Resin Printed 25" Blockade Runner w/Full Lights *Completed*

[skahtul]

This "kit" has been sitting in my stash for a while now and it's time to get it built. These files are from Colin (BigBangCollectables) over on Etsy. I have printed a few of his ships now and while accuracy might not be 100%, you definitely get a very high-quality set of files that are well-engineered.

This is by far the largest resin print I have done to date, and it was all printed on the Elegoo Saturn. This kit measures 25" in length and is pretty heavy (more on that later). I also have a set of files from Merlins Models for a 30" version. I think I can scale that version up to 36" using my Jupiter, at least that is my hope. But for now, this is my 'test' bed as it were to give building and painting this iconic ship a try.

This has been sitting in my closet for at least 6 months, and now I remember why... It's a sweet print but it's a lot to take in and very heavy. The engineering on how to get this built was by far the most difficult part of the build process.

The first step after spending last weekend figuring out how it was all going to be built was to sand some of the larger parts flat. I have learned a lot in the short time since this was printed and could have easily avoided the sanding, but in the end, it only took me about an hour so it was really not that bad.

As I said, it's a lot to take in, especially the weight of that rear section (this was before I cleaned up all the 'flash'):

 

[skahtul]

Step one is getting my head wrapped around just how to build and properly support this. The files do include some locating pins but I really just don't think that over time this will be enough to prevent sagging. The one advantage of the Merlin files is that methods to support and reinforce the kit are built into the files.
Here you can see some of the locating pins:

However, this rear section weighs so much even though I hollowed the model.

The first step was to look over all the pieces to figure out how to support the model and also run all the wiring. I want to light all the engines, and add some of the side and front fiber optics along with the cockpit. While these files do not include an interior, I thought it would be nice to light the cockpit anyway.

 

[skahtul]

Since I did not want to order a bunch of stuff online that may or may not work, it was off to the hardware store. Are you ever in the hardware store thinking to yourself, "I hope they don't ask me what I am working on"... In my head, I kept thinking, don't say internal structure for a Star Wars Model

Let's see what I can do with some lamp parts and PVC pipe. My main goal here is to give the ship a better 'spine' to help support the middle and to better attach and support the rear section.

 

[skahtul]

Well, here is what I came up with. It might not look like much, but it has it where it counts...

I will hollow out a few of the supports here in order to both resin and bolt this section in place:

Here it is after cutting out some of the side supports. This ends up being bolted and glued in place with a ton of resin. I wanted a physical connection from the outside to help ensure I could 'bolt' the entire assembly together from end to end.

It feels very ILM like to have a few screws hanging out in the open

 

[skahtul]

And this is how the entire assembly goes together:

First up is the lower section, the T connecter pictured below is where I will both run the wires and have the power outlet for the lighting effects.

Once it's all in place I will add a set of washers and bolts to the very end of the internal supports. This will help to both attache the back to the spin thus giving it better support, and I will also glue the mid and front sections to this in order to tie it all togehter.

 

[skahtul]

Now that what I consider to be the hardest part is done (figuring out how to get this built with some kind of internal structure is why this has sat for so long..), it's time for some lights.

Though I had all the fiber and most of the lights needed for this, I had to order some 10MM LEDs from my favorite lighting shop as I did not have any amber-colored ones on hand.

I always 'burn' in my LEDs for a few days or more, just to see if they are going to die right up front. I have no idea if this is really a good process or test, but it's what I do.

Success!

 

[modelerdave]

Fantastic build so far!

 

[Analyzer]

Wow!

The internal support frame worked out perfectly

 

[skahtul]

Fantastic build so far!

Thanks!

Wow!

The internal support frame worked out perfectly

I literally stared at it for days trying to come up with something

 

[skahtul]

Time to start closing up the rear of this model! In almost all my models I like to get them 99% built before I start painting. However, with this kit getting access to the engines will be pretty difficult with the airbrush once assembled so I need to lay down some base paint and a first pass at the weathering.

Depending on how you plan to finish these files the creator did include some paint masks and protectors which really make it pretty easy. I will end up using at least the caps as protectors. There are also some locator rings for parts of the assembly.

Once the engines are ready to be mounted there are also locating pins. They are idiot-proof as they all have different offsets which ensure they can only go on one way:

Everything has been primed up and the base coat is down on the rear section. I went with a spray can using AS-20, the amount of time to get this done using the paintbrush would literally obliterate my hands for a week, plus this paint just goes down so smooth and is pretty much indestructible. It's also a very close match to Reefer White which is the actual base coat. There will be so much weathering on this, along with dusting it with the Reefer that it will be hard to tell what the actual base coat was anyway.

 

[skahtul]

These are a few of the colors I will be using for the initial weathering pass. I really put a ton of time into my 1:24 A-Wing as far as 'accuracy' goes and I am not going to be too critical here. Also, as this project is literally a test bed for a larger more detailed version I am not going to kill myself going over reference images.

Base and 1st weathering pass complete:

Inside every model hides a mess of wires, epoxy, brackets, structure, zip ties and a bit of hot glue

 

[skahtul]

Time to test this out and close up the back half.

I ordered the 10mm acrylic rods on Amazon and they will be used as plugs in the rear of the engines to help set off the lighting.

You can see in the image above and below that they make a huge differnece.

Last chance to test it all out before the epoxy goes down:

 

[joberg]

F.A.B.

 

[skahtul]

The rear and middle sections are powered up and ready to go. I took one of my standard adapter plugs and put it into the side of the pipe cap. This part of the ship will be removable so that you can plug it in when needed. This ship can be plugged into the wall or run off of a 12v batter pack.

 

[skahtul]

Time to add lighting to the middle section and cockpit but first I need to clean up some panel lines. When I printed this I was not as well versed in the positioning of the parts and customizing supports so the back of this part got a bit soft. I am so, so bad as scribing panel lines, I always dread doing them

Also, I watched Adam put together his AT-AT some time ago and it really got me thinking about mechanical connections on my builds. Watching that video was part of why I designed the rear attachment points as I did. I want the dish to be able to rotate (and be removed for transport) so I installed a part that lets me just drop it in place. Also, the guns on this are tiny and they will break... so I am attaching a small rod (re-used laser beam from a Bandai Kit) which makes it easy to remove or replace the guns:

 

[skahtul]

I don't typically have too many issues with light bleed when using fiber optics but I do want this cockpit to be blue and have had some issues in the past with the different colored lights interfering with each other so I decided to build a little enclosure in order to focus the light.

I ended up making it too long so it would not fit in through the window, nothing a sharp razer can't fix

Test fit after cutting it down to size

Everyone is always advertising ULTRA bright LEDs... these things are so bright its no wonder it takes a lot to fix light bleeds... I tried putting on a few resistors but just could not dim it down much, I wish someone sold just 'kind of bright' LEDs.

Nothing a bit of aluminum tape can't help solve:

This thing was so bright I had to sand down that plastic, double it up and then put some sheet styrene in front of the LED to both diffuse it 100% and to tone it down:

Much better (the camera in the dark makes it look way brighter than it really is)!

 

[skahtul]

Time to run some optics, breaking out my favorite tool for drilling the needed holes:

I have seen so many variations on where and what color the lights are on this, in the end, I cobbled together a bunch of reference images, took what I liked and added some of my own flare.

The red lights are on a slow flash. Not a lot of flashing lights in star wars (at least I don't think so, more of that on Star Trek models) but I like what they bring to these larger ships:

Here is the final shot of the cockpit area with the fiber and 100% diffused and blocked light:

 

[modelerdave]

That is looking really good!

 

[skahtul]

That is looking really good!

Thanks! I hope to have this fully assembled and at least base coated this weekend.

 

[skahtul]

It's finally time to close this thing up! Even though it should be a simple part I just can't get the seam between the two parts of it as clean as I would like. Not sure if this happens to anyone else but often I will let a project sit for a while if I am just not happy with a certain part of it which often leads me to two options, re-do or re-work what ever it is that's not working, or just accept what I have and move on.

One lesson I have learned here is to not print parts with two different types of resins using different printers. If you have a large project like this, use the same resin, same printer, same settings, etc...

I have been watching some posts from Adam Savage as he rolls through the amazing auction items from Prop Store and it reminded me that often the filming miniatures, especially back in the day were often a bit 'crunchy' and are not as perfect as I imagine they are in my head. So after watching that, I am finally on the home stretch of this build.

Here is the final test before applying the glue of no return

The glue of no return has been applied: