Lee Chambers Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 (edited) Hi all, got this blast from the past, plenty of room to add lighting. This is a vac formed kit that was made around 1987, so definitely not a "shake and bake" kit. Not sure of the scale, it may be around 1/28 but I would be guessing. I wasn't too impressed with the cockpit and yellowed canopy, so I decided to see if I could scratch build something better, I ditched the canopy idea and went for an open frame so I could show more details. I built up a new floor and seats and added fibre optics around the cockpit, some of them would flash off and on and some on the back wall would be constant. I wanted to build Robert the Robot in control of the ship, I built him out of various sized fibre optic strands, glued his arms and legs with pva glue, trouble was he was almost invisible at this scale, so I put a warm white smd under his butt! LOL! At least he can be seen now, I made the canopy frames out of solder, cynoed together, then wiped over with 5 min epoxy for strength and yes I had lots of breakages, but got there in the end. I was going to leave the frames open but towards the end of the build I brushed some micro crystal clear pva glue over the frames and after about 4 days it did clear pretty well. However I decided to experiment and I 2K clear coated over the pva and it did improve its clarity, not perfect but better than the original kit part. I would like to think that Gerry Anderson, if he'd had the budget and the technology he would've added lighting to his models. Enjoy the retro trip guys! Edited July 20, 2017 by Lee Chambers 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhouse Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Now that is fantastic. You've captured Robbie perfectly - and Jock has clearly done a great job with the electrics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Brilliant, I'm sitting here humming the theme song :-) Stu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewfl290 Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Brilliant, I'm sitting here humming the theme song :-) Stu Ha, me too. Cracking model, I love it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Chambers Posted July 28, 2016 Author Share Posted July 28, 2016 Thanks guy,s,i also recently bought a Comet Miniatures Thunderbird 1 kit,so that will be a future project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tzulscha Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 That thing is HUGE! Robert is just visible. The lighting is quite impressive, it makes the model no doubt. Good show! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Chambers Posted July 30, 2016 Author Share Posted July 30, 2016 That thing is HUGE! Robert is just visible. The lighting is quite impressive, it makes the model no doubt. Good show! Thanks very much,it,s very appreciated,nice to see that i am not the only 50 plus modeller who remembers these shows !LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Lovely stuff, not an easy kit to build but you've made a great job of that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Chambers Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 Lovely stuff, not an easy kit to build but you've made a great job of that! Many thanks,i have great respect for your model skills,having just seen your flying sub build,you may want to look at my seaview water diorama. Best Regards, Lee. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roymattblack Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 Love it. I really wish there was a model kit of this beastie still available. Apologies, but I couldn't resist twiddling with your picture. Roy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Womby Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 I have this and the resin/metal one from Comet in the stash. I'm planning to mould new canopies because mine aren't yellow - they are toffee coloured. Not sure when I'll build either but I hope one turns out close to the great job you did on yours. David 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukeDexter Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 Love the navigation lights, that's a great touch. Great photos against a real sky too, well done - that can't have been a straightforward kit to put together! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celt Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Loved the show loved your model,great stuff.The lights were brill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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