Space: 2022 - Episode Eight

 At Pinewood, everyone can hear you scream!!!

Another (fake) episode in the can from the Alternate Anderson series "Space: 2022"!  This installment required a guest model, where most of this story will take place.  It is also an "original" episode not based on the Year Two series; Frankensteined from other episodes and series.  (At first it was going to be derived from a first season episode of "Buck Rogers" called "Space Vampire", which was my favourite of that series back in the day.  But when I recently re watched it to familiarize myself with the subject matter, I was disappointed to say the least!)  I had planned to have the Vorvon terrorize Sandra after the Phoenix encounters a derelict freighter, but all that went out the airlock.  

The guest model was already under construction, so I had to come up with another story.  Taking elements from various sources,  including the second episode of "Lost in Space" (which also has the same title by the way...),  I put them in the concept blender.  This one will still have Sandra in it, and she will get to scream several times at various decibels!  So here, submitted for your approval, is episode eight, and commercial free!

The PHOENIX, continuing in its search for a way home, comes out of Q-Drive into a desolate area of space.  There are no stars or planets nearby, just emptiness.  But suddenly VICTOR pipes up.  "Alan, there is a large metallic object ahead."  It is a huge spaceship, over a kilometer long!  But it is drifting, and no signs of life can be detected.  Command staff see this an unexpected opportunity.  Perhaps there are aliens aboard who may have information on this area of space or resources & technology that may help them return to Earth.  Maya recommends she take "Psyche" and use stealth mode to recon the ship, for it may have automatic defensives.  Alan concurs, the little green ship heads for the derelict, and then disappears.  

Maya circles the ship several times, amazed at its size.  Occasionally she "flashes" the derelict by turning off the stealth field, but there is no reaction.  The ship is dormant, dead, and surprisingly there is no sign of damage.  Also, Maya does not recognize the alien symbols.  She returns to the ship and command have another conference.  They have to get on board that ship.  A minimal crew is selected to assess the situation.  (Perhaps more can go aboard later once the ship is deemed safe).  As Alan can't leave the PHOENIX, Koenig volunteers to lead the team.  Maya and Sandra for science, Doctor Spencer (zero-G medical), and one security guard, Hans Einweg.  Kelly will pilot Dove 01.  

Following Maya's previous course, the Dove circles around the ship looking for any access; hatches, docking ports, windows, but no luck.  Analyzing the configuration of the ship it is theorized the large bump on the bow could be the bridge, so they make their start there.  Koenig goes out first, being the leader, followed by the rest of the team.  But Kelly has to stay on the Dove.  Tethered together, they explore the the surface of the ship.  Someone does something.  A panel slides and they are pulled in by some kind of tractor beam.  The hatch locks behind them.  Sandra screams (70 db).  Are they trapped inside this space hulk?

They have lost coms with Kelly and the PHOENIX as well.  It is dark inside, cold, and no gravity.  Koenig tells them to keep their helmets on until they find the bridge.  They make their way to the hump, which is the bridge just as they thought.  But still no crew.  Maya finds the on switch and reactivates the ship; it was in sleep mode.  They now have life support, gravity and lights in the immediate area.  There is a weird filament here and there, like cobwebs, plus a desiccated body sitting in the command chair.  Sandra screams (80 db).

While Maya and Sandra continue analyzing the bridge controls, Doctor Spencer examines the corpse.  Despite it being a 6 foot prune wearing a perspex helmet, it is actually humanoid.  "He did not die of natural causes, perhaps some kind of an infection" he says to Koenig.  "But where is the rest of the crew?" responds John. 

Meanwhile, Einweg has heard a strange noise coming from far down a corridor.  Doc Spencer goes with him, as does Sandra, in case they find more tech or other crew members who may need help.  Maya has discovered an interface consisting of round cylinders and tubes.  It is the ships log, plus access to a large amount of scientific data.  She and Koenig try one of the cylinders and a large screen appears before them.  They go through the entries to find out more; they are successful.  The ship is called the 'Menon', and is from the planet 'Betanon'.  It is an exploratory science vessel with a crew of 2,000.  The corpse in the chair is identified as Captain Duro.   

Further into the ship, our trio is following the strange sounds.  Light is intermittent and the cobwebs seem to be increasing in density.  A large door appears before them, and Sandra is able to open it.  The room is huge; an auditorium perhaps?  More shadows than light; shapes emerge.  Sandra screams (90 db).

Maya and John find the Duro's final log entry.  Apparently they were bringing biological samples aboard from a recently surveyed jungle planet, but something nasty hitched a ride.  The crew began to get infected by some kind of exotic fungus, a very thirsty fungus.  Nothing could stop it.  But wait, was that a scream?  "Check it out, Maya" says Koenig.  She turns into a bat and flies down the corridor.

Our trio has found the crew, or what's left of them.  The interior is a nightmarish fusion of desiccated bodies and fungus, draped by tendrils and filaments.  Suddenly a large tendril darts out and grabs Hans.  Sandra screams (100 db)!  Maya arrives too late to help; Einweg is finished.  The mass begins to pulsate and glow.  More and more tendrils begin to approach the door.  They close the bulkhead and run like hell.  But they can hear some loud pounding on the other side...

During this horror show, Koenig has re established coms with Kelly.  He informs him they are trapped and cannot get out.  Three pairs of hurried footsteps get closer and closer, and our revised trio bursts onto the bridge.  "We have to get out, NOW!" exclaims Maya.  The fungus has broken through the bulkhead and is oozing up the corridor.  Sandra screams (100 db).  There are only minutes left!  "Put your helmets on, and get behind those consoles!" orders Koenig, "Wrap the tether around you and hold on to each other!"  He then orders Kelly to use the Dove's laser and blast a hole in the hull.  The explosive decompression blows the team out into space, and Sandra screams (80 db; it was inside her helmet this time...).  They climb aboard the Dove and head back to the PHOENIX with no signs of pursuit.  Guess the fungus cannot live in the vacuum of space.

They return to the PHOENIX, but one man short.  Sandra is taken to medical and given a good dose of space valium.  Luckily Koenig was able to download a good chunk of the data before the mushroom attack.  They will have some new information to decipher and hope it will get them back to Earth.  But what to do about the 'Menon'?  "We just can't leave that infected derelict here.  Another ship may pass by and not be so lucky," says Alan.  "Looks like we have only one choice".  He gets Petrov on the line and authorizes the firing of a planatomic missile.  The crew stands in silence in remembrance of Security Guard Hans Einweg, and the derelict is vaporized.  (We are now down to 109 crew on the ship).

This is the "hide behind the sofa" episode for Year Two.  Done in the tradition of the (real) "Dragon's Domain" from Year One, which still freaks me out, even to this day.  Minimal set design as lighting will be very dark.  The giant fungal mass will be another miniature.  (I'm not building that one folks...).  A good space monster which should keep the suits in the New York office happy.  To maintain the dark tone of the episode, only the open and closing credits will utilize the Derek Wadsworth score.  Incidental music for the show will use several of those spooky Barry Gray electronic tonalities (You know the ones I'm talking about!),  which will be occasionally punctuated by various levels of screaming.  As for our doomed guest star, I thought Jeremy Wilkin would have been a good choice.  He's an Anderson veteran and he had the right look for a stoic security guard.  Too bad he never was in the original "1999"...

Building the "Menon" 

The script called for a derelict spacecraft.  The "Buck Rogers" episode I was going to adapt used a freighter called the 'Demeter' (actually just the repurposed Gemini freighter from Galactica), but looking back the last several modeling months I realized I was stuck in cargo mode.  So I wanted to look for inspiration elsewhere.  In the two years of "Space: 1999", where was the best collection of derelict space ships?  Back to "Dragon's Domain" of course!  In amongst the dozen or so ships from previous episodes, Sir Martin also constructed (besides the two Ultra Probes), five more derelict craft for the episode.  The one I chose was seen mostly in medium and long shots from various angles.  

As luck would have it, this model was built using parts from the Airfix Saturn V kit, the same one I bashed to build the PHOENIX.  But the images from the episode are not very clear.  Now any serious fan of "1999" knows about the website "The Catacombs".  They had an extensive visual library of the original model there which helped immensely.  I don't have permission to post those pics here; you'll have to go there yourself if interested.

The original fuselage is made up of four sections, all utilizing some pieces of the Saturn V model. As I only had the one kit, I salvaged the left overs, plus some plumbing fittings, vitamin bottles, more greeblies, and finally good ole Kinder Eggs.  The main section is the first rocket stage, which was the last major piece left.  I played around with various configurations of the parts until something pleasing to the eye took shape.  I was not going to be making a replica of the original, but more of a hommage.

I built it in two sections connected by a brass rod.  It will be easier to work on it this way.  A vitamin bottle extended the rocket stage (section 1), whilst intermittent bottles, lids, and plumbing fittings combined to make section 2.  I didn't have a dome for the bow of the ship, but had (of all things) a chromed egg from a panty hose container popular in the '70s.  (I have a box full of Ultra Ban domes too!).  Those two tanks are from the Laser Battle Station kit, another one I stole parts from for the PHOENIX model.

I used two types of textured styrene sheets to make various panels, and to add texture to the hull.  I also added low detail greeblies here and there, even duplicating some that Sir Martin used, but keeping restrained as I wanted it to be alien looking and not so NASA looking. 

The plumbing fitting at the rear of the ship was hexagonal, which gave me the excuse to include the Kinder Eggs (which had been lacking lately).  They were salvaged from the Buzzard refit.  I included some more Saturn V leftovers, but the boosters were from the Space Shuttle kit.  Satisfied with the basic model it was prime time.

I used Rustoleum camo Sand for the base coat and primary colour.  Avoiding the NASA colour palette of greys, blacks, and whites, as well as on the original model, I decided to use earth tones and avoid those colours entirely.  (Guess I have spent too much time in the desert lately...).  Khaki drab, buff, tan, and burnt sienna worked best with the sand base.  Panels painted and patterned with these colours; there was to be no metallic either.  Also on the forbidden list was no weathering or panel lines.  Aliens don't necessarily build their ships the same way after all...

The completed model is 31" long, a little shorter than Sir Martin's version, as I omitted two sections.  As it is stated to be a little over a kilometer long in the episode, the scale of this ship is 1/1270.  Because of its relative size to the PHOENIX, I thought it would have been fun if the Menon swallowed it "You Only Live Twice" style, but that would have added more hours to the project than I was willing to invest.  It's so easy to get carried away with these things...

To create the random rectangular pattern on the hull, I wanted to avoid having to mask off individual areas; I have found no matter how careful the paint always bleeds under the tape.  So I did it the opposite way.  I took some old colour beige masking tape and painted them using the established colour palette.  Then using a sharp knife, I cut out the desired shape and pasted them on the hull.  Again, trying not to overdo it.  This way if I didn't like how it looked, I could just peel it off.  

The alien graphix were created using just some military stencil font decals and cutting them accordingly.  Just some random symbols here and there, and very "1999" in their aesthetic.

So many space ships always have the boosters directionally pointing straight back.  I wanted to try something different.  For the engine nacelles I tacked on some old swivel faucet spray heads, this way I could have them on an angle, or even put straight back if I wanted to.  

That single cone in the middle is from the Saturn kit.  It is the shield for the command module during launch.  Sir Martin used four of them in the original model as boosters; I don't have the budget.  I believe when he was building the models for "1999" he must have cleaned out every Woolworths for fifty miles around!  

The four tanks on the original studio model were identical from a Harrier kit.  Again, I don't have the budget, so I made do with what I had.  The core piece are the guts from a Gardenia hose fitting.  

And yes, that large hump at the front is the bridge.  So that about wraps it up for the 'Menon'.  There are  only a handful of bits left from the original Airfix kit now.  But if I ever wanted to do something similar again, it would be cheaper to 3D print them in massive quantities!  

Hope you enjoyed tonight's scary cosmic horror tale!  There are still 16 more episodes to go in the series, and at least three require guest models.  So what's next is anybody's guess.

Have a better one!

North Afrika: 2092 - Sea of Sand

 

Part One: Concept

No, not from the 1958 film , but more of a metaphor.  Now it is (finally) time to introduce the culprit (which inadvertently), contributed to the death of dioramas as I stated in a previous post.  I have had this concept in the back of my mind for many years now.  A battleship, or land ship of some kind to traverse the dune seas of the deserts.   Perhaps in the Gundam Universe, or some thing in the vein of SF3D (Maschinen Kreiger Zbv 3000).  But since most of the raw material came from a WW2 German Battleship kit, I chose to make it part of that 2092 (formerly 2042) universe I was creating.  Here's a not so artsy image of the model:

The Gotterdammerung (Twilight of the Gods) is a large land battleship named after Richard Wagner's Opera of the same name.  (I think I had some "Iron Sky" influence in there too!).  The completed model is 21" long, 6" wide (at the beam), and 8" high (top of antennae array).  At a scale of 1/220, the "real" ship is 115m x 33m x 42m.  It is the flagship and the ultimate weapon of the WusteKriegsmarine, and a has a top speed of 100 km (54 knots) in the open desert.  Propulsion is based on the rediscovered technology lost at the end of WW2, when the Haunebu saucers were being designed.  The ship generates intense magnetic fields using atomic fusion motors.  It moves forward, backwards, side to side, and can spin.  Unfortunately due to the recoil of the 3 main guns, the ship has to be immobile when firing, but this is not applicable to the many smaller projectile and energy weapons.  

I regard this model as a "Bastard from Outer Space", an unholy union of the Star Destroyer and a SF3D Nutrocker, (or its larger relative the Nutcracker).  So rather than refer to this as a battleship, I think "Sand Destroyer" (Sandzerstorer) might be a more applicable term to use from now on.  But to save time & typing, we'll just call it Big G!  

Part Two: Construction

In my vast inventory of models and raw materials,  I had an Academy kit of the German Battleship Tirpitz (sister ship to the Bismarck) at 1/350 scale kicking around.  Originally I was going to make a diorama based on the ships of the anime series "Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet" (as I had some other ship models and hull bits laying about), but it would have been more of a commitment than I was willing to invest and would have taken up a lot of space.  I'd been trying to sell the kit at various toy & model shows for the past few years but with no success.  So I decided to keep it and make it into something else...  I also had a half dozen surplus vacu-form shells from a work related project way back in the 20th...

The styrene shell is actually one half of the finished product; it was a new building my company was working on at the time.  Built in the good old days of blueprints and hand crafting, a wood mold was made and several were run until a suitable cast was made.  (Good for me as I got all the left overs!).  The deck of the model ship was in three convenient sections, as it was designed to be removed from the hull to access batteries and motors.  (Yes it was made to float). I  then took this main deck and integrated it into the bullet shaped form.

I found using a hot knife to cut out the section worked best.  I then applied filler putty to the seams and sanded them smooth.  From this point on it was many days of building on the model with mostly parts from the kit.  I added a hump section to accommodate another large gun (the original piece only had turrets for two) using a craft scoop (that magenta thingy) from the good ole dollar store.  The superstructure was built using the supplied parts but I put them together in the proper way and not the wrong way as in the plans; backwards, upside down, other locations, etc.  Cranes were modified, a landing pad installed, and more guns added from other battleship kits I had around.  I decided not to model the underside, as it would not be visible most times anyway.  

The stern had a feature added, which will be discussed later in the blog.  The large and medium guns were left off so they could be rotated and painted.  Large numbers of those tank treads greeblies were used liberally all over the model.  Some as details, and some for use in the superstructure as shield plates.  (Once this ship starts moving the sand and rocks fly around quite freely!)  Those teeth on the front (which came from some packaging), were inspired by U-boats; just there for show although they could act as debris deflectors I suppose.  About 80% of the model was made up from the original kit, the rest being finds from the greeblie box.

The parts are now ready to prime, so off to the spray booth.  Unfortunately, I neglected to take snaps of the primer phase.  I started with base grey, then a black green (which would have been dusted with rust), and then the final coat being another new favourite colour from a Vallejo rattler.  Actually a fantasy colour, it was sprayed with desert yellow, which is actually closer than the official German yellow.

Part Three: Final Paint & Weathering

The deck was painted a darker yellow and some subtle highlights here and there too.  But when I did a pre-assembly, it looked flat.

Obviously something this big racing around the desert is not very inconspicuous, but what the hell, the camo would look better.  Utilizing the sections I made using strip styrene on the hull, I painted in some khaki and light tans.  Also painted the guns which fell into these sections the same colour, and some horizontal areas in the superstructure.  It looked much better now.

Incidentally, that antennae array also acts as a shield generator when the ship is not in motion; the magnetic fields would conflict otherwise.  The design was inspired by some of Makoto Kobayashi's Hyperweapon Yamato variations.  It was then time to decide as to what kind of weathering to do, as this is not your regular model you see on YouTube tutorials.  I settled on treating this as more of a tank than a ship.  A few more pics of the final model, and then we'll talk some more about weathering...

I figured rocks flying around the ship and sand storms would be the primary cause of distress on the hull and superstructure.  Due to the small scale I had to make sure I didn't over do any chipping; it still had to look somewhat realistic.  Instead of sponge painting the chipping I "drew" the damaged areas with coloured pencils (black and dark grey) and a fine black marker.  But it was easy to get carried away.  After a few hours it looked like measles, so I had to come up with a better plan.  

I changed to streak effects and long strips of chipping and scratching.  Using sandpaper and a wire brush, I removed a lot of the "blackheads" and distressed the model down to the primer coat in some places.  The bow taking the most damage obviously.  I also added more streaks with that grey pencil.  

Once I was satisfied with the scratches, I turned my attention to bringing out the details, adding streaking and some other minor distress.  Because of the size of the model, I thought washes would not be suitable.  Instead I used pigments premade from Vallejo and made my own from the pastel collection.  (This way I can mix the colours better).  Various shades of brown, yellow, grey and black were used.  It gets a little messy but I think the results are better and you have more control.  If overdone, an eraser takes care of the problem.

Graphics were minimal.  A few small ones out of the decal box here and there, and I decided to use the flag supplied in the original model.  The single marking of the NDA was made from three separate transfers.  The nameplate for the ship was 3D printed, although the original file was made in 3D Builder and dry brushed gold.

In some of those shots of the upper deck, you may have noticed the presence of a small aircraft.  That is the Arado AR 346 Fledermaus spy plane.  I made it by Frankensteining the aircraft from the model and a small fighter from one of those Bandai Yamato Mechanic kits.  It is a VTOL used for reconnaissance.  I used pontoons instead of skids or wheels as they would work better on the sea of sand.

It has a 1.5" wingspan, and I painted it based on previous North Africa aircraft camo.  When not in use, the plane is stored below deck.  And that is a good seque to the next part, which was directly responsible for this concept spiraling out of control.

I waffled about this for quite some time, whether or not to include a cargo bay in the ship.  I was about to scrap the idea when I stumbled on a die cast truck, specifically a garbage truck in the good ole dollar store.  It was about four inches long and the door was operable.  So I integrated it into the stern of the ship.  

Now that the ship had a back door for cargo, I need something to bring it supplies, and that is how the Schnecke was born.  The door, when lifted, is held up by two brass rods (fake hydraulics), the crane frame is inserted into a slot in the back, and a ramp (made from a window shim no less) makes the final touch.  All these parts are kept separate in the "toy box" for this series.

Minimal detail inside with just a veneer of textured styrene sheet for the walls and some minor greeblies.  I decided not to put lights in the bay.  So this is were all cargo (and the Fledermaus) goes in and out of the Big G.  Extra work but now it has more play value!  But how is the cargo transferred you ask?  The Schnecke off loads the containers (or whatever) onto motorized palettes, which are then sent inside the ship by the LoadMaster.  I 3D printed the cargo buggies by combining some "Space:1999" moon buggy and "Alien" floor tile files; they were actually made for "Cargo: 2023", but they worked out just fine!  

Part Four: Free Range Sand Destroyer

This next section has lots of surveillance pics of the Big G in it's natural habitat.  Our dedicated NAU spies spent many hours out in the field, hiding amongst the rocks & bushes to get these shots for the MoD.  (I think they were Twitchers before the war...)

One day the lads got lucky.  They stumbled upon a re-supply mission out in the desert.  A Schnecke and one Nachtschecke had arrived fully loaded.  

They managed to see the large port crane amidships moving some crates.  Rather than risk getting closer, they have a small nano-drone which is disguised as a budgerigar, and they sent that in to do a few quick flyovers.

And they got even luckier!  Once the operation was done on the port side, the large door at the stern opened up and some 6-wheeled buggies trundled out....

Couldn't pass up another opportunity!  The budgie went out for a few more flyovers.

The wings on the Fledermaus can fold (but I'm done doing more variations on this project!).  I'm sure this ship has a few more surprises in the future as well.  

And that is the story of the Gotterdammerung.  All in all I am satisfied as how it turned out, and I learned a few more weathering techniques in the process.  But we are far from finished with this scenario...  Currently I have two more models in progress on the workbench.  Which is followed by another five in pre-production (bashing and 3D printing).  And I still have five more of those bullet shaped shells lying around.  Can you say blimp?   I wonder if I will ever get back to the trains...

Good night and...