MPC Cygnus

mrchester · Mar 4, 2015

Nice outfit GF...watch out for Doc Oct. My wife was born around Quebec City and put up for adoption. She grew up in Muncie and moved to Florida in the 80's. She eventually found here biological mother and met her in Montreal in the late 90's. I was there, too. Loved Montreal. Now, back to topic. This particular model is the version that MPC sold in 1980...which is a bad model but sells for over $100 on Ebay. as for the parts ...good question. I'm doing it the hard way. In related news, there is a thread titled '1/700 and 1/350 scale Cygnus builds'. The subjects are two versions that are being worked through Shapeways 3d printers. Check it out.

mrchester · Mar 9, 2015

And good day, folks. Progress continues slowly, however, things are becoming clearer as it goes on. I've gotten the missing lattices on the ends of the bottom boxes. These things are fragile but the bottom sections have a pair of "pipes" running the full length of the casting. I sanded these down and CA'ed on more ridged replacements using stainless welding wire. This definitely helped with the issue of constantly fracturing the little lattices between the boxes. I've also added some pictures of the hole that I cut in the bottom of the light box and central lattice for the light to shine in the lower antenna box.

rbeach84 · Mar 10, 2015

Very cool work, Mr.! I find it fascinating when someone with actual 'real world' fabrication experience takes on a modeling project; your skill set as a machinist makes your modeling paradigm distinctly different than someone who 'grew up' on plastic model kits (such as myself...) Thanks for sharing your project.
Regards, Robert

mrchester · Mar 10, 2015

Thank you very much rbeach84 (Robert). If you like this then check out my other (partially completed) model threads. The Lexington (1/350 scale EDF warships, Space Battleship Yamato) build was another challenge that the machine shop really helped with. As for this project, lets review... MPC's Cygnus is a hateful model (thanks Jeremy Clarkson) cast in a hard rubbery-like silver plastic. To make it look good you have to have some pretty good brush skills (which I do not). However, the surface details are pretty good for this scale (which works out to 1/980 scale) and whammo, this study in insanity.
Now, onto other things... I've started working on the center section side lattices. These are different since they are not flat, but have a slight angle to them. Back grinding the lattices is rather easy but the random hatches are a little more difficult. There's a picture of the first test grind.
The side drums are coming along and I am slowly acquiring parts for the 1/700 scale Cygnus being worked up by PrimitiveDave. These also act as comparative aids for making up details that the original kit doesn't provide, such as the Docking elevator.

mrchester · Mar 15, 2015

Well, its been a somewhat productive week. I got a bunch side panels cleaned and I've reached out to some local 3D printer services to take care of a couple of details on this project. I need to make up some panels that are not on the kit (for copying) and I'm a little tired of working with molds. Local guy looks promising

.
I am finally getting to start assembling lattice parts. One set of side panels got attached to one of the bottom frames (see first two pictures). Since this is going to be a paint then assemble model, I'm looking to create two final frame assemblies The next two pictures are test fits to show what one frame assembly looks like.

mrchester · Mar 18, 2015

Time to pay off some things I've mentioned earlier . I had to make some new molds for the side lattices, and I tried out Micro-mark's Composi-mold material. The advantage is that molds can be made fast. Just heat the stuff in the microwave and pour it into your model box. The problem is that for models that have geometric details, air bubbles have a tendency to form in the corners of the detail. With slow cure RTV. the bubbles can be moved (or removed by several tricks... high pour with a real thin stream or blowing on the first thin) part of the pour with a straw. Composi-mold has a strange consistency that made it difficult for the thin pour and the straw method was moderately better in that the bubbles would move but refused to break. It doesn't help that when it gets hot, bubbles form in the material. This means that I am going back to what works...2 part RTV. Things are on hold for a little bit until that shows up at the shop. Now, I'm not saying that Composi-mold is a bad product, but its not right for this project. To be fair the first set of RTV molds I made for this project (which I used some old RTV) had the same air bubbles in the corners.
No pictures this time...much not get frustrated. :angry Will try to get some action pics of the fine art of back sanding resin copies.:cool

mrchester · Mar 20, 2015

I fished out some original mold pieces (slated for mincing to add to new molds) to try to show the small air bubbles that I was able to deal with easily on the first sets of frames(a long time ago). Once the frame was sanded to the point where the lattice remained, the air bubbles that were cast in were simply popped out with a hobby knife. The last two pictures show the resulting casts using the Composi-mold stuff. Much larger air bubbles that can't be removed and ( if you look toward my hand) not the best detail transfer. I had found (then forgotten) the marine epoxy sets up better(harder) by volume.

mrchester · Mar 23, 2015

Time for a quick rant. There are some parts of this ship that I'll have to create from thin air, Transport tube supports, Docking Elevator, Antenna Box cages. On that third one, I was able to work up a scale flattened drawing that (after some tweaking) when cut out came make a proper scaled box cage. I've reached out to several sources (stencil makers, laser etchers, 3d printers) and only got a response from local 3D printers. However, what I want was too small for their work. Below is a scan of the offending drawing. Now, back to your normal thread.

Nocoolname · Apr 6, 2015

You could get those etched but it may be pricey. It's not the cost of the brass per se but the filmwork, setup and printing that do it. My set cost almost £215 in 10 thou brass, but only a third of that was the brass itself.

mrchester said:
Time for a quick rant. There are some parts of this ship that I'll have to create from thin air, Transport tube supports, Docking Elevator, Antenna Box cages. On that third one, I was able to work up a scale flattened drawing that (after some tweaking) when cut out came make a proper scaled box cage. I've reached out to several sources (stencil makers, laser etchers, 3d printers) and only got a response from local 3D printers. However, what I want was too small for their work. Below is a scan of the offending drawing. Now, back to your normal thread.
View attachment 454947

mrchester · Apr 8, 2015

Thanks for the info NoCoolName, but over the next few posting I'll show that I've gotten past the pesky antenna boxes. But first, I've had to undo the side pieces that I put on because the had a curve in them :facepalm. Having screwed up and not noticing this, I've had to remake the side panel molds. This time I took the side panels from my donor kit and modified them into my desired pattern ( before, I cast and ground single sections, then stuck several sections together, then molded it...not noticing the flat curve).

I used aluminum channel as a molding box for both the long and short panels. And now a word from our sponsor...

My mold stuff and pressure vessel at work (day job).

mrchester · Apr 8, 2015

Before I took the long sabbatical, I had worked up, from scratch, the top and side panels for the antenna boxes. Over the past few weeks, I have worked them into enough molds to make a couple of mass castings. Having some dry days at my disposal (Florida is notoriously humid) :devil I decided to try Micro- Mark's fast casting resin.

I have learned that laying a piece of wax paper over resin poured in an open mold reduces the amount of excess that needs to be sanded from the back of the parts. The white resin is a bit easier to work than the ridged marine epoxy. Also, a couple of pics of my first testbed with a PrimitiveDave 1/700 scale antenna box (and antenna...next on my list).

mrchester · Apr 8, 2015

As I am posting this, I am working the little supports that will hold the travel tubes. I was dreading this, but I was able to make the first proto-type from a section of the panel that I make up for the very front of the ship (for the sides) and a section from one of the forward engine 'horns' (outer panel). I topped it off with thin sheet plastic and the very tip of the mount from the MPC kit (see the third picture).

mrchester · Apr 9, 2015

Well the first run of Travel Tube Supports went well. I seemed to have found the solution to another problem that I have experienced with Micro-Mark's casting resin...fierce bubble issues. Enter my trusty pressure vessel (paint pot). With the one tiny mold, I would mix a small amount of resin, load the mold , and then cure under 35 LBS of pressure. The five samples that I got had none of the pesky bubbles. I'll clean these up and then use them to make a multi mold ( I need sixteen of these and my little mold is breaking down). These little guys are a little chunky for the scale, but they are better than what is cast in the kit.:cool

I've also gone back to my Antenna Box test-bed and have decided to go ahead and dress it up ( and cure some breakage issues that occurred when I CAed it to my finger and had to cut free :eek), Since it is from.010" to .020" thick, I've decided to thicken it up some by applying multiple coats of primer and then do some creative sanding. I am going to see if I can creatively mold this box and then cast the five boxes that are required. Also shown in the pictures below is a small aluminum disk (stepped turning),. This is the beginning of one of the antenna cones that I'm trying to make ( one of the kit's antenna is also shown...abomination!). Also seen one of PrimitiveDave's 1/700 scale antenna assembly.

mrchester · May 4, 2015

Greeting minions... I've spent the past three weeks (of my spare time) reworking the antenna box prototype and making up multi-molds for the travel tube supports. I've gotten the 16 supports (plus many more) that I need to make the long model work. I had to fish out my un-touched model for reference.

mrchester · May 4, 2015

On the antenna box front...I ended up destroying the first one in the first attempt to mold it up (must learn to read the bottle of rubber to rubber release agent). I was not happy with the open mold panels that I had made up. Using my master panel, I went ahead and made up a two part mold. After some time I had the four panels I needed for a new box. I've also been working on the double cone details for the top of the boxes. Using PrimitiveDave's antenna box as a guide, I made up aluminum masters of the cones ( and rings on top). After that, the legs were attached to the cones and its molding time. The white cones in the first and second pictures are the test proofs before I made up the second parts of the molds. The third picture shows the final product compared to the bigger sample. Fourth picture shows the separate parts (box is receiving body work). The final three shows how it looks on the original model... works for me. I'll get to the actual antennas later.

publiusr · May 23, 2015

When watching the movie, I had the impression that the habitation areas--and the lighting, weren't from immediately behind the girders as you have them..

mrchester · Jun 3, 2015

Thanks for that observation, publiusr . The idea for this was to get good contrast between the lattices and the panels behind (that were originally cast as one piece). And since I was not going to painstakingly hand paint this model (like what James Small did). separating the lattices from the backing was my approach. Like Sisyphus and his rock, I have seemed to take an extremely long and complicated path to get the solution that I desire. As for the movie model, I've had to stop using that for this. In other words, this model came with certain parameters (such as the size and pitch and the cast lattices) which I using as the standard for this build. And though a long model, it is not big enough to pull off what the Disney model builders had made for the screen.
Pictures soon of the somewhat successful casting of the antenna boxes and the decision that I have made about the problem of using dis-similar materials in the long center section parts.
One final note. We had a shop cat that was affectionately known as Sharkey (he was named that because his head was always ****** to the left and when he went of to tend to his other business, his ear stuck up in the air like a shark's fin). He was not the most friendly of sorts...but we liked having him around. He passed away on Monday and Me and The wife miss him.

GF · Jun 4, 2015

sorry for your lost, my 19 year old cat passed last Oct and still miss him so much, I had many cats but that one was very special to me, I found him on the street and the first two years he only stayed at my shop then brought him home.

Gerardo

mrchester · Jun 13, 2015

Thanks Gerardo, here's the only picture of Sharkey that we have (he would meow but it always ended with "hiss", tough little guy).

Oh, and here's a picture of the two flight models of a rocket I used to sell (Fat Cat Rockets F-104) back in my rocketeer days. I've been trying to put it on a friend thread on another site... with no luck.

Now, back to Cygnus.

mrchester · Jun 13, 2015

After several months of on and off work, I have finally gotten the antenna boxes and there dual antenna bases made up. I was able to cast up complete boxes but due to the intricate details, the models began to break down. Using white casting resin makes it easy to cut out any panel holes that had "filled in" with a sharp hobby knife. The dual antenna mounts will need some knife work for the finished model. A ring turned from PVC acts as the mount for the internal ring, and the outer ring is centered over it.

Above are the five candidates for my model (PrimitiveDave's 1/700 scale box is used for comparison) I currently have one finished...the actual antennas will be done last.

MPC Cygnus

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Sr Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

New Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Sr Member

Well-Known Member

Sr Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Similar threads