Skagra's Ship from DR WHO Season 17

Nick K · Dec 23, 2017

Hi all. Third attempt to start this thread as I got bombed out yet again. I was going to start this after the New Year, but was told by another member, that I had to do it NOW!:lol

This is a build that I did for this years Secret Santa Gift Exchange and my recipient listed quite a few likes, and it was "Ok, where do I start?". Well, after narrowing it down, I went with option 2 as I felt that making and shipping a fire extinguisher through the Mail at this time of year, might not be a good idea:lol.
So, the next step was to decide on a gift that he might not have and one that I would enjoy doing. I went through my Reference Library and found the perfect book.

I then thumbed through the pages and found this subject. I looked at it and decided that it had nice lines and wouldn't take long to build, as I pretty much had a week to get it done and off to the Post Office.

I then went on-line and found some really good pictures of the 'Mid Scale Version" which was about 91/2" in length or 245mm to me. Using these images, I made a start by working out what size tubing would be needed and whether to go with Plastic or Aluminium. I was talking to Blaxmyth and he said that he had some Aluminium tube in his garage and to come round and have a look. So, loaded with my reference material, I headed round there and I started by cutting up the pieces on his bandsaw once I worked out the length of each piece.

NormanF · Dec 23, 2017

I got a copy of that book as part of the Secret Santa two years ago.

Sent from my Hewlett Packard 48G using Tapatalk

Blaxmyth · Dec 23, 2017

C'mon! Get cracking! Want more!

Nick K · Dec 23, 2017

Once the tubes were cut to length I then cut them in half with the band saw. When this was done I took them home and started cleaning up the rough edges with a file and sandpaper.

- - - Updated - - -

NormanF said:
I got a copy of that book as part of the Secret Santa two years ago.

Sent from my Hewlett Packard 48G using Tapatalk

Yes NormanF it is a great book with plenty of ideas.

Nick K · Dec 24, 2017

The next step was to glue the engine tubes together, so looking at the pictures I had, I worked out the gap between each and cut up some plastic strips and glued accordingly using Gorilla Polyurathane Glue.

Nick K · Dec 25, 2017

I then made up the engines by getting smaller aluminium tubing and wrapping masking tape around one end until it was a snug fit in the main tubes and painting these black.

Michael Bergeron · Dec 25, 2017

This thing is all METAL??? Holy crap, you did a great job. It's so smooth on the edges I thought it was plastic tubing!

Can I mention for the record that in addition to this awesome model and stand he sent me his reference material and some build plans as well? Great gift for a fellow prop junkie!

Looking forward to seeing more!

Nick K · Dec 26, 2017

Thanks for that Michael. Next step was adding all the 'bits' to these tubes. The top piece was fixed in place on a piece of thick piece of black styrene strip shaped at the front and back. Again using the Polyurethane glue and looking at my reference photos, I added more bits, making sure that they were more or less in the right position. I then cut up some thin styrene strips and glued these to the sides to hide the gaps.

Nick K · Dec 27, 2017

I then glued the engine 'shields, deflectors' on and the fins as well. I used superglue for the fins and polyurethane for the rest.

Nick K · Dec 27, 2017

Next came the rear bottom part the is basically two pieces of 9.5mm thick balsa sheet laminated together and then covered with sheet styrene. Once this was done and it was glued the the engine pack with Polyurethane Adhesive, I checked it over and compared it to the reference pics I had. I noticed that the fins were actually on an angle so I broke the glue bond and reattached them at an angle similar to that in the pics.( This you will see in the final pics)

Nick K · Dec 28, 2017

Next step was to blow some black primer on it. Once this was done, I glued the engines in with PVA glue, using the pictures to work out how far in to push them. I then primed some styrene strips so that when I cut them to size and glued them on, the inside would already by primed, as I wouldn't be able to do it latter.( the glossy patch in the pic is superglue over run, which I removed by dabbing a piece of cloth onto it.)

Nick K · Dec 29, 2017

Well, that's the easy part built. Now onto the not-so-easy part.:lol The first thing I did was work out how long the two side pieces were going to be, bearing in mind that I would need to insert some of it into the front of the Engine Tubes. I made the roof section out of 9.5mm balsa and shaped this. I then put it into the top tube and marked where it would protrude from. I then got a ruler and measured where the side pieces would finish. This gave me the overall length of these pieces. I then set about making a Master to get the correct shape and size. This was done by gluing 2 pieces of 9.5mm x 18mm together with superglue and the sanding, sanding and more sanding, all the while making sure that I was getting close to the correct shape. With balsa you have to be so careful about how much pressure is applied, otherwise you will take too much off and have to start over again. Once I was happy with the end result, I coated the whole thing in superglue and the sanded with wet'n'dry and applied a coat of black primer. At this stage I could see that the whole thing was starting to come together nicely and it all stated to take shape.

Nick K · Dec 31, 2017

After watching the teaser video on YouTube for the never before seen but up coming release of the episode 'SHADA' ,I then filed in the panels on the sides of the engines as these were now Landing Leg Bays. And I also altered the front fin panels by cutting them down in height so they looked more like those in the pictures, now that I had the front rails turned up in pine.I also redid the points on the side rails as they were not quite the same. I cut back so far and drilled a hole and then glued a meat skewer into them. When they were dry, I cut to the same length and applied some Builders Fill and sanded smooth. They look much better now.

Nick K · Jan 4, 2018

Next step was to position the side rails in the engine tubes and shape some balsa to go in between and then glue this in place. Once this was done, I placed the roof in the top tube and cut and glued to a piece of balsa so that I could get the correct height and forward position. (please refer to the register marks in 2nd and 3rd pics). I then drew where the cockpit canopy would go and made this from a small block of balsa and covering it with Tamiya Putty. Then I glued some balsa strips on the side to make a good gluing base for the plastic strips that would make the finished sides of the ship.

Blaxmyth · Jan 4, 2018

Crikey! How many hours do you have invested in this?

Nick K · Jan 4, 2018

I honestly don't know. But I built it in 7 days.:lol First 'Fast Build' for me.

Nick K · Jan 9, 2018

Next came a difficult part, and that was making the nose cowl? at the front between the side pieces. It took me 5 goes to get the shape right, but keep at it I did, and finally got it right. Then I glued the two Aluminium side deflectors on and construction was almost done.

Blaxmyth · Jan 9, 2018

Beautiful work there, mate!

Nick K · Jan 14, 2018

Next stage was the painting. I applied Maskol to the areas that were to be black and then sprayed a couple of coats of Rust Oleum Gloss Marigold on. This brand of paint is wonderful and dries very quickly.( Hope you don't mind the plug

)

Nick K · Jan 27, 2018

Next step was to mist some brown around the edges to simulate weathering dirt and define all the lines. Once this was done I painted on some white lines in the appropriate areas as I saw them on my reference pics. The white marks look to be 'Filming Register Marks' I think. The black ones are scracthes from years of handling and knocks.

Skagra's Ship from DR WHO Season 17

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