Blade Runner : Lobster Aerodyne

[Custard Gannet]

So for my first scratch build I decided on the "Lobster" aerodyne from Blade Runner (although it could just as easily be called the "cobra car" from the stencils you can see on its "claw" wheel wells in some shots of the studio model. Its kind of mysterious, and relatively obscure (no toys or kits were ever produced that I know of), but its the first vehicle you see in the film, and its a gorgeous design : its basically a VHS tape.

When compiling reference material, I like to compile it into a collage I can easily negotiate on my tablet screen. Moving on from this stage can be
difficult - what if you find a cache of perfect reference when you're halfway done?

drawing blueprints from reference material is excruciating because it seems impossible to eliminate all the problems you will encounter with construction. Realising a geometric object with planes of styrene is far more difficult than I would have thought. And to think that a modeller back in the day might have a week for a build like this...
All in all I think my approach is kind of messy, and I'm sure folks will agree. But I'm not really a methodological purist - as long as the finished model meets my projected standards I don't care about the methods applied (Of course, I won't reject a shortcut).

For an armature I decided on a framework of mdf. It turns out that this was far too robust, in that I could have used some gaps to thread wiring through and even for access later on. It was a difficult balance to strike, as I knew I would need some sort of housing inside for the deeply embedded lights (5050 smds) needed for the ventral arodyne thrusters.

I knew I was going to embed a female 0.7mm jack in the armature, both for ease of mounting and for power. In the end I was pleased that this turned out to be a viable idea. I'm absolutely terrified of electrics/leds, as any problems down the line potentially require undoing a lot of painstaking work (far more work in a scratch build than a kit).

Building little light arrays for the claws. I only modelled one side of one of these and moulded/cast it three times in Polyurethane.

I can't relax until this puppy's done, but can hopefully tear myself away to post as I go.
Its slooow going.

 

[thegnome]

Amazing beginnings!

 

[joberg]

Most excellent job so far...eager to see your next update

 

[SCUDMAN]

Looks good.

 

[Transporter16]

Great project and very nicely done!

 

[Custard Gannet]

Thanks for all the encouragement, people. Much appreciated.

OK, this is such a mishmash of stuff, but a coat of primer really unified it. My hot take on scratch building? No, Thank You very much! Its is so incredibly difficult to build things in three dimensions in such a way that they fit together. I thought this design was chunky and therefore relatively easy to build. Nope. My hat comes off to anyone who spends their time building from scratch, never mind studio scale. Its is so damn labour intensive, I really have a renewed appreciation for the practice. I think I'll be modelling and printing digitally from now on - I think I could have printed and cast a kit for this thing in the amount of time it has taken to model by hand so far.

Not done yet though - there are a few cables and a roof-mounted cannon (/aerial?) to go...

 

[jake88]

Really great work I dig it!

 

[DCJ]

 

[DCJ]

View attachment 1439196

Oh, you mean something like this?

 

[joberg]

Keep up the great work: it`s looking mighty good

 

[Pyramidrep]

DCJ,
This is obviously your own project on the lobster aerodyne. Excellent work on identifying the model parts. If you could clarify and add a little background info, that would be great ( in case it gets confused with Custard Gannet’s ).

Maybe your own thread on the subject would be better to explain your project (1:1 Studio scale, etc,, etc.)

Eager to read and see more on the subject.

 

[Custard Gannet]

Oh, you mean something like this?

Aw heck, here comes one of those crazy studio scalers to put me to shame. Its a very strange experience looking at those kit parts there. I hope you're starting a build thread, as I would be very curious indeed to learn how you sourced the parts. Its all a mystery to me. What a wonderful design this thing is!

 

[DCJ]

Hey Custard: This is where obsessive/compulsive behavior is a plus! Also building lots and lots of models (i’ve personally built over 300 kits growing up as a kid in THEMIDDLEOFNOWHERE, WASHINGTON STATE. You start to recognize things like...those look like the chrome mud flaps off a 1/25 scale kenworth k-123, or that looks like a radiator from a 1/12 scale brabham bt-44b...and you realize that that IS what you are looking at! This is something I started a few years ago - then life happened: major health issues, the death of a few pets, a move for the first time in 17 years, A Pandemic...you know, the usual...but I recently had help tracking down a few parts and I’ve got new motivation to get back on-task...(plus I worked on a low-budget film (by a no-name director) called “TITANIC” - and was in the industry for 26 years)

 

[Pyramidrep]

Custard Gannet,
Adding more advise to the pot here since I also built a lot of model kits in my youth and the thing is you never forget the shapes and a lot of the parts used. If you look at any of the behind the scenes photos, always look at the background when a build is going on. There invariably is a model kit box sitting on a bench or shelf. Zoom in, rotate the image and you’ll find the name. The boxes of the kits DCJ kindly mentioned are in two of the images that I know of. And the more astute folks here will also know that the parts are on the tanker and the other flying vehicle. If you go onto websites like superhobby, if the models are currently available, you can get a look at the parts trees and identify the particular parts.

The base /structure has probably been vac- formed which means the basic shape was carved from wood and then polystyrene pulled over it in a vac- form machine. There might be a thread on the forum here that will show you how it’s done or you can find it on YouTube.

When you have the any of physical parts, scale the model images to the parts.

Welcome to the maddening world of studio scale modellers. It’s fun............ but it ain’t easy

 

[joberg]

Hey Custard: This is where obsessive/compulsive behavior is a plus! Also building lots and lots of models (i’ve personally built over 300 kits growing up as a kid in THEMIDDLEOFNOWHERE, WASHINGTON STATE. You start to recognize things like...those look like the chrome mud flaps off a 1/25 scale kenworth k-123, or that looks like a radiator from a 1/12 scale brabham bt-44b...and you realize that that IS what you are looking at! This is something I started a few years ago - then life happened: major health issues, the death of a few pets, a move for the first time in 17 years, A Pandemic...you know, the usual...but I recently had help tracking down a few parts and I’ve got new motivation to get back on-task...(plus I worked on a low-budget film (by a no-name director) called “TITANIC” - and was in the industry for 26 years)

Well, seems to me that you're a Pro and you're right, after a while you'll recognize pieces and greeblies/nernies/widgets that the model makers used over the years. Love your pic with the different parts that you've molded for that BR Lobster btw

 

[DCJ]

One last one and I’ll leave things alone - gold foam carved and vacuformed over..

 

[swgeek]

Great work for a first scratch build. Always liked this design.

 

[Custard Gannet]

DCJ, Pyramidrep, thanks for the breakdown. Its an admirably noble pursuit of perfection, really. I can understand the sense of intimacy with the original maker, knowing you're treading the same footsteps, like some sort of mental spatio-temporal pilgrimage .

One last one and I’ll leave things alone

DCJ, I might be wrong, but I don't know of another build of this thing after the great 2015 EEG image dump. I can only speak for myself, but I think there's a great hunger for rare, special little builds like yours, so I urge you to start a thread with as many photos as possible!

 

[joberg]

DCJ, Pyramidrep, thanks for the breakdown. Its an admirably noble pursuit of perfection, really. I can understand the sense of intimacy with the original maker, knowing you're treading the same footsteps, like some sort of mental spatio-temporal pilgrimage .

DCJ, I might be wrong, but I don't know of another build of this thing after the great 2015 EEG image dump. I can only speak for myself, but I think there's a great hunger for rare, special little builds like yours, so I urge you to start a thread with as many photos as possible!

^^What he said DCJ

 

[Pyramidrep]

I wholehearted agree. There are few and far between studio scale or half- studio scale builds related to Blade Runner (1982) excepting the wonderful Spinner. Of course Jason Eaton did fantastic half- scale Blimp a few years ago, and mentioned building a Pyramid at one point. But have I missed something else here. Does Adam Savage’s blimp also count here?
The RPF surely needs more diversity of subject matter in the builds.

Come on, folks! Chime in here.

.........Ok. Enough of my rant. I’m going back to my ”mental spatio- temporal pilgrimage” ( Custard, you should copyright that phrase - it’s a cracker).