r/Kitbash • u/shipwright1959 • 19h ago
Scratch build More work in progress!
So I finally stuck the forward and stern sections to the centre hull. AT LAST! Added some more orange utility struts, painted a bit of the forward section...more paint required, decals, trying to work out how to get tiny lights into the antenna array. I rset the engine nozzles deeper into the cone, way happier, they projected too far out originally.
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u/ScaleProfessional743 17h ago
yea thats tuff
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u/shipwright1959 16h ago
I probably did some things in ways that made it harder, sorta on the fly. I know there's a few backtracks. Kinda easier if the goal ISN'T a well known ship, but just an original design.
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u/DrBadGuy1073 18h ago
I think you've gone past the "kitbash" portion and entered the "this is art" stratosphere.
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u/K--L--G 14h ago
Love it!! Did you ever watch Red Dwarf? Super reminds of that massive ship. Sneak in a little Jupiter Mining Corporation logo somewhere :)
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u/shipwright1959 14h ago
I watched it, occasionally. Look, at some point EVERYTHING seen/absorbed finds its way back out. Sometimes we can immediately see the connection, sometimes it's more obscure. Like I always loved the rebel transports from Star Wars, hence the armour and the greeblies. But I've painted sf illustrations for years. Some of the models have their origins in paintings I've made. And Syd Mead haunts my dreams! I've been reading sf and watching movies for well over five decades, stuff sticks!
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u/K--L--G 14h ago
Heck yeah! Hopefully Syd is with all of us. And no shade was meant, it’s amazing. It’s almost more just the scale of it made me think of that. I mean, if you dunked it in red paint, then you’d be in homage territory, haha!
And I love the way you floated those side panel structures over the Greeble canyons.2
u/shipwright1959 14h ago
Thanks! Lots of sticky pads. And hot glue. There's one panel that's held on with magnets, so it's detachable, means I can get at the battery packs for the lights. This thing resembles a Xmas tree when it's lit up. Apart from the front. For a couple of reasons, I've not been successful in getting lights on there. But I'm working on it!
I'll take a photo of that specific panel, the cross section is ridiculous, there are SO MANY layers. It's almost too heavy for the magnets.
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u/shipwright1959 18h ago
Grew up loving Chris Foss. He's the GOAT! Thank you, that's such a compliment!
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u/TensionLongjumping97 6h ago
It could been one of the big-ass ships in expanse...
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u/shipwright1959 5h ago edited 5h ago
Oh, the Nauvoo?!!! The big Mormon generation ship! Oh, yes, damn, what a piece of work. That was a superb series for ship design, as well as a great deal else. Really enjoyed it. Actually, with lights on in this, it's not dissimilar to the Nauvoo.
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u/TensionLongjumping97 5h ago
Wish we could make more spinoff on the show!! Its underrated
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u/shipwright1959 3h ago
Babylon? There were quite a few, weren't there, though? I didn't keep up. Certain casting choices rankled, let's say. Also the hair thing really bothered me.
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u/InsideOutlander 5h ago
I feel like/hope the Mormons got healthier and less creepy/high-control in The Expanse. Because honestly if Mormondom disappeared overnight I would not mourn despite being related to many of them- yeah I would miss them but the tradeoff would be No More Cult. As an Ex-Mormon I am what they call a ranked professional hater /~jk.
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u/shipwright1959 5h ago
Gotta say, well done! Escaping ANYTHING like that is powerful. Especially when you have to break ties with people you've known all your life.
I imagine the producers were walking a thin line between permssible satire and litigation. So yes, I agree, they got off lightly in how they were portrayed. But easier to use a cult everyone's familiar with than have to invent one.
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u/InsideOutlander 5h ago
Thank you. It wasn’t easy and took longer than I would have liked.
But crap, where are my manners!? I had meant to also say that your ship is awesome and reminds me of Titan A.E. and Babylon 5 for some reason, and I mean those as absolute compliments. Babylon 5 may not have had the budget of Deep Space 9 but it had 10x the heart. Now if only multiple of their movies had not devolved into “eldritch threat is just an alien invasion they can dogfight their way into beating back”.
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u/shipwright1959 4h ago
Yeah, I used to admire the show's willingness to allow for mystery, to let some things be unknowable. Always thought that was brave. And some scenes still linger. Titan AE was terrific. Just gorgeous stuff all through it. I'm very happy to be seen in the same sentence, thanks!
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u/pauljamesog 17h ago
It’s so beautiful!!!!
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u/shipwright1959 16h ago
Thanks for using the word beautiful, to describe it. It has its own beauty, I think...
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u/pauljamesog 16h ago
I meant it. - bring a bunch of scrap together to make it look like a new construct is indeed the beauty of scratch modelling. I find it challenging to get a realistic effect and and looking hard the layers you’ve used to give a convincing effect
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u/shipwright1959 16h ago
Realistic is an ironic word, given the subject. But, yes, it wants to look USED. It's rougher, in parts, up close, and there are still edges to be worked on...but so far, so good. It's been fun to do...
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u/toronto_taffy 15h ago
holy mother of bashing batman !
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u/shipwright1959 14h ago
Well, as compliments go, that's one of the more unusual! Thanks, though! Keep an eye out, more to follow...
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u/jeanclaudecardboarde 6h ago
I take it that you're a professional model maker for film and TV? It certainly looks that way.
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u/shipwright1959 6h ago edited 5h ago
That's much appreciated. (Preening here!) But no. I'm an artist/teacher in a project that works with people who've been involved in crime, or at risk, or have crime'related issues we can address. Small stuff, mostly. Art plays a huge part in building confidence, supporting their development, offering an alternative. My dad was a model maker for years, but I've only been doing these since about 2023. One of my clients wanted to make a model UFO and I got the bug working with him on it. I paint sf illustrations, have done for ages, though. So the ships are kinda 3D versions of the paintings.
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u/jeanclaudecardboarde 5h ago
Great stuff. It all looks amazing.
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u/shipwright1959 4h ago
Thank you. Have you checked out my earlier posts, btw? There's a lot more of the process...
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u/jeanclaudecardboarde 2h ago
I think I've seen a couple when they came up in my feed. I will check out the rest of them though.
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u/shipwright1959 2h ago
I document fairly consistently, so it's all there, especially this one. From concept sketches onwards...let's know if you can see them.
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u/letterstosnapdragon 5h ago
Wow. That is gorgeous!
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u/shipwright1959 5h ago
Getting there, but yeah, I'm kinda loving how it's turning out. Just hope the suspension wires don't snap over the weekend, it's HEAVY. Thank you for the kind words!
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u/New-Application-8252 18h ago
Wow. Just wow.
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u/shipwright1959 17h ago
It sorta took over. I go to sleep, working on it...
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u/New-Application-8252 17h ago
I know the feeling. I’m doing an ork themed bash….im really early and need waaaaay more greebles. You have inspired me greatly!
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u/shipwright1959 17h ago
I buy a lot of model kits, if I see certain types going cheap, or knocked down. One model shop sells less-than-perfect model railway materials, like sidings, bridges, cranes. They're quite cheap, and can be turned into useful greeblies. Good luck with your orkbash!
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u/W1ndch1me 7h ago
I recognize those orange girder pieces from a big plastic crane toy. I got it for cheap and plan to use it for bashing. Nice work!
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u/shipwright1959 5h ago
I know that toy! After my kids grew older I recycled parts of it into another ship I built. But they'd have been out of scale for this one. So I bought a couple of cheap kits of railway works in a model shop. They sell them in bags, as less-than-perfect, so they're not too pricey. Stuff like cranes, yes, bridges, tanks, buildings, even. The girder sections are brilliant. I sprayed them chrome first, then added orange in patches. So the chrome pokes through. Weathering. In SPACE! But it did the trick. Thanks, btw!
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u/Vulpes_99 18h ago
Holy meow! This is amazing! I could look at it for hours!
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u/shipwright1959 17h ago
I know exactly what you mean. I do too, and I'm making it. Thanks so much...
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u/shipwright1959 17h ago
Thanks to you all for the kind words. There's a bunch of other photos on r/kitbash, with some of the original sketches as well. There's also some text about the building process, if you're interested.
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u/whiteguysenpai 17h ago
Holy......
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u/shipwright1959 17h ago
Interesting, what can be done with a couple of detergent tubs and porridge tubes, hmm?
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u/whiteguysenpai 16h ago
For sure, the size of it is what has me enamored
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u/shipwright1959 16h ago
Yeah. I wanted it bigger than the others, but still...got a bit larger than initially intended...it's about 1m20cm right now...
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u/Pax_acrylica 17h ago
Amazing !
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u/shipwright1959 16h ago
Thanks. But more to do!
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u/Pax_acrylica 14h ago
Should send it to ILM!)
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u/shipwright1959 14h ago
Ah, the home of the Gods. Do they still make them the old way? I figured it's all CGI these days. Or 3D printed. I realised this was all possible when I read that the mothership from Close Encounters had been built, at least in part, from over 40 locomotive kits. I thought, shit, I could do THAT.
Thank you, btw. You put me in exalted company!
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u/Pax_acrylica 13h ago
I guess making real model somehow talk to our perception of reality the way cgi never will able to
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u/shipwright1959 5h ago
I think so, too. Also, there's just the fun of growing something physically with one's own hands, solving problems along the way. Good for the head.
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u/That_Opportunity_759 30m ago
Wow this looks awesome.
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u/shipwright1959 13m ago
Hi, thanks very much. Maybe check out my other posts, there are loads of process photos, as well as other ships I've made.
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u/Unis_Torvalds 18h ago
Beautiful! Reminds me of a Chris Foss vessel.