Sci-Fi Group Build?

Anonymous Member since November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, February 22, 2004 11:58 PM UPDATE: AMT Alien build , I have the kit put together and have it puttied and sanded . I'm ready to prime it and am trying to decide the color , been getting help from MMF and have come up with a color I think I'll like , going to place the kit on a piece of tile and spackle around it and make somewhat of an alien landscape , after allowing a few days for the paint to dry , I will coat it with future and add acrylic gel to stimulate slime , should have it finished by deadline , and have been taking progress pics , still trying to figure out how to show them ???? And that as they say " THATS ALL FOLKS " Reply Edit

Kugai Member since July 2003 From: Huntington, WV

Posted by Kugai on Sunday, February 22, 2004 1:56 PM Aftere a long absence, I'm finally back online, and it seems I'm just in time. I started the U.S.S. Sulaco just a few weeks ago and should be able to finish it by thre end of the month. By the way, I'm painting it to reflect it's appearance in "Aliens." I prefer the darker look of the ship in that movie to the lighter gray that seemed to be used in "Alien 3." Reply

Prince of Styrene II Member since September 2003 From: USA

Posted by Prince of Styrene II on Sunday, February 22, 2004 10:10 AM How's everyone doing? Deadline is coming up & I hope all your kits are shaping up good! Update #2!! I've been patiently plugging away at my kit. the biggest problem is that one of the "endcaps" fot the tube had very thin edges. Some of it was broken off in the process of gluing together, so I had to do a bit of reconstruction. The putty (after about six times of "putty, sand, primer) was still leaving me with little holes. Finally they're all patched up! Now I'm in the process of gluing the nacelles onto the struts & the curved connector onto the tube. I'll paint & detail both parts (tube & saucer) before I put them together. Got some great paint color to use (RLM 65) so I should be firing up the airbrush within a day or so. How's your progress?? "Hold the weapons, Daddy. I'm going to go get my monkeys." The Dutchess of Styrene Reply

Anonymous Member since November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 9:08 AM any group build would be entered in the collections category.this category would be judged based on the quality of the actual modelling as well as its stregnth as a collection. for instance, while a collection of sci-fi from different genres is great, a collection of star trek vehicles is a more specific subject,and a collection of the different versions of the enterprise say nx-01 thru 1701-e would exhibit an even stronger relationship. the models themselves can be scratchbuilt or from kits. Reply Edit

Prince of Styrene II Member since September 2003 From: USA

Posted by Prince of Styrene II on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 11:59 PM Don't see why not! We're all here just having fun! "Hold the weapons, Daddy. I'm going to go get my monkeys." The Dutchess of Styrene Reply

Buddho Member since March 2003 From: Newport News VA

Posted by Buddho on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 10:55 PM I was wondering...does this group build include scratchbuilt stuff? Regards, Dan Reply

Anonymous Member since November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 10:26 PM I also hit a bit of a snag, haven't done much on the ED-209. Been too busy on other subjects: 1.) Bimota Tesi 1D group build preparations. 2.) Webring setup and testing. 3.) Finalising plans and finances for my new place. Reply Edit

Anonymous Member since November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 10:23 PM QUOTE: Originally posted by Prince of Styrene II Also, since we're all building things from different shows/movies, would it still be considered a "group build"? Actually, I've been thinking more about this exact question. I know I defended it earlier, but now I'm kinda changing my mind. This does not closely resemble any of the group builds in the other topic areas, so maybe it's not one after all. However, it IS a good way to get more of us talking about our current projects. I got into a sticky situation with the AT-ST I was doing so I bounced around in some other projects, too. (I HATE filling seams) This month I have worked on an A-Wing fighter and got back to work on an 'Aliens' A.P.C. I started a few years ago but never finished. I'm afraid I'm not making significant progress on any of the three kits. Motivation is difficult to come by these days... -Mark Reply Edit

Prince of Styrene II Member since September 2003 From: USA

Posted by Prince of Styrene II on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 6:22 PM Thanks for the offer, jimmyd30! The site appears to be down, when is the competition? Also, since we're all building things from different shows/movies, would it still be considered a "group build"? "Hold the weapons, Daddy. I'm going to go get my monkeys." The Dutchess of Styrene Reply

Anonymous Member since November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 5:32 PM the 2004 ipms/usa national convention will be held in phoenix az .i happen to be the seminar coordinator.over the years i've seen several group builds entered ,but very few sci-fi related.if you gentlemen would be interested i could coordinate getting the models to the tables, etc. transportation would be your responsibility via your favorite shipping method or with someone going to the show , but i could act as the contact at this end. also all builder's would have to be ipms/usa members.more info about the show is available at the ipms website www.ipmsusa.org. Reply Edit

Prince of Styrene II Member since September 2003 From: USA

Posted by Prince of Styrene II on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 4:22 PM Well, thought this would be a good time to post an update on my PL TOS Ptolemy conversion & keep this at the top! I finally built a spray booth with some birthday money & was able to primer the bottom of the saucer section last night. I also dullcoated the inside of the outer domes on the nacelles for that cool, frosty look! I was also able to primer the "first pilot" TOS Enterprise I've had sitting on my bench, quitely waiting for the creation of the spray booth. Hopefully, tonight I'll be able to flip everything over & primer the other sides to my kits. The only thing that's left, build-wise, is making the hole for the stand in the transport container. I thought I'd be a bit different & use not only square tubing, but mount the tube on the 'backside' of the kit, not in the usual balance point on the underside. How's everyone else doing? "Hold the weapons, Daddy. I'm going to go get my monkeys." The Dutchess of Styrene Reply

Aurora-7 Member since December 2002 From: Connecticut, USA

Posted by Aurora-7 on Thursday, January 15, 2004 2:11 PM My apologies to PCmodeler - I never finished my PL 1701 on time. So far I have the saucer hull, engines an primary hull sub assemblies together. I need to do some sanding before joining them together. SInce I may finish this sooner now and if we are going to the end of February, I'll try to have my Bandai Red Tail (from Cowboy Bebop) finished for then, too. So far on that I have about 50% of the parts together -more sanding to there as well. I may try to enhance the cockpit just a bit. I've been using my Cowboy Bebop DVD as a reference.     Reply

Prince of Styrene II Member since September 2003 From: USA

Posted by Prince of Styrene II on Thursday, January 15, 2004 1:44 PM Just thought I'd bump this up & see how everyone's doing. I've gotten a bit more work done, no thanks to a busy work schedule! I've done a bit more puttying/sanding on the struts, as well as heating up & reshaping the resin "connector" that attaches to the transport cylinder. "Hold the weapons, Daddy. I'm going to go get my monkeys." The Dutchess of Styrene Reply

Prince of Styrene II Member since September 2003 From: USA

Posted by Prince of Styrene II on Friday, January 9, 2004 11:37 AM I got a little more work done last night on my Ptolomy Class while watching my box set of Firefly... such a great show! Anyway, I worked on the joint where the nacelle struts join the top of the neck at the saucer. The neck is a resin piece & the struts fit in the slot nicely, the only problem is that there is a small gap once the part is put in place against the saucer. The gap is too big for putty, so I took some sheet styrene & filled the gap. After a bit of sanding to shape, it fits great! The next step is sanding down all the putty I put on the struts where the two pieces are glued together. "Hold the weapons, Daddy. I'm going to go get my monkeys." The Dutchess of Styrene Reply

Anonymous Member since November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 9, 2004 10:59 AM So, how many members are actually participating in this? Three? Four? -Mark Reply Edit

Prince of Styrene II Member since September 2003 From: USA

Posted by Prince of Styrene II on Thursday, January 8, 2004 10:53 PM Okay, no harm done! I just thought I'd second the thought to see what happens. An "open build" is fine with me! "Hold the weapons, Daddy. I'm going to go get my monkeys." The Dutchess of Styrene Reply

Anonymous Member since November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 11:11 PM

Maybe for the next build, we could look a newly released or upcoming item.


I agree totally!

The whole idea behind this group build, at least for me, is to see who in the sci-fi forum is interested in participating. To get the maximum possible participation the subject matter for the build is wide open. Since this is the first sci-fi group build I have seen here, simply generating the interest was the goal. If this project is succesful then we can get more specific with future builds.

The issue of kit availability will make our group builds much more difficult than those in, say, the armor forum. One could choose from dozens of different Sherman tank kits in current production but only a handful of easily obtainable sci-fi subjects. We'll probably end up just asking what everyone has on their shelves waiting to be built. Personally, I have quite a few Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, Babylon 5, and Robotech kits on the storage shelves and, while they are out of production, none of them were particularly rare when I bought them.

As themes go, in this current build at least three of us, myself included, are building "mechs" of one form or another. This one is kind of sorting itself out in its own way.

The AT-ST is coming along nicely! Both legs are now fully assembled along with part of the "head" and the "torso". It is an interesting little kit... I think the best part will be the painting. I can't wait!

-Mark