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Scratch-built Airship


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Hi everyone. This is my first post here. I’d like to share a model I’ve been working on for a while.

Its based on a drawing by artist Rob Turpin <https://thisnorthernboy.wordpress.com/>

 

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I really like the design of this ship . It has a real Moebius/Heavy Metal/ 70’s sci-fi paperback vibe that I really dig.

I also like that its just a marker sketch and I can flesh out the details as I go. 

I found a 40mm styrene test tube, so I'll be using a piece of that for the bubble canopy. Based on this, it follows that the final model will be about 300mm long. 

The scale is ~ 1:87 (HO)

 

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I turned the base for the canopy on the lathe from some 2"polystyrene rod that I got from a local supplier. I also made the bottom ring to be glued on to add some extra detail. 

 

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I cut a section out and fit in this gunpod from an airplane kit. The kit part was sanded to match the contour of the test tube. The gap was then sculpted in with epoxy putty.

 

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I vacuum-formed the front section out of .060" styrene over a form made from some high-density foam. The final thickness wound up being about half that.

I had just made the vacuum former the month prior and this model is it's maiden voyage. 

 

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The convoluted middle section was turned from the same 2" rod.

 

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That's all for now. Thanks for tuning in.

 

Edited by Photon
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I built a box out of sheet styrene to fill in the back of the vac-formed hull.

 

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Probably a bit hard to see in the photos, but there is a 5 degree taper on the vac-formed hull to aid removing it from the mold.

This has made fitting subsequent parts tricky.

 

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I added some 'board & batten' style styrene sheet to the sides of the insert. I thought it looked cool and would be fun to weather.

 

 

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Here I'm starting to fill out the rear "engine" area.
I built an under-structure out of basic shapes that I'll detail with kit parts and styrene bits.

 

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Everything's just balancing there...no glue yet.

 

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These two pods were made from  1" styrene rod. I glued in some kit part detail and also the acrylic hemispheres. 

 

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Thanks for the warm welcome everybody!

 

Are you ready for more? Hang on...

 

To add a little more interest, I thought it might be cool to vary the surface levels a bit more. I cut two square holes and fit a couple of small boxes.

 

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I used a heat gun to bend some .080 plastic rod to form pipes and glued them in place.

 

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Starting to add model bits. Not everything is glued yet -- the stuff up top didn't make the cut.

 

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I also added some panels to the front hull & cut out two sections where some additional detail will go.

 

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I built 2 shallow trays out of styrene to stuff with some model parts. 

 

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Unsure of how to make some of the more organic forms, I started to consider 3D Printing. After finding out that Polystyrene filament was readily available I decided to go for it. I bought a cheapo (sub-$200) printer kit and proceeded to improve it—mostly by stiffening the frame and replacing the laser cut acrylic parts with machined aluminum ones. I also upgraded the hot end with a higher quality one (E3D V6) and made some safety upgrades to the electronics.

 

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After fighting with print bed leveling for weeks, I made a removable mount that would allow attaching a dial indicator.

 

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I’ve been able to print some parts that are quite usable. The styrene filament is really easy to work with. It sands beautifully

and bonds readily with Tamiya cements.

 

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Alright...so much for the condensed history lesson. We are up-to-date.  All posts on this model going forward will be in the NOW, baby.

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Thanks for the encouragement!

Okay, this is a bit of an odds & sods post...some old work (that I had forgotten about) and some recent developments. 

 

One of the first things that I built when I started this model (back in May 2017), was to detail the cockpit, something not really spelled out in the concept sketch. I had an idea of an open framework suspended in the bubble, maybe giving the impression that it uses gyros to always stay level while the ship maneuvers. So with this in mind I starting in on some 1:72 tank parts.

 

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I think it could use some finessing, but its close to what I had in mind.

Just last week I found these awesome HO scale astronauts! I couldn't believe my luck. Two of them were seated even. 

 

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The details are a little soft, but who the hell am I to complain? 

 

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I was also able to get some primer on a few of the parts. 

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The rear part of the ship (or abdomen, in insect terms) needed some more detail. I printed out a pile of styrene rings and sanded back some primer on the 'abdomen' to get a good glue bond.

 

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once they were glued in place, I blended the transition with some epoxy putty.

 

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I also started detailing the rudder-like things, using standard hobby store styrene shapes.

 

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thanks for any interest.

-Peter

 

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  • 1 month later...

Some more updates...For the most part I'll let the photos do the talking. Questions welcome.

 

More mechanical detail, this time for the rear of the craft. This was built up from some 1:35 scale tank parts. 

 

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Here it is in place with some primer

 

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The tank-like bit was turned from a styrene rod and topped with an acrylic hemisphere. If you look close, you can see the junction where some filler is needed...

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Next up are the smaller antenna-like paddles on the rear of the cab. These were made from some styrene tubes and rods and some cut-down

helicopter blades from an old Fujimi kit.

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The paddle ends are a bit bigger than the ones in the drawing because I wanted to preserved some of the detail, but they look a bit bulky, so I may cut them down further.

 

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I also built up some detail to suggest a motor of sorts that might control them.

 

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I've also been adding more details to the front of the cab and was able to get some primer down to see how things are working

 

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Here the stalks are just temporarily stuck on. 

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Top view:

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Thanks for sticking around through such a picture heavy post.

Overall, I'm very pleased with how things are coming along. I really hope to get some paint on here soon and start weathering things.

Edited by Photon
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Really nice work, the mix of machined/sculpted/printed parts and kit details looks great and captures what was awesome about a lot of movie studio modelmaking

Will

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Hey thanks everybody! I really appreciate it. This is my first scratch build (and really my first model since I was a kid, for that matter). It's something I've wanted to try every since I saw a TV special in the early 80's about special effects that showed the ILM model shop.

Prior to this, I did have a false start trying to build the Spice Harvester from the David Lynch Dune movie (something I plan to return to). 

Tonight I took a few shots of things roughly assembled so you could get an idea of the whole ship. There is still a lot of small things to be done before paint (like learn how to paint, ha ha). I also built a stand, something I probably should have thought about from the beginning. Anyway, here's some photos. All the major pieces are just dry fit or double sticky taped.

-Peter

 

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Edited by Photon
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