SS Battlestar....attempt II

[Wombat]

Had a great chat with Mike tonight, Ken and afterwards i tested out that old CA again. Still seems to be holding just fine..

   

It's a start and i did enjoy gluing on even this little pissy amount.

More to follow soon then.

[JAWS]

You know I once discussed casting this up in sections.
A Resin kit.

Mate fantastic to see you playin styrene again.

[darkimmitator]

can't see posts ?

[Wombat]

(08-15-2013, 06:18 PM)JAWS Wrote: You know I once discussed casting this up in sections.
A Resin kit.

Mate fantastic to see you playin styrene again.

Bet ya glad you only thought about it. Would have been a lot of work!!

Thanks Jase, it's good to playing, even just a little bit again.

[darkimmitator]

Still not seeing the last few posts ! WTF ?

[darkimmitator]

Oh , wait . There they are !
Way to go Phil ! Glad the glue didn't go bad , and even happier to see you back at this !!

[Wombat]

Cheers Ken. yeah the thread problem still happens. You just need to go in and change you posts per page number and it'll get you around it. Till it happens again then you change it again.

Yep the glue is still good although my application of it is not the greatest. Bit rusty with it all and it's showing the more i do. Lucky it's only the stb side!! lol

[darkimmitator]

Well even working a little rusty , the job still looks great . I see you started the same way I did . truck frame rail first !! Makes a great starting point to build off of .

[Wombat]

It does Ken and i've been doing other perimeter parts also and working my way in to set a border i guess. Think i may have a lil much in height area on this neck but overall it's looking about right.

[Wombat]

A few more parts and some more piping still in to go in this area..


   


Not right on the money but close..ish.

[darkimmitator]

Bloody good bit of an update there Phil . Looks pretty much spot on to me !!!
NICE !!

[Titon]

Lookin good Phil!

[Wombat]

Thanks fellas!!

After such a long break from it all it has been good to see some more detail go onto it finally again. Hell theres a shit load more to go but this little bit of it is almost there and now all i just gotta do is keep at. Still a couple of missing part's for the stb neck need to be found but it may just be a case of improvise if needed.

[LastBattlestar]

Schaaaawing! The super sharp detailer is back in business!-

How the hell do Jim and Sean knock one of these out in a couple of years? They must just hammer along every single day!


Mike

[Wombat]

(08-19-2013, 07:09 PM)LastBattlestar Wrote: How the hell do Jim and Sean knock one of these out in a couple of years? They must just hammer along every single day!

That and they are just bloody good at what they do!

[darkimmitator]

The jig is up , they're Cylons !!!

[padawan-builder]

Hey Phil,

Good to see you back at it. Looking GREAT of course. Just don't know how you manage to keep the beast so clean looking all the time. Anyway, keep them updates coming. These long breaks are hard on the rest of us.

Mel

[Wombat]

Thanks Mel, good to see you are still here! Hows your own build been coming along?

[padawan-builder]

Phil,
Mine is coming along, very slowly. I have done 90% of the bottom. Got tired of looking at it and turned it back around. Working on the mouth and eye areas now; as time permits. Not getting a lot of time these days, but trying to at least do a little bit every week. Hope to have some more pics soon.

Mel

[darkimmitator]

We like pics !!!

[Wombat]

^
Yes we do don't we!!

Mel good to hear things are still a happening there and it can be easy to get burnt out on an area after looking at it for too long. Turning it back over and hitting another area can be just what is needed to pump some motivation back into the system for sure. It's all part of it but any progress is still progress and that is good!!

[peza]

eh up buddy,
wow ya build is coming on bloody amazing mym8...
keep it comin...peza

[Wombat]

Trying peza, not getting much done the last week but enjoying it all again just the same.

Cheers!

[bwayne64]

Hey Phil, I was wondering about something on the armature. I'm going to use the same aluminum armature as you and Charles. My question is about the bolt that holds the vertical tube to the bottom one. There's a bolt that is only a few inches from the bottom, as in this pic. Is this gonna be enough tube for the bottom mount. I was trying to figure out a way to countersink this bolt. But I would have to drill a big hole on the opposite side to fit in a countersink, and I didn't want the mount to look like swiss cheese, I figured out a way to mount it from the top. I'll post a diagram of my contraption when I build it.



   



Also while I'm picking the brain. I seem to remember you saying you had to trim the sides of some roco's on the engine section. I couldn't find the original post so I thought I'd just ask. I wondered if I should pre trim the roco before I cast it, as much as I hate to do it. Could save me a lot of work to pre trim them. Thanks for the inspiration and all the help, Cheers,


Joe

[dbhs]

(08-25-2013, 06:57 AM)darkimmitator Wrote: We like pics !!!

More pics !!

[star-art]

As the one who designed the armature, I guess I can comment. You can't countersink the screw. Due to the curvature of the inner wall of the pipe, it will stick out no matter what. If you can get it to clear, you would not have enough material left to hold the bolt. This would weaken the joint considerably.

There is a special connector available for IPS pipe railing that fits around the bolt. It has the cross section of the letter "C" so it is not a full circle.

Another thing we learned recently is that you must EPOXY this armature together. Bolting it is not enough. Even when tight, you can still move the pipe if you hammer on it. The best results come from using a combination of quality epoxy (3M ScotchWeld) and stainless steel bolts.

BUT, with that said, the armature must absolutely positively be 100% in perfect alignment before you epoxy it. It is very easy for things to be off just a bit here and there. This can wreak havoc with the proper alignment and installation of the structure to the armature.

Hope that helps. . .

[Wombat]

Joe, what Charles says is what i have done with mine. I actually removed a little more material to widen the gap just a bit more to pass the bolt and washer with a little wiggle room. You can see the part he is talking about sticking out of the cross arm. It's an inner sleeve for the pipes.
I can't remember if i needed to trim any of the ROCO or not though. I don't think i had to for this build but i may have needed to do it on that other one. They all will need some bits removed in one way or the other so it's up to you if you mold the bodies as they are or remove those bits so the castings are basicly ready to go. It's probably better to mold em though as they are, you can always remove material from a casting but it's hard putting it back onto the master if needed.

[bwayne64]

Thanks Guys !

Charles, thanks for the info. I didn't think about the curvature of the pipe. You're right it wouldn't leave enough material. Guess I'll have to do something else.

Phil, thanks. I guess I'll cast the Roco's as is. You do never know when you'll need a whole one somewhere.

Cheers,

Joe

[Wombat]

You're welcome Joe. Yeah thats what i would do with the molding/casting myself and removing material from a resin casting is nothing too hard really. As for your armature mount, using a sleeve as mentioned above works fine mate and is all you need to do the job for the exposed nut inside.

[bwayne64]

(10-31-2011, 05:26 PM)Wombat Wrote: ^
Thank god Wonder Woman wasn't in command of the G, clear just doesn't cut!
Then on the other hand? Linda Carter in colonial colours. Hmmmmm.. LOL

Your wish Granted Unfortunately Maren wasn't as well stacked up top. But best I could do, LOL.


   

[Wombat]

LOL..Very crafty Joe!!

Woulda looked just fine wearing that uniform too!!

[Wombat]

A little bit of what i've been playing with here.. It's the cross arm's and how much fun they can be. I really managed to make a mess of these in the end but even so i'm moving on with it and leaving as they are. Really struggled to match what the guys did originally so this is my interpritation of it all. For starters on the rear face the parts layout is ever so slightly different on either side so i copied the port side for both, it's the neater look also in my book. Things are a little rough as i said but it's underneath and wont be seen very much anyway. No plane fuselage for the bottom yet but i'll just cut whatever i end up using and make it fit in the end.


                   



Looking pretty busy these days..

   

[LastBattlestar]

I was going to drop in today mate but decided to have a light day at home cleaning my solar panels and gutters and washing and detailing both cars inside and out.

Damn Phil, that's looking sensational! Really sharp and accurate as usual. The arm shroud detail is deceptively tricky to work out from the photos and even harder to build symmetrically. Yours looks great, lucky you don't have the bays on like me. The armature tube is stainless steel or alloy isn't it?

But she sure is looking busy underneath. We are bloody crazy ain't we?

Mike

[Wombat]

Thanks mate!! Armature is alloy on this but the sleeve on the cross arm is stainless.

Can't speak for both of us but i think at least one of us is crazy for sure!! LOL

Then what isn't there to like about one of these beasties now..

Looking forward to adding these to the build next i think.

   

No not the bays but the other thingies..

[darkimmitator]

Awesome update there Phil . Thanks for posting that . Getting ready to tackle that area myself and it will be a huge help .

[Wombat]

Thanks Ken.
It's just another one of them areas you will be sure to enjoy.
When you look at the reference we have you'll see what i mean about things being a little different on the back area between the two sides. They also have both the F1 valve covers on top facing the same way it was another thing i changed to mirror the port side.

Look forward to seeing it when ya done!

[LastBattlestar]

What other thingies Phil? You got me knackered there!

Oh Ken, I highly recommend the bay cross arm detailing. It's a pure joy and you will have hours of fun.

Mike

[Wombat]

Yep its a lot of fun cutting up them Panther hulls..

Come on Mike, you know them other thingies that i layed on there for that pic..

Changing tack again though already as instead i'm gonna do a bit more chippin and pipe work. Then them thingies after that perhaps.

[dbhs]

Looking good, Phil. The G is just a mess of greeblies.

[Wombat]

Thanks mate.. The way i've been building since playing around a little again things are just that, a mess alright..LOL

Just found another part right then which i had been looking for ages ago. Perfect timing as the area i am chipping and adding some more pipe work to right now is the area i couldn't find this part for previously. Typical i gotta go to bloody work now but when i get home i'll be adding cutting it and adding it for sure. Very happy to find this sucker!! Pic's to follow..

[LastBattlestar]

Ah yes, now I see the thingies! Are you going to detail them off the model?

You are looking for parts BEFORE work, starting early in the morning??? That's studio scale dedication for you.

Mike

[Wombat]

The fwd and aft ones i'm going to be detailing on the build but the centre ones i'll do mostly off of it. Just like yours really.

I had five minutes to spare and for some reason i went hunting like i had beforehand for this part. Didn't expect to find it which made me that bit more happier before heading off to another fantastic day at work.

I'm home now and will be into it soon!

[LastBattlestar]

Glad you had a fantastic day at work. I am too, still here past 8 as usual! Yes, a lot of the pipes on the arms flow onto the body so easier to detail them glued on. Forgot about that part in my joyous state here at work.

Mike

[star-art]

Don't be too anxious to install the center arms. All the wiring for the landing bays has to go through those. . .

[Wombat]

Been playing a bit more on this area. Glued down the parts that i had only tacked down previously because of needing final placement once the cross arm detail went on. Then went ahead and added the chips along with the rest of the piping bar a couple that will be left until i work out what plane fuselage i will go with in the end for the bottom of the cross arms. A couple more parts were added and now theres really only a few left unkown for this section now that so far are eluding me. Will be hunting a bit more again tonight for those so until they are found this is pretty much as far as i am going with this again. One side is pretty much complete now and although things don't look quiet right they still look good enough for me.

                       

[darkimmitator]

Phil , that coffin and under belly area looks bloody amazing !!!
Clean and tidy as well mate .
Thanks for sharing .

[Richard_2001]

Phil,

Man that is looking sweet! You have come a long ways for sure. I cant wait to see that with paint on it

Richard[/align]

[Wombat]

Thanks guys!

I'm in the process of working out the mapped pt21 bit for this coffin. It's listed as a part but that is only the bit at the bottom (or top depending how you look at the ref). I think i've worked out the rest though and now just need to play around a little and see how things look.

[Cylon-Knight]

@Wombat...
Sorry, I have n00b question if you wouldn't mind (or another member if anyone can help a poor Cylon out).
What size "pipe" is the armature made from? The first pics in your thread - and ironically the last (so far) both show the wonderful metal skeleton of the Battlestar. Is that a diameter of 2"... or 2 1/2"... or another size?

I am pondering my own no/low budget Battlestar build. Studio Scale, yes - 1:1 accurate no (due to cost, etc.). And the proper size of the armature itself is eluding me.

[Wombat]

CK, the pipe armature on this build is under size being the design it is and material used. I have either wrapped the armature with styrene or used pipe to sleeve it to a larger diameter of around 2" where things have needed. 2 1/2" would be too large but something around 2" will do the job for you. Have fun!!



Part 21 on the coffin map has had me stumped for sometime. Ever since i was detailing it to start with all those moons ago actually. The other night i was looking at things and came up with this.

   

Looks a little out but very close just the same.