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Shuttle Wars Update


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  • 2 months later...

Your shuttle is turning out really awesome, Gil !

 

You should have contacted me about the decals. I have designed a set of realistic belly decals that fit the Monogram shuttle perfectly. AND they're laser printed, so no worries about the ink running. When I finish the whole set, I'll get them commercially done.

 

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Looking forward to the next update.

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Well, I had to use what I could get, and I bought em years ago when I started the project.  They were a major PITA to work with.  I do have a set of high quality decals....Leading Edge, Cutting Edge, or whatever that I am going to use on the Revell orbiter, and then that is it....I am done with large scale shuttles.

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Nice job on the videos Dutycat! But, geez, don't give up on 1/72 Shuttles ... you're just figuring out all the shortcuts!!  :woot.gif:

 

On the vid where you're talking about the decals, on the belly, is that seam down the centre of the belly, is it the kit seam or the decal seam? If it's the kit seam, does it show even though you used the power sander on it?

 

Thanx!

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Well, Pete, I only have so much room in the house, and it is not so much a matter of "giving up" on 1/72 shuttles...it is more like "been there, done that, got the T-Shirt" and now it is time to move on to other cool projects.  I have started work on the big Moebius Seaview.  I would like to get that ready for JAXCON this year.  That's on Feb 11, so I have to hustle.  I also have the Dragon 1/72 Saturn V, the classic 1/350 starship Enterprise, the big 1/72 Moebious Skipkack, and the Revell 1/72 Gato and Type VIIC U-Boat kits.  The latter I have all the internal resin for, and I intend to light it up.  You can tell I like subs.  I was in anti-submarine warfare in the Navy with the S-3 Viking, but if I had not gone into aviation, I would have gone into subs.  As it was, I got to learn quite a bit about how they are engineered, and had the opportunity in the Navy to visit and sail on them.  They are, in a way, the closest thing to a space ship here on Earth.

 

But about the model...there is no visible seam on the center belly.  That has been puttied and sanded.  You might be able in one spot to see it if the light hits it right, but the seam you see in the video is mostly where the decals meet.  As they are ink jet decals, they are not opaque enough and if the two sides don't meet up exactly, there will be a seam.  If the two sides overlap at all, even slightly, it will be darker there and a seam will appear.  There is also a less visible, real seam on the actual vehicle as the tiles are base referenced from that point outward at application.

 

As I mention in the video, the decals did not really fit anywhere.  There are gaps and overlap all over.  What I did to bring it all together is give it a blended oil paint treatment and then shoot a gray filter over it.  I was real happy with the way the entire project turned out, but it was four years of on and off struggle figuring out and dealing with this kit's shortcomings.  My hope is that by going through all of the effort document most of what I did, other folks who attempt to tackle this beast will be aware of its shortcomings and be able to get a better result than they otherwise would have going into it cold.  It really is magnificent when complete, if done well.  I have on last video to publish on the Monogram stack.  After that I am going to push a few other, mostly smaller projects out the door and then maybe I will get around to the Revell Columbia next summer, or maybe even the year after that.
 

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Oh, and Hotdog, your decals look great!  Very nice job.

 

I see that Warbird now makes a tile sheet also  They are over-sized and the "patchwork" look they have gone with is kind of wonky looking, but it can all be brought together with oils and a filter.

 

Yours are better....photographically realistic.  Get them professionally printed and they will sell well.  The other obvious shortcoming on both the Revell and Monogram orbiters is the lack of texturing in the fuselage.  I fixed that the hard way, but I think if a good set of decals were available, all of the strip work I did would not have been needed.  I could have simply masked off and sprayed the thinned out putty, textured it with the zimmerit tool, and applied the decals representing the borders of the blankets. 

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On December 4, 2016 at 10:14 AM, DutyCat said:

 I have started work on the big Moebius Seaview.  ...  the Dragon 1/72 Saturn V ... the classic 1/350 starship Enterprise ...  the big 1/72 Moebius Skipjack and the Revell 1/72 Gato and Type VIIC U-Boat kits.

 

YIKES!! Okay ... carry on Gil!!  :jaw-dropping:

 

I hafta thank you for all the Build videos on the Shuttle. Your Unique solution for the blankets and your resin. I'll be participating in the Classic GB (kits manufactured pre-1980) in January and will be using your Resin "Beanie Cap" as well RealSpace Models Resin and PE on a 1/72 Shuttle build. Take a peek when the GB's up and running.

 

Thanx for the effort you put in to the design and manufacture of the Beanie Cap ... I'm looking forward to using it!

 

We'll see you around ... :salute:

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Pete,  thanks for the kind words.

 

Test the width of the beanie cap before using it.  It might be a little wide and short from the molding process (flexible mold between to flat plates, held together with rubber bands).  If it is, drop it on some hot water for 20-30 seconds.  Let soften it up and squeeze the sides a little.  When you are happy with the sape, dunk it in cold water to "fix" it.  I found with mine it was a tad wide and short and I had to sand some off of the sides and add some putty to the top to get it to fit.

Edited by DutyCat
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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi :) For some inexplicable reason I just saw your videos... I'm regularly checking out the shuttle pics, but I never knew that there is an entire serries of video logs. And I just watched that Pt28 video, and I'm literally out of words. This is the best shuttle model! Congrats! I remember that once I came across a video of almost the same display of a shuttle model (scale, display box) but only a little bit taller and with lights on the exhausts + the exhaust gases made out of cotton, and the light through the cotton, and imitation of the sounds, such as for 'lift of' settings. And I was really impressed. But this! Oh la la... It's just the best shuttle! I'll make myself some coffee and plan to spend the afternoon for watching all previous videos. :))

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4 hours ago, my favs are F`s said:

Hi :) For some inexplicable reason I just saw your videos.......

 

Thank you for your kind words.  I am glad you like it.  If you are going to "binge watch" the entire series, you will need a large pot of coffee, because there are quite a number of them.

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Gil, You did an excellent job on the Monogram Shuttle Stack!  I really like the thermal blankets.  I never would have thought that putty could be sprayed through an airbrush.  I sometimes have a tough time getting paint through an airbrush. :rofl:You introduced us to a new idea and technique for creating the thermal blankets that really looks good.  I can't wait to see more of your Revell 1/72 Shuttle build. 

 

Mike.

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9 hours ago, crowe-t said:

Gil, You did an excellent job on the Monogram Shuttle Stack!  I really like the thermal blankets.  I never would have thought that putty could be sprayed through an airbrush.  I sometimes have a tough time getting paint through an airbrush. :rofl:You introduced us to a new idea and technique for creating the thermal blankets that really looks good.  I can't wait to see more of your Revell 1/72 Shuttle build. 

 

Mike.

Thanks, Mike.  I will get back to the Revell after a break for some other projects.  The Revell will be far less complicated, as it is just the orbiter.

 

6 hours ago, crackerjazz said:

Spectacular work!!!   It's a sight to behold displayed in its glass case!   

Thanks!  Yes, a case does help a large model look its best!

Edited by DutyCat
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