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Scratch built cargo freighter spaceship


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Hello everyone, 
I've been looking around here for a while and now it's my turn to contribute.

I returned back to modelling a couple a years ago. And after building a couple of models I found that my creativity wasn't triggered enough by just putting together pieces someone else had made. I read all I could find on the internet and when I felt like I knew enough to start I kicked away. This build started somewhere last spring so I try to recreate the progress. Materials used, scrap electronics, cardboard, plasticard and spare parts from other kits.

First step was using an old dock station for a laptop as a base and detailing it, this would later become the centre area underneath the spaceship.

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Step number two was to create some sort of rocket engines that would match the first step, after looking around, one day I found four toner cartridges that had an ideal shape. So first step was gluing them together and to start detailing them with what I had and found. 

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Nice!

Reminds me of my first year studying Model making at the Uni of Hertfordshire.

Had to make a special effect model spaceship out of found random junk and old computer parts, lecturer was a effects designer on Red Dwarf :)

 

great memories

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One thing I didn't mention is that I never had any plans before I started this build. The process has been build, check and build again. If I didn't like what was there or what was not there I added or removed details. It isn't the easiest way to do a build but you sure get a lot of chances to make modifications 🤣

Next step in the build is almost impossible to see today so a sketch (seen from above) is in it place so you can understand how I went along.
To join the parts i put two of the toner cartridges on top of each other and connected them with the computer dock by using aluminium L-profile and some other metal pieces to get the strength needed.
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All well and done there was a sort of emptiness in between the toner cartridges, a place perfect a rocket engine. Said and done, lets construct... :) 
 

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From the left, the glass from a LED garden light, a plastic bottle, screw bits that connect to the bottom of the Apollo rocket that was used on the underside.


continued..

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This connected to a Ping-Pong ball, two adjustment wheels from the electronic scrap box and the final piece; a plastic shot glass. Some cables, old push buttons, bits and pieces and it starts to look like the real thing? (Can anyone see the landing gear from a Spitfire? ;) )The parts that holds the engine was made by old drop tanks and bombs.

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Thank you all for the kind words.

Somehow I hope that I can inspire other to take this rout, to spend a night with creativity is fun. :)

 

On 21/05/2018 at 23:21, rockpopandchips said:

Looking good, maybe a dull question but what do you use for glue? 

No questions are dull from my point of view, how else can someone learn?
Depending on material I use CA-glue, PVA-glue or Tamiya extra thin. 

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Next step before this build took a halt was to construct some sort of end to the toner cartridges. In my head I got the idea that there was different kind of rocket engines on the spaceship and these four was for sublight travelling. So I went ahead and made four nozzles, the material was the metal tube from those garden LED's, plasticard and regular wall filler.

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And this is how they still look today and to be honest, I'm not sure I will use the as is, or if they will be replaced. Somehow after I made this I lost all creativity for a long while. But in next post we will take many steps ahead, because when the creativity starts, it sure flows. 😉 

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On 5/21/2018 at 10:45 AM, RANDYLIZARD1978 said:

Nice!

Reminds me of my first year studying Model making at the Uni of Hertfordshire.

Had to make a special effect model spaceship out of found random junk and old computer parts, lecturer was a effects designer on Red Dwarf :)

 

great memories

Hey! I studied there too! Though it it was The Herts College of Art and Design (in St Albans) when I was there and modelmaking was just a lowly HND. 

 

Had and a great time with Brian and Mike (not sure if he’s still there?), in fact such a good time that I failed the course...... 😁

 

Graham

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I was there from 98 to 2001

Brian and Mike were not around then.

Ashley (ex Dr Who model maker) and others who had all been special effects or industrial model makers in their time.

Yup full Degree now even a Masters in associated programs.

I think its got even more courses now ..animation modelling, special effects, product/ industrial design modelling.

 

I just enjoyed the pubs haha

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After a long break creativity came back and this winter I returned my focus to this build. First step was to create the hull and in my vision I had a mix of a modern stealth airplane and the Swedish "Stridsbåt 90". 

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Image copyright: Kim Svensson/Försvarsmakten

 

First one half of the underside, the toner cartridge - engine to the right and the computer dock primed black in the bottom of the picture.

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With the general shape of the underside done, the main bridge in the front was given its shape. Also now I started to realise that there is a benefit from planning in advance.  ...this thing will be huge 😵

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Doing a great job of this build.

Very inspirational. So much so, I am going to have a go at a scratch build space vessel too.

Thanks for sharing your build with us.

Looking forward to seeing further progress.

 

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On 29/05/2018 at 23:30, Anthony Kesterton said:

This looks like a lot of fun.  Can't wait to see the whole thing primed in black. Excellent use of a computer docking station btw.

Just from priming the parts visible in the picture I got aching fingers... But it sure does change the look of everything when the parts get the same color and it looks more like a real thing. Everyone knows this but still it came to my suprise.

 

On 30/05/2018 at 08:34, Getunderit said:

Doing a great job of this build.

Very inspirational. So much so, I am going to have a go at a scratch build space vessel too.

Thanks for sharing your build with us.

Looking forward to seeing further progress.

 

When I sum up the workload I've created for myself with this start there will be plenty of progress updates I promise. ;) 

 

On 30/05/2018 at 08:35, rockpopandchips said:

Reminds me of the drop ship from Alian.  

I didn't look at that one for inspiration, but some parts of it surely could have been messing around in the back of my head from memory. Who knows?  

What I'm trying to visualise is a spaceship where the functions came before design almost all of the time. And where the age and changes of use made the parts not always fit perfect.

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Next part of the build is detailing, to make it easier for me later, most of these parts are not glued on yet. And so I can remove everything in need of paint before final assembly.

 

First up, a hibernating chamber on the port side behind the main bridge.
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The wall behind the bridge was made of plasticard and scrap pieces and the copper wires will illustrate the wiring. Connected to the brige's wall the chamber will look like this:

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From the inside of the bridge I made a crude ladder to the hatch. If you look close you can see a bed, this will later get some sort of blanket on it.

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Continuing with the bridge.

To the right of the hatch for the hibernating chamber I added a sort of tank and below it another ladder to a part of the ship that will not be built.

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At the center of the bridge  I made some sort of rack for electronics. (behind this is a part of the framework that gives strength, so to hide the bolt I had to think creative.)
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And to the center front I made a console
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On the starboard side of the bridge I filled with different kind of tubing, tanks and bits and pieces.

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Next part: detaling opposite side of the hibernating chamber, update will follow soon :) 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Next up is interior parts, with internal pieces from a fluorescent lamp starter, a mouse wheel, soldering wire and some Tamiya tape we get some sort of generator:

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More recycled electronic parts, copper wire and so and we get us a connector box.
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With some plastic strips, tubes, bits and pieces the starboard wall behind the bridge looks like this:

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Time to focus on what is on top of the bridge. A framework of plastics gives a beginning:

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Continued towards the stern a basic shape was made with thick cardboard, covered with plasticard and detailed.

First a shape was drawn, this is port side:

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The cutout cardboard was given different levels to add interest. (and to make my audience as confused as I am, I took a picture of the port side this time... :D  )

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Plasticard was added on top of the cardboard.

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A tank was made of plasticard:

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Two tube shaped capacitors was glued on the port side:

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And with some old capacitors more detail was added:

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And test fitted it all looks like this:

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But who want's to work in darkness? First rule in space is enough oxygen, but the second one is good working light ;)  Let's flip it over...

 

Test fit of some LED lights
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Cut, cut, cut (watch your fingers!)

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Glued into place:

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Looking very interesting. I had a bit of a laugh when I saw some of the parts you were using. Why? Because I have recently collected identical bits from old TV and PC circuit boards, including from a mouse.

 

Have already started on my first scratch build space vessel, the ADLIB-1. Having lots of fun with it. It really gets me thinking. Love design work. I can love it so much that if I am too productive in designing, especially if I design everything first, I lose interest in actually building it. So, I have to build it in stages and ignore the rest.

 

Thanks for your updates. I am really enjoying looking at your creativity.

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First of all thank you everyone who stops by looking, reading and liking my build log. The step to write and document is higher than to actually build so it is really appreciated. :) 

 

23 hours ago, Getunderit said:

Looking very interesting. I had a bit of a laugh when I saw some of the parts you were using. Why? Because I have recently collected identical bits from old TV and PC circuit boards, including from a mouse.

 

Have already started on my first scratch build space vessel, the ADLIB-1. Having lots of fun with it. It really gets me thinking. Love design work. I can love it so much that if I am too productive in designing, especially if I design everything first, I lose interest in actually building it. So, I have to build it in stages and ignore the rest.

 

Thanks for your updates. I am really enjoying looking at your creativity.

Thank you!
Just some minutes after my update I read your latest posts and saw the similarity myself. I guess we could spend a good time looking into a pile of old capacitors and other stuff behaving as happy little kids over the treasures found. As they say about energy saving, the best kWh is the one not spent - translated into modeling; the shape you get for free is the best? ;)

 

Tonight's work included covering the gaps made for the wiring and detailing the port side of the roof. Yes I know, most of it won't bee seen but perhaps someone really short comes to my home and can see this? :D  

 

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16 minutes ago, Jaktis said:

... Yes I know, most of it won't bee seen but perhaps someone really short comes to my home and can see this? :D  

 

Soon there will be a world of no privacy. Microbots with cameras will be free-ranging everywhere, including what's in your model . So you might as well leave a calling card. :lol:

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Today hasn't been a productive day if you'd only count glueing things, laundry day and cleaning the house. But from another point of view I took large steps forward. Yesterday when I finished detailing the roof I ran out of parts so today I had to take a detour and look in the recycle bin again. And look what I found:

A couple of HF Ballasts full of goodies 😍

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One hour later of work we have a stash of details and shapes:

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Also today the mailman delivered a box from Tradera (Swedish Ebay) with a box of an incomplete Tiger G from Dragon (6897) 15€ was a good price considered the amount of parts usable for kitbashing. And as an invaluable bonus, look I got myself a prepainted guard against microbots ;) 

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And just to pat myself on the back for a good work done and trigger my creativity with a visual. This is how the roof looks fitted and lights on:

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