Rising Star Redux

[Carson Dyle]

I posted these images a few months ago, but was forced to yank them after the thread degenerated into a battleground for rival BSG geeks. Much has transpired in the interval to clear the air between those concerned, and I’m hoping this time things will remain civil.

Just to recap, the replica miniature pictured is the luxury liner Rising Star from the original Battlestar: Galactica. The original model was designed by Ralph McQuarrie and David Beasley, and built by Beasley at Apogee FX in 1978. Some years later an un-authorized casting was taken off the filming miniature and, after bouncing around from one party to another, it was acquired by yours truly in 2006.

The first image shows the replica as I first acquired it, prior to restoration. Ed Miarecki was commissioned to whip the model into shape, and following several grueling months of hair-pulling, teeth-grating, profanity-generating labor, the job was complete (many thanks to the current owner of the original filming miniature for having loaned it to Ed as reference during construction).

We all have our faves in the realm of movie (or, in this case, TV) spacecraft, and the Rising Star has been at the top of my list since I first laid eyes on her. Photos of this ship are pretty scarce, so I hope you enjoy them.

 

[Walter]

Very nice, thanks for shareing... again.

A beautiful piece. You should be happy to have it in your collection.

Funny thing is that it almost looks like it would fit into the current show. So how is it lit? Fiber optics?

Thanks,

Bryan

 

[Carson Dyle]

it almost looks like it would fit into the current show.

After three seasons of being a no-show in the new series, a CG version of the Rising Star finally debuted in "Razor" -- although in that movie-length episode the ship is part of a separate refugee fleet. Beginning with the fourth season, the model was incorporated into the RagTag fleet.

Interestingly enough, I have it on good authority that the CG version was patterned after the pre-restoration version of my replica (which may explain why some of the details are missing).

I'm told "Caprica" will feature more CG models based on those found in the original series, so I suspect we haven't seen the last of the Rising Star.

So how is it lit? Fiber optics?

Yeah, a combination of FO and LED.

 

[Bantha Crossing]

That really is a beautiful piece!

 

[JP05]

That is amazing !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[GoldCylon1]

Very nice, great to see it. Thanks for sharing.

 

[ictvuser]

Great photos!

Thank you for sharing your story and photos.

 

[Jedi Wars]

All I can say is Wow! That is some awesome work you did. The ship looks incredible. I use to watch the original show when I was a kid but I don't remember seeing this ship. Which episode was it in?

 

[REL]

Fantastic job on that, amazing!

 

[Carson Dyle]

That is some awesome work you did. ?

Thanks, but Ed Miarecki did the work (see first post). All I did was pay for it.

I use to watch the original show when I was a kid but I don't remember seeing this ship. Which episode was it in?

The model was built for the pilot episode, and was only featured in a couple of shots (in the pilot, the Rising Star served as a space-going pleasure palace to the corrupt politico played by Ray Milland). The ship also appears in a latter ep entitled “Murder on the Rising Star”, but unless I’m mistaken the exterior passes in that episode were the same (stock) shots included in the pilot.

It may seem strange that such a briefly seen vessel should make such a vivid impression, but at the time I remember thinking the design was unlike any I'd ever seen; a cross between the Concorde, the Stardestroyer, and a duck-billed platypus. I've since learned that this was one of the few BSG models to have been designed and "sculpted" from scratch (very few model parts were used, and most of those are found in the engine cavity), and as such it was a personal favorite of the model makers. To this day I think it's the coolest looking ship from that series, and one that was years ahead of its time design-wise.

 

[ShowCraft]

I'm glad you were able to obtain that casting and that Ed was able to bring it back to life.
Thanks for posting the pics again. It truly looks beautiful.

 

[SSRN Seaview]

So how much work had the former owners of that casting completed, if any?

 

[Carson Dyle]

Just enough to make Ed's job more difficult.

Honestly, I think the first image of the model (pre-restoration) speaks for itself. It was a bear of a job, and Miarecki really came through.

 

[Entropy]

It may seem strange that such a briefly seen vessel should make such a vivid impression, but at the time I remember thinking the design was unlike any I'd ever seen; a cross between the Concorde, the Stardestroyer, and a duck-billed platypus.

Fantastic piece. The front end reminds me a bit of a rounded off SR-71 or the Testors F-19 from the '80s. It has that look of early "stealth" to me.

 

[Kuhn Global]

I REALLY LOVE THIS PIECE Rob! You have always made me drool at the site of it! LOLOLOL

Fantastic piece my friend! cool:thumbsup

 

[Carson Dyle]

I REALLY LOVE THIS PIECE Rob! You have always made me drool at the site of it! LOLOLOL

It may be the only SS spaceship miniature you don't have, Kurt.:lol

 

[xstoys]

That ship is beautifully restored.

 

[darth_daniel]

Awesome piece of art! I really like its shape...has something that looks almost realistic in a way that it makes sense. The duck nose could be improved (for "visual appeal")...but what the heck! Beautiful.

 

[Carson Dyle]

The duck nose could be improved (for "visual appeal")...but what the heck! Beautiful.

For whatever reason the "duck" thing works for me.

It's probably telling that one of my other sci-fi design faves shares similar characteristics...

Yeah,

 

[micdavis]

Nice Proteus.

Scratch built? Kit?