Karl Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 (edited) Here I go again with another bout of madness and over ambition!! I recently picked up the Round2 re-release of the old Airfix/MPC Eagle from Space:1999. Space:1999 is still one of my all time favourite Sci-fi shows and the Eagle is one of my all time favourite craft. This is my third purchase of this model; the first was played with to destruction when I was about 7 or 8. Then the next one was much better looked after and that one came with it's companion: a Mk.XI Hawk. These two were built OK and then a few years later were lightly restored. I still have them both now and in fact I found them in the loft just after I picked up the Round2 kit. Then my head got started.... Thoughts of a Lab-Pod and Spine Booster and a winch pod... 2 Eagles and a Hawk on display with loads of additional goodies. So here we are. The new Round2 Kit - a re-release of the old MPC/Airfix kit. And the remains of my two old kits, both original Airfix releases from the mid to late seventies. Both quite badly finished. My intention is to build/re-build both Eagles simultaneously. The kit is not very accurate out of the box so my intention is to make as many modifications as is possible/sensible to make the kit more accurate whilst still using most of the kit; I've seen others improve this kit and they ended up discarding all of the kit - this is not my intention, just to make what is there a bit better, although I will be doing some scratch building to correct some areas and create the 'walkways' and shelves'. I also intend to build a variety of pods. The standard pod comes out of the box. I can make a lab-pod by modifying the other standard pod and I can scratch build a cargo winch pod. I also want to do the spine booster as seen in the episode 'The Metamorph'. The Hawk is quire accurate out of the box, however I'll clean it up and re-build it using today's modelling skills. I've got some other Space:1999 ideas, but this is enough for now!! Thanks for looking! Karl Edited July 5, 2015 by Karl 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Hi Karl this is going to be a great thread to follow - likes Blakes 7, Space 1999 was one of my old time fave's back in the day and I also built the old MPC and Airfix Eagles twice and one Hawk (although I had never seen the Hawk on screen at the time and did not really know how it fitted in to the programme for ages after) Based on the amount of damage to my driveway and conifers the last time I had a skip delivered and collected, could I suggest a Skip collecting Eagle as an Idea ??? It could simply "Hover with no Bover" John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 (edited) First job was to clean off all of the years old paint work; on the Hawk some of the paint is around 37 years old... I bagged up all of the parts in to polly bags and gave everything a good covering of Mr Muscle oven cleaner and left it to soak for about 8 hours. This is definitely NOT shake and bake modelling - even if it looks like it.... After a few back breaking hours over the sink with a tooth brush and a second overnight application of oven cleaner followed by more back breaking scrubbing, I finally got the results I was looking for. The Hawk: The Eagle: The yellow/beige colour is not paint but old tube glue that oozed out of the joints when I first made the kit. I'll have to sand this off and repair any surface damage. Between the oven cleaner, warm water and a sharp knife, everything came apart just about perfectly with the possible exception of the Eagles side pods that had to be broken off. This is no problem as I need to re-do their mounting position to the correct place anyway. Karl Edited July 5, 2015 by Karl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 Only a small update. I've cleaned up the booster pods and started to repair the old glue damage caused to the plastic by the tube glue. The solvent had caused quite some damage in areas: So, just like fixing the rust on an old car, I cut out the rotten part and let in some fresh plastic and welded (glued!!) it to make good the holes. These are still a work in progress: I've also been working on the main engine. I've had to make a new mounting ring from a section of old Buccaneer exhaust tube as the original one was damaged when I removed it. This will also allow me to detail that area a bit more. Cheers. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 nice - anything new to report yet please? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 nice - anything new to report yet please? Been abroad for a few weeks visiting family ( ) and only recently got back; I'll be getting back in to the swing of things soon!!! Karl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted August 23, 2015 Author Share Posted August 23, 2015 Finally got my head together and picked up this project again. I've gone on to working on the fuselage. After cleaning up all of the mating surfaces and cleaning up all the tube glue damage I glued the two halves together and let them set. The rear of the fuselage was damaged when I removed the main engine so I cur the old surface off and replaced it with thick plasticard. The original large scale studio model was made from Airfix Saturn V and Saturn I.B kits, the front half of the Hawk being the 1st stage of the Saturn I.B with it's distinctive tank arrangement. When you look at the hawk you mostly notice a single long channel down the length of the fuselage so I wanted to replicate this by carving the channel in to the kit fuselage and then shaping it to replicate the Saturn I.B first stage. I also noticed that on the kit the little winglet / weapons pylons are located too low so I raised these up a bit and created a new ribbed section to go above the pylon and a blanking plate (as on the original studio model) to go below. The next thing to do was to repair the rear engine pylons; these had become damaged and brittle with all of the excess tube glue. I cleaned them up and cut off all of the damaged areas and then rebuilt them with plasticard, shaping them as the originals were. These were then fitted on to the fuselage. More soon! Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted September 3, 2015 Author Share Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) Another small update - I was looking at the side booster engines and trying to get them aligned for the fuselage and I found that I could not get them quite right. I realised that the front cone of the booster was at the wrong angle to the rest of the body. The only thing to do was to saw off the front cone and rotate it by a few degrees and glue it back on. This gave a much better alignment. Also, I have been adding some additional details to the fuselage such as extra pipework to the bottom and a few other bits. Karl Edited September 3, 2015 by Karl 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 good to see is one back on the building bench - 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted September 8, 2015 Author Share Posted September 8, 2015 good to see is one back on the building bench - Thanks; I've got a bit further than the photos show - just need to sort out the pictures. Karl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowler0000 Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Enjoying this! Built the Eagle when it was 1st released & it hung from the ceiling of my classroom in Gordonbrock school for a whole year! Missed out on the Hawk, tho, & still regret that. Don't get me started with the Warp kit........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daldroflas Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Nice work Karl! I'm watching this with interest. I have considered cutting out the Saturn 1.B tank section and splicing in some sprue or tubes but carving the grooves looks promising. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted September 9, 2015 Author Share Posted September 9, 2015 Nice work Karl! I'm watching this with interest. I have considered cutting out the Saturn 1.B tank section and splicing in some sprue or tubes but carving the grooves looks promising. The Saturn 1.B tank halves were used for the full scale studio model so would be too big for this application. You could easily make a Saturn 1.B tank section using appropriately sized tubing (why didn't I think of that earlier...) and replace the front end. In reality though you don't see too much of it as it's mostly covered up by top and bottom fuselage detailing and the only bit you recognise is the lateral groove just below the weapons pylon / wing. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grayson Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 You're just building a dream here. You've looked back at your childhood and thought,'I can do better.' And you are. I love both of those craft and I can you doing these real justice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 Very interesting build here I have 2 Round2 Eagles in the stash along with a Warp resin Eagle and a resin Hawk, plus of course the 22" resin Eagle from Replicas Unlimited that I started in the non-injection moulded group build. One day I might even finish one of them!!! Looking good so far... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daldroflas Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 Karl - I should have put quotes around 'Saturn 1.B tank section' as I did mean the area on the Hawk model and not the parts from a Saturn 1.B kit. I have an unbuilt resin Hawk to compare to the Airfix one which is helpful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted September 9, 2015 Author Share Posted September 9, 2015 (edited) I've been working on the area around the main engine, creating or replacing some of the lost or just plain absent details. I know it's not exactly correct but I'm not going to try and recreate two front halves of the 1/144 scale LEM as seen on the rear of the actual model. So it's a bit of an approximation, plus I did want to use as many of the kit pars as possible. There are two distinctive spheres at the size of the main engine, I made these using bits of the original kit and the nose cone of a couple of 1/48 scale bombs stuck together and shaped. The four tubular braces are the original ones, however the side braces have been elongated slightly to get them to fit evenly. Other parts I've worked on are the main cannon pods that I cleaned up and replaced the barrel with brass tube, and the RCS thruster quad that had a couple of engine bells missing. Karl Edited September 9, 2015 by Karl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 (edited) Assembly is just about done as far as I can go before I start painting. I have re-installed the spinal frame and added a few details in that area plus I have finished detailing the engine area. I have also added a slight lip to the beak area around the sides of the anti-glare panels; I've seen a couple of 'studio' scale models with this feature and I like it - not sure if it's actually original though... Here are a couple of pictures before I start painting: Karl Edited September 12, 2015 by Karl 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted September 13, 2015 Author Share Posted September 13, 2015 Primed, and with the last few bits of sanding and filling done - it looks very moody in grey!! Out with the white next when this is fully dry. Karl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted September 23, 2015 Author Share Posted September 23, 2015 (edited) Right, enough of that grey - its time for some Space:1999 white! I'm using Halfords white primer as the final coat as it produces a nice matt finish that wont yellow. My intention is to brush paint all of the details and then spray a matt coat on top of that to even it all off. First, all of the sub assemblies are sprayed and left to dry. After polishing the white primer with a (strong as bull) paper towel, I attached the boosters and rear framing - the top solar panels and cannon pods are just in place for effect. Next was to paint the main engine bells and thruster quad nozzles with Xtracolor Duralumin. Then moving on to the command module, I painted the windows and anti glare panels in matt black. I'll simulate the glazing by using a gloss coat on the parts that should be glass. Next thing is to paint the solar panel, cannon pods and other details.... Karl Edited September 23, 2015 by Karl 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted September 27, 2015 Author Share Posted September 27, 2015 (edited) The Hawk is complete! Space:1999 - Airfix Mk. IX Hawk - Ready For Inspection Thanks for Looking. Karl Edited September 27, 2015 by Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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