# My BSG Rag Tag Fugitive Fleet



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Some tinkering around I've got and trying to work on. Things have been chaotic and stressful the last couple weeks, tho, so I've not done much with these. However, the images below are somewhat old and I've done more work then is included. Will update them eventually.... 

Basic back-story for my models is this: I'm doing a bit of reimagining of my own with the TOS BSG universe. I'm slowly experimenting w/adding some extra detail that was never there on the original captial ships, such as some gun barrels and the like. I plan to do not only the warships, but to scratchbuild some civilian ships, too. 

BattleCruiser _Agamemnon_ - Pic One - _very_ based loosely off the _Tiger_-Class Colonial Destroyer, as seen at "Battlestar Galactica: Tech-Manual" websites Starships page. She was originally to be called the _Achilles_, but I decided to go with _Agamemnon_ in a nod to *Babylon5*. I plan to include cut down versions of the flight pods and modifying the forward end to have some big-honkin' barrells pokin' out the front. Basically, my idea is that this battlecruiser was designed specifically to go against basestars and doesn't have a lot of versatility in her design. Not terribly creative, but fun for me to do, none-the-less. 

Pic Two shows the ventral hull surface. Basically, all I did was to cut out most of the middle section of the main hull, cut some rough sheet stock shapes to fill in the holes, then glued the engine section to what was left of the middle hull section. Originally, I was going to cut off the remaining pair of arms and build the center section as a landing bay. However, I decided to forego that and went for the cut-down flight bays. I've not yet cut down the bays, but will try and do so later tonight and tomorrow. I'll also be adding a pair of arms back on so that the entire mounting of the flight bays isn't just sort of dangling by one support each.

Next up are three that I've got in limbo right now, too: BSG 'Bashes. 

*Upper left:* a manufacturing ship (or maybe a refinery ship?). Each of the three modules is capable of being detached from the superstructure and maneuvering in Zero-G on their own as part of a sort of asteroid mining and manufacturing facility or the whole ship can land on a planet and drop off the modules near the processing/refining facilities as needed. I've since added some superstructure to the top of the main engine section, as well as some girder-like structure to the sides of the "arms". 

*Lower left:* Destroyer Escort. The forward section is a base from a Konami or Furuta (I forget which) mini for the "UFO" satellite called "S.I.D.S". I picked up three of these at WonderFest this year. The rest is a combination of Evergreen sheet and square stock styrene. There's a small landing bay on the underside of the main hull. I've not yet decided how I want the main engine section to look like, but there's going to be at least a three inch section added to what you see here for the engines. 

*Lower Right:* I was able to procure a couple of "seconds" (bad castings) of Lauren Olivers awesome Tritium-class Star Trek model in 1/1000 scale. This is the result of some late night thinking that has now left me wondering where the Hell I'm going with the overall design. I cut off the aft impulse engine section and had thought to build some sort of slightly larger aft engine section, but am now stymied on how to complete it.  Anyhow, can't decide on civilian ship of some sort of possibly as another military ship.... 


Anyhow, there you go. Some 'Bashes for BSG that I'm working on. Like 'em or don't. It's all good. Just 'member that I ain't buildin' to make _you_ happy.  

I hope to do a bit more work after dinner and will try and remember to take pics and post them.
.


----------



## Steven Coffey (Jan 5, 2005)

Looks like some cool ships in the making .Can't wait to see the finished product !


----------



## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

I like that destroyer design! Can't wait to see what you end up doing with your fleet!


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

A rag tag fleet, on a lonely quest...


----------



## capt Locknar (Dec 29, 2002)

YEah that tiger class I thought was pretty kewl. I've been debating on one like that too. Yours looks awesome. 

Great Work Jeff


----------



## The-Nightsky (May 10, 2005)

Nice work Griff!! Lookin good! I see your using some Space 1999 eagle parts.....Do you happen to have the cargo module and would you want to part with it?


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Thanks for the positive commetns everyone. It provides motivation for me to press on and that's a good thing! 

I have to add that the various bits of white strip styrene and some of the other non-kit bits (wood strips and the "guns") on the battlestar model were added by the fellow I picked it up from - Rob/thunderbearr. I've since found someone who was willing to cast the pieces that go on the aft section of the command section - shaped sort of like a triangle. Didn't get any work done last night, tho. Ended up watching "The Grudge" on HBO. Good movie! I really liked it, tho got frustrated as I always seem to with the stupidity of some characters in horror flicks.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

The-Nightsky said:


> Nice work Griff!! Lookin good! I see your using some Space 1999 eagle parts.....


Yeppers! And I have plans for the forward section, as well as the upper gridwork that puts the fore and aft sections together. I want to make a sort of "scout" out of the forward section, some of the "tanks" and two of the engine bells. That's one of those projects that may never see the light of day completed, but I'd really like to do. 


> Do you happen to have the cargo module and would you want to part with it?


I _think_ I still have it. If I do, I have no plans for it. I'll try and remember to dig around for it later today or during the week. If I've not shot you a PM/email between now and next Sunday, bug me about it *via email*, if you would.


----------



## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

I like those designs, Griff! Very much in keeping with the multitude of kitbashes seen on the original show. The battlecruiser is super-cool as well!


----------



## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Looks like fun, Jeff!


----------



## The-Nightsky (May 10, 2005)

Thanks Griff!! lMK what you want for it.Much appreciated


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

They do look really good. And, Since the fleet was so big, those ships will fit in.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

PerfesserCoffee said:


> I like those designs, Griff! Very much in keeping with the multitude of kitbashes seen on the original show.


Thanks, Lee! I've been lookin' around for some cheap armor, ship and vee-hickle kits to use for even more ships. Seeing SciFiSmoker's awesome lookin' Mineral Ship (see this thread at Starship Modeler's BSG forum **NOTE: Now long gone due to SM's Auto Prune Feature*) has maked me want to try my hand at one of those, as well. He did a sweet job on that! 



> The battlecruiser is super-cool as well!


Meh... I kinda like it, but not nearly so much as I did initially. It'll definitely be something different, that's for sure! I finished cutting the flight pods and joining the ends back together. All told, I cut about 3" out of the middle of both of them. I'll definitely have to add the aft set of "legs" back on, as it looks too funky with just two attached to the flight pods. Still thinking I might add some gun turrets to it, as well.... 





John P said:


> Looks like fun, Jeff!


Yeah, it's definitely fun doing the scratchbuilding/'bashing on the destroyer escort and the manufacturing ship. Even Achilles is kind of fun, tho I'm a bit disappointed in how it's turned out, as mentioned above. 





The-Nightsky said:


> Thanks Griff!! lMK what you want for it.Much appreciated


Will do and you're welcome, in advance. Didn't get a chance to dig around for it last night, but will make a point to tonight. 





Lloyd Collins said:


> They do look really good. And, Since the fleet was so big, those ships will fit in.


True, dat! In TOS BSG, Boomer once mentioned that there were something like 220 ships in the Rag Tag Fugitive Fleet. In TNS they've got somewhere around 75. I kind of wish they'd given us more like in TOS, as 220 defintely allows for a lot more diversity of ships. Still, we've got a decent amount of wiggle room, I guess!


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Somewhere in the attic, I have a book with color photos, of some of the ships. Some of the strange designs, anything can go.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

So, Lloyd, you ever find that book...? 



Resurrecting this thread, 'cause I finally gott off my duff and updated my site. These are all Revell-ogram scale, a mish-mash of scratchbuilds, scratch-bashes and already existing resin kits. Enjoy. 

Battlestar Galactica End-of-Year Workbench **NOTE: Link no longer valid. Pics & info updated here from the HTML Files.*



Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? Here's my first Drydocks/On The Bench in over a year and it's dedicated solely to Battlestar Galactica and the RTF I'm slowly workin' on. I'm at a stand still on as my Star Trek in 1/2500 scale projects as my focus has leaned more towards BSG - both TOS *and* TNS! - in 1/4100 scale (technically 1/4169 scale, but I'll relent to George at Timeslip Creations  ).

Anyhow, I've got a lot of different Battlestar Galactica ships in various stages of construction/painting. Most are in the primer stages with about half of those still getting detail added to their hulls. These I'm calling in-scale w/the old Revell-Monogram "Battlestar Galactica" battlestar kit - 1/4100 scale, as previously mentioned. They're workable for either TOS or TNS, so far as I'm concerned, tho I don't have any TNS ships in-scale w/them at this time. 

For ease of identification, I've numbered the various ships in the first pic so that the kitbashes, scratchbuilds and scratch-bashes are easier to identify. If nothing else, it's less confusing for _me_! 


Slightly Overhead View, With Numbers.

And here's my RTF, such as it is right now. I've got a total of 19 ships here, w/three others in the initial stages of construction. Six are actual ships from BSG - appearing in both TOS and TNS - and are also resin kits from various GKM producers. Eight are kits in the mediums of plastic or styrene and from a couple of different vendors. Three are "scratch-bashed" ships, using almost entirely pre-existing model kit parts or toys as the majority of their construction. Two of ships are completely scratchbuilt. Two of the other three I've got that are still under construction are scratch-bashes and one is mostly a scratchbuild with some resin castings of model kit parts - mostly armor and plane - being included in the mix. Many thanks to the Techmanges for their assistance!

*1)* is one of scratch-bashes that uses the base of some sort of toy - from the Star Wars line, I think - as the basis for the main hull. She's got a pair of 1/10,000 Imperial Star Destroyer engines from *Odyssey Slipways* and a detailing pieces from my spares box, the origin of which escapes me, but it's shaped like a spoke. I'm debating adding more detail or leaving her pretty much as-is as I sort of like the utilitarian look. I'm calling her the Aquarius Freight Hauler _Easy Does It_.

*2)* is my almost entirely scratch-built, original design agro ship. I scratchbuilt the main hull and then used piecesparts from various seconds I'd received from Odyssey Slipways and a cut up ERTL/AMT Reliant kit for detail pieces and engines. The forward command piece is from a 1/10,000 Imperial Star Destroyer from OS, the engines are from the accurizing kit from OS for the ERTL/AMT Star Destroyer kit. Not shwon in these pics are several other detail resin castings of parts from various kits, to include a detail piece for the central engines interior. The agro-pods are from the MiniModel Madness' (by Chris Larson) _Valley Forge_ kit from the 1972 movie "Silent Running". I was able to purchase several sets of these directly from Chris Larson w/o having to purchase a complete kit. I'm leaning towards the name _Dern_ for this particular ship. 

*3)* another scratch-bash. This one uses the aft section of the S.I.D.S. Konami "toy", part of a broken chip-clip for the forward section and various pieces/parts from my spares bin. Most notably is a pair of the aforementioned Odyssey Slipways 1/10,000 scale ISD engines and a command section from an OS _Victory_-class star destroyer. I figure this one to be some sort of research or communications ship of Aerelon Registry.

*4)* is a work-in-progress, meant to be a tanker. It's the main hull for one of the small Bandai Starblazers kits - I forget which number in the series- and will get some additional detail at some point in the future. The main things I'll likely only be adding is a main engine and some sort of superstructure for the bridge area. Otherwise she'll be pretty much as you see her here. 

*5)* a small transport ship which is the *Odyssey Slipways* Old Republic Heavy Cruiser. It's a straight build, no extra's. I've not given her any background as she's mostly just a filler ship, so to speak. 


Another View


*6)* is the Arra Shuttle from the series "Space:1999" available from MiniModelMadness. It serves as a passenger liner in my RTF, but has no other background. She'll eventually get windows and some sort of hull markings.

*7)* a small transport ship which is the Odyssey Slipways Imperial Interdictor Cruiser. It's yet another a straight build, no extra's nor any background given. (*NOTE: I've since taken this ship from my RTF lineup*)

*8)* Is another scratch-bashed model. The base kit for this is the _Valley Forge_ model from MiniModelMadness. I used castings of engines from Chief 400's scratchbuilt _Odyssey_-Class USAF Battlecruiser from "Stargate:SG-1" that he took to WonderFest 2007 - and for which he won a Bronze Award. He had several seconds castings of the engines he'd manufactured for it and gave them out at our suite at WonderFest. The main hull section and forward framework is from the MiniModelMadness kit, there's some Evergreen hollow tube-stock running down it's center, two pieces from the C.E.M. Models VF-1B Conversion kit for the forward command section and a piece from an unkown model kit as the lower section for the primary landing bay. She'll have a total of seven agro-pods along the framework - three on the top in a row and two sets of two along the bottom, set at angles from the top. This ship will be named _Saturn_, I think, after the Greek god of agriculture.

*<9)* another Odyssey Slipways kit, this time the 1/2256 scale Blockade Runner from their Star Wars line. As with many such ships, it's just filler, thus has no background. _(I've since replaced this one w/the 1/4222 Blockade Runner from ARVEY Model Products, as it's much closer to-scale w/the RTF ships)_


Four RTF Ships.


*10)* is the Mineral Ship from ARVEY Model Products. I've not sat down and compared this kit to the pics of the TOS studio model or the TNS CGI model, but it looks very darned close. The only problem I've encountered with this kit is that the aft section sags rather badly past the third circular pod causing the engines to hang down too low. Otherwise a great representative of the ship seen in both the TOS & TNS RTF fleets.

*11)* is another of the _very_ nicely produced kits from ARVEY Model Products - the Flattop/Foundry Ship. While lacking in some minor detail - mainly the visible engines on the underside of the main hull - it's a very nice representation of the ship from both TOS and TNS BSG and another kit that I highly recommend for your own RagTag Fleet.

*12)* is the Prison Ship/_Astral Queen from_ Timeslip Creations. This is a beautifully done model of one of my personal favorites from TOS, as well as TNS. Well worth the money, IMNSHO!

*13)* the Cylon Tanker from MiniModelMadness. It's got issues, but can be built up to a decent enough representation of the ship from TOS BSG with a little work. I had to cut out a 1/2 or 3/4" section in the middle to get it the proper length, then also drilled out the engines a bit to give them more of the bell-shape they're supposed to have. My background story for this one is that the tanker was captured by the Colonials at some point and pressed in to service w/the RTF.

*14)* is yet another ship from MiniModelMadness, this time the Colonial Movers freighter/transport. Like the Cylon Tanker, it's got issues, but can be built up to a decent enough representation of the ship from TOS & TNS BSG with a little work. My main issue w/it is that the forward section only barely represents that seen on either of the TOS or TNS models.


Another View of the ships.


*15) *is yet another a tanker from the aforementioned small Bandai Starblazers kits - I forget which number in the series this is, as well. This one will also get some additional detail at some point in the future but not much in the way of extra's as I sort of like her as she is. 

*16)* happens to be one of the few scratchbuilds in my fleet and is a Work In Progress. I'm designating it an older-style destroyer/escort from the Colonial Fleet, pressed back in to service and slowly upgraded as the Colonials are able to do so. The forward command section is part of a base from the aforementioned S.I.D.S. Konami miniature/toy. The engines are seconds castings which I picked up at a WonderFest past, being from an all-resin Buck Rogers kit. Everything in between is Evergreen stock of one sort of another - angle stock, square stock and regular sheet stock. She'll eventually get more detailing done to her and possibly get a new set of engines. DEFINITELY still a WIP, tho. 

*17) *is the _Event Horizon_ from the movie of the same name. Like the Cylon Tanker and Colonial Movers, it's got accuracy issues, but can be built up to a decent enough representation of the ship from TOS & TNS BSG with a little work. My main issue w/this kit is that the neck section is starting to sag a bit. I figure it for a research or exploratory vessel of civilian registry.


One More View.

*18)* next up is the Timeslip Creations _Rising Star_ model, originally from TOS BSG, but mentioned a few times in TNS, as well as another ship of the same type was seen in the special "Tele-Movie" for TNS entitled "Razor" as part of the small Civilian Fleet that Admiral Cain and her ship _Pegasus_ came up - and then raped for technology and foodstuffs that were deemed critical, as well as personnel with specific skill sets that Cain deemed required for her to continue her one-ship war against the Cylons. This is yet another beautifully done model of yet another of my favorites from TOS, as well as TNS and is very worth the price! I can't wait for their version of the Gemini Freighter and Colonial Movers to be released.

*19)* is one of the older - no longer produced - Component Ships line from Ravenstar Studios, designated in that line as the [IClewis[/I]-class strike cruiser. In my RTF it's serving as a manufacturing ship, currently producing spacecraft parts and complete Vipers.


----------



## 1711rob (Mar 15, 2006)

Page not found ???


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

I was having some problems earlier this evening when I was updating the page. I thought it was just something on my end, but perhaps not. Try hitting Refresh a time or two.


*BTW, more pics added directly to the thread.*


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

No. If I can climb the ladder, I will get it, plus other books I need, soon.


----------



## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

Great work so far, Jeff, those are REALLY gone look cool when they're all finished and displayed together :thumbsup:


----------



## El Gato (Jul 15, 2000)

Jeff, those look really cool! I like your improvisation with some designs, adding a few sci fi ships from other shows like Starblazers. But you need to add the TOS E to that fleet. It's been written. :thumbsup:


----------



## Admiral Nelson (Feb 28, 2002)

Lloyd Collins said:


> A rag tag fleet, on a lonely quest...


With bad acting but sexy women.......


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Thanks, fellas. I appreciate it. Shot a coat of Tamiya AS-19 Intermediate Blue (US Navy) on the _Rising Star_ today and think it looks pretty good, tho a touch darker than I'd wanted. I'm having to continue using rattle cans as I don't have a compressor yet - we'd planned on it, but just haven't gotten it yet. 

I think I'm going to go ahead and give the MiniModelMadness Colonial Movers a shot of Tamiya AS-16 Light Gray (USAF) and see how that looks. If it turns out as decently as I think it will for this one, I'll include it in the queue of painting for this coming weekend.




El Gato said:


> But you need to add the TOS E to that fleet. It's been written. :thumbsup:


Oh, yeah. I know that, believe. I'm the guy who first - publicly, at least - discovered that Lee Stringer and those crazy guys at Zoic put the TOS E in the fleet. I'm not sure if I want to just stick a 1/2500 re-worked/accurized Johnny Lightning TOS E in there or dig up a 1/3788 scale gaming miniatures and put that in there. It'd be a lot closer to-scale w/the rest of the RTF and might be the better choice. I'll think on it some more. Appreciate the suggestion, regardless! 




Admiral Nelson said:


> With bad acting but sexy women.......


Not that there's anything wrong w/that. I mean, how can you hate when women aren't wearing bra's...?


----------



## jay_barnes (Apr 11, 2002)

Jeffrey, great job on assembling your fleet there, looks great!


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Thanks, Jay! Only 201 more to go if I want to build the entire TOS RTF! At least, if I wanna get that crazy. Boomer specifically mentions that there were 220 ships in the RTF in one of the TOS episodes, so with these 19, I've still got a bit more to go. 

Only about 55 or so for the TNS RTF, tho! They lost about two dozen or so ships between the end of Season Two when _Cloud Nine_ Blowed Up Real Good, taking three other ships with it, in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2" and the beginning of Season Three in "Exodus" thru the episode "The Passage".


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Update! Not a whole lot to look at really and I'm about a day behind on those pics, but hopefully I'll have at least a couple of these finished by tomorrow late afternoon. (*NOTE: Again, no more AOL, so the links are no longer valid. Added the original text from my old webpage here*)



The BSG projects continue! I've done some painting over the last four or five days, tho not nearly as much as I'd like. Hard to do when you've got a 19 month-old running all over the place. Plus, as fun as working on models is, he's a lot more fun to play with. 

OK, I've gotten a bit more work done than I'll be showing in these pics. I took several of them yesterday and the day before and have gotten more work done since. Part of the hang up today has been in finishing the construction on a new addition to my Kitbashed RTF - a water reclamation/distillation ship.

First up is the MiniModel Madness Colonial Movers kit. It's not the greatest of kits, but at least gives a pretty decent representation of the subject and is likely fairly close to-scale w/the Revell-Monogram battlestar kit. My crappy paint-job in these pics doesn't really help to make it look that much better, either. It represents the Colonial Movers from TOS/TNS BSG alright, but requires at least a bit of touching up to get it looking better. Personally, I can't wait for the Timeslip Creations Colonial Movers model to be released. When that happens if this one doesn't get scrapped, it'll wind up at the very, very back end of the RTF.

Port side, Slightly Overhead View.


I brushed this model by hand, as you can tell from the crappy paint job as I previously mentioned. I've since cleaned this up a bit and gave three of the containers a second coat of paint. I purchased several sets of aircraft markings in various scales, along with a generic white letters decal set so I can put markings on these containers as the MMM kit has no decals. I also played around w/drybrushing a bit to give it some weathering that way. More to come on this, obviously.


Starboard side view, Slightly Overhead.



BTW, a little birdy told me that the Timeslip Creations Gemini Freighter will be shipped to him and hopefully available for purchase by the end of the week of January 15th. :thumbsup:


Comparison View of the Alliance Models and MiniModelMadness Kit sizes.


Above is a comparison shot of the Alliance Models Colonial Movers kit. It's way too big to be to-scale w/the Revell-ogram battlestar kit, as you can see. That is, of course, if you accept the 277m length for the CM given by the folks at Zoic Studios.



Cylon Tankers from MMM. Comparison view to show the difference in length after modification.

Next up are pics of the two MiniModelMadness Cylon Tankers that I've purchased. I have no clue whether this is an accurately scaled representation, but I can tell you from my own researches that this model - like the Colonial Movers above - is a representation in name only of the Cylon Tanker from TOS BSG. For starters, it's too long, having way too many "hangars" for the Cylon Raiders to dock. I cut out rougly one inch from the middle section. I then somewhat hollowed out the engines, applied putty to some of the voids/air bubbles on the surface and then applied putty over a large area of the surface of the "hangar doors". It appears that wooden dowels were used for the main hull of this kit and the wood grain shows.

Anyhow, it cleans up fairly decently, as you can see. It'll never be 100% perfect, but doesn't look nearly as bad with a little lovin' to take away some of the blemishes.

More.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Upate! I added six more pics of two ships. I've not made a LOT of progress in the area of finishing any models - the Flattop is pretty much done, tho! - and I'm actually about 7 to 10 days behind on editing my in-progress pics, as well. 

However, I'm making lots of progress on construction of some new ships, as well as adding detail to others. I really need to get out of the very bad habit of starting new projects while finishing a whole host of others. I work in an assembly line mentality, tho, picking up another model as glue, putty, primer or paint dries and moving on to another project. Just gotta stop starting something new.... 

This not being online nearly as much is great! I mean, besides seemingly conquering my OCD where keeping the computer logged on to DaNet while working on models and being tempted to hit REFRESH about every ten minutes or so. Keeping my 'puter offline, tho, removes said temptation to the point of I'm off that particular bad habit. 

Anyhow, here you go - January '08 update. As always, constructive criticism greatly appreciated. 


Text from the webpage:

And the fun continues. :freak:


Next up is my ARVEY Model Products Mineral Ship. It's built straight from the box, no modifications. It's a pretty nice kit, tho has one major flaw - the weight of the engine section is just enough that it causes a sag of the central spine section. I've heated it once in hot water, straightening it after a minute or so in the near-boiling water, and then dipping it in room temperature water to try and keep the shape correctly. As you can see, however, that didn't quite work. I'm not really happy w/the paint job, so am considering stripping the paint and starting over - literally. 


Port side View of the ARVEY Model Products Mineral Ship


I used a couple of light coats of Rustoleum's Flat White enamel paint, not trying to get a solid, purty color, but attempting to achieve a somewhat beat up, faded look. I'm hand painting the detail on this one with Testors acrylic Zinc Chromate - a color I also used on one of the containers on the aforementioned MMM Colonial Movers. From my notes gathered by bugging the heck out of Lee Stringer, formerly of Zoic Studios who did supervising work on the first season of TNS BSG - there were originally two Mineral Ships made for the RTF. One was a yellow/gold color and the other a light shade of blue. I was shooting for this one to be the yellow/gold one, but am not really happy w/how this one turned out. 



Overhead View.


It still needs more detail painting, but I did the same drybrushing on this one to give me an idea of how it'll look. It at least has a slightly more weathered look than the light coats of the flat white gave it. It looks crap, but not total poo at least. I'm thinkin' I still need to hit it with a wash of some sort after I'm finished w/the detail painting. I'll likely end up repainting this one using Tamiya TS-46, Light Sand. It'll be a bit darker overall, but I think it'll have the effect I want. 

Or I might just say "ta heck with it!" and just purchase two more Mineral Ships - one more from ARVEY Models Products and one from Timeslip Creations. Regardless, this is a beautifully detailed kit and I highly recommend it if you're looking to fill out your RTF.





Tauran Tanker, Outboard View.


This is what I'm calling my Tauran registered Tylium Tanker, one of the two that were originally Bandai's Starblazers/Space Cruiser Yamato models. I have no clue which of the ships it is in the lineup, but it's one of the two which pretty much screamed "Tanker!" at me when I looked it. Funny thing is that I originally bought several different of these Bandai kits w/an eye towards parting them out for my 1/2500 scale Star Trek kits. 


Stern Dorsal View

I used more of the smaller engines from Chief 400/Bart's engines he made for the scratchbuilt _Daedalus_-class battlecruiser from "Stargate:SG-1". I also added a piece of strip styrene to the aft section to make it more "smooth" and then added some greeblie from my spares box. I'm going to build a piece of superstructure for the upper aft section so that she's got an immediately identifiable bridge area. Guess we'll see how well that turns out....


----------



## WarpCore Breach (Apr 27, 2005)

Very nice, Jeff!

Those blue bits look like DLM's castings for the Maquis Raider to me.


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Looking real good, Jeffrey! You better finish them, before the Cylons caught up!


----------



## CaptFrank (Jan 29, 2005)

Neat stuff, Griffworks!
I think it's great that you're building a Rag-tag-Fugitive fleet.
Are you going to display the whole fleet in your house somewhere?

Maybe suspend them from the ceiling as a giant diorama?

Great work, anyways! :thumbsup:


----------



## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Excellent use of disparate parts! I like the oddness of some of the vehicles just like those used on the show :thumbsup:

BTW: The satellite from UFO was "S.I.D." ("Space Intruder Detector"). 

"S.I.D.S." is the acronym for "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome."


----------



## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

Great stuff Jeff. It's Nice to see more of your work


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Thanks, fella's! Yeah, I'll try and get them done before the Cylons attack. Thankfully, tho, these don't require finished paintjobs to make them space worthy. I mean, half the ships in the TOS RTF weren't detail painted, so why should *I* bother with it? 

Did a LOT of painting on the Mining Ship and a few others last night after posting the above. Will try to have several models finished over the next couple of days and pics posted by this coming weekend. 




PerfesserCoffee said:


> Excellent use of disparate parts! I like the oddness of some of the vehicles just like those used on the show :thumbsup:


It's definitely fun to make something "odd", that's for sure. I like that some of the old RTF ships are assymetrical, but am having a hrd time keeping that thinking going on these, as I want them to balance out. I can't just "let go".... 


> BTW: The satellite from UFO was "S.I.D." ("Space Intruder Detector").
> 
> "S.I.D.S." is the acronym for "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome."


Ah, OK. I remembered the first three words, but was thinking it needed a "Satellite" added to the end of it. After all the "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome" acronym wasn't in-use 'til well after _UFO_ aired. I'll have to go back and fix that.... 


Another Scratchbash, of sorts.

Now we're up to what I'm calling the Water Recycling Ship. The main hull of this was some resin bit that I picked up from another of the ResinDrops from either a past WonderFest or LesterFest'06. I think it was an engine on some sort of long extension. The front section was effectively "broken off", so I flattened it out, then "rounded" off the forward ends a bit.


Water Reclamation Ship, Port Outboard View.


The forward "command section" is a bit off of a 1/72 VF-1D Valkyrie conversion kit from C.E.D. that I purchased from Starship Modeler a while back. I drilled in to the main hull section, then the command section and put a snipped section of a wire coat hanger about 1/32" long in to secure the two parts together. I thought this piece might be "routine detachable" so that the main hull could be left at a site in an asteroid belt or on a comet and the main command section could rove around for whatever reason. Nothing that immediately comes to mind and I thought it sounded good. I never said it made sense.


Head-On.


These blue bits... I have no clue what the frak they're from. Heck, I don't even remember where I got them from for sure! I'm calling them chemical - or maybe water? - tanks. I think I might have gotten them from VA Miniatures in one of the box of resin bits I occasionally buy from him. Regardless the source, they're tanks and are on both upper side surfaces, as well as a smaller set on the bottom hull.


Outboard View.

The engine exhaust piece is a resin bit from the TechMages pile of greeblies. I think it's from a Hot Wheels car or something similar. I might be wrong, tho. I've got some other pieces I tried that sort of fit in there, but I prefered the look of that one over the others. 


Stern Dorsal View View.

The final pieces on the dorsal surface are from two different locations. The forward piece is what I'm calling the landing bay/docking port. I plan to put a piece of corrugated Evergreen stock - or something similar - over the opening so that you won't see any detail. I figure it's just barely large enough for a standard Colonial shuttle to fit in to with room to move crates and small handeling equipment around, as required.

Those two pieces towards the aft area are from my TechMages greeblie stash. I have no clue what they go to, but I figure them for some sort of engine spaces or maybe fuel cells? Doesn't really matter, I mostly just needed something to balance that section out a bit better and those fit nicely to my personal sense of aesthetics. 

And that's it for now. I hope you've enjoyed these pics of my RTF ships. More to come within the next weeks.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

OK, sorry I've not updated in a while. Been busy with mostly family stuff, tho cram in at least an hour or so of painting each day, with usually two or three hours on the weekends. I've been painting by hand, tho have been masking off on most of the models, with a few free-hand jobbers. Obviously, masking is much better, tho I do have a pretty steady hand if I say so myself.... 

Anyhow, I've been doing some more "assembly line painting" by pulling down a color and painting several models at a time w/that particular color. I let the paint dry and then pick up the next color and move on from there. I screwed up my lower back and have been put on Quarters (home rest, can't leave the house!) for the next two days, going back on Wednesday. As such, I plan to decal the MiniModelMadness Colonial Movers tomorrow by using various decals from my spares bins, plus some 1/72 and 1/48 scale US fighter aircraft decals I purchased a couple weeks back. I also need to dig up some of those decals that I got from Jay "Cozmo" Curtiss a while back. Guess we'll see how some of that works out for me tomorrow.









What I _really_ wish I could get is some decals that say something like "InterSun Lines", Gemini Freight", "Caprica Passenger Service", "Colonial Science Academy", "Virgon Movers", "Colonial Express", "Aerilon Cargo Lines", "Saggitaron Interstellar Trading", "Colonial Passenger Lines" or similar semi-generic BSG-related stuff to-scale w/these lil' guys. I need stuff like that for some of my kitbashes, scratchbuilds and re-use of other genre models (such as Event Horizon and the Arra Shuttle from Space:1999) for my RTF so that some of them have markings on the hulls. Might have to bug Jimbo of J-BOT Decals and see what he can come up with... I just don't want some of these looking... bland... when they can have even just a couple of extra decals and would look 100 times better.









Anyhow, seriously hope to have something finished and update my site by this coming weekend. If nothing else, I'll take some pics of what I've gotten up to that point and post a page or two. Don't hold yer breath, but I'll do my best, promise!


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

I see it took being under house arrest, to get any work done! LOL

You need to be like me, if you can't get or have the decals you need, make them. I find it fun to creat my decals, sometimes.


----------



## WarpCore Breach (Apr 27, 2005)

The problem I have with creating decals is that I can't get the results I want. The issue is sizing. What looks good small prints big and I haven't been able to puzzle out the printer settings to make it work properly. Or maybe it's not the printer; it's the program being used....?!? It's been a long time since I've tried and several computer crashes ago... heck, it's been several computers ago!! Files lost, etc, the whole shebang.

What we need... is some "Homemade Decals for Dummies" primer! :wave:


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Yeah, I need to make my own decals. Right... 'Cause I need something that'll slow me down even more!  

Jokin'! I'd love to do something like that, actually. I just don't really have the talent or the time to start playing around with something like that, let alone the programs to make them! 

Now, if you're offering to make me some, Lloyd....


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Lloyd Collins said:


> I see it took being under house arrest, to get any work done! LOL


Oh, c'mon, man, that ain't fair! I've got three kids and a wife that I can't neglect by locking myself in my Man Cave and painting & building models. I especially can't do that w/my 21 month-old around! He gets upset if I close the door - which I've done a few times for short periods when I wanted to get a certain paint-job done after he gets up from a nap - and drops to the floor screaming at the top of his lungs. There's nothing more pitiful than hearing him cry like that, especially knowing that he just wants to come in and see Dadda.  

So, days where I can get a couple of straight hours of model-time in come rarely.


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Now you know how evil I can be!:devil:

As to making decals, right now like you I have lots gong on, but not much time. Check back...oh...in about 6 months.....maybe.

I forgot, are you threw yet?


----------



## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Sorry to hear about your back. The consolation is that you get to work on models. 

Hmm . . . I'm not sure how that really balances out 

I can't wait to see how every thing turns out. I like your remark about assembly line painting. I've been doing some assembly line primering and sanding.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

PerfesserCoffee said:


> Sorry to hear about your back. The consolation is that you get to work on models.
> 
> Hmm . . . I'm not sure how that really balances out


It sorta balances out. At least all I've got to do is sit in a chair and not move around a lot. On the downside, tho, the Flexeril kicked in this afternoon and while trying to clean off the top of a bottle of paint I inadvertantly spilled the stuff! Lost about halfof the danged bottle, unfortunately. Plus, my eye-hand corrordination aren't nearly as good as they usually are, so I had to stop. Cleaning up some of my mistakes is going to be a pain, dang it! 


> I can't wait to see how every thing turns out. I like your remark about assembly line painting. I've been doing some assembly line primering and sanding.


That's how I've always done my models. Well, at least since I started working on more than one project at a time. It's great for when I'm doing Federation ships, especially in 1/2500 scale. I'll do a bunch of masking, then paint one color on a bunch of them, then move on to the next masking and painting in batches.


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Drugs and paint fumes, don't mix well. Next thing you know, you will wake up in an alley with a Barbie doll.


----------



## CaptFrank (Jan 29, 2005)

Lloyd Collins


> Drugs and paint fumes, don't mix well. Next thing you know, you will wake up in an alley with a Barbie doll.


...and realize, to your horror, that the "Barbie goes shopping"
diorama you started is only half-done.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

How in the world did you guys find out about that? It was a troubling time in my life, OK? 

I was in college and experimenting! You can't fault me for that, can you...?


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

The past is the past, unless I can get enough dirt, to blackmail you!

If you haven't thought of it, or tried it, use fine tipped permanent markers to detail your models. I have done that on some models, and it's really easier than paint. At WM I found a set of metallics Color Sharp, from RoseArt. It should give some nice details to your RTF. FYI, they say on the package to store the markers horizontally. I find if you don't, the fine tip losses the ink.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Kewel advice, Lloyd. I might well have to look at that. Especially since we're talking something this small - it's smaller scaled than my usual 1/2500 Trek projects! 


On a related subject.... 

I got my Timeslip Creations Gemini Freighter in the post today! :woohoo: 

A quicky review follows. My digicams are in need of batteries - both digicams! - so I can't post pics right now. Hopefully by Saturday or Sunday. 
It needs a bit more cleaning up than the previous two Timeslip Creations kits that I've purchased in the past - the Prison Barge and _Rising Star_. Both of those kits required a bare minimum of flash & pour stub removal. I don't own the TS Mining Ship, but do own the ARVEY Model Products (AMP) Mining Ship and Flattop - and recommend both of those, as well.

I like how this kit looks, detail-wise. For the size we're dealing with here, it's pretty darned accurate, tho doesn't appear to be 100% accurate to the studio model - I'd rate it at prolly 95% accurate, tho. The length appears to be roughly 4 1/2" / 44.43cm long, 1 1/2" / 3.81cm wide and 1/2" / 1.27cm tall. It's amazing the level of detail that's on this, regardless! Particularly so on the container sections, which look dead-on accurate to the full-scale studio miniature. 

While this one needs more cleaning up than the Prison Barge or _Rising Star_, it's still a _much_ cleaner casting than I've purchased from some few other companies. Plus, there's none of the oily residue such as found on the Odyssey Slipways kits almost always have - which require a 20 to 30 minute soaking in a degreasing dish soap. AT least, those O.S. kits I've purchased in the past. This won't require but a basic cleaning, going from the initial look. 

I plan to do a full Buildup Review on this and the Prison Barge for Starship Modeler. I'm not happy w/how my paintjob turned out for my _Rising Star_ so it looks like it should - but I like it as a ship from another passenger line! - , so will just purchase a second at a later date and time, then do a review. If someone hasn't beaten me to the punch on that one, of course. 
Pics to follow in a couple of days.


----------



## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Lloyd Collins said:


> If you haven't thought of it, or tried it, use fine tipped permanent markers to detail your models. I have done that on some models, and it's really easier than paint.


I used those to detail my Barbie dolls. Let me tell you: those girls are SMOKIN' HOT, now!


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

You guys are a hoot! 

I painted one of my RTF tanker ships in a two-tone color scheme yesterday. Top part is Tamiya AS-5 Luftwaffe Light Blue - which is actually more of a greenish-gray - and the bottom is Tamiya 41 Coral Blue. While it doesn't look quite as good as I'd hoped it would, I'm leavin' it as-is! I'm in a funky kinda mood, what can I say? I might regret it later, but I'm diggin' it right now!
I've also been doing some dry-brush weather on a couple of the RTF ships, getting them that much closer to a final dullcote seal. The Mining Ship, Flattop, _Rising Star_ (which I'm actually going to call the _Jade Moon_ or something else 'cause it's not a good enough color and I'm feeling too lazy to strip it!), Prison Barge/Astral Queen and two of my kit bashes are almost ready for decals - mostly generic stuff to give them something other than just an exterior. 

As an added bonus, I got my battlestar accurizing kit parts from Marko Osterholz on Thursday. These things are SWEET! They're to upgrade the Revell-ogram battlestar kit so that much more closely resembles the screen ship we all know and love. It 'pears that I'll have to reconstruct an all new upper gator head, as well as upper section for the engines. I've got some plans a friend of mine sent to me - tweaked with the help of another guy - and just need to scale them down to the appropriate size for this project. I want to finish these others that are nearly built before getting too far in to this particular renovation of a R-M kit, 'cause I want to devote as much time to it as I possibly can w/o taking from other projects that are sooo close to completion.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

I had a somewhat busy weekend and wasn't able to get nearly as much done, modeling-wise, as I'd wanted. I've got batteries, tho! That's a step in the right direction. 

With regards to the Gemini Freighter, I did some work on mine last night before I went to bed. It's been sanded, puttied and sanded again and currently is all primered now. I just need to paint the main hull colors, add the "clips" and then press on from there with detailing and decaling. 

One word of warning - my kit has several large pour stubs on the "cargo unit" sections. I got in to too much of a rush last night and ended up using an Xacto blade to cut off the stubs. In doing so, however, I ended up gouging out some of the ends of the containers, so had to putty, sand, putty, sand, etc... Basically, just be aware of that. My recommendation - and what I'll do on the next one I purchase and buildup - is to sand it down as close as you can, then primer at least the end pieces so that you can see exactly what you're doing with the last bit of sanding to get the surface smooth. 

I've also been sick since about midnight last night, as well. If not for that, I'd have already gotten the base coats applied. However, stomach flu/bug had me hurlin' all thru the night, then after a trip to the Doc this morning and an I.V. for dehydration I slept from about 11am to 5pm. I'll have pics at some point tomorrow, as I already feel 200% better than I did just 7 or 8 hours ago and should be able to edit and upload to my site. Hoping by tomorrow morning that I'm back to good. 

Anyhow, I'm really excited about this kit and can't wait to finish it. I highly recommend it, as well! Easily one of the most recognizable RTF ships in BSG - either TOS or TNS! - and a lot of fun to build.


----------



## CaptFrank (Jan 29, 2005)

> ...after a trip to the Doc this morning and an I.V. for dehydration...


They gave you an I.V. to dehydrate you?


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Yeah, they pulled about two quarts out....


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Now back to the Pub, for some pints!


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

OK, after a week of both being sick with a stomach bug and having to deal w/12-hour shifts thru the weekend, I've finally gotten my act together. Took a few pics over the last couple of days and DL'd them tonight from my digicam. Uploaded two tonight as teasers. 

Enjoy! 

First up is the Timeslip Creations Gemini Freighter. This is a nice little kit that requires only a bit of clean up. I primered it using Rust-oleum Automotive Primer and then hit it with Tamiya... er... [something] Tan as a base coat. I've since used a variety of other colors to paint most of the containers various colors and will post more pics later this week. Hopefully by this coming weekend at the latest. 

Gemini Freighter

Next up is a basic display of several of my "canon" RTF Ships. They're the Mineral/Mining Ship (top) and the Flattop (lower "left") from ARVEY Model Products, Prison Barge/Astral Queen (lower "top") and the _Rising Star_ from Timeslip Creations. All four of these are weathered to one degree or another. The Prison Barge and _Rising Star_ both need decaling before further weathering, tho. 

RTF Group Pic


----------



## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Loooookin' goooooood!

Can't wait for more pics!


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Thank ya kindly, Lee. 

Here's a bonus pic - another view of the RTF display:


----------



## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Three of my favorite ships from the series, there.

:thumbsup:


----------



## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Durn! The more I look at this, the more I want to get started on the 1/3700th Beast. :devil:


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

I'm still somewhat out on a limb on whether I'll get that kit or not. It's not to-scale w/the R-M Galactica or my RTF, so makes it somewhat questionable for me where priorities are concerned. 




PerfesserCoffee said:


> Three of my favorite ships from the series, there.
> 
> :thumbsup:


Which three would that be, exactly? 



BTW, another bonus view, this time of the Prison Barge. Keep in mind that I'm keeping the sides of the hull and top of the forward section relatively clean because I have yet to add decals to it, as well as finish painting some of the details with a tootpick. Also, this model is only 5" / 12.7cm long, yet packed with detail! 










As always, constructive criticism and comments appreciated.


----------



## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Griffworks said:


> Which three would that be, exactly?


The mining ship, prison barge, and the _Rising Star.
_

:thumbsup:

I've started playing with some of the parts of the Beast. The detail is incredible and seems to be well worth the money.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

PerfesserCoffee said:


> The mining ship, prison barge, and the _Rising Star._
> 
> 
> :thumbsup:


Hey, I was askin' 'cause there are four ships in the pic. I was never a big fan of the Flattop, but have since gotten to where I like it a lot. My overall favorite is and always has been the Gemini Freighter, tho. 


> I've started playing with some of the parts of the Beast. The detail is incredible and seems to be well worth the money.


Kewel. I've been hearing good things about it and followed Cylon75's buildup at Starship Modeler. Looks impressive in both size and detail. It's just the fact that it's not to-scale w/any of my other BSG ships that's a turn off.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Great googly moogly! Been a looooong time since this thread saw the light of day, neh? Well, I'm dredging it back up due to a semi-related thread and question over at SFM:UK's On The Bench forums

As promised in my Colonial _Defender_ thread there, here's a brief update on my RTF, as it currently exists. Well, mostly. There are almost a dozen still literally sitting on the bench right now having some sort of work done on them. Mostly painting. 

My RTF currently consists of ships from a variety of genre's, to include, but no limited to: Alien (_Nostromo_ & a resin cast refinery, as well as the Derelict), Aliens _(Sulaco_), S:AAB _Saratoga_), Star Trek (TOS 1701, Bay-Bee! - as well as a couple of others, such as the Merchantman, Karemma ship and one other), Star Wars (mostly Expanded Universe ships that started out life as MicroMachines, but there's a resin Blockade Runner and Odyssey Slipways dreadnought), Thunderbirds, Blake's 7 _Liberator_, _Event Horizon_, Babylon5 and several others. And, of course, several actual BSG ships from the TV Shows, as well as a couple of my own original kitbashed designs. 


http://members.aol.com/griffyards/RTF_Sept08-01.jpg
The battlestar featured in this shot is the Timeslip Creations kit. I've only done some minor modifications to it at this point, mostly just cleaning up, rebuilding some minor detail and adding a bit over half a dozen additional detail bits. 


http://members.aol.com/griffyards/RTF_Sept08-02.jpg
The Colonial Movers featured in this second shot is from MiniModelMadness. It's a bit too larger, but when I purchased it there wasn't another kit on the market. The Timeslip Creations CM model is much better than the MMM kit, having more accurate and tons better detailing. The Prison Barge featured in this pic, tho, is the absolutely beautiful TC kit and I highly recommend it if you can find one now - they've recently gone OOP, sadly. The _Celestra_-looking ship is one I purchased from Armoury Toys & Hobbies of Canada. 


http://members.aol.com/griffyards/RTF_Sept08-03.jpg
This pic features the ARVEY Model Products Mineral Ship and "Flattop" (sometimes called the Salvage Ship) and the Timeslip Creations _Rising Star_. Several MicroMachines make their appearance here. I plan to take the Nebulon-B medical frigate from the end of "Empire Strikes Back", cleaning it up a bit, putting it back together and then painting it. 


http://members.aol.com/griffyards/RTF_Sept08-04.jpg
Here we have _Event Horizon_, _U.S.S. Enterprise_ NCC-1701 (an old Starline 2200 gaming miniature that's pretty darned close to-scale! Needs to be painted, tho), "Space: Above and Beyond's" _Saratoga_, _USS Sulcao_ from "Aliens" (another MicroMachine) and a few others. You can't really see it, but the Timeslip Creations Gemini Freighter is in there, too. 


http://members.aol.com/griffyards/RTF_Sept08-05.jpg
Last pic here shows the second "Merchant Man" from the movie ST:III, the Odyssey Slipways Imperial dreadnought (the one w/the dish antenna's on top and bottom), _Liberator_ from "Blake's 7", the primered Timeslip Creations Mineral Ship and the several kitbashes. The last one on the far left of this image is another version of a botanical cruiser/agro-ship that I've sort of stalled on. 

Several other ships I've not got on the shelf is the Timeslip Creations Colonial Movers, a second _Rising Star_ (to be re-named as another ship in my RTF), a pair of Odyssey Slipways "Corellian Gunships" (which are just over half an inch long!), _Nostromo_ (a MicroMachine) & refinery that I purchased from MiniModelMadness some years ago on eBay and several others, most of which were purchased from Ravenstar Studios. 

Please bear in mind that, with the exception of the ARVEY Model Products Mineral ship, none of those models are 100% finished. Several are close and there are actually two others that only need a dullcote and they're done. However, most are still very much WIP's - which seems to be something like 95% of all the models on my shelves!

I've also got several kitbashes that are either in the planning stages are very early construction stages. I end up having all these extra side projects going because I"m waiting for paint to dry, putty to cure or there's always the _Oooh! Shiney!_ issue that I'm sure several of us deal with. At least, I hope I'm not the only poor bastiche who gets beset by that affliction on a fairly regular basis.... 

Hope you enjoy.


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

AHH...CHOOOO!! Too much dust with this thread!

NICE LOOKING FLEET!! Keep up the good work!

You need to finish what you started, or as Yoda said "Control,Control, you must learn Control!"


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Yeah, I know. Too much of the "Ooh, Shiney" Syndrome. You don't know how many times I've actually made myself put down another model or some pieces/parts that had me forming an idea for a new scratch-bash design.... 

Still, I'm getting a few other RTF ships that much closer to being done.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Here's a fairly recent pic of my Timeslip Creations Colonial Movers. I had a Hell of a time w/the decals being too thin after the application of the MicroSol and MicroSet. Thankfully, I was able to procure a couple of extra sets of the decals directly from TC in advance - thank you again, George! - so I've not actually lost out on any decals. 

Since this pic was taken I've put the last couple of decals on and sealed them. I just need to do some touch up painting, a bit of weathering and seal her up w/the last dullcote.


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Looking good! 
It is good to see you RTF is still coming along. 
Be sure to update the photo, when you are done. How about more than one,I want to see both sides.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Thanks, Lloyd. I'll happily provide you more pics of the CM, as well as more of my RTF. Just don't expect things to happen very fast-like and you won't be disappointed.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Latest edition to my RTF - the most excellent Timeslip Creations SpacePark _Zephyr_! Abso-frakkin'-lutely kewel! And a gift from the Abso-frakkin'-lutely kewelest dude I know - Jon/mech! You rawk, dude! I wanna have your bay-bees! :twisted: 

The kit is 7 pieces, w/two of those being clear cast parts for the Habitat Ring. The habitate ring has a "lip" on the inside that would represent the deck for where the soil, trees, buildings and people would reside. I've already primered and painted the main hull. The habitat ring is in primer w/me gluing in bits and bobs, as well as trying my hand at sculpting a bit of interior terrain. I'll then start painting the ground greens, browns and steels for decking and then plan to glue in some of the model railroad trees - just the smallest bits - to represent trees. Hopefully, I won't foul it up! 










The model in her base coat.

Anyhow, if you're at all waffling on purchasing one of these, don't! Go buy one.


----------



## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

That's a strange-looking ship, Griff, but I'll withhold judgement as to "kewlness" to when the other parts are added. :freak: 

Seriously, I can't remember offhand what it is supposed to look like. Once the habitat ring is put on, it will probably ring a bell.

Can't argue with the execution, however. So far looking good! :thumbsup: Looks to be a well-engineered kit for one so potentially fragile. How long and wide is it?


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

The model is about 12" long by roughly 6" in diameter. Go to this page at Battlestar Wiki for more info and some pics: Zephyr.

It's a really nice build, clean casting and well engineered, as are all of George's kits.


----------



## Jim NCC1701A (Nov 6, 2000)

Griffworks said:


> However, stomach flu/bug had me hurlin' all thru the night, then after a trip to the Doc this morning and an I.V. for dehydration I slept from about 11am to 5pm.


Damn, sounds like you've had a rough time of it lately 

Models are looking great though :thumbsup:


----------



## SJF (Dec 3, 1999)

Griffworks said:


> Latest edition to my RTF - the most excellent Timeslip Creations SpacePark _Zephyr_! Abso-frakkin'-lutely kewel! And a gift from the Abso-frakkin'-lutely kewelest dude I know - Jon/mech! You rawk, dude! I wanna have your bay-bees! :twisted:
> 
> The kit is 7 pieces, w/two of those being clear cast parts for the Habitat Ring. The habitate ring has a "lip" on the inside that would represent the deck for where the soil, trees, buildings and people would reside. I've already primered and painted the main hull. The habitat ring is in primer w/me gluing in bits and bobs, as well as trying my hand at sculpting a bit of interior terrain. I'll then start painting the ground greens, browns and steels for decking and then plan to glue in some of the model railroad trees - just the smallest bits - to represent trees. Hopefully, I won't foul it up!
> 
> ...


I recognize this one from the series! Looking good so far, Griff. 

Sean


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Thanks, Sean. I appreciate that. 



Jim NCC1701A said:


> Damn, sounds like you've had a rough time of it lately


The post you're quoting is from over a year ago, Jim! Dates in February of 2008!


> Models are looking great though :thumbsup:


Why thank you.


----------



## Jim NCC1701A (Nov 6, 2000)

Griffworks said:


> The post you're quoting is from over a year ago, Jim! Dates in February of 2008!


Figures - it's been one of those days... short-staffed because of the flu and one of my beloved colleagues is trying to do a Klinger from M*A*SH* and pull the sickness equivilent of a section 8...
My head ain't quite on straight.
Glad you're feeling better though Jeffrey


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Back in December (I think?) of last year, Starship Modeler wound up a Battlestar Galactica contest. There were a bunch of entries, with a number being scratchbuilds and/or scratchbashes. A couple of those were from a friend of mine named Joe Brown. 

One really caught my eye, tho I forget the name of the design. Unfortunately, SM hasn't put up the contest entries in the users gallery just yet, so I can't go back and research it - and it just occured to me that I can't remember the ships name, but I digress....

The design was 'bashed from several resin-cast parts from various kits. I like how it looks and had commented as much to Joe - who had shared the pics w/me prior to the contest. It's just an interesting, unique 'bash of parts. Joe was kewel enough to give me copies of the same bits that he used to make my own. 

Anyhow, included are two pics of the original build from Joe. Of course, I can't ever leave much of anything alone w/o tweaking it to some degree. So, I had to add some bits, making some changes that I kind of liked. The unpainted model pics are of my work, the painted one is Joe's - plus the pics are labled.  

Deep Space Survey Vessel page at PhotoBucket
More later. 

.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Joe posted the following over at Resin Illuminati, in my thread over there: 


Joseph C. Brown said:


> Kewel, Jeff!
> 
> Here's the text for that ship - I never figured out a name for the class, just the individual vessel. The forward hull is from a Konami Nostromo, the lower half from a Spaceman playset backpack, and the upper rear section from a Maquis Raider.
> 
> ...


And there you have it. :thumbsup:

.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Small update. I've actually finished a few ships - and prior to the end of 2009! - but haven't really been updating like I should. Especially since Wife and I got those danged iPhone's. Cursed things! 

Anyhow, here's what I've got: 











Taken about three months ago. Bulk of these ships are TNS specific, tho a few are "interchangeable". Nothing much to really talk about here, beyond you can see a few "sight-gag ships" in my RTF. Namely the _Liberator_ from Blake's 7, the _U.S.S. Independence _from "Space: Above & Beyond", Star Wars Rebel Transport (MicroMachine, which won't be in the final RTF), the Merchant Man from ST:III, , _Thunderbird 2_, the _Aria Shuttle_ (I think?) from *Space:1999*, some other *S:1999* shuttle (directly underneath _Galactica_), the Derelict from *Alien*, _U.S.S. Sulaco_ from *Aliens*, a Starblazers ship (serving as a Tanker) and TOS _U.S.S. Enterprise_ (mine'll be _U.S.S. Defiant_, tho). 












Also taken about three months ago. Bulk of these ships are TOS specific. A few sight-gag's in here, as well. 











Taken on 23 December. Left to right: Agroship 08 (scratchbash using MiniModelMadness parts for the _Valley Forge_ kit), , two Foundry Ships (from ARVEY Model Products), below is one of the Star Trek MicroMachines that I thought might make a kewel luxury yacht, below the Ringship Zephyr is the Tantive IV Blockade Runner (AMP) and to the right is the AMP Nebulon-B Frigate. Zephyr has a little over 25% of the black window masks I received as a test fit from Aztec Dummy. 

The Agroship is obviously lacking it's AgroPods. Theyr'e in-work, along w/window masks for the _Zephyr's_ habitat ring. I did the same thing as w/the habitat ring, in that I painted the "floor" some earth tones and greens, included some painted-on streams and am gluing in the railroad foiliage. The engines on the main hull are resin castings taken from a scratchbuild of a 1/2500 scale X-304 (Daedelus) that he made several years back and brought w/him to WonderFest '07. He had made a bunch of castings of the master parts and had a large bag w/those pieces/parts that he laid out on a table in our suite - I grabbed up four total, I think it was. I know it's an odd design, but I thought it looked better and made more sense to my personal design aesthetics than the original _Valley Forge_ design. 

The luxury yacht that's a Trek MicroMachine is one of the ships from DS9, I think is where we first saw it. I primered it, then hit it w/a Tamiya spraybomb that's a metallic blue. Detail painting is by hand w/acrylic Tamiya Flat Red, XF-7 and Tamiya's flat black. 

The two AMP Foundry Ships are pretty much self-explanatory. Only modifications I made are to add some engines to the underside of the main hull, as the kit comes w/no engines otherwise. Details are painted - rather crappily! - by hand, but the main base coat is different colors from my Tamiya stash. I forget what the lighter colored hull is, but the darker is Tamiya USAAF Neutral Gray, AS-7. The metallics used are a variety of Testors, straight from the bottle. 

The two AMP Star Wars ships are in 1/4222 scale - pretty darned close to The Lords of Kobol Scale (thanks, April!). They're both one-piece kits. The _Nebulon-B_ is a pretty nice little kit, but I can't get a slight twist out of the main spine, as well as it's started to droop a bit. Details all painted by hand after using Tamiya US Navy Insignia White, AS-20 as a base, then giving them a two-toned wash of flat black followed by a medium grey. I used a pin-vise drill to make two holes on the port side and added the antenna's, one of which is a piece of tubular shaped resin I had thrown in my spares bin and the other is a clothing needle from my bin. 

As of right now, _Zephyr_ has almost 75% of those darned windows covered w/the painting masks. It's drivin' me nuts having to sit there and put them in, as they always want to wiggle out of their little niche. Getting them centered correctly - and then trimming them a bit, as they're all just every-so-slightly too large - is time consuming. I think the end results will be more than worth it, tho! 











Also taken on 23 December. Left to right: Agroship 08 (scratchbash using MMM parts for the _Valley Forge_ kit), two Foundry Ships (from ARVEY Model Products), below the _Zephyr_ is one of the Star Trek MicroMachines that I thought might make a kewel luxury yacht, next is the AMP _Nebulon-B_ Frigate and below that is the _Tantive IV_ Blockade Runner (AMP). _Zephyr_ has a little over 25% of the black window masks I received as a test fit from Aztec Dummy. 
As always, comments and criticisms welcome. 

.


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

WOW! your fleet look awesome!:thumbsup::thumbsup: 
You have done a lot of work on the ringship. I bet it is a pain masking the windows, but, it should look really great when done.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Thanks, Lloyd! I appreciate the kind words. 

Almost halfway thru this last set of windows. Hopefully I'll have it finished by tomorrow evening at the latest.


----------



## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

That is just so awesome. What a fleet! Very impressed--and more than a little envious!


----------



## SJF (Dec 3, 1999)

I love how you have it displayed, with the Galactia in front and the rest of the fleet following. I can almost hear Stu Phillips' TOS music playing in the background. Great looking collection, Griff! :thumbsup: 

Sean


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Thanks, Fellas. I appreciate the kind words. 

And you, too, can own a collection like this, *Fozzie*. I just picked up a kit here and there over the years.


BTW, bonus pic of the ARVEY Model Products _Nebulon-B_ Frigate. It's roughly 2.8" / 7.0cm long.


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

It is an impressive fleet, but, wait until the Cylons catch up!:freak::tongue:


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Ha! Why do you think I have those other Colonial Fleet ships not far away? You see, Adama found an old CF Depot where ships from long ago were stored. He was able to get them running at least well enough to Jump them to another location, repair them a bit further, and then Jump them to the RTF. They would hold up long enough in a system to mine some materials and then move on while manufacturing the necessary components to upgrade and/or repair these same ships. 

So, let the Cylon's come! They'll be mightily surprised when their three-ship group is jumped on by 9 fully armed and ready Colonial Fleet ships! 


OK, seriously, tho, I've got three of the TOS Cylon Basestars in my collection - two of the new kits and one of the old, the latter having the Timeslip Creations accurizing parts. They're not true-scale to the rest of my ships, but will be alright, I guess. The Monogram-Revell Basestar kit has a diameter of roughly 11.25" / 28.6cm. That actually comes to 1/6187 scale if you accept a diameter for the "real" thing of 5,800' / 1,768m which seems to be the concensus of a majority of fans at sites to which I've visited. I've also got half of a basestar that'll get some minor mod's to be some sort of command ship based off of one of the original McQuarrie concept drawings. 

For TNS, plan to purchase at least one of the Fantastic Plastic TNS Cylon Basestar kits, as well as one or two of the upcoming Gizmotron Models kits - both of which are 1/4105-ish. That'll give the Cylon's a fairly strong presence. At least, on my _shelves_. 

.


----------



## Nova Designs (Oct 10, 2000)

Wow that Zephyr is fantastic! Looking great there!


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Necro-raising an old thread....

I've recently been motivated to get back in to modeling. It took me about two weeks to get my workbench almost completely cleared off. Now I'm going thru my models, looking at which models to start on in a sort of triage pattern - the easiest or closests to being finished will get attention first. I also have yet to go thru my paints to discover which are still viable. 



This shot was taken last night and is of my TNS RTF, featuring the Ringship _Zephyr_ from Timeslip Creations. Zephyr is another of those models I've not finished, tho she's close. I need to get back to masking off other areas to paint w/the blue you see here. I wish there were decals for this one, but there aren't. Once I'm completely done painting _Zephyer_, I'll remove the masks (a sample set from Aztec Dummy) from the windows so we can see the interior. 


You can also see the TOS _Enterprise, Sulaco_ (from ALIENS), _Event Horizon _(move of the same name), _USS Independence_ (from Space: Above and Beyond), the Rebel Transport (from The Empire Strikes Back), several non-canon Star Wars ships, a Trek ship and a two from SPACE:1999. 



Here is my Timeslip Creations Galactica, still in need of masking of the armor plates so I can then mix up a custom color that's just a bit darker than the armor plates. Also featured are the TC _Valkyrie_, Nebulon-B frigate (from TESB), the Foundry/Recovery ship from TNS BSG, two small resin kits from... somewhere... and a couple of small kitbash models.



Second to last pic for the day. From left to right, we have: Fantastic Plastic Berzerk, TC Colonial Movers painted with non-canon colors on the containers, Ravenstar Miniatures modular starship (top), TC Prison Barge, TC Gemini Freighter, *finished* Colonial Movers, TC _Rising Star_, FP Colonial Defender and from MiniModelMadness - the _Liberator_ (from Blake's 7) and a TOS Cylon tanker. 



Last pic I'll torture you all with is of my two Timeslip Creations Colonial Movers. The one on the left is painted in different colors than is canon, as I wanted something a bit different instead of two twins in my RTF. In TNS BSG, there were four different CM's, each with a different color set on the containers. I'll also possibly be using one of my extra sets Gemini Freighter decals on it to further set her apart from the regular CM. 


That's all I've got for now.


----------



## SJF (Dec 3, 1999)

Welcome back to the modeling bench, Griff. 

That's a nice touch putting ships from other SF series/movies in the RTF. 

Sean


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Thanks, Sean. I appreciate it. I got my inspiration from folks like Lee Stringer and others at Zoic Studios. I love how they added in all those non-BSG ships.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

OK, necroposting to yet another thread. 

I've decided to go ahead and name my Deep Space Survey Vessel the same as Joe Brown did his. As such, she's _Molon Labe_. 

Various in-progress pics below. Main PhotoBucket page can be seen here. 




Comparison shot with a Timeslip Creations Colonial Movers. 




Pre-primer shot. I added a large antenna to the nose of the ship. I figure it's a part of her sensor rig. Maybe. Sorta.




Main base coat of paint. 




The most recent pic I have, taken just a couple of days ago. I plan to go back and finish her up later tonight. Not much left to do to her. And yes, she's got a hole lot of black-heads on her. I figure those are... uh... sensor ports. Yeah. Passive sensor ports.


----------



## Joe Brown (Nov 16, 1999)

Looking good even with the 'sensor spots'. 

I did a small batch of my parts for RTF ship components/table-top gaming pieces... not as model show quality items. And with the right paint, who can say? :tongue:


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

No worries, Joe! I'm not complaining at all. I had gone thru and filled a few of those holes, but eventually gave up. I don't really care all that much if they show. This is for my display shelf and I think she looks just fine as-is. 

Thanks again for the parts. :thumbsup:


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Some paint fell on models. Again....


On the left is the Starline 2200 (I think?) _Constitution_-class gaming miniature. It's painted AS-5 Light Blue (Luftwaffe). I've got decals for her and instead of _Enterprise_, she'll be _Defiant_, NCC-1764 - now we know where she _really_ went after she fell thru that rip in space. 

The SPACE:1999 Eagle is from the Moonbase Alpha set, and yes, I'm no it's not to-scale. If I went with a to-scale Eagle, you'd not be able to see it, for the most part. I wanted to add one to my RTF. 

The three TNS Passenger Liners are from Timeslip Creations. I have two more that are unbuilt. One is painted Tamiya AS-20 Insignia White (US Navy), one is AS-516 Light Grey (USAF) and the last is AS-19 Intermediate Blue (US Navy). I had originally painted that last one Tamiya TS-10 French Blue, but didn't like it, so painted over it as I want this one to be the Olympic Carrier Lines ship. It turned out darker than it would have if I'd just shot it over the primer, tho and I wasn't about to try and strip it, re-primer, etc... 


Here's a couple pics of what I'm calling a Pre-Cylon War Luxury Liner. The two main hull halves are the weapons pod fairings off of some aircraft kit, the wings are resin wings from some other aircraft kit and I have no clue for sure where the rest of the parts came from, other than likely more aircraft kits. 


A couple years back, Eric / *lakespeed* gave me a huge box of pieces/parts from various aircraft kits. That box was the source of the donor parts, so there ya go. I think it has a sort of Flash Gordon-ish (1930's) look to it. 


I started working on this while I was building the Battlestar _Triton_. I had set the parts aside in a Ziploc baggy and found them one day while going thru pieces/parts to add some extra details to _Triton_. I finally decided to build it. 


I'm not sure what color her base coat will be at this time. Leaning towards giving her a two-tone look, tho. Gotta find some kind of logo decals for her, too.... 

Full Gallery Linky


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Here's a ship that's been a part of my Rag Tag Fleet since sometime in 2006. There've been a few pics of her, but I've not posted anything in the way of closeups as you're seeing now in several years. Not since AOL got rid of their members website space. 






The forward section of the hull is from the top portion of a chip clip and the top dome is the bottom of one of those "eggs" that you get out of a toy vending machine. The sand colored thing on the dorsal amidships area is a resin part off a tank kit (I think). The main aft section is an aft section off a Konami S.I.D., bridge and engines are from a 1/1000 (I think) scale Victory-class star destroyer from Odyssey Slipways. 






The bottom front is some part from my greeblies box. The ventral amidships part is something off of a Gundam or other giant robot kit. The deflector globes on the top of the bridge part were broken off at some point over the years, I forget how. 


COMPLETED PICS TO FOLLOW DUE TO HOBBYTALK'S LIMIT OF NO MORE THAN 8 IMAGES PER POST.....


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Alrighty, then, continuing....





With the help of a friend, I've named her _Artemis_ and she's a dual-purpose ship. The thinking here is that the forward section is a mining platform and is detachable from the rest of the ship. The mid-section of the ship hull is a refinery and the aft (S.I.D. portion) is for equipment stowage, cargo holds and crew quarters. She's roughly 3 3/4" long. I plan to add some antenna in a couple of different locations - at least one traditional mast or probe style and one or two dish antenna type.









I plan to get my circle scriber compass and scribe a simple separation line to the top of the hull along the curve of the gumball machine dome part. The thinking on this mining platform section is that it's mostly automated equipment. The ship can bring it to the surface of an asteroid or small moon, put the platform down with a minimum of crew and the platform uses the round "feet" on the bottom to position itself, as well as lock itself to the surface during drilling. 

The rest of the ship orbits the moon, surveys for more potential drilling sites and/or sits in overwatch in case pirates show up. The two recessed small square shapes on the port and starboard aft half are docking ports. The rectangular recess on top...? No clue at present. I'm thinking of adding something in the way of a weapons platform, tho - maybe some missiles? She's not a warship, but is armed against aggressors.

.


----------



## SJF (Dec 3, 1999)

I love stuff like this. I just love kitbashing new ships out of various parts. Thanks for taking pictures of what it looked like before you painted it, Griff. That's really cool. 

Sean


----------



## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

That is a great looking ship you've come up with there! Fits right in with the rest. :thumbsup:


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Thanks, fellas! I appreciate the kind words. 

Yes, _Artemis_ is one of my favorite 'bashes, as well. I think the color I chose for her base coat goes a long way towards making her more fond to me, I think. It just... sings... to me.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Some more miscellaneous WIP pics. 


Top to bottom: Timeslip Creations Battlestar _Valkyrie_, Support ship _Halcyon_ (TC's Prison Barge), a Starblazers ship that I'm using as the Tauron Tylium tanker _Liparus_, prison ship _Astral Queen_, Colonial Movers ship (_Arcadia_ is her name) and to the left are four of the _Gemenon Traveler_-type heavy transports by Aptivaboy and purchased thru Shapeways. 


Top to bottom: _Astral Queen_, _Arcadia_, _Eagle One_ a heavy transport from Libran (yes, it's the Space:1999 Eagle which I stole from my Moon Base Alpha model, and obviously out of scale), and a _Gemenon Traveler_-type heavy transport. 


 

Close ups of the _Eagle One_. Obviously not yet finished with the painting, then weathering. I wanted to get some accurate markings painted on the cargo model and don't have any references, so need to do some research there. 

Just little stuff I've been piddling around with, mostly doing some detail painting and weather on a few other things. Hoping to get the decals done on _Astral Queen_ tomorrow, as well as the _Liparus_.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

I haven't updated this thread in a while, so guess I should do so, neh...? 

I've received a couple of new additions to my RTF, several of which have been purchased from Shapeways.com as 3D printed miniatures designed for gaming, mostly. 


Comparison pic with some canon RTF ships. 


Some of the recent additions include: 


_U.S.S. Daedalus_ from Stargate: SG-1 - purchased from Shapeways as Daedalus, this one in WSF Polished, which is actually pretty darned nice. 



_Ovid_ - bulk freighter - yet another Shapeways purchase as the Bulk Freighter. This one was printed in WSF, but I should've ponied up for the FUD or whatever I could get it to print in that would give the better detail. It's a real PITA to try and sand the rough textured surface smooth. 



_Proteus_ - Sagittaron Planetary Defense Force corvette - EU Corvan Gunship Mk 2 from the Expanded Universe of Star Wars. I just thought it looked kewel and turned out really nice in FUD. 



_Sisyphus_ - bulk freighter - purchased as the Cargo Tug: Loaded from Shapeways in White, Strong, Flexible (WSF) medium, tho I wish I'd gone with FUD (Frosted, Ultra Detail). WSF has a grainy texture. 

And that's the latest additions to my RTF. Hope to maybe get a few more done over the next couple days, but ain't holdin' my breath!


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Been a while since I updated. 

Got several new ships for my RTF in the last several months. Some are from Timeslip Creations, boxed and won't be started for a while - Mineral Ship, Prison Barge, and two sets of 2 Olympic Carriers (one set as a future client build). I also purchased some more ships from Shapeways. I picked up two more of the Bulk Freighter, another Loaded Tug, an Unloaded Tug, a Tanker and two Light Freighters, as well as some Spacer1999 BT-C3 "Construction Chameleon" Shuttles, which I'm calling transports. 
An older overview pic: 



First are these two lil' Light Freighters: 




Tanker: 



And the BT-C3 Chameleon Transports, shown with JT Graphics shuttles for a size comparison: 



I also picked up a slight smaller, but MUCH better detailed _Liberator_ from *Blake's 7*: 




I've also been picking up some more Star Wars ships in 1/4222 (or close enough). Most aren't canon, tho are from the Expanded Universe.


*MORE TO FOLLOW - ONLY ALLOWED 8 PICS PER POST*


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

The most recent additions are the canon "Battery Ship" and the conjectural "Tube Ship". The Battery Ship is seen pretty regularly throughout the series run. The Tube Ship was later found out to be the Ulysses. The earliest version of the Tube Ship I can find is by a CG artist fan by the username of Coxxon. 

Battery Ship: 











Tube Ship: 







And the main album of unfinished models can be seen here.


I plan to take a few comparison pics with the Timeslip Creations Colonial Movers, one of the Aptivaboy _Gemenon Traveler's_ and one of the Battlestars. I just got back from a family trip to see my folks early evening yesterday and the pics of the Battery and Tube Ships were taken by Wife when they arrived on Wednesday. Something much better to follow!


----------



## TIEbomber1967 (May 21, 2012)

These ships are all really neat, but at that scale the grain produced from the printing process is a little distracting (for me). How well do they clean up? Have you tried to sand any of them smooth?
Just curious.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

... and these are the "Polished" versions! You should see the two other models that I purchased without going with the polished option. 


With the polished versions, I've found that it's nearly impossible to get these any smoother at this size - my meat hooks have a hard time holding on to them and not sending them flying or breaking them. However, with polished versions sort of "clean up" nicely with a coat of primer, followed by a coat or two of paint. The "rough" surface texture (compared to the unpolished, mind you) is barely noticeable. Plus, the Battery Ship is only 1.43" / 3.63cm long, with the Tube Ship being 2.877" / 7.3cm long, so you're looking at _waaaay_ blown up images in those pics. The detail you can see isn't nearly as noticeable to the naked eye and you might lose some of the fine detail on the surface of some models if you sand it too hard. 

You can order a lot of the 3D models at Shapeways in Frosted Ultra Detail (FUD) acrylic, which rarely has any printing artifacts. it just depends on if the owner of the item designed the model to allow for printing in FUD. I've found that you can lose some details when the model was set for FUD, but you print in WSFP (White, Strong, Flexible & Polished) on the order of just a couple of millimeters - which makes a difference. Some pretty much have to be printed in FUD, while others can be printed in most any medium. The price goes up fairly dramatically in some cases, tho. I plan to re-print the Battery Ship and Tube Ship in FUD, tho the prices go from $9.49 for the Battery Ship in WSFP to $22.42 in FUD. The Tube Ship goes from $17.79 to $41.73. I don't mind paying a bit of a premium, tho have to budget for it. The smaller the model, the lower the prices, even in FUD. 

One kewel thing that Shapeways has recently started allowing is for a "Print it anyway" option. Basically, if there are possible issues that will give for an imperfect printed model, you can use that PIA option and clean it up once you've received the model. I've got a couple of models that are set to print this way, tho have discovered that not all artists/owners have their stuff set for PIA - I think they have to go back and manually allow for that option. 

So, there you go. For the most part, you can get some awesomely detailed models if you don't mind paying for it. If you can't afford it, you'll have to settle for the not-quite-as-awesome detail of WSFP. And again, those Battery Ship and Tube Ship pics are showing close-ups of models which are less than 3" long. I can't really make out that same level of surface detail without holding the model up really, really close to my face - and even then! 

Goes to show you that the camera indeed does _not_ lie - but your eyes will.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Comparison pics, as promised. Just a lil' slow. 


Top to bottom: Timeslip Creations Colonial Movers, Tube Ship, Battery Ship with a JT Graphics Mk II (TNS) Shuttle and the Aptivaboy _Gemenon Traveler_-type transport. 








Also, there was discussion about the difference in size of the TOS battlestars versus the TNS ships. Quick pic to illustrate the differences. 




Tomorrow is Paint Day - clean up on a couple of models, then painting will be done.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

New entries. Mostly just the special one, tho I also added the purchase of another Colonial One, Firefly and Battery Ship to my RTF. 

_Celestra_ is pretty much a one-shot 3D printed model. I purchased it thru Shapeways for just over $200. It's right about 6 1/2" / 16.49cm long and was "grown" in Frosted Ultra Detail - an acrylic compound. I'm not selling them, tho am happy to answer questions via PM if you're interested in contact information on how to obtain one. 

General shots of various ships: 










*MORE TO FOLLOW!*


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

A couple of _Celestra_ pics: 

















Main _Celestra_ album: 
http://s763.photobucket.com/user/Griffworks/library/Battlestar%20Galactica/RTF%20Pics/Celestra?sort=3&page=1


----------



## SJF (Dec 3, 1999)

It's nice to have models of the RTF, but it's really cool to have them in the same scale as the Galactica. Looking good, Jeff. :thumbsup:

Sean


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Thank ya kindly, Sean. This has become a grail ship for me. It's not a perfect model, having some odd printing artifacts and the original mesh has the polygonal surface that translated to the printed model. Regardless, I've got a model of a subject that several GKM companies have said wasn't feasible, so I gave up waiting.


----------



## marcnoonan (Oct 2, 2014)

Aha,

Here they are and my curiosity has finally been satisfied Griff. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Cheers

Marc


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Wow! Just when I thought I wasn't coming back, notification comes in! LOL!

Thanks, Marc. I plan to take some much better, close up pics of those models that you made for me in the next couple of days. I just thought that I'd try and paint one of each up so that I could give before/after type pics. 

BTW, I responded to your email. Did you get the reply?


----------

