MC-80 Mon Calamari Cruiser

[AlexD]

Last update before the holiday season when I can’t work on this for a few weeks! I added strips of foam to smooth the contours, and also soften the curves to better match the real thing. Working on the rear-end profile as well. My engines are a tad big (all I had was shaving cream lids!) but I’m not worried about accurately matching the engine configuration, as according to the lore each of these ships was very unique, like a work of art. So that gives me a bit of creative room. The profile of the ship right now looks a bit off as well, because there are not yet any blisters- the blisters make up a great deal of the hull shaping on this ship. Right now, instead of a wingless Liberty it's a blister-less Liberty! Lol.

 

[publiusr]

Those Kinder egg candy toys might be handy…though a bit short…spoons, etc.

You know, for the blister pods.

 

[AlexD]

Those Kinder egg candy toys might be handy…though a bit short…spoons, etc.

You know, for the blister pods.

Kinder eggs..I hadn’t thought of that before! I will have to check those out. Great idea, especially as all the blisters seem to be fairly random/asymmetrical.

 

[AlexD]

A half hour of work at the start of this new semester, and I've laid almost all the foam onto the upper surface. There are gaps to be sure, but this will all be filled in with filler and a layer of styrene at the end. The foam still helps to significantly smooth the surface and prep it for the blisters. Soon, I'll flip the ship over and redo the entire process on the bottom..after that, add tons of blisters and sand the surface into a single piece that looks uniform. After that, I'll add newspaper dipped in watered down glue to harden its outer shell.

I've also ordered a fleet of 12 Y-wings and 12 U-wings from Mel Minatures on Shapeways, in the scale of the Armada board games. I went with those two ships because the store was offering them in batches of 12 instead of 3 or 4 for X-wings, A-wings etc. The Y-wings are the ones from the sequel trilogy (don't get me started) but they look close enough and I can just chalk it up to this Mon Cal cruiser serving after the Battle of Endor or something with updated Y-wings assigned to it. On this cruiser I plan to build a hangar that can house 4-5 of these ships, with several others escorting.

 

[AlexD]

Update on the MC80! Still more cardboard to lay down, then thin cardboard, then foam, then styrene..and then blisters!

 

[joberg]

What kind of compound are you gonna use to shape all of the curves. Also, and that's just me, I would've affixed the engines after the main after having made the main forms. Eager to see your next update

 

[AlexD]

What kind of compound are you gonna use to shape all of the curves. Also, and that's just me, I would've affixed the engines after the main after having made the main forms. Eager to see your next update

I’ve been using foam-like form clay for several of the curved blisters so far. I use the clay for the more elongated ones. I’ve also got several Easter eggs, silly putty containers, kinder eggs and sea shells that I plan on using, covering with newspaper covered in watered down glue. I’m not able to use Bondo or any of that as I can’t work outside on this. I’ll show you a pic of the blister progress so far!

 

[AlexD]

I’ve been using foam-like form clay for several of the curved blisters so far. I use the clay for the more elongated ones. I’ve also got several Easter eggs, silly putty containers, kinder eggs and sea shells that I plan on using, covering with newspaper covered in watered down glue. I’m not able to use Bondo or any of that as I can’t work outside on this. I’ll show you a pic of the blister progress so far!

I use a block of scrap wood as the main structure for each blister. Got a long ways to go!

 

[joberg]

You could do the same form with the clay and vacu-form it, using a small oven.

 

[AlexD]

You could do the same form with the clay and vacu-form it, using a small oven.

That is a good idea. Several times I have been unsuccessful using styrene to vacuform, but I may give it a shot for this ship.

 

[joberg]

That is a good idea. Several times I have been unsuccessful using styrene to vacuform, but I may give it a shot for this ship.

Lots of YouTube vid concerning vacu-forming. You could also do the form and then shape 2mm plastic sheet with gloves and a heat gun. Works well with simple forms like the ones on your model.

 

[AlexD]

Working on more blisters. Any imperfections will be smoothed out with layers of newspaper and watered down glue.

 

[JPH]

Lots of YouTube vid concerning vacu-forming. You could also do the form and then shape 2mm plastic sheet with gloves and a heat gun. Works well with simple forms like the ones on your model.

I have always been told not to vacu-form in your oven, use a device solely for vacuforming. Even for PetG.

I don't know how right or wrong that is.

Another idea, is make rubber or silicone molds of the blisters/zits and then slush cast them.

Clay and glue will be heavy and take more time than an initial mold and then you can create endless EXACT copies. Make a mold of one perfect blister, per blister size, mold and cast, and you can be done in a day

 

[division 6]

You can use a dedicated toaster oven for small plastic heating.
Other options are a heat gun or even boiling water.

 

[AlexD]

I have always been told not to vacu-form in your oven, use a device solely for vacuforming. Even for PetG.

I don't know how right or wrong that is.

Another idea, is make rubber or silicone molds of the blisters/zits and then slush cast them.

Clay and glue will be heavy and take more time than an initial mold and then you can create endless EXACT copies. Make a mold of one perfect blister, per blister size, mold and cast, and you can be done in a day

Thanks for the suggestions. I thought about using rubber molds but I’ve never done that before-maybe when I’ve got my own shop one day after college! I ended up mainly using a foam clay called Foamex. For $10 it provided enough clay for almost all the upper surface blisters. I put card board or wood under the clay for the big blisters. I’ll need to buy more clay for the underside blisters. But I’m content with it as it allows me to shape each blister individually. I used silly putty containers for 5-6 uniform blisters and the rest are made of the foam clay. It’s super lightweight luckily, but overall this ship is getting quite hefty, which I’m fine with I guess. Here’s the current state of the blisters:

 

[JPH]

AlexD

You are old-schooling the @#$ out of this!

I am just offering suggestions.

You are ROCKIN' this build.

EDIT: Great pics! Thank you!!!

 

[JediMichael]

Can't wait to see how you finish this, looking really good so far......just be carful of any random death stars out there.

 

[AlexD]

AlexD

You are old-schooling the @#$ out of this!

I am just offering suggestions.

You are ROCKIN' this build.

EDIT: Great pics! Thank you!!!

Thanks for the encouragement! Old school is the only feasible way right now… looking forward to priming and painting it one day, but for now it seems the cardboard and styrene panels will never end. Lol

 

[AlexD]

Can't wait to see how you finish this, looking really good so far......just be carful of any random death stars out there.

View attachment 1543363

Haha thanks, actually the shot from about 1 second before that screenshot was the main inspiration for my fleet. I’ve already got a scratch built Nebulon, two Hammerheads and a Blockade Runner, just need this Mon Cal capital ship and then I hope to recreate that shot..

 

[AlexD]

Update- underside foam almost fully laid down. Next, newspaper with diluted glue to hard the body, and more blisters!