Flattop Ship

Just in time to get in one more post before 2016 ends....  Let me introduce the HMCSS Gibraltar:

Had to build another spaceship.  This time it was influence from several sources, mostly from the original "Battlestar Galactica".  In the rag tag fleet was a background ship known as the "flattop" used in many group shots and repurposed from time to time.  It was later when I started to read "Heavy Metal" that I noticed the similarity with a ship in the Moebius short "It's a Small Universe", and I knew then I would have to build something like this in the future.  35 years later....

There are some references to the building of the filming miniature out there on the web; I will let you research if you so desire...   This is by far not a replica.  I do not have the time, patience, or funds to build a duplicate.  (Besides I build other people's concepts everyday;  why do that at home...?)

The only "original" part was the upper deck.  To keep some degree of authenticity I traced out the deck and some details from an underlay of the Moebius art in AutoCAD.  Then lazer cut some quarter inch perspex, along with some engraved panel lines.  The deck is now 17" long and 8" wide, with a primary 1/4" plate and a secondary (slightly offset) 1/8" plate.

So using the basic concept I started scrounging for all the shapes, greeblies and nurnies I had in stock.  I don't have the luxury like the big shops do with having access to mulitple parts and kits; have to make the best of it with what I have.  I did not want to buy any extra parts or kits for this project, just paint.  Many an evening was spent arranging then deconstructing the underside of the plate.  Lots of leftover lazer cut parts, the omnipresent Kinder Eggs, the new Zaini Eggs (more on those another time...), many dollar store shapes, and parts from assorted armour, aircraft, and other various kits.  The "fuselage" is actually yet another old Dremel housing.  (An interesting fact is the rotary tool case already had a convenient 1/2" hole, perfect for the support rod!).

I wanted the upper deck to be almost smooth and opposite from the underside  with only minimal relief.  I went totally "Foss" with graphics!  Along with painting the panels several colours; I used alot of railroad transfers, assorted decals and tapes.

A painting accident set me back several evenings during this phase.  A spray paint I planned to use on the deck actually acted more like a paint remover than paint!  It bubbled and puckered and totally ruined the finish.  I had to scrape all of the paint off (along with smaller panels and other shapes) as well as try to remove the paint which had clogged the panel lines.  Luckily it was salvaged with only minor (repairable) damage.  I will never mix brands again!

So you have a flat top, now what?  Rather than it just sitting on a stand looking pretty I had to come up with a back story and purpose.  I thought about making it another BG background ship (Leonid of course!), or integrating it into the Alien universe with Weyland-Yutani logos on it.  I decided to make it part of my fake sci-fi "Space: 2019" series, and make it the guest model in one of the "episodes".

HMCSS Gibraltar (Her Majesty's Commercial Space Ship) is a Foss Class Survey Ship, the only one of it's kind.  425' long (130m), this vessel cruises around the solar system cataloguing asteroids and other potential resources for mining.  (I based the dimensions on a scale of 1/300).  The ship has pop-up sensor arrays (located from the original drawing) which are only deployed when needed, otherwise they are kept safely under the deck.

I had been hoarding old contact lens cases for years; now it was time to use them!  The lens holders work nicely with already hinged connections and make convincing arrays, and the plastic cases were also used on the underside and fuselage.  Other bits and pieces were then used to finalize the sensor clusters.  (Normally I would have a photo or two of the unpainted model; I will do a separate posting on further construction another time...)

So back to the fake series.  Season One, Episode 13, "Collision Course".  The Gibraltar is out surveying; pet rock hunting as it where.  It stumbles upon a rogue asteroid heading for Earth.  The rest of the story is of course how to stop it.  I chose to use BP as the company who owned the vessel.  I figured they would venture out at some point looking for more resources, and growing up I had many Matchbox vehicles all nicely painted green and yellow!  (I realize the logo has changed; I like this one better!).  One more fake reference to the episode:

The last model of 2016.  Check back soon for further details about construction in a segment I call "Shape-Spotting".  All the best for 2017!

Space: 2019 - As promised.....

I said I was going to milk this concept for three posts, so here is the final installment!  I was surprised by how this concept just mushroomed into more than just the model.  It is said "A picture is worth a thousand words", but it appears that a model is worth a whole lot more!  I have now created the fictional first season of the show.  24 episodes in all, with basic story outlines.  Some original, and some adapted from the original "Space: 1999" episodes to fit into the new timeline.  (I guess I should put a disclaimer in here, just to be sure I am not stepping on anyones copyrighted toes!  The original images from the series are from "The Catacombs", the best "Space: 1999" site out there!  (http://catacombs.space1999.net/index.html).  It is definitly worth a visit!  And after all these years, I have no idea who has the rights to the show anymore!).

Introduction

Just a brief set up before we get to binge-watching the series!  Many of the original cast will be present, although the roles will be altered to suit the new timeline.

Martin Landau - Controller John Koenig (Resource Redistribution-Buzzard Fleet)
Barbara Bain - Doctor Helena Russel
Barry Morse - Professor Victor Bergman
Philip Madoc - Commander Anton Gorski (Moonbase Alpha)
Nick Tate - Captain Alan Carter (Buzzard Fleet)

The rest of the cast stays pretty much the same as the original series.  Some of the above will retire over the twenty year period this series spans.  Music will of course be by Barry Gray with Brian Johnson as effects and Martin Bower on miniatures.  As this is more of an anthology show, there may actually be several months or years between episodes, as well as many guest actors and artists.  So sit back, relax, and grab a cup of tea!  What's this advert in the TV Guide...?

Episode 1 - "Firestorm Part 1"
To cut down on the writing, this is basically "Breakaway", except the explosion at Area 2 is narrowly averted.  Another solution to the nuclear waste problem is required immediately, so Commissioner Simmonds temporarily halts any further deliveries from Earth and appoints Cmdr. Koening in charge of finding a new solution as quickly as possible.  The final shot shows the dark side of the moon strewn with cannisters.

Episode 2 - "Firestorm Part 2"
Anton Gorski is re-appointed as Alpha Commander while Koening, along with Prof. Bergman and a thinktank of assorted engineers try to solve the waste issue.  Unfortunately the waste has to begin shipping up to the moon, but instead of silos the cannisters are piled on the surface in small clusters.  We do a montage of research shots, miniatures, the occasional arguements, and success.  But at the end of it all, two years later in 2001 (no relation...), The first Buzzard is launched.  Or BZ-01, as the designation will be from now on.  The haulers are built in orbit at a new mid way facility (Mr. Bower, build please!), and the waste is transferred at other Lagrange points.

Episode 3 - "Meltdown"
A transfer/loading accident between a transport Eagle and a Buzzard causes a massive spill, several explosions and a radio-active cloud.

Episode 4 - "Mutiny"
(I envision the round trip to solar disposal point from the moon to be about 3 or 4 months.  So crews are expected to be away for extended periods and hopefully screened psycologically?  But we know better...)
Co-pilot Tracy has a personal family crisis and needs to return home ASAP.  As the Captain refuses to comply with the request, Tracy has no choice but to forcibly take control and turn around...

Episode 5 - "Earthbound"
The crew of BZ-09 encounters an alien ship in the inner system.  With some clever maneuvers they manage to board the ship and discover bodies in suspended animation.  Rather than disturb the sleepers, the ship is allowed to continue on its journey (which ends up being the Moon) with an Eagle escort.

Episode 6 - "Short Straw"
A massive solar flare forces the crew to seek refuge in the safe room.  The flare shows no signs of diminishing and the Buzzard is getting too close to the sun.  The only solution is for one man to go to the command module and change course.  But this is a suicide mission, and who will go...?

Episode 7 - "Wormhole"
BZ-05 is caught is a spacial anomaly and is catapulted 1500 lights years to Orion.  The crew attempt to locate a habitable planet hoping the supplies and fuel will last...

Episode 8 - "Personal Best"
Capt. D. Meddings risks his ship and crew to make the shortest and fastest cargo run.

Episode 9 - "The Derelict"
A rogue comet is in fact an alien spacecraft encasted in ice.  The crew of BZ-02 try to somehow match velocities and hopefully board the vessel.  But what waits beneath the ice...?

Episode 10 - "Slingshot"
A failure of the main drive puts the crew of BZ-06 in mortal danger.  As there is only minimal fuel in the payload boosters, Capt. B. Johnson tries a sling shot maneuver around the sun to hopefully return to Earth.  But will the food and oxygen last at this diminshed speed?

Episode 11 - "Survivors Guilt"
John Koenig decides it was high time to get out from behind his desk and takes command of BZ-10.  His true motives are revealed when he changes course to the alleged abandoned Venus station to find out the true fate of the people he left behind with Venusian Plague...

Episode 12 - "Inquisition"
Part 2 to E11.  Koenig is brought up on several charges for his transgressions and put on trial.  This episode will be full of flashbacks and lots of shouting.  What will the verdict be...?

Episode 13 - "Collision Course"
A large asteriod is going to impact the Earth.  It seems the only way to stop it will be to use a Buzzard as a bomb to hopefully deflect it enough to miss the planet....

Episode 14 - "Death's Other Dominion"
BZ-03 encounters a proton storm en route to the sun and is hurtled far out into the universe to come to rest at a frozen planet.  It seems the planet of Ultima Thule also has survivors of the lost Uranus probe of 1985, so with no hope of return join the community.  The lads then spend most of their time trying to win the affections of Valerie Leon!

Episode 15 - "File: Deleted"
Capt. E. Bishop discovers his cargo is not radio-active waste but evidence and many bodies from a biological accident which the government wants kept quiet.  Does he risk life and career to expose the truth?

Episode 16 - "Another Time, Another Place"
The obligatory time-travel episode!  BZ-13 gets caught in a time warp and ends up back in September of 1999.  Do they or can they intervene, but it's too late.  Area 2 goes nuclear the Moon is torn out of Earth orbit....

Episode 17 - "Metal Fatigue"
A fatal flaw is discovered in the design of the Buzzards.  BZ-04 explodes soon after loading.  But the other Buzzards are also risk and could also be destroyed.

Episode 18 - "Mary Celeste" 
BZ-01 (which went missing after her third flight..) is discovered in the inner void.  There is no damage to the ship (which still has the payload) and no evidence of the crew.  Capt. B. Gray must try to solve the mystery and salvage the ship.

Episode 19 - "Buckshot"
A micro meteor show severly damages BZ-08.  With fuel, waste and oxygen leaking, the crew have to resort to suits and send an SOS.  But will rescue arrive in time...?

Episode 20 - "Served Cold"
Fired from the service for many violations, Pilot Adam Blue hijacks a Hawk and pursues his former ship and captain with vengeance in mind....

Episode 21 - "Locked and Loaded"
As BZ-06 approaches the cargo separation zone, it is unable to disengage the payload and is out of control.  The crew must act quickly to alter course or somehow separate the command module and payload...

Episode 22 - "Apollo 13"
While on a routine run, BZ-02 encounters the command module and three frozen bodies of the ill-fated Apollo mission of 1970.  But didn't the crew return safely?  Evidence supports an obvious government conspiracy, but what should the crew do?

Episode 23 - "Dragon's Domain"
Tony Cellini begins to have nightmares and flashbacks from the Ultra Probe disaster of 1996.  As no one believes his story of a spaceship graveyard and tentacled monster, the crew is startled to find a cluster of alien ships in orbit around Mercury....

Episode 24 - "The Icarus Incident"
BZ-14 is hijacked by an Eco-Terrorist group who want nuclear power plants dismantled and a more green solution found.  Unless their terms are met, they threaten to send the ship back to Earth which would cause widespread radioactive pollution.

E 24 is a season cliffhanger, to be continued in Season 2.  Will there be a second season?  What are the ratings like, and how is the merchandising going?  So here is my first attempt at fan-fiction.  I hope you enjoyed the stories!  You can show your support by going out and buying the t-shirts, novelizations, Dinky Toys & Airfix kits, and the action figures!  And as promised, this is the end of "Space: 2019".  It's time to move on to something else.  But that will be in a future post!

Space: 2019 - "Episode 2"

Not really, but it took so long to do this model I am going to run with this concept for at least one more post! For this installment I have created two desktop calendars for the month of August.  Feel free to use them if you wish.  I also experimented with single source lighting for a new series of photos and was happy with the results.

  The second calendar is from the first season episode "Wormhole", when BZ-05 encounters an anamoly en route to the sun and is transported 1500 light years distant to Orion.  (I envision this "series" to dispose of the Buzzard transports as effectively as "Space: 1999" did with the limitless supply of Eagles!)

The Future is Fantastic!

Space: 2019

This latest six month project was long overdue!  Besides my father, there is probably only one other gentlemen who influenced my interest in model building.  If it wasn't for Gerry Anderson productions, I would probably be building car models.  But since I grew up watching "Fireball XL-5" (actually my first ever model kit!), "Stingray", "Thunderbirds", "Captain Scarlet", and the other Supermarionation programs, I preferred to build subjects in this sci-fi universe.  The following piece also pays hommage to Derek Meddings, Brian Johnson, and (of course), Martin Bower.  So please read on for the back story of the "Buzzard", the long-haul nuclear waste transports from an altered universe.

September 13, 1999....

Nuclear Waste Disposal Area 2 is in imminent danger of a catastophic explosion.  Due to the quick thinking of Commander John Koenig and tireless cargo Eagle crews, the large atomic pile of waste is disipated and the crisis averted.  Unfortunately, there is now no where to safely store the radioactive waste without the possiblility of the same event happening again.  So with the moon rotten with atomic garbage a new solution had to be found quickly.  Two years later, the first of the "Buzzards" was launched, after being constructed at the space dock.  The program was to ship all of the remaining waste and the continuous stream of new waste from Earth to the sun and dump it there.  Now in 2019, there are 11 funtioning Buzzards shipping atomic waste to the biggest incinerator we have....

For the model, I used parts from three primary sources.  A leftover MPC Eagle kit, a very old tanker trailer, and the 1/72 Revell Space Shuttle I rescued from a garage sale.  Also included are handfulls of greebles sourced from many armour and aircraft kits, other sweet shapes from various sources, and the trademark Kinder Egg.  This model includes the epic amount of no less than 24 eggs; 20 regular and 4 of the jumbos!  My stock has been severly depleted...    

I wanted to keep the model in the "Space: 1999" style, being influenced by other vehicles in the series, like the Meta Probe, the Ultra Probe and the Super Swift.  Measuring in at 36" long, its practically studio scale. Since the Eagle model is 1/72, that makes it 216' long (66 metres).  

Conventional construction and modelling techniques.  The most time consuming of the build was selecting and placing the grebbles as not to look over-cluttered, as well as adding raised panels.   Besides the "Space: 1999" influence, I was also dabbling with some subtle Chris Foss graphics, but nothing too extreme (that is for other projects...).   For the "dirtying down" process, I used good old pastels to bring out the features.

The concept is that upon reaching the "safe zone" near the sun, the command module and drive unit detatch, and the payload is sent into the corona to be destroyed.  The separate units then link up and the Buzzard returns home for the next load.  (Sorry, I didn't build the model with separation capabilities; this one is for long shots...).  I envisioned this as an interim payload, partially painted.  But future loads will be totally red oxide to save money.

The Buzzards (also referred to as "pregnant eagles" by some smart pilots...), carry a crew of three.  One pilot on duty at all times with a relief on standby and the third in rotation.  The main living quarters are in the large cylinder behind the command module, which is connected to a smaller compartment which is heavily sheilded and used for vital storage and emergencies like solar flares.  There are no docking ports.  Crews have to EVA to transfer to other vehicles from safe distances due to the volitile and dangerous cargo they carry.

This view reminds me of the episode "The Guardian of Piri".  To stay in the "zone" I watched most episodes of "Space: 1999" during the six months of construction (except for several episodes from Season 2; some of them I just can't handle...), as well as other series and films from Anderson, and most especially, only those with practical effects!  No CGI!

So "Space: 2019" won't be as exciting as the original.  Looks like we now have "Movin On: 1999"!  I'm sure with 11 ships running about out there we can come up with a decent series.  Actually there are many plots available, such as:
-The ship malfunctions and the crew cannot alter course or disengage from the payload, and is doomed to do a "sun dive", until the obligatory deus ex machina of course
-an alien derelict is discovered on Mercury
-a ship is hijacked and held for ransom, otherwise the ship and payload will be crashed into Earth...
But I'm a modeller, not a writer....

I realize 2019 is not that far away, but in keeping with the series parameters, I thought it fitting.  Also, 2019 is quite significant for another reason, and I will ask you to ponder that reference while the Buzzard flies overhead....

A very satisfying project!  Thanks to all those mentioned above for the inspiration and continued entertainment!  Now if ITV is interested in another sci-fi show, let's do lunch....

That Which Survives....

Just posting an update on the insectivorous bog I constructed last August.  I am pleased to say that it weathered the winter better than I expected!  Thanks to the close proximity of large maple trees, I mulched the bog under about 12" of fallen leaves and waited....  By early May the weather was such I had to start removing the mulch and to my surprise no deaths or rot.  What was the problem though was the maple keys in the mix, along with flung seeds from picky birds at the adjacent feeder which germinated and had to be removed.  But the bog now thrives:

As you can see, the "cage" used to contain the leaves and protect it from digging squirrels remains.  Unfortunately squirrels and chipmunks like to dig in the bog (although they don't directily damage or eat the plants), I still need to leave the cage on the frame, since the resident "scare-gnome" doesn't deter them either.  At least the "plant food" can get through the mesh!

So not only are the plants thriving and producing new growth, I was fortunate to get over a dozen flowers.  And they are still coming.  So based on the success of this bog, I have decided to build another one elsewhere in the garden this summer.  That is between model building of course!  Until the next post, enjoy the flowers!

Alive and Kicking and Building!

Does this blog still work?  It has been a very eventful seven months but business as usual!  Just a quick post as the progress of my current project.  What could possibly be forming in this mess of nurnies, greebles, and an epic number of Kindereggs?  (There are obvious hints to the theme of this almost "studio scale" model... ) Please stand by and check back soon.