Salzo 37 1/2 inch (1/2 studio scale) TOS Battlestar Galactica - with a twist!

[warfare]

Hello everyone! I've been an avid admirer of everyone's fantastic work. I am nowhere near the talent that you all are. But I try. This is my first build thread.

To be brief, a few years ago I was very fortunate to obtain the TOS Galactica from Mike Salzo. It was a very pleasant experience dealing with Mike. And a great kit.

This is the first full resin kit, and the first kit I have done in over 20 years. I have been slowly working on my rendition of the Galactica and wanted to give it a few personal touches. Most of the "twists" as I call them, are internal so I am sure you can appreciate the effort.

Like many before who have built Mike's kit I wanted to make him proud and give her justice by providing her
with proper support. Giving the build a bit of a unique twist I have fabricated an internal skeleton from Aluminum, and this is the foundation of the build. I will let the pics help start the story. Please, any feedback is encouraged and appreciated.

Patrick

 

[Richard Baker]

Now that is a wonderful idea on how to keep that much resin aligned!

 

[warfare]

Yes, it's very strong. Doesn't flex at all. Took allot of fiddling to get it to fit right.

The Tubing has a slight bend or arc to it from front to back to work with the shape of the head better and to obtain maximum support. The whole resin body is bolted and hung from the structure. This includes a drilled block of aluminum glued and screwed down with 30min expoxy as an anchor in the engine area.

All the holes drilled in the aluminum frame are for Fiber optic runs. All electronics and LED's will be consolidated in the rear engine area.

 

[Analyzer]

Great way to provide some much needed support!

 

[warfare]

A pic or two of the Engine light boxes. The LED's are mounted in reverse with the light reflecting back from each half moon. Similar to how they use lighting on a production set with a filter to reduce shadow and light hot spots. These LED's are single units with a second LED for the flicker effect. The center engine light/Red will be a Nano light. The goal is to provide enough light for realism but not so harsh that a viewer can't see the honeycomb grills without going blind. They are designed to be a single, sealed unit to eliminate light bleeding but easily removed for repair.

 

[warfare]

Created a stand for the electronics to be put into the rear engine section. Light boxes next.

 

[korben44]

Nice work!

 

[warfare]

Thanks for the positive comments. I appreciate it.

 

[warfare]

More progress. Attached the side detail to the engine module. What a hassle trying to get everything level, given the fact how I have mounted the rear section to the frame. Screwed the pieces on for now. Not quite sure what I am doing with the lights on the side of the engine modules, either Fiber or bulbs. Got a few ideas.

 

[warfare]

And a test of the light box and bridge from shapeways along with a replacement marder.

 

[Analyzer]

Looking good

That sure is way better than the Moebius kit

If only I had room...

 

[warfare]

And a little update. Drilled all the fiber holes for 0.50. Ooops, big mistake. They look too big for scale. Although I will leave the main run of lights on the side hull as 0.50.

Sooooo, I decided to go with 0.25 fiber instead for most of the fiber.. To fix the over-sized holes I simply drilled out small plastic rectangles with the smaller hole size and glued them over the larger drilled ones. 0.25 fiber slides in and gives me lots of room to fit them.

 

[warfare]

Also worked on a solution for the larger lights on the head and engine section. How does one replicate the yellowness of bulbs with fiber and make it look straight and decent?

Well, brass tube and 1.00 fiber. From a distance it looks ok to me. The brightness will be adjustable via dimmer switches, as with all the lights, to maximize the illusion.

 

[warfare]

Engine light test. I am going with a Cool White rather than a true blue. Single LED's with a simple flickering LED added. Should be bright enough without being over powering.

 

[CutThumb]

Great work!!!! There have been some absolutely stunning builds of this kit. One of the regrets I will always have was not getting this when it was available.

 

[moffeaton]

This is fantastic! The insides of my builds are shameful - yours looks so clean and thoughtful!!

 

[gonzman70]

What an outstanding built ! The support structure is a great and clean solution. Cant wait to see more. Could you point me to the source of the marder? Would love to add this to my kit as well...

 

[warfare]

Thanks for the positive comments. I am a bit of a detail freak. I want to know that its as organized inside as out. I want it to last and not sag. The lighting is the real Show Stopper in this build. I will get more into it soon, but the jist is that the lights will be variable and have a few that turn off-on to show some life.

As far as the Marder goes, Shapeways to the rescue!!! It's the Marder 1A1 hull in 1:144 scale. Maybe a bit over-scale but not too far off. You will need to cut it down and modify it slightly, but it looks good to me.

Here is the link to Shapeways:

MG144-G07 Marder 1A1 by AotrsCommander on Shapeways

 

[warfare]

Ok, finished with the light holes. It worked pretty good, over drilling them with the 0.50 and going back with small rectangles/squares drilled for 0.25. Sort of resembles the studio scale original if a person looks for each light. Fairly happy with the results even if there not all the straightest. Once painted you will not really notice them. Adds a little more depth.

 

[warfare]

Started cutting off and replacing detail and piping that were miss-cast in the molds. Also replaced heavy detail for the angle braces on the head top.