SID from UFO, 3D print kit from Alain Rivard

[Kallisti]

At the start of this year I built Alain Rivard's 3D print Moonbase Interceptor: 

 

I had planned to put it into the SMW competition this year but sadly the forward landing skid was broken in the journey up to Telford and I wasn't able to repair it on site. However a couple of months ago Alain revealed his 3D print kit of the Space Intruder Detector aka SID from UFO which, of course, I HAD to have!!!

 

 

The printing quality is superb, this is the 3rd 3D print kit I've got from Alain, the first being the 1:48 scale Starfury from Babylon 5 

and the second being the aforementioned Moonbase interceptor. Here is what arrived back in October:

 

 

 

I should have put a ruler alongside to show the size but when I did a dry-fit of the main parts it turns out to be about a foot long. Finally I was able to clear the workbench recently and made a start on this on Friday. First job was to work out what all the parts are and where they fit. Since this is a 3D print kit, there are no instructions, however using the photos from Alain's FB page, I was able to identify what all the parts are.

 

Assembly begain with attaching the front panel of the main body. This needed a minor amout of fettling and cleaning up, mostly the pimples left by the removal of the print supports. Only one seam needed filler, the rest went together very well

 

 

The front section is composed of 3 main parts, the octagonal collar, the underside docking bay and the main "golf ball". These went together well - I did had a little bit of overspill from the superglue on one side, hence the sanding once it had dried

 

 

The octagonal collar will eventually have panels fitted around it painte back and white where the pairs of holes are visible in the above picture. These panels are supplied as separate pices to help with painting along with some other panels that will be added to the main body later

 

 

There are three communications dishes provided along with three tiny antenna that will be mounted on this brass rod from the centre of the dish

 

 

along with various other antenna and bits that stick out

 

 

There are also two solar panels that attach to the back via brass rods

 

 

One of the things I have to consider with this model is how do I transport it to shows and eventually to Telford next year? its a complex shape with lots of bits that stick out that could easily be bend or broken. Thankfully some of the pieces are a really snug push-fit, so I'm planning on keeping the main body and front as separate pieces that will slot together really snugly, plus the panels that are attached via brass rod can also be detached for transport. At least that is the plan!

 

Everything is now out in the shed having received its first coat of Halfords white primer. I'll bring it in later today and give the primer a light sanding to smooth it down...

 

 

Edited December 1, 2024 by Kallisti

[Kallisti]

Also forgot this book as a useful reference...

 

 

 

[Peter2]

Your unusual model is taking shape well. SID had a very well-elocuted speaking voice (as all properly-designed 1970s and 1980s machines should have - for example, ORAC in Blake's 7 was another AI device with clearly enunciated tones). Gerry Anderson's U.F.O. Wiki Fandom tells us that the voice was that of a South African born TV announcer, Mel Oxley. Mr Oxley also had an acting credit on Target Luna (1960), a six-episode British TV sci-fi series unfortunately "currently missing from the television archive", according to Wikipedia, which says the success of Target Luna "spawned three sequels" broadcast between 1960 and 1961: Pathfinders in Space, Pathfinders to Mars and Pathfinders to Venus (all available to view on DVD). I wonder if anyone seeking future modelling projects could scratchbuild any of the spacecraft featured in those 1960s series?

[Foghorn Leghorn]

[Captain Glumbo]

Thanks to this build thread, I now have a long list of STL files I want from Alain!   I order his very detailed Razor Crest last night and started slicing   cant wait to unbox my 3d printer on Christmas Day!

 

Thanks @Kallisti for pointing me in his direction.

[Gimme Shelter]

Q - how to transport it to Telford next year

 

A - travel in a car with hydrolastic suspension next time !

 

I'll look forward to seeing this - a first of its kind for sure - the world of 3D print is infinite 

[Pete in Lincs]

This looks rather interesting. I may have to book a seat on the next Moon base shuttle flight. It might do a close flyby of SID.

The book looks interesting too. I don't suppose that there's a digital version?

I only recently learnt that the nose of SID was a shuttlecock. Once you know that, you can't not see it!

[internationalrescue]

This will be a fun build!  Love the UFO Technical Manual.  

[Kallisti]

Been a bit quiet on the build update front, basically because of a load of work sh... stuff that got dumped on me, but was still able to progress it and I think I can say it is now finished. Its harder sometimes to decided when something is finished when its a 3D print with no instructions

 

Anyway, its complete and here are some pics:

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see there are a LOT of "sticky-out" bits that will make transporting this to shows a pain, so its been "cleverly" built to disassemble in a sensible way...

 

 

 

 

[Pete in Lincs]

It looks great. The disassembly idea looks good too. Bit of bubble wrap and it's sorted.

[internationalrescue]

Wow, beautiful job!  Looks like it came straight from the studio.  

[silverfox63]

Just fantastic, love it.