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Revellogram B5 Star Fury


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I wasn't really sure where to post this, so I hope it's OK to post a WIP thread here. If not, the mods can move it where they think it should go.

Anyway, as a huge Babylon 5 fan back in the day, I've had this kit in the stash going on 10 years now, and have finally decided it's time to build it. I haven't built any sci-fi kits since I was a kid (and IIRC, they were the Cylon Raider and Colonial Viper kits from BSG).

Here's the obligatory box shot:

box.jpg

The kit is not overly complicated, though the fit is only average so far, but I'm hoping to get the construction out of the way relatively quickly. Here's where it's at currently:

construction_1.jpg

Thanks for looking, and feel free to give me any advice you deem necessary!

Kev

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Milliput will become your best friend, if you decide to fix the whacking great gaps at the wing-roots.

I loved watching the show, but the models Revellogram foisted on us are almost criminal!

Yeah, I'm seeing that the whole build is a bit gappy. I've begun adding styrene shims to the bottom wing roots, and will do the same for the top if required. I've been told that this is kit isn't really very accurate either, but that doesn't really bother me.

Kev

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Well, you guys weren't kidding when you warned about the gaps! I've been in fill 'n' sand hell the last couple of days, and I haven't even got to the main problem area in the wing roots! I'm a little bit worried by what I hear about the kit decals too, as I had planned to use them. Anyway, some more photos once there's something worth showing.

Kev

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The kit decals I've used in the past were OK, but I recall a lot of decal set being involved.

Thanks for the reassurance Mark. I'd read that they didn't react well at all to setting solutions - something to do with the glue backing that's been used. Anyway, I'll find out soon enough I guess!

I've spent most of my time on this thing filling and sanding the gaps around the wing inserts - what a pain! I've finally got them to the point where I'm happy with them though:

construction_2.jpg

They've had a nice coat of Mr Surfacer, ready for some paint. I've decided I'll need to paint the inner wing areas before the external sections are attached, but I have no idea what colour they should be. I'm guessing the same colour as the rest of the model...yeah?

More soon.

Kev

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Interesting you should mention that. In searching for more specific painting information, I came across a forum post on Hobby Talk that says both the Space Station and the Starfury kits were to be re-released this year...nothing yet!

Kev

That project got killed. No word as to exactly why, but it probably had to do with the amount of licensing money needed. As such, the Starfury and Station are not being reissued at all.

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You might be interested in some alternative decals and better resin guns

Thanks for the links vjhl2000. I'm just going to build this one more-or-less OOB, so no resin or aftermarket decals for me. I'm hoping that the kit stickers pull through, as I'll be a bit stuck if they don't!

Glad I have my own masters and molds--those Fury guns have been sold out every time I see that page.

Interesting. Do you intend to offer them commercially, or are they just for your own builds?

That project got killed. No word as to exactly why, but it probably had to do with the amount of licensing money needed. As such, the Starfury and Station are not being reissued at all.

I see. That's a shame. I have to confess though that I'm really not enjoying this one, and would have serious reservations about buying another anyway.

Kev

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Interesting. Do you intend to offer them commercially, or are they just for your own builds?

I'll need to go and see what I have already popped out. The upper and lower guns are a little different, which I accounted for with an adapter. This is making me want to restart my builds--the grandiose plan on rescribing all the panel lines to be a) scribed and :coolio: accurate and recasting the wings without that signature warp/gap on the bottom port side if memory serves...

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Nice work Big Kev! <_<

I like the way you have treated the upper and lower wings as separate subassemblies, I wish I had thought of that when I did mine a few years ago (made as a birthday present for a friend of mine who is a massive B5 fan).

I also had heard a lot of bad press about this kit before I built it (including a detailed build article in Scale Models International magazine), but when I actually got to building it found I had encountered worse in my time. I don't really recall having too many difficulties with the wing roots, although the wing insert seams certainly needed some dealing to. I cheated a little by painting the wing leading edges in a darker grey to help disguise the seam.

As an upside though, once built the model is very strong and robust due to its shape and structure. Mine has been back to me for repairs after a visitor to my friend's house found out the hard way the model wasn't attached to the stand. My friend thought the damage might be serious, but ten minutes work with superglue to reattach a couple of tines and nozzles was all that was needed to return it to 'as new' condition.

Here are some pics for comparison with yours:

RichardsStarfury001-1.jpg

RichardsStarfury005.jpg

RichardsStarfury007.jpg

RichardsStarfury011.jpg

I replaced the gun barrels with styrene tube (not much more accurate looking, but an improvement on the kit's), and used the kit decals with little hassle, although a lot of setting solution was needed for Ivanova's Eagle design across the top of the centrebody.

It was a fun build and made a nice change from my more usual jets and props.

Edited by Mumbles
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That's lovely work Mumbles! Makes me think all that work I put into filling those seams was a bit of a waste. What colour did you paint yours? I'm planning to build the Presidential escort ship at this stage, but I'm struggling to make sense of RM's colour call-outs. Interesting too that you guys have said that the kit decals were OK with plenty of setting solution - which one did you use? There's a note in the instructions warning that the kit's decals aren't compatible with setting solutions! Gulp...

Kev

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That's lovely work Mumbles! Makes me think all that work I put into filling those seams was a bit of a waste. What colour did you paint yours? I'm planning to build the Presidential escort ship at this stage, but I'm struggling to make sense of RM's colour call-outs. Interesting too that you guys have said that the kit decals were OK with plenty of setting solution - which one did you use? There's a note in the instructions warning that the kit's decals aren't compatible with setting solutions! Gulp...

Kev

Thanks mate!

From memory (without having the model to hand) I used Tamiya medium sea grey for the main colour, with dark sea grey on the leading edges, then applied a very heavy dark wash for weathering.. I used micro sol and micro set for the decals. The disclaimer might just be a dont-sue-us CYA for the company. I'd try a small inconsequential decal as a sacrifice/test with setting solution though just to be sure.

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OK, I've progressed a tiny bit since my last build update. The only paint I had that I thought might be close to a suitable grey was Tamiya XF-19 Sky Grey. Having sprayed it on, I think it's too light, but I've tried to create interest with the odd counter-shaded panel:

painting_1.jpg

I'm struggling to come up with a suitable shade of blue for the Presidential trim too - any ideas?

I've decided to use the kit stand, and will glue it in place when the time comes. I decided a super-glossy black finish might be apropos for this one:

stand.jpg

Really hard to pick out the shape or details though. Kinda like a Shadow ship. ;)

Starship Modeler is out of stock on the replacement guns (I presume permanently), so I'm just going to use the stock kit parts on this one. Again, not sure how to paint them though.

All comments welcome, and thanks for looking!

Kev

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For the Starfury model I built years ago, I used an overall coat of light ghost gray with some of the panels done in dark ghost gray to represent replaced panels that hadn't been faded by un-filtered solar exposure. I was pretty happy with the results. As for my decals, I used a thinned down white glue mixture to apply them, rolling a wet cotton swab over the top to squeeze out the excess glue/water mixture and get them to conform to the panels. It worked just fine in my case.

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