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Sci Fi Model Hall of Fame

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  • Member since
    February 2008
  • From: Schaumburg, IL
Sci Fi Model Hall of Fame
Posted by SkullGundam on Thursday, August 6, 2009 12:16 AM

All right all you SciFi'ers, lets see what you're made of.  I want each of you to submit the piece you've done that you are most proud of.  I've seen some truly impressive work in the last couple years I've been on this forum but I want to see what each of you consider your best work.  I think you should include a couple of pictures showing different angles and a short description of your work, including things like modifications.  Also let us know what you liked about the model or what you didn't like and if there was anything you learned from the build.  I think that on top of this being a great showcase of all the wonderful modelers this site has, this could be a great opportunity for us to see some kits we may be interested in or see a new technique we want to try.  I konw many of these will have been on the site before, but having them all in one place will make it easy to show off our favorite pieces to each other.  Have fun!!

If at first you do succeed, try to hide your astonishment.

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  • Member since
    December 2006
  • From: Phoenix, AZ
Posted by Fly-n-hi on Thursday, August 6, 2009 2:05 AM

Ok...Ill add some pics to this thread.  Here's a Halcyon 1/72 Dropship from Aliens that I built a little more than 2 years ago.  This was my first model in 16 years and I was inspired by an article in one of the FSM magazines to build it.  I did a ton of scratch building on it.

Here ya go:

 

 

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  • From: my keyboard dreaming of being at the workbench
Posted by Aaron Skinner on Thursday, August 6, 2009 11:08 AM
 Fly-n-hi wrote:

Ok...Ill add some pics to this thread.  Here's a Halcyon 1/72 Dropship from Aliens that I built a little more than 2 years ago.  This was my first model in 16 years and I was inspired by an article in one of the FSM magazines to build it.  I did a ton of scratch building on it.

Here ya go:

Nice build of one of my favorite vehicles! I built one when the kit first came out in the ealry 90s. Been wanting to lay hands on another ever since.

Aaron

Aaron Skinner

Editor

FineScale Modeler

  • Member since
    December 2006
  • From: Phoenix, AZ
Posted by Fly-n-hi on Thursday, August 6, 2009 11:18 AM

Thanks AS,

Just for kicks I searched the internet last night for one of these kits and couldn't find any.  Some of the other Halcyon kits were still available and they were going for big $$$.  If you see a Dropship get it right then and there.

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: vernon hills illinois
Posted by sumpter250 on Friday, August 7, 2009 12:00 PM

My favorite....OK but not from "a kit". this first starship was inspired by the Millenium Falcon, and was the first junkbuild that I actually drew preliminary sketches of, before starting construction.

This was also the first time I used the "Velocity Amplifier" main drive, and attitude control engines. It was also the beginning of the "Focussed Translocator Reactor" primary power source.

The second, and equal favorite, also a junkbuild. Inspired by the original Battlestar Galactica, this model measures 49" long. shown here with a coffee mug, and a Twenty dollar bill, for size comparison. The second shot is with the AMT, TOS Enterprise (close, but just a bit smaller than scale).

 

The most recent would be the USS Kodiac NCC 6000, documented in the StarTrek Group build '09, thread in this forum. 

Lead me not into temptation ..................I can find it myself

  • Member since
    April 2008
  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Friday, August 7, 2009 12:30 PM

All of my kits have a mar somewhere on them that makes me not want to show people them, my Gyan's finish didnt come out on the chest like the rest of the kit (sanding scratched and no where near as glossy)  The rest of my kits just... dont seem to age well as my skills get better.  This one I wont say where the problems are, im sure you will see them, I can but its my best piece

 





 

  • Member since
    February 2008
  • From: Schaumburg, IL
Posted by SkullGundam on Friday, August 7, 2009 5:17 PM

Sumpter- I love that you think through the parts you put on your scratchbuilds and use those concepts over again.  You will have your own sci fi universe of ships someday.  I remember seeing the larger ship up here a while ago and it was really impressive.  I've never seen the smaller one before but it looks just as good. 

STV- I hear you about the problem with each of mine having a flaw somewhere.  I think that the fact that your older kits don't look as good to you as time goes on is just a good sign that you are getting better.  I was proud of my first little figure, which I have yet to put on the site, until I finished my second figure and fixed a bunch of problems.  But I like seeing how I've progressed.  Your suit looks cool.  I'm too nervous I'd screw it up to buy a MaK kit. 

If at first you do succeed, try to hide your astonishment.

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  • Member since
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  • From: vernon hills illinois
Posted by sumpter250 on Saturday, August 8, 2009 11:43 AM

 smeagol the vile wrote:
The rest of my kits just... dont seem to age well as my skills get better.  This one I wont say where the problems are, im sure you will see them, I can but its my best piece

  .....So far.

I've been building models for fifty years now, and I can still find fault with each and every one of them. I just try to learn from each of those mistakes, and attempt to not repeat them. Learning is as much part of the fun as building. 

Lead me not into temptation ..................I can find it myself

  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Saturday, August 8, 2009 1:11 PM

wekk I wouldnt be worried about messing up a Ma.k kit, there simpler then most HGUC kits, there really fun, not hard at all really just alot of fun.

Sumpter, do those little mistakes ever keep you from entering your kits in competitions or showing them to people happily, I have a hard time doing both because I konw the errors and im sure a judge will see them

 

  • Member since
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  • From: Schaumburg, IL
Posted by SkullGundam on Saturday, August 8, 2009 10:06 PM
STV I would have entered your Gyan in a contest.  At least in an MMC contest.  I really liked that one.  I went back to look at it over and over and contemplated buying one. (No funds though) 

If at first you do succeed, try to hide your astonishment.

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  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Saturday, August 8, 2009 10:09 PM
I did enter it into a MMC contest, they said my pics were to small and it didnt get out of the first round, while a kit of mine that was EXTREMLY sub par compared to it, got to the second round

 

  • Member since
    February 2008
  • From: Schaumburg, IL
Posted by SkullGundam on Saturday, August 8, 2009 11:20 PM
The orange and black HiZack I entered won points from a judge for me managing to not throw up on my ugly paint job so I stopped entering them. 

If at first you do succeed, try to hide your astonishment.

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  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Saturday, August 8, 2009 11:25 PM
I actuially guessed judged one of those, they wernt well thought out or anything.  The one I entered the most in was the only one they gave prizes for, so many of them I was the only entrance, this one a TON of people entering OLD stuff that I had seen over a year ago on other sites.  In the end, none of the people who frequented the site won, which was really annoying

 

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: vernon hills illinois
Posted by sumpter250 on Sunday, August 9, 2009 10:34 AM

 smeagol the vile wrote:
Sumpter, do those little mistakes ever keep you from entering your kits in competitions or showing them to people happily, I have a hard time doing both because I know the errors and im sure a judge will see them

The answer, in a word........no. That first starship in my post, won a second place trophy at a Northern Illinois Modelers Open contest. IPMS was involved in establishing the judging criteria for the contest. But......it's not about winning, I really didn't expect to win anything. That I did, was nice, but I was more interested in seeing where I stood in relation to some very seriously good model builders, and to learn from the experience. I wanted to know what errors a "judge" would see, and why he/she would call them errors. Learning what they were, helped me to avoid making them again. It's a case of " it can be done!............how did you do that?" 

I have accepted the fact that there are better modelers out there. They challenge me! I don't ever want to be "the best", there would be no place further to go! Where's the fun in that??! 

The problem with being "the king", is......tomorrow you can't "become the king".................. but you can be overthrown.  The struggle to get to the top, however hard it may be, is never as hard to take as the fall...... from the top. Still, while you're there, the view is spectacular! 

Lead me not into temptation ..................I can find it myself

  • Member since
    April 2009
  • From: Longmont, Colorado
Posted by Cadet Chuck on Sunday, August 9, 2009 11:00 AM

And here's the ever-popular C-57D Starship from "Forbidden Planet."  I'm still cleaning up silver dust from the sanding of multiple coats of primer and paint on this beast!

Gimme a pigfoot, and a bottle of beer...

  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Sunday, August 9, 2009 12:45 PM

Very cool chuck, the only thing that bugs me a bit are the seams on the edge of the saucer disk.

 

♦ Sumpter,  Thats the thing about this hobby it isnt about being king, its about getting better.  Even if you win the gold with something you can still improve on your build and try to win it again.  But its not the winning I meant, its more... the fear of entering that it will be crap compared to the other kits

 

  • Member since
    February 2007
Posted by PetarB on Sunday, August 9, 2009 4:58 PM
Here's a couple of my favourites over the last couple of years.

www.studiostarforge.com
  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Sunday, August 9, 2009 6:24 PM
That first VF is gorgeous, looks like it just started transforming

 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: USA
Posted by philp on Sunday, August 9, 2009 9:29 PM

More of a Humor piece but based on Sci-Fi.

My Moo-rine.

Phil Peterson IPMS #8739 Join the Map http://www.frappr.com/finescalemodeler
  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Sunday, August 9, 2009 9:50 PM

MOOOO I love it!! Though, even though its black and white, it could use some shadowing around the edges to make it perfect

 

 

  • Member since
    April 2009
  • From: Longmont, Colorado
Posted by Cadet Chuck on Sunday, August 9, 2009 10:45 PM
 smeagol the vile wrote:

Very cool chuck, the only thing that bugs me a bit are the seams on the edge of the saucer disk.

Roger that, Smeagol-  But sometimes you just have to say "the hell with it, that's good enough," and at that point I was sick and tired of working on this thing.  WYSIWYG, and I was not trying to win any contests.  Anyhow, I had fun with it!

 

Gimme a pigfoot, and a bottle of beer...

  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Sunday, August 9, 2009 10:58 PM
If your happy with it, thats all that matters

 

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: vernon hills illinois
Posted by sumpter250 on Monday, August 10, 2009 10:29 AM

 smeagol the vile wrote:
   Even if you win the gold with something you can still improve on your build and try to win it again.  But its not the winning I meant, its more... the fear of entering that it will be crap compared to the other kits

LOL!   I believe it is called................ incentive.

  I'm not going to spin fables, I have been there, and there are a few, whose work made mine look like crap, who never improved. The "shoe" is on the other foot now. There are many though who I can't seem to catch up to. Yeah..............incentive.

  I still have a couple of the very first models I ever built, carefully packed and protected. I keep them to remind me "where I came from", as a model builder. (they help me insure that I can still get my head through the door.)

  Today's crap, is yesterday's perfection, and tomorrow's goal to improve on. 

Lead me not into temptation ..................I can find it myself

  • Member since
    April 2008
  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Monday, August 10, 2009 11:59 AM

I can honestly say im glad my very first kit is destroyed and all pics of it are gone.

 

It was a 1/144 GM sniper from the 08th ms team line.  I did a guile camo on it my first pain and mod job ever.  I used a sprue hunk to make a holder on it's pack for the rifle, added wires and chords to the pack to the rifle.  I added an antiena to the pack, all ofthose wernt THAT bad, what was bad was that I used studio gouche and two testors paints to paint it.  There were seams all over it, the gouche looked like I threw mud all over the kit... it was bad.  Then I draped a piece of netting over the gun and attached Lichen to it for Guile camo, as well as attaching it all over the kit

 

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: United Kingdom
Posted by cmtaylor on Monday, August 10, 2009 3:01 PM
Here's one I built ten years ago:



It's a studio-scale model, built using the same kits as used in the original. Unlike the original, I built a fully-detailed cockpit, including fibre-optic lighting and also included a white LED in the main laser
Gentlemen! You can't fight in here; this is the WAR ROOM!
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Posted by PetarB on Monday, August 10, 2009 8:09 PM
Very, very nice!
www.studiostarforge.com
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  • From: Schaumburg, IL
Posted by SkullGundam on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 1:49 AM
Wow.  Now when you say studio scale, how big is it?  And forgive my ignorence, but what is it?

If at first you do succeed, try to hide your astonishment.

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  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 1:59 AM
Studio scale is the scale that they use in the filming studios.  If you build a Xwing kit and its 'stupid scale' its the size of the origional props

 

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Sydney, Australia
Posted by Phil_H on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 2:42 AM

 SkullGundam wrote:
Wow.  Now when you say studio scale, how big is it?  And forgive my ignorence, but what is it?

Answer to your second question first: It's a "Hawk" from Space: 1999.

If I recall correctly, the Studio model was about 1/24th scale and is about 30 inches or so long.

  • Member since
    April 2009
  • From: Longmont, Colorado
Posted by Cadet Chuck on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 12:50 PM

I believe "studio scale" could be anything.  For example, in making the movie "Forbidden Planet", there were three different studio models of the C-57 D spaceship- the smallest was 20 inches in diameter, the mid-sized was a 44 inch diameter model, and also they built a huge 88 inch diameter ship.  In addition, there was a full size partial set of the lower part of the ship used for the scenes of the crewmen standing on the ground under the ship, walking down the stair ramp, etc.

This info is from research in the recent book, "The Saucer Fleet" , by Jon Rogers and Jack Hagerty.  It also contains loads of highly detailed and accurate drawings for many ships that would be invaluable to those who like to scratch-build models.  Highly recommended!

 

Gimme a pigfoot, and a bottle of beer...

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