Revell/Monogram Cylon Raider w. lighting

[Pedro]

While I'm waiting for the arrival of my snow order from the UK for my AT-AT diorama I decided to get started on my next project, the Revell 30th anniversary re-issue of the old Monogram Cylon Raider. I never built this one when I was a kid but always wanted one, so I picked this up a few years ago, not knowing that Moebius was going to be releasing a more accurate larger kit. Oh well, this one has that nostalgia value.

Overall this is actually a very good kit, and reasonably accurate. Almost all of the greeblie details are their, albeit sometimes simplified. The panel lines are raised but pretty accurate in position. My goal is to get this done quickly, not going overboard as I am wont to do.

So I started by re-scribing all panel lines with a few little changes based on the studio models. I added some dimension to some greeblies using various bits of plastic stock and added a few missing bits. Last night I got most of the electronics work done, wiring up the engines for lighting (will also light the little spots at the front). Here are some photos of the work, and a video showing the flickering LEDs I'm using for the engine effects. Easy and very cool looking! The engines are currently lit with 2 flickering white and 1 regular blue LEDs each. I may add another white, but I think the brightness is ok here. With luck I can finish this up in another week or two!



Flickering LEDs are cool (as are bow ties)

 

[rbeach84]

Very cool, indeed! How about a 'shopping list' for your lighting effects?

Cheers! Robert

 

[Pedro]

Thanks! The lighting is pretty easy. In each engine:

2 of http://lighthouseleds.com/5mm-pre-wired-12v-flickering-candle-cool-pure-bright-white-led.html. These are cool, they flicker with no external circuit required.
1 of http://lighthouseleds.com/3mm-12v-pre-wired-led-blue-ultra-bright-15-000-mcd.html (actually got them somewhere else, but basically the same)

I'll light the spots in front with 2 of these http://lighthouseleds.com/3mm-flat-top-led-warm-white-ultra-bright-14-000-mcd.html. (had to add a resistor for the 12V power)

Power comes from 2 4x AAA battery packs wired together. These packs just barely fit through the opening I cut under the cockpit hatch, after trimming the packs a bit with a sanding drum in my dremel. The cockpit hatch will be attached with magnets so I can get the batteries out to change them. I'll put a little switch in there as well. The LEDs are all wired in parallel since the pre-wired jobbies each have their own resistor. Circuit design for the lazy and dumb.

Engine LEDs are inserted into "cans" made from cheap plastic bottle containers from a dollar store. I drilled holes in the bottom for the leds, then covered the outside with silver foil tape to block light leaks and theoretically add some brightness. The cap for these bottles was already frosted which diffuses the light pretty well, though I may add a little more diffusion.

Here are a couple pics of the bottom details.

 

[rbeach84]

Pedro, you the man! Those flickering LEDs could be used for many applications (like burning fires...) Thanks for sharing.
Regards, Robert

 

[Pedro]

Thanks! I can't take credit for the flickering LED idea though, I saw someone using them on a TOS Battlestar on YouTube. I got the top/bottom halves all wrapped up and this baby is ready for paint. I'll try to get some photos up later.

 

[Pedro]

As promised here are a couple more pics. Last night (after taking these) I got the whole thing primed and cleaned up, ready to start painting tonight. The paint work should go quickly since it's such a simple ship.

Here you can see the magnets that attach the cockpit, which houses the battery (switched to a 9V when I found that the LEDs were just as bright despite being sold as 12V lights). The magnets are in the main hull, and bits of sheet metal are attached to the hatch itself to give them something to attract. The thing fits very well and is quite secure.


Warm white LEDs provide the "headlights".


Here's a wee video of the hatch/magnet system just for fun.

 

[Pedro]

I spent all day Sunday masking and painting and masking and painting....This baby is ready for some weathering and a base and it's all done!

Lots of tedious masking for some darker grey panels. I found that no two studio models were the same in which panels were painted darker, so I picked and chose the ones I liked. I mixed some Tamiya light and dark greys, then added a drop of blue. Peeled off all the carefully applied masks and found this lovely Enterprise-B green/blue/grey instead of the color I thought I had mixed! I guess there was some yellow in the grey. Ugh...


So I re-masked most of the panels (a bit less carefully) and re-sprayed with a straight grey with no blue. Much better! Did the black stripes and cylon logos with masks instead of the supplied decals as well. I just got my hands on a Sillhouette Quickutz craft cutter and cut all the masks from adhesive vinyl using it. What an amazing machine!!! This will save me tons of time, especially when I get it cutting thin styrene. But for vinyl masks it works out of the box no problem. Designs were drawn in Adobe Illustrator and imported into the Sillhouette software. I love love love this machine! The red hexagon is just a mask, waiting for a slight overspray to represent the studio model that had the logo moved after initial weathering.





I still need to decide on the weathering style. The studio models were all done with basic dark/black overspray, which looks pretty cool, but I may want to go with something a little more realistic/ILM style with some oil washes and such as well. Probably not though, this was supposed to be a quickie after all.

 

[rbeach84]

Sweet! Very inspirational...
R/ Robert

 

[Zombie_61]

...I still need to decide on the weathering style. The studio models were all done with basic dark/black overspray, which looks pretty cool, but I may want to go with something a little more realistic/ILM style with some oil washes and such as well. Probably not though, this was supposed to be a quickie after all.

I was very surprised the first time I saw the photos of the filming miniature--it looked filthy, and I didn't remember the Raiders looking so dirty when I watched the show back in the 70s. This was one of the things I looked for when I finally got the DVD box set, and I still think they look much cleaner on-screen; I'd guess the studio lighting washed out the weathering the model makers applied.

I really like what you've done with this so far--it shows just how good the old Revellogram kit can look in the hands of a talented modeler. And since the show's model makers used this kit for an effects shot in the final episode, it's screen accurate! I'm looking forward to seeing your continuing progress.

 

[Pedro]

Hey folks! I'm circling back to some old threads that never got updated when the models were finished, you know how it is. So, here are some photos of the finished kit, you can see the rest at http://models4you.whoadude.com/models/cylonraider.html. Thanks for looking!

 

[robn1]

Somehow I missed this, thanks for bumping it. Well done, I've seen a lot of builds of this kit but not with such attention to accuracy. I agree this was a really good kit all things considered.

 

[Galactican]

This is a great build!

And don't underestimate the kit; it even is studio-scale (at least the predecessor without the enhanced detailing), you can see it in the last episode inside the Baseship hangar.

 

[Pedro]

Thanks for the comments! Frankly I wish newer mainstream sci-fi models (Revell ahem) were this good, but I do have a soft spot for models from my childhood. Perhaps I should build a studio scale Basestar hangar!

 

[Galactican]

I'd LOOOOVE to see that!

 

[Pedro]

I'd LOOOOVE to see that!

Hah! Don't hold your breath.

 

[Zombie_61]

I really like the way it turned out Pedro! It's very similar to the filming model I've seen in photos online, but your weathering isn't as heavy-handed. Nice work!!!

 

[Galactican]

Hah! Don't hold your breath.

It was a rhetorical "love"..!

 

[Pedro]

Thanks Zombie_61!