BSG MK I Viper Build

whb64

Well-Known Member
This is my first build post on here.
I built all kinds of models when I was a kid, and I did a lot of kit bashing back then too (not well... but it was fun!) I finally got back into modeling after 25 years. I started working on Trek kits, specifically the 537 scale Reliant and a 350 scale Reliant. I love all scifi but grew up with Trek so I have a special fondness for it. Anyway, Trek builds are pretty simple if you do them straight out of the box... but even as a kid I rarely did that! I was putting lights in Cylon Raiders back when we had to use actual light bulbs! One thing I learned real fast about Trek builds is that THEY CAN BE TEDIOUS! Unlike BSG and Star Wars builds, the Trek universe has a much 'cleaner' look. To me what that means is it is LESS FORGIVING! When everything is nice and clean then all details have to be perfect. Whereas with BSG and Star Wars, grime and wear are where it's at! Mistakes can be hidden with grime and weathering, or even used to enhance the worn look. Not so much so with Trek.

Then... I went blind last year. I started losing the vision in my left eye around March, and by the end of April I lost all the vision in that eye- all I could see was white, no shapes or anything. By the end of June I lost 75% of the vision in my right eye so I was legally blind at that point. The doctor said I had the most aggressive case of cataracts he has ever seen, especially for someone my age. Needless to say this put an end to my model building until I had surgery on both eyes.

Anyway... nuff of that...
I'm still working on the Reliant (both the 537 and cutting the 350) but when I started seeing Aztec patterns in my sleep I figured it was time for a mental break!


This one should be a quickie... and fun! At least to me. I've always loved the Viper when I was a kid. I personally like it better than the X-Wing, it just looks like a badass hot rod fighter :)


I picked up a Moebius 1/32 scale kit, much nicer than the 1/72 scale I had when I was a kid. Unlike Trek builds, this should be very quick and easy. Not too many parts and lighting should be a breeze. Six LEDs and something a little different! Later on I will do another one (or two!) with functioning laser cannons and sound, this one will just have cockpit lights, thrusters, and like I teased... a 'little something different'


Everything is primed and light blocked already, so when I get the photo etch, the cockpit will take the longest to do and then I'd say a day to paint and put everything together, a day to weather it and beat it up, and then it should be done!


See if you can guess what that 'something different' is going to be...
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More pictures of the complete build to come... :)
 
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Cockpit cut out and ready for the photo etch...


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Some seat wear
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Displays in place
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The above was just a quick flashlight test of the control panels. The camera made everything brighter than in person, and once inside the fuselage it won't be as bright and the CPs will show up much better.


I did the main cockpit with just gray primer and then a flat clear coat and did some weathering/wear to the seat. That was overkill since the pilot will be sitting on it but I know it was weathered :)


I decided to do the photo etch main panels in stainless steel and the instrument clusters in a satin black. My thoughts were this made the instruments look like 'modular' slide in units for easy swap out for repairs or a pilot could put them in different positions to suit their preferences.

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And here she is fresh from the assembly line showing the titanium allow metal chassis before the plating and paint ( okay okay... primed, light blocked, and a coat of aluminum plate!) Next I will do some stainless steel panels and engine detail, then a coat of white.


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The purpose of the undercoating is so when the top coat is weathered and worn the 'metal' will be exposed in areas. This Viper will definitely have seen some action when done

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Motorized intakes?
Yepper!

Later on when I do another build I plan on using a motorized camera mount hooked up to a flight stick so you can make the model pitch and yaw a little. :)

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Does anyone know why when I add to the thread it doesn't create a new post, it appends to my last post?
 
Here's the start of the layering effect to start building up the plating look and make it look like metal and not a plastic kit. I also started some engine base coats.


It's a subtle difference from the initial base coat. I've always felt the key is layering. Several subtle layers creates a depth and realism you can't get with a single coat of anything. At least in my opinion :)


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This is the initial 'Viper White' and initial weathering. This is just the first stage, it will be getting a couple washes and I haven't done the engines or intakes yet either. After they get sprayed with a white top coat and weathered I will be putting soot and heat discoloring on. Right now it is just press fit together, nothing is glued yet except for the landing gear.


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Engine module painted 'Viper White' and weathered/roughed up to match the rest of the ship


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Next will be detail painting, washes and soot.

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Canopy masked and ready for paint


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Painted, weathered, and set in place. I'm pleased! It's starting to actually look like a Viper! Well at least to me.


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Don't worry about that line down the center in the last picture, I'm not :)
That will be taken care of once it is buttoned up and I putty the seams.


BTW, in case anyone is interested, none of the weathering was done with washes. It was all done with the 'hair spray' and a tooth brush method. It's hard to see it the pictures, but it actually has a layered effect where there is a very slight depth between the top white coat and the exposed plating. Personally in my opinion you can't get this effect by painting the top coat and then brushing on the stainless. To me at least it really looks like weathered damage a vehicle would get. The tooth brush also gave the top coat a worn look and as it started to thin out as I scrubbed it with the tooth brush a very slight silver/gray of the stainless and aluminum started to show through the worn areas.

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I had to order different motors, the first ones were way too fast. While I was waiting for the new motorsI decided to put some flashers in the laser cannons. One option is to use a pin vice and try to drill out the center... not something I wanted to do. The other option- build new laser cannons :)


I went the route of making new cannon barrels. I'll post some more pictures and details tomorrow. For now here is one fitted to the wing and the LED installed. The brass tubing is perfect size for a 3mm LED. The wings are pretty thin at the edges. There is plenty of room for wires in the center, but at the mounting point for the cannons it fits flat. Also where the wing fits to the engines there is no entry point unless you drill a hole. I opted to run copper bus lines instead of wire.


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Here is a closeup of the new cannon compared to the original part. I looked at some pictures from the TV show and there was no flair or nub or whatever you want to call it, so the new cannons actually look closer to the studio than the kit part. I have a couple more details to add to the barrel and paint it, but it's basically done at this point.


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Don't mind my messy work bench!


This is a picture of the LED array I am using (more on them in a bit)
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And here is a video of the array firing up

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Turbine test


This is just a preliminary test. Nothing is soldered at this point and the turbine fans are just press fit on the motors. One of the wires came off the left turbine but I think this still demonstrates the effect I am going for.


Once the wires are soldered and the turbine fans permanently attached to the motors the alignment issues will be resolved and all three will spin. I set it up so the left and right turbines spin opposite of each other... I'll show that in a video when I get everything soldered and the fans epoxied to the motors. The turbines still need to be painted and weathered. This is just the first test run to see if they will work clearance wise and how it will look.


Here's the video.


 

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And then... an enemy attack on the Viper, I I have to rewire the engines now and fix a few things... and find some pieces the floor monster ate!

The 'attack' was one of the kittens my wife adopted. It got on my work bench and knocked a bunch of stuff on the floor and then chewed all the wires off the Arduino board to the thruster lights! Needless to say I was fraken mad!

After dealing with that I ended up deciding to add sounds for the start up, thrusters, cruising speed, and laser cannons. Since I will be adding an Adafruit sound board and an MK103 board it all won't fit in the Viper so I am going to move the electronics to a bigger base. I ordered a couple of the Adafruit boards for the Viper build, the 1/32 Raider, and the blaster build. I will order some more next month for the Galactica build and for my Trek builds.

The 1/32 Cylon Raider is HUGE. With the wings on it is the same size as the saucer for the 350 refit.
 
First off , welcome to the RPF . Secondly , glad that your eyesight is better - must have been terrifying at the time !?

Really like what you’re planning for this build . Thanks for sharing .

Wish I had your knowledge of electronics to attempt something similar for mine . As it is , when I get around to it I’ll be happy to have some LEDs & FO in the cockpit and engines !
Also appreciate your approach to the paint work/ finishing on it - trying for real world appearance . What brand/ type paint is ‘ Viper White ‘ and aluminium you’ve used ?
The LED arrays you’re using for the engines , are they from mini flashlights , and if so could you share the diameter of them ?

Look forward to to seeing how this turns out for you .

:cheersGed
 
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First off , welcome to the RPF . Secondly , glad that your eyesight is better - must have been terrifying at the time !?

Really like what you’re planning for this build . Thanks for sharing .

Wish I had your knowledge of electronics to attempt something similar for mine . As it is , when I get around to it I’ll be happy to have some LEDs & FO in the cockpit and engines !
Also appreciate your approach to the paint work/ finishing on it - trying for real world appearance . What brand/ type paint is ‘ Viper White ‘ and aluminium you’ve used ?
The LED arrays you’re using for the engines , are they from mini flashlights , and if so could you share the diameter of them ?

Look forward to to seeing how this turns out for you .

:cheersGed
Thanks Ged...

Yeah the going blind thing was pretty scary and a horrible experience. It really made me aware of what vision impaired people have to go through.

The LED arrays- you nailed it! They are from a $1 LED flashlight from Walmart,
This is the flashlight to get. They also have a metal one but I haven't taken one of those apart to see what's in it.
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These are the parts when you tear it apart
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Closeup of the LED array, housing and mini switch
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Here is a closeup of the back of the LED array
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The case itself might have some interesting uses, perhaps for a kit base engine?
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All that for a buck!


The flickering blue LEDs I got from HDA are what most people seem to be using. There is nothing wrong with the LEDs, they just aren't really bright enough for an engine effect, at least not for something like a Viper, which to me should envision pure raw power!


The LED array looks like it should be easy to modify and I will probably use some for a TOS Enterprise build... not the 350 scale of course.
 
Thanks for sharing the information regarding the torch / flashlight , it’s much appreciated .
Agree with you regarding the ‘ Oomph ‘ factor for the engines !

Unfortunately we don’t have Walmart’s in Aus , but I recognised the led layout on some torches I’ve seen in discount stores here . That’s why I was wondering what diameter the ones you’re using were , cause they seem the ideal size if available .

I read in on your BSG Cylon thread , that you use Testors metallic paint - I’ll have to look into them , but I’m still hoping you’ll share the ‘ Viper White ‘ you’ve mentioned .

:cheersGed
 
The 'Viper White' wasn't anything special at all, it was whatever white I had at the moment... in this case it was white primer.
After I sprayed the aluminum and stainless steel for the body panels, I sprayed it down with hair spray in different areas and let that dry. Then I sprayed the white paint (primer in this case) and when that dried I took a wet tooth brush to everything to get the worn and exposed metal look.

The LED light array is 1" in diameter. What is nice about it is that it pretty much works like a single LED, I had no trouble connecting the array to an Ardiuno board and it is plenty bright running on just 3VDC. I think it gives a nice thruster/afterburner look.

The engine exhausts are Testors Metalizer Gun Metal, the first coat on the body was Testors Metalizer Aluminum Plate, and then I did accent panels and the canopy with Testors Metalizer Stainless Steel.
 
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