September 13th 1999

unbuiltnautilus

Active Member
Greetings from Portsmouth, Old Hampshire, England. I have been lurking about the forum for quite some time, and feel now is the time to start putting a little bit back.
I have been model making since about 1976, before that it was mostly a tree gobbling machine from Thunderbirds, entirely out of Lego, sitting in front of an open fire, round my Grannies house. Plus I wrote up a very amusing story about loosing the little plastic Thunderbird 4 from inside my Dinky diecast Thunderbird 2, when I was six, so I am told anyway. ( Spoiler, it was in my slippers! ) Therefore, I blame Gerry Anderson for everything. I also thank Gerry Anderson for everything ( not forgetting Derek Meddings and all the folks at ILM, although that was just a bit later ).
I am currently dividing my time between radio control and static modelling. Currently in build on the radio control side are the following; 68" Type VII U-Boat, 53" HMS Snowflake, WWII Flower Class Corvette, 100" SS Ohio Tanker ( of PEDESTAL Convoy fame ) and a number of 1/16 scale Shermans.
Of more interest to this forum; Revell Star Destroyer Diorama, T-Rex and Spinosaurus about to tear chunks out of each other, and just completed, this one.
I have owned one of the Product Enterprise diecast Eagle Transporters for years. Bored of occasionally dusting it and nothing else, I decided to mount it in a diorama base. I had purchased a vac formed moonscape/battle base, for the job. Problem. The surface was too lumpy to land the model on. Landing on a column of jets, produced by cotton wool, has been high on my list for ages. Checking out the series however, they used CO2 jets to kick up the dust, but no smoke like those on Thunderbirds.
Watching the opening titles of Space 1999, there is a one second fast cut of an Eagle, struck by glowing lightning bolts from the Moons surface. Excellent, that will do, where can I buy lightning bolts??! DSC09269.JPGDSC09268.JPGDSC09273.JPGDSC09272.JPGDSC09274.JPG
 
Welcome aboard. I do like your representation of lightning bolts. Despite the lack of glow, they do look realistic. I wish there was something in the industry that could stand in for them without having to resort to high voltages.

TazMan2000
 
The Product Enterprise Eagle Transporter is a heavy lump of metal. It would need a strong support. I opted for 2mm piano wire.This would be bent into a random 'lightning bolt' shape, then surrounded by finer strands of 'radioactive' lightning. These were produced using fine, plastic coated art wire. Very thin, at about 0.5mm. These were easier to bend into random shapes. The whole lot was then drilled into a 3/8" thick base of plywood for structural support. ( Excuse my jumping from imperial to metric measurements. I was taught metric at school, but I was corrupted by my Dad, who was a Carpenter and worked in feet and inches, it got worse when I got into RC Boats, they can be 37" long with 2mm plasticard superstructures, so you will have to put up with it!)
I sprayed the lightning bolts, first base white, then flourescent pink. The vacformed base had a very wet coat of enamel spray matt varnish, over which I sprinkled fine sand, to give the whole thing some texture. Once touch dry, this got a coat of grey acrylic car primer, plus a sideways blast of Tamiya Fine White Surface Primer, to highlight the high points. ( Mix and match, if it doesn't all pickle, or disolve the vacforming, all is good! Dont do this unless you are reckless like me.)
The pod had red rescue stripes and needed to be re-sprayed. I used Revell Aqua Color White, with a bit of grey mixed in to take the 'white' out. This was airbrushed. Then I added some random squares of Tamiya Masking Tape were added and a darker grey/white misted on, Thunderbirds style.
The next stage was the washes. I don't like weathering white, very easy to over do it. so practice is the order of the day. Using Humbrols Black Enamel Wash, I applied a 'pin wash', I believe is the term, using a '00' brush. Then blended this in with a 1/4" sable flat brush, damp with thinners. Some moondust on the landing pads, done the same way, and some pencil graphite, buffed into the rear engine bells, finished the job off.DSC09276.JPGDSC09277.JPGDSC09280.JPGDSC09281.JPGDSC09282.JPG
 
Welcome aboard. I do like your representation of lightning bolts. Despite the lack of glow, they do look realistic. I wish there was something in the industry that could stand in for them without having to resort to high voltages.

TazMan2000

Thank you for having me!
I had the suggestion that I should try an ultra reflective safety paint, the type you see on safety jackets, illuminated at night by your headlights. This sounded too good an idea to turn down, so I bought a sample pot at..GOOD GRIEF, HOW MUCH!!!! airbrushed it on. It is not visible in normal daylight, it is also not visible unless you and the light source are on the same bearing. Great for flash photography, unfortunately, flash photography makes the model look terrible, so I painted over it. I did find that with Luxeon LEDs, it is possible to light up a fair length of fibre optic, through the sides of the fibre. Not suitable for this, load bearing job, but filed away for future use..
 
Time to marry the two items together. I had previously drilled two 2mm diameter holes in the bottom of my no longer collectable, diecast model. This would take the piano wire supports, while the finer lightning bolts could be wound around the framework of the model in a random fashion.DSC09284.JPGDSC09289.JPGDSC09294.JPGDSC09293.JPGDSC09306.JPGDSC09310.JPG
 
I think I have got a handle on posting. I need to get used to the photos pushing the text about, and need to figure out sticking a suitable avatar etc on the left hand side. One thing at a time I think.
This could be next....DSC09251.JPG
 
As you've used florescent paint on the lightening, you could use UV/black light to make it 'ping'.

Nice to see the PE Eagles getting some love, I did have a hand in them, you know. ;)
 
As you've used florescent paint on the lightening, you could use UV/black light to make it 'ping'.

Nice to see the PE Eagles getting some love, I did have a hand in them, you know. ;)

Well done to you then :thumbsup, a decent bit of kit that I am glad I could lay my hands on. I also have the PE Skydiver, mostly to discourage me from obtaining a 72" fibreglass one for radio control conversion, money well spent!

Black light option is still a possibility, however, I must not skimp on this. The better quality stuff puts out waaay less visible light than the cheap options.
 
I would love to see some pictures of your Radio Control models...remember this is the general modeling section and ALL forms of models should be welcome here!:D
 
I would love to see some pictures of your Radio Control models...remember this is the general modeling section and ALL forms of models should be welcome here!:D

Seems a shame not to as you have asked so nicely.. I shall show you a selection that I ran last year, some are getting old!
DSC06783.JPGDSC06849.JPGDSC06858.JPG

Orca is my pride and joy. I built her back in 1986, using the pause button on a VHS video tape player, and a sketch pad to pin down the details. The model is 30" long and has been running on and off since then. The photos here show here at a charity event back in May. It was here that I decided her days as a working boat were over. The epoxy joints are starting to discolour and she lets in water from an unknown source. So the last photo is a homage to Steven Spielberg and the film Jaws, and it is making me go all misty eyed just typing this:cry..
 
Pull yourself together, to quote Monty Python, "It's only a model!".
Last August at Headcorn Aerodrome in Kent, our group attended a big RC model show. I had my 100" model of SS Ohio, the famous tanker that helped to relieve Malta, during Operation PEDESTAL, in August 1942. This model will use pyrotechnic effects as part of one of our 'on the water' battle displays. Not quite finished yet, it is still missing it's armament,and a fair amount of small details.DSC08131.JPGDSC08208.JPG

Also at the event was a model I have a 1/3 share in, both building and operating. It is a 4.1 metre model of SMS Schleswig Holstein. This is a very semi-scale model, with working pyrotechnics, that an operator lays down in! It engages in battle with the black hulled vessel, HMS Canopus..to date I have not won a single battle. To the victor go the spoils.DSC08111.JPGDSC08112.JPG
 
Next is my Type VII U-Boat. This is based on an old commercially available fibreglass mould, with my own electronics etc. I am currently having water pump trouble with it. This is the model I am finding difficult to throw out of the window in frustration!
DSC06413.JPGDSC06365.JPG
 
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My final running model last year is another 1/3 ownership model. HMS Dolphin. This is, once again, fitted with pyrotechnic effects, including 16 cannon effects, two smoke hits, and two out of three masts fall down.
This model has most right to be here as it was' borrowed' for a scene in the film, Run Fat Boy, Run. Where it got to show off it's cannons to good effect!

You can see more of what we get up to at www.pmbdt.co.uk, which is the homepage of The Portsmouth Model Boat Display Team.
DSC07009.JPGDSC07033.JPG
 
Finally, me doing some modelling work to HMS Snowflake.

DSC09110.JPG


Tonight, however, I have been improving my pink lightning bolt effect. I found a better aerosol, with a stronger pink look. Not worth photographing, as the effect probably wont show up in a photograph...also Bugs Bunny on a Battleship. That is for another time though!

Don't mind me, just sorting out the above picture of me doing some fine modelling work with a 1" chisel and a big lumpy hammer, long live fine scale modelling!
 
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Top work. I love to see people still doing things with 1999, especially eagles - one of my all-time favorite sci-fi ships.
 
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