Moebius 1/144 Discovery XD-1

[Jeddahbill]

Greetings!

 

This is one of those subjects I thought would never be seen in a styrene kit.  Moebius has done a good job, just a few issues that I hope will be addressed in a future release.  Having struggled with the ancient Lunar Models resin version of XD-1 -

 

- this kit from Moebius was a pleasure  to build.  The build is almost complete now and I wanted to share some of the details from the construction. 

Build includes a full interior with lighting, EVA pods (with lighting), lighting for the engines, 9 volt external power, remote LED controller, display base and stand, and clear acrylic display case.   In addition to LED lighting, Paragrafix brass PE, HDA Modelworks decals, and Green Strawberry EVA Pod set all add greatly to the kit.

Edited May 8, 2021 by Jeddahbill

[Jeddahbill]

Starting out with the Pod Bay. 

 

 

 

After reviewing several images from the film, I decided to add styrene details to the ceiling and walls.  Brass vents will be mounted on small styrene spacers.  Round structures are sprue part tabs from another kit.

 

Vents in place.

 

Side view.

 

Pod bay base.

 

Styrene reinforcements added.  Not essential, these help to strengthen the overall assembly.

 

Primed and painted.

 

A closer view.

 

Test Bench.  This was the most difficult item in the brass set for me.  I had to use very thin bits of styrene to replace the tiny brass sides of the monitor which broke away.

 

Bottom inside view of test bench showing added styrene to strengthen the completed assembly while leaving room for LED lighting.

 

Test bench primed and painted.

Edited May 8, 2021 by Jeddahbill

[Pete in Lincs]

Lovely detail work and brass folding. And in 1/144 scale too!

[Jeddahbill]

The kit does not include EVA Pods.  Green Strawberry makes an excellent set of three correctly scaled resin pods with decals and brass arms.  The pods are solid resin, but can be very carefully hollowed out to accommodate lighting (this to be shown later).  The Paragrafix brass set includes pod base platforms which need to drilled in the centre for the lighting.   I initially drilled two of the circular basis, but later decided to have only one lighted pod in the bay.

 

 

Styrene added to brace the inside of the pod platform bases.  This helped with assembly of the brass parts.

 

Details of the pod lighting arrangement.  Square brass tube carefully drilled for LED wiring.

 

Top view of the EVA pod platforms.

 

Bottom view of the platforms.  Each platform includes three tiny triangular supports located at the front edge - Not easy to get these in place.  Also added thin styrene strip to front of square tubes to cover openings.

 

Painted. To be followed with decal details and flat clear coat.

 

 

Edited May 8, 2021 by Jeddahbill

[Jeddahbill]

Pod bay decals from HDA are very nice and a great alternative to painting the intricate details of the pod bay.  Specifically designed to fit the Paragrafix brass, they are easy to apply and conform very well to the details of the brass.  In addition to the HDA decals, I used several other small decals from the spares bin to better match the details seen in images from the film.  This included very thin red, black, and silver stripes for the various piping on the ceiling and walls.  

 

 

Air lock alcove.

 

Decals applied, awaiting clear coat.

 

Pod bay deck decals.  I cut the HDA decal in sections for ease of application and also added three raised floor sections made from styrene sheet.  These are not included in the brass set, but can easily be cut from styrene sheet and painted.

 

Initial test fit of the pod bay pieces.  Test bench not included at this point.  Note black, silver and red stripes on overhead and wall pipes.

 

Space suits on storage rack.  These suits are included in both the Paragrafix brass set and HDA decal set.  I am not trying to depict a particular scene from the film and decided to use all three suits on the storage rack.  Final configuration of the build will have one pod hovering near the antenna array, A second pod on an extended platform preparing to launch.  And the third pod inside the pod bay.  I am striving for a scenario in which HAL is not insane and Discovery has successfully reach Jupiter, launching pods to begin exploration.   Crew members with different coloured suits are in the pods.

 

Test bench and space suit rack in place.  With two pod bay doors open, much of this detail will be visible.  Ceiling yet to be folded into position.

 

Another view.

 

 

[Jeddahbill]

Jumping ahead in the build, a small tease . . . .

 

[Jeddahbill]

Pod bay light box details . . . .

 

Styrene parts for ceiling.

 

Openings cut for LED's

 

LED test fit.

 

Pod bay side and top light boxes with LED's mounted in place and secured with epoxy.

 

Outside painted black for light blocking, ready for installation.

[Jeddahbill]

No EVA pods included with the Discovery kit, so I went with the Green Strawberry pods.  These are very finely cast solid resin that come with decals and PE arms in several positions.

 

 

As they come from the box.  Solid resin with pour stub at the bottom.

 

Top is from the box, no modifications.  Bottom left shows holes drilled for lights.  Bottom right shows inside carefully opened up with Dremel tool.  This is the same approach I used to light the pod on my Lunar Models XD-1 build, except for the window which I will not open.

 

Paint, decals, PE arms installed.  Gentle heat applied to ends of small lengths of fibre optic to create lens.  HAL eye is painted in clear red on inside.

 

Another view

 

Side view

 

 

Lighting test

[Tak5haka]

This is excellent detail work, watching with great interest.

[dnl42]

This looks quite good! 

 

I saw some online pix of the model--it's huuge!

[Tzulscha]

Very pretty.

The lighting looks excellent!

[Jeddahbill]

Many thanks everyone for having a look and commenting!  Overall length of the completed kit is 41 inches.

Bill

[Jeddahbill]

On to the cockpit.  When completed, it is difficult to see much of the fine detail in the cockpit area - just a tiny bit of the control panels can be seen through the window.

 

PE brass set & instructions from Paragrafix.  Includes details for the airlock which I will not be using.

 

Painted - ready for decals.

 

Cockpit seats - brass with styrene detail added.

 

Another view

 

HDA Modelworx decals went down very well.  I used a fine lined decal from the spares bin for the deck.

 

Sides folded and braced on the outside corner edge with styrene angle strip stock.

 

Folded and braced on bottom side edges to provide additional support.

 

Test fit.

[Mike]

Looking good so far. I've not managed to work up the nerve to start mine.  Maybe one day when I've gotten over my lack of persistence 

[Jeddahbill]

5 minutes ago, Mike said:

Looking good so far. I've not managed to work up the nerve to start mine.  Maybe one day when I've gotten over my lack of persistence 

Many thanks!   This kit lends itself to added detailing, especially the pod bay which can be seen with the one or more of the doors open.  Not sure if the extra work on detailing the cockpit is worth the effort - very hard to see anything when completed.   Out of the box, the kit builds up very easily and makes an impressive display - just need to strengthen the display stands.

Bill

[Jeddahbill]

Work on the dish antenna parts.

 

Kit parts all together with modifications.  The kit comes with tiny spike parts for the two smaller dishes which are not accurate to the film.  I replaced these with bits of styrene to better match the film images.

 

Close up - not perfect, but an improvement over the kit parts.   One of the very few flaws in the kit.

 

Primed

 

Front view

 

Back side

[Electric Indigo]

Coming along nicely. I'd keep an eye on those AE-35 units, though.

[Jeddahbill]

19 hours ago, Electric Indigo said:

Coming along nicely. I'd keep an eye on those AE-35 units, though.

Thanks!  I think we will be OK, I have decided to make HAL sane in this build.  One can never be sure.

Bill

[Jeddahbill]

Light boxes for the cockpit. 

 

Front veiw

 

Vew from bottom.  Very difficult to see the control panels in the completed kit.

 

Side view.  Some of the added styrene bracing can be seen here.

 

Looking forward through the rear of cockpit.  A view never to be seen in the completed kit.

 

Cockpit window with PE frame.  I did not use the kit clear part and filled in the mounting spaces with styrene.

 

Painted.  Attachment edges left unpainted to ensure good glue adhesion.

 

Not much of all that detail can be seen .

Edited May 12, 2021 by Jeddahbill

[Jeddahbill]

A few additional images of the build.

 

Lego brick fit just right as a light box for this piece, just need to snip out the inside bits

 

Another view.  Fibre optic used to illuminate HAL eye on side wall.  Unfortunately, it is impossible to see in the completed build

 

Light test

 

Black paint for light blocking

 

This build will have two pod bay doors open.  The kit pod bay door and outer rim are one piece so the door section must be carefully cut from the surrounding rim to depict an open door.  The kit parts are a poor fit with the sphere resulting in a large gab - one of the few flaws in the kit.  As there is no detail on the inside of the pod bay door, I scratch built some details since this area can be seen.   Notches have been cut on the inside of the pod bay door rims for a better fit of the PE pod bay assembly.   Finally, styrene strips carefully added to position the pod bay assembly.

 

A closer view of added detail.   Styrene rectangle is inner support for PE air lock hatch.

 

Very thin styrene sheet added to fill gab between all three doors and sphere.  A bit of filler was still needed after this was trimmed away and sanded.

 

Air lock PE details.  No detail included on the kit - another minor flaw

 

Test fit of pod bay

 

Test fit of cockpit

 

 

[Mike]

Looks great - keep it up

[modelerdave]

Fantastic detail work. 

[LorenSharp]

Excellent job So far. word of warning though, If your computer starts saying, "I'm sorry I can't do that Jeddahbill, Take a stress tab and relax." Take my advice. RUN! Because its gotten too close to this ship.

[Jeddahbill]

A peek of the completed model.  This is a difficult thing to photograph, especially with my ancient Canon S200, no tripod and table lamps for lighting.

[Jeddahbill]

Many thanks for all the kind comments!   Now some details on the engines.   Having the engines lighted while EVA pods are being deployed is a bit odd, but I really wanted to light the engines and decided to include both in the completed build. 

 

Slight modifications to engine parts were needed to fit aluminum tubes for LED lights.  The tube helps with light blocking and provides support for the LED.  I experimented with three coloured lens caps - yellow, blue, and red.   Blue is often seen in similar builds and looks good, but I went with red as it is a bit different and looks very nice on the completed kit. 

 

Light blocking paint.

 

Exhaust details showing painted PE parts in place.

 

Engine parts

 

Modifications to engine mountings

 

Another view

 

Lighted engines as they appear on the completed build.

Edited May 15, 2021 by Jeddahbill