Jason, do you mean the back of the engine lid? There is nothing there as it has not been trimmed out yet. The lid ends short of the rear plate and the large gap gets filled in by various strips of tiny Plastruct Tee. EDIT. I think you mean what's under the lid? That is 3/16 black Gatorboard. It's very dimensionally stable, more stable than plywood, yet it weighs almost nothing. I seem to be the only model maker doing these kinds of builds that uses it (though Jim C. did become a convert). I glued it under the lid to help keep the lid from warping. Even then, it has bowed ever so slightly over the years. As a result, I recommend thoroughly supporting both the main body and engine lids.
I plan to post progress on the new build. The CR Galactica head section will never be available as a kit though. We have an agreement that it will only be provided as a built piece. For one thing, the amount of work that went into designing it was just unreal. It is quite honestly too complicated for most people to tackle. Even for someone with a lot of experience, it is a very difficult build. This thing looks like a Swiss clock on the inside. . .
There were literally hundreds of parts in the first one. The second one is simplified somewhat, but still very complicated. I can't even imagine how hard it would be to make sure someone got all the parts and also any replacements needed if they screwed something up while building it. It was deemed too impractical to even consider.
As for the head skins, I quickly learned plex is not the way to go. It was a real b*tch to get the skins in place. Acrylic glues real strong face-to-face, but not so when edge-to-edge. With laser-cut parts, the edges have a slight bevel, making it even worse. After building this thing several times, I decided I would not do a head skinned in plex again. Thus, my revised patterns now feature styrene skins over an acrylic frame. Not only is this easier to build, it is also easier to detail, paint, and finish.
BTW, do you guys want me to start a separate thread on the other build, or tack it onto this thread?
I plan to post progress on the new build. The CR Galactica head section will never be available as a kit though. We have an agreement that it will only be provided as a built piece. For one thing, the amount of work that went into designing it was just unreal. It is quite honestly too complicated for most people to tackle. Even for someone with a lot of experience, it is a very difficult build. This thing looks like a Swiss clock on the inside. . .
There were literally hundreds of parts in the first one. The second one is simplified somewhat, but still very complicated. I can't even imagine how hard it would be to make sure someone got all the parts and also any replacements needed if they screwed something up while building it. It was deemed too impractical to even consider.
As for the head skins, I quickly learned plex is not the way to go. It was a real b*tch to get the skins in place. Acrylic glues real strong face-to-face, but not so when edge-to-edge. With laser-cut parts, the edges have a slight bevel, making it even worse. After building this thing several times, I decided I would not do a head skinned in plex again. Thus, my revised patterns now feature styrene skins over an acrylic frame. Not only is this easier to build, it is also easier to detail, paint, and finish.
BTW, do you guys want me to start a separate thread on the other build, or tack it onto this thread?
Charles Adams | www.StarshipBuilder.com | Follow me on Facebook
Author, MODEL DESIGN & BLUEPRINTING HANDBOOK, Volume 1 SECOND EDITION NOW AVAILABLE
Author, MODEL DESIGN & BLUEPRINTING HANDBOOK, Volume 1 SECOND EDITION NOW AVAILABLE