Rebel Transport scratchbuild.

[ralphee]

Jason, hell yeah the Empire of dreams DVD,cheers buddy saw it a few times now and how i wish there was a half hour feature on the RT alone :lol.

Had one hell of a good day today, not much work done, but i decided to follow the prop on cargo box fitment.
The ILM model, especially in the belly, uses a square rod to support the pods, so i dragged out some square acrylic today, made various cuts in length and tried it.......perfect, no more hunting for kit parts as mounting points all over.
I can now use this rod, and then hide it all nicely, with some deft and intricate greeblie work.

As it goes, have to thank Allan for the idea, id kinda forgotten they were on the prop, so much head scratching and donor hunting has been saved!

bests.......lee

 

[eagle1]

You never disappoint with the updates on this build dude, and this one is just Wow mate!. She's lookin wicked, great idea with the miniature magnets for the boxes, mainstream kit manufacturers are now using them as well such as Tamiya's new 1/32nd Spitfire to hold the engine cowlings in place!.
Can't wait to see this finished Lee, it's just such a cool prop.
Stu:love

 

[Guy Cowen]

Lee mate, even you must be sat there looking at the the RT thinking "now that is special"
every second you have put into this has been worth it. It really does look incredible & the cargo boxes just send it way over the edge. I'm just gutted I've not had a chance to come and see you since Xmas it will be ace to come come and see the progress. I'm in Birmingham tomorrow but am working all day at the Academy & I know I'll be thinking about a very long cig break all day but I think If I went missing for for a few hours it would be a bit noticeable.

 

[kbilly]

Damn this thing looks good. Have you flown it around the room yet?...

No?... must just be me that does that :lol

Here's a screengrab I picked up somewhere that may help with cargo box placement.

 

[ralphee]

Billy, cheers for the pic bud, i do have a great underside shot of her TBH, but my problem lies in donor part placement VS cargo pod placement, some of the donors and there location make it tricky to mount a pod, but im not trying to be too anal now, i know she's off here and there, so just having some fun now....you could scratch your head on this model for years before ever building anything LOL.
Once they are all placed, the crazy mass of boxes, and more and more intricate donors, will look pretty...INSANE!

bests......lee

 

[SMA]

Amazing, amazing, amazing. You are rocking this build. Keep at it - a masterpiece.

 

[ralphee]

Cheers bud, she's on a bit of a Holiday right now, got a couple of other things i want to work on!

lee

 

[staermose]

Hey Lee - look at what they're working on in the background!

Found this looking for something else, but this pic caught my eye.

Could these be the lamps that inspired the shape of Slave 1?

 

[ralphee]

Thats actually, pretty freaky lol, but yes, the shape is familiar, more so to the first drawings of the Slave.......very intriguing.

lee

 

[JPolacchi]

Actually, it was a street light outside of ILM that inspired the shape of Slave I. I read that in either "The Art Of the Empire Strikes back" or it may have beeen in the Star Wars Chronicles.

 

[staermose]

Actually, it was a street light outside of ILM that inspired the shape of Slave I. I read that in either "The Art Of the Empire Strikes back" or it may have beeen in the Star Wars Chronicles.

I've read that too. But this is the first lamp I have seen that acually looks somewhat like Slave 1. At least as the initial drawings did. And that have a direct connection with the ILM model shop.
It could be that whomever remebered it to be streetlight, forgot where it was originally.

if somebody have seen a streetlight that looks more like the Slave 1 model than this, I would very much like to to see it.
It's one of those cases where it is nice to be proven wrong

 

[JPolacchi]

I'd have to go down to San Rafael where ILM used to be taking in mind that those same street lamps are stil there? Remeber, all the post production for ESB was done between 1978 and early1979. Nilos Gemero(I'm sure I spelled his name wrong) was the original designer of the Slave I.

 

[seven]

The "street light inspiration" I thought had already been debunked as not true...
StarWars.com | Empire Chronicles: Slave I

Slave I - Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki

"I remember seeing a radar dish and stopping to sketch it very quickly to see if I could get something out of it. When we were building the ships at ILM, somebody looked at street lamps and pointed out that they looked like Boba's ship. SO everyone began to think that was where I got the idea for the design." - Rodis-Janero

Anyways, back on topic.

Love to see how this ship is coming along :love

 

[ralphee]

Seven....well im back on it lol, After a long break, i finally dragged her down, and got the tweaks i wanted to carry out underway.

Belly plates were removed (ouch) and created a bit of damage, nothing major, just time consuming.
I needed to remove them, as, well, they were just wrong lol, too long, too wide, and the profile was off too.
Managed to get them cut and refitted though, and im way happier, oh and i heated the front of the plates, and got a bit more curve to them...they "dip" in under the upper hull.

Nose plating, well that was also off lol, not enough curvature and didnt look quite right, the old plates had to be "persuaded" off and much grinding ensued....again, not too bad, and the new plates are now cut, and taped on.

Ill get a bit more into it, and get some pics up soon, but the shape seems way close now, at least, her side and belly profile.....i did blow some primer on the belly while the plates were off too, this was a concern TBH while the plates were on, very tricky to paint.

lee

 

[Gort]

Hi Lee,

Hadn't checked this thread for a while. Wow, you are really showing a difficult ship who's the boss!. Looking terrific.

Looking forward to seeing your next set of updates!


N

 

[Guy Cowen]

3 days off at last, Lee I'd say its great to see you back but I've not been around myself mate. One thing though it would be great to this build when your ready to take some pics. I've got a load of time off in Nov & Dec so it would be great to catch up & watch you paint that speeder mate.

 

[ralphee]

Well, been a bit busy to really get much more procrastinating done on this one lol, but i did snap a few pics of the new belly plate cuts, and the change in the nose.
Most of you wont even notice, and may say "so much for the update Ralphee"....but this is a lot different to my first bungling attempt :lol
Its all very rough cut right now, so im hoping to get everything finalised, then bond it all up, and carry on.
Oh and a recent publication shows me, there were lights in the bridge section and lower brim trench.......wouldnt mind adding that now, but as you can see, ive only a small bench, and a few projects to juggle upon it lol.
Ill get a decent update on her someday guys....i promise!

lee

 

[ckwanwoo]

Great work Lee~!
My pleaure see your working again.:thumbsup

thanks Eric.

Well, been a bit busy to really get much more procrastinating done on this one lol, but i did snap a few pics of the new belly plate cuts, and the change in the nose.
Most of you wont even notice, and may say "so much for the update Ralphee"....but this is a lot different to my first bungling attempt :lol
Its all very rough cut right now, so im hoping to get everything finalised, then bond it all up, and carry on.
Oh and a recent publication shows me, there were lights in the bridge section and lower brim trench.......wouldnt mind adding that now, but as you can see, ive only a small bench, and a few projects to juggle upon it lol.
Ill get a decent update on her someday guys....i promise!

lee

 

[Scott Graham]

I see more of an S curve in the side view of the newer nose. It's definitely sexier now. Was that what changed Lee?

It's good to see you working on it again. This is a great subject for a build. Always loved this ship!

 

[Nwerke]

Lee, it was rubbish before, but I'll grudgingly give it a pass now.