Dragon

Here I go again. Another BT mech quickly done by using the paper plans to help.
I really have to say its not as easy as you may think. Sure the plans really help you get the size and proportions right, but all the surface details, the cut-ins and recessed details can trip you up if you dont plan ahead.
That said, this only took a little over week to get to this point. Next time you see this one it will have a urban camo scheme.

Mon Remonda in 1/2256

A couple of months back I mentioned at the end of a rant that I had started this vessel.
For those of you who dont know the Mon Remonda, it is the Mon Calamari ship that Han Solo commanded on the hunt for the Warlord Zsinj. It was 1200 meters long, bristling with armament.
50 turbo lasers, 20 ion cannons and at least 4 squadrons of fighters.
At this point in the build I have the main structure complete and the first coat of primer on. Im just starting on the scribing of the panel lines. Im following the style set by Anigrand's MC-80 ship. After im happy with the panels I'll add some more raised details and more hull blisters. A Calamari
doesnt look right without the blisters. The engines are giving me a problem. Im trying to decide whether to design and scratch some or just use the ones from the Revell Venator kit. They're a pretty good size and fit for what Ive built.
Anyone out there willing to turn me a set?

More Battletech!

After working on the TBolt I had to keep going in the mech line.
So looking over the bits that Ive started over the last couple of years I chose to get back to the
Zeus.



I started this one after getting ahold of a paper pattern and tried transferring it to styrene. Not as easy as you would think. The arms especially, were tricky, and I think I made the one gun too big because it interferes with the torso turning by bumping into the top of the thigh.
















While I worked on the Zeus I caught myself looking at the NovaCat that has been giving me problems. The legs and knee joint are a real pain. At this point the shoulders and guns are really slowing me down. But soon there will be another update with a built mech.

Doing mechs

You know how it is, you're busy working on a couple of kits, ( or 3 or 4) and a nice package arrives in the mail and then you brain shifts and you forget everything else.
Well, I got another revell Dougram/ Robotech kit AKA the Griffen in the Battletech universe.

I needed one because I wanted to put my Wolverine torso on the Griffen legs because I thought the proportions would look better.
If you look at one of my older posts you"ll see the problem I had.
Well now I am happier with my Wolverine. As you can see I deviated from the norm and discarded the hand held rifle commonly associated with this mech and went with the built in auto cannon.








Of course as I was working on it I was thinking about the classic first run mechs like the BattleMaster, Marauder, Rifleman and Warhammer.
I found a few picture of a new version of the classic Thunderbolt mech that I thought worked better than the original.



That first version always seemed clunky, mis-proportioned and ungainly.
Now this new one, I dont know the origin, is it the new re-seen or a fan design? But I found myself working on the torso, trying to make it work and before I knew it I was committed to finishing it. This despite the fact that I have like 8 other mechs in various stages of constuction (and of course like 20 other Star Wars kits).
But here it is in the primer stage after 2 weeks of work.


And finally a shot for size comparison.


The 70ton Thunderbolt, 100 ton Atlas and 55 ton Wolverine
.

too many things on my plate

really, i figure that, at the moment, I have about 36 kits and scratchbuilds in various stages of build.
I basically get side tracked very easily because a new idea pops in my head. Then I want to work on another kit a little bit, or start a new one, or need to paint one or prime this one, sand that one. Im out of control.
But at least Im not a hoarder, I dont have a thousand kits hidden on shelves that will never be built. And I try to finish 1 or 2 kits a month. Not as fast as Alan Ury but not as slow as others.
No photos right now of whats on my bench, Im too tired. I just needed to vent a little.
Oh I started on a 1/2256 Mon Remonda. The ship Han Solo was in command of while on the hunt for the Warlord Zsinj. I must be a sadist.

Freighter part deux

To begin with, the sensor dish. It was suggested I try this style and I think it works.
















I also added some cutouts to the top and front of the hull, greeblies will be added later.
Im not sure I need any cutouts on the back deck but that may change later on.

















At the moment Im playing with this idea for the engine vents. I tried a few other shapes but this
seemed to be the one that I didnt hate.













Now we see the docking ring. Several people chimed in and it was suggested that the overall shape should be octagonal to continue the theme but keep the round ring inside. This give the impression that ring is a universal docking system.
I used the part from the old crappy MPC Falcon kit and I plan to add some more piping after I cast a set.





















And lastly for this update a look at the bottom and the landing gear idea Im playing with.
I dont usually build my kits with landing gear just cause I like to build my stuff in-flight, but for this it would seem a little short sighted if I didnt at least give myself the option. So at least they are removable. Before I glued them in place(to actually hold up the ship,) I tested them and they did fold up, or retract if you prefer, quite nicely.

































Thanx for looking.

Ive always wanted to build a Correlian freighter like the Millennium Falcon, Outrider or Otana.
Problem is Ive never been able to come up with a design that worked for me. Well the impending arrival of the Fine Molds MF i find myself itching to do one.
The problem is how to do one that doesn't seem derivative or a flat out rip-off of others work.
Others have come up with designs that just seem to fit with the YT flavour.
Like Hackcore's awesome YT-2010:
http://s474.photobucket.com/albums/rr104/HACKCORE-/YT-2010/?action=view&current=CIMG2095.jpg
This one I kinda liked:
http://www.starshipmodeler.org/contest9/scratch_21.htm
A little weak but I can see it as the budget version.
Another good try:
http://www.starshipmodeler.org/contest11/scratch_22.htm
The Howling Barrel I thought also fits very nicely in the Correlian freighter line.
http://www.starshipmodeler.org/gallery12/bs_092207_howlingbarrel.htm





But like I said, I wanted to go my own path but remain in the same vein.
A few nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night and drew this.
All day at work I couldnt stop thinking about it, running it thru my mind and when I got home I started cutting.
As you can see, I went with a more angled, faceted design. Im not sure how to classify it. Not a stealth freighter. In a galaxy of cloaking devices, a faceted hull would make little difference right?
To me it feels more like a fast courier ship made for punching thru blockades.
Light blockade runner maybe?
I also borrowed a little detail from the Otana with the long Hall (for lack of a better term) splitting the back deck.
All the details arent there but they need to to fleshed out. What kind of guns? What shape for the engine vents? The docking rings, should the be round like the Falcons or can I do something different?
And greeblies? how much to do? Openings in the hull? Sensor dish?
This is going to be fun.