Anyone Up for a Star trek Group build?

Sounds pretty good to me!  I was just starting to gather & cobble some parts together for a scratch/bash of an Intrepid-sized starship in 1/1000 scale.  I'm calling it the USS Taegu.  Count me in!

Boba Fett wrote:

Well, I would like to join, but the end-date of June is a little quick. I'm in HS so getting my work done is taking away a lot of modeling time. If you bumped it back to end of or mid July, I would be in! Will you allow a kitbashed hull on something? Also, would you accept it if plastic was a lesser factor in the build. I was thinking of a Borg cube using one of those foam cubes for school projects and then adding a bunch of stuff on there.

The end date is always negotiable to me.  These things never finish on time.  The main thing is to see what others are doing and how they do it.  It gives everyone ideas or help with their projects.  I work and go to school at night so i understand your problem.  Start when you can and finish when you can.

My design is taken from Masao's website Star Fleet Museum with some creative liscence as long he does not object.  I will be a class he has not used or a configuration he has not used.  It does have a saucer section but how the body and ncalles will look i have not gotten that far.  I have not even given it a class yet.  The name will be something along my family name like USS LINDSAY or USS CAMPBELL.  Something along the Scottish clans.

I stumbled across the drawings I had started for the secondary hull for the USS Kodiak NCC 6000 class battleship, in Erik Kristiansen's "Jakill's Star Fleet Reference Manual" Ships of the Fleet Volume II. The hull will be 14-1/2" long 5" wide, and very close to 2-1/2" high. I'm doing drawings for this one because it will be a scale model from an illustration in the manual, and will have to be scratch built. I also need to scale up the warp nacelles, as they are significantly different from any I've seen before, and there are two "navigation deflectors" one on each end of the hull. If I can get those drawings done, soon enough, I could join this group build.  I won't know for sure until the drawings are done, and would most likely be a "late entry". The Primary hull is essentially a Miranda class heavy frigate, of which USS Reliant is one, so I can use that kit.

Ooo!  Yes, we need a badge!  Maybe I can whip something up.  What size would it need to be? 

sumpter250 wrote:

I stumbled across the drawings I had started for the secondary hull for the USS Kodiak NCC 6000 class battleship, in Erik Kristiansen's "Jakill's Star Fleet Reference Manual" Ships of the Fleet Volume II.

Sooo... kinda like this one?

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff5/Prince_of_Styrene_II/USS%20Phoenix/mainbeautyaft.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff5/Prince_of_Styrene_II/USS%20Phoenix/undersaucer.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff5/Prince_of_Styrene_II/USS%20Phoenix/side_sm.jpg

Sorry.

Sooo... kinda like this one?

Yeah, kinda like that one! 

Sorry.

Don't be, It's still a project I want to do, and besides, now I have a color reference! I was beginning to think no one had done a model of this class. Very nicely done!!! Was the secondary hull a scratch build? If so, I'd be interested in your method. I intend to do a "plate-on-frame" in styrene, which is why I need to work up the drawings.

sumpter250 wrote:

I had to get up, and go to your album and study what you did. The side photo, and the Jakill's drawing didn't match. I finally found what was up, you used a standard secondary hull, cut up, widened, and lengthened. Which is why there is a bulge in the forward end, it came from the kit part. Still, a very nice piece of work. I used two standard hulls for the secondary hull of USS Firestone NCC 8600. That was a fun bit of kitbashing! After I get the camera batteries charged, I'll have to take some decent pics of Firestone.  One more question. USS Phoenix? I can't find a Battleship with that name, and the best I can see is you used the number 8710? I'm confused. I still like the warp nacelles, those are excellent!

Sorry for the late reply.  Wife was hogging the computer Sunday & yesterday I did 9 hours at work starting at 3am!!  Not the usual shift.  Add the 7 year old & I'm was too pooped to type.  

Here's the link for anyone else interested:

http://s239.photobucket.com/albums/ff5/Prince_of_Styrene_II/USS%20Phoenix/

I did the Phoenix about 10 years ago, a lifetime in model building.  It was one of my first scratchbuilds & just about the time that I discovered online forums.  Yes, I know the profiles don't perfectly match, but it was a first attempt & I wasn't even sure at that time what I was really doing- I just started hacking with a vague idea!   But I must have built her well, as I hear she's still holding up!

The nacelles are just standard E-As only lengthened.  The hardest part was getting those three "stripes" to glue flat around the curves at the front!  The warp coils are just a piece of dowel rod.  The best "found part" used in this ship is the deflector- it's the clear, protective cap from deodarant!   The rear deflector is from an E-D toy.  The thing under the secondary hull is part of a toy boat.  Some of the phasers are pen caps.  The struts are layered sheet to get the trench around the edges.

Thank you for the compliments!

The name came from a request.  The Phoenix is actually a comission from a friend in a Star Trek club & that is their ship's name & dez number.

Okay, I've been working on a group badge.  Check it out & voice what you think.  I took some inspiration from the first Trek XI trailer.

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff5/Prince_of_Styrene_II/model%20stuff/master3a.jpg

Smaller versions are available in 100 & 70 pixel size

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff5/Prince_of_Styrene_II/model%20stuff/master3a_100.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff5/Prince_of_Styrene_II/model%20stuff/master3a_70.jpg

And here's some first shots of the USS Taegu.  She's in 1/1000 & roughly Intrepid sized.  I havn't thought of a class name yet.  I had some parts in the bits box laying around & one last part my mother-in-law found for me got this idea going.

Some old CDs & a hospital water pitcher lid:

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff5/Prince_of_Styrene_II/USS%20Taegu/DSC06012.jpg

The body from an EF-111-A Raven jet:

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff5/Prince_of_Styrene_II/USS%20Taegu/DSC05994.jpg

And some highlighters:

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff5/Prince_of_Styrene_II/USS%20Taegu/DSC05996.jpg

Should turn out pretty snazzy!  I have to build some nacelle struts & the neck.  Does anyone else have anything?

The name came from a request.  The Phoenix is actually a comission from a friend in a Star Trek club & that is their ship's name & dez number.

  Read and understood.  Your friend should feel honored, that was a lot of work, well executed.  I should ask forgiveness, for questioning. I am used to working with lines drawings, as a ship modeler, and can look at the lines, and picture the shape they represent, so while I wasn't immediately seeing "errors", I did sense something "other than what I had expected to see". As a model railroader I am used to the "rivet counters", who spend more time looking for faults than appreciating the work done, and I am relatively new to the Sci Fi, and military modeling world. So far my impression has been one of "very strict attention to detail, and "correct" modeling of the "objects of worship". I am beginning to find a lot more "creative liscense" than I had expected. A good thing. Your USS Taegu appears to be from an era that I haven't been part of, pre TOS. My interest is predominently TOS, and the TOS crew movies. I know a little about NG/ DS9, but not enough to really matter. I am impressed with how you can work with "objects" to turn them into something recognizable. A hospital water pitcher lid indeed! Keep up the good work!!

sumpter250 wrote:

Your friend should feel honored, that was a lot of work, well executed.

Yea, but it was a fun challenge, so it's all good.

I should ask forgiveness, for questioning. I am used to working with lines drawings, as a ship modeler, and can look at the lines, and picture the shape they represent, so while I wasn't immediately seeing "errors", I did sense something "other than what I had expected to see". As a model railroader I am used to the "rivet counters", who spend more time looking for faults than appreciating the work done, I am relatively new to the Sci Fi, and military modeling world. So far my impression has been one of "very strict attention to detail, and "correct" modeling of the "objects of worship".

Well, our nitch has it's fair share of rivet counters, too, as well as some very inflated egos.  An apple in every bushel, so to speak.  Sci-fi fans are a passionate bunch, much like any other loves we may have.  We know all of the details & if we don't we can get the info & find a way to model it.  Many "debates" have been had on other forums that usually end in people agreeing to not agree.  For me, I love to get it as accurate as possible, but I have limitations & I know that.  Time, money & skills sometimes make me put it away or finish what I have.  For me, the goal is to just make something I'm happy with.  If I like it, that's the goal.  After all, it's going to be sitting on my shelf, not anyone else's.

I am relatively new to the Sci Fi, and military modeling world. So far my impression has been one of "very strict attention to detail, and "correct" modeling of the "objects of worship". I am beginning to find a lot more "creative liscense" than I had expected.

Creative license is one thing we have an abundance of!!  That's what's so fun about sci-fi is that there's no real rules to live by.  Heavy guidelines, yes, but they can be bent on occasion.

Your USS Taegu appears to be from an era that I haven't been part of, pre TOS. My interest is predominently TOS, and the TOS crew movies. I know a little about NG/ DS9, but not enough to really matter. I am impressed with how you can work with "objects" to turn them into something recognizable. A hospital water pitcher lid indeed! Keep up the good work!!

The Taegu is from the Next Gen movie era, similiar to the Enterprise-E styling.  I love all of the eras of Trek, some more than others.  Build what you love, that's the name of the game!  And thanks for the compliments on the "found parts"!  it's starting to turn into a sickness because I look at nearly every scrap part I see with "potential".

The USS Taegu is coming along nicely.  I am having a little problem with the saucer.  Hopefully I will fix the problem soon. 

The badge looks pretty good.  I did not think of tying this in with the coming out of the movie.  I like the badge.  Any votes?

Also, since there is a GB forum, should I move this to the GB forum section?  If administrators don't mind I would say keep it here.  If they say move it I will try and do so.

As far as dates, I pick them out of a hat.  They are not hard set.  I was just wanting to get a scratchbuild or kit bash of ST going.  Any opinions on dates or no dates. 

I will post pics of my attempt at my saucer and a copy of drawings I have of my idea.

And thanks for the compliments on the "found parts"!  it's starting to turn into a sickness because I look at nearly every scrap part I see with "potential"

.....never throw anything away! This,USS Firestone NCC 8600, Class ship, Battle Cruiser, was a pure kitbash, with a couple of scratched parts (pylons, nacelle,and hull. also the megaphasers on the primary hull, and the lower photon torpedo tubes):

Yep, that looks real familliar!  Needs a smidge of putty on the saucer windows, but other than that it looks like a solid build.  Interesting idea having the third nacelle.  The Kodiak Class always impressed me with it's look of bulk & power.  That third engine would really push it over the top!

Do you have any other angles of the Firestone?

Do you have any other angles of the Firestone?

These are the only other shots I have that came out well.

Firestone is an old build, so I'll probably not be trying to do any putty work on it now. Still it doesn't hurt to ask, exactly what putty work? 

sumpter250 wrote:

These are the only other shots I have that came out well.

!!! From the first angle, I thought the saucer-mounted phasers were on top of the nacelle!   Pretty cool idea to have them mounted on the saucer!  And that they're mounted forward of the outermost circumference is just that much more interesting.

Firestone is an old build, so I'll probably not be trying to do any putty work on it now. Still it doesn't hurt to ask, exactly what putty work?

I agree, let the old builds stand as they are.  It shows how much your skills have grown.  The putty work I was refering to is on the saucer rim window inserts.  You can see the edges, but then again that old kit was pretty bad in some areas.  When I built mine years ago, it didn't look any better.  Those inserts have about a 2mm gap on either side!

Some updates!  Here's some of the putty work.  I wanted some panel lines, so I puttied over only what seemed to be out of scale & also added some Aves to the aft between the engine housings. You can also see a bit of the neck, supplied from an old Transformers toy.

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff5/Prince_of_Styrene_II/USS%20Taegu/body_putty.jpg

Primered, it looks pretty good. I think I'll have to scribe some more panels into it, though.

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff5/Prince_of_Styrene_II/USS%20Taegu/primer1.jpg

The highlighters break down beautifully & you can remove the liquid. I plan on painting the inner tube & leaving the outer clear casing alone.

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff5/Prince_of_Styrene_II/USS%20Taegu/highlighter_apart.jpg

Since the Taegu will have double deflectors, I wanted to keep the theme. I came up with this design. We'll see how it works out after I make the main aft strut.

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff5/Prince_of_Styrene_II/USS%20Taegu/strut_design_sm.jpg

Prince of Styrene II wrote:

Since the Taegu will have double deflectors, I wanted to keep the theme. I came up with this design. We'll see how it works out after I make the main aft strut. http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff5/Prince_of_Styrene_II/USS%20Taegu/strut_design_sm.jpg

I like the bottom sketch of the nacelle.  Of course it depends on the era you are build towards.

Here is a sketch of my project. 

It is not the most elegant of sketches.  Here is the trouble I am having.

I need to get some styrene and try again.  I have head of another way to do a scratchbuilt saucer with Bondo resin.  I have not tried that one yet.  Of course now looking at my sketch I am not sure is to go with a tapered down saucer or have look different with a more rounded up top part.

SNOOPY wrote:

I like the bottom sketch of the nacelle.  Of course it depends on the era you are build towards.

The bottom sketch is just the bottom angle of the same idea.  The era I'm designing in is the post-Nemesis time period.

SNOOPY wrote:

Of course now looking at my sketch I am not sure is to go with a tapered down saucer or have look different with a more rounded up top part.

Looks like a new version of the Ptolemy Class.  Very nice.  I like the top contour.  Similar, but different than the usual Starfleet type.  A little bit of the classic UFO feeling to it.

Archangel wrote:

I have a kitbash of a Klingon ship that would fit right in here. I built two years ago for Wonderfest 2006. It didn't win anything but I did get a few compliments on it. I also have the in progress shots still from when I posted it on www.Starshipmodeler.com while building it. If it fits the rules here I'd like to enter it in the group build.

As long as no one objects, I am flexible.  Some thing from the Klingon Empire would be nice.

Woody wrote:

Hey Snoopy, I use that method of turning parts in styrene all the time. I think I see your problem. You are building up too much heat in the part and it's not stablised enough. I use a cordless drill to turn the part and a Dremel with a coarse tooth to sculpt the part. Turn the part your cutting slowly and use the dremel on as high as speed as you can that doesn't cause melting. Heat is your enemy! I would also support the underside of the part, directly under where you are cutting with the Dremel. If the part isn't solidly supported you will get a wavy. uneven surface. I clamp the drill to the workbench, support the back side of the piece with my finger tips(put talc powder on your finger tips), and hold the dremel with my right hand. If the friction on your finger tips produces uncomfortable amounts of heat, the drill is turning too fast. I hope this is helpful.

I got this idea from you a few group builds ago.  I am using a bench top drell press that does not turn all that fast but I can still slow it down  a lot.  The cutting tool was a combination of a sanding block with 150 grit sandpaper, a small coarse file, and at times a 3M sanding sponge.  I really do not see a lathe in the near future so if I can perfect this I think I will be okay.  I still have a Dadealus Class in storage waiting to be unmothballed and finished. This week I will try again and let you know how it goes.