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Gerry Anderson's UFO scratch build


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Hi all,

 

Seeing as I have embarked on a build of the Bandai Interceptor from Gerry Anderson's UFO over on the ongoing Film, Fictional and Speculative Group Build, I felt that I needed to have the adversary vehicle from the show to display along side it.

Additionally I wanted it to be in the same scale which is approximately 1/48.

I have already modeled the UFO in Rhino 3D to scale, its going to be about 270mm in diameter.

 

49069830401_06f4778abc_c.jpg

 

My initial thought was to get single instances of the components printed and then mold and cast them, however the printing costs are prohibitive to say the least and I really don't want to buy my own printer.

So I have begun fabricating the singular instances in preparation for the aforementioned molding and casting.

 

49069830391_acaea3c301_b.jpg

 

The discs at top (9 in all, but I ran out of the right thickness plastic) will form the profile of the central core cone, will be infilled with Styrofoam (on order) which will be cut and sanded to the discs, sealed with PVA and then painted possibly with a self levelling resin, not sure yet. The main base cone will be constructed in the same way.

 

I have created one petal and one vane , although the other side of the vane requires the corrugations to be added, again I ran out of the appropriate size half rod...more on order.

The profile for both vane and petal was extracted from the 3d modeller complete with dimensions, printed out at 1:1 and spray mounted to the appropriate sized plastic card and cut out. 

 

The upper and lower 'domes' which are clear will be shaped from Styrofoam and then vacuum-formed.

 

I wasn't intending on doing a WIP for this but as it will involve me learning some new skills, I thought it might be of interest to others to see....when it all goes horribly wrong.

 

More later,

 

Mark.

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10 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

The Petal looks like a Guitar pick ? Could you save time and stress by using them ? 

Yes I thought they looked like plectrums, but I suppose the size of them is dependant on the scale of this build.

 

Looks like a very interesting project. 

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Evening all,

 

A very small update on the UFO; more styrene sheet arrived yesterday so I could finish cutting out the central cone discs and started the same for the base cone, the key part is what I'm calling the reference disc which will have all the slots for locating the vanes, a quick test fit below:

49101441462_a27f888e1e_b.jpg

The disc is 2mm plastic so cutting out the slots is tiresome to say the least and is making my hand go numb with the pressure - 4 down 12 to go!.

The vane and petal are individually complete so after some tidying and smoothing out I can have a go at molding and casting each of them. A tray mold will work for the petal

but the vane has detail on both sides so will probably have to be a two piece job.

 

49101244951_3e35e8b4b7_b.jpg

Another quick test run with all the discs for the central cone offered up, seems to fit quite well, although a couple of the discs need adjusting as the steps seem a little out. Also I'll need to use the 3d model to generate some templates to ensure I get the draft angles for both cones right. The Styrofoam arrived today so I can also start filling in the gaps and shaping, but first its a trip to the LMS tomorrow to get some brass tube as a more substantial central support and some UHU to bond it all.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

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Afternoon all,

 

I have finished cutting the slots in the base cone ref disc and have stuck the plastic and foam discs together with epoxy, using a piece of brass tube as a core (now removed). Once the epoxy had set I could begin with a first trim of the foam before starting the rough sanding with some coarse sand paper:

 

49110279448_421f816b64_b.jpg

First trim.

 

49110978132_aeb16dfe76_b.jpg

Rough sanding pass.

More sanding yet required but quite happy so far...

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

 

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Hi all,

 

So my entry into the great British bake-off (thanks @Yorkshire man) is now glazed PVA'd and ready for a few coats of brushed on slow cure resin.

49121988966_d3fe7f8d5d_b.jpg

I have now moved on to the central cone which I am calling a Coner Kebab:

49121486428_d88ce30b12_b.jpg

The same process will be followed as for the sponge cake except for the addition of some chili sauce.

 

I have also completed the mold for the 'petals' …..

49121989216_721d041304_b.jpg

...so a bit of casting can be gotten on with now.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

 

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Small update, I have carried out the first sanding pass on the 'coner kebab', not too bad, but I got the diameter or the height position of disc 7 wrong and I'll have to address the issue when it's covered in resin and can be filled, generally the draft angle is pretty good:

 

49122650502_6363cbe0f0_b.jpg

Cheers,

 

Mark.

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  • 1 month later...
On 25/11/2019 at 16:48, Yorkshire man said:

Mmmmmm nice multi-layered Martian sponge and Clangers pink merangue, deeeeeelicious !

:cake:

The Meringue looks a bit.. um.. chewy...

 

The UFO is lookin' good though.

I'll be interested in seeing how this all comes out!

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