Space: 2022 - Building the PHOENIX - Part Five - Two Turtle Doves....

As we required some sort of space craft for planetary exploration/landings, the Dove was born.  (No fancy transporters here, just good old hardware!).  The initial concept was to have a single shuttle-like vehicle on the main hub airlock, but as I stated in the last post, I upgraded that to a purpose built module for two new spacecraft.  They were to be the next evolution of the Eagle, a new long range, faster transport with multiple uses and functions.  The name was derived from "Doppelganger" again, but that vehicle was quite different; a lift body concept which was popular with NASA around that time (1969).

The lift body idea would not have worked with what I was going to put them through, so the only thing I kept was the name.  To upgrade the Eagle to the next phase, I went opposite of a Year Two concept and made it logical.  The inspiration came from the Swift spacecraft(s) from the "Brian the Brain" episode.  (another fine miniature from Sir Martin).  

I could never understand why the Swift (from yet another lost Earth expedition; are we seeing a trend here?) launched in 1996 with apparently three other Swifts and a Mother Ship, (which we never saw by the way...),  was more advanced than the Eagles.  So I reversed the timeline and made an Eagle/Swift Hybrid.

The Doves are 104' (32m) long, and are powered by a Mark XIII Queller Drive, with secondary standard fusion rockets.  As with the Phoenix, the FTL has limited time and range, only 21 minutes of operation.  Recharge time is 63 minutes.  Again, the drive has no issues with fatal fast neutrons, pulsating or destructive tendencies.   Two pilots, and a maximum complement of 20 individuals can be included (for emergencies).  The craft also has long range sensors, lasers for defense, science & medical labs, plus supplies and life support for extended periods in space.  Unlike the Eagle though, the pod does not disengage.  An important consideration is we have a finite number of Doves; only two and only will have two!  They'll be no crashing/abandoning or blowing up of these Doves in this version of the series, unlike the eight Eagles lost in the real Year Two (not including Year One).

So since I had to build two, it was assembly line time.  I cobbled all the Eagle bits together from the three left over kits (the 1/96 ones of course), and spent many nights building, sometimes with success, other times changing the configurations.  

The large tubes are those acrylic shot tubes again, (same as Module C types), capped with googly eyes and those plastic rings.  A bit of thin tape for detail too.  I dispensed with some of the truss work and added detail to the pod and other parts of the ship.

I used large snap fasteners for the landing pads, (as I omitted the four pods for escape pod parts), and the main booster is a small acrylic liquor glass with added metal rings.  Inside that booster is also another lid.  

The ships went through a few changes as I progressed of course.  Once satisfied with the final result, it was prime time.  But since I wanted the Doves to be slightly different visually, I painted them in dove grey (who's a clever boy then?).  Also referred to the Swift again for some of the red oxide accents.  Same routine with all the other parts.  IPA wash (one night each), relief and panel lines with pigments & pastels, and then lots of graphics.  

The Doves are designated as 01 and 02.  Dove-01 is always docked on the starboard side of the garage, and Dove-02 on the port side.  

The Dove models are actually heavier than they look.  If only one is docked, it causes the whole Phoenix model to tip off balance.  But how are they mounted you may ask?  Very simple actually.  I played around with a few ideas with pegs or rods, but finally settled on magnets.  Rare earth magnets to be precise.  There is a hidden magnet in each Dove at the pod door, and another hidden one on the garage airlocks.  For mounting, another magnet is placed in the gap between the airlock and pod door.  It's actually hard to remove them once attached. 

And those are the Doves.  Sorry, it's not an acronym this time!  Next post, we'll get back to the series and take a short break from the hero model.  Have a better one!

Space: 2022 - Building the PHOENIX - Part Four

Module E, the Garage Section (also referred to as the "Dove's Nest" or "Dove's Cage" by pilots and technical crew),  was the last part of the ship imagined and constructed.  Originally I had the primary shuttle as an Eagle (and at one time, a winged lifting body),  docked at the Hub on that main airlock with the claws.  I eventually expanded that concept and thought a minimum of two ships would be better,  and still using the "Doppelganger" influence, create a new proto-type ship called the "Dove", a successor to the Eagle.  This section would have maintenance workshops, pilot's facilities, and refueling. 

This is also the only part of the ship not built using any pieces from the Airfix Saturn V.  It's basically a Frankensteined piece made up of whatever I could get my hands on and what worked.  It had to be long enough to accommodate the Doves without interfering with the adjacent modules, especially the big spinning bit.  I wanted some animation as well, with the refueling/docking arms being movable.  

The module is made up of two empty plastic vitamin bottles (probably Tumeric...), connected by some acrylic napkin ring holders I found on one of my safaris to the dollar store.  The blue ribbed piece was a paper towel holder, and the two clear pieces are old contact lens cases.  All carefully glued together and aligned with an internal brass rod.  The two docking arms are toothbrush covers; I have used them many times before.  

Encircling the two pods as it were are some smaller acrylic tubes which I acquired from work; they were for holding electronic equipment.  The open ends were capped with suitable googly eyes.  After the main structure was completed, it was then a few evenings of adding greeblies, stock parts, and more leftover lazer cutting, as well as making docking sections out of raw styrene.  But the best bits were yet to come...

Those orange bits are actually covers for printer cartridges during transport.  Once the cartridges are installed in the printer these parts are just binned, except by me of course!  I added on some detail parts and cables.  The arms are attached to the module by a ball and socket affair scrounged from some construction toys.  Originally there were to be eight; four each to secure the ships.  But I decided to cut that in half and use the surplus arms elsewhere.

Once all parts were completed, it was prime time (again with all the other bits).  One evening with the IPA wash, subtle shading and accents with pigments, and then finally adding graphics.  

And that is the Dove's Nest.  Maybe at this point I should finally reveal one of the elusive bloody things!  Next post will deal with these ships in more detail, but here it is!

Some of you out there may see the influence of another "1999" craft, but for now in closing here, is the Garage Module with two Doves docked:

I'll let you know how they stay attached to the main ship/module next time.  Have a better one!

Space: 2022 - Episodes One to Three

We'll take a break from model building tonight and dive into, specifically, the first three episodes of Year Two.  But first, let's return to S01-E24 from "Space: 2019", which was the season cliffhanger...  

The (alternate Anderson timeline) premise of "Space: 2019" was that the nuclear accident was narrowly averted on the dark side of the moon, changing the course of (television) history.  To deal with the constant flow of nuclear waste from Earth, the brains at the Lunar Commission created the "Buzzard", a tug-like vehicle which would transport large amounts of atomic garbage from Earth, and dump it into the sun.  The tow ship would then return for another load.  (if you want to know more back story, and the full season of 24 episodes, click on any Space: 2019 link).

In this episode, BZ-14 is hijacked by an Eco-Terrorist group (Memories of Green), who want nuclear power plants dismantled and a more green solution implemented.  Unless their terms are met, they threaten to send the ship back to Earth which would cause widespread radioactive pollution.  And there was where we left it, a seized space freighter with a deadly cargo surrounded by a squadron of Hawks waiting for the order...

S02-E01 - "Icarus Descending"
Negotiations are at a stalemate after 48 hours; no one is willing to capitulate.  A minor officer in the newly formed Space Corps assembles a small task force and, flying an Eagle into the Buzzard's blind spot, forcefully boards the ship.  Most of the crew and occupants are killed in the attack, and, as a last ditch attempt, the surviving hijacker sets the ship into a low orbit, knowing full well the implications.  The fiery and catastrophic re-entry is viewed by millions, pieces and radio active waste breaking off on its descent, but it is going to land somewhere.  Eventually the surviving pieces crash in northern Minnesota, making the area uninhabitable and forcing the evacuation of thousands.  There were no survivors from the terrorists or assault force.  All Buzzards are recalled and put under heavy guard.  Nuclear waste is temporarily stored in a classified Lagrange point between the Earth and the Moon, and new negotiations begin on the eventual eradication of nuclear waste within five years.  (Just to clarify, the Minnesota reference is an in-joke within my family.  Got ya, Yo!)

S02-E02 - "Phoenix Ascending"

A new era of space exploration begins.  The Buzzards are refit, weapons installed, and now operated by the military.  EUROSEC (European Space Exploration Complex) contracts Johnson-Bower Aerospace to construct a new warp capable ship for deep space exploration, with two new support ships (Doves) to act as shuttles.  The PHOENIX (Prototype Hyperdrive Outer Exploration Neutron Integrated Experimental) is constructed at the JBA facility between the Earth and the Moon, and three years later, it is ready for launch.  (This episode will likely be an epic montage of events, depicting research, construction, and lots of miniature work with long sweeping orchestral-heavy camera shots).

S02-E03 - "Journey to Where"
The Phoenix is ready for its epic mission.  Just one more inspection and a run around the inner solar system for the brass to Jupiter and back; a three hour tour.  The 109 full crew is joined by EUROSEC representative Commissioner John Koenig.  Also along for the inspection is his wife, Doctor Helena Russell-Koenig, taking a break from medical research station Moonbase Gamma to review the medical staff and inspect ship hospital bays.   We'll get a nice tour of the ship by Commander Alan Carter, and introductions to some of the main cast (which we will visit in a later post).  The order is given, the Mark VII Queller Drive fired up, and off we go to the Jovian system.  Upon the return to normal space, the ship is suddenly caught in a proton storm, and sent hurtling into deep space at incredible speeds!  The ship spins out of control, psychedelic backgrounds and sounds abound!  After what seems like an eternity, the Phoenix slows and and the crew is finally able to take control.  The crew tries to find their location in space, but to no avail.  The ship has also sustained some damage.  We end the episode with a slow pullback shot of a lone spacecraft in a totally unknown part of the universe.  (We'll do some radio chatter stuff too.  "This is Phoenix; is anyone out there...?")

And there we have our introduction to Season Two.  (I realize there are no monsters in these episodes, but the script writers will make up for it!)  Next time, we'll get back to the construction of the studio scale model.  Stay tuned!  

Space: 2022 - Building the PHOENIX - Part Three

Next in line past Life Support, is Module D, or the Habitat Ring.  It is the largest of the modules, most heavily populated, and spins to create gravity.  (As I stated in an earlier post, I was never fully accepting of artificial gravity on the Eagles, or any other Earth-based technology ships in both Year 1 and Year 2.  I am more accepting on how gravity was dealt with in "2001: A Space Odyssey").  So in this timeline, exposure to artificial gravity and/or magnetic radiation, for any length of time causes brain damage, so now all Earth ships require Grip Shoes, or reasonable facsimiles!  

As this module is heavily based on Syd Mead's Leonev from "2010", I had to come up with a logical and, at the same time, cheap method to build it.  As Eagles are being slowly phased out to be replaced with the (yet unseen) Doves, I reasoned that Johnson-Bower Aerospace could repurpose Eagle parts for other constructions, this being the case for the Habitat Ring.  I acquired one of many 3D Eagle meshes available online and over a few sessions, first in RHINO, then in Solidworks, cut and pasted the basic module into an aesthetically pleasing cluster of five Eagle passenger modules.  

I will need two of these, and the prospect in buying 10 original 1/96 Eagles was out of the question, so I had the main unit 3D printed open ended, and would end cap the modules with lazer cut parts.  The large open slabs were to be covered by tanks and escape pods.  The original doors however, are non-functioning.  What followed then were many evenings of applying more lazer cut trusses and shapes plus the usual greeblies.  

The detail is difficult to see at this stage; it'll have to wait until its painted.  I then moved on to the extra features which were to be applied to the flat, open zones, the Escape Pods and Water Tanks.  For the Pods I employed the repurpose method again, this time the landing pods of the Eagles.  The shape was good, I had 12 from the three kits, and the Doves do not use them.  So I added bits like boosters and such to all 12 pieces.

Only 10 pods were going to be on the Habitat, the other two further along in the Engineering section.  Next were the water tanks.  For these it was time to use a staple piece in my modeling inventory, the Zaini egg.  I required 12 again; it depleted my stock.  The seam was covered by a strip of styrene and ends detailed with more snap fastener parts.

With basic habitat parts completed, I needed to create a central core piece.  For this I used two old Eagle parts, the small sections before and after the passenger modules.  I found two interesting fittings in the big lid box and inserted a brass rod.

The two sections were glued to the core, and then the 12 tanks secured in place.  The escape pods were to be a different colour, so they were painted separately.  Two nights of IPA wash to do this one; a lot of surface and detail to cover.  

That brass rod was temporarily secured to the core for ease of handling; still weighed a bit!  Next step was the graphics, the heaviest applications of all the modules.  Plus graphic work on the still separate escape pods too!

No shortage of checkerboard, stripes, logos and identification.  (See the first post on constructing this model for the original graphic sheets).  Logos and signage for Johnson-Bower Aerospace, EUROSEC, and name of the ship.  Also ripped that triangular Union Jack from "Alien"!

So that covers the Habitat Ring.  I toyed with the idea of somehow motorizing the section so it would spin, but it wasn't worth the time and expenditure.  Imagination is a lot cheaper and, besides, it can be positioned in various degrees manually during photo ops.  Next time, we head for the garage.