Medical Frigate Redemption 1/350 scale

[kokkari]

Was lucky enough to get a hold of one of these kits from JPG Productions. It's a resin kit mastered from Nicholas Sagan measuring in at about 36". This has long been one of my favorite ships from Star Wars and is going to be my way to start off the new year. Thought I would document my build as I have not seen one documented yet.

My plan is to definitely light it with medical bay back lit window and single arm mount which I'll have to mod the armature. The castings are sharp, clean, and will need little cleanup. Some of the best I've seen.

Don't mind the guitar pick in the photo.

 

[Analyzer]

It is surely an amazing kit. Nick did a great job

I would love to get on of these someday

 

[Jkirkon]

Love watching your build threads, Mike!

 

[dockbay94]

I will defiantly be watching this! this kit is great! but not without a few design flaws to figure out. I am about 50% done with mine. I will post all my pics of the build process when i'm done. can't wait to see what you do with your's. enjoy the venture. it's fun figuring out the build process as you go! mine changes all the time. let me know if you have any questions? I know you will.

 

[kokkari]

So yes the castings are very sharp and beautiful but need more modification than resin kits that I've done in the past. It's almost as if all the pieces were designed separately then put together rather than the other way around. Which is fine with me. I like the challenge and is much more ILM like. Each section has to be planned out very carefully and parts constantly need to be dry fit to make sure everything fits and lines up in the end.

For example, in the first image one of the later steps will be to attach the side armor, but in order for it to fit correctly in the end the tabs circled in red need to line up and be the correct distance apart. In order for this to happen the piece circled in green has to be trimmed around a 1/4" A huge thanks to dockbay94 for all the images and help with this. He's the one who should be showing how this goes together.

 

[kokkari]

There are some nice reference points on certain pieces such as this "L" shaped tab to give you a starting point and proper placement. Some of it feels like a jigsaw puzzle.

I had to take the heat gun to these 2 halves. The top was bowed quite a bit.

 

[dockbay94]

well I must say that this kit (as insane detailed as it is) is not without a few bumps in the building process! the key to this build is to make sure, and I MEAN make sure that you sand down, test fit every piece! no matter what or where you think it goes. JPG has a guide to help you assemble the kit via a 3D map of the parts which is a great help! but I use it as guideline and not for my build given all the lighting and customization I am planning for this.

I have a lot of pics of this build so far, as of the 3 months I been on it! me, myself have taken a lot of personal liberties with it and am going for a more ILM look with a single display mount (ILM style) NOTE: there are two parts/sections that you will need to sand/modify heavily to make it fit and work. i will send those pic's soon to give an idea of what's next and help avoid a mental breakdown. LOL

kokkari was very kind to add me to this post/thread! thank you! please feel to share any or all of my pics I sent you. it's refreshing to share thoughts and ideas with our fellow members, isn't this what it's all about! there are soooo many things I have changed to this kit to help make it what I want.

final thoughts. and please feel free to share if anyone else has this kit or criticism, I'm not afraid? it's a lot of work to make this kit fit perfect! like I said in earlier post " all these parts fit like a puzzle" if one is off? it will affect everything! this being said, resin kit's are never perfect and you should expect "work" to make them perfect for you. I love the challenge and reward of a finished project. all the bandai, monogram, revell, polar light kits are great and fun to build! but you never know the joy and reward of resin kit that pushes the boundary of your skill set.

and that's why I love this craft...

dockaby94

 

[dockbay94]

P.S I forgot to mention that my front nose of my neb b top/bottom was warped as well, a good hit in hot water changed that along with a few other pieces as well.

 

[kokkari]

I can't emphasize enough that if you do this kit and want a single mount that you need to purchase a steel rod that goes the length of the ship. And definitely make sure it's steel not aluminum. I first had an aluminum one in there because it was lighter and it still sagged. As soon as I put the steel one in it was strait as an arrow.

Here is my mount and my removable mechanism where I can just dip the nose and can pull the ship off. Gravity and the weight of the rear locks it into place.

 

[kokkari]

There are a lot of thin intricate parts. It's hard to find one that is strait or that doesn't need the heat gun to straighten then out. I think almost every part needs to be modified, cut, or sanded to fit where it's supposed to. The best example I have is the back section. You have to cut pieces and modify others completely in order to fit. It's almost as if they were never meant to fit in the first place. I've never encountered this in a resin kit before.

The piece on the right had to have the structure completely dremmeled out so the neck stalk would slide in. Not sure why it was designed that way.

 

[dockbay94]

ahhh, the parts from hell!! I remember this. not as bad as you think! but when you get past this your free. the rest is - well all up to you on how much time you want to spend on making it right for you. for me, time comes at a premium! but I'm not in a rush. kokkari has been doing such a great job on this kit given it' problems. and we have been learning from each other as we tackle it's hurdles. good job! and stay SANE. no rush...

 

[joberg]

TFS with us this build...not for the faint of heart it seems, but the tuto will help future model makers for sure

 

[kokkari]

Here is an updated armature photo. This is the hollow steel 1/2" rod I added previously for strength. It spans the length of the ship to avoid any sagging. My wiring runs through the tube from the back.

 

[Muzza]

Great looking armature.
Cant wait to see it finished.

 

[kokkari]

All right, here's what I've come up with for the med bay. I started with 3x magnification reading glasses and cut out a portion.

Then I printed the final seen on decal paper and transferred to 1/4" white acrylic and glued in. Then lit from behind with a cool white LED .

Final result is this. It's about 3/4 of an inch big so the resolution is only so good, but with the naked eye, not too bad. It gives a 3D effect when looking around the window because of the convex glass.

 

[Jedi Dade]

All right, here's what I've come up with for the med bay. I started with 3x magnification reading glasses and cut out a portion.
View attachment 989598
Then I printed the final seen on decal paper and transferred to 1/4" white acrylic and glued in. Then lit from behind with a cool white LED .View attachment 989599
Final result is this. It's about 3/4 of an inch big so the resolution is only so good, but with the naked eye, not too bad. It gives a 3D effect when looking around the window because of the convex glass. View attachment 989600

Totally stealing that... I was thinking of something similar but the magnifying portion is pretty brilliant.

Jedi Dade

 

[Analyzer]

Excellent effect!

I've been wanting to do something similar for the Bridge on my 1/500 Yamato

 

[joberg]

Yep, that'll do it just fine

 

[kokkari]

Just thinking ahead and I do realize that these are 2 different Falcons and Frigates in these photos, but was wondering where on earth is the attachment point supposed to be on the Falcon? Is this supposed to be a fuel hose or docking hatch? I know there are some expanded/Haynes manual guys out there that would know this stuff much better than I.

 

[Analyzer]

hmmm...that is a good question. It looks like whatever it is actually goes right into the middle one of the top 3 engine exhaust fans?

Might have been the one place they could easily connect the actual Falcon filming model for that shot?

If it connects there, then it can't be a transport type tube, but could be a fueling tube

The other possibility is it connects to the bits right above it? Maybe just as a temp docking arm for refueling?

Could hook onto this part of the 5 footer

or this part of the 32"

I am guessing it is some kind of fueling/maintenance arm.

Seems very unlikely/impractical to be a boarding tube

Could be Lando and Chewie boarded via shuttle, or had already been on the Falcon for some time and had simply flown up, and while waiting to be refueled, were talking to Luke and Leia?