(Yet another) Moebius Galactica

I got this for Christmas last year, and since I got another this year I figured I should get the show on the road.

I've seen some great out of the box builds, but I've also seen some outstanding builds where just a few basic nips and tucks were done that brought the kit to a whole new level! Needless to say, I decided to do some nips and tucks!

First, the head! I used a mini chisel to dig out in between the ribs at the base of the armor plates to give the illusion that the plates are sitting on top of the ribs



I did the same for the plates on the back. Here's a good before and after shot:



...even did the plates on the underside



Since I plan to light this, I needed a plug. I wanted one that could handle more than one circuit and be able to hold the model securely. I've used multi pin DIN plugs with success in the past, so that's what I used here:



just need to make the stand hole bigger, enter the step bit!



(great buy, Canadian Tire had a set of three on sale for $14, I've seen the individual bits sell for fifty a piece!)

HOLY HOLE BATMAN!



more to come...

Looks good so far. I dig the chisel technique. Definitely makes a difference. Are you just doing a straight build (with lighting) or are you planning any other exterior details?

Impressive work thus far! Appreciate you sharing this.

I've got Moebius Galactica kit in the box w/some PE, decals and a set of resin replacement guns from Timeslip Creations. I've also got the nearly finished TC resin kit that's the same size/dimensions. When I get around to building the Moebius, I'll definitely be referencing your build thread for how to do the armor plates as you've done them.

I've added little bits of styrene to the hull to bulk it out some, as well as engraved ramdom panel lines:

bits and bites-


miserable, tedious randomness:

Tedious, but the results of this labor will pay off in the end!

Lookin' good!

Thanks Griff!

Here's a shot of the pod garages in place. I've drilled out the six portlights for the red lighting.


You may also notice the shims between the garage pieces, I wanted to make sure the structure was solid.

While on the subject of the garages, I picked up both Paragraphix sets for the bucket, here's a before and after of the garage brass in place.

before:


After:



primed:



glued in place then puttied to smooth out the transitions.

Sweet, very good work and a fantasic in depth build!

Rich

I started setting up bulkheads for the LEDs, I'm using 3mm LEDs for the engines, set up in series of two


The secondary engines will be on a separate switch, as they aren't on all the time in the show.

This is my first fiber optic (FO) build since my first try with the AMT Enterprise D back in the 90's. I was underwhelmed with that project and since then have looked at other lighting solutions. After seeing the great builds on here and SSM where FO was the lighting of choice, I decided to give it another try.

Digging up some leftover bits from that AMT kit, I used the dodgy mini drill to drill out my windows in the "brick" area under the gator head. The strands were then epoxied in place. Good thing I didn't go too overboard, it was got pretty crowded in there!



Once that was done it was time for a light test:


from the front:



up next: The flight pods!

Sweet! I need to see about setting some funds aside for the PGMS PE garage inserts. That really sets that area off much better than a "blank" area.

No kidding!

Did you buy those online? I'd love to get my mitts on em for when I build up my Bucket!

This build is going beautifully! I can't wait for more!

"Fire in the port Flight Pod! All Port DC Teams one through eleven to Causeway A!"

Awe inspiring work, in a pretty short period of time, too. I wanna be like you when I grow up! Seriously!

I'm curious to know if you plan to add any RTF ships to your collection? It would be nice to know that others are as obsessed w/a display arrangement. To know I'm not alone in my madness.

Ultimately, I'd like to work a display area like cylon75 has done, only not quite so extravagant. I was thinking of doing a black background on their current shelves to display them against, but no stars. I don't know that I can get any stars to look right, so don't even want to try. Maybe use some cardboard so its semi-portable?

Regardless, fantastic work so far!

I have to admit, I've been working on this thing for the past three months. My wife is working in another province so I have nothing but time on my hands!

While it would be cool to have a full RTF display, I just don't have room for that, but I do intend to make up a "Battlestar Strike Group" as time goes on, with a pair of Jupiter Class ships (Galactica and a quasi- Columbia) , a Mercury (Moebius' Pegasus) and a Valkyrie (Probably TimeSlip's)

After that I will look at what other combat vessels I can find in 1:4105. I've seen a ship called the Cygnus, I think Ravenstar makes it

By the way Griff, I've been looking at your builds for near a decade now, it's more like I want to brow up to build like you! Your work is awesome!

Actually I think I may make a "how to" video since this is definitely going to need a custom base!

So I was working on the engine lighting this evening, trying to figure out the best way to cut the brightness of the LEDs. If I was a wee bit more clever, I would have made a diffuser plate to tone down the brightness and hot spots before closing the engines up!. My work around was to loosely pack some cling wrap into the engines, and voila! hot spots gone!

Here's my engine test;

main engines,


Flank speed engines,


All together now!

Where did you get the mini chisels?

Nice, I like the contrast of the blue-white LED's and the warm yellow white. On the aircraft carrier Enterprise at night we had low pressure sodium lights in the hangar which give off a yellow glow, and flourescent for the rest of the ship lighting. Your lighting scheme looks awesome so far.

Captain April,
The mini chisel is from Mission models, I picked it up at a little hole in the wall hobby shop in upstate NY, but I'm pretty sure you can find (or order) it just about anywhere!

Morris99,

You see a good variety of different lighting on Canadian warships too, but for this I was just trying to replicate what you see on screen. I was lucky to discover that they make 0805 LEDs in a natural white light!

Fantastic build!
I can't wait to see more!

Oh man ,I love your work on this particular model ,I have that and the viper from Mobeius, just dont have time for mine ,but your build is definitely inspirational to folks like me ,great work, will be watching closely....Guy

Good looking Build.

I'm going to seriously have to sit down and decide how I want the base to look!