26.06.2014
Thanks to the last Client, I now have the resources to get my own Moebius 1/32 Cylon Raider. And thanks to Derek Ho of Neo-Plamo, it arrived in record time! There were some at a local Hobby Shop but they were all reserved. This is a model which requires minimal lighting which should be easy to complete unless…. I fall into the trap of researching and getting all the details and paint schemes right…
Nope. This will be a straight build, and hopefully in time for Darren Lee Kar Hoe’s Animangaki 2014.
COMPARING WITH REVELL-MONOGRAM’S 1/64
TOS Raider 001
And here you go, folks. The two Cylon Raiders, with nearly 4 decades seoarating them. Thanks to Doug Shepherd for the original Revell/Monogram Cylon raider (left). The box on the right is the 1/32 Moebius Cylon Raider which is slightly bigger and well, to be honest, you must really hold in your hands. And once when you do, you know you’re holding something awesome. For BSG fans, the cycle is complete, thanks to Moebius Models!
TOS Raider 002
Here is the back of the box. Once again, you must be aware of the Polar Lights Syndrome. Just like their NCC-1701A model, you must remember the sequence of which plastic bag you took out. I completely FORGOT about that and after 20 minutes of struggling, I still cannot close the box properly. Yes, its jam-packed with parts!
TOS Raider 003: SCALE COMPARISON
You really need to sit down for this. And when I say this blows your mind, it really does blow your mind. Whatever pictures you have seen for the past 6~8 months ago were true… The frakking Cylon model is huge-ass big! And if you have the Revell/Monogram model, like the one I got from Doug Shepherd, the size comparison is going to make you want to buy more. And you can still get them from John T C Lester‘s Starship Modeler, over here in Malaysia, its Derek Ho‘s Neo-Plamo or Mr. Yep Hua Low‘s Hobby HQ.
And as Brad Hair mentioned in his video, with the reference to the 1/72 Hasegawa Leopold, which makes this Cylon ‘Officially’ Studio scale!
Here is his reveal-all video
http://www.youtube.co:m/watch?v=tvfZJYLpbFA
TOS Raider 004: RAIDER COCKPIT
The Cylon Raider’s cockpit was designed to house three Cylon Pilots and so, you can see the difference between Moebius Models version and the Revell USA/Monogram version. I am putting a Mk.II Resin (My most favourite 1/32 Pilot at the moment) to scale since there are no aftermarket Cylons for the moment. Do note that both models require you to cut holes in the cockpit if you need to make your own details.
2022 Update:
OK so there are two Cylon sets now, with a cockpit to boot.
The Garage Kit version: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/garage-kit-cylon-raider-cockpit–1285185
The 3D printed version: https://www.shapeways.com/product/BGAJ568BN/cylon-raider-mobius-1-32-cockpit
TOS Raider 005: TWO CANOPIES SIDE BY SIDE
For those who wants their 1/32 Cylon Raider true to the actual model’s detail, Brad Hair or Paul Bodensiek‘s ParaGrafix Modeling Systems will set you right.
TOS Raider 006: ENGINE SIZE COMPARISON
Man, this is going to be a challenge. On the left is the Revell USA/Monogram’s Engine while on the right, is Moebius Models’s. And that is only the clear part…
TOS Raider 007: THE BASE
This is the first time I have even seen a base that big. It does look impressive but, I have a feeling that the clear neck is going to cause some problems if I move the model too much. So, I might need to look into a Brass rod system.
TOS Raider 008
So, guess what Lighting system can be used for this awesome Moebius Models Cylon Raider? My own BG Starfighter Lighting System, of course!
Mark Myers of The Third Models has successfully used it on his Cylon Raider and now, I am going to do the same. This is my real challenge. There is definitely a lot of space in there and I would need some planning on where to house the batteries, future cockpit mods and still have the model in ‘balance’
LIGHTING EXPLORATION
The model, which is scaled to be actually 1/32, is huge and therefore, has a lot of hollow space within. I am going to use my own lighting system (aka the BG Starfighter Lighting System. Yes, I am never good at names). As the lighting is simple, I am hoping that this is a quick model since I want to concentrate on its base.
You can get my BG Starfighter Lighting System from:
Starship Modeler:
http://starshipmodeler.biz/shop/index.cfm/product/2828_93/deluxe-battlestar-fighter-lighting-kit.cfm
2022 Update:
Um, the Lighting System has been sold out many times over and at that time, my Day Job required more of my attention and so, I have informed John that I would be stopping the Sales until further notice. It is about 8 years now.
26062014 Assembling the Cylon Raider 001
In a nutshell, building the Raider is just sticking the two hulls together and then gluing all the parts on top of them. A large model does need a lot of support to prevent it from being a victim of gravity. Therefore, this kit relies more on alignment pillars than the typical scale model alignment pins.
26062014 Assembling the Cylon Raider 002
These two pieces are the ‘wings’ and its amazing how tank tracks and barrels make them look so realistic and functional. Thanks to the different alignment pin sizes, I did not get them wrong when I was rushing to dry-fit the model this evening (because I did not RTFM)
26062014 Assembling the Cylon Raider 003
Let’s go to the lighting part. This is the clear part of the Raider’s twin engines. It is possible to fit two 5mm LEDs into the two holes but I do not want the engines to be just two bright dots. I assumed that the original Studio Models are using bright Halogens and so, I am going to go with the similar route.
26062014 Assembling the Cylon Raider 004
Despite how this looks, you need to slide the clear part into the lower hull. Although the parts are a tight fit but I will be using it through another method.
26062014 Assembling the Cylon Raider 005
The reason is, I am planning to use this big 3.5cm lens, which I salvaged from a LED Lamp years ago for a DIY Arc Reactor but that’s another story. If I can find the other lamp, I would have a pair.
It’s big, it’s reflective and has a nice halo effect to it.
26062014 Assembling the Cylon Raider 006
And this is how I plan to use the big lens. Bu t this would also mean I would need to carve a big round hole for it.
26062014 Assembling the Cylon Raider 007
Gaah! This is still BIG, man. I am trying to show you how I am actually seeing this from my table and yeah, I am still mind-blown. More importantly, how am I going to get the space to display it?
Its Frakkin’ BIG!
Sorry for the repeat post for this morning but I still can’t get over the fact that this is a very big model from Moebius Models. And this is most probably, the closest thing I will ever get to any Studio Scale models. So, what are you all waiting for?
Go get them by the truckloads!
27062014 Assembling the Cylon Raider 002
Coming back to the lens, in order for it to fit in, I would need a 35mm aperture. There is another issue as the space on the upper half is not exactly symmetrical. When I widen the hole, it would create an intentional hole on the upper half. So, I chickened out and drilled out a 18mm hole instead.
Actually, the problem with the upper hull is not an issue at all as there is another plastic part covering the exposed hole but you’d still have some light leak issue. And yes, you can see that mistake if you look close enough. In the end, it’s just too much work and I do not have any tools to widen it.
Another reason is that the two 5mm pillars can act as a guide for the 1Watt LED holder. I can can wedge the holder in there, which then also clips the 1Watt LED at the other end. After that, I can use hot-melt glue or putty to secure the whole assembly.
One thing about this model’s plastic is that it’s thick, flexible but hard to cut and leaks out light like a sieve (ha ha). Another reason why I stopped the 35m idea is that my BG Starfighter Lighting System does not have those lens and so, I need to use what is included in the product, to be fair to my customers. So they can see that the lighting system CAN be used for the TOS Cylon Raider without any modifications to the circuit.
The next step is to ‘prepare’ the cockpit for future add-ons and also, as a access-way for the batteries. First I traced the guiding ‘hole’ using a pin scriber. Then I used it to guide an acrylic scriber to repeatedly scrape through the lines until I get an almost clean cut.
Here, I am testing John Vojtech’s UMM SCR-02 Scriber. When I first used the pin scriber, it only created a very light line. Then I used the SCR-02 and slowly scored a deeper line. If you watch their video, you know you can recreate good panel lines easily. But where Gundams are concerned, I have yet to try them out. So, since this part of the plastic is going to waste, I decided to test it out and boy, its a joy to use even for a butter finger like me!
Link to the John Vojtech SCR-02 tool: http://umm-usa.com/onlinestore/product_info.php…
After examining the cockpit area, I guess it was OK to lose the middle alignment pillar since there are two more at the sides (ha ha) Unfortunately, this would make the middle front very weak. The white dotted outlines highlights the hole that is to be cut. Yeah, you need to use a pair of cutters to cut a small line at the middle beam which is used to strengthen the whole front.
Here is how I made the shape of the hole:
The front ‘V’ was traced out with a pin scriber, lightly going through, using the walls of Part 10 (Front cabin) as template guide. The the line extended to the rear of the upper two alignment pillars (you can see their shadows on the left)
Do note that if you’re planning to use the aftermarket parts for the cockpit interior, the above cutting pattern is NOT RECOMMENDED.
Finally, the work is done for the night. Tomorrow, if I can, I will remove the bottom alignment pillar and also spray it with a coat of Krylon Fusion Satin Black followed by Silver, then leave it to dry for a week.
Do note that if you’re planning to use the aftermarket parts for the cockpit interior, the above cutting pattern is NOT RECOMMENDED.
In order to fix the 1watt LED into the model, I would need to use the lens holder. So, what I did was to pop-out the plastic lens from the black lens holder, and then use Aves Apoxie putty to make sure it sticks to the model. The only problem is that the upper hull’s space is not symmetrical with the bottom hull and so, I had to Dremel out some plastic to make sure the lens holder fits. This is because it’s going to use the two 5mm holes of the clear part as alignment. However, in the end, I could not remove much plastic since there is another alignment pillar at the top. If I remove that, it would affect parts #13 & #14 which are the engine fairing ports. So, I’ll just remove it a little bit although I am tempted to create a full two inch deep octagon tube. But knowing my lack of skills, this could escalate very quickly into a full-force unrecoverable SNAFU, and possibly, FUBAR.
I would need to paint the engine area first. This is because when the LED lens holder is puttied to the hull, it is also preventing the clear part #45 (Engine back plate) from going anywhere. And if I do not paint the area surrounding it, I would be in trouble. So, maybe on Thursday or Friday I’ll drop by ICW for some grey paints.
See the yellow shaded area? Its missing. Its part #29 aka Front Bulkhead Detail.
I have searched all over the box, the plastic bags, my Worktable, the house and every other possible places but its nowhere to be found. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen that part when I first opened the box either.
Anyway, I have emailed to Moebius Customer Service and I hope they will help me on this before August or it would be a no-show at the Convention. Sigh.
Well, its coming back to haunt me now. All because I was too afraid to modify the exhausts to be octagonal like what I saw on the picture of a studio model some time ago. I mean, instead of cutting a round hole, I should have done an octagonal one instead. But this would mean removing the alignment pillar for parts #13 & #14, compromising the exhaust fairing.
In the end, its not that bad its just that I do not have any confidence in myself to see it through. Moreover, I don’t have any thick pla-plates to create the walls. Anyway, here are two shots of how the lit engines look like when the 3M Scotchtape was used. It does make a difference but the round ‘hole’ is just not good enough.
OK, so this weekend is shot. After doing what is necessary for my Mom, the rest of the day is gone. And working at 36ºC on a hot Sunday afternoon is not something I want to do since its asking for a touch of fever. By the time its evening, the only work I can do is to finish up my last can of Krylon Fusion Black. Unfortunately, it finished first, which means, I need another can to complete the other side and also those bigger snap-on parts. From the picture, you can see that its not covered completely.
Two more errands to do before the night is done. So, enjoy your Sundays, people!
Yep, I would like to thank Derek of Neo-Plamo for coming through with the missing part #29 of the 1/32 Moebius Cylon Raider. I got the model from him and despite my explanation, he insisted to replace the missing part although I have contacted Moebius for it.
What he did was, (gulp) he took one from his customer’s stock and mailed it to me. He will keep that one and try to scratch-build the part. How’s that for customer service?
Anyway, once I get the replacement part from Moebius, I am going to give it to him.
I am spraying the Moebius 1/32 TOS Cylon Raider today, with the Krylon Fusion FLAT Black. And its a joy to use! This is how the flat black looks like. In the middle was what was left of the Satin Black. I have to give this side a mist coat since its already sprayed.
But man, the Flat black makes it so nice!
One good thing about the Krylon Fusions is that they’re touch dry in 15 minutes and you can handle them in about an hour. But for the moment, the Sun is up, and boy, is he a hot guy today. So, I am going to leave this for the whole afternoon while we get on with our household chores and errands.
Have a nice Weekend, y’all!
OK, this is what I did for the front of the cockpit. Yes, I am using my own Lighting System, the BG Starfighter Lighting System which is available at Starship Modeler and soon, from my FB Store. This Lighting system was originally designed for all versions of the BSG Vipers but thanks to Masters like Mark Myers, they have been adapted it for Cylon Raiders and the Battlestar Galactica ship herself.
Anyway,
1. I dipped the 5mm White LEDs into clear yellow paint and let it dry. I am using only one coat here to give it a yellowish effect but I think its the real colour is towards warm white because at that time, even with bight bulbs, its still that colour. White LEDs did not come into the market until about a decade ago.
2. I drilled the 3mm holes using the Mike Salzo/Douglas Shortes as reference from Kurt Kuhn’s Modeler Magic.
(Link: http://www.modelermagic.com/?p=31224)
3. When the part #029 (Front Bulkhead Detail) mated with #010 (Forward Cabin) there was an unecessary thickness of extra 1.5mm kaing the wall to be 3mm. So, I had to remove the (orange shaded area) parts so that the 3mm LEDs can pop out. Otherwise, it would look more like a light source shining from a tunnel.
2022 Update: I did not have 3mm warm white LEDs at that time but yeah, life goes on.
I have glued the 1Watt LED’s lens holder to the back to the Raider’s lower hull. Because of the Krylon paints, I need to scrape the plastics so that the cement glue is able to bite into the plastic. When I return home tonight, I will apply the Aves putty.
Knowing that when I put the upper hull together, the lens is going to pop out again and that is why Aves is important. Which means, I would need to remove the lens holder (sigh) and scrape away more paint for the Aves to grip into the plastic. You might think there is a problem with the images as the black 1watte LED holder looked oval. It is not. I squeezed the holder a little so that it can be forced into the two 5mm stubs.
This is the most I can do for last night and this morning apart from scraping off the excess paints at the engines for the Aves to grip into tonight.
To my luck, I got some magnets from ICW and for the moment, this is as good as it gets. I have drilled two 3mm holes for the magnets, just right behind the locator tabs of the canopy. Its now being held by a piece of Dymo tape and a metal ruler.
After drilling the 3mm holes, and the magnets attracted by the metal ruler, I then applied some JB Weld and left it overnight.
The lumps there looks a bit funny but that is to be expected. This is because JB Weld contains metal and when it noticed the magnet, it literally rushed to it forming a glob.
With the lower magnets of the cockpit setting, its time to deal with the canopy. I have removed the Dymo tape and boy, you can see the magnet debris. This means the magnets have lost their coating at the edges and anytime now, it will deteriorate and form into magnetic dust. But for the moment, these are the only magnets I have as I cannot wait for three weeks.
I now replaced the Dymo tape with cellophane so that when I put in the JB Weld, it will (hopefully) not leak out. Magnet or no magnet.
One thing with JB Weld, is that it sets in 15 minutes and goes hard in 24 hours. Thing is, sometimes when I do stuff like this, they often sets right before I can complete the work. Yeah, time really flies when you’re having fun.
I guess I can spread the JB Weld all over the first section of the canopy and then mate it to the cockpit but I am more worried about the stuff leaking out even though I have put a strip of cellophane as a barrier.
Anyway, the magnets once again took hold and now, I’ll have to wait till Saturday to see the result. However, I hope to get a peek on how it’s going once I come back from my Job tonight.
In the meantime, I have re-glued the lens holder after I chemically removed the excess paints (yeah, with industrial grade thinner). I used Aves Apoxy to hold the LED, lens holder to the lower hull. I hope to see the results tonight and if required, I’ll add more Aves or hot-melt it…..
Here is another shot. While setting, I used some water to smoothen and sculpt the Aves Apoxie putty and also shape the ‘stand’ below the whole LED assembly.
I just hope the Aves will hold as I have very little of it left and going to Craft Heaven this weekend is not recommended since I am still not sure if the Fire damage nearby that shop has been repaired or if the kids are well prepared for their exams next week. There is another way to do this, which is to build a reinforcement structure. But this would mean I need to buy/find a lot more styrene square rods and sheets.
The JB Weld is doing nicely and after cutting off the excess, the canopy actually snaps onto the cockpit nicely! The magnets are holding it quite tightly and maybe later on, I’ll make another pair of magnets for the rear if needed.
I didn’t see that coming!
The Tamiya thin cement has seeped between the tracing paper and the clear part! There is nothing I can do now as even if I can disassemble them, the glue has grazed the clear part. So, I’ll have to leave this alone and in the future. stick to the thicker cement glue, which is the yellow coloured Mr. Cement Deluxe. These glue would not go into unexpected hidden nooks and crannies.
Just testing the lighting system. The yellow tinted LEDs looks a little too yellow for my liking and I am not going to change it to warm-white since this is a OoB build.
I have not figured out yet where to place the lighting system as there is a lot of space! However, because this is a big model, the original wires are not long enough so you need to be very careful with them. For my case, I might have to extend them since I want this model to be serviceable. To make it for the show, I will be using the 3x AAA batteries temporarily.
In reference to the original Studio Filming miniature, the mounting hole for the Raider is just centimetres away from the Moebius Models rectangle plugging hole. I will be making my own stand as I felt that the original stand that came with the box might not be able to support my modifications. It might fail if someone tried to, um, reposition them while I was away.
Here, this is where I was both amazed and shocked.
I stupidly cut out the hole where I thought was best as I was very worried about the hole misalign with the bottom plate (part #12). Only when I turned around, did I realise my good luck; I have forgotten about the vertical bar which holds the model together. So, what I did was to cut out a slot, big enough for the nut. Next, I cleaned the area of paints for a better grip and JB Welded the nut. I screwed in the stand so that the JB Weld would not go into the net and left it overnight for curing.
The shock? Next photo, please…
So, when I woke up this morning, I discovered the whole nut, stand thingy is all welded shut by JB Weld and so, there is no way I can take this off without breaking things. Still, this is good since I hate unscrewing these type of stands and everything moves everywhere… LOL
Next up, I am going to paint the plastic stand with Krylon Fusion Matt Black. And this time, I won’t bore you with those pictures.
Over the weekend, I managed to locate a decent lamp system with what I thought, had good reflectors. This was the cheapest rechargeable lamp (No, I don’t want to try nor use it) from China. The main prize were the reflectors…
Unfortunately, since I could not bring the Raider with me, I realised now that the reflectors are too big. You can see what I mean by the pictures of the Original Filming Model as taken from ByYourCommand website. So, this got me to thinking, shall I risk removing the panel since other models do not have this light. Moreover, I would also have to change the 3mm LEDs into the 5mm LEDs or the reflector would look weird.
Also, while we’re o the subject, changing the connected LEDs from 3mm to 5mm is not a problem with the BG Starfighter Lighting System as long as you follow the colours of the wiring.
Finally, I got the courage to Dremel out the square hole as cleanly as I could. Its not easy because my hand are shaking and after a few test passes, the rotary saw made short work of it. But the internal rechargeable batteries are dying fast. In the end, it was more cutting with the scalpel and sanding.
As usual, I chemically cleaned the area of paint and we’re ready for the next step. I lightly sanded the reflector’s square edges so that I can apply some Mr. Cement Deluxe glue to hold it in place. You need to be careful about these cheap reflectors as the chroming are easy to scratch off.
This is the end result. I hot-melt everything into place and while the glue was cooling, I aligned the LED to shine slightly to the front. Later on, during final touch up, I will dab some clear yellow dots on its lens. Still, the reflector looks a little too big if you compare it with the Original Filming Studio Model from the ByYourCommand.net…
Moreover, the opening is actually a circle and not a square. And the light was only on one side. Well, too late for that now.
Tonight will be the night I will complete the Raider’s wiring. As you have noticed, I am using my own product, which is the BG Starfighter Lighting system, originally designed to fit all BSG Vipers and Revell/Monogram TOS Cylon Raider.
As the Lighting system has a lot of LEDs (hence the wires) I need to remove those LEDs which will not be used in the model and also tidy them up. For the front yellow lights pair, I will have to make the wires longer since I plan to not to glue the two halves together and I do not want to accidentally snap the wires off.
After getting the extra length of wires, I just solder-join them together and slip in a heat-shrink sleeve. Them I twist the wires together.
I secured the circuit board onto the bottom hull via some hot-melt glue. You can see the pair of heat-shrink sleeves at the top of the red/grey/black twisted wires
I hot-melt the ‘yellow’ LEDs to the hole and also stuck a piece of aluminum tape. This serves to block any excess lights back to the cockpit and also, indirectly reflects more light.
Finally, the lighting is done and it only took me about less than an hour compared to weeks of preparing this model. Oh, the irony…
Oh, I’ll be double-side taping the battery box to the flat area (where the canopy is now resting) later on.
And so, there you go. On the front, we have the ‘yellow’ lights plus the side lighting. At the rear, its the 1watt LED flickering in TOS mode.
That’s Colbie Caillat’s-Try playing in the background.
The whole evening tonight was spent on gluing other small parts to the hull. But I am not ready to glue the big ones to the upper hull just yet.
Feeling bored, I drilled out holes to the gun barrel. And later, I found out that its hard to glue this piece to the wings, maybe its because I forgot to test-fit this part.
Also, there is a problem with the upper hull which I think could be the panels in the intake not lining up properly, I should have closed the two hulls then glue parts #18 & #20 and not the other way round. Later, I will try to see how I can resolve this since because I have already removed the middle pillar. So, there is nothing for the hulls to grip into.
That is, unless I glue the both hulls together, something which I do not want to do it at the moment.
One more thing. As I have put the ‘yellow’ LEDs onto the cockpit #9, I have made some small slits/tunnel for the wiring to pass through. Then I secured the wires via hot-melt glue. With the cockpit area removed, its just a simple matter of pulling the wires back inside.
I am using a CCTV stand held by screw to a thick 8mm acrylic. This was meant for a 1/48 F-117 Stealth in a Cold War Group Build which I could not complete in time. So now, it will be used for the Cylon Raider. I just have to design the logo and sent it to be processed as a positive film.
Wight now, apart from the big gap in the front, the Cylon Raider can be closed without gluing. This is thanks to Moebius Models who designed the model in such a way, that even if you do not glue both hulls, it looks complete. And they used overlapping edges design to cover up the two halves so that no one knows where the seam line is (except if you look at the rear) and that is very clever indeed!
I have been getting some questions lately about how I used my own Product, the BG Starfighter Lighting System on the Moebius Models 1/32 TOS Cylon Raider.
Here is the sketch on how I did it:
1. Remove one 1Watt LEDs from the Engine part (right-side of the circuit board)
2. Remove three 5mm LEDs from the Engine part (right-side of the circuit board)
3. Remove four 3mm LEDs from the Cockpit section (left-side of the circuit board)
4. Out of the four remaining 3mm LEDs, cut two off, about 4 inches from the board. Strip about 5mm from the ends of the cable.
5. Strip about 5mm from the ends of the cable of two 5mm LEDs.
6. Join the 5mm LED’s cable to the freshly cut cable of the 3mm LEDs. You can do this either by soldering or twist the cables. Then use some black electricians’ tape to seal the electrical joint.
7. Of the two remaining 3mm LEDs, dip them in clear yellow paint ONCE, drip off the excess and hang it to dry.
I would like to thank Moebius Models for helping me in replacing the lost part #29 which arrived today. Now, I can get this to Derek Ho of Neo Plamo – Ipoh Scale Model Hobby Shop who took the part out from his stock which was meant for his customers. How’s that for Customer Service?
Well, spent the whole afternoon and evening spray painting the Raider and to be honest, I really, really sucked at painting. Only an airbrush made it less worse.
I am using Gaia Colour Neutral Grey II, which is what I think, is the colour. It looked kinda sucky as I am trying to spray the grey but taper off at the edge so as not to obscure the black Krylon. As for the canopy, I just masked the window and then used a blade to scrape off the black Krylon.
And so, this is how it looked. It looks quite OK in the picture but up close, its horrible. Tomorrow, if I can, I am going to clear coat it and try some weathering, something which I have never tried before.
I have collected the positive film today. After a few days looking for the vector versions of BSG title and the Cylon pentagons, I decided to use Troy Vigil’s Artwork from the Internet as the graphics for the model’s base.
Spent the whole morning airbrushing the model. First I coated it with gloss for the coming pastel work. Then I changed my mind because I can’t find the pastels. And I clear forgot to take photos of how I did the stripes but what I did was photocopy the model’s instruction page. I cut out the stripe and then sprayed it with those artwork sprays. Using a pencil, I traced out the shape and masked it.
As for the old worn look, I used pieces of scrap paper and well, just air-brushed the burnt streaks over them and trailed off. You know, I think I overdid it a little…
Light test. In the not so bright lights of the room, I think I really overdid it with the air-brushing. It now looked nothing like what was shown as the studio model. Blehhh…….
And I haven’t even added the decals yet.
This is the positive film I got yesterday. Its a little too small at the edges and so I needed to use electrical tape to tape it behind the base. But once after the show, I think I need to re-do the base, maybe put one of those faux carbon fibre vinyl stickers.
Anyway, this is how the model looked like under the cast sky. Sigh….
Ok, I have applied the decal and also resprayed a bit after the matt coat caused a bit of damage to the smoke trails. So far, this is the photos I will put up for now, as while I was doing this, Warehouse 13’s last episode of Season 3 was so sad. I loved HG Wells…..
Sorry, but I am not in the mood right now.
The next few photos will show you how I created a makeshift light-box. Using a stripboard, I cut some strips which is three holes in height. To be honest, I am not sure what I am doing here, OK?
Leave two strips alone as these will be the upper and lower edges of the makeshift Light-box. When you have cut the other two which is to be the left and right of the light-box, you will need to mark them for cutting later.
After using an acrylic scriber, score until you’re almost through and gingerly snap the strip. There will be some unclean edges since these boards are brittle, so use the edge of a metal ruler and run it through the strip.
Solder the the green LEDs at an equal distance with the positive end at the upper line and the negative at the middle line. Or vice versa but once you have made the decision, all four strips must be the same.
Using the cut off legs of the LEDs, solder them to the ends of the strip. This will be the ‘glue’ and connection for all the four strips. Place the upper strip on top of the screen near to the film’s edge. You need to place it in such a way that the actual LED cannot be seen.
Join the two side strips to the upper strip first. Then measure their length and cut. Now, join the lower strip. Make sure you join all three lines in the strips. In the photo on the right, I have only joined the upper and lower lines.
Here is an interesting observation when I soldered the LEDs onto the first and second lines. This creates a 2mm distance.
Left:
This is how the light pattern looks like when it is ‘away’ from the screen. The lens of the LEDs created this effect.
Right:
This is how the light pattern looks like when the LEDs are very close to the screen (ie when I flipped the LED frame over). So, we’re going to use this side.
Because I am going to use a less efficient way to light up these LEDs which is direct drive from the batteries, I need to solder a 3.3 Ohm resistor to control the current of the 10 green LEDs with the power coming from a 2x AAA battery pack.
See how the light distribution helps when I used tracing paper as diffuser? The tracing paper will be glued to the underside of the positive film. I have also cut out a styrene sheet and hot-melt it to the LED frame.
Another observation which I wanted to show you. The three lines of the stripboard does two things:
– Strengthen the board itself, and
– I made a mistake.
Left:
If I placed the LED frame with the LEDs away from the screen, I can see a lot of unlit areas and the light is not evenly distributed.
Right:
If I placed the LED frame with the LEDs closer to the tracing paper, the light looks better and there are not much unlit areas.
As for the battery pack, I just used some strong double-sided tape to hold it together.
Anyway, I call this done!
CYLON RAIDER COMPLETED
28.07.2014
Thanks to Derek Ho and Moebius, I have finished the TOS Cylon Raider two weeks ahead of schedule, which means this little beauty will be on display for AniMangaki 2014. (https://www.facebook.com/events/604425206309583/)
Here is a quick shot of the model. I wanted to use a macro lens to take a better picture without any problems to show its a model but man, its hot in here! Anyway, I am using two light sources with a single reflector. Bear in mind, the two halves are not glue and neither is the front piece before the cockpit. I like the way Moebius designed it because even if the two halves are not glued, you cannot tell (from the front).
Sadly, if you compared mine to the original Studio Models, you’d find that my paint scheme is too dark, especially on the black stripes and canopy. And too many ‘atmospheric’ effects on the paneling.
Don’t ask me but I love ‘dark’ lighting. This is the front of the model. Here is how I painted:
1. Krylon Fusion Matt Black
2. Gaia Notes 072 Neutral Grey II (maybe should have used 073 Neutral Grey III). I mist spray on the exhaust part which is covered with Krylon Fusion Matt Black
3. Thinned Mr. Colour 181 Semi-gloss Super Clear
4. Gaia Notes 075 Neutral Grey V for dark panels and exhaust, then thinned for smoke streaks and stuff.
5. Thinned Gaia Notes 006 Flat Base
On second thoughts, Maybe I should tone it down with a coat of matte clear. But that would be another day.
This is the better side view IMHO as I have problems taking shots of the actual side view without the wings obstructing the side LED.
Rear View. Its supposed to be bluish but, nah.
Top view. To be honest, I think I overdid it too much but under a strong light, it looked OK.
Bottom view: I am shocked that JB Weld is actually that strong! Long ago, I used it on a snapped off key and it failed, Here, it lived up to its reputation!
Sadly, if you know your Cylons, I actually forgot to spray the two black lines and a few other details under the model. Hopefully, no one peeks there. Much.
This is Troy Vigil’s Artwork which I downloaded *ahem* and turned it into positive film. There are 10 green LEDs in the makeshift light-box underneath.
This stand or base was originally meant for a 2012 Cold War build with SFTPMS featuring a F-117 Stealth Fighter on its first mission before the Desert Storm or something. I searched all over for their shoulder patch too. But when my Mom passed away, this was shelved and at the end, I was listed as FFK (no-show) in the Group Build.
The completed model, all lit up and on its stand.
And how does it stand up to MonogramRevell‘s TOS Cylon Raider? Here, thanks to Doug Shepherd, you guys get to see the size comparison. Once everything settles, I am going to finish Doug’s as this is a present from him.
Back to Album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/…
You can get my BG Starfighter Lighting System from:
Starship Modeler:
http://starshipmodeler.biz/…/deluxe-battlestar-fighter…
I did not upload this to YouTube since I did not like my own voice.
