Epic Sc@le Sci.fi Modelling

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GARY R. WELSH

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EPIC SCALE SCI.FI MODELLING

EPIC SCALE SCI.FI MODELLING

£14.99 ISBN: 978-0-9569053-6-9

FROM BASICS TO COMPLETION– ADVANCED PROJECTS MADE EASY 9 780956 905369

G A R Y

R .

W E L S H

www.scififantasymodeller.co.uk [email protected]

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M A S T E R

M O D E L L E R

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EPIC SCALE SCI.FI MODELLING FROM BASICS TO COMPLETION– ADVANCED PROJECTS MADE EASY G A R Y

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W E L S H

EPIC SCALE SCI.FI MODELLING

“To Mum; who always knew I could.”

Kathleen Anne Welsh: 1939 – 2005. And also my Father Patrick Michael ‘PADDY’ Welsh: 1938 – 2014. “Whose love and inspiration taught me the simple pleasure to be had from making things...”

Acknowledgements

ADH publications) whose initial desperation for a

When undertaking a project such as writing a book,

descent sci-fi modeller meant I got a fair crack at the

there are always people without whom one would not

whip; all round ‘top bloke’ Nik J. Wigman; Patrick

have reached the end of the journey.

Watson (for advice on photography); Martin Bower and

First of all my grateful thanks go to Mike and Dave

Mat Irvine; all at Norwich Scale Model Group (the best

who had the initial faith to commission me to write this

bunch of modellers in the Eastern counties) plus Alan

volume in the first place. Their help and guidance kept

‘You Madman’ Bottoms and fellow Sci.fi & fantasy

me on the straight and narrow during a very long and

modeller Roger Brown at Harrow IPMS.

arduous couple of years. My fellow Happy Medium

A very special thank you also goes to Duane Rollo,

regulars Andy and Barry also deserve a special mention.

without whom the Nebulon A frigate would never have

Of the many company representatives who helped,

happened;

Brian

and

Brenda

Read

for

their

those deserving special note are: Dale Luckhurst of

encouragement, especially Brian for his logical solutions

Hornby Hobbies Ltd.; Robbie, Sam and Gary at

to almost impossible problems; all the guys at Resin

Langley’s Toymaster, Norwich and Malcolm Rollings of

Illuminati; Vince Stanley and Shaun Hudson for

Kingkit, whose patience while I disrupted his operation

specialist ‘project management’; my father, Patrick

deserves very special thanks. Also worthy of mention is

(Paddy) Michael Welsh for starting me off on this crazy

everyone at E.M.A. Model Supplies for their excellent

hobby in the first place and finally... my wife Andrea

service and technical support; Byte computers; R.E.

who gave me the strength and support to carry on when

Thorns ironmongers and all the team at Graphicair.

I thought I couldn’t, whose faith in me never faltered and

Of individuals, I want to thank Richard A. Franks (of

whose love is my inspiration.

The moral right of the author has been asserted. Editor-in-Chief: Mike Reccia Specials Editor: Andy Pearson Series Production: David Openshaw Published by: Happy Medium Press ( www.scififantasymodeller.co.uk ) Copyright © Happy Medium Press 2012 ISBN: 978-0-9569053-6-9 Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by Dolman Scott All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the Publishers, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other, without written permission from the Publishers. All copyrights are acknowledged. The Author and Publishers take no responsibility for any harm or injury to the reader as a result of using the techniques described in this publication. Safety and common sense should always be foremost when using these techniques and materials. Read all instructions and warnings on tools, paint, glues, and all chemicals. Hobby knives are very sharp and serious injury can result from improper use. Your work area should be well ventilated at all times. Children should be supervised at all times by an adult familiar with hobby safety. Please note that all hints, tips and procedures in this publication are given in good faith and based on actual experience. However, neither the Author or Publishers can be responsible if something goes wrong during construction. 2

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CONTENTS

4:

Tools and Materials

13:

Basic Techniques in Design and Kit Bashing

24:

‘By Your Command!’

34:

Nebulon A Frigate

94:

Proto Nebulon Cruiser

107:

The Rebel Fleet

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Photography and Compositing: a brief description

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Glossary of kits used

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Suppliers, bibliography, useful websites

128:

About the author 3

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Chapter 1 Tools and Materials You can’t build anything without tools. However, you don’t need a fully kitted out workshop with all the latest and (price prohibitive) kit to hand. The models that were built for this book weren’t created within a workshop full of such tools. One fellow modeller (who shall remain anonymous to spare his embarrassment), spends an absolute fortune on all the latest tools and gadgets, but uses only a fraction of these, whilst most just sit in his wonderful tool box never to see the light of day. Do you really want to end up as the guy with ‘All the gear... no idea’? In terms of basics, every tool box should have at least one of the following: something to cut with, something to hold parts with, something to measure with, and something to finish with. Is it that simple? Well, not exactly, but we should discuss these categories in detail.

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Something to cut with... The most obvious tool needed to cut material with is a knife or blade of some kind. In traditional plastic kit modelling you will usually not need anything more than a simple craft knife, of which there are many on the market. Once you enter the dizzy world of scratchbuilding you will find that you need to arm yourself with something a little more sophisticated. My tool box contains a Swann Morton No.3 and No.4 handle with a straight edged blade. These are used for scoring and snapping kit parts, cutting plastic card, trimming kit parts and general light duties. For heavier cutting on thicker materials I use a standard Stanley type knife with heavy duty blades. There is also a multitude of specialist cutting tools that can be used and, again, I use a small selection of these. I find an Ofla circle cutter to be invaluable, as you can’t cut a perfect circle freehand, no matter how clever you are. A multi-angle cutting saw is also invaluable for cutting tubing and extruded shape materials although, if you can’t justify the expense, a good quality hacksaw (which I also have) and a steady hand are just as good. Side cutters are also a very useful tool as they are a quick way of removing unwanted extras from kit parts and cutting parts from sprues – I have three types to choose from, depending on the job at hand. I have a specialist sprue cutter for 01: Scalpels (3 and 4 sized handles) and a standard Stanley knife fitted with a retractable blade for heavy duty cutting. 02: A selection of cutting tools, the red handled ones being every day DIY varieties. The green

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handled items are standard modelling cutters, the yellow a more heavy duty type, and the orange handled are Xuron sprue shears for removing parts cleanly from the trees. 03: A classic automotive tool, the ‘nibbler’ can cut through plastic up to 3.2mm thick cleanly, as well as cutting sheet metals up to 1.2mm in thickness. 04: My collection of measuring tools. The thicker wooden and metal rulers are 1m in length. 05: Three types of tweezers, plus a pin vice (second from top) that can hold a variety of drill bits from 0.04.0mm in diameter. At the top of the photograph is my bare metal scriber for – not surprisingly – scribing panel lines. 06: Every serious scratchbuilder’s standby. David’s P38 (marketed as Bondo in the USA). 4

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removing parts from trees cleanly without lots of excess to clean up. I have a couple of heavier duty modelling types that I use for trimming off excess, and a standard DIY type for cutting metal and prizing large kit parts apart to get to the detail section I want. Finally I have a ‘nibbler’. This is an automotive tool I have found invaluable over the years. They are available as either a standard or ‘V’ cut and are excellent for the cutting of heavy materials such as thick ABS or metal sheeting. They cut cleanly and quickly, leaving little to clean up.

Something to hold parts with...

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There are only really three types of holding tools: tweezers, pliers and vices. Tweezers come in a variety of subtypes in a variety of shapes and can be very useful, especially when working with small or photo-etched parts. Pliers are used for holding parts while being painted or being worked with a motor tool and every toolbox should contain at least one pair of blunt and long nosed examples. I couldn’t work without a vice – excellent for clamping models or parts into place to be worked on. Again, several types are available; again I own two: a standard bench type and a bench-mounted swivel version.

Something to measure with... 9

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Once you start scratchbuilding, it soon becomes obvious that you will need measuring instruments from time to time. I have a variety, from my old signwriting one metre rule to a selection of metal types ranging from six inches to one metre in length and covering both metric and imperial measurements. I also have a 140mm vernier calliper. This is really useful for accurately measuring holes than need filling with detail, especially so when matching kit parts or off-cuts to areas that need to be covered. In fact, the more I use it, the more I realise that I would be lost without it. As well as these implements I also have a good old fashioned Stanley tape measure.

07: Standard and junior hacksaws for cutting extruded tubes and shapes. I also have a compound saw for angled work. 08: My Dremel. This is an older model, but still as good as the day I bought it. It is the only motor tool that I have but has excellent torque. It can, however, only be used for periods of no longer than 11

twenty minutes at a time. 09: Revell’s Classic Omega Compressor. This type will set you back around £150250 depending on retailer. 10: The AB airbrush used for painting the elements in this book. The top AB-

206 is used exclusively for varnishing. The lower AB-200 was used for the star field element and painting the minor fleet ships built from kits. Both are available for £60 the pair! 11: The Paasche airbrushes used for the main models. From the bottom up: the F1 single action, HS (with screw fittings) single action, and

Talon gravity fed. All three are excellent brushes, although the Talon is a relative luxury as the F & H can do the job equally well. 12: A selection of my brushes for hand finishing. Some of these are approaching thirty years old and still going strong. Always buy the best you can afford and remember that looking after 12

them well really does pay dividends. 5

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Motor tools... Over the last few years there has been a move towards motor tools for modellers. To be honest, unless these are 3 phase or air driven, most DIY tools will burn out with prolonged usage. Motor tools are more of a luxury than a necessity. I have a Dremel Multi that I have had for many years and, as long as I don’t over-run it or put too much torque loading on it while I’m using it for cutting or sanding, it will last me a lifetime. I also have a stand for this which allows it to be converted into a pillar drill. It can also function as a hand drill which saves the fingers when using pin-vices – it’s all I really need for now. A general-purpose DIY power driver comes in very useful for drilling large holes and screwing sections together for stands.

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Specialist tools... As well as the above you can arm yourself with a variety of clamps and similar holders and all sorts of other really clever bits of kit. Of the vast range of extras available I have three: Panel scribers – although you can use the back of a scalpel blade, a panel scriber will do the job more evenly and quickly. I have a Squadron ‘Bare Metal’ scriber that I have owned for the past twenty years and which is still going strong. This is currently available as the ‘Expert’s Choice Panel Scriber’ from a variety of retail and mail order companies. Files – I own a variety of basic DIY files and a rasp for shaping large parts, as well as a small selection of needle files used to enlarge smaller holes. Pin-vice – this simple tool holds drill bits so that they can be turned by hand for precise work.

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Something to finish with... Painting a model is my favourite part of the whole job and can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Hand painting (with a brush), spray cans or airbrush, and I use a mixture of all of these techniques. Spray cans are a useful and quick way of achieving a good finish. They are easy to use and get hold of but can end up being expensive, especially on larger projects. Always check that the spray can paint you are going to use is compatible with the material you are painting. Some modern acrylic paints will not adhere well to plastics or metals without an etching primer of some sort and cellulose paints (where still available) will, in the worst cases, melt some plastics completely. Hand brushing used to be the only way of finishing a model, but now is mostly restricted to detail painting and small areas where masking a section for

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13: Looking after brushes part one. Excess paint is dabbed off the brush onto the pallet. 14 and 15: Excess paint is then wiped off into paper towel, being very careful not to pull at the bristles. 16: The brush is then washed in thinner/water depending on type of paint used. 17: Excess thinner is then wiped off, again being careful not to pull at the bristles. 18: Remaining thinner/paint is washed out using soap and water. 6

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spray can or airbrush application is impractical. The following wisdom is often quoted, but it is good advice and so I will repeat it here... ‘Never skimp on brushes; always buy the best you can afford’. Looking after brushes is simplicity itself. Wash them thoroughly in water, white spirit or other thinner depending on the paint medium you are using. Wash and rinse them out with soap and water and then gently dry them in paper towel to get rid of any residual moisture. Tease them back into shape with a spot of Vaseline jelly and put them, bristle end up, into a pot or jar of some kind. When you need to use them again, rinse out the Vaseline with white spirit, spin out the excess and you’re ready to go again. I have brushes that are over twenty years old and are still in tip-top condition. It always pays to look after them properly. Airbrushes are brilliant, but you don’t need the most expensive and flashiest around. Many modellers can tell you horror stories regarding airbrushes and these are usually due to over enthusiastic salesmen giving the wrong advice and the modeller being left with the wrong product for what he or she needs. Elements in this book were painted with a variety of airbrushes, from simple single actions, to sophisticated double action models with all the latest mod-cons. Buying an airbrush set can be expensive and I would always advise getting a cheap set first (there are many on the market) which can be bought for as little as £60 with compressor and then, only when you have familiarised yourself with airbrush techniques, move up a gear in terms of specification. As already stated you don’t always need the latest and best specifications. I know many modellers who only ever have a simple, single-action model and get superb results time after time. Only an idiot would spend over £150 on an airbrush and £300 on a compressor without ever trying one out first. The airbrushes used for this book were: Paasche F1 – this is a very simple external mix siphon feed single action brush, perfect for the beginner. I use this for basic, simple colour application and, occasionally, small detail work. Paasche H – single action, siphon feed, external mix. I actually use an HS set, that has a threaded nut to attach the colour cups – very useful. However, other than this, the H set is identical. This airbrush is the F’s bigger brother and comes with three sizes of tip and three sizes of colour cup. I use this brush for spraying large areas, laying down primer or single colours, and also for 19: Once properly rinsed, the bristles are gently teased back into shape using the fingers. 20: The brush is dipped into petroleum jelly. 21: The brush is again pulled back into shape. 22: With the petroleum jelly set the brush is stored away (bristles up). Before use the brush is rinsed in white spirit which removes the petroleum jelly and leaves the brush ready for use. 23: The variety of the paints I use. Back row: Liquitex Varnish and Alclad Black Primer and Micro filler. Middle row: Vallejo Air (ready for spraying from the bottle), Liquitex Acrylic softbody medium and Vallejo Model Colour. Nearest the camera: good old

Humbrol enamel paints in the iconic tinlet. 24: Airbrush cleaners – Revell (will clean enamel and acrylic) and Vallejo (acrylic only). The small bottle between them is lubricant. It is wise to lubricate the moving 24

parts on an airbrush at the end of any busy session. 7

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painting murals such as a sky background, and it is equally at home spraying fine detail. If you are thinking single action brushes just remember that the ILM model shop (now Kerner Optical) still uses this exact brush today. Paasche Talon – this is Paasche’s top of the range gravity fed, double action, internal mix brush and is a superb tool that can spray the finest of lines at minimum pressures. I use this brush for detail and weathering work. In reality it’s a luxury product and I could easily have made all of the models in this book with the single action brushes already mentioned. AB-206 – this is a Chinese (Fengda) single action, internal mix, gravity airbrush costing around £30. This brush is a good, all round, single action that gives excellent spray patterns at low pressures. I use it exclusively for varnishing models where I need to keep overspray to a minimum. AB-200 – this is a Chinese copy of a top-of-the-range Iwata airbrush (Fengda again). Double action, internal mix, with M.A.C. valve for the finest of air/paint mixing, giving virtually no grain in the finish. It costs around £45. The M.A.C. valve allows it to produce an excellent spatter pattern which I used to great effect in creating the star field background for all the final composite images.

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Compressors Although you can happily run an airbrush on a tin of propellant, in the end a compressor will be needed if you want to spend more than a couple of minutes airbrushing at each session and simple diaphragm compressors are available from as little as £40. These can only really be used for small-scale painting, however, as running them for anything over a maximum of twenty minutes at a time will damage them and they are expensive to run. Large scale garage tank compressors will do the job perfectly and you can use them in conjunction with spray guns. They range from as little as £110 but are heavy and noisy in operation. Unless you have a workshop away from the house and neighbours (and own a good pair of ear defenders) they are not very practical. Piston Hobby types are just right for our hobby. They come in a range of styles and prices, usually have moisture traps fitted and have the ability to regulate the air pressure (a very handy option). Prices start from around £60, but can rise to as much as £1000! I have two compressors (a throwback from when I ran Hectors House of Models & Miniatures). One is a professional artist’s compressor with all mod-cons costing around £700 but the one I chose

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25: Proprietary thinner for spraying enamel paints alongside a Humbrol tinlet. 26: Liquitex Flowaid. This will retard any type of acrylic paint allowing for better spraying and less tip clogging. 27: The Vallejo Model Colour swatch chart. At £10 this is an easy way of determining colours against photographic reference. Here it is being used to match colours on Joe Johnston’s sketch for the Nebulon A Cruiser. 28: Masking tapes of differing sizes and types. 29: Miscellaneous tools: a selection of files, a set square and an Olfa compass cutter for cutting circles in plastic card. 30: Glues: from left to right, Vital medium viscosity superglue, EMA’s superb Plasticweld and Devcon two-part 5 minute epoxy. 8

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for the modelling featured in this book was a Revell Omega. This really is a cracking machine that is robust and easy to use. I have run it for prolonged periods of up to 40 minutes at a time with no problems. It lists at £300, but is often to be found on special deals for as little as £150. If you are planning a large scale project then this type of compressor is a must. If, however, you are just building small to medium scale models a small piston type will do just fine.

Materials

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There are a number of materials that models can be built from and these are the ones I used for the projects in this book: ABS (Acrylontrile Butadiene Styrene). This really is a wonder product, more flexible that styrene and as strong as Perspex. It can be worked without the need for expensive motor equipment such as bench saws and disc sanders. It won’t shatter, takes gentle heating for bending and is perfect for crash or vac forming shapes. It is, however, only available in a small range of thicknesses. The larger part of the range of EMA shaped products and tubing is formed from ABS. Hi-Impact Polystyrene (Styrene). This is the standard material for making injection moulded kits and is available in sheet form as plastic card. It is offered in a greater range of thicknesses than ABS but lacks the rigidity to be suitable for large model shape construction, although it is excellent for detail work on such projects. Polyester. This is available in sheet form (as clear co-polyester) but is more widely recognised in paste form as automotive two-part fillers, the most commonly used of which are Upol and David’s Isopon P38. This is another wonderful material that I first came across during my apprenticeship. Although perfect for filling dents in metal it can also be used to create compound curves and blend together shapes quickly and very easily. It is incredibly strong and will bond well to plastic, wood and metal. I prefer David’s as it is easier to use and (I feel) gives a better finish. If you are working to a budget Upol is a viable alternative.

Metal tubing and rod

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Metal tubing is excellent for making antennae masts and really intricate standalone detail that is tough and will not sag over time. I always like to have a selection of brass and aluminium tubing and rod to hand. Metal can be soldered but, with care, can also be glued together and comes in a variety of shapes from round to hexagonal. Just clean it thoroughly and degrease, scuffup the surface with medium wet and dry paper and you can tack metals together with superglue then bond permanently with Epoxy. 31: Metal tubing and strip in a variety of thicknesses. 32: A selection of EMA’s ABS extruded products, tubing and hemispheres. 33: Scratchbuilt Jedi Courier that uses EMA extruded ABS products in its construction. 34: Tubing and hemispheres are cut to patterns to make engines. 35: The completed engines

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in position. 36: Close-up showing the completed engines and detailed area around them. 9

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Glues Where do you start? There is a blistering array of glues on the market today and we all have our preferences. These are mine: EMA Plastic Weld (Liquid Solvent Cement – Dichloromethane). This is an astonishing product that glues just about every type of plastic there is on the market, strongly and in double quick time. Water-like in consistency, it has to be applied with a brush and, when joining differing types of material, it is advisable to soften the harder material edge beforehand. Load-bearing joints should always be backed up with epoxy or superglue. It can also be used as a thinner for some model fillers (such as Revell’s Plasto), smoothing out filled areas to cut down on sanding time and speeding up the curing time of the filler. There are other types of plastic glues on the market but they are effectively the same as EMA Plastic Weld yet more expensive. Superglue (Cyanoacrylate). Superglue was originally designed as a battlefield dressing to seal open wounds (hence it’s so good at sticking your fingers together). Today it is more likely to be seen in any hobby or DIY store. Superglue really does stick almost anything to anything but is only really strong where joins will be subjected to tensile rather than shear stresses. There seems to be a superglue for almost every type of application with prices to match. My brand of choice is Vital, which is available in thin, medium and thick viscosities. I use Vital activator to instantly set parts where necessary but I also have a de-bonder handy for little accidents. Vital is cheap and good for what I need. Don’t be tempted by industrial types as these can be expensive and somewhat problematic in use as they are usually specific to certain materials. Epoxy (Epoxy Resin and Polymercaptan Amines). These two-part glues are superb for making super strong joints, and can be used with confidence on structural load bearing points. There are many on the market, Araldite being the most commonly available and it does the job perfectly well. I use Devcon 5 Minute Epoxy and 2-Ton Crystal Clear Epoxy. This is a superb glue that sets relatively quickly and gains full strength within a couple of hours (against Araldite, which usually takes twenty-four hours to properly cure). It is easy to use and is very fluid, so can be applied in tiny amounts to strengthen metal joins without the use of solder. 37: This shot of the model shows rear section of the engines cut down. Hemispheres are used here. 38: The nose of the Jedi Courier is a 1/350th King George V ship hull. P38 is used to back up the inside of

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the hull. It’s perfect for this kind of work, being quick to set but not generating enough heat to distort the plastic hull shape. 39: The hull is shaped with a Dremel to form the nose and the P38 can be seen showing through where holes would have appeared. 40: Everyday objects useful in any workshop. Cat food trays, plastic shot glasses, cotton buds, cocktail sticks and Blu-Tack. 41: Small glass jars can be used to mix paints for spraying and can be sealed at the end of a session and stored, only requiring a quick remix before being used again. I get mine from a local cafe in town which would otherwise just throw them away. 42: Wet and dry paper and sanding block. 10

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Paints

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Paint can be broken down into two types: water and solvent based. Solvent based paints such as cellulose, enamel or 2-part acrylic are not really suitable for the hobbyist without suitable protective breathing apparatus but hobby based enamel paints are fine to use for brush painting and spraying if care is taken. Water based acrylics are really a modeller’s best friend, being simple to use and easy to wash out of brushes afterwards. I have used the following: Black Primer and Micro filler (Alclad 2 Lacquers). This is a primer that has to be sprayed through an airbrush and is a generic adaptation of professional automotive lacquer. As such it is potentially carcinogenic but is a superb alternative to spray cans and is very, very cost effective. Applied at 15 psi (to keep down overspray) it is highly flammable. Always work in a well ventilated area (or better still, outdoors) and invest in a good quality respirator with carbon filters and change them regularly. Alclad can be cleaned out with their own cleaner or cellulose thinners. Humbrol Enamel Paints. Highly regarded and recognisable in any hobby store world-wide, these solvent based paints are the best in the business. They can be used in an airbrush where they give excellent coverage, usually in one pass (again take proper precautions), or applied with a brush, which is my preferred method for detail painting. Wash out brushes in white spirit, cellulose or Humbrol’s preparatory thinner. Model Color (AV Vallejo). Water based acrylic paint that is superb for both brush and airbrush. These can be thinned with tap water (although distilled or de-ionised works best). They are fast drying, very adhesive and available world-wide. Equipment can be cleaned with water or Vallejo’s own airbrush cleaner. Liquitex. These are professional acrylic mediums that are superb for airbrushing. Concentrated Artists Colour. This is a medium viscosity acrylic medium that has to be thinned for airbrush use (again distilled or de-ionised water works best). This is unlike model paints in that it is pure colour, not toned for scale effect, which means that it is perfect for mixing big batches of paint for large projects and can easily be used for matching specific colours. Best of all it will not degrade. I have specific colours that I have mixed up and thinned for airbrush use that are years old and still spray perfectly even after all that time in storage. 43: Post-it notes make excellent masks for use with an airbrush. Here is a selection used for the models in this book. 44: An ageing space liner ready to be towed away to the scrap yard. The extensive panel detail has all been produced using Post-it note masks. 45: Close-up of the liner showing the differing shape and colours of Post-it note ‘quick masking’. 46: The nose of the liner shows this off again to great effect. 47: Close-up of the top of the model. Some shading has been added using the whole edge of the

Post-it note or its corner. 48: Permanent markers (of various tip thicknesses) and a propelling pencil. These 48

can be used for producing small details and panel lines to great effect. 11

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Matte Varnish. An acrylic polymer emulsion that is probably the best acrylic varnish on the market today. It can be suitably thinned for airbrushing and gives a dead-flat durable finish that will not yellow and will protect colour from UV rays.

Accessories and sundries AV Vallejo Model Color Colour Chart. A very handy collection of actual swatches of paint covering the entire AV Acrylic paint range. This is a luxury item but for those of us who want to match colours from real life objects it saves all the time and effort of trying to mix paints and at £10 is – I feel – quite reasonable. Airbrush Cleaners. There are many on the market but I use only Revell Airbrush Clean. A quick back blast and this lubricates as well as cleans and I use it as a final rinse before packing the airbrush away. Liquitex Flow Aid. I have used Flow Aid since I first started using acrylic paints. It is a retarding agent that improves the flow and penetration of acrylic mediums which is very helpful when airbrushing, as it helps stop tip-clogging where paint particles have built up on the airbrush tip, stopping paint flow. It is expensive but one bottle goes a long way. Usually only a couple of drops need be added to thinned paint and, best of all, it works with all acrylic mediums not just Liquitex. Wet and dry. A generic term for abrasive paper that can be used for sanding. Available in grades from P40 – P1200 (the greater the number the finer the abrasive), it can be used wet without disintegrating and, if you use hand soap applied to the surface, it will produce a perfectly smooth finish on finer grades of P400 or above. Wet and dry is available everywhere and is inexpensive to buy. You can also get sanding sticks of various sizes and types: I have one, but only ever use it to hone airbrush needles. Masking tape. Again there is a wide selection of tapes available for the modeller. I use a combination of standard automotive tapes and Kabuki tape. Standard automotive tapes are available in 1/2 inch to 3 inch thicknesses, are relatively cheap and great for general masking. Kabuki tapes are available from a variety of manufactures and give a sharp, clean edge without bleed. They can also be used to easily create very detailed and complex masking. I use Tamiya (only because it is readily available) in 6mm, 10mm and 40mm rolls, but only where I need a clean line; automotive tape is used for everything else.

Every day items Finally, there are a number of every day products that have unlimited modelling potential. Blu-Tack. This wonder product has a variety of uses and is a putty-like material that will hold fast but easily lift off a surface without leaving greasy or sticky residues. It can hold parts in alignment while they dry, can be a helping hand when painting small details, and may be used as a masking medium for creating a variety of effects. No model tool kit should be without it. Cocktail sticks. These handy, cheap wooden sticks are excellent for applying glues such as epoxy or superglue or mounting small parts for painting. Post-it notes. Low tack paper sheets that have an adhesive strip on one edge. We will be seeing exactly how useful these are later on. So, there you have it. Not a prohibitively expensive set of tools, but more than enough to create the type of models that will be covered in the following pages.

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Chapter 2 Basic Techniques in Design and Kit Bashing I take a yoghurt pot; I glue it onto a paté pot, topped with a plastic shot glass. I add some plastic card fins/detail and a few kit parts from the spares box. Spray it silver, add some detail painting, a bit of weathering and tah-da! One spaceship. Sounds too simple to be true but if you think about it every decision taken while building this model was a deliberate influence on its overall design. So why do some spaceships 1 look great and others look, well, abominable? Design is probably the single most difficult part of any model. If the design is a failure then the model is a failure, no matter who the genius is that builds it. ‘I would always rather have a sketch book full of great designs I haven’t quite got the ability to build, than a shelf full of badly designed models,’ as a notable professional movie and TV model builder once 01: Where it all began... Airfix’s classic Girder Bridge in early 1970s’ boxing. This brilliant kit is still available today in a slightly less than flattering bag from Dapol. 02: A TGA (Trans Galactic Authority) space tug built from scraps and plastic card, showing good design to fit the function. 03: The underside of the tug. Note the vertical engine nozzles blackened through use. 04: The rear of the tug showing the main four engines and a good view of the crane assembly. 05: The crane power plant sits forward of the crane assembly.

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06: This three quarter view close up of the rear port side shows that the detailing is not symmetrical.

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07: Details, details! The small details give the model a sense of great scale. 08: Another close up of the rear engines. Note the tug’s serial number on the starboard rear: an homage to Alien, the number being Ridley Scott’s birthday. 09: This shot shows that the crane assembly is designed to traverse through 200°. 10: Starboard side beauty shot of the tug. 11: Close-up shot of the starboard side and rear of the crane power plant. Lots of Girder Bridge parts were used in building the crane. 12: Port side of the tug.

noted – but these observations shouldn’t discourage you. As with all art, appreciation is subjective at best. If you like it there are bound to be others who like it too and those who shout loudest about it not being very good probably lack the ability to do any better. So don’t be put off. 11

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The best designs are actually the ones that keep to simple shapes. Doug Chiang once said that if it can’t be drawn with a handful of lines, it’s probably not that good. OK, so this is a pretty broad generalisation but it has a degree of truth to it. You don’t have to be a great artist or be capable of drawing up precise plans from all angles to be able to make anything from your imagination and those people who tell you otherwise are being snobbish about the hobby and, generally, darn right silly. As with everything new, always start small and just see what you can do. Diving head first into a 10-foot model with working parts and blazing lights is probably not the best way to get going. Making up a shuttle from a couple of kits and a bit of plastic card and filler, though, won’t break the bank and will give you a feel for what you are getting yourself into. If you are reading this then it’s most likely that you have a certain degree of modelling skill (i.e. you can put a plastic kit together and paint it). So in reality you are already half way there. I’m sure that you also have a few kits lying around that you can break into and play with. For this you don’t even need to draw a sketch; just start offering parts up to each other and see what looks good. Remember, you don’t have to use the whole part. You can cut it, turn it upside down, join the halves in a different way and this can produce interesting and aesthetically pleasing shapes without too much effort. What you will need, though, is a clear indication of what the finished model will be. What are you building? Is it a shuttle? Is it a land vehicle? Is it a freighter? Is it a battleship or fighter? Once you know what you are building design considerations become clearer. A battleship or freighter is bigger than a shuttle, so a sense of massive scale becomes all the more important. Is this ship for military or civilian use? If it’s civilian it is obviously going to have colour, as military ships and vehicles are, for the most part, greys and greens and browns. Rescue vehicles are always presented in high visibility colours. Battleships are usually big, brutish and ugly, whereas civilian liners have an elegance and sophistication about them. So, again, military ships will have a utilitarian appearance with a lot of sharp angles for ease of construction, whereas a civilian vessel will have a bit more aesthetic appeal with curves. And don’t stray too far from reality. If you can’t really tell what your creation is in a couple of seconds it doesn’t really work as a design. Someone might say ‘What is this?’ when they are viewing it, but when you explain that 13: EMA tubing and kit bits used to build engines for the Gozanti cruiser. 14: Following the application of P38, careful rubbing down with wet and dry wrapped around a sanding block creates barrel nacelles. 15: A Rebel Corvette kit bashed model. 16: The rear of the Corvette showing the classic souped-up ‘guts on the outside’ engines. Airfix Saturn

V third stages are detailed with model 1/25th muscle car engine parts (mostly 1969 Camero). Note the 16

Airfix 1/72nd Lunar Module dish supported by an Airfix 1/144th SR.N4 Hovercraft propeller pylon. 15

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it is a shuttle/battleship/freighter, they will be happy. They know it’s a spaceship or some kind of ship, but just not what type. Let’s take a simple model and discuss its merits from a design point. Years ago I built a tug from a few bits and pieces I had left over. No drawings were produced to make this model; I just rummaged through my box of bits and found a SR.N4 top hull section. Next I considered the model’s function. It’s a tug, used to pull and manoeuvre larger ships into dock. Pulling large ships requires a lot of power, so I added two massive intakes with four engines made simply from plastic card. Now I had the power ...what next? Well, any tug will need a winch of some kind, so I added a large crane type section on the back of the tug that would swivel 180°. This would also require independent power (the engines are needed for manoeuvring) so I added a large power section forward of the crane. The crane was cobbled together from bits of Dapol Travelling Crane and Girder Bridge kits with plastic card and the cowlings of two 1/25th AMT General Hauler truck kits providing the basic housing. A bridge and crew section was added to the front of the model to give a definite orientation. Any ship operating in a busy port needs to be easy to spot so the colour scheme was, logically, mainly yellow and red. The black lines and chequer patterns were added to the model as modern cranes and vehicles in container ports or large scale mining and building operations are painted in such a way. Finally a few signage details were added: ‘TGA’ being the company that owns the ship, ‘C’ being its port identification code, a separate code appearing on the crane to match it to this particular ship, plus a general registration code, in this case film director Ridley Scott’s birthday (that also just happens to be the Nostromo’s registry number from the movie Alien). All the extra detailing was added using parts taken from a variety of kits – and kit bashing is a very useful technique that we should discuss in greater detail.

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Kit bashed detail Kit bashed detail used to be a sort of closed shop, with many industry modellers unwilling to share either the techniques involved or details of the specific kits they pilfered parts from. Today, however, this is not the case due in the most part to the growth in CGI and the staggering advances in miniature building technologies over the past decade. Although kit bashed 20 17: The underside is similarly detailed with a selection of car parts and Tamiya 88mm gun bits. 18: The nose section is a Tamiya Hanomag chassis turned upside down. The gun turret, side escape pods and bridge add realism. 19: Close-up of the engines. Added kit bashed details give a sense of power. This ship is lightly armed and armoured – but fast! 20: My stock room, er, loft. Kits collected over a lifetime. 21: This pile of kits is being checked for use on the Nebulon A Frigate build. Not all seen here were used on the final model. 16

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detailing is still occasionally used, laser cutting and computer controlled 3D prototyping has rendered this technique all but redundant in the film and television industry. Until laser cutters and prototyping equipment become more affordable for the home market, using parts from off the shelf model kits for repeatable detailing is still the most cost effective way to get a lot of detail fast. It all started with a young effects artist called Derek Meddings working on a small television puppet series in the late 1950s called Fireball XL5. Derek’s budget was not large and in a flash of inspiration he realised that his guest craft and landscape miniatures made from found objects could be enhanced with the application of parts taken from conventional hobby kits. In fact, entire ships could be quickly produced on a weekly basis at a fraction of the cost (or time) that his model subcontractors could offer. Over the course of a few years Derek and his effects team perfected this technique with one of his protégées taking it with him and using it to amazing effect while working on the seminal sci-fi movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. As time went on kit bashing became more and more sophisticated, providing convincing detail wherever it was used in genre series such as Dr Who, UFO and Space: 1999. And then came Star Wars... Using model kits for detailing on TV and film miniatures really reached its peak in the 1980s and early 1990s. I clearly remember a visit to Dapol’s factory during this period when they were located in Llangothllen, Wales, UK and the premises were home to the then Dr Who exhibition. We were given a guided visit (by the then proprietor) of the injection moulding shop and, during a question and answer session, I asked David, ‘What are those boxes full of different coloured sprues for? Are they rejects?’ ‘Oh, no!’ David exclaimed. ‘They are boxes being readied to be shipped off to Pinewood Studios for the model shop for an upcoming sci-fi TV series (Gerry Anderson’s Space Precinct).’ So, how is this technique mastered, what do you use, where do you use it and isn’t it all just a bit too expensive? The Internet is full of useful sites where you can study in detail how and where certain kits are used. This is great if you are, for example, a studio 22: Chosen kits for detailing the Nebulon Frigate, although even some of these went back into the ‘stock room’ without being used.

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23: The boys from Langley’s tempt the author with a cracking new Revell 1/32nd Eurofighter kit. Go on, you know you want one... or two, maybe three? 24: A typical 1/35th military kit from the Tamiya stable full of useful parts. This particular kit was used extensively by ILM on all Star Wars feature films. 25: Not all kits are expensive. These 1/100th Tamiya jets offer excellent small and large parts for an extremely reasonable price. 26: Hasegawa’s excellent 1/72nd Leopold Railway Gun is packed full of bits – a classic! (Marketed in the U.S as Anzio Annie.)

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scale modeller building copies of your favourite screen models like for like. But it will also allow you to get a feel for which kits are best for doing any job, as most of these sites also have a ‘Kit-Scan’ section where images of individual kits and their trees (trees are the technical term for the connecting runner to which all the parts are attached; sprues are the attachment points to the parts from the runner) are laid out for you to look at. Once you become familiar with the pieces used, you can begin to buy the relevant kits. Today there are several ways to obtain model kits: new from your local model shop; via the second-hand market at model shows or from specialist dealers; auctions, or eBay. This is where joining your local model club can really pay dividends and I would urge any modeller to join one of these organisations for reasons that will become clear later. Your local model shop has to be your first stop if you are still lucky enough to have one. I am blessed in that I have five, all within a half hour’s travel time from my home, my absolute favourite being Langley’s Toymaster in Norwich, UK. You can buy cheaper for sure but you can’t beat the specialist knowledge and personal service you get in a shop. Sale items, special deals, upcoming release news and specialist orders can all be gleaned from your local establishment. You can also browse at leisure, inspect box contents before you buy (which is invaluable) and, best of all, local model club members usually get a discount. 28: The final of the classic three from Hasegawa, all of which I have been using for years and parts of which feature on all the models in this book. 29: A personnel favourite from Tamiya. I used three of these for the Nebulon A Frigate. 30: One of the cheaper Tamiya 1/35th military kits and another favourite. 31: The author spots a classic in Kingkit’s vast warehouse of second-hand kits. 32: Two boxes – same kit inside. I bought these second hand for a Federation Pursuit Ship from

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Blake’s 7: one cost £10 from a collector whilst the other (guess which one – OK, it’s the one with the awful artwork) cost £3. It pays to do some homework when buying second hand. 33: Two good value kits from Malcolm Rolling of Kingkit. 34: Old standards from Airfix. Although newer kits can be expensive these older box second hand versions were half current store prices. 35 & 36: Tamiya’s original boxing Tiger 1 and King Tiger 1/35th kits. Good kits that most modern kit builders are happy to trade for very reasonable prices or to stock up on newer examples. 37: Current new toolings of Tamiya’s Tiger and King Tiger. These actually break down better than their

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predecessors, albeit at an increase in price. 38: Roco Minitanks are now sold under the Herpa name. This M2 Alligator was bought specifically for the Nebulon A for authenticity’s sake, but at £24 for a 1/87th scale pre-built model I’m not sure that I would buy another unless I had too. 39: Belonging to a model club has its advantages. Instead of throwing away this tree full of parts from a 1/32nd Trumpeter F8 Crusader the builder gave them to me and very useful they will be, too. 40: A first boxing of Hasegawa’s ageing 1/32nd Me262. With current prices in the high £40 mark for this useful kit, a damaged box and a bit of light hearted haggling with the under-the-table seller at a

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41: Every now and again an unexpected gem comes along in a very bland box. 42: Inside the bland box lie trees full of excellent parts at a great retail price. Thank you Langley’s for the heads up. 43: Two kits used for this book, both with differing stories. 44: An empty box. Tamiya’s kit is a high yield model with very little that cannot be used. Off to the retailer to get some more! 45: The Brabham is just as useful but has some parts that just cannot be used. 46: Happily there are many modellers who would like your cast-offs. Some parts from the BT-50 and a set of decals from another kit landed me with this box of goodies. A 1/72nd Sea Flanker and F-15 Eagle. 47: More parts for trading, this time old style Airfix stands... 48: ...traded for 1/24th Harrier engine parts and assorted bits and pieces. 49: Disassociate yourself from the kit. The easiest way to do this is to pile everything into one box. This one contains parts from the

Hasegawa 1/72nd Leopold and Karl kits. 50: Carefully chosen kit parts can be used to enhance detail on standard kits as seen here on this Revell Republic Cruiser. 51: The completed kit bashed detail looks far better than the supplied parts.

The second-hand market is, however, is a completely different animal and one that can be a blessing or a curse. In my time I have been well served and ripped off in equal measure. It really is a case of buyer beware! I would advise finding and sticking with a good, reliable company such as Kingkit run by Malcolm Rolling at Shifnal just outside Telford in Staffordshire, UK. I have used this company for many years and have never been let down. Kingkit started almost 49 by accident as Malcolm started buying and selling OH-HO figures to military gamers. As the business grew he was offered kits to sell and from there things snowballed. As Malcolm explained: ‘Most second hand buyers will not pay top prices for older kits, but there are exceptions. It’s a fickle market where sometimes a kit’s worth can double over the course of a few months, while the value of others decreases or stays relatively flat.’ Commenting on customers he elaborated, ‘There’s no such thing as a typical customer. Some are collectors, some are looking for an out of production kit to build and then, of course, there are people such as yourself.’ Each kit that comes through the door is catalogued and a picture taken of its contents before it is parcelled up for delivery, a sure-fire guarantee that the box and its contents are fit for sale. Reasons for buying second-hand are two fold. Firstly you can sometimes buy a lot cheaper than normal retail and, secondly, it’s a great way of obtaining rare items no longer in production, although

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in reality this is only relevant to the studio scale community. Auctions can yield terrific results, although good buys are few and far between. Inspecting the goods on viewing days is always recommended, as is setting the price you want to pay and sticking to it! Putting a bid on the books is a good way of not getting carried away and paying too much. Online auctions are even more tricky, as you can’t inspect the goods before you buy. There are an awful lot of reputable dealers in the digital realm and unfortunately an equal amount of rip-off merchants. At present time it seems to be a 50/50 split. For every well served buyer, there is another disappointed customer. So, as far as you can, always check the seller’s reputation. Your local modelling community is a real blessing. At club meeting nights there are usually people selling unwanted kits for a fraction of retail or even second hand dealer prices. Club raffles are also a real boon. For a small stake (and if your luck is in) you can sometimes come away with an extraordinary bargain. Club members are also great source of, if not whole kits, then spare parts. At my club everyone knows I’m the slightly odd guy who buys kits but doesn’t build them. Consequently I always end up being offered spare kit bits from members, in exchange for decal sheets or parts that simply cannot be used by me such as rubber tyres from motor vehicles or spare figures from military kits. Attending model shows with your club is also an excellent way of buying cheap kits, as many other clubs will trade models under their display tables at very reasonable prices. I will always look for parts, instruction sheets or decals missing, and even parts already made up when buying kits from the second-hand market. This is not necessarily a problem depending on what I want the kit for but it can be used as a negotiating tactic when agreeing a price. The condition of the box is also something to consider. Crumpled or torn packaging and unboxed models should always command a discount. Sometimes you will, by default, end up as a trader yourself, selling 52 unwanted kits you’ve bought, as a job lot in an auction when you only 53 required certain kits from that lot, for example. Remember, be fair... know the market by all means but a useless kit to you could be a want for the nongenre modeller and he may have something that you want, that he is eager to part-exchange. It’s easy to price yourself out of the market, and, in a small community, a reputation for being expensive won’t gain you any friends and, more importantly, will result in hardly any sales! 54

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Now you have some kits, stop thinking of them as kits. They are material, in the same way as a sheet of plastic card or a tube of ABS is material. If you keep thinking of them as kits you will fall at the first hurdle when trying to kit bash detail, because you will be more worried about the kit than the ways in which it can be used. A good way of getting out of ‘this is a kit’ mode is to open up all the boxes and throw the trees into a large box. By doing this the kit connection is lost and you will start to look at the shapes on the trees rather than their connection to the final shape when they are all pieced together. If we go back to our tug model and study the detail that was added, we can see that certain parts have been used for certain areas. The underside has thrusters for vertical lift capabilities and these have been taken from parts that have a specific look to them. For example, they have raised holes that can be blackened to create a sense of heat. The crane’s actuating rams are little more than large scale aircraft landing gear. Rear engine bells are adapted tank wheels with idler rollers used in the centres of them. The bridge is a raised deck section from a ship model with a B-29 nose canopy added to it. Choosing parts with care and considering how they blend into their environment will add greater dimension and realism to your model as opposed to simply gluing on parts because you like the look of them. Now that we have discussed the whys and wherefores, maybe we should get on with a build... 52: Kit bashed detail in action. Detailing the forward section of the Nebulon A Cruiser. 53: Tamiya’s classic 1/35th 88mm gun. At 40 years old this kit is still in production, at a very reasonable price. 54: The side detail of the Gozanti Cruiser, the majority of which comes from Tamiya’s 88mm gun kit. 55: A modeller happy in his work. Adding kit bashed detail to the Nebulon A. 56 – 59: Fujimi’s F-14 Tomcat used extensively for the models in this book. This typical type of kit breakdown yields a huge quantity of very useable parts.

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Chapter 3 ‘By Your Command!’

A few years ago I was lucky enough to meet former BBC Effects Designer Mat Irvine while I was displaying models at a show. Mat was very helpful in explaining his work on the classic BBC TV series Blake’s 7. I had built a Federation Pursuit Ship from only a couple of screen grabs and Mat had been pretty complimentary about it. Mat also had much to say about season two of the show in terms of the budget allocated to him for visual effects work. This budget actually stayed at the same level it had for season one. No one, however, told the directors of the episodes who were demanding more and more shots per episode, leaving Mat and his team in a tight spot every week trying to conjure up something from nothing. 01: Airfix’s Saturn V kit, not currently available in this format. The new release has updated parts to correct dimensional faults. Either this or the newer kit can be used to build this model with two kits required. 02: The wing template. Gauged from photographs of the original

Pursuit ship model and screen captures from the episode Hostage. Four of these were cut from 80 thou plastic card. 03: The original dorsal fin template against the black plastic ‘command’ shape. The difference is noticeable. 04: The dorsal fin is split to accommodate the bisecting square tubing (the centre section is discarded). 05: Strip spacers are added to the starboard wing to reinforce the plastic card. 06: Brass pins are epoxied into the wing and fins. Note the wing and ventral fin where the pins pass all the way through so the blasters can be attached. 07: The component parts of the dorsal fin, prior to being closed up. 08: An ‘in action’ shot, of the EMA being cut using a compound saw with a 19tpi (teeth per inch) blade – like a knife through butter! These types of saw are really useful when cutting repeatable sizes of tubing or extruded shaped ABS and can be set at a multitude of angles to produce (if carefully planned) very complex shapes. 09: The EMA cut, ready for assembly. Note the sharper angle on the rectangular section and the inverted 30° angle on the half round channel. All the sawn ends were cleaned up with a blade and coarse 60 grit wet and dry. 10: The side sections were clamped into place until set and I used EMA saddles for spacers and strength. The gaps will later be capped with plastic card. 11: The completed main body side sections, port and starboard. 24

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Following our meeting, Mat was very kind in sending me some photographs of the surviving ‘hero’ F.P.S. and some additional background information on the ‘command’ miniature. One Polaroid of the original miniature (a comparison shot with the standard F.P.S.) survives but unfortunately Mat hadn’t found this before I built this model so I had to be content with screen grabs from the episode Hostage and Mat’s photos of the surviving F.P.S. From this I was able to extract a reasonable approximation of the basic shape, order the EMA tubing needed (this is extruded ABS material) and off we jolly well go... I started by making some more cardboard templates for the wings. Mat assured me that the ‘command’ version was sleeker in shape than the standard versions (as it was supposedly Servelan’s 25

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personal ship) and that the dorsal and ventral fins were essentially the same shape, albeit not as big as the original F.P.S. fins. Once I was happy I cut the EMA tubing for the model, angling the ‘half tube’ at 45 degrees. Construction proper started with the wings and dorsal and ventral fins. These were made in the same manner as the last model (see photographs) although this time no recess panel was cut into them. The side pods were constructed using rectangular tubing (cut at a sharper angle than the original F.P.S. model) and I used EMA saddles to mount these onto the half tube. The nose and time-distort engine sections were built up using Airfix 1/144th Saturn V parts (parts were required from two kits) and these 26

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12: The main body with side sections attached. 13: Placed on the bench, the main body is checked for fit and alignment.14 and 15: Closeups showing all four wings/fins in place. 16: This top view allows me to check the top and bottom fins from head on. 17: The parts for the nose cone laid out ready for construction. Note the EMA ring. 18: The nose section together. The parts in the newer release of the Saturn

V kit make this easier as you don’t need to add the stand part behind the nose tip. 19: The time distort section parts laid out ready for construction. Two Saturn V first/second stage skirt parts, a second stage engine mount and another EMA ring. 20: Saturn V and Patton

(‘Sgt York’) parts being assembled for the wing tip blasters. Note the top row where the ‘command’ module part has been modified to take the Patton drive wheel half. Any 1/35th M36/Patton/’Sgt York’ kit will do the job. Resin castings of the modified Command Module part would cut down on cost. 21: One of the nearly completed wingtip blasters. All that needs to be added is the Patton wheel end cap and the

SN.R4 detail part.

were taken from an older issue of this kit than is currently available. Without the updated parts, however, the new parts can also be used without compromising the overall shape. I also added a suitably sized EMA ring on the nose section in between the second stage and the remainder of the nose with a redundant stand part and Apollo Command Module used on the very end, as this version does not have the standard ‘arrow’ cone of the other Pursuit Ships. Another difference between the ‘standard’ and ‘command’ versions is the addition of a ventral blaster unit augmenting those on the wingtips. These are different to the F.P.S. versions in that they do not require any half channel and are shorter. They do, however, have tip detail. I made mine up from an Apollo Command Module and a tank drive wheel half. I used a 1/35th Tamiya ‘Sgt York’ or M36 Patton (the actual part is from Tamiya’s Leopard, but I didn’t have one in stock), that was topped off with a Saturn V J2 engine. I made up three, capping them at each end with a wheel from the Tamiya ‘Sgt York’ / M36 Kit, although to be fair any 1/35th M36/Patton/‘Sgt York’ kit would suffice. Lastly the antenna array was constructed (see photo). The subassemblies were checked for fit and then the main body parts were all epoxied into place, finishing off the basic shapes and allowing me to settle down to detailing. After much discussion with Mat (via e-mail), I decided that the ‘command’ version should be detailed as an amalgam of both versions. The original ‘command’ miniature had been built with parts to hand in the BBC’s studio workshop, keeping her close to the original miniatures in terms of overall size. Mat’s team shot a substantial amount of stock footage for season two with this miniature, virtually all of which ended up on the cutting room floor (if time was running tight in the editing suite, visual effects ended up being cut, not more expensive live shots). Not having any good quality shots of the original ‘command’ miniature meant that I couldn’t determine the exact colour or amount of detail painting and this made me decide that I should detail my version reasonably close to Mat’s remaining ‘hero’ Federation Pursuit Ship. I started by blocking out the dorsal and ventral fin panel detail using 20 thou plastic card and the basic shapes were cut out using my cardboard template. I then cut these up so they could be laminated onto their respective surfaces. Detail was then applied with strip, selected Saturn V kit bits and brass rod (for the dorsal fin). I also raided my old aircraft spares box, recovering some bomb halves that, I think, came from 1/72nd Airfix Gnat or Esci F-104 kits. The wing detail was done in exactly the same way only this time 60 thou plastic card was used and I also raised the ‘U’ shape rear section on 60 thou spacers. The part-recessed detail came exclusively from Airfix’s Saturn V (see photographs) topped off with an EMA dished head. The remaining body detail also came from Airfix’s Saturn V and a 1/72nd Scammel tank transporter kit. The two weapon pylon halves were sourced from Airfix’s 1/24th Harrier. Other parts were obtained from the Airfix 1/144th SN.R4 Hovercraft; another wheel and return rollers from Tamiya’s ‘Sgt York’/M36, plus 10 27

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22: The completed wingtip blasters being test fitted. 23: Antennae section – mostly brass rod and EMA parts – prior to detailing. 24: The nose being detailed. The thick strip will be rubbed down to contour flush with the cone edge. The dark grey parts are EMA KW-12s. 25: The dorsal and ventral wing patterns are transferred onto thin plastic card. 26: The shapes are then cut up into panels to be added to the wings. 27: Close-up showing the panels added to the port side of the dorsal fin. 28: This photograph shows the panels for the ventral fin in place. 29: The base of an Airfix Saturn V first stage, before and after being cut into sections. Cutting up parts can create even better detail parts and, more importantly, help disguise the origins of the part. 30: Close-up of the wing detail showing the Saturn V parts in place, topped off with an EMA dished head sitting on top of the cut down base part. The rear parts are cut from J2 engine halves. The forward part is the fuel pump cut from an F1 engine half. 31: Shot of the wing recess detail. 32: Forward shot of the completed model prior to painting. 33: Forward shot showing the underside complete and ready for paint.

and 20 thou plastic card, Evergreen strip and U channel. The time distort and nose sections were detailed with EMA KW-12 parts and Evergreen thick strip was used around the nose and was sanded to give the chunkier look of the ‘command’ miniature. The time distort section had 1/72nd Gnat/F-104 parts, a 1/72nd Airfix Hunter fuel tank half and Saturn V parts added to it. The inside of the engine was detailed by building a Saturn V F1 engine, inserting it into the end of the engine section and capping it with an M36 wheel. Once all the main body sections detail had been added, I detailed the antennae using small parts from Airfix’s Saturn V and a spring (from Hasegawa’s 1/72nd Thor/Karl Morser). I had such a plethora of small Saturn V bits (mostly thrusters, fins and such like) lying around that I then went back over the entire model adding bits here and there. Finally I blocked off the laminated edges of the wings with plastic card, saving me the time and effort involved in filling and sanding these obviously laminated edges flush. An all over coat of grey primer let me look at the model and check that the detailing looked good. If this was not the case the offending parts would have been removed and replaced, or the area made good with filler. Following this, any minor gaps were filled and sanded and then the model was given a solid coat of matt black. I then sprayed the antennae with a coat of Halfords Volvo Silver (over a base coat of matt black) and put this to one side to harden. Before I continued, I masked up the coach lines on the model using Tamiya Kabuki tape for a nice, sharp edge in readiness for the top coat of matt white. Impacting any sort of scale on white models is tricky and a multi grey shaded look usually does the trick. It really helps, though, if the white base colour is right in the first place – allow me to explain... If you look at white objects from a distance – e.g. a car, lorry or pretty girl in a white dress you will notice that it actually looks grey in tone but, as you get closer to it, the white comes to the fore. You have to remember that white is actually not a colour – it’s a tone and tones react differently to light than colours do. The matt black base coat on the model helps give the white a natural ‘grey distance’ tone when viewed close-up. It also stops the white appearing too white, avoiding the toy-like appearance that most white models tend to have and therefore giving it what we might call ‘scale mass’. This technique really works well on clean subjects such as a 1/288th, 1/144th or 1/96th Saturn V rockets, or an airliner, where you can’t have extensive ageing or multi grey shading because everyone knows exactly what the real object looks like and your eye will tell you it’s fake, no matter how good the finish. So, Gary, this sounds great but there must be a catch? Well, OK, there is. You have to be really careful how you apply the white, and on this model I misted the colour on over quite a long period of time until I got the correct density of white pigment. On the fourth coat I had it – but knowing when to stop 28

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takes practice and a lot of walking around the model looking at it from every angle. Once the white had hardened sufficiently, I started on shading the model with an airbrush. A single action Paasche F1 airbrush was used for this purpose. I used Vallejo acrylics in various shades of grey, mainly 992 Neutral Grey, 870 Medium Sea Grey, 990 Light Grey and 989 Sky Grey. All these were either thinned for airbrushing with de-ionised water with a touch of Liquitex Flowaid added or hand brushed undiluted. Airbrushing was done either freehand or by using pre-cut masks. The latter were cut freehand from large Post-it notes and quickly add detail and interest as well as breaking up large areas, thus giving a sense of scale. 29

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34: This side shot shows the extent of plastic card detailing added to the model. 35: Rear shot of the completed model prior to painting. 36 & 37: Overhead shot of the completed model ready for painting. 38: Shot of the underside with detail complete. 39: Close-up of the port wing. The side has been capped and extensive detail added with layers of carefully cut plastic card and selected kit bits. Note the Saturn

V escape tower half cut down and added (top left hand side of the image). 40: The underside of the port wing. Parts from 1/72nd Scammel Tank Transporter and 1/24th Harrier have been used, along with an EMA dished head. Note the SN.R4 part added to the rear of the blaster (in white). 41: Port side dorsal fin detail, mainly plastic card with small traces of cut Saturn V parts and a bit of Evergreen U channel. The top has been detailed with brass rod and fuel tank/bomb halves from a 1/72nd scale aircraft kit (most probably Gnat or F-104). 42: Closeup of the port side ventral fin detail – all plastic card with the exception of the blaster detail. 30

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43: This close-up shot shows the antennae being test fitted. Note that this is the only part yet to receive additional detailing. 44: Close-up of the rear. Note the side section ends capped with SN.R4 parts shaped to the contours of the channel and main body. 45: The main body following a coat of matt white. 46: The remaining main parts coated in white. Note the slightly grey tone. 47: The completed antennae ready for weathering. Note the extensive added detail using tiny bits from the Saturn V kits. 48: Adding the panel detail using a pre-cut mask made from a Post-it note: simple shapes have been cut into the sticky edge. Creating complex detail simply from paint. Note also the nose band that has been masked and hand painted. 49: The completed nose, time distort and antennae sections ready for final assembly. 50: Close-up of the top of the port wing showing the extensive shading pattern, achieved with an airbrush. 51: The shading pattern on the underside of the starboard wing. 31

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56 52: Side view of the main body prior to final construction. Silver has been added to the grey bands on the leading edge of the blaster tubes. 53: Adding the Federation logo – stage one: A disk of orange is sprayed onto the wing, through a stencil. 54: Adding the

Federation logo – stage two: another mask is laid over the top and hand painted with Humbrol Polished Aluminium. 55: Adding the

Federation logo – stage three: when dry the mask is removed. The arrow will now be outlined using a Faber-Castell artist’s fine-tipped pen. 56: Final details are added using a dark wash and pre-cut free mask. Note: another stencil of this type was used to add panel detail earlier.

Once I was happy with the shaded pattern, I made up a wash mix of black with a touch of green and brown added and then began to airbrush this mix to create weathering streaks, running the streaks front to back in the direction of travel. I also used this mix to deepen the recessed areas, giving them a sense of scale. I removed the masking tape for the coach lines before adding detail with Humbrol Polished Aluminium using a small brush with a steady hand. I also used this colour to pick out raised details here and there. I then added the Federation logos on the wings by first spraying an orange circle then hand painting the silver arrow. Once dry this was outlined with a fine artist’s pen. Adding this was pure artistic license as the original miniature did not have them but she just looked so bare without ‘something’. 32

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The main sub-assemblies were now epoxied together and, once this was cured, I went around the model with a final wash mix (this time black and a touch of 862 Black Grey) which was added very sparingly here and there to sharpen up the detail, followed by a coat of matt varnish finishing off the model. This was a relatively simple model to start off with but one that covers most of the basic techniques of scratchbuilding. Basic shapes have been augmented with simple detail to create believability and scale. We can now take what we have learnt here and move onto something a bit more adventurous.

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Chapter 4 Nebulon A Frigate I have loved The Empire Strikes Back since the first time I saw the movie at the cinema back in 1980. One of the things that really impressed me was the Rebel Cruiser seen at the end of the movie where Luke receives his new hand. It was such an incredible shape and, at the time, seemed impossible to make in three dimensions. Thirty years later and finally I’m going to produce my own version of this classic craft. Not, however, as I originally intended it to be, a like for like copy (the original miniature was significantly redressed for the third Star Wars movie Return of the Jedi as well as using many now collectable and therefore price-prohibitive model kits) but a slightly smaller version based on production sketches by Joe Johnston and Nilo Rodis. I had spent my years researching this project (with the intention of building a perfect studio scale copy) and was very lucky to be given a selection of 300+ images of the original ILM miniature, as it was following the completion of Return of the Jedi, for which I shall be forever grateful. I was also helped along the way by several people on various website forums who shared their own research with me. The original ILM miniature was around two and a half metres in length. My version’s size will be dictated by the forward cluster of shapes used on the bow. These, like the original, would be produced not from hand crafted shapes, but from relatively close shapes cobbled together from various ship hulls and aircraft fuselages from standard production kits. Once the specific kit parts for the forward cluster had been chosen and laid out I could take measurements. One side view coloured sketch taken from the book From Star Wars to Indiana Jones: The best of the Lucasfilm archive was used as the master for creating the front section of the model and all basic forward section measurements were taken from this sketch. To get the correct factor by which to multiply these measurements I needed to apply the following formulae: Full size kit part measurement divided by Sketch measurement... e.g: B29 Fuselage part = 50 mm Sketch measurement of same part = 9.5 mm 50 / 9.5 = 5.2632 (rounded up to 4 decimal places)

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Now every measurement taken from the sketch could be multiplied by 5.2632 knowing that it would be correct in proportion to that sketch. From this I could gauge the basic shapes and bulkheads needed to construct the forward section. This was done by tracing the image outline from the blown-up sketch image from the book and then drawing out bulkheads and the basic shape. The measurements gauged from this were multiplied up by 5.2632 giving the full size required. Width was gauged by studying images of the original ILM miniature Rebel Frigate and using this, along with the thickness of the parts I had chosen for the forward section. The engine section was best judged using a combination of original miniature images and some storyboard images I had from The Empire Strikes Back. The engine layout was reduced from 7 to 5 so as not to have to buy more Saturn V rocket kits. The original has a pinched-in engine section where it transforms from 4 to 3 engine nozzles. Mine remains straight as the angle is more acute. I did, however, choose the top section width to correspond with the top deck of Tamiya’s 1/35th Pz IV Mobelwagon kit, just as the original. My model was to be supported by a stand that bolted directly into the main forward section. Producing an armature that would support the model from all angles would have made the project prohibitively expensive and the original miniature was only supported from a single point anyway. This way the model would be sturdy enough on its stand yet accessible from many angles for final photography. With a selection of kits for the kit bashed detailing gathered together from stock, the EMA, ABS tubing and sheet was ordered, wood and ironmongery bought, and, finally, I could start on a once-ina-lifetime project that I had been planning for the better part of four years – and buying kits to contribute to for nearly eight! The following photographic essay is a blow-by-blow account of this build which took six months. Although that sounds a lot, the actual build hours are only around 250 in total, this due in no small part to the immense amount of planning done before I even put knife to plastic. 35

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01: Joe Johnston’s colour sketch produced for the model shop to aid final painting of the original Rebel Cruiser, as seen in The Empire Strikes Back. This sketch became the bible for building my version, christened Nebulon A Frigate. 02: The kit parts to be used for the forward section are laid out against a copy of Joe’s sketch to gauge suitability. The Bismarck hull and Sunderland fuselage stand in for the bottom of the main hull’s nose. A selection of ship hulls and aircraft fuselages are mixed and matched to get the best look. A length of ABS is used to break up the model parts so I can just concentrate on the forward shapes. 03: The only plans drawn up for this project are used to mark out the first bulkheads to be cut from 3.2mm ABS sheet. 04: Once the bulkheads have been cut, a hole for the central spine must be cut out. Each of the bulkheads is securely clamped into a bench vice. These could be cut with a hole cutter placed into a hand drill but I didn’t have that tool and needed to make sure that the fit on the tube was tight and so used the following method: 05: A basic DIY drill is used to cut holes inside the marked out area on the bulkhead. 06: A heavy duty blade is used to score between the holes in all directions. 07: The waste is then prized out with a pair of needle point pliers. 08: A round of careful scoring and side cutter work opens up the hole further. 09: Finally, a motor tool fitted with sanding drum enlarges the hole to the correct size. The hole is test fitted with the tube until the tube can just squeeze through without damaging the bulkhead.

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10: The main bulkheads for the forward section are fitted. A rule is used to make sure that the distance between them is correct and that they are level in relation to each other. 11: The bulkhead for the engine section is measured out ready for cutting. The Airfix Saturn V part is used as a guide for the engine layout. 12: With both bulkheads cut the Saturn V parts are laid out and marked off for the engine arrangement.

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13: With the bulkhead temporarily mounted onto the ABS tubing, Tamiya’s Mobelwagon top deck is offered up and marked off. The bulkhead is then removed and cut down, before being used as a template to cut down the second bulkhead. 14: The top deck is marked out for cutting. The ABS tubing and Saturn V part are put in place, along with a major part of the top deck detail (to gauge whether it looks good) before cutting. 15: The bottom section being gauged up. The ABS tubing represents the static discharge vane housing.

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16: Holes for the engines are cut out and the engines test fitted. The blue domes were originally going to be the engine bells themselves. This was changed later in the build as they made the completed engine section look wrong. 17: With the Saturn V parts in place, a section of ABS is carefully contoured by hand to match the angle of the engine section and fit around the housing. This was only done as a guide as any imperfections would be dealt with using filler further down the construction line. 18: To match the housing a motor tool with a sanding wheel was used to very carefully enlarge the hole without damaging the curve. 19: The engine section basic shape is now complete. 20: Another shot of the engine section showing the engine cutouts along the side. The gap on the top is for an access panel should I want to fit lights to the engines further down the line. 21: The basic shapes are now done and a single length of ABS tubing slides over the front and engine sections allowing them to be separated for ease of transportation. Note the Shuttle fuel tank half and the Skipjack hull used for reference of how the final model will look. At this point the mounting pipe ‘Cbolts’ are added. Note also the wood used to produce the stand. 22: Work can now start on the forward section proper and the front section is built up using 1.6 mm ABS sheet. The top fin gives the front section the correct profile as I work. 23: This side view shows the profile of the front section. The bulkheads have now been permanently attached and the main load bearing ones doubled up to 6.4 mm and laminated together with Epoxy. 24: The C-bolts are positioned and capped off to hide them. Note the bulkhead has been doubled up as this will be load bearing. 38

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25: The completed basic front section. All parts have been bolted, screwed and epoxied together. EMA rings have been used to bond the forward bulkhead permanently and ironmongery was used to strengthen load bearing bulkheads. ‘Hero’ has been marked on one side so that I know how the side sections will have to be marked out. 26: Finally the mounting pipe is securely bolted together. 27: This side view shows how secure this was made as it holds the entire weight of the finished model.

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28: To get maximum strength, the pipe is run through the side and any excess cut off to the correct profile. 29: The forward section top bulkhead is refined in shape. This is done by careful sanding with coarse wet and dry. At this stage the nose is actually longer than it needs to be. This was done to keep the front section straight when refining the shape. 30: The front is shaped using a sanding drum on a motor tool. 31: A secondary bulkhead made from 0.40” plastic card is drawn out by hand and cut. 32: ABS scraps are used to fill the area out ready for polyester paste. 33: First application of polyester paste (David’s P38 Easy Sand). 34: ABS bulkheads are cut out and secured into place to aid getting the final shape true. 35: More layers of P38 are built up at 20-minute intervals. The polyester paste heats up when curing and too heavy a layer might potentially warp the plastic underneath. 36: The final layer is added. Once this has cured (approximately the time it takes to make and drink a cup of coffee or tea) shaping can begin.

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37: Initial sanding highlights areas that have to be done again. A sanding block keeps things even. At this stage rough P80 wet and dry is used to quickly cut through the polyester and shape with the minimum of effort. 38: This close-up shows how the further applications of P38 will be required. Note the scratching from the rough wet and dry. 39: Second application of P38. As this is a thin coat it will be ready to work within minutes. This time a slightly less coarse grade of wet and dry is used: P120.

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40: The edge is trimmed off by scoring against the edge and snapping it off. We now have a straight edge to work with so that the nose contours look right. 41: More P38 applications as the nose shape is refined again. By now we are working with a P180 grade of wet and dry. 42: Now the top section of the nose is done and the underside is attended to. An Airfix 1/72nd E-boat hull is used for this. The bottom of the hull is cut to length. The remaining hull parts are then glued in place. Once this is dry the front section of the hull is discarded. 43: The side sections are cut from Revell’s 1/110th U-99 sub hull. A simple job for a nibbler. 44: The U-99 hull parts are gently bent by hand to flatten them out. 45: The parts are attached to the underside of the nose section. Flattening the U-99 parts allowed them to reach the bottom of the bulkhead and not protrude past the side edge. 46: The sub hulls are trimmed back and an ABS bulkhead added. The lower section is then built up using P38. 47: Further layers of P38 are added and cut back with wet and dry. 48: Building up the front section so that the nose blends effortlessly into the surrounding kit parts.

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49: More layers are added to the area ensuring no gaps or obvious visual differences on either side. 50: Final shaping and sanding takes place with P240 wet and dry. A simple gauge ensures that all is true. 51: As well as the nose, the conning tower section from the sketch must be fabricated. A Revell Skipjack submarine half is flanked by ABS sheet and capped with cut-down Saturn V LEM shrouds. 51 54

52: A spacer is added underneath to give the correct bottom profile. This is where the strength and flexibility of ABS material is at its most noticeable. 53: The basic shape is layered and profiled as per the nose section. A Skipjack conning tower adds the final touch and is carefully blended into the surrounding shape. 54: Starting construction of the forward lower sail section. A Revell/Monogram 1/48th B-29 fuselage is cut down and the glazing added. The nose section of a Heller 1/125th Ariane V completes the basic shape. 55: The next module down is made from a Revell 1/542th Midway carrier and U.S.S. Boston hull sections. Here the rudder of the Midway carrier hull is removed (in front of the unmodified part for comparison). 56: The Midway carrier hull is cut down and is attached to the Boston hull. When dry the Boston hull is cut to match. 57/58: Following a simple Hasegawa Leopold/Anzio Annie gun barrel, the next module is made from an Airfix 1/600th Graf Spee hull. The hull is cut down to the designated length and marked against its opposite side, then the halves glued together and the over-run cut off.

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59: The top deck is added and left to cure. 60: Finally the deck is separated from the hull utilising the score and snap method used on the nose.

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61: The first four components are test fitted against the bulkhead. 62: The remaining modules are made and all are test fitted. Airfix 1/600th Bismarck and Iron Duke hulls used for module five. Module six is two Revell U.S.S. Currituck rear hull sections joined, followed by two Revell 1/400th Glasgow tanker hulls and, finally, a Tamiya 1/700th Hornet hull with a Revell/Monogram A-10 rear fuselage. 63: The top rear section of the front needs to be covered and a Hasegawa 1/450th Yamato hull does the job nicely. The unfinished conning tower is added just for placement at this stage.

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64: The Yamato hull will cover the strengthening screws for the neck with ease. 65: Now that the position of the hull is established, it is marked out so that it fits over the rear bulkhead. 66: A nibbler makes short work of the cutting required. 67: The hull test fitted. Note that only one side of the hull has been cut at this time. This allows for the part to be set straight before marking and cutting the other side. 68: The conning tower is finished off with the sail from a Revell 1/200th Skipjack. 69: The rear of Revell’s 1/32nd F-4 Phantom fuselage is cut up, the rear section being used for the rear of the forward sail. As the plastic is quite soft this is a simple score and snap process. 70: 1/600th Airfix Forestall carrier hulls are also cut into the components needed. This part of the model copies the original ILM miniature, giving my miniature a sense of continuity in the Star Wars universe. 71: Another rear component is assembled. U.S.S. Currituck and Midway carrier bow sections are trimmed further to fit. In this way the entire hull of each model has been utilised. 72: Rear sail component layout. From the top: F-4 fuselage, Forestall, then Currituck & Midway parts.

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73: Revell Nautilus sub is separated from its centre section 74: The rear sail parts are all laid out to check fit. The A-10 nose has been grafted onto the Iron Duke rear hull. The lower three components are the F-4 rear fuselage, Nautilus bow and Yamato forward hull part cut off from the main hull so it fits into its designed space (again this was done with the nibbler). 75: The main sail parts shown in their correct positions. As yet they have not been glued in place.

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76: The nearly completed forward section with the front sail components epoxied into position. The Yamato hull is also permanently mounted and the mounting pylon boxed in. 77: A quick check that all is well with the rear hull also added. Now the model is really beginning to take shape. 78: 3.2mm ABS bulkheads are cut to break up the rear of the forward section and add depth to the detail to follow. These are first cut using a heavy-duty knife. 79: The rear section bulkheads are chamfered so that they sit correctly on the pipe they will be glued onto. 80: The first bulkhead is glued into position. This clearly shows the Yamato hull in place along with the conning tower, the boxed-in mounting pole and the first extra section of detail in the form of Airfix’s 1/600th Ark Royal rear hull (left over from a previous project). 81: Spacers are cut so the second gallery bulkhead can be added.

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82: The nose section from Revell’s 1/32nd F-4 is modified to fit. 83: The rear section with second level gallery bulkheads added as well as F-4 nose sections that help to disguise the Ark Royal hull. 84: The rear engine section has some galleries added so that it can be detailed in line with the original miniature. Now a section on the rear of the neck (permanently attached to the forward section) must be constructed so that it slides over the pipe and disguises the fact that the model will separate out once finished.

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85: Brackets are cut to support the engine section once attached to the forward section. 86: The main brackets are carefully measured and marked so that the gap is just large enough to achieve the job but not so that it gives the illusion away. Paint thickness is a huge consideration when judging this. These are then glued to the front section rear neck. 87: A supporting bracket is checked and adjusted to make sure that it is true before being added to the engine section.

85 88

88: The bracket is set into position, the set square making sure all is well. 89: Finally the main bracket is carefully slid into position. Final adjustments can still be done at this point before the bracket is permanently set in place. 90: This close-up shot shows just how close a tolerance there is around this area. 91: The remaining hull section of the Midway carrier is separated from its upper detail. 92: The ends of this part are then sanded level. Note the tape used as a sanding guide. 93: Airfix 1/600th Bismark rear hull is mated to the rear section discarded from the Skipjack hull used for the conning tower on the forward section. 94: With the forward section slid into place, the Midway hull and Skipjack forward hulls are glued into position, being careful not to glue them to the engine section. 95: The Bismark/Skipjack section is added so that the bottom just rests on the lower engine section gallery bulkhead. 96: The Skipjack hulls to be added to the top of the bulkhead are modified so that they will slide under the gallery and look like part of the engine section hull. 91 94

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86 87 89 90

92 93 95 96

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97 98 100 101

103 104 106 107

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99 102

105 108

97: Revell 1/400th U.S.S. Dallas submarine hulls are cut up to be used on the top section of the bracket. 98: The Skipjack hulls are added on top of the main bracket. 99: Finally a rear hull section from another U.S.S. Boston is added and the Dallas hulls bridge the gap between this and the Skipjack parts. A cut down 1/32nd F-4 drop tank finishes this off. 100. A pencil is used to draw around the built-up area where the neck joins to the rear hull. This is used as a guide so detail can be built up against this, blending the neck in with the surrounding area but not encroaching into the area so that it doesn’t interfere with the join. 101: The last of the gallery bulkheads are being added to the engine section face. Two supporting 3.2mm ABS brackets are added so that the main bracket slides into place without twisting and breaking surrounding detail once located. 102: A bulkhead is added for the lower main engine. A hole is cut into the bulkhead to allow the Saturn V part to slide into place. Once glued into position the excess bulkhead overhang is scored and snapped away. Galleries are then added to the rear face. 103: All five main engines are now in place, along with the majority of the galleries. The Easter egg containers that were to be used for engines bells were discarded at this point as they are placed for final guidance only. It was here that I decided that they threw the whole engine section out of balance. 104: The rear engine section with the main engines glued into place. 105: With the majority of the big bulky work done, I could now look to cut out the main slab detail panels. The width of each panel around the forward section was easily marked out using the bulkhead as a guide. The basic shapes were then roughed out with pencil and judged against the ILM sketch so that they matched. Excellent reference of the original ILM miniature allowed me to produce a reasonable interpretation of the side panels not drawn in the sketch. 106: The bulkheads for the forward section all laid out and marked up ready for detailing. At this point some were fine tuned to better match the sketch and photographic reference. 107: The lower sail panels are also roughed out with pencil before cutting. 108: With the ‘hero’ side panel cut, it is drawn around and used as a guide for the other side so that they do not exactly match but will not leave holes that show nondetailed areas. The additions and subtractions are marked out in heavy pencil. Note that all ‘hero’ panels were marked at this stage so as to not end up super detailing the wrong side!

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109: The first layer of detail is added to the top panel. A 1/400th I-506 submarine hull, 1/35th Tamiya Tiger, 88 mm gun and 1/72nd Leopold/Anzio Annie parts are used here. Any further detail will be added during the finishing stages of the model. 110: Layers of detail are added to all the panels. Differing thicknesses of plastic card, plastic strip and small kit parts are used. Here the pencil points to Leopold/Annie hand rails that are raided for their stanchions. 111: Once plastic card, strip and kit part detailing is done panel lines are scribed onto the surrounding areas. Care should be taken not to start off too fast. Speed will come once you get started. Going at it ‘gungho’ will only mean lots of mistakes to rectify later.

109 112

112: The finished ‘hero’ and non-‘hero’ side panels. Larger kit parts are used here and there giving the appearance of armour plate and modifications to the ship throughout its lifetime. The Roco M8 Alligator parts (in green) were used on the original miniature and are used here for continuity, remembering this ship was constructed in the same yards that built the ship seen in The Empire Strikes Back. 113: Scribing is carried out on the edge of the ‘hero’ sail panel: again, slowly does it. 114: Both panels together. The main detail has been blocked out at this stage on both. 115: The completed panels. The non-‘hero’ is not quite as detailed as the ‘hero’ side. 116: All the panels are Blu-Tacked into position to check that they fit. 117: Before the side panels can be added, the rear and neck of the forward section must be detailed. This is added from kit parts and is the first real section of kit bashed detail to be applied. The following sequences show how the detail is built in layers. Usually once a section is finished it is sprayed with a neutral primer colour to ensure that everything looks good and not too unrealistic. The detailing from here on is left unpainted so that the use of individual kit parts can be more clearly followed by the reader. First off the rear, cut from U.S.S. Nautilus, is glued onto the large gallery bulkhead. 118: A detail section of Tamiya 1/35th M40 Semovente SPG is fitted between the F-4 Min fuselage and the top gallery bulkhead. 119: A radiator panel from Tamiya’s 1/20th BT-50 is added to the M40 part. 120: 1/35th Tamiya King Tiger side skirt is next to be positioned.

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110 111 113 114

116 117 119 120

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121 122 124 125

127 128 130 131

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121: A whole hull half from Airfix 1/600th Belfast is placed on top of a custom bulkhead tying in the Yamato hull to the side panel when fitted. 122: The neck section is now attended to starting with a combination of F-4, Tiger and King Tiger parts. 123: The F-4 part is contoured to the Yamato hull.

123 126

124: A deck section from U.S.S. Currituck is placed as a second layer. 125: Parts from Nautilus and Boston are added for another layer. 126: A final part from the Boston kit finishes off this section. 127: With this part finished, a length of plastic tubing is slid underneath to move the detail along the neck and tie it in with what’s to come. 128: The rear neck section is now given its basic detail. I-beam lengths, more tubing and large kit parts from 1/24th Harrier, Ark Royal, 1/35th Tamiya Churchill Crocodile and Field Kitchen are used here. 129: The ‘hero’ side of the neck. The circular airlock is made from a Tamiya 1/35th Sdkfz 223 wheel rim and an M3 idler wheel. The I-beam has been chamfered and several parts from a 1/12th Tamiya P34 have been added. Note the black tubing (EMA plastic coated metal rod) has been bent to shape.

129

130: More detail is added to the forward neck section. Lots of the parts here are matched to the original ILM miniature. This is the first layer – more detail will be applied later. 131: The side panels are epoxied to the model. The lower sensor unit has also been added. This is simply EMA tubing and rings spaced evenly along its length, matching the ILM sketch. With the rear sail parts epoxied into place, the forward section can now be mounted to ease further detail work. 132: The section where the main hull joins to the sail needed a substantial section to fill it out.

132

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133: A 1/72nd Airfix Sunderland fuselage part is marked to be cut. 134: Once in place, however, it is far too narrow to effectively cover the space and is therefore discarded. 135: A Saturn V third stage half is seen as a replacement. 136: With an LEM shroud half in place it still doesn’t seem quite right when compared to the surrounding detail. At this stage a 1/48th Fujimi F-14 part, 1/35th Daimler Scout Car and Italieri 1/48th F-4 parts have also been added. 137: Finally a 1/24th Harrier Pegasus engine half was chosen. Extra detail is provided by 1/32 and 1/48th F-4 kits, plus further parts from the Airfix Harrier and Fujimi F-14. 138: The side panel is offered up to check that no gaps remain.

133 136

139: The gap along the Glasgow tanker hulls is filled with a cut plastic card fillet and enhanced with thin strip. 140: Extra detail is peppered over the model. 1/35th Tamiya 25lb and Tractor as well as Matilda parts are being used with remaining detail being supplied from kits already broken into. 141: The non-‘hero’ side has only the filling parts added. No extra detail is required as this side is all but invisible to the camera. 142: The rear section of the sail is now detailed. Another matching part from the original ILM miniature is this silver engine part taken from a 1/32nd Revell Mirage kit. This also shows the detail affixed to the flat surfaces. Differing heights of raised detail all contribute to the final effect. 143: This overall shot shows the detail progressing. 144: The rear bulkhead section is detailed further. This is standing off from the bulkhead itself so the copious amount of epoxy used to attach the rear sail modules is hidden from view.

139 142

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134 135 137 138

140 141 143 144

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145 146 148 149

151 152 154 155

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145: The rear top module gap is filled with parts from 1/48th F4. Harrier, Nautilus and B-29 parts also feature. 146: This close-up shows just how much epoxy was required to secure the modules to the bulkhead. 147: Large kit detail is added as I progress down the rear of the sail.

147 150

148: This rear shot shows how the rear bulkhead detail is symmetrical. Morser Karl and P34 parts predominate. 149: Finer detail is added in the form of antennae made from masts taken from the ship kits used already in the build and 1/35th Flakvierling cannon barrels. 150: Finer details are added to the lower part of the rear sail. 151: An overall shot shows that detailing is complete, only paint to add. As with everything in life – and kit bashing detail is no exception – less is more. 152: Detail shot that shows the last layers of finer detail added to the upper rear sail section. 153: The completed layers of kit part detail on the forward sail section. 154: From the rear looking forward with effective detailing completed. 155: Lastly the end plate on the boxed-in mount area is loosely finished off with kit parts. 156: Another close-up shot. No new model kits have been broken into to achieve this level of detail.

153 156

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157: The conning tower area is detailed with antennae and such like closing off all gaps with kit parts. 158: Modification to the conning tower shows the rear antennae behind the sail replaced with more robust parts. 159: The last section on the bottom of the sail is made up. Aluminium tubing is epoxied into a BT-50 cockpit with P-34 parts being applied once this is set. 160: Completed, the final part is ready to be added to the bottom of the sail. 161: Blocking out the main detail areas on the top of the engine section. A full Skipjack lower hull replaces the Shuttle fuel tank half, a cut-down Italieri 1/35th Puma chassis and 1/32nd F-4 tank. The large part on the left-hand side is a modified Airfix 1/72nd MTB hull. The rear part of this has been cut down; this area will be filled with kit parts. 162: The engine section control tower built entirely from kit parts. A 1/35th Tamiya M-41 turret (the original ILM miniature’s is most probably a Nitto M60), which sits on an F-4 tailplane. The detailing comes from a combination of M-41, 1/24th Harrier, F-4 and a smattering of B-29, 1/700th Hornet, 1/32nd F-86 and 1/35th Hanomag parts.

157 160

163/164: Further views of the finished control tower. 165: The control tower fixed in place. At this time the surrounding detail has been added. 166: The top section is now finished. Although large areas remain un-detailed care must be taken that the area doesn’t end up looking far too cluttered. 167: This close-up shot of the starboard side of the top section shows in detail the work that has been done. The Italieri Puma chassis has been cut down so that it sits flush; the prominent F-4 fuel tank and Skipjack hull with Churchill Crocodile trailer half are also very recognisable. The majority of the remaining detail is from 1/600th Bismark and Mobelwagon kits, with parts from Tyrrell P-34, Marder II, M3 and 1/48th Harrier supplying other bits of detail. Two Midway carrier stand parts flank the Italieri Puma. 168: The top section is now complete and work can start on the rear. Galleries are created in preparation for the next layer of detail. Adding these in a very asymmetric way gives a better sense of scale and reality to the finished model.

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163 166

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158 159 161 162

164 165 167 168

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169 170 172 173

175 176 178 179

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171 174

169: The port side of the model has a hatch to give access to the internal areas should engine lights eventually be fitted. The cut down Mobelwagon top hull used to gauge the overall shape of the engine section has now been permanently fitted. A length of black plastic card has been glued to the rear of the top section and Mobelwagon side shields have been added to the front. The Airfix MTB hull is very noticeable, as is the Daimler Scout Car chassis. No further detailing will be applied as this side is barely visible when the model is displayed and therefore doesn’t need disguising as much. 170: On the starboard side the Saturn V second stage parts that form the mid engines don’t quite fit correctly. This has to be dealt with. 171: A blanking plate is cut from plastic card that matches perfectly, as well as hiding the bottom gap. This has been shaped so that it matches the detail around it and looks like part of the finished design. 172: Using the score and snap method, the M41 top hull is broken down to separate the rear engine deck. This is cleaned up along its edges and used as a detail part. 173: The engine section is laid on its side to check that all detail is good. Detail is used sparingly and further detail will be introduced once the remaining areas of the engine section have been completed. 174: The M41 rear engine deck is affixed to the starboard side. Now that all the engines and galleries are in place detailing work can shift to both side panels. 175: Cutting up the lower wing section from an Airfix 1/24th Hurricane. This will be used for the port side slab detail. 176: The upper wing section is also cut into sections for use on the starboard side slab detail. 177: Starboard side forward lower section completed. Aircraft wing and tail parts as well as shaped slabs of plastic card and ABS of differing thicknesses are intermingled with kit parts for further detail effect.

177 180

178: The rear section of this side shows the same use of Airfoil parts and large flat kit bits. A large slab of ABS is disguised by the addition of a Sunderland tail plane (note the fixing tab still in place) and a cut section of Hurricane wing. 179: The completed starboard lower side. Smaller panels were used as I went down the hull side. Again kit parts have been used sparingly. 180: The top of the starboard side. Large areas have been left empty to which detail will be added when finishing. Evergreen Strip is used to break up the area further.

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181: This overall shot of the starboard side shows that any further detail would confuse the issue. 182: Close-up shot of the lower rear; the differing heights of detail make this look very convincing without masses of kit parts being added. 183: The front galleries can now be detailed. Matilda side skirts and splashguards are used and are cut to fit. The detail is symmetrical on both sides. Tyrrell P34 engine parts are also used. I wanted this area of the model to closely match the ILM miniature.

181 184

184: Further detail is applied to the lower galleries. Revell Midway carrier parts are most useful here, as is the Leopold Guard Van plate matched from the ILM miniature. 185: About half way through the detailing. The main parts have been blocked out with detail now needed to busy up the blank areas, all the while referring to images of the ILM miniature so as not to stray away from an authentic look. 186: The starboard side is finished off. Although similar in style, the port side detail has not been copied. Note the pencil lines showing where not to glue detail that would impede the neck when the engine section is fitted. 187: Final detailing of the port side front section. A long box part breaks up the symmetry of the Matilda skirt. A Marder II side shield and a Tiger mudguard disguise breaks and gaps. 188: The port section has now been detailed but a bit more loosely that the ‘hero’ side. 189: The access panel detailed ready for fitting. Overlaying detail will hide the join lines. 190: The access panel in position. The break line on the Mobelwagon upper hull is unseen on the finished model as the panel sits below the hull deck. 191: Port forward section detail. Care was taken as much of this is seen on the completed model. Note the looseness of the detail in comparison to the starboard side. 192: The rear of the port side is sparsely detailed for effect only.

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182 183 185 186

188 189 191 192

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193 194 196 197

199 200 202 203

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195

193: With the exception of the 1/24th Hurricane bulkhead with tank, the kit detail on this side is, for the most part, shapes with very little relief detail. 194: The rear lower port side shows just how little detail has been applied, although the parts have been carefully chosen so their shapes add interest. 195: Finally the underside is detailed. Mobelwagon wheels, a 1/76th Panther underside plate, a single 8-rad and Boston part are dominated by an EMA hemisphere.

198

196: The undersides of the galleries are as important as the tops and are detailed accordingly. 197: This shot shows the completed port lower side. Note the detail is tighter towards the front of this section than to the rear. 198: Final detailing of the front galleries. Careful choice of parts gives a busy look without using hundreds of bits. 199: EMA tubing is cut to size. Dished heads are cemented to the ends and drilled to accept the brass tubing onto which the static vanes are fitted. The brass tubing is a very tight fit. The cross section is less so when inserted into the engine section and will have to be filled accordingly 200: The cross section is test fitted. 201: This close-up shows the cross section fitted and temporarily secured. Extra care was taken to ensure that the cross section was level. If not the static vanes would make the model look very odd.

201 204

202: Applying detail to the rear galleries. These are set back quite far and therefore require less intensive kit bashing, although the detail is quite symmetrical in comparison to the rest of the model. 203: Final detailing of the rear top section which consists of Bismark, Leopold and Tamiya Barricade kit parts. This finishes off all detailing on the engine section. 204: The completed engine section is test fitted onto the forward and neck section. A tail plane from a 1/48th A-10 has been positioned to simulate the fin featured on the ILM miniature.

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205: 20 thou plastic card is cut into strips. This is added to fill out the gaps around the cross section. 206: Pulling the strips under a metal ruler gives the plastic card a natural bend making it easier to glue around the EMA tubing without leaving a gap. 207: Following several passes, the plastic card takes on a very natural curve. 208: The strips are glued onto the cross section leaving an overrun that can easily be trimmed off when the glue has set. 209: Six identical triangles are cut for the static vanes (3 per vane). 210: The centre triangle has been shaped, as the remaining two will be to match it.

205 208

211: The raised pattern is sketched onto a blank with pencil. 212: Once cut out, the pattern is transferred onto the back blank by lightly scoring with a scalpel blade. 213: All three sections of a single vane are now complete and now need to be laminated together. 214: One vane completed, with the second’s parts laid out ready for assembly. 215: The edges are cleaned up on the vanes and they are then epoxied to the brass tube lengths that go over the cross section tube. Detail has also been applied to the brass. 216: This close-up shot shows detail created from 88 mm and Matilda parts as well as Evergreen strip.

211 214

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206 207 209 210

212 213 215 216

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217 218 220 221

223 224 226 227

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219 222

217: The completed vanes are test fitted to the cross section which has also been secured into place. The tightness of the brass tubing allows for the vanes to be set and removed for transportation. 218: A hole is drilled through the base plate of the forward section side panel. Holes have been left to accommodate the antennae array and a length of aluminium tube is epoxied into place. 219: Matilda top deck is cut into two so the engine deck can be used to back up the bottom section hole and stop any seethrough effect. 220: A little trimming is required around the bottom so that the lower antennae will fit without interference. 221: The Matilda engine deck is fitted into place. 222: The rear of the upper array. All is constructed around the telescoping centre tube. Aluminium tube of various thicknesses (all telescoping), brass rod, Evergreen I-beam and kit parts are all used. 223: Front of the upper array ready for test fitting. 224: Test fitting the upper array. Some modification was needed along the way. 225: This close-up shot shows the level of detail. The kit parts are carefully chosen for interest. 226: The finished upper array in place. 227: The bottom array was as detailed as the upper, although a bit shorter in overall length. 228: The rear of the lower array showing the amount of epoxy used to keep everything together. This area is almost invisible so the detail is not so exact.

225 228

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229: Close-up of the lower array showing that the majority of its kit parts are mainly missile and artillery pieces. 230: The lower array is test fitted. Again, small adjustments are needed. 231: Close-up of the lower array showing how the bottom slides under the lower lip of the opening in the side panel. 232: A single part from a Hasegawa Karl Morser hides a multitude of sins. 233: from the rear it can be seen how the model is attached to the stand on the non-‘hero’ side. 234: With the sail panels test fitted and the upper and lower arrays in place the addition of further detail can now be best judged.

229 232

235: Final details are added to the non-‘hero’ side of the model. The access panel for this side has yet to be attached. 236: The nose is comparatively bare and needs some additional detail to blend it into the main body shape. 237/238: Final detailing of the front section. 239: Completed engine section ready for paint. 240: Final detailing to starboard lower sail section.

235 238

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230 231 233 234

236 237 239 240

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241 242 244 245

247 248 250 251

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241: All finished parts test assembled ready for paint. 242: Alclad 2’s black primer and Micro filler is used in preference to spray cans as this is cheaper, with only three tins needed to prime the entire model. 243: A Paasche H airbrush is used to prime, at a low pressure. Several passes were needed to achieve a solid coat. This took four hours. 243 246

244: About half way through the first coat, the neck has just been started. 245: The engine section following its final coat of primer. The brass tubing on the cross section has been masked off as paint thickness would stop the vanes from fitting. 246: Arrays and vanes in place, test fitted. 247: Primed model ‘hero’ side. 248: This shot shows the model (minus lower sail panels) illustrating clearly how it is supported. 249 – 254 (253 and 254 overleaf): various shots showing the primed model.

249 252

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255: Close-up of the primed rear showing the engine internal sections have been masked off. 256: Close-up of the non-‘hero’ section. Although the neck section has been detailed, it is not as detailed as the ‘hero’ side. 257: Looking back along the non-‘hero’ side. The bolt in the foreground holds the model in place. Telescoping EMA tubing is used. Solid wooden doweling fixed inside the internal tube for strength. 258: The engine section with static vanes added.

253 256

259: Coach lines are masked off on the forward sail section. 260: The lower sensor unit is sprayed with Liquitex metallic steel, before being masked off. 261: A large batch of custom grey is mixed up using a blend of Liquitex Titanium White, Bleached Titanium and Neutral Grey. Joe Johnston’s artwork is used as the colour match. Vallejo’s colour chart was used to pick the exact colour needed for each of the sail modules, thus saving a lot of time. 262 – 267 (265-267 overleaf): The base colour is applied in light coats using a Paasche H airbrush, just as the black primer coat was. These photographs show clearly that all the detail suddenly leaps out at the viewer. They are no longer an amalgam of different coloured plastic parts but now have a sense of realism about them. This highlights the fact that building up detail and priming it as you go gives you a far better idea of how the finished effect will look.

259 262

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254 255 257 258

260 261 263 264

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265 266 268 269

271 272 274 275

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268: Close-up shot of a section of the forward sail shows how the areas where additional colours will be applied have been left partially coated. 269: A better view of the forward section. The dark grey areas show where minimal overspray has been used and the black primer still shows through. 270: The coloured sections are now dealt with. First off the nose area is isolated with masking tape and newspaper. 267 270

271: The brown colour is sprayed on, again in light coats but this time applied with a Paasche Talon gravity fed airbrush. This is to keep overspray to a minimum. 272: Moving downwards on the forward section, the next colour is applied following the original Joe Johnston sketch, the sections above being masked off. 273: As I move down the sail each colour is added and the section above masked off. Here the Glasgow Tanker hull module is in readiness for the orange skin tone colour. 274: The final colour is added. This shot shows the successive layers of masking in preparation for the next colour. 275: This close-up shot shows that using a gravity fed airbrush gives greater control, as no further masking in this area was required. 276: All masking removed, the exception being the sensor array which is metallic in colour. The ship looks like a bowl of TootieFrootie sweets.

273 276

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277: This close-up shot shows the density of the colour which is enough to cover and take the weathering to come yet still retain its overall colouring to match the ILM sketch. 278 & 279: The base grey colour is misted over the forward section to de-saturate the colours. This is the first stage of weathering. 280: Red markings are now applied to the model following the Joe Johnston sketch. First off the nose for the top of the sail section has its colour sprayed on. 281: The main side panel coach line is also sprayed on using the gravity fed Talon. The colour is applied very lightly, building up density very slowly over many passes. This keeps overspray to a minimum. Note the very loose masking at either end of the line. 282: The coach lines on the rear command sail are painted on with a brush. These are misted over with the base colour to desaturate.

277 280

283: Colour is now added to the rear of the forward sail. This is sprayed freehand using the colours already used on the fore section. Loose masking is used on specific detail to the rear which is called out on the original miniature. 284: With all the colouring now complete, second stage weathering is introduced using neutral grey over the model and used as a shading colour, highlighting panels and streaking which will be further enhanced with darker tones later. 285: A shot of the forward sail section showing the shading. This has toned down the overall saturation of the colours. 286 & 287: Close-up shots showing sections of the ‘hero’ side panels. The shading is loose but has a dramatic effect. 288: Another close-up, this time of the centre sail section. In this the de-saturation is most prevalent. 283 286

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278 279 281 282

284 285 287 288

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289 290 292 293

295 296 298 299

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289: Here the vivid green and purple of the forward sections have been de-saturated beautifully. Still only neutral grey has been added at this point. 290: The engine section is also shaded. The upper left section of panels have also had the brown nose colour applied to them by freehand spraying. 291: The sensor array masking is removed and the model is finely misted, again with the base grey colour. 291 294

292 & 293: The main sections with all colours applied and ready for detail painting. Note how all the colours have begun to blend into the overall shape by using misting coats of the base colour. 294: An engine section ready for detail painting. Note that the brass for the static vanes to hang on has been re-masked. 295: Patterns are cut into a large Post-it note and used as a stencil to build up complex panel detail. The colour is a darkened version of the original nose colouring. 296: First stage nose panelling complete. The density of colour application has been varied across the nose to give a better sense of realism. Very thin paint application is called for. 297: The Post-it note masks cut for the panel work. These were also used across the model for continuity. 298: Kit parts were also used as masks for detail work. Here a couple of parts from Hasegawa’s Leopold/Anzio Annie rail gun are utilised, as they were on the original ILM miniature. This shot shows the part under the masking tape. 299: The kit part masks from the top as used. The pattern becomes clear. 300: Panelling complete and panel lines drawn on with pencil. The nose is varnished with matt and black coach lines masked off for hand painting.

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301: Drawing panel lines onto a section of the model, with a flexible 20 thou strip of plastic card used as a straight edge and a 3B soft pencil used for drawing the panels. This method is quick and easy but must be carried out on a matt surface. The pencil must also be constantly re-sharpened to keep the line solid. 302: Black sections on the engines are sprayed. Panel lines and further shading with neutral grey and brown have also been carried out. 303: The rear of the sail side panels are detailed using freehand spraying, loose masks, shading, stencils and pencil lining. Heavy shading and streaking using a dark wash have also been added, completing the weathering. This had to be done as, when these are fitted into place, these areas will be inaccessible for further work.

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304: This close-up shows the looseness of the shading and detail. As this is all but invisible to the casual observer there is no point spending hours of work on something which will not be fully appreciated on the finished model. 305: The fronts of the sail panels ready for attachment. Further enhancement of the weathering will be carried out when they are finally in place. 306: This close-up shot shows the detail painting completed on one of the sail modules. Stencils have been used along with painted coach lines and those drawn on with an artist’s pen. Red and black were used, tiny details achieving the illusion of great mass. 307: Lower parts of the forward sail with detail paint applied. Darkened versions of the base colour were used for stencil work. 308: The completed nose section. Light grey panels have been applied to contrast against the brown colouring. 309: The detail kit parts on the nose have been coach lined and this section is now ready for weathering. Further shading has been applied to the inner gap between the nose and the main body. 310: Weathering is applied to the forward sail section, shading and streaking in a dark wash of Vallejo Black Grey with a hint of brown and dark green. 311: Further up, and heavy weathering is applied with the dark wash. Panel lines have been highlighted using a Post-it note as a straight edge. 312: Heavy weathering is also featured on the upper conning tower section. Here the process has just begun. Detail painting further enhances the scale of this section.

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313: The ‘hero’ side of the engine section nearing completion. Note the extensive stencil detail, panel lines and a dark brown forward section contrasting against the remainder of the hull. This draws the eye to the complex detailing in the centre of the hull and the prominent A-10 tail plane loosely disguised with drawn-on panel lines. 314: A close-up of the rear of the engine section. Extensive streaking and heavy weathering give depth and mass to this otherwise sparsely detailed area. More is to come. 315: Weathering and detailing on the rear section of the sail. The side panels will now be added. 316: With the side panel fitted, contrasting panels are masked off and sprayed in various greys, just as they were on the main body side panels. 317: With all parts added, final streaking, misting and small sections of extra detail are now added. 318: Looking down the completed model from the rear, the illusion of depth and mass is very evident. 315

319: Close-up shot of the ‘hero’ side of the engine section looking towards the front of the ship. Further heavy weathering is still to be added. 320: With the model complete only a final matt varnish needs to be applied, the stands painted black and the project is complete. Overleaf: detailed shots of the completed Nebulon A, including top left, author Gary R. Welsh (left) and Roger Brown (right) pose with the completed model.

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...Not that everybody is now going to dive straight into a project of this size but all of the techniques in the preceding pages can be translated into other, smaller projects (such as the Jedi Courier seen in the introduction). This is a ‘once in a lifetime’ project.

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Chapter 5 Proto Nebulon Cruiser

In the previous chapter we looked at building a centrepiece model; something large and impressive using all the tools in the box to achieve the effect. Impressive it certainly turned out to be, but it had also been an expensive project – and now I had a pile of leftover parts for which there was seemingly no use... The timely release of J.W. Rinzler’s The Making of the Empire Strikes Back while I was building the Nebulon A left me wanting to create another version of the Nebulon Frigate from Star Wars but this time a smaller representation based on Nilo Rodis’s original sketch for this design, which I christened Proto Nebulon. Looking at the leftover parts I had from the Nebulon A build, it became obvious that I could potentially make the Proto version using nothing but these. This time I used no plans; I just winged it, selecting shapes from kits that I had to hand. The first thing to do was sort out the forward section. I made a copy of the sketch in The Making of the Empire Strikes Back and started laying out parts 01: Nilo Rodis’s original sketch for the Rebel Cruiser seen at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. This was published just as I finished the Nebulon A model and was just too much of a draw to resist. 02: With a printed image of the sketch I start laying out kit parts, marrying up left over parts from the Nebulon A build. 03: Marking out the forward bulkhead on a scrap of 3.2mm ABS. A heavy duty blade is a must here. 04: Airfix Forestall upper hull parts are cut to size in preparation for attachment to the forward bulkhead. 05: The Forestall parts (including the lower hull cut to size) along with Skipjack and E-boat leftovers. 06: The armature for Nebulon prototype. Note the strengthening 60 thou plastic card added between the main hull and lower sensor section. 94

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07: The forward section is now built up, with the upper sections added. An Airfix 1/72nd Sunderland fuselage is cut down and mounted at the bottom of the forward hull. Note the epoxy used to attach the parts. 08: Closing up the forward section. A length of 1/24th Hurricane wing is the first placed. 09: A section of 1/32nd F-4 wing is added. 10: A second section of cut up F-4 wing completes the forward part side. 11: Part of the Sunderland fuselage overhangs the bottom of the model a bit too far and therefore is trimmed off using a Dremel and a sanding disk. Sanding disks are easier to control than cutting bits for work such as this. 95

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12: The Sunderland wings are also utilised on the forward section, here being separated from their inner sections. 13: Revell 1/32nd Mirage III fuselage has its nose removed and is used to beef up the forward neck. 14: The basic construction of the forward section is now complete. 1/24th Harrier wings, more F-4 and Hurricane parts used to great effect. 15: This top shot looking down shows the construction of the forward section more clearly. 40 thou plastic card is used as slab sides to block in areas. Further E-boat parts and a 1/72nd Airfix MTB lower hull are also used. 16: Starting the engineering section by slicing up a 1/24th Harrier fuselage. 17: The basic engineering hull nearing completion. Along with the Harrier, Fujimi Tomcat, 1/12th Tyrrell P34, 1/20th BT-50, Hurricane and 1/32nd Hasegawa Sabre fuselage sections are used. Note the conning tower has been started and temporarily added at this stage. 18: Looking through the rear of the engineering section from the rear. A P34 cockpit tub is added to split this and give the engines firm attachment points. 19: The Ariane engines are test fitted and do not look well... time for a rethink. (Continuing opposite) 20: Whilst I thought about the engines, I started blocking out the port side of the forward section. 21: View looking forward into the rear of the port side forward section. Basic detailing has been added. The rear of the bottom sensor has been capped with a 1/24th Harrier piece. The inside of the rear has been blocked out with 1/35th Matilda, Tiger and Skipjack parts. Detail consists of Quad and 25lb gun bits with further Tamiya 1/35th military and Airfix 1/24th aircraft parts. 22: The starboard forward section all but complete and detailing underway. Tamiya 88mm gun and Hanomag chassis make up the communications array and, as you can see, aircraft airfoils of various scales and P34 parts (in blue) are also used. A Revell Prince of Wales 96

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hull is used to blend the forward section into the neck area. Just below this a Mirage V fuel tank is very evident. 23: A look down the whole starboard side from the rear with detailing almost complete. Note the engines have yet to be added and further finer details are also missing. 24: Another look at the starboard side but from the front looking back. Finer detail on the extreme front has yet to be added. 25: The complete starboard side of the model. 26: Close-up of the completed port forward section. All the detail has now been applied. The finer parts add scale to the model and the reality comes from the detail not being symmetrical. The gaps around the plastic card (in black) will be filled later.

against it. I roughly worked out how long the finished model would be using the equation given in chapter four and considered how to build the armature on which the model would be based. I then drew out the forward bulkhead to which most of the parts for the forward section would be attached. Once this was done the main parts were cut down ready for assembly while the bulkhead was secured and epoxied to a length of EMA ABS tubing, along with strengtheners fashioned from 60 thou plastic card. Two 10mm nuts were epoxied together and these in turn were epoxied into a pre-drilled hole in the armature at the centre of balance. These were then secured with further copious amounts of epoxy to make sure that they would not break away. The nuts were threaded onto a length of 10mm thread which would be the attachment point for the model to its stand, as the model was only ever 97

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27: Close-up of the starboard side. The port side is somewhat less detailed due to the communication section that draws the eye. Adding too much detail to the remaining sections of the starboard side would result in it looking muddled. 28: Close-up of the starboard lower sail section. Evergreen rod and T-section were added to the sensor to tie in finer detail to the main sail body. 29: Close-up of the rear of the sail complete. Adding too much detail to this area would have left it looking cluttered and taken away any sense of mass. 30: The forward detail area on the front edge of the forward sail. The majority of this cluttered area is Tyrrell P34 engine parts along with a smattering of

E-boat, Mobelwagon, Sdkfz 223 and Hurricane/Harrier. 31: Close-up of the communications array. Tamiya 88mm gun wheel mudguards have been accentuated with road and drive wheels from the Mobelwagon. 32: The forward nose cluster. The eye is drawn into the side recesses, so special care was taken to close up any holes and make sure that there was no ‘see-through’ effect. 33: Close-up of the top section behind the nose and above the communication section. Evergreen strip and T-section have been added for interest and to close up gaps. The detail in this area is a more primitive version of the Nebulon A model. 34: The forward starboard neck section. The detail is chunkier than the Nebulon A and gives the look of streamlining stripped off for better access and upgrading. 35: Engineering section complete. This is the starboard side. 36: Looking across the top of the rear neck towards the engineering hull and conning tower. 98

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going to be mounted from the bottom. Until this was built I could mount the model in a vice while I worked on it. With the armature complete, the first parts were added to the forward section and I then began building up the overall shape with further pieces – mostly wings from aircraft kits cut up and overlaid to give an armoured look mimicking Nilo Rodis’s sketch. With the majority of the forward section blocked out, I turned to the engine section. It became clear early on that I would not be able to copy the rear section of the sketch perfectly for this model so I decided to build it up as best I could ‘in the style of’. In reality this is a cross between the original Rodis sketch and a general Star Wars look. This meant that I spent a whole lot of time (in reality, about three days) selecting, cutting down and offering up parts to see if they fitted well without leaving gaping holes before finally gluing them into place, sometimes tearing off whole parts and trying again. I finally got 99

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something looking fairly good and then started to look at engine arrangements. This time the ship was to have only four engines. Two Ariane 5 boosters were glued to the rear top section of the engineering hull. These were originally to be used as main engines but were discarded as they didn’t fit the hole well. Instead of these I used a pair of deodorant tops which were detailed ‘off model’ using railing stanchions cut from Hasegawa’s Leopold/Anzio Annie kit and a couple of toilet roll dispenser inners scrounged from work. The completed engines were secured in place later. With the engine arrangement settled upon, I could now start detailing and began by building the engineering hull conning tower. This was built up initially from sections of Revell 1/400th U.S.S. Dallas on top of U.S.S. Boston deck sections fitted in turn to an Italieri 1/48th F-4 fin. The finer detail was then built up around this section, coming mainly from ship and aircraft ordnance. Detailing the model took more than a couple of months. As I only had a finite number of parts I had 100

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37: Close-up of the mid neck section. 38: Looking along the port forward section. 39: A recess on the port side is detailed with small parts from a Tamiya 88mm gun along with a Hasegawa Leopold and Mobelwagon part on the edges to blend them into the surrounding area. 40: On the rear sail lower section the detail is chunky, with smaller parts added to fill holes and give the illusion of complex engineering. 41: Detail across the top of the forward section looking forward from the port side. 42: Looking along the port side of the conning tower. 43: Engines now added and installed. This close-up shows the detail added to the deodorant tops and the toilet roll inserts glued inside them. 44: The completed engine arrangement. The discarded forward sections of the Ariane boosters were attached to the top of the engine section and bells added from Tyrrell P34 wheel hubs. 45/46: Another close-up of the engines. Again, note that the detail on the engines is not symmetrical.

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47: The starboard neck detail. 48: Close-up of the neck where it joins the main forward hull. 49: I made the base of the antennae array from an M3 Grant tank turret and this is far less detailed than the Nebulon A version. 50: The underside of the antennae was just as detailed as the front. 51: The completed starboard side with antennae array tacked in place for placement. 52: Completed port side. A vice was temporarily attached to the bench so that I could work on the model from all sides. 57

53/54: Close-up showing the antennae array in place. 55: Looking across the top of the model from the port side showing the detail visible from the back of the antennae array. 56: Basic colours are now on and initial painting detailing is being carried out. Red identification stripes and white coach lines have been added to the blue area on the forward section. Colouring was, in the majority of cases, applied freehand or via loose masks. Note major contrasting panels and shading in grey, blue and brown. 57: The port side from the rear. Note the free masks that have been used and the metallic areas. 58: Close-up of the forward section with initial painting complete. The amount of freehand spraying across the top of the forward section is very evident. 59/60: About half way through painting and weathering. As the detail becomes more defined, keeping a sense of scale and mass is increasingly important.

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to be very, very careful with them, choosing kit bits judiciously and working slowly across the model. I referred constantly to Nilo Rodis’s sketch to make sure that I didn’t over-detail and kept everything ‘in the style of’. The forward section was relatively easy to keep clean and looking good. The ever-problematical engineering section took significantly longer to get right, with many smaller holes to fill and detail effectively. I even broke my rule of only using parts from kits I had already used for the Nebulon A build. A couple of supporting sections from an AMT/Ertl Star Wars Stap and Droid that I had left over from another build filled a hole I had perfectly. These also had a round detail that matched the sketch perfectly, plus the credo of looking very Star Wars and were a good homage. The neck section was also very difficult to get right as it had to look detailed enough to appear convincing yet chunky enough to match up well with the sketch. The last section to be built was the communication antennae array, created from an M3 Grant turret, a Panzer II turret base, left over aluminium tubing from the Nebulon A build, aircraft bits and assorted King Tiger/Mobelwagon parts. This was left off the model until the main painting and initial weathering had been completed. Some minor filling and sanding was done around the plastic card panels and the model was ready for its finish. Painting was undertaken as per the Nebulon A. First of all the entire model was primed matt black and then sprayed with the same base 103

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61: A free mask taken from a Hasegawa Leopold kit part is used to add porthole detail. Keep the air pressure high and paint low and therefore keep control. 62: Recess areas are treated to a darkening wash to add the illusion of depth. 63: Looking down the starboard side of the virtually complete model. 64 – 73: Various shots of the completed model.

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colour, a logical decision, as it is supposed to have been built by the same shipyard. The next thing to do was to dream up a suitable colour scheme. Being an older design I decided that she needed a more subtle look than her larger sister ship, so tan, brown and blue were the order of the day, along with engines and rear sensor painted in a metallic grey colour. These colours were applied loosely with very basic masking, except the metallic sections, where I cursed myself for adding so much detail as they were difficult to mask off effectively. When complete I started to loosely add shading, contrasting panels using the colours from other areas of the model and coach lines where I thought they were needed. 104

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These broke up the various kit parts, disguising the more obvious of them and helping them blend into the overall model shape. The first round of weathering was followed by misting with the original colour and hand-misting over the coloured areas to de-saturate them. Multiple loose masks were then worked up and further panels of various tones were added via an airbrush. I then started drawing on panel lines and detail with pencil and permanent marker. Second round weathering was carried out adding streaks and deepening shadows. Once panel lines were complete some of these were masked off and painted in differing colours to aid the weathering process. Along with this, further detail was added via the use of an airbrush through various loose masks and the careful application of permanent markers in differing thicknesses of black and red. Following a final round of careful shading and weathering the antennae array was epoxied in position. This completed the model and it was mounted on its stand. Nilo Rodis’s first creation was brought to life and I have come to think that the design is actually more elegant than the final one that made it to the screen. It’s a pity that George Lucas didn’t take this design further but I, for one, am happy to have built this version.

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Chapter 6 The Rebel Fleet

It became obvious that, for this book, shots of the completed models against a plain background were not going to be sufficient. As I had purchased a copy of Photoshop, it seemed that this would be a golden opportunity to try and assemble some fleet shots featuring the large cruisers. To do this I needed to assemble a fleet. I had a couple of Revell Easy Kits that would do the job once they had been suitably repainted and an old AMT/Ertl Empire Strikes Back rebel base kit that I could modify into a more suitable version of a rebel transport or Tuna Boat. I also had several ships that I had already built but still needed a few more. So it was back to the pile of leftovers I had from both the Nebulon A and prototype version to rustle up some new designs. I settled on four ships and started rummaging through the leftovers and putting parts together. The first ship I assembled was an unmitigated disaster, looking both ungainly and a bit daft. I broke her up and started again. At this stage I took some time to think the project through. A fuel tanker is clearly seen in the Empire Strikes Back movie so I decided that my fleet should have a similar auxiliary vessel. The fleet is made up from ships cobbled together from all parts of the galaxy, modified to suit Rebel needs and, therefore, two of the ships are based on designs from The Clone Wars. I reasoned that the Rebels had taken these ships out of mothballs and put them back into service in a modified form, in the 107

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same way that Y-wing fighters had been stripped of their streamlining and incorporated into the fleet. So, designs settled upon, I began with the tanker ship. This was based on a minor miniature that was built for an Empire Strikes Back fleet shot at the end of the movie. Although the original miniature was wider and somewhat chunkier, it looks more elongated due to the wide-angle lens used to shoot it. I started by taking one of the remaining sections of ABS tubing left over from the Nebulon A’s supporting armature. This was capped with parts from the Saturn V kits and would be the main tank. The secondary tank with the drive section was made up from two Saturn V first stage bases, joined bottom to bottom. A second stage end cap was added to one end and a further cap was fixed to the 108

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01 & 02: Even with the completion of two large models there are still plenty of kit parts left over. 03: The basic shape of the Tanker model clearly showing the EMA tubing (in grey), Saturn V parts (in white), Mirage V parts (in silver) and the Revell 1200th Missouri hull. 04-07: Rear shot of the Tanker. The grey/green parts come from Revell’s 1/32nd F-4 with the remaining ones taken from Hasegawa’s 1/32nd

F86 Sabre. 08: A section of left over Airfix Ark Royal hull is added to the 1/24th Mustang fuselage for what would become a Mandalorian battleship. 09: The Airfix Hood hull, Mirage III engine half and cut down 1/48th F-4 fuselage parts are added. The engine section of the Mustang fuselage is still very evident. 10: The addition of the Fujimi 1/48th Tomcat fuselage half, 1/32nd F-104 Starfighter, Harrier and F-4 fuel tanks cover glaring gaps, completing the basic shape. 11: This rear view close-up shows the Tomcat nose affixed to what was the front of the Mustang fuselage. 12: From the underside you can clearly see the Fujimi F-14 Tomcat fuselage half. 13: All three complete basic shapes. In terms of scale the ship based on the ‘Invisible Hand’ is by far the largest, measuring out at over two feet in length. 14: Close-up of the forward section of the cannibalised Trade Federation ship. Midway Carrier, Ark Royal, U.S.S. Dallas Sub, U.S.S. Boston, 1/48th Harrier, P34, and Revell/Italieri F-4s make up the basic shape. Detailing is applied. 15: The rear of this model shows how the use of a Sabre Wing, Saturn V third stages and aircraft parts add up to a convincing looking engine section. The engine ducting from an Airfix 1/24th Harrier fits the Saturn V part to perfection.

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front of the tank. The engine was then built up from the bottom using Hasegawa F-86, Mirage III and more Saturn V parts. A Revell 1/1200th U.S.S. Missouri hull was used to join the main and secondary tanks, completing the basic shape of the ship. The second ship was based around an Airfix 1/24th Mustang fuselage tuned upside down with a section of 1/600th Ark Royal hull added to the top, covering the tail. A hull from an Airfix Hood was joined at the bow but not at the stern and then attached over the top of the Ark Royal with a rear section of an Italieri F-4S fuselage added to marry up the Mustang, Ark Royal and Hood hulls. The remaining half of a Mirage V engine used on the Nebulon A was glued over the gap in the Hood hull and the remaining half of the Fujimi F-14 rear fuselage was also added to the bottom of the Mustang fuselage with any gaps closed off with fuel tanks and bomb halves from the various aircraft kits used for both the Nebulon A and prototype Nebulon. While I decided what type of engines I would use for this model I put together the final ship and this

16: Looking across the top of the forward section. Detail is added behind the spire (an F-86 tail rudder) to where the forward section blends into the neck. 17: Close-up of the engines from the rear. F-86 and Tomcat parts are used to blend the wing into the engines. 18: This close-up of the front shows how Tamiya’s 1/48th Harrier parts make up the forward hull under the Ark Royal hull, as well as the armour plating around the opening. 19: Trade Federation ship completed and ready for paint. The yellowish parts are all from Tamiya military kits. These are mostly tiny parts from 1/35th Tiger, King Tiger, Matilda and Skdfz 222.

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time I blatantly used General Grievous’s ‘Invisible Hand’ from Revenge of the Sith as a guide. The theory was that the Rebels had found a shipyard containing this type of ship in mothballs, stolen and refitted it for use. The main hull was cobbled together from a length of ABS tube. Saturn V third stages made the engine, with upper wing parts from the F-86 glued together and added to the top of the engines. The forward section was glued together from a section of Revell Midway carrier, a whole Ark Royal hull, Tamiya 1/48th Harrier, U.S.S. Dallas, U.S.S. Boston and wings from the aforementioned Harrier and Revell 1/48th F-4. With all three basic shapes complete, detailing was now carried out. Being smaller than either of the larger cruisers, the detail was more carefully done. First was the Tanker model: all kit parts added were small sized pieces placed to give the model a sense of mass and not alter the already established basic shape. I produced a wealth of complex detailing in an attempt to produce an ‘oil refinery in space’ look.

20: This rear shot of the completed model shows how all the gaps and holes have been filled with model parts. 21: Close-up of the top deck of the forward section. This area was extensively detailed to give the finished model the look of something huge. 22: Close-up of the underside of the neck area. Tamiya parts are extremely useful in mimicking mechanical structures. 23: Underside of the forward section filled out with Italieri F-4 cockpit tub (the nice bottom detail is the forward undercarriage bay). All of the dark green parts used on this model are from Monogram’s 1/48th A-10.

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Previous pages: 24: The insides of the engines are detailed with compressor outlets from Revell ’s 1/32nd F-4. Detail inside the wing comes from Tamiya

Matilda and M3 Grant kits. 25: Mandalorian battleship with detail completed. 26: Underside of the battleship. Detail at the rear of the model is sparse with only a few kit bits used, mainly 1/12th P34 engine parts. The

Ariane V boosters have been augmented with P34 wheel hubs. 27: Close-up of the highly detailed forward sail section. Aside from the obvious Tamiya military parts, turrets from U.S.S. Boston and

Currituck have been added as laser batteries. 28: This right side close-up shot shows how effective this type of detailing can be. 29: The extensively detailed Tanker model completed. Note that large areas of the model have been left empty of detail. 30: Close-up of the front shows the level of detail added, none of which is standing too proud and ruining sense of scale and mass. 31: Even hard-to-see sections were well detailed. I wanted a complex look... a ‘refinery in space’ feel to the finished model. 32: Close-up, this time of the underside. The piping came from Tamiya’s 1/20th BT-50 as did all the silver detail parts used for this miniature. 33: A mass of fuel pumps and piping. Along with these, Tamiya’s Quad and 25lb gun provided many of the large and finer yellow/tan parts. 34: Looking down from the rear. Although extensive, the detail doesn’t interfere with the overall shape of the model. 35: The underside of the model. Tamiya’s classic 88mm gun provided all the dark grey parts used here on the side pannier tank. 36: The completed models on the bench during finishing. The Tanker has been painted and shaded but the detail has yet to be added. The

Mandalorian battleship is also painted and shaded but not weathered (note that the blue has been applied freehand where the neutral grey for the sail has been masked). The Trade Federation battle cruiser being detailed with free masks (scattered across the bench). All colours have been de-saturated by misting with the overall light grey colour. 37: AMT/Ertl’s Freighter or Tuna Boat. The engines have been replaced with modified Saturn V J2 bells and a new tower built from kit parts. 38: The underside of the freighter showing the number of Tamiya kit parts added to make the model appear more convincing.

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Following on from this, the second ship had its engines attached, these being the other halves of the Ariane V boosters originally slated for the Nebulon A. I then added parts to close up holes across the model and blend everything together. Finer detailing was applied, especially around the front section where I could locate batteries of weapons, as I had now decided this model was to be a lumbering battleship. The weapons area benefited from the greatest amount of attention as, if I had concentrated equally on the rest of the model it would have lost its scale. When building a small model that in reality is supposed to be huge, adding too much detail always throws the model out of scale. If you want your model to have the illusion of being big, less is more. Finally the Invisible Hand-inspired ship was addressed. Again a specific area was well detailed with a general appearance achieved by closely checking the look against reference of the Revenge of the Sith 39: When things go wrong, boy, do they go wrong! Chronicling the build of the abandoned model. First off the remaining 1/48th B-29 fuselage section is chosen. 40: Airfix’s Ark Royal is added to the front – so far, so good. 41: A section of Revell Skipjack hull is attached behind the Ark Royal hull. 42: A Saturn V first stage has the capping parts from the second stage attached to the end… 43: …and then attached to the rest of the model. Note the Mustang wing and Revell U99 submarine hull parts on the bench. 44: Will a 1/24th Hurricane fuselage really save the day? 45: Undeterred, the U99 and Mustang parts are also applied. I carried on using parts from the Midway carrier plus a few pieces from Airfix’s

Sunderland before realising that the resulting model looked awful! Nothing, however, is thrown away. The parts were prised apart and would be used again for other models. 46: The completed Tanker model.

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CGI files. Then it was a case of closing up holes and adding tiny traces of detail across the whole model without compromising its shape. I also used the West End Games Rebel Alliance source book and Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Star Ships to make sure I didn’t stray too far from the Star Wars look. No filling or sanding was required as these ships were going to be background elements. I felt that, as long as I couldn’t see through any of them and they had the correct ‘mass’, I didn’t need to spend hours making them look just so. Following a base coat of black, each ship was given a coat of the same overall colouring as the prototype Nebulon and Nebulon A. The Tanker was heavily weathered and the odd panel was picked out in grey using the free mask technique with various details added using artist’s pens and pencils. The battle cruiser was shaded and a secondary colour added freehand across the top, with the forward lower sail sprayed dark grey. Once freehand shading was done, free masks were used extensively to give subtle tonal differences and panel lines were drawn on with pencil and further detailing added here and there, again with artist’s pens of various thicknesses. Finally, I cut a small Mandalorian crest and sprayed this in certain areas as a nod to the Old Republic web series. This model was now a Mandalorian battle cruiser! The Revenge of the Sith-inspired Trade Federation battle cruiser’s painting was a little more involved 47: Close up of the detail showing the industrial refinery look I wanted to create. 48: This rear shot shows even the inside areas have been detailed. 49: Port side shot of the completed Tanker. 50: The completed Mandalorian cruiser. 51: Rear shot of the Mandalorian cruiser.

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with several additional colours added along with Alliance red identification lines. Weathering was carried out using shading and extensive use of free masking. I also really drove the point home by including a partial Separatist symbol on one side. I really needed this model to look as if it had had all of its heavy outer shell removed where it had been deemed unnecessary and replaced with up-to-date technology or cannibalised ship parts. Panel lines and small details were also applied as with the preceding models. The remaining fleet was cobbled together from various commercial kits. A pocket Revell X-wing was built with wings closed and repainted. Revell’s Y-wing had its turret guns shortened and the R2 unit replaced with a kit part from Airfix’s 1/72nd E-boat and was then repainted as Red Jammer. Finally a Tuna Boat freighter from an old AMT/Ertl Rebel Base was significantly modified with kit bits and completely repainted so it would hold up better when photographed and composited with the fleet. Kit bashed ships are a fun way of using up parts or models that have been dipped into. Having no specific requirements in terms of the overall designs meant that I could really let my imagination run riot. Continuing overleaf: 52: Port side close-up shot of the front section: note the laser batteries. 53: Another close-up of the Starboard side. The detail is not symmetrical. 54: This shot shows the saturated colour of the Hood hull blending into the forward hull. Drawn on details with pen and pencil break up the familiar shapes. Note the Mandalorian insignia on the nose. 55: The underside of the Mandalorian cruiser showing clearly the huge chunk of F-14 Tomcat fuselage half. Detailing here is kept to a minimum as very little will be seen in the final composites.

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56: The finished Trade Federation cruiser. 57: Close-up of the front section. 58: The starboard mid-section. The darkened top deck complete with laser batteries. 59: Another close-up of the nose area. The large expanses of armoured plating are little more than aircraft flying surfaces of varying scales. 60: The large tower section made from 1/32nd F86 wing halves. The engines are made exactly like the Rebel Corvette seen in chapter two. 61: Another close-up of the tower. Extensive ‘quick-masking’ gives this area massive scale. 62: Starboard mid-section looking forward. Drawn on coach lines break up the detail, disguising the use of obvious kit parts. 63: Rear shot looking forward. 64: To really ram the point home a Separatist symbol has been added to the port side of the model as homage to the ship’s original inspiration. 65: Port side shot. Continuing overleaf: 66: Revell’s Easy Kit pocket X-wing used for the fleet shots – straight out of the box with wings unopened and a new paint job. 67: Revell’s Easy Kit Y-wing fighter. Looking as good as a Finemolds kit in its Red Jammer paint scheme. 68: This close-up shows the only modifications to this model. No pilot figure, a blacked out cockpit, the R2 unit replaced with a kit part from Airfix’s 1/72nd E-boat and the removal of the laser turret barrels. 69: The underside of the modified freighter. The notches so characteristic on the original miniature have been added using a quick mask in a Post-it note. The painting matches the original miniature as closely as possible. 70: The completed Tuna Boat. 71: A rear shot showing off new engines modified from Airfix’s Saturn V parts. 72: The underside of the completed model, looking busy and cluttered. The rough colouring adds a sense of depth to the interior even though it is solid. 53

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PHOTOGRAPHY AND COMPOSITING

Chapter 7 Photography and Compositing: a brief description

Although shots of completed models against plain backgrounds look good I felt that, for this project, they were not going to be able to do the models justice. I therefore decided that composited shots were the order of the day. It sounds complex but it’s actually not as involved as one might imagine. Technology has progressed so far in the last five years that it is perfectly possible to achieve excellent results with good quality budget-priced technology. The composites in this book were produced with the following: Apple iBook G4 – now 6 years old, the G4 is the basic entry level Apple Mac and can be picked up second-hand for as little as £300. It has a 40 gigabyte hard drive and is a sound, bug-free computer. I have an external Terabyte hard drive for storing the large RAW and TIFF files on so that I don’t suffer from processor slow down while working on files and this cost a further £100, whilst a Bamboo Tablet for ease of working cost £80. Apart from these two additions, no further upgrades are required. Fujifilm S5600 digital Camera – this is a cheap 5MB digital camera with full manual functions that 01: Fuji’s S5600 5 megapixel camera, used to shoot all the elements for the composites. 02: Setting up the Separatist cruiser. The model is hung by fine fishing wire against a blue card background. The photographs are taken in RAW so they can be fine tuned for background removal later. 03: Another set-up for shooting. This time the Tanker model is suspended against blue card backings. 1

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04: Creating the star background. Black mounting board has been sprayed and is now having stars ‘splattered’ onto it using an AB-200 airbrush with the air dialled down. 05: The completed star background element as shot. 06: A test composite using the models. It’s looking pretty good so far. 07: The main hero image as shot. 08: The Y-wing element as shot. 09: The X-wing element as shot. 10: Tuna Boat element as shot.

can shoot in RAW and Jpeg formats. Shooting in RAW is always the preferred option as it is in this format that the image is at its highest quality. Think of it like this... • RAW, a digital negative. • TIFF, a first generation print from a negative. • Jpeg, a photocopy of a first generation print. Compositing in RAW allows for a better quality final composite and one that can also be printed in a larger format. Although the S5600 is only 5MB, the image sensor is very large and therefore produces excellent images with very little noise on the image. Adobe Photoshop Elements 6/7: At just under £90 this really is a bargain package. Don’t let the Elements put you off, as you can produce perfectly good composites with this program. Photoshop was designed partly as a compositing tool for the graphics/visual effects industry, so is perfect for what I want, which is taking individual elements shot against blue or green and combining them together onto 122

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a new background. I also bought a copy of Photoshop Made Easy, an upgraded volume of which is printed with every new version of Adobe Photoshop. This really helped me get to grips with Photoshop without having to trawl through the help menu. The guys on the Resin Illuminati forum (http://resinilluminati.com/) also made excellent sounding boards as I went along, giving superb constructive criticism and advice as I learnt all about Photoshop. Before I started, I sketched out all the shots that I wanted to produce for this book. These were the blueprints of the final composites that I could work to – nothing over the top, the equivalent of spaceship stick figure painting, I suppose. With them, I had a plan that I could work to and not go off the deep end trying to ‘wing it’ together in the vain hope that I might come up with something suitable. I started on my images by painting a suitable star background. It is possible to generate one of these using Photoshop. In practice I find that, by the time I’ve messed around doing this, I can actually paint a background and clean up as well, so for me it’s a bit of a no-brainer. I started by spraying a piece of black mounting board with a mixture of Liquitex Mars Black and Phthalocyanine Blue in order to give the black a little depth. When dry, I then took Liquitex Titanium White and sprayed it through an AB-200 double action airbrush on which I had dialled down the air so I could produce a splatter pattern. This was sprayed across the board and, when dry, sealed with Liquitex matt varnish. One star field completed. Time taken – around one hour including clean up. Now I had a background, it was time to get the spaceship elements photographed. The photography was done with the models either hung on fine fishing line or solidly positioned against a blue background. This was no more than a blue craft card that cost £1 per A1 sheet. The models were shot in natural daylight and were carefully lit and filled by positioning white card around them, this helping to minimise shadows on the blue background and accentuate detail areas. 11: Tanker element as shot. 12: My computer set up, working on the example composite. 13: Main hero element with blue background removed using the Magic Wand tool in Photoshop Elements. 14: The supporting pylon is removed using the Eraser tool.

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15: The image is positioned the star background. The remaining white areas still need to be cut away at this time. 16: With all the white cut away the element is positioned in the corner of the shot. 17: The element is then enlarged and pulled into final position. 18: Using exactly the same techniques, other elements are positioned in the frame. 19: Each element is corrected for brightness, colour, etc. so they all look as if they were shot together. Varying degrees of motion blur are also added to some spaceships. 20: The completed composite is flattened and turned into TIFF or JPEG format for printing.

Everything was then shot in RAW format, with a focal length of F8 on macro setting with long exposure times using the inbuilt camera timer. Having produced sketches of what the proposed completed shots should look like, setting up the camera in the right position was very easy and, over a weekend, I managed to get everything I needed. Once I had all the elements I needed I started to composite them by taking each image and eliminating the blue background using the Magic Wand selection tool. This was easier as a RAW image as I could dial up the sharpness of the image, making removing the blue a lot simpler as well as giving me a cleaner edge around the element. Once I had done this I had a library of elements that I could call on and arrange as I wished. With the background situated in the elements full composite window I started to pull up each image, invert and cut it out from its background and then position it over the background star field element. When I had everything in place I started to adjust levels, brightness and saturation, add filters (sometimes between each layer) and colour correct. I also dialled the sharpness of each element back down, the better to blend the edges into the star field background. Each finished composite was then saved in PSD format (that can be read and edited by Photoshop) and a copy then flattened and corrected where necessary. To explain exactly how this is done step-by-step is extremely long winded and it would probably take the majority of this book to do it justice. Suffice to say that if an old guy like me can do it, then anyone with a bit of patience can too. It’s hard to believe that thirty years after watching The Empire Strikes Back, I have the ability within a small box to produce in hours what took the entire ILM facility in 1979 months. Digital technology has really extended what you can do with your finished models. For me it has opened up a brave new world that I’ve only just dipped into and if this is indeed the future, then the hobby is in safe hands and we have entered a time where we really can be seen as artists. 124

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GLOSSARY OF KITS USED

The following is a complete list of all the kits used for the detailing or building of the models featured in this book. These are some of my personal favourites that I have been using over the years and – I think – provide a good yield of useable parts for those wanting to build and detail their own designs. A photograph of each box top would, in certain cases, be somewhat misleading as box art sometimes changes from release to release. Tree/sprue shots can also present the same dilemma as moulds are sometimes adjusted or modified throughout a tooling’s life. What I offer here is a list that states the model type, scale, manufacturer (including origin, which is helpful when buying second-hand), whether it is an original or new/modified tooling and, more importantly, how much of the model I have used. After all, what is the point of buying a £25 kit of which you are only going to use one part? The kits in the list below still have many parts left in them for future use.

AIRCRAFT Airfix: 1/72nd Short Sunderland (current tooling). 65% used. Fujimi: 1/48th F-14 Tomcat (original tooling). 75% used. Italieri: 1/48th F-4S Phantom (Esci original tooling, 2 kits). 75% used. Revell: 1/48th A-10 Thunderbolt II (current tooling: Monogram. Also marketed as Revell/Monogram). 70% used. Revell: 1/48th B-29 Superfortress (current tooling: Monogram. Also marketed as Revell/Monogram). 20% used. Revell: 1/48th F-4E Phantom (original 1960s’ tooling). 65% used. Revell: 1/32nd Mirage III (current tooling). 70% used. Revell: 1/32nd F4-F Phantom (current tooling). 98% used. Hasegawa: 1/32nd F-86 Sabre (original tooling). 85% used. Hasegawa: 1/32nd F-104 Starfighter (current tooling). 80% used. Airfix: 1/24th Mustang D (original tooling). 80% used. Airfix: 1/24th Hurricane Mk I (original tooling). 75% used. Airfix: 1/24th Harrier GR3 (original tooling, 2 kits). 85% used.

ROCKETRY Airfix: 1/144th Saturn V (new tooling, 2 kits). 75% used.

Heller: 1/125th Ariane V (original tooling). 60% used.

RACING CARS Tamiya: 1/20th Brabham BT-50 BMW (original tooling). 75% used. Tamiya: 1/12th Tyrell P34 Six Wheeler (new tooling with photo-etch, 2 kits). 60% used.

SHIPS Tamiya: 1/700th Hornet (original tooling, 2 kits). 65% used. Airfix: 1/600th HMS Belfast (original tooling). 55% used. Airfix: 1/600th HMS Iron Duke (original tooling). 60% used. Airfix: 1/600th Bismark (original tooling, 3 kits). 75% used. Airfix: 1/600th Graf Spree (original tooling, 2 kits). 65% used. Airfix: 1/600th Ark Royal (original tooling, 3 kits). 60% used. Airfix: 1/600th Forestall (original tooling, 2 kits). 40% used. Revell: 1/700th HMS Prince of Wales (original tooling). Revell: 1/542nd Midway Carrier (original tooling, 2 kits). 70% used. Revell: Guided Missile Fleet – scale not given, (original tooling combining kits of U.S.S. Nautilus (Nuclear Sub), Boston (Guided Missile Cruiser) and Currituck (Seaplane Tender), all available separately under different ship names. 2 boxing’s 125

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reissued 50th Anniversary specials. 75% used. Revell: 1/400th U.S.S. Dallas (original tooling). 85% used. Revell: 1/400th Glasgow Tanker (original tooling reissue, 2 kits). 70% used. Hasegawa: 1/400th Yamato (reissued tooling without motors. Musashi can be used as replacement, Shinano has same hull parts). 65% used. Mirage: 1/400th I-506 (original tooling). 85% used. Revell: 1/200th Skipjack (original tooling, 5 kits). 95% used. Revell: 125th U-99 (original tooling). 80% used. Airfix: 1/72nd Vosper Motor Torpedo boat (original tooling, 2 kits). 65% used. Airfix: 1/72nd E-Boat (original tooling). 55% used.

MILITARY Herpa: 1/87th M2 Alligator (original tooling, ex Roco Minitanks). 15% used. Airfix: 1/76th Panther tank (original tooling). 30% used. Hasegawa: 1/72nd Leopold Railway Gun (original tooling, also marketed as Anzio Annie Rail Gun. Latest edition has crew. 3 kits). 80% used. Hasegawa: 1/72nd Karl Morser Rail Version (original tooling, also available as larger calibre variant. 3 kits). 70% used Hasegawa: 1/72nd Karl Morser with Munitionpanzer (original tooling, also available as larger calibre variant. 2 kits). 75% used. Italieri: 1/35th Sdkfz 234/2 Puma (original tooling). 30% used. Tamiya: 1/35th Panzer II (original tooling with Africa Korps figures). 40% used. Tamiya: 1/35th Flakpanzer IV Mobelwagon (original tooling). 85% used. Tamiya: 1/35th Sturmgeschutz IV Skdfz 163 (original tooling). 50% used. Tamiya: 1/35th Tiger I Mid Production (new tooling). 65% used. Tamiya: 1/35th Armoured Car Sdkfz 222 (original 126

tooling without metal barrel/photo-etch). 35% used. Tamiya: 1/35th Armoured Car Sdkfz 223 (original tooling without photo-etch). 65% used. Tamiya: 1/35th (8-Rad) Sdkfz 232 (original tooling, reissued as Afrika Korps version with additional parts). 25% used. Tamiya: 1/35th British Scout Car Daimler Mk II (original tooling). 95% used. Tamiya: 1/35th M3 Grant Tank (original tooling). 35% used. Tamiya: 1/35th M3 Lee Tank (original tooling). 25% used. Tamiya: 1/35th M3 A2 Half Track (original tooling). 30% used. Tamiya: 1/35th Panther Tank (original tooling). 65% used. Tamiya: 1/35th Churchill Crocodile (original tooling). 55% used. Tamiya: 1/35th M41 Walker Bulldog (original tooling). 75% used. Tamiya: 1/35th 25lb Gun and Tractor (original tooling with no figures. Can be bought as separate items: 25lb gun and crew and British quad tractor. 3 kits). 75% used. Tamiya: 1/35th German Field Kitchen (new tooling without horses). 15% used. Tamiya: 1/35th Barricade set (original tooling). 70% used. Tamiya: 1/35th Centurion Tank (original tooling without remote control). 35% used. Tamiya: 1/35th Hanomag Sdkfz 251/1 (original tooling with five Werhmacht figures). 70% used. Tamiya: 1/35th Horch 1a with 20mm Flak 38 (original tooling with 20mm Flak 38. Both available separately. Flak 38 has differing carriage). 85% used. Tamiya: 1/35th British Infantry Tank Mk II Matilda (original tooling). 75% used. Tamiya: 1/35th Marder II (original tooling). 70% used. Tamiya: 1/35th King Tiger Production Turret (new tooling). 55% used. Tamiya: 1/35th M40 Semovente Self-Propelled Gun (original tooling with extra crew). 65% used.

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SUPPLIER LIST, BIBLIOGRAPHY, WEBSITES

Tamiya: 1/35th 2cm Flakvierling 38 (original tooling with carriage, also available with vehicle – without carriage – as Mobelwagon and Skdfz 7/1. 2 kits). 90% used. Tamiya: 1/35th 88mm Flak 36/37 (original tooling with full crew, road gear and motorcycle despatch. Available as modified Afrika Korps

version without road gear and differing crew. 2 kits). 70% used. Revell: 1/9th Skdfz 2 Kettenrad (Esci kit also available at one time or another under the Dragon [with etch and figures], Tamiya and Italieri labels). 20% used.

SUPPLIER LIST

The Star Wars Chronicles Anon / Chronicle books

E.M.A Model Supplies Unit 2, Shepperton Business Park, Govett Avenue, Shepperton, TW17 8BA [email protected]

Star Wars Chronicles The Prequels Stephen J. Sansweet and Pablo Hidalgo / Chronicle books

Airfix Hornby Hobbies Ltd, Westwood Industrial Estate, Margate, Kent, CT9 4JX. www.airfix.com / e-mail: [email protected]

From Star Wars to Indiana Jones – the best of the Lucasfilm Archive / Chronicle books Star Wars The Clone Wars The Visual Guide Jason Fry / DK/Lucas books

everythingairbrush.com e-mail: [email protected]

Star Wars The Clone Wars Visual Guide Ultimate Battles Jason Fry / DK/Lucas books

Graphic Air Modelling & Graphic Supplies e:[email protected]

Star Wars The Clone Wars New Battlefronts The Visual Guide Jason Fry / DK/Lucas books

Kingkit Springhill Trading Estate, Aston Street, Shifnal, Salop, TF11 8DR. www.kingkit.com / e-mail: [email protected]

Revenge of the Sith Incredible Cross-sections Curtis Saxton / DK/Lucas books

Cammett Unit 1 The Old Garage, Whitney-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR3 6ER. www.cammett.co.uk / e-mail: [email protected] Squires Model & Craft Tools 100 London Road, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO21 1DD. e-mail: [email protected] Machine Mart www.machinemart.co.uk (Stores Nationwide)

Star Wars The Art of The Clone Wars Frank Parisi, Gary Scheppke / Titan books

Exercises in Imagination & Scratchbuilding Andy Pearson / Happy Medium Press Scale Models in Plastic Roger Chesneau / Conway Maritime Press Greenwich The Complete Manual of Airbrushing Techniques Peter Owen & Jane Rollason / DK books The Airbrush Artist’s Palette Mark Taylor / Apple Press

USEFUL WEBSITES Resin Illuminati www.resinilluminati.com Eagle Transporter www.eagletransporter.com Models, Miniatures & Magic www.modelermagic.com Star Wars The Old Republic www.swtor.com

The Making of The Empire Strikes Back J. W. Rinzler / Aurum Press The Star Wars Rebel Alliance Sourcebook Paul Murphy / West End Games Star Wars The Essencial Guide to Vehicles and Vessels Bill Smith, Doug Chiang & Troy Vigil / Boxtree

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A Guide to Fantasy Art Techniques Edited by Martyn Dean / Paper Tiger

Sculpting a Galaxy: inside the Star Wars Model shop Lorne Peterson / Chronicle books

Model-Making Materials & Methods David Neat / Crowood Books

Bonus article and shots— supporting and transporting the Nebulon A Cruiser www.scififantasymodeller.co.uk

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EPIC SCALE SCI.FI MODELLING

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Gary R. Welsh was born in 1965 and professes that the late 1960s and ’70s were a great time to be a child. His father was fascinated with both aircraft and the space race so it was bound to rub off on him. His grandfather was an aircraftman during WWII on Hurricanes and Mosquitos and his great grandfather was a Commander and Inspector of Works at Chatham Dockyards, as well as being a superb model maker in his own right. Making things with your hands would seem to run in the blood. His childhood was a time where everyone made models; indeed, when the latest Airfix models hit the shelves, the kits usually sold in the hundreds of thousands. Gary used to spend most of his summers with kids in the neighbourhood building kits in a large garden shed (then blowing them up with bangers and such like) or cycling to R.A.F. Coltishall where they would sit at the end of the runway and watch the English Electric Lightnings come and go all day long. Gary always loved sci-fi, especially the oft-repeated classic movies of the 1950s and, of course, grew up watching Dr Who and Gerry Anderson’s series. When Star Trek was first shown in the U.K. on Monday nights after Nationwide the spaceship building bug bit hard! The 1970s’ resurgence in sci-fi art also played a contributing factor, with Space: 1999, Star Wars and Alien only confirming his affinity with hardware design. On leaving school (good-bye and good riddance, to quote the man himself) he served an apprenticeship as a coach finisher and sign-writer. That taught him how to paint and spray like a professional. Although Gary still made the odd model, by the early 1980s a combination of rock’n’roll and girls tempted him away from the hobby. He came back to modelling in the early 1990s when, on buying a house, he needed a hobby that wasn’t going to break the bank. Gary admits that he was incredibly lucky in that he could apply all he had learnt during his absence (he still continued to paint and draw throughout this hiatus) to the models he made. His wife realised early on that building kits was a path to nowhere and he should really build his own designs, many of which were scattered about the house doodled on scraps of paper. Gary joined a local model club and it was there that a fellow member mentioned that a model magazine which he wrote for was short on sci-fi builders and gave him a number to contact. It was, says Gary, downhill all the way from there onwards! To quote the man himself, ‘Many people labour under the assertion that I’m a professional model builder and this simply isn’t true (I missed out on that calling by many years). I just take a different approach to what I do from the mainstream modelling fraternity. I very rarely use, or follow, latest fad modelling techniques when finishing my models. Instead I see them as 3-dimensional paintings that need to look as photo-real as possible. ‘It’s probably a cliché, but it is true. If you really want to be a good modeller, take a look around you – at nature, buildings, vehicles and not just at the details but overall. Notice how light reacts with objects from distances, how colour de-saturates, how mud splashes and rain runs. All these details will help you be a better modeller than any new fashion finish in the mainstream modelling press.’ Gary actually earns a living as a New Product Development Technologist in the food industry and lives in the seaside town of Cromer on the beautiful North Norfolk Coast, with his wife Andrea and cat Hector. He continues to write exclusively for Happy Medium Press. 128

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EPIC SCALE SCI.FI MODELLING

FROM BASICS TO COMPLETION– ADVANCED PROJECTS MADE EASY G A R Y

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