Thales Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 So, I had a craving in the past few days to scratch some random scifi stuff... specifically something vaguely like the cloud city from SW:EP4.... I've been inspired by some John Berkey images. I was thinking of making this thing out of some disks of thin plywood and greeble the whole thing up. I was figuring the disks would be somewhere in the range of medium pizza sized. I was planning on making a stand out of 1/2in PVC pipe that would slip into a hole in the underside. Beyond my daydreaming, are there any suggestions on how to go about planning such a large scratch building project or how to approach a topic that has never seen the light of day? I'm tempted to build a skeleton for the whole thing and then just keep layering detail on as ideas pop up... but I've never been the best at winging it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TaiidanTomcat Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 http://artships.com Just click on a year and you can see how good this modeler is with random parts. I always check that site when i need some inspiration and it never fails to impress me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brent Gair Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Beyond my daydreaming, are there any suggestions on how to go about planning such a large scratch building project or how to approach a topic that has never seen the light of day? The first thing I'd ask you before I offerred any advice would be, "What kind of tools do you have?" Big projects for a guy with an Xacto knife and a Dremel tool are a bit different than big projects for a guy with a bandsaw and a lathe . Anything can be scratchbuilt in any size. I made a 102" ship from wood, a .5" flying saucer from aluminum and few things in the 30" range from foam and fiberglass. And I have some big opinions about display stands (actually, I can be obnoxiously opinionated about stands ! ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thales Posted September 29, 2008 Author Share Posted September 29, 2008 (edited) I have hand tools, but no lathe or bandsaw. The only piece of shop equipment I have is a drill press. And what are your opinions on stands? For a cloud city type thing, with lots of spindly/thin/easily crushed bits hanging off the bottom, I was thinking of a stand that would support the model and hopefully not detract from it. Edited September 29, 2008 by Thales Quote Link to post Share on other sites
illithid00 Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 I have hand tools, but no lathe or bandsaw. The only piece of shop equipment I have is a drill press.And what are your opinions on stands? For a cloud city type thing, with lots of spindly/thin/easily crushed bits hanging off the bottom, I was thinking of a stand that would support the model and hopefully not detract from it. For something like Cloud City, the central spire going down from the center of the city could function as a stand. Make the central spire from a clear acrylic rod and build the rest of the model around it, using part of the rod extending down from the city to attach to a wooden base. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thales Posted October 1, 2008 Author Share Posted October 1, 2008 For something like Cloud City, the central spire going down from the center of the city could function as a stand. Make the central spire from a clear acrylic rod and build the rest of the model around it, using part of the rod extending down from the city to attach to a wooden base. That is along the lines of what I was thinking of trying. Now I just need to find the time and energy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brent Gair Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 (edited) My often unpopular opinion about stands is that I don't like to see models impaled on vertical posts like big bugs from an insect collection. Many modelers have just developed the practice of using a vertical rod simply because it's easy. I think it takes away from the "professional" quality of a lot of work. Most modelers I see on these forums do OUTSTANDING work. I think that work is diminished by stands that scream "cheap and easy". If you look at the long history of professional display and manufacturers models, the vertical post is almost never used. If you look at amateur builders on the internet, 90% of them use a vertical post. Since 90% of modelers use a post, 90% of modelers disagree with me. If they burn me at the stake, I just hope that stake isn't a vertical post ! I might also suggest that the base of stand be painted MDF as opposed to wood. Why? Well, as you can see, I've used wood and it's very nice...very nice indeed. The problem is that many modelers use cheap pine or spruce plaques for the wooden base and those are very difficult to finish properly. MDF with some textured paint is quite pleasing and MDF is really cheap. Wood is great if you are willing to select and properly finish it. I can't comment specifically about Cloud City because I'm just not that familiar with it. What I would say to any scratchbuilder is to check out the great deals you can get on a bench mounted scroll saws. They are incredibly handy and suitable ones can now be found for under $100.00. Let's face it, when you think of something like the Moebius Seaview, $100.00 is the price of new kit! A drill press is a great tool for the scratchbuilder. It's one of the basics and you've got that. The scroll saw is the next basic tool (IMHO). You'll soon find that you use it to trim wood the same way that you use scissors to trim paper...just darn handy. Edited October 2, 2008 by Brent Gair Quote Link to post Share on other sites
illithid00 Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 My often unpopular opinion about stands is that I don't like to see models impaled on vertical posts like big bugs from an insect collection. Many modelers have just developed the practice of using a vertical rod simply because it's easy. I think it takes away from the "professional" quality of a lot of work. Most modelers I see on these forums do OUTSTANDING work. I think that work is diminished by stands that scream "cheap and easy". If you look at the long history of professional display and manufacturers models, the vertical post is almost never used. If you look at amateur builders on the internet, 90% of them use a vertical post. Since 90% of modelers use a post, 90% of modelers disagree with me. If they burn me at the stake, I just hope that stake isn't a vertical post :unsure: ! I would agree with you 100% on this when it comes to 99% of models. However, I think the vertical post would work fairly well with Cloud City. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Cloud_City That's got a pretty good picture of what Cloud City looks like. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Youngtiger1 Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 http://artships.comJust click on a year and you can see how good this modeler is with random parts. I always check that site when i need some inspiration and it never fails to impress me. Wow, those are some nice Si-fi models. I can't believe they are all made from regular house hold items. It sure is a good site for inspiration Thanks for sharing! Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thales Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 I do think that for 'flying' models, that a curved or non-vertical support does look nice. For "on the ground stuff" I've had pretty good luck with inexpensive walnut plaques with scratch built wheel chucks. Granted, I sand and stain and seal the wood before using it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thales Posted October 6, 2008 Author Share Posted October 6, 2008 Also, I picked up a small scroll saw from a craigslist post this weekend. Got it for a steal. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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