Venator Star Destroyer, 8 years in the making!

Darph Bobo

Sr Member
This one's for you Computergeek, hopefully you can draw some inspiration (which is fancy talk for "steal ideas'!):lol

So, I bought the kit around 2009 after "drawing inspiration" from this modeler in Japan
https://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/yatasith/folder/1144469.html?m=lc&p=30
(I drew a metric s*&%t-ton of inspiration from this guy!)

first and foremost I started snipping chips of .010 styrene strip to break up the smooth surface of the Venator's hull
venator 7.jpeg

...so many chips!
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I carved out the windows in preparation for the triangular "window frames"- I was able to find the same etched part (1/12 sale radiator) that the chap online used, but didn't install them as this is right around the time I ran out of steam and shelved the project. I did pick it up again a couple years later, but the most I did was add some details to the engines,
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After which it got shelved for a couple more years.

Finally in early 2017 I decided to finish the kit so I could enter it in my first "large" IPMS show in Renton, WA!

I finally installed the "radiator" frames into the windows,
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and though I had seen the drop in exhaust parts on Shapeways, I opted to make my own set,
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I left the sidewalls relatively untouched, but I did make modifications to the nose cap,
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unfortunately all the exciting looking antenna probes broke off!
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Next I focussed my attention to the side hangar bay. Like a lot of people who build this kit, I wanted to open up one of the bays to show off the interior.
after carving open the door, I mocked up a simple box and added bits of strip styrene for rib details. U used a bit of left over radiator grill to make a office widow at the far end of the hangar. (I'm not sure why these are displaying sideways)
View attachment 779131 View attachment 779132

I ended up cutting out a slot in the roof piece to allow light to feed through, with a random piece of photoetch to look like a grating over the lights
View attachment 779137

A shot of the completed hangar, complete with assault craft (by Odyssey Slipways)
IMG_1551.JPG

for the bottom hangar bay I opted to not use the kit part and just add details to the inside of the well. I cut slats out along to top edges to the hangar to allow light to spill into the hangar and built a light box to concentrate the light out the openings.
View attachment 779135 View attachment 779133 View attachment 779134 View attachment 779136

Now for the lights!

I knew I wanted something more dynamic than simple lights for the engines, so after hunting around the internet I found a fairly simple Arduino sketch that would allow me to flicker the engine lights, which I then uploaded into a nice arduino micro clone,

Things were starting to get crowded in the hull, I ended up cutting a hole into the tail of the ship so I'd have a place to put the Arduino,

View attachment 779138 View attachment 779139
You can see a bit of the fibre optics I used in the ship, I used a mix of .25 and .50 F.O; about 150ft. worth, and I still ran out! I'll have to make sure to buy more than I think I need for my ISD!
 
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Pretty cool looking. I sure know about taking years to finish something. Spent like 18 years making a star destroyer. I would, "finish" it, to only go back and add more. I think I'm finally at a place where its truly done.
 
Wow!!! ... seems an understatement . Thanks for sharing your incredible build . Bloody fantastic ! :p
I was Just planning to attempt lighting with leds and FO ( when eventually starting on mine ) but now !? ...... hmm , probably beyond me , but I wouldn’t mind trying .... maybe :facepalm

Some questions if I may - the etched 1/12 scale radiator part used for the window replacements , could you please point me in right direction for the ( where/how ) obtaining of these , if they’re still available that is ? , - where / what did you use ; books , photos , diagrams etc ... for reference material when adding ALL those intricate details , and are they studio / screen accurate or ( better still ) just ‘ feels right ‘ additions !? , again please point !

And lastly ( for this post anyway ) , how’d you end up going in that Modelling Show ?

(y)cheersGed
 
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Before I continue with painting,

I didn't really use any references beyond the what is seen on the Yahoo group page I posted earlier. So it's nowhere screen accurate, just my aping what Dorobu did first and then what I thought felt right. Even then mine is a pale imitation to the original! Overall I'm happy with it and in the end, isn't it that what counts?

So now I'm at the point where I need to decide how I want to paint it. Straight Imperial didn't feel right, and I definitely wanted my ship to stand out. Remembering back to prior to The Attack of the Clones coming out, everyone was talking about Samuel L. Jackson getting the Role of Mace Windu and how this jedi had a purple light saber. I decided that I would paint mine up to represent MAce Windu's command ship, complete with purple stripes! I didn't think anyone at the Republic Fleet paint shop would deny Mace Windu (Or Sam Jackson for that matter!)

After a primer coat of flat black (Gunze spray can, great stuff!) I mottled on my light grey base colour
F14739C0-AF94-4E17-8A66-1C203C166054.jpeg
(sadly this nice mottling of the surface is lost with subsequent paint and weathering)

Something I picked up from Clone Wars, command ships had their bridges painted red. I decided that this would have been one concession Mace Windu would have agreed to, so on with Tamiya flat red,

BB10E73B-D565-4AF7-97F5-1E6F19D0F8AE.jpeg
-I painted over the bridge windows and then filled them in with Micro Crystal Clear which helped spread and diffuse the light,

IMG_0080.JPG

Next up, the purple paint,

IMG_0001.JPG

Fun Fact about the Revell kit; it doesn't include a base! I was originally going to go with a classic brass post that would plug into the bottom, even had the hole drilled out. then one evening I happened to have the display base for my 1:500 Space Battleship Yamato on hand and randomly plopped the Venator on top.

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Perfection! I'd need to plug the hole I made, and figure out how I was going to get power into the ship. For power I used some brass contact pins on the base and the corresponding sockets in the ship. I have a mate who owns a laser engraver, he was kind enough to make some blocks for the inside of the hull to keep the sockets steady,

IMG_0076 2.JPGIMG_0085.JPG

You can see the clear blocks on either side of the trench in the second pic.

After that I just needed to make a box to sit the base on and to hold a battery. A made a simple box out of styrene and put a lip around it to keep the base (effectively now the lid) in place. The styrene sheet warped a put as the glue cured, which gave an side benefit of creating a friction fit for the lid!
 
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Thanks for the info regarding the radiator screen . Unfortunately HLJ has ‘ discontinued ‘ it , but after searching under Acu Stion , was able to find a supplier in Japan - though it’s not exactly cheap ( with postage ) . Will have to seriously consider using this , if I’m going to seek to add after market 3D pieces as well :facepalm

Your paint scheme sounds interesting , but ( not sure if it’s just me ) the ‘ attachments ‘ aren’t accessible / working .

:cheers Ged
 
HOME STRETCH!

At this stage I decided to see how it all looked together,


Not too shabby, all that was needed now were some decals and a plaque

Wanting to carry on with the Mace Windu theme (and the fact that I lost the kit decals years ago) I printed off Jedi Order roundels for the hull. A recent trend for Samuel L. Jackson has been to leave easter eggs of his past roles in his movies, as seen on Nick Fury's tombstone at the end of The Winter Soldier,
RTTV1W1.jpg

The quote referring to of course to the biblical passage Jules would recite in Pulp fiction. With this in mind, I decided to include "Ezekiel 25,17" in Aurebesh as a nod to Pulp Fiction, and the (unofficial) name of the ship is the Fury
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For the plaque, I had my mate with the laser burn off a fairly basic plaque in a format reminiscent of a Master Replicas tally plate,
E71E086E-DB89-47C4-B580-C162E1863329.jpeg

Unfortunately the plaque wasn't ready for the show in Renton, so I entered it at about 98% complete,

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How did it do? Not well.

Didn't win anything.

Bugger all.

Not a sausage.

I did enter it in my local IPMS show this past fall and it did quite a bit better,
800204A6-B5A3-416C-8BC7-2F4A9724B150.jpeg

weird how wildly different my fortunes were!

That's all for now, Next up will have to be Revell (Small) Star Destroyer!
 
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Thanks for the info regarding the radiator screen . Unfortunately HLJ has ‘ discontinued ‘ it , but after searching under Acu Stion , was able to find a supplier in Japan - though it’s not exactly cheap ( with postage ) . Will have to seriously consider using this , if I’m going to seek to add after market 3D pieces as well :facepalm

Your paint scheme sounds interesting , but ( not sure if it’s just me ) the ‘ attachments ‘ aren’t accessible / working .

:cheers Ged

Yeah, it was a bit on the pricey side when I bought it way back when, not to mention frustrating to find as I didn't have the brand name to help! I stumbled upon that nugget of info much later in my search!

It looks like the attachments are showing as proper pictures now, I noticed that the page did that earlier too.
 
That colour / shade of purple looks kinda cool and the pulsing light of the engines are pretty effective too . Love the mini ships in the opened hanger bay - how much did you wind up straining your eyes painting them !? . Shame about the earlier modelling show results ( the ignorant fools ! ) LOL !!! .
Sorry mate ( maybe it’s my using an iPad ) , but the attachments still aren’t transferring into pics ?
Thanks for sharing look forward to your next build .

Ged:thumbsup
 
Thanks for fixing the attachment problem . I see now why you didn’t fare so well in the 1st competition - No Jedi Order markings on the hull ! :lol
But seriously , the ‘ Fury ‘ is a beautiful ship . Congrats again .

Ged :cheers
 
Wow, this is amazing! Thanks so much for posting. I'm gonna have to give the styrene greeblies a shot, they give everything a nice, detailed look!
 
Wow, this is amazing! Thanks so much for posting. I'm gonna have to give the styrene greeblies a shot, they give everything a nice, detailed look!

I also used 1/700 model ship parts, lots and lots of model ship parts! I think there is more model ship plastic than starship plastic in the bridges! WWII kits are the best, there are lots of small guns and torpedo tubes that can be used for piping , etc.

Off the top of my head,

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I also used 1/700 model ship parts, lots and lots of model ship parts! I think there is more model ship plastic than starship plastic in the bridges! WWII kits are the best, there are lots of small guns and torpedo tubes that can be used for piping , etc.

How did you place all of the .010 styrene chips? Tweezers? My fat fingers are definitely too big to do that without tools :lol
 
Fabulous job! I love the attention to detail. It's boggling to see so many styrene chips added. I also really admire the planning that must've gone into it for it to all work out with the lighting etc. It looks like a perfect execution from start to finish. No wonder it took 8 years!

Can you take us through your Fibre Optic procedure? I've never used them and want to start. What type of glue did you use, what was the sequence of final gluing vs. painting etc.
 
All the added detail goes a long way to making it look more in scale for it's size than it's out of the box counterpart

Excellent job all around.

I'll be adding this to my "inspiration" list along with madhatter's and nicholasssagans as well as a few others
 
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