My Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: Armageddon Freedom Shuttle (finished)

[Chrisisall]

A personal side-project: I plan to turn a 1998 Revell kit like this

into this:

Can it be done? :confused
:love

 

[phase pistol]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

That sir is a lot of Bondo.

But I am rooting for you. :sleep

Karl

 

[Chrisisall]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

That sir is a lot of Bondo.

I was thinking sheet styrene.:cool
But it might finally be time try Bondo, given the curves....

 

[jedimaster]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

Good luck. I'd be startin from scratch.

 

[Chrisisall]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

Good luck. I'd be startin from scratch.

I practically will be, LOL.
Hey- modifying is my middle name!

 

[PHArchivist]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

Gawd! Is that 1998 kit THAT bad...? Been planning on building it myself, but don't want to go to great lengths. My abort if it will take that much modification.

 

[MooCriket]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

Hoping for the best:thumbsup. That does look like an incredible task to pull off, time wise.

 

[JMChladek]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

I tried it once, but my ambition exceeded my skill set at the time. To get the proper length, I grafted two shuttle fuselage sections together and tried making the curves with a combination of balsa wood and filler putty. It was long slow root canal before I abandoned it.

Fantastic Plastic has a 1/144 X-71 and it looks good IMHO except for the wings and the auxilliary rocket boosters.

X-71 Shuttle 1:144 Resin Model Kit by Fantastic Plastic

But, I did notice that the wing mounts seem to be the same as the Revell kit, so using the Revell X-71 wings with this kit and some modifications on the front could yield a very nice X-71 model. I may try to get one of these if a vendor has one on the table at Wonderfest.

If I do get one, I might try to see if I can do one in 1/72, which would be essentially a complete scratchbuild. I'll probably save that for down the road, after I've finished my 1/72 Churchill shuttle from Lifeforce. The way I might approach it next time would be to borrow a page from a stick and tissue balsa model, using loftings and ribs to build up the fuselage and skinning over the top. The wings I figure could still be adapted somewhat from 1/72 plastic kit wings, but the tail fin would have to be scratched since it is bigger than a normal shuttle tail. The auxilliary rocket boosters can easily be done with 1/144 SRBs. And of course if I did it, I would have to slap the whole thing onto an ET and SRBs for the full effect (can't have an X-71 without those IMHO as the launch scene was the best part of the film IMHO).

 

[tek2graphics]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

I'm sure you can do it!!! :thumbsup

 

[Chrisisall]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

Fantastic Plastic has a 1/144 X-71 and it looks good IMHO except for the wings and the auxilliary rocket boosters.

X-71 Shuttle 1:144 Resin Model Kit by Fantastic Plastic

Yeah, I saw it- it's very good, but would take some modification as you say. But if I spend $100 on a model, I want it to either be perfect already, or made of styrene. But that may just be me.:rolleyes

 

[Chrisisall]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

I'm sure you can do it!!! :thumbsup

Thanks! I know I can, it's more a matter of... sanding... :cry

 

[Fetchou]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

I have this kit and this project too. Curious to see what do you do with the kit!

 

[habuhunter32]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

As I said over at HobbyTalk I don't think the Revell kit will ever look like the movie prop unless you scratch build 90% and toss the rest. I do look forward to you proving me wrong by the way!:lol I have both the Revell and the Fantastic Plastic versions. I am building the latter with a Revell stack and modified launch platform. Now that I have joined the RPF I can follow your progress over here and plan on doing so. Good luck sir!:cool

 

[phase pistol]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

Some reference shots from the DVD.

 

[Chrisisall]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

Wow- totally helpful, Phase!!!!thumbsup:thumbsup
THANKS!

 

[falcondesigns]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

Your going to need this.........

 

[Mauiman]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

Nothing is impossible. It is just a big pain in the rear to get it done.

 

[Chrisisall]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

Your going to need this.........

Ouch, I can't open it, but thanks for the thought, Falc! I'm SO wanting to get to the paint job once I get the model & work it over. That's gonna be FUN.

 

[Chrisisall]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

Nothing is impossible. It is just a big pain in the rear to get it done.

That's the challenge, Zac!

Funny, I don't seem to have fun in the doing of a major model modification, yet I seem driven to accomplish it. And once done, I revel in it.
Is that weird? :confused

 

[Underdog]

Re: My next Can-I-Really-Do-This? project: an Armageddon Shuttle

That's the challenge, Zac!

Funny, I don't seem to have fun in the doing of a major model modification, yet I seem driven to accomplish it. And once done, I revel in it.
Is that weird? :confused

Dude, if I can go out to my garage in 06 and start building a studio scale accurate TOS Enterprise that the masters compete with the Master Replicas over priced toy, then you can do anything that you set your mind to, if you have the skill, talent and will to follow through... If you are willing to make mistakes and keep on going. Nothing can stop you, but your own psych.