"Against A Dark Background" - Scatch Sci-Fi

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Rather than mess up the British Sci-Fi discussion thread any more.....Here goes with another WIP!

This is where I'm starting:

Top quality stuff.........All of £3.59 posted to my door!

Plus a cheap Chinese laser-pen:

Another £1.50 or thereabouts!

Kit meets razor saw:

By all the gods Playfix plastic is tough.....I wondered if it might not be some sort of resin, but apparently not (I test glued some sprue with Liquid-Poly and it seems to have bonded very well). The wings took a bit of a butchering in the process of making the cuts, but that's the name of the game with this model, hack it now and then sand it all smooth later!

Based on Pete's excellent suggestion I decided to add some Ar.234 engines into the mix:

And do a mock up to see where we're at:

All things considered, I'm quite pleased.....The twin jet-pods neatly solve my only 'accuracy issue' and give it a hint of the Ekranoplan, which can only be a good thing IMHO!

Reckon I'm going to need to rotate the inner wings slightly more to sort out the thrust-line and I will probably need to get creative with the tail.....Something like the T-Tail of the Martin Marlin might just look the part (I'd like to have started with the Hasegawa Marlin kit, but it's way too expensive for a hack-job like this! ):

I'd definitely like to motorise the props and maybe even add some lighting to the as yet non-existant interior.....The cockpit detail on this kit is marginally inferior to the old-tool Airfix Gladiator, in that the pilot's heads are not included in this one!

I will very probably need an awful lot of help and advice for this model.....Preferably given using short sentences and small words!

I am not in any hurry to complete this build, rate of progress will be glacial, updates infrequent.....I've got a lot of learning to do!

FWIW & All the best

Andy S.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Sgt.Squarehead

[Nigel Heath]

KT, any build starting with a kit costing £3.59 (inc. P&P), under the brand name "Playfix Kits" and "a model kit by "Play Makers" (Item No. 670)" does not have the most promising of beginings in life but I have great faith that it will turn into a techno marvel that would awe any standard Culture citizen.

Did any of my stuff on Ekranoplans help?

Edited December 6, 2013 by Nigel Heath

[Sgt.Squarehead]

It will make an interesting playground for trying out a whole slew of things.....Some I've done before, albeit a long time ago (motorising props), others are completely new to me (fitting fibre-optic lighting & lasers to a model).

I will definitely be needing a lot of help and advice from you experienced Sci-Fi folks once I get going with various components.

PS - Yup, the Ekranoplan stuff, plus Pete's timely reminder about the Blitz was what got me cutting plastic....Just had to know how it would look mocked up and was surprised and rather pleased with the result.....To me it looks like a plausible design.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Sgt.Squarehead

[Nigel Heath]

experienced Sci-Fi folks

I am not one of those but I will help in any way I can, I also still have Alistair the electronics expert on tap. I'm glad I kept him alive now.

a techno marvel that would awe any standard Culture citizen.

Maybe not one out of Special Circumstances but they are a tough crowd.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Those SC boys & girls (& its) play rough!

Wasn't even slightly joking about the plastic being tough, I was in real fear for my sprue-cutters when I removed the wing alignment tabs, had to nibble them away (both my dogs ran off to avoid the shrapnel) and then tidy up the remains with 80 Grit.....Anything less wouldn't have touched the stuff!

Tacked up both inner wings to get a better thrust-line and also to get an idea of how much needs to come off the new trailing edges:

Given how tough the plastic is, I may have to take a plane to my plane!

You can get an idea of how thick the plastic is by looking at the 'Mk.I Laser Activation Aperture' in the cockpit.....I reckon it's about 1.2mm!

Edited December 6, 2013 by Sgt.Squarehead

[Nigel Heath]

the plastic being tough

Maybe its filled with carbon fibre nano particles or some other such amazing culture technology. Best be careful of it.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Oh gawd I hope not....Or I'll get up tomorrow to find the parts have restored themselves to pristine condition and are back on the sprue!

[Nigel Heath]

Yes, what was the one where a member of SC (I think) removed a tooth and it transformed into a wire frame but working gun? The first book I think? God, what an imagination that guy had.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Or the 'E-Dust' assassin in 'Look To Windward'.....Seriously, you do not want to **** with The Culture.

Just found this: http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/10-top-gadgets-from-iain-m-banks-culture-universe-1142782

Dopey blighter missed the most important one (and one which makes several of the others possible).....The 'EM Effector'.

Think Scanning Tunnelling Electron Microscope/MRI Scanner meets EW Pod.....With the power output of a small sun and the ability to 'reach out and touch someone'!

Edited December 7, 2013 by Sgt.Squarehead

[georgeusa]

I am not one of those but I will help in any way I can, I also still have Alistair the electronics expert on tap. I'm glad I kept him alive now.

Surely you jest Shirley!!!

[georgeusa]

Or the 'E-Dust' assassin in 'Look To Windward'.....Seriously, you do not want to **** with The Culture.

Just found this: http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/10-top-gadgets-from-iain-m-banks-culture-universe-1142782

Dopey blighter missed the most important one (and one which makes several of the others possible).....The 'EM Effector'.

Siggghhhhh!! Back to the internet, not understanding, silly British culture.

Sgt. Major,

I have no idea what you are trying to make this high quality model kit into, but I am interested in finding out. Sign me up for the long run.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

George, do yourself a favour and download (or better yet buy) some of Banksy's books (this model is based on an aircraft used by some seriously crazy Solopsist Mercenaries in the book 'Against A Dark Background', my personal favourite).....They'll probably feel a bit odd to begin with, then you will discover that you either love or hate them, indifference is extremely unlikely. If you like them, you'll never see other sci-fi quite the same way, your benchmarks will have changed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Against_a_Dark_Background

Edited December 7, 2013 by Sgt.Squarehead

[Nigel Heath]

G-usa, Dr Who and Red Dwarf pale into insignificance when you get your head around the writings of Iain M Banks. Probably some of the finest science fiction ever imagined by the human mind. Don't get me wrong, Dr Who and Red Dwarf are of course exellent but they are really aimed at children / young people. The Culture novels are for adults. Please read at least one and give me your feedback.

I can supply a reading list on request.

My Very Best Regards,

Nigel

Edited December 7, 2013 by Nigel Heath

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Yup....What he said!

I'm sore tempted to model ALL the notable vehicles from AADB.....They cover a really wide spectrum, from the 'Beachcomber' at the beginning, through land-trains, hovercraft, steam-cars, submarines, all terrain vehicles, flying-boats, all the way through to the 'Monowheeler' at the end, it's such a cool novel, and quite by chance I've discovered that you can read most of the bit about the flying-boat that I'm modelling online for free (Scroll down to Chapter 20 - The Quiet Shore):

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nT5HAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT219&lpg=PT219&dq=%27Against+A+Dark+Background%27+cast&source=bl&ots=1qZLdyjalu&sig=ZJdEKQIHsq6qI676LEaRSdKhDIk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UnWiUsSTJOXB7Ab5pICIDQ&ved=0CEgQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%27Against%20A%20Dark%20Background%27%20cast&f=false

The internet just rocks.....We are so lucky!

Edited December 7, 2013 by Sgt.Squarehead

[Nigel Heath]

My first recommendation would be "Consider Phlebas" where it all starts, really. I am sure its still not quite too late for you to get Mrs Georgeusa to buy you some of them for Christmas.

Welcome to the mind bender...

Edited December 7, 2013 by Nigel Heath

[Sgt.Squarehead]

One final update for tonight.....A very small mock-up indeed, specially for Kallisti:

I reckon that with a bit of work it might look rather nice posed with, say.....A triple hulled submarine!

If you don't know what I'm on about, read the chapter linked in my last post.

Edited December 7, 2013 by Sgt.Squarehead

[Kallisti]

Agree with Nigel - Consider Phlebas is an excellent place to start, followed by Player of Games, Use of Weapons and Excession, with Against a Dark Background thrown in for weirdness as its not a Culture novel.

Edited December 7, 2013 by Kallisti

[John Laidlaw]

Yes, what was the one where a member of SC (I think) removed a tooth and it transformed into a wire frame but working gun? The first book I think? God, what an imagination that guy had.

It was in "Consider Phlebas". Damned effective little gun, too .

[Kallisti]

One final update for tonight.....A very small mock-up indeed, specially for Kallisti:

I reckon that with a bit of work it might look rather nice posed with, say.....A triple hulled submarine!

If you don't know what I'm on about, read the chapter linked in my last post.

Oh my word, a wheeled Mobile!!! Now if I one of the rabid Fanderson maniacs I'd be calling blasphemy and "you didn't get the angle of the back panel quite right" but I'm not so its an interesting modification, especailly considering the UFO Mobile evolved from a wheeled vehicle from Joe 90, the "explosives truck":

[Sgt.Squarehead]

I hereby solemnly swear that in order to pay due deference to the seminal works of Gerry Anderson, I will include at least one piece of genuine Airfix 1/76 Scammel Tank Transporter in my SHADO Mobile conversion.

Against a Dark Background thrown in for weirdness as its not a Culture novel.

It's not overtly a Culture novel.....But it is IMHO. It's the last remnant thereof, after the main body of The Culture (in the galaxy itself) experiences a genuinely unfriendly Outside Context Problem.

'Feersum Endjinn' is a Culture novel too, it's what happens to the civilisation on Earth after it encounters The Culture (as a borderline OCP), an impending squabble between the two civilisations is hinted at in one of the other books, I really can't remember which one off hand.....But as has been oft repeated "One does not lightly **** with The Culture!"

Edited December 7, 2013 by Sgt.Squarehead

[Nigel Heath]

g-usa - you see you have to get this into your life. I know it is a bit crowded already but I think its worth it.

Bye,

Nigel

[Pete in Lincs]

Andy,

Looking at your post times, Did you get any sleep?

Turning the inner wings around of course leaves you with

a thin leading edge & a thick trailing edge. Not ideal for lift.

In theory, given a plasma cutter, It should be possible to

cut out sections of wing parallel to the engine nacelle & just turn

that bit around. This makes it easier at the wing root. (less filling)

You also (IMHO) need a plausible way of getting the power

from those twin engines to the prop.

(If it looks like it might work then it's more believable to the viewer).

I'll be watching with interest.

Cheers

Pete

[georgeusa]

I hereby solemnly swear that in order to pay due deference to the seminal works of Gerry Anderson, I will include at least one piece of genuine Airfix 1/76 Scammel Tank Transporter in my SHADO Mobile conversion.

It's not overtly a Culture novel.....But it is IMHO. It's the last remnant thereof, after the main body of The Culture (in the galaxy itself) experiences a genuinely unfriendly Outside Context Problem.

'Feersum Endjinn' is a Culture novel too, it's what happens to the civilisation on Earth after it encounters The Culture (as a borderline OCP), an impending squabble between the two civilisations is hinted at in one of the other books, I really can't remember which one off hand.....But as has been oft repeated "One does not lightly **** with The Culture!"

Wot? Ehhh? Must do much more research, learn new language. Lost in a new world. No, wait, I'm in the new world. Lost in the old world? Okay, just lost.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Hi Pete.....Are the booster jets linked to the piston engines?

The model is keeping the two pusher pistons (driving slightly shortened four blade props) and having the jet-pods too.....My thinking is that it's an older civil design upgraded to a paramilitary gunship, increasing it's weight and thus requiring more power.

The kit's wings are not far off oval in section at present, so it's not too much work to sort them out using plastic card plating and putty at the leading edge and the coarse rasp at the trailing.....I'm planning on sorting out the upper surfaces properly and not worrying too much about the lower as the model will probably have to be permanently fixed to a base. I intend to motorise the port engine, the starboard one will be damaged, as will the wing and float on that side (per Dloan's handiwork with his autocannon).

Edited December 7, 2013 by Sgt.Squarehead

[Pete in Lincs]

Ah, I should have paid more attention at the briefing.

I'm with you now, and fully in control of my few remaining faculties.

So long as you don't start superdetailing radials, (ahem)

I'm sure it will go along swimmingly.

(Flying boat joke there)

Watching with interest

Pete