the head, neck & rear structure walls would arrive yesterday though didn't. With the long weekend for Easter there won't be any deliveries until next Tuesday. So it will definately be a loooong weeeekend.....

[star-art]

Been out of town all week and away from the computer (nice break for a change). I think the hull was 060 acrylic and that would work out to, what, 1.5mm? Not something you can use metric sizes for if you want an exact match. . .

[JAWS]

Ive had that problem before... No worries it won.t make too much difference. Nice to have you back Charles. Was wondering where you'd dropped off to.

[star-art]

Thanks, still taking the weekend off and trying not to do anything at all.

The hull thickness is critical on the edges (i.e. brim trenches). Word has it they used a brass "U" channel to trim the edges and it looks like a pretty tight fit. Some really thin strip styrene was then glued onto that. I don't recommend using any styrene here as it will warp over time. Better to use metal if you can find a practical way to put notches in it.

[JAWS]

My package arrived yesterday. The last 10 kits needed to have all the correct details for the head, neck & rear structure walls. I can now finally move around to the portside structure walls that I have(with some help) got about 80% identified. If not a little more. Update soon.