1/144 Hammerhead Corvette scratch build

[Searun]

Thanks, Hagoth, joberg, Aegis, starks, searun and monster!
Wonderfest was a very positive experience. I made a lot of new friends. The models on display were amazing! And I got to see so many models that have been on this forum and facebook in person. I also enjoyed the exchange of information.
The hammerhead won the Best Starship prize. Despite that, my wife still won’t let me put the hammerhead on top of her piano.
Quite a few people asked me how I made the long shape using only styrene. I will post some pictures of the interior once I get home.

View attachment 1465193

 

[Searun]

Congratulations on the award. You guys with these museum quality large space ships earn the recognition. Plus, you all go to the trouble to share the experience “live” with people.

 

[Analyzer]

Congratulations!

Well deserved

 

[starks]

Im a bit late to catch up here and wondered if you really needed another congratulations, but yup you do.... Congratulations!

Scratch building such large pieces is like the ultimate jigsaw and you can't even start on the edges first! And your skill in achieving it all by shaping styrene is jaw dropping. I would have probably cheated and started with some tubing, your work is inspirational.

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Bauble]

Thanks, Josh! You are absolutely right - it was like solving a puzzle, a mathematical puzzle. I have to compute the ellipsoidal and parabolic expressions for a lot of the joints to get them precisely right. It was a lot of fun though to be putting geometric math to work on this project! I LUV math!!!

 

[Belugawrx]

Well deserved win for a stunning model...Wow !!
Congratulations

 

[Moska]

I love that design and I love your model. It's really beautiful. Very well built and painted.
Very tempting. It makes me want to make it my next project.
Congratulations on the well-deserved award at Wonderfest.

 

[DaBuild]

Freaking amazing! I love miniatures!

 

[bwize]

Absolutely stunning! Love seeing the Falcon's escape pods on there. Were these a part of the original digital model?

 

[Bauble]

Thanks, beluga, moska, dabuild and bwize!
Regarding Falcon’s escape pod, it is actually very hard to identify what that piece on the onscreen hammerhead is. The 1/144 falcon escape pod has the right shape, so I used it. It is actually one of my favorite greeblies. Bandai did a great job in making that greeblie. There are layers to it. Here is a picture of what it looks like before I painted it. I weathered it more last week to highlight some of the components better. Unfortunately, I have packed the model for IPMS national next week. The next time I unpack it, I will take more photos and post them, so we can better see the ‘layers’.
The downside for this intricate greeblie is that I cannot easily resin cast it, so I have to buy an entire falcon kit anytime I want to use it in my scratch builds. If anyone know how to buy a particular spruce from bandai, i would love to know!

 

[monsterpartyhat]

I'm curious -- what's the highlighted greeble here, if you don't mind sharing? I saw it on your blockade runner too, and it's a really fantastic piece - it looks really useful for structures.

 

[Bauble]

Thanks, Monster. That piece is from the Bandai AT-M6 kit. I agree that it is another fantastic greeblie. It comes from the underside of the vehicle. It is amazing how much details Bandai puts into a piece that is seldom visible in a completed model.

 

[Bauble]

I didn’t remember where I used it on my blockade runner. Had to go to it and hunt for it. Found it finally. On that ship, I think it ‘flows’ well into the U-wing greeblie. Both have similar detail density. I used a E shaped greeblie to conceal the transition. The pair of them looks good close-up and at a distance.

 

[monsterpartyhat]

Ohh, of course! I *thought* I recognized it, but couldn't quite place it. I have one of those in my stash of parts that are waiting to be molded! Thanks!

I does go super-well with the U-wing hyperspace engine greeble. I have a bunch of those -- when Bluefin had a sale on the U-wing kit for $12 I bought a few.

 

[Bauble]

What?!? $12 sale? How did I miss that? Isn’t Bluefin a company that operate in the US? I always thought you are located in Australia.

 

[monsterpartyhat]

Nope, I'm in San Francisco. I think it was like, holidays 2019 that Bluefin had a big clearance sale? Most of their Bandai SW kits were discounted, but the U-wing especially deeply. Given the current shortage & prices, I wish I'd stocked up on other kits too!

 

[2tall]

Very nice build, and good job on the paint and weathering effects! I especially like the built out and lit cockpit interior, as that adds an extra dimension of scale to the ship.

 

[Analyzer]

I love the choice of greeblies

speaking of which, I spy a Tie Striker wing?

 

[Bauble]

Thanks, Analyzer! Sorry, I didnt use a Tie Striker greeblie in the model. Am curious where you think you see it. I am working on a LAAT + AT-TE next and your WIP is really informative! A shout-out to you.

 

[Analyzer]

Thanks, Analyzer! Sorry, I didnt use a Tie Striker greeblie in the model. Am curious where you think you see it. I am working on a LAAT + AT-TE next and your WIP is really informative! A shout-out to you.

I'd love to see you tackle the LAAT& AT-TE combo. I really have to get back to mine

There was a japanese builder that did an amazing job with one. I can send the link if you would like (I forget if I added it to my thread)

As for the Tie Stiker, at a quick glance I thought that it looked like the frame only portion of a Tie Striker wing on the flat area right behind the two escape pods and below those vent looking things on the spine. On closer inspection, while it may bear a resemblance, I now see it is not really the same