Hooley Dooley Real G!!

Just got on the crazy bus, loving where you have been in your long trip.

Loved Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, made the Bandai Gunship a few years back for the Hollywood GB, but your scratchbuild work here is monumental. The Bakagalas was one of my favourite from the movie and the manga comic.

The profiling work on those flaps was a great lesson in technique, and watching the development and set up of the flaps was great. I will keep watching this with interest.

Thanks for looking in Lostagain, or shall I call you Eye-Gor?    

Watching Nausicaa for the first time was a real eye-opener for me.  I immediately fell in love with the world that Miyazaki created, and wanted some models really bad!  The Bakagalas was started around 30 years ago with no overall game plan, and it proved to be too much, too soon.

I blame Star Wars (1977, the one and only) for this modeling affliction.  After coming home from the theater on that fateful afternoon in May of 1977, I dug out my box of broken models and tried to build the Falcon and Y-Wing.  Nothing came of either, but it planted the seed of madness that grew into a big, ugly Crazy Tree that thrives to this day!  A strong desire to have models that were unavailable as kits provided the impetus to try new techniques and materials (or was it the smell of rotting Crazy-Fruit on the ground?).  I did scratchbuild some mini Star Wars models, like a Star Destroyer, Falcon, AT-AT, Y-Wing, X-Wings, Snowspeeders, and even a Yoda from Squadron putty and sheet plastic.  I gave most of them away, but this was in the 1980s before digital photography, so no records survive.  I found the Star Destoyer recently, and it is TERRIBLE compared to Bandai's excellent mini Kit.

Then "real robot" anime came along and now it was mecha that I wanted to have.  I built some mini Macross mechs (Spartan, Glaug, and VF-1A Battroid) to use in the Fasa board game "Battledroids", yes Battledroids - take that Lucas! But the only large anime project that was completed was an A.D. Police helicopter from "Bubblegum Crisis".  That turned out to be a decades long build like the Bakagalas for the same reasons.  And that is my modeling saga to date.  I apologize for rambling! 

So anyway, last night I noticed the port wing trailing edge was warped, so it was cut away, revealing embarrassing construction techniques.  It looks like the warp was a result of bad construction, not 25 years of storage.  I'll use the same method of building the flaps to patch the wing.  Photos will follow later as I still cannot figure how to post pics from my phone.

As Ozzy Osbourne sang "All aboard-ha-ha-ha!"

Wing repairs are commencing.  I cut a patch from 0.030" styrene sheet and added tabs along the front and side edges to engage the remaining portion of the original ABS sheet still inside the wing.  Some 0.040" styrene ribs have been glued in place and will be sanded to final shape.

Bakagalas-52 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/GBFygx][/url]Bakagalas-54 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/24UFKUv][/url]Bakagalas-55 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

Now that the wing trailing edge is corrected, the outboard flap is out of alignment so a new one must be fabricated.  Will this never end?

  Why oh why can't I be that creative....oh well I really enjoy checking in on this build G, don't rush but I'm looking forward to completion. Keep up the great work sir.

Yeah, seems like sometimes it's not as much building as rebuilding stuff. Still you're making great progress. 

Armornut, I think you have creativity mixed up with being error-prone!  I do this stuff because I keep making mistakes and end up having to fix them.  Like Russian ejector seat manufacturers, I get good at it only because I have to do it a lot!  

Gamera, yeah I'm getting impatient to get the wings done and to move the build forward.  I'm getting tired of sanding ribs and bending/gluing plastic sheet and strips.

https://flic.kr/p/26dKdzQ][/url]Bakagalas-57 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/26dKdqw][/url]Bakagalas-58 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/J9GAJo][/url]Bakagalas-59 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

I did skin the outer wing patch last night.  My thumb crushed a section of wing while I was trying to force the twist out, so it got a sheet plastic patch with risers sanded down to set the patch at the same level as the balsa wood substrate.  The "X" is just a reminder that the flap needs to be replaced, and to make sure I don't trash its still good counterpart on the starboard side.  I've done that before - as I mentioned I am error prone!

Tonight I will fill in the trailing edge and start planking the starboard inner flap (that's the curvy one).

Snail's pace on the wing trailing edge parts I'm afraid.  I did get the replacement port outboard flap built over the weekend.

So this is how I made the other flaps and the patch.  First, a profile is cut from 0.040 sheet of the piece needed.  Then the leading and side edges are boxed in.  At this point, only the leading edge needs to be the correct height and taper.

https://flic.kr/p/253vwZp][/url]Bakagalas-61 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

Next the end pieces are roughly trimmed and then refined to match the airfoil sections of the adjacent pieces.

https://flic.kr/p/253vwPz][/url]Bakagalas-62 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

0.040" intermediate ribs are added to help support the sheeting which will follow.  Again, only the leading edges need to be the correct height.  After the glue dries they are sanded to the correct profile.

https://flic.kr/p/GKLRex][/url]Bakagalas-63 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr)

0.030 sheet is then cut to shape, bent up a bit to help conform to the curvature, then glued down.

https://flic.kr/p/26m4CXu][/url]Bakagalas-64 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

The last 0.2" of the trailing edge is left uncovered.  It will be filled in with strip glued down flat to the profile to assure a solid surface which can then be savagely sanded down without risk of sand-through.

https://flic.kr/p/Jhb7y7][/url]Bakagalas-65 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

Apologies for the lack of updates!  My poor cat is sick, and now I'm sick (my sis gave it to me, not the cat), and just "stuff" has been going on and on.

Today I learned a lesson in sci-fi/anime that I thought I understood, but it seems to have caught me unaware - my guesstimated scale of 1/200 is a bit off it seems.  I based my dimensions solely on black and white developmental drawings, which showed crew doors, which were used to help estabish scale.  But I just got a book on the film which had a number of scenes showing the scale of the doors as well as people - which was different than the sketches!  Now that got me thinking (oh-oh) to see if a 1/200 Nausicaa Gunship would "fit" in the cargo hold...and it would not.  Now we all know about the Tardis Effect that movie vehicles have, and I was about to concede.  BUT looking again at the stills from the movie, a pretty consistent "scale" was evident.  A feverish clattering with the calculator yielded numbers that were more reassuring.  So now I am calling scale at 1/250 - my interpretation of a"real" Bakagalas now has a whopping span of 550'!  No real adverse effect on the project, as I had not scribed the doors or built cockpit items yet.  Oh and a disclaimer - no 1/250 Nausicaa Gunship exists.  I just measured the 1/72 Tsukuda kit and scaled the dimensions down.  But maybe later.  And a Pejite Gunship and a Tolmekian Corvette... Oops, time for my meds and bedtime!

Anyway, the lesson is cross-check all available references before casting the die!  And measure twice and cut once (not my mantra, but it should be).

Oh wow, gotta love that about TV/movie vehicles! Some guy wrote an article claiming that the Klingon Bird of Prey would have to come in EIGHT different sizes to fit everything shown it's different appearances.

Looking forward to more work, hope you and the family feel better soon.

Gamera, I read that the "neck" of the D7 at the command bulb is too small to allow a person to walk through.  But it still is a cool design.  And I know that the Aliens APC will not fit the interior that is seen in the movie, unless the entire vehicle is just a hollow box with no space for the engine, fuel, wheel wells, etc.

At least the Bakagalas, as portrayed on screen, seems to be consistent inside and out.  I picked out a suitable door size on a PE scribing template, which is something I did not have when the project started.

Anyway, thanks for the well wishes.  I'm loading up on cold meds at the moment, but will hit the bench until I get too drowsy to work!

I am still congested from my cold from two weeks ago, but I really have to get this project back on track!  I don't know why I was apprehensive about resuming the "plating" of the model surface, but I kept putting it off.  Anyway, I plated the repair patch on the port wing to start off.

https://flic.kr/p/26iXxRy][/url]Bakagalas-69 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

There is nothing special about cutting and fitting the 0.020" sheet plastic skin.  Just sorta measure, cut it to approximate size, test fit, then sand to refine the fit.  The panels are bent up in all directions then more or less formed to the needed contour prior to being glued down.  This imparts the all-important lumpy-bumpy surface which is required for the model.  The panels are attached front to back, leaving the trailing edge excess to be trimmed and sanded after the glue dries.  BTW, I use Testors liquid cement (glass bottle) to attach the panels, as it gives ample time to adjust the position to get that perfect (imperfect) fit.  It was the go-to glue in the 1980s, but it has been surpassed a long time ago.  BUT, it still has uses such as in this case, which is why I always have a relatively fresh bottle handy.  Gap filler CA is used where there is a balsa wood sub surface.

https://flic.kr/p/27pEFhn][/url]Bakagalas-70 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

The panels were very easy to make and install, but I can see how bad my skills were 30 years ago!  The gaps on the old areas, while intentional, are inexcusably sloppy.  The trailing edge line of the wing is all wiggly too, but I have an easy fix for that.  The scritchy-scratch pencil marks on the panels are just to keep me from mixing up the pieces when they are cut apart.

https://flic.kr/p/26iXxwL][/url]Bakagalas-71 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

Because things went well, I did a "Toshi" and stayed up till 2:00 am working on the model.  I tend to do this when I get the model ju-ju going, but nowadays it makes it really difficult to stay awake at the office!  

  Real G, I would be much greatful it you could pass on some of that ju-ju, I haven't pulled an alnighter in years. Sounds like fun....until the next day LOL.

   Your model is coming along well, glad to hear your feeling better and "scratching" the modeling itch.

Good to see you back on this G. Again beautiful work and pretty darn inspiring! 

Thanks Armornut and Gamera for checking in.  Sorry Armornut, I have no idea where the model ju-ju juice comes from - it's just there sometimes, and sometimes it's not!

Plating the wings continue, and the port outboard flap is done.

https://flic.kr/p/27sLkqi][/url]Bakagalas-72 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

If anyone is wondering why I'm "crinkling" the plating, here is a pic that I think illustrates the effect.  I think it will look bazongers with some raised rivets and tons of oil washes.

https://flic.kr/p/27sLkvZ][/url]Bakagalas-73 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

I'm now starting to think about just bending up the plating for the super curvy gullwing inboard flaps instead of going through the trouble of making vac form bucks.  I tried it with index card last night, and it seemed to be feasible.

A quick trial using 0.015" thick sheet plastic to negotiate the compound curved inboard flaps appears to have been successful!  Since the flap is supposed to be made up of two pieces, using two sheets will help to match the contours.

https://flic.kr/p/26ofYZm][/url]Bakagalas-73 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

I just trimmed the sheets to rough shape (to minimize resistance to shaping) then pressed the rounded end of a pen into the sheets to get the rough contour while holding them in my palm.  The thin plastic takes the compound curvature fairly well, so like the lazy butt that I am, I won't need to make vac-form bucks.  Hooray!  Here are the untrimmed sheets on the flap.

https://flic.kr/p/27pVaBG][/url]Bakagalas-74 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

I feel pretty good that a simple solution has been arrived at.  Now to finish those pesky flaps and move on to the tiny ailerons and wingtips.

The thin plastic sheet looks pretty darn good to me! 

Progress on the wings has reached the point I was trying to avoid:  sheeting over the thin leading edges of the outer wing panels.

https://flic.kr/p/KtkFnm][/url]Bakagalas-76 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

When I started this model 30 years ago, I was using fairly wide strip plastic to "plank" the leading edges.  It worked fine for the fat inboard sections, but as I neared the outer wings, I knew I had a problem...  Or did I?  Now that I have a box full of Plastruct/Evergreen strip in varying sizes, it was easy to see that using narrower strip would solve the problem.

https://flic.kr/p/26voynY][/url]Bakagalas-77 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

I planked up to the point on the upper and lower wings where the airfoil curvature became relatively flat.  Curled sheet plastic, trimmed to fit, filled in the rest.

https://flic.kr/p/KxjPUu][/url]Bakagalas-81 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

Exact fit between the strips is not critical, as more strip and stretched sprue will be used to fill in any gaps/low spots.  I had made some tape templates to gauge the size/shape of the flat sheets, but it proved to be a waste of time.  Laying individual sheets on the wing and measuring/cutting one side at a time proved to be the quick and easy way.  I was going to somehow (operative word is "somehow") vac-form the thin leading edges, but now that is just silly nonsense.

So as the flaps get finished and the remainder of the wings get planked, visible progress will start to be made.  I had paper templates for the wing tips based on my sketches, but looking at them now they seem ridiculously stubby.  Longer, pointier wing tips will be made, which better resemble the anime design.

Before:

https://flic.kr/p/KxjPMW][/url]Bakagalas-82 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

After:

https://flic.kr/p/KxjPBL][/url]Bakagalas-83 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

Slowly ramping up the ju-ju levels.  Non-modeling issues have kept me away from the bench for some time, but I am feeling more in the mood now.

A quickie update - a wing tip was laminated from a combination of 0.020", 0.040", and 0.060" sheet plastic arrive to at an overall thickness of 0.200"  There is a logic to this mash-up; I had to get specific thicknesses above and below the datum line to match the wing airfoil section.  A tab was glued to the wing to help locate the tip.

https://flic.kr/p/27DawYJ][/url]Bakagalas-84 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

I already knew that the wing cut cut line was not straight, and the new wing tip illustrates it well.  An annoyance, but I plan on stripping off the outermost panel and the thin trailing edge strip and redoing them, using the new wing tip for alignment.

https://flic.kr/p/24XR37j][/url]Bakagalas-85 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

The aileron should be there to make sure everything is straight and true, so that is next up.

Shaping blocks of styrene is ornery work, but it feels good when the part emerges from the dust.  A friend once asked if 80 grit sandpaper had any business being in a modeler's tool box, and I answered "yes, if you scratch build".  Most injection kits only need 320 grit and higher to get the job done, although limited run veterans have at least down to 220 grit to thin those popsicle stick-thick wing trailing edges.

I hate redoing stuff but sometimes you just have to make it right. Lookin' good!!! 

Yep Gamera, sometimes you have to fix it.  The wing tips are very visible, so they need attention.

To push the project along I'm trying to do at least one thing every night.  Pinkie promise!

Pinkie promise requires that I do work every night, so I started planking the right outer wing leading edge.  It's just like the left side, but now I know I can lay the strips down oversize and neatly trim when done.

https://flic.kr/p/KtkFnm][/url]Bakagalas-76 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/26nLpWp][/url]Bakagalas-86 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

I also planked the underside of the right outboard flap, so it's now done.  The left wingtip got more sanding, but the aileron will need to be in place for final shaping.  I am hoping to get the wings 100% done by the end of next week.  The fairings for the rocket engines will follow.

No photo updates over the weekend, as I still cannot figure out how to post photos from my phone.  But rest assured progress is being made!  The underside of the wings are now fully sheeted with balsa, and the starboard wing tip is being fabricated.

 My immediate goal is to finish plating the wings by next weekend (pinkie promise!). I'll start the engine fairings next.  I've been thinking really hard about how to build them.  Based on more study of anime stills, I also decided to locate the outboard engines further inboard compared to my sketches.

The rivets from Archer should be in my hands on Monday (well, half my order - they gotta make more!).  So what are we gonna do?  Apply rivets!  And when are we going to do it?  Real Soon!!!  Wait, this is a Bakagalas, not Buckaroo Banzai!

Things are going reasonably well now, so from here progress photos will look more more like progress.  Woo hoo, so exciting!  Primer will raise the excitement level to, like, eleven or something.  

Okay, here is what I got done over the weekend.  I finally filled in the undersides of the outer wings with balsa wood.  The mating surfaces of the balsa were sanded down to get the best fit possible before gluing down.  I was going to plate over the extreme ends with plastic, as there were tabs there that would have interfered with the fit, but realized it was easy to just trim away a little wood to clear the tabs.

https://flic.kr/p/J8v7GZ][/url]Bakagalas-87 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/26FFRcA][/url]Bakagalas-88 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/27QrxdT][/url]Bakagalas-92 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/255CEvL][/url]Bakagalas-93 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

Once the undersides of the wings get plated over, primer will be applied overall to have a look at what I've got.  There are dozens of vents all over the wings which are randomly placed and are highly inconsistent in the anime, so I'll need to place them by "feel".

So anyway, this is what the big bird looks like at the moment.

Bakagalas-91 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

Nutso, now I feel like (re)doing the Pejite Gunship!

That looks just simply fantastic!!! 

Just wondering but do you have any estimate on how many hours, both the original build and the current that you have put into her? That's a pile of work and I'm just curious. 

Gamera, I have absolutely no clue as to how many hours have gone into this project so far.  All I know for certain is that it was started in 1988, I worked on it intensively for a couple of months, and then it was mothballed in the Closet of Doom for 20+ years!  It came out a couple of times, but no actual work was done on it until this February.  I don't even remember doing the basic framework, so peeking inside the fuselage and wings is like seeing things for the first time.

BUT - Now we move forward!  One of the wings had its underside planked last night.

https://flic.kr/p/27NbdyG][/url]Untitled by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

It took a while to sketch out the panels to get a nice flowing pattern.  At least the opposite wing will not need to suffer that delay.  See all the crazy scribbling on the panels?  That was to keep them from being mixed up during the application process.

https://flic.kr/p/257XXBE][/url]Bakagalas-95 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

What I did was cut a sheet of plastic to cover a large section of wing, marked out the panel lines, then cut each piece out, beat the hell out of them to impart a hammered texture, and applied them individually, cutting and trimming as needed to fit.  I think I need to get a slow-set CA glue, as the one I have "grabs" too quickly.

Here is what the "hammered" finish looks like:

https://flic.kr/p/27NbcR9][/url]Bakagalas-97 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

And so the other wing will be done tonight.

https://flic.kr/p/27Nbeih][/url]Bakagalas-96 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

Then the engines!  I can't wait.

Oh wow, I can tell you've put a lot of time in her!

Love that 'hammered' texture. 

Thanks Gamera!  I'm now a little worried that I beat up the panels too much; the old topsides look nicer.  

I didn't have much time to work on the model last night, but I did cut out the paneling for the other wing.

https://flic.kr/p/27RfS2S][/url]Bakagalas-98 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/26ybzdx][/url]Bakagalas-99 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

The large panels run chordwise, and sure beat trying to make each panel one at a time.

I also did a little planning on how to locate the eight fin-like engine fairings under the wings.  Their alignment is critical, as the inboard fairings have "biplane" flaps which must be level and square both in plan as well as from front/back.  More jigs are in the future, but simple ones!

Pinkie promise is holding out this week!  I wasn't feeling up to working on the model last night, but a 9:30 pm "Oh well, I'll just sit here and think about what needs doing" turned into a 3-hour build session.  It's all good.  I got the other wing plated over at last!

https://flic.kr/p/26SsvQQ][/url]Bakagalas-100 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/KQ2e5b][/url]Bakagalas-101 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

I still need to finish the wing root fairing plating (which is not much), plus patch unwanted gaps.

https://flic.kr/p/25dajQQ][/url]Bakagalas-103 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

I'll save shaping the ailerons and wing tips for Saturday, as there is a lot of seriously messy "sand-test fit-sand-test fit-rinse and repeat" to do.  Oh yeah, I have to plate over those curvy inboard flaps - no escaping that task now!  And then I can move on to the new task of building the engine fairings.

I fished out an old Monogram AH-64 Apache rotor assembly that looks about right for the biplane (Fairey-Youngman?) flaps.  I'll probably plate them over to get a consistent look.

All this rediscovery of old techniques combined with new ones has gotten me thinking more and more about the Pejite Gunship.  I'll confess I wasted some time last night thinking really hard about the construction approach I'd need to take to make it better than the one I started 30 years ago.  I will NOT resurrect that project - pinkie promise!!!

Hmmm. Well you, sir, are a model builder while I am a mere kit assembler.

Really nice work.

Kearsarge,

Nah I'm just too stupid to fully understand the complexity of a project when I start one.  We're all modelers.  Guys who sniff at "kit assemblers" are just egotistical jerks.  The important thing is to have fun, no matter what level modeling you are at.

And I'm having fun.  All this problem solving is actually stimulating and is restoring my model ju-ju.    It is making me think about follow-on projects, which means I have poisoned my own mind.    Darn it, you guys were supposed to become infected!