Frak! This thing is huge!! SS Battlestar build!

[swpropmaker]

I had an opportunity to purchace Star-Arts Original in progress studio scale Galactica! Finally got the sucker paid for and look what arrived yesterday!

Observations..

Star-Art's attention to detail is fantastic... craftsmanship unbelievable......... and im talking about the shipping crate!!! The only thing that broke was the upper body panel.. it broke along three scribe lines which I have been told that the vibration during shipping may have snapped it like you would do if you were trying to scribe and cut acrylic normaly... no worries as I am having another plate done with out the secondary details as they are provided pre detailed in the CR parts kit.






Building a mount today for the main structure then gonna make specific head, landing bay and engine work station mounts...





The replica is much larger than I ever thought. It's one thing seeing it in pictures but in person... breath taking!

Star-Art's Big G is really a work of art... it's was his first and was showcased on his website that I miss very much. I am very proud to own and continue the build. I have purchaced Custom Replicas parts set also. I'll be using a ton of real kit parts because I have a ton of the kits already with a piece missing for my Star Wars projects. I've bagged all the parts according to where they belong on the replica. I will slowly add detail to assemblies.

Another cool thing was all the balsa work patterns Star-Art included... will make a nice display next to the final G. I always love the behind the scenes stuff!!

I will watch Wambat's build closley and hope to do this Galactica justice.... now.. where in the hell do all these parts go!

Thanks again Charles for the opportunity...

Steve

[darkimmitator]

Congradulations Steve , on your purchase of the Star Art Battlestar !! Charles certainly is an engineering marvel . I am excited to see another SS Battlestar builder join the family and am equally excited to follow your build / detail progress !!!

Ken

[JAWS]

Wow thanks for posting this Steve.
I was wondering who it was that bought Charles's first build.
Nice stuff & we look forward to seeing it come together.
Congratulations

Jase

[LastBattlestar]

Hi Steve and thanks for sharing the good news! I was at Phil's place for the opening of his new Battlestar sections last week AMD whilst on Skype, Charles mentioned that his Gal was on the way to you. Very cool that it made the trip OK!

It is certainly a very large model. Only a few of us worldwide can truly appreciate that. I find that when I stand at the front and look almost seven feet down to the rear that it becomes the most apparent. Please take heaps of pics as you progress and don't be shy about posting any updates as after as possible.

Mike

[star-art]

Merry Christmas Steve, thanks for the kind words and I'm glad you're happy with it. I'm relieved it made it there and not in pieces! LOL Yeah, we went to a LOT of trouble packing this thing up. Plexiglass structures can be rather brittle and those scribe lines are like tempting fate when it comes to panels splitting. I think some vibration or bumps during transit caused the lid to pop off somehow and it fell off to one side, breaking in two.

Just imagine what might have happened had the model not been resting in a solid bed of Styrofoam! The way this thing was packed, no part of the model was in direct contact with the crate. That way it could absorb vibrations and minor impacts with minimal damage. Since it was transported by truck, I'm sure it had a rather rough ride. Not to mention the forklift action. . .

Kudos to Richard2001 for building the crate. I designed it especially for this model and he did a fantastic job building it to my very demanding specs. While most carpentry projects have tolerances of, say, 1/8 inch, this one had to be to the millimeter in order to fit the model correctly. I think Richard said it was the most precise wood project he's ever built.

I spent two days cutting all the foam, fitting everything, and packing it all up. The cradle turned out to be a neat idea as it lets you load the model onto a platform and then lift it into the crate.

At any rate, this closes a major chapter in my life regarding this build. I took lots of pics of the crating process and I will post some of them to finish out my own separate thread on this build that's here on this site. Then, Steve can take over with updates in this thread.

Good luck and Happy Modeling!!!

[swpropmaker]

Where one story ends another begins!

[LastBattlestar]

I never thought I'd see the day when Charles didn't have a Battlestar of his own under construction. It's been over 12 years since he and I started cooking up our projects together. I can only hope that you get to build yours someday Charles. Then everything will be right in the universe again

I'm sure you will do it justice Steve. I don't know you due to me.being a minor player at the RPF, but hopefully that will change now that you have joined the Galactica builders brotherhood.

Mike

[Richard_2001]

Gentlemen,

As the builder of the Magnificent Shipping Crate I say thank you for your kind words.

It has been a Long road for us Mike: 12 years for you and Charles and almost 10 for me, and we are still compiling the latest information and making minute corrections in the pursuit of perfection! I know Charles has built more Galactica's than anyone in the world at this point so he probably is wanting to build something else before he tackles the old girl again but when he does it will be spectacular and over engineered and overbuilt as always!

Merry Christmas Everyone

Richard

[kbilly]

You guys take this hobby like.... way beyond hobby level!!

[LastBattlestar]

It ain't no hobby mate, it's a LIFESTYLE. Just you wait until you begin your medical frigate, then you will understand!

Mike

[Wombat]

LOL, Love that title!

Congrats on takin ownership of that small project, pretty impressive in size aint they?

Really good to see this build being posted here with the others. Its seems to be the place for em again just of late.

Look forward to watchin this come together there.

Have fun!

[Noel Fuller]

Where can I buy this kit?

[star-art]

If Steve will permit me, there are three choices:

1. Build it yourself. Cheapest option but could take years (sometimes a decade or longer). You can get a set of plans to help you get started.

2. Get parts and components from http://www.CustomReplicas.com. The head section comes already built (by me) and the rest will go together easily. It's pricey but you'll have a finished project more quickly. Contact them for more info. See Wombat's thread for an example.

3. You can follow 2. above and then commission me (the designer) to build all or part of the structure for you. This option costs the most but you will have a finished model very quickly in comparison to the other choices. Again, see Wombat's thread for an example.

[LastBattlestar]

Update bump!

Mike

[jedimaster]

Hey guy's, so I am in a position to be able to buy one of these kits. Now it has everything but the head, which I've heard there are plans for and the endcaps for the landing bay's. Oh and of course a few kits I need to purchase some of which I already have. Now not being a BSG nut and I haven't really studied the studio model like some of you guy's have. I was wondering where I could get the resin end caps for the bay's initially? Straight to custom replicas? Also is there a head kit possibly at a reasonable price or am I better off just building it in styrene from plans? Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.... Simon.

[star-art]

There is no head "kit" and never will be. It's the signature detail that makes the CR model the most accurate replica out there. It's also too complicated to build so it is only provided fully built and ready to detail. The bay end caps are available from CR. I hope you are able to get one of these!

[LastBattlestar]

Status report Steve!

Mike