RookieLSP Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I built several SciFi kits as a kid. Amongst them was one of these original series Cylon Raiders from the first Battlestar Galactica show. That show was pure cheese compared to the new series but I sure did love it as a kid! I remember slamming that kit together in no time at all just so I could fly it around and play with it. That's mostly what I thought models were back then - toys you had to put together first. :wacko: Revell re-issued this kit some time ago with a few minor changes. Gone are the rockets you could have shoot out of the thing. A few extra details have been added, or at least it seems like it. It is a pretty basic kit with few parts, although just playing around with it already indicates that the fit between the upper and lower hull is not going to be ideal. Because I build planes, I'm gonna build this pretty much like I'd build a plane. For starters the raised panel lines will have to go! Much as I hate scribing, I hate raised panel lines more. I have no plans to add much in the way of detail, although I might try to busy-up the engine areas and close up the holes where those rockets used to shoot out. The rest I'm playing by ear to see where the moment takes me as I go along. Since this will be my first foray into SciFi as an adult I expect I'll botch the heck out of it somewhere along the way.... But who cares! I'm just gonna fly it around the house making laser noises and saying "Byyy yoour commmand..." in my best robot voice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RookieLSP Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 Fast forward about two weeks..... I finally managed to slog through the scribing on the top half of the hull. Thankfully there are far fewer panel lines on the bottom, and I'm on a bit of a roll, so I'm going to try to get through the rest of this so I can actually start construction. It should go much more quickly from here... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Felinoid Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Good work so far. I did the 1997 releases of both the Viper and the Cylon Raider a few years ago, with a little care to the fit and some careful weathering they actually build up as pretty nice kits (minus the non-existant cockpit detail, though-I did mine with resin aftermarket parts). Looking forward to seeing the completed build. If you get inclined, definatly try the 1/72 scale resin kits of the Viper Mk. 2 and 7 kits available from Black Sun via StarshipModeler-they are pricey, to be sure, but great detail and fit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RookieLSP Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 (edited) Thanks.. I'm rapidly discovering that "fit" isn't a word to applies to this kit. No huge issues but there are plenty of areas that will need to have some filling done to get it looking right. Edited October 20, 2008 by RookieLSP Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GEH737 Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 (edited) Save yourself a lot of time - skip the filler, and use small strips of plastic. On a lot of Sci-Fi kits, it really doesn't matter - and it will look just fine Edited October 20, 2008 by GEH737 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SBARC Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Look at the detail on the hull and you'll see tack runnig n gear wheels. It seems the original modeler that made the TV show model used a variety of model parts from his spares box and these kits copy the TV models.....so these parts can also be seen in the mold for the hull. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Big Kev Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Ah, I remember this kit Dave! I built it (and the Colonial Viper) as a kid too. Wonderful stuff, and wonderful memories. I look forward to seeing you bring this one to fruition. Kev Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PlasticWeapons Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 (edited) Hi! Nice work so far. I plugged up the torpedo holes in the "intakes" with some spare 1/48 Monogram (Revell) F-14A rear nozzle engine parts. It looks pretty good too! Give it a try. BTW, lots of gaps and poor fit in some very visible areas! Aaarggghhh.... Edited October 20, 2008 by PlasticWeapons Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RookieLSP Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 Thanks for the tips and encouragement folks! It's been a fun change from my normal aircraft stuff so far... Most of the main assembly is getting finished now. I really do hope to make this a fairly quick 'just for fun project' and not get too wrapped up in it. I'm hoping it serves to motivate my aircraft builds to get done faster. I do intend to take a lot of liberties when it comes to the painting. I'm not going with the bright, clean look of the original show. I want to make it a bit darker and more sinister. Any BSG purists out there... I apologize in advance! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Face Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 this looks strangely familiar... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RookieLSP Posted October 25, 2008 Author Share Posted October 25, 2008 The upper and lower hull sections have been joined. The fit is pretty much awful all around. My best option was to just glue the thing together in small segments working my way around the join, fitting it as best I could along the way. I made use of Ambroid Pro Weld for the first time. This is a strong solvent-based glue that really melts the parts together. After I sanded the parts to remove the seam it became apparent that the two pieces had literally become one piece of plastic: I've since begun to fill some of the really bad gaps between pieces of the model. I'm using two methods primarily for this. One is Milliput two-part epoxy compound. It's great because you can work it into the gaps, use a wet Q-tip (cotton bud) to remove all of the excess, and not have to sand a thing! The other method is using styrene strips for the larger gaps. On this kit there are many areas where this will help a ton. In this picture I've used strips to do the main filling of some large gaps but I'll still have to go back over them with Milliput or putty to fill and smooth the rest of the gap. You can also see that I closed the opening where the 'missiles' where supposed to fire from in the original issue. I still hope to conjure some detail to that area but for now at least the holes are closed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fsgray Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Looking forward to more progress reports, I'll be building this kit soon. I'll be lighting it too, should be simple, as 5mm LEDs fit in the sockets in the clear parts perfectly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
madmike Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Looks great so far. Be keeping an eye on the thread for more progress shots. :) MikeJ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RookieLSP Posted November 5, 2008 Author Share Posted November 5, 2008 Thanks guys! It is nearing the point where I can get a coat of primer on it and start to think about painting. A lot of gaps to fill and seams to smooth over on a kit that just doesn't fit together very well. I'm having fun with it though! I should have some pics soon... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Face Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 I look forward to it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RookieLSP Posted November 8, 2008 Author Share Posted November 8, 2008 Ok! Here's where we're at tonight. Huge gaps abounded, and I've done everything I'm gonna do to resolve all of that. Here is the nose after using Milliput to fill the gaps: Next up was the tail, where there was a substantial gap all the way around the upper hull part and the louvered parts that got installed on top. I used styrene strips all around to fill them. I did my best to mitre the ends of the strips to make a good fit all the way around. I may decide to go over the little gaps that remain just to get them looking more 'intentional' instead of looking like a fix: Fitting the upper and lower hulls together was a crap-shoot all around. Seemed like no matter which area I made line up, it created a step somewhere else, so I finally just did the best I could knowing that I'd have to sand away the rest. The worst areas were in the areas between the main hull and the outer wing tips. After a lot of sanding they're looking OK now. That left the underside. Here, the issue was the two holes in the lower hull which were originally intended for the 'rocket-launcher' triggers on the original kit. I filled those holes with milliput but there was a raised strip on the one side which was interrupted on the other. I used styrene strips again to restore that strip. I still need to fill around that and make it look more complete. Here's the uninterrupted side: And the restored side, still with work to do: With all of the sanding I've had to do I'll practically need to give the thing a bath to get it cleaned up enough for primer! I still hope to get the first coat of primer on it tonight, if only to move this build along. I've got several other builds on the bench and want to get some space cleared to get back to them. Comments welcomed! Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RookieLSP Posted November 9, 2008 Author Share Posted November 9, 2008 It's looking much more like a proper model now that it's had a bath and some primer! I'm particularly happy with how the holes in the bottom disappeared. That and that strip that I completed. It's hard to tell it wasn't molded that way... On to the paint booth! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RookieLSP Posted November 12, 2008 Author Share Posted November 12, 2008 Tonight's update! I began the painting process by painting that louvered front 'window' gloss black. This was covered with a liquid mask following an attempt at using tape. I think I'd rather mask off the worst aircraft canopy you can think of than try that again. I wish I could say my confidence was high that the liquid mask will work. We shall see. Then I pre-shaded the model focusing on panel lines and other mechanical looking areas using a dark gray color, and applied the first coat of the primary color. I used Tamiya Sky Gray darkened with a few drops of a darker gray. In these photos the pre-shading is almost completely washed out but it's actually quite distinct in person. I'll be going over the base colors a few more times with varied shades to beat it up. I figure these things were going in and out of planetary atmospheres on the show so there would be considerable wear, right? Who knows! After all, they 'bank' in turns in a vacuum! Somebody explain that.... This might just end up with the Cylon version of a TPS scheme by the time I'm through. The louvered thingamabobs back by the engines are still just in primer. I've got something different planned for them.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alvis 3.1 Posted November 12, 2008 Share Posted November 12, 2008 This is coming along quite nicely, especially considering the source kit. I've built two of them, and they are a little big on the un-fun side. Keep it up, it should look really nice when done! Alvis 3.1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RookieLSP Posted November 13, 2008 Author Share Posted November 13, 2008 ...they are a little big on the un-fun side. Too right! I thought this would be a 'nice, easy build' before I started it. I'm still having fun with it though. It's allowing me to try some different things that are sure to help me on more 'serious' projects, without the stress over completely stuffing it up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RookieLSP Posted November 18, 2008 Author Share Posted November 18, 2008 Since I've been bouncing all over the place on different projects I thought it was about time to get back on this one for a while.... After the two shades of gray had cured I went over it with a third, much lighter shade. In the following shots it looks a bit too pronounced, but I'm hopeful that it will settle into the scheme as I get to the serious weathering stage and flat coating. I also masked off the engine area and started in with Alcald II metalizers! First I went over the whole area with pale burnt metal. A good base, but too pale and kinda gold looking depending on the light. So I went over that with a misted and irregular coat of steel. Now I think it looks much more like a darker surface that's been exposed to extremes of heat. Oddly enough I accidentally achieved a two-toned look! Depending on the angle it goes more towards the base color or the steel. Kinda cool! Next up will be the exhaust areas. I'll be painting these with Alclad II Jet Exhaust. More soon I hope! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RookieLSP Posted December 1, 2008 Author Share Posted December 1, 2008 Almost there now! The liquid mask experiment on the canopy was a pretty horrible flop. Most likely my fault, but it still required that I paint over that whole area and try something else. I wasn't about to attempt using tape again with all those tiny angles so.... I repainted that blasted thing by hand. Very unhappy with it, but short of sanding the whole thing smooth and really starting over, it'll have to do. Looks OK from a normal viewing distance, I guess. On the other hand, I decided to have a go at masking and painting the stripes, and this went extremely well! I had zero confidence that the kits old decals could be made to snug down over all the raised areas they had to cover. Plus, I just wanted to give it a go. I'm going to attempt the pentagonal Cylon markings, too, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to replicate the pattern with a home made mask. We'll see. I also went with a smaller width to the stripes just because I like 'em better that way! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aigore Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Great work!!! Really nice paintjob!! Cheers! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Noice Raider ! The paint looks sharp and I like how you did the exhaust area ... Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RookieLSP Posted December 6, 2008 Author Share Posted December 6, 2008 Thanks guys! Clear coat and weathering this weekend, I hope... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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