The Beast ( BATTLESTAR PEGASUS )

[darkimmitator]

Good day fellow battlestar builders !

Well after being on hold for a while ,and the recent inspiration from Jase ,Phil ,and Mike's battlestar build progress ,i finnally got some more work done on the old beast .This build is taking place from my own designs and with help from somereference pics ,and not from any blueprints per say .Mostly old school with steel square tubing armature ,bass wood frameing some plexhttp://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss66/darkimmitator/Picture027-1.jpgi ,and mostly sheet styrene .The inards are scary to look at ,but this thing is solid !!! Things are mostly pretty close ,except for that cursed waist section where the centurion tank plate meets the f16 slope area .I am out a little over 1/4 of an inch .I could fix this area but because of the framework design ,This would meen pretty much rebuilding almost completely over again .my budget will not allow for this ,and besides I am ok with it ,as my plans for a LITTLE xtra details will hide this BOO BOO almost completly .This is also the pegasus ,and no two battlestars are completly alike !! Plus it will make mine a little unique ,as i think every body elses is unique in thier own ways .Anyway ,go easy on me ! I love the challengethis build is giving me ....WOW what achallenge indeed !!!!

[erospawn]

So far its looking pretty good. How big is it?

[JAWS]

Excellent but the links & picture isn't working for me...

[427 Cobra]

I re-wrote the image code as it should be, but this is all I get when I do. Sorry, Kenny - but this doesn't work. Can you re-upload this to your photobucket account?

[darkimmitator]

(04-14-2010, 07:48 AM)427 Cobra Wrote: I re-wrote the image code as it should be, but this is all I get when I do. Sorry, Kenny - but this doesn't work. Can you re-upload this to your photobucket account?

I can't seem to get these pics to upload ? What is the standard procedure for uploding pics on this forum ? I didn't see anything in the help column ?

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FIXED IT !!!

[darkimmitator]

(04-14-2010, 05:52 AM)erospawn Wrote: So far its looking pretty good. How big is it?

It is 75 inches long ,or 6 foot 3 inches .

[Battlestar1563]

Looking pretty awesome...!! Good to see something different. YOu have the freedom to be creative and not tied down to trying to replicate something that been done. I love the old school builds. Something thats very appealing about them if you know what I mean. Ron

[JAWS]

I see it now. Very nice mate! Stay on it now & keep us updated.

[427 Cobra]

I started drooling as soon as I saw this! It's good to see it dressed in parts. You'll want to remove the chrome from your parts with Brasso. This removes it without damaging the part, or softening it like bleach can. This will make the paint stick better. Still, very cool!

~ Cobra Chris

[darkimmitator]

(04-14-2010, 10:22 AM)Battlestar1563 Wrote: Looking pretty awesome...!! Good to see something different. YOu have the freedom to be creative and not tied down to trying to replicate something that been done. I love the old school builds. Something thats very appealing about them if you know what I mean. Ron

Thanks Ron .I love old school and nostalgia !!!

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(04-14-2010, 11:01 AM)jasonwright.1972 Wrote: I see it now. Very nice mate! Stay on it now & keep us updated.

Thanks Jase . I think I'll try my hand at some scribing next .Lots of scribing !!!

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(04-14-2010, 11:34 AM)427 Cobra Wrote: I started drooling as soon as I saw this! It's good to see it dressed in parts. You'll want to remove the chrome from your parts with Brasso. This removes it without damaging the part, or softening it like bleach can. This will make the paint stick better. Still, very cool!

~ Cobra Chris

Thanks Chris .Yes , I'll definately need to strip off the chrome ! I 'll give the brasso a try .I heard soaking the chromed part in Coca Cola for 24 hrs will also strip off the chrome from plastic ? Thanks for the tip !!!

[Wombat]

Well,it's looking like a Battlestar shape to me!
You mentioned you are building this without having any plans and are pretty much making it up on your own there.To me thats OK,and as this is what you are doing and what you're expectations are for the build then i think you're doing real bloody well with it all.It actually allows you to add some cool stuff if ya choose.I did like those big gun's on the new G i must admit and theres nothing wrong with your old school approach either.In the end we only ever see the outside whats underneath is covered,the same as my build thankfully.
You're a fair way into it all there as well,so it's great seeing you get back onto it again,you'll be the first on our block here to get it done at this rate?Well that might be between you and Mike,but he's not currently posting his here yet.So keep pressing on dude,motivation is such a big thing with any build,but these things really do need it,and when it's going well it's bloody good fun.
These things are so damn impressive in the flesh,you've got an idea there already and know where i'm coming from.A finished one will look fantastic,so you keep at it there!
We'll try and keep each other motivated with all our builds that are happening,i know already i've had up's and downs with mine and i've only just started.

[darkimmitator]

Thanks Phil ! I think that having all the problems with figuring out this mysterious build ,only makes it that much more gratifying an accomplishment ,when it finally takes shape and becomes the greebly covered behemoth that it is .Along with the skills ,and knowledge you inherit from the undertaking of such a build ,there is also the feeling of comradery that developes with fellow ss battlestar builders !!!! I have to say that Australia is lookin like it's becoming the battlestar capitol of the world !!! LOL

[darkimmitator]

Well ,I couldn't stand it anymore ! I just couldn't live with the front engine slope being out 1/4 of an inch and having all those expensive kit parts ,not fitting right .( thanks Phil ,Jase ,and Mike ) So I cut the bottom of the front slope ,the frame joining the engine box to the body ,the rear of the steel armature by 1/4 of an inch . I then threw away all the forward trench angles ,and started from scratch again ! Now everything fits !!!! I even only have to use 3 plowblades instead of 3.5 like i WAS going to use before !! This is a load of relief , as I really didn't want to cut into the frame and loose structural integrity.It's actually stronger now as i reinforced some areas , used thicker styrene in all the angle plates of trench area ,and fixed another boo boo that I found and don't want to talk about ! LOL .Even the joints where all the angles intersect are cleaner and stronger .I am very happy with this refit .

[JAWS]

Hey wicked man thats heaps better. At the end of the day the satisfaction & relief from fixing something no matter how big or small is always worth the effort. Congratulations.

[Wombat]

Good stuff there Ken!!

Mate i understand how hard that must have been but personally think you've done the right thing re working that area.I'm sure you will be a lot happier there now and more so in the long run even though it seems like a step back with the building at the moment.Hell do i know plenty about that so far myself! LOL. It looks much betta already though and i'm glad everything went well with the surgery that you undertook.Keep at it there and keep us updated on further developments mate.
Well done!!

[darkimmitator]

Thanks Jase ,and Phil .Your compliments ,sharing of your own builds ,and even your inspiration leads to others such as myself ,to not only attempt such difficult builds ,but to not give up when the build doesn't go as planed .I think that thanks should also go to forums such as these for haveing such knowledgeable ,encouraging ,and supportive members like the ones found here .

[Wombat]

Ken,likewise mate,i couldn't agree more it's the same for me dude this end.

[darkimmitator]

I just won a 1/72 Italeri 's Junkers Ju 188 a1/e1 for $8.95 - and a 1/740 Lindberg's H.M.S. King George the v for $24 including shipping on ebay !!!!!!

[JAWS]

Thats good mate. You guys don't get stung with huge shipping costs like us suckers. Sometimes the shipping is as much or more than the kit... keep at em. Theres always a bargain to be found

[darkimmitator]

Christmas came early !!!! Got these unbelievable castings from Custom Replicas in the mail a couple of days ago .Got off of work early enough to take some pics in what was left of daylight . Extremely stoked about these amazing castings !! They are of the highest quality ,with no pin holes . I highly recommend these castings to any ss battlestar builder or any studio scale bsg project !!!

[JAWS]

Nice stuff Ken. They are really nice castings. Their work is of the highest profesional quality. Your Battlestars nearly finished with that lot. Phil got some of their stuff aswell. Thanks for the update. Some picrures with those cities & deck in place would look pretty sick(hint hint)

[Wombat]

Wow,and i thought i got a bit from them??

Very nice indeed!!!

Gee Ken,thats stuff is really gonna dress the girl up mate.It looks like you've gone mostly for engine section stuff,which is a good idea in my book as you can really only work on one section at a time anyway.Thats the way i plan on tackling this mutha of all mutha's anyway!LOL
Oh man,these bit's are gonna look mighty damn good even just layed out on top.[cough] for that picture [/cough]They are very nice casting,i'll vouch for that also.
So mate,looks like we all can be expecting seeing some pretty nice updates soon.

[darkimmitator]

Thanks Phil . Yes ,the engine is where I am starting the greebly glueing .I have just about all the parts except for the jps lotus front end chasis rack .I am just waiting on my plastruct tee strips and c strips to arrive .I ordered the butyrate covered wire for the piping while i was at it ! I have zero updates on build progress as well mate ,so don't feel bad about not getting anything done to your battlestar . Guilty here too !!! I caught the hint my fuzzy friend , and will do a parts fit test and snap a few pics when I get said parts in place .Should have something by the weekend !

[Wombat]

Will be looking forward to seeing the snaps there my friend.Even just laying the part's out is gonna look really bloody cool i reckon.If i ever get around to it,i'll be doing the same here.Honestly though,you are pretty much set to go and greeble the hell out that engine section with all you've acquired there,it's really gonna transform it into that look we all know.

Good stuff mate,hope you get some time to spend on her soon,just like i need and should be doing here!

[darkimmitator]

Thanks Phil . I don't know if you know or any of the other battlestar builders know ,but Custom Replicas has announced that they will be adding the landing bay end caps to thier parts catalogue !!!!!!! Hopefully they will offer the landing bay chas lights as well !!!!!!

[Wombat]

Hey Ken,yeah i did ask about them dude and if i had the funds i'd have em already,they really look so good to my eye.The rear caps come with the ramp's and building's also in that set.The lighting is something i believe will be available and also it appears the Probert artwork is something else they will be offering.Well just have to wait and see what else they do throw our way.I'm even thinking about a full bay kit if they do release one.That would be the acrylics,cap's,electronics and artwork.I'm sure it won't be cheap,but if the acrylics were not much more expensive to getting my own cut then i'd go that way so there be no modifications needed to my bays to fit there cap's.
I'm way off that area but i'm still keen to know what it may cost.Tax time here is the end of June and i should be getting at least a little spending money from that hopefully.

[427 Cobra]

I know this a little off topic, but who is custom replicas? I've never heard of them. On a different note - that ass end is starting to look like a battlestar finally. You and Phil are really doing a great job at moving things along.

~ Cobra Chris

[JAWS]

Cris go to http://www.customreplicas.com

[darkimmitator]

Well I had an actual day off to myself and decided to do some work for my self on the old Beast . I tried my hand at some scribing on the engine top plate and then test fitted the greeblies in their proper locations after alot of cutting , removing flash ,and trimming . Parts are
not glued into place yet ,as I need a few more vital pieces to be sure of placement . The most vital being the 1:8 lotus steering rack.

[JAWS]

Wow Mark your scribing looks excellent! She's coming along really good mate.

[Wombat]

What can i say?Bout bloody time!! LOL

OK Ken,it's looking OK and again taking into account that you are not trying to get it spot on then what you have looks OK.But to me and this is only me(the re work king of one particular SS Battlestar) i'd chop a little off the back of that engine stage.Again,it's really upto you but if it's not that hard a fix then it's worth doing in my book.It just looks a little long what you have there in the pictures and that will mean that the engine box section is just that,a bit long.Now again if you are happy just to keep going with it the way you are then do so,it's your build mate.But just look at your engine box section anyway,if it's an easy chop i say do it before gluing all that stuff down.

Was the scribing fun?Thats another thing i seem ta keep RE doing also!

Thanks for the update dude,keep at it and just be happy with it man!!

[darkimmitator]

Your right Phil ,it is a little long .Engine box with rear plate is 359 mm long ,so it is 6.5mm too long.I can live with that ,as every thing seems to fit including the rocos and centurion links . I knew going into this that it wasn't going to be perfect as I am going by my own drawings and not any blueprints .I am worried about the back end not being square anymore ,if I cut the 6.5mm off. I would also have to cut the same amount off of the armature . Plus it is framed in on the back end with square evergreen styrene . You never know though , I wasn't going to take the 1/4 inch off of the front slope either ,But I did !!!!! Oh and the scribing was a blast .The tool that I made works excellent .Three passes along a straight edge and the panel lines are crisp and clean !!

[JAWS]

Ken its looks great but Im definately going to agree with the hairy one. You know we like to stick our noses into our buddies business so this won't be unusual. I say cut it back. Youve corrected the front so might as well do the back. Your ok with it but now its been identified its going to eat at you for the rest of your days. We should callour selves the "Snap Crackle & Pop Crew". Just our opinions mate & I know us Australians can be a little over opinionated sometimes aswell, but 6.5mm in these dimensions is alot. Whatever you decide I like what your doing & keep up the good work.

[427 Cobra]

Jase's right - you want to correct anything now before going any further. You'll only kick yourself later. There's no logic in putting all this time, and effort into something that will only bring heartache at another point in time. You'll want to get it right the first time, so that there's no second time around. It's easier when you have all the parts that go along the engine shroud, so you see how long your part's going to be when it's finished. We'll all help you along, and critique when neccessary, so that you don't feel left out, or wonder why no one helped you to begin with. This is why I'm here, as well as our core members.

~ Cobra Chris

[darkimmitator]

Can anyone give me a measurement of the lenght of the main body of the airfix sat.v ,the way it sits on top of the top engine plate ,not counting the front cone slope or the half dome fuel tank ? Just the main body ? I just may hack this bitch up again !!! LOL , Thanks

Ken

[JAWS]

Go for it Mark. Before you know it will be fixed & you will have a huge smile.

[Richard_2001]

(06-17-2010, 12:51 AM)darkimmitator Wrote: Can anyone give me a measurement of the lenght of the main body of the airfix sat.v ,the way it sits on top of the top engine plate ,not counting the front cone slope or the half dome fuel tank ? Just the main body ? I just may hack this bitch up again !!! LOL , Thanks

Ken

Ken,

The Airfix 1st stage Sat V's parts are full length kit parts at 8 3/16ths inches long, cutting for length is not needed.

Richard

[JAWS]

You have to cut the end joiners off though?

[Richard_2001]

(06-17-2010, 09:30 AM)jasonwright.1972 Wrote: You have to cut the end joiners off though?

Yes the very thin stage connector with the cutouts in it needs to be removed.

Richard

[Wombat]

Hey Ken,i just wanna say again,it's your build dude and you are the only one that needs to be happy how it is really,mate.I think us all just wanna see you get it as close as ya can before ya start the detailing side of thing's fully.If the mod's needed to get things closer are nothing too hard then it is worth doing dude.We don't wanna see ya doing what Mike is doing with his build ten years down the track now.As for that length for the box,i think Richard and Jase are both closer to the mark with what they are talking.Richard's 349.5mm and i think Jase is on about 348mm look about right too me.I've got 351mm now it seems a tad long.But betta ta be long than short as you would know!Look,i see that cutting that box section square might require taking into a wood shop and having cut properly even?I doubt that the cost would be extreme to have done,it'd be a five second job with the right equipment.
Anyway dude,you do what you want,we'll support ya all the way!

But now is the time ta modify if ya ever gonna do it!

[darkimmitator]

(06-17-2010, 11:19 PM)Wombat Wrote: Hey Ken,i just wanna say again,it's your build dude and you are the only one that needs to be happy how it is really,mate.I think us all just wanna see you get it as close as ya can before ya start the detailing side of thing's fully.If the mod's needed to get things closer are nothing too hard then it is worth doing dude.We don't wanna see ya doing what Mike is doing with his build ten years down the track now.As for that length for the box,i think Richard and Jase are both closer to the mark with what they are talking.Richard's 349.5mm and i think Jase is on about 348mm look about right too me.I've got 351mm now it seems a tad long.But betta ta be long than short as you would know!Look,i see that cutting that box section square might require taking into a wood shop and having cut properly even?I doubt that the cost would be extreme to have done,it'd be a five second job with the right equipment.
Anyway dude,you do what you want,we'll support ya all the way!

But now is the time ta modify if ya ever gonna do it!

Thanks Phil , Jase , Richard ,and the rest of us nut cases ,that have decided to take on this SS battlestar mother of a project . I appreciate the encouragement to get this as close to right as possible . I am going to leave this bitch alone for a few days , to get my head around it for awhile . I don't know what is more discouraging ,the setback of doing things 3 and 4 times in a row , or the waste of money ,materials and time ,to do it 3 or 4 times in a row !!! Money that can be used towards more kits !!! FRAK ! FRAK ! FRAK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And this is only the engine box shape ! Just imagine the nightmare of that head/bridge section !!!! Jesus ,I need a TYLENOL !!!!

[JAWS]

Ahh we know your going to do it. Take some time out, have a few sleepless nights & smash the repairs out.

[darkimmitator]

Well here it is , engine box refit # 3 ! I removed 7 mm from the back end of the box ,and steel armature . An removed 7mm from the front of the engine top plate . The engine box now measures exactly 352 mm including the rear engine port plate thickness . Even though I cut everything by hand ,it all seems to be good and square . Again all parts are just set in place for fittment check and not glued in place just yet !!

[Richard_2001]

Ken,

Very nice! I think you will be happier doing the detailing with the shorter length as Phil has found out! The way the parts all fit together would have been a pain to get to look right otherwise!

This is coming along nicely!

Richard

[427 Cobra]

Good work, Kenny. This is finally getting to look more like a starship with the scribed paneling on it. I can't wait to see this covered in sheet styrene at least. That gives a futuristic look to any model.

~ Cobra Chris

[JAWS]

Good stuff Ken! I bet your smilin now you did it. Nice update & good work.

[darkimmitator]

Thanks guys , it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it was going to be ! I just needed the kick in the arse that you were all so kind enough to give me .!!! LOL

[JAWS]

Thats what we're here for Kenny.

[Wombat]

I'll go along with the rest mate,good stuff giving it the chop!
7mm is not much but when you are trying to replicate something that has been done even a mm can be a big deal.I went through it with the shuttle and well this thing,gee it's the same but multiplied by some stupid amount.Anyway dude,you'll find you can achieve the look pretty well with that length,it'll be a smidgen long but not by the amount it was.
Good onya there Ken and keep at it mate!!

[darkimmitator]

(06-21-2010, 06:54 PM)Wombat Wrote: I'll go along with the rest mate,good stuff giving it the chop!
7mm is not much but when you are trying to replicate something that has been done even a mm can be a big deal.I went through it with the shuttle and well this thing,gee it's the same but multiplied by some stupid amount.Anyway dude,you'll find you can achieve the look pretty well with that length,it'll be a smidgen long but not by the amount it was.
Good onya there Ken and keep at it mate!!

Thanks Phil ,everything seems to fit much better on the smaller surface .