SMT Galactic Shuttle

[spcglider@aol.com]

Hey guys... I'm really excited about this.

Mostly the excitement extends from the fact that I never would have attempted to build this ship from scratch. The project would just be too involved. But like many other projects, I am fully willing to let someone else do the heavy lifting at the outset and do what I truly excell at: finishing.

I've always wanted a replica of the Galactica Shuttle. Its very unassuming, kind of like a flying brick. But it really has some character to it and just appeals to me. And now I can have one... and a BIG one at that. They say it's about 22" long and 10" wide.. That's pretty massive.

Yup...pretty excited here, I can tell you.

If things work out, I should get it in time for my birthday this year... YEEEEHAWWWW...


Hmmm... light the cockpit or NOT light the cockpit.... Don't care about the engines...

-Gordon

 

[Galactifan]

Scale Model Technologies - Galactic Shuttle

[image]http://www.wackychimp.com/uploads/galacticshuttle1.jpg[/image]

1:48 scale resin model kit. Master pattern shown above:Note not all parts are shown. Approx 22" long when completed x 10" wide. Decals are included. Paint and instruction guide included. A great way to surprise the competition this fall. This is studio scale and Rotational cast hollow. Basic Interior is included.
This is now on PRE-ORDER and only 40 will be made available intially. This is to ensure we meet our scheduled release date of June 20th to begin shipping. Each kit will have matching serial numbers on the box artwork and the main body as well.
Pattern maker: Alfred Wong
Produced by : Scale Model Technologies
Decals by : JTGraphics
Regular price $125.00 USD


http://smt.theshoppe.com/galacticshuttle.html

 

[spcglider@aol.com]

I wasn't sure about the rules regarding advertising here in this forum, so I purposely didn't post that image...

But hey. I'm cool about it.

Interestingly enough, it looks like they really intend the "serious" modelers to build up this kit and take it to shows and competitions.

Sorry, i just want one... I don't do competition.

All I'm hoping for now is that they decide to make a LANDRAM kit as well.

-Gordon

 

[spcglider@aol.com]

here's a question that maybe i should look into:

Did they ever show any shots of the "far side" of the shuttle? I know that they did a shot or two of it coming at the camera, but it was always just flipped when they wanted to show it going the opposite direction... as evidenced by the reversed lettering.

-Gordon

 

[Wistanley]

Originally posted by spcglider@aol.com@Mar 25 2005, 09:43 PM
here's a question that maybe i should look into:

Did they ever show any shots of the "far side" of the shuttle?  I know that they did a shot or two of it coming at the camera, but it was always just flipped when they wanted to show it going the opposite direction... as evidenced by the reversed lettering.

-Gordon

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The original restored model, right here:
http://www.edmiarecki.com/Formatting/cu01.html

also here:
http://www.edmiarecki.com/Formatting/re06.html

I orded mine too, and am plenty fired up. It will require some accurizing, it looks like; the panels on Wong's ship beneath the side windows lack the proper shape and the notched look he accurately captured elsewhere. But attending to these and other problems is a lot easier than scratchbuilding a new hull.

 

[spcglider@aol.com]

I finally found the article I was referring to earlier (maybe in another thread). its actually text from the Battlestar Galactica Scrap Book.

it seems the original plans for the Galactica shuttle put it at 110 feet long. But they couldn't build that as a life-sized set for the show, so they decided to half the scale and hope nobody noticed. But even that didn't work out so they eventually just picked a random size (or is it a convenient size?) and built it at 33 feet long.

Crazy, man.

-Gordon

 

[knightdriver2001]

110 feet? WOW,

Would that even fit in the landing bay enterance?
Thats a big b*tch. But a cool looking one at that.

Sounds like they went to about 1:3rd scale.

 

[spcglider@aol.com]

Well, there's been all manner of speculation about the size of a Battlestar... particularly the Galactica. Having been involved with the fandom since the early 1980's, I've heard arguments from every assorted angle.

There are tons of conflicting reference on the subject. If I'm not mistaken, they contradict themselves even within the novelization.

I haven't looked back at the information recently, so I'm a little fuzzy on the stats (and even the ones I subscribe to as "fact"), but it seems to me that i recall the length of the beast to have been claimed at 5000 feet long.

Just for fun, when I worked in downtown Minneapolis, I did a little scale figuring and came to the conclusion that our IDS Center Tower could fit 4.5 times over INSIDE one of the landing bay pods of the Galactica with room to spare. Now that's an unconfirmed volume comparison, mind you, so don't accept it as gospel.

But then you have the generally accepted idea that each colony had its own battlestar and that each one (depending on where you get your reference) is either slightly different or vastly different from the others. So that blows any sort of standards for battlestars out the window.
However, we know that the Battlestar Pegasus, Battlestar Atlantia and the Battlestar Galactica, at least to the exterior, are EXACTLY the same... since the same model was used for filming. But once again, that depends on if you call that "canon" or if you think that the novelization is more "true".

I've had month-long arguments about this... I love being a geek.

But anyway, it would be fun to wrangle up some numbers to see just how big the entrance to the landing bays would be and how horribly off the effects shots were in scale.

-Gordon

 

[spcglider@aol.com]

"110 feet? WOW,

Would that even fit in the landing bay enterance?
Thats a big b*tch. But a cool looking one at that."


I dunno... you gotta figure that a shuttle is specifically designed to carry stuff. And in this instance, it was the only revealed "troop carrier" that the Galactica had at its disposal. It would have been responsible for transporting non-fighter-pilot troops to planetary surfaces along with landrams and "land probes" (which were the motorcycles you saw in Gal 1980 but were originally designed for the first season of Galactica). I guess it makes alot of sense to me for it to be that big.

-Gordon

 

[ViperRecon]

According to this site: http://ravensbranch.allen.com/galacticasize.html the landing bay opening is about 28ft in height, so the shuttle needs to be comfortably smaller than that to fit into the bay... Proportionally, what does that do to the shuttles measurements?

In any case, I agree that the shuttle would naturally be a large craft with capacity for more than a single landram. As an aside, cargo loading from the bow makes the most sense to me (I hate putting cargo and personnel hatches near the engines - the KBoP ramp drives me nuts.) as well. I think that I would scale the shuttle kit based on known measurements for Thiokol Snowcats (used to make the landram), allowing room for at least 2, and ignore any references to the landing bay entrance...

Mark Snyder
Seoul, Korea

 

[knightdriver2001]

Well,

roughly scaling the photos of the model above, if the shuttle is in fact 110 feet
The shuttle looks as though it is about 36 feet tall. Give or take a few feet.

Definitly to big for the bay openings at 28 ft tall. Scenes with the shuttle taking
off or landing was always way of scale when shown. Didn't look much bigger
than some of the viper scenes and the raiders that crashed inot the bays.

The new Battlestar does look to have bigger openings in the bay area, as well
as bigger bays themselves.

All in all, Alfreds model is super impressive and I for one hope to be able to get
one soon. (preorder that is).

 

[spcglider@aol.com]

That's a really impressive site. The logic that is applied can be argued and some of his assumptions are suspect, of course, but he's given the thing ALOT of thought. And that's awfully fun.

But once again, we have to allow for the "fudge factor" of television. And the fact that the shuttle MUST fit into the landing bay was probably only ever discussed when they were forced to do that particular shot. And so somebody said, "Screw it...make it fit."

I was always a little suspect of the Viper shot when it lands in the bay anyway... that's a REALLY TIGHT fit. And obviously the shuttle wouldn't fit at that scale. But they were playing fast and loose with scale all over the place (as evidenced by the images on that very website), so it's still pretty much a matter of speculation all around.

I guess, technically the only real measurement we know is the length of the Viper since it is listed on the blueprints. (Interestingly enough, that's the SAME length as an X-Wing fighter.. check it out.) But even those measurements don't bear out, since the "full scale" viper built for the stage set wasn't built in scale either. I'll have to look for the information, but if I am unmistaken, they reduced the "full scale" Viper to 18 feet long so it would fit in the stage and make it easier to transport to locations. Of course, that would just make the opening even smaller in comparison, but if you assumed that the shuttle actually was 33 feet long, like the set-piece, it STILL wouldn't fit into the newly re-scaled landing bay opening...

And once again, we are reduced to the idea that the "true" measurements are really only an interpretation of existing fact... and those facts sometimes don't agree.

But it's alot of fun to think about and muse on and argue over and research... which is part of why we are all involved with the hobby, right?

-Gordon

 

[spcglider@aol.com]

Oh yeah...and this kit looks like a blast....

I am SO excited.

-Gordon

 

[spcglider@aol.com]

Oh, and something else:

In the original novelization, they make the statement that the rag-tag fleet wasn't just 220 ships, but 220 THOUSAND ships. Which, when your'e talking about the survivors of a 12 planet holocaust, kinda makes a little more sense (at least to me anyway).

-Gordon

 

[spcglider@aol.com]

Okay, yeah, I can really go on about something when I get started..

Just a quick note about shuttle scale versus scale of the Galactica: I watched "The Living Legend" last night on DVD and noticed that they launched THREE shuttles simultaneously from the landing bay.

So, one can make the assumtion that the shuttles are MUCH smaller than 110 feet long (38 feet tall) OR that the Galactica is actually MUCH larger than previously assumed.

How those shots of the Viper fit into the equation I couldn't hazard a guess...

-Gordon

 

[roguemodeler]

Absolutely amazing. A 22" studio scale at that price. With that much detail. Beautiful. Thanks, Colin.

 

[SinkTube Jedi]

FYI, as far as dealing with SMT (Colin) they suck at delivery, been waiting around since early Febuary for a damn set of Galactica detail panels and all Colin has been telling me since 9 Feb is "will ship next week"

Hell the last email received yesterday

QUOTE 17 April 05

"You shall have that in about a week. We are behind on those but have begun running them this week, so its just to pour and then ship next week.

Sincerely, Colin Omilusik
Scale Model Technologies"

Here is his reply from 9 Feb 05

"Hey Brian. That will be shipping out in about a week actually.

Sincerely, Colin Omilusik
Scale Model Technologies "


So as far as ordering through SMT directly, I would wait until someone else has it Like Cultman or Federation Models.

Originally posted by roguemodeler@Apr 14 2005, 02:21 PM
Absolutely amazing. A 22" studio scale at that price. With that much detail. Beautiful. Thanks, Colin.

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[spcglider@aol.com]

Thanks for the "heads up", but I'm committed.

I will trust to the fates that Colin et al will provide on schedule.

-Gordon

 

[Lanboy]

I ordered mine a few weeks ago. If the actual kit is as clean as the pictures I'll be in heaven.

Hopefully Colin comes through. Now that you mention it, the web page indicated that I would receive an email when my money order had reached him. XpressPost confirms that he has had the money order for some time, but no emai.

 

[Tordoc]

Originally posted by Lanboy@Apr 21 2005, 08:45 PM

Hopefully Colin comes through.

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I have ordered from SMT and Colin before. I received everything within a reasonable time and got replacement parts quickly. He always returned my emails and I am now waiting for my Viper and Shuttle to be delivered.

Ken