# Scratchbuilt Sci_Fi shuttle



## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

This is a recreation in 1/35 scale of a shuttle model I did in 1980, the original was smaller, approx 1/60 scale. The inspiration for the original was the various craft on Battlestar Galactica. Just realized that the six inch stainless steel ruler in the photo is the same one I used in 1980.








Passenger/cargo compartment walls and roof on. I originally thought about making clear windows in this section but decided against it. I may still build this as I did back then as a cargo shuttle with a wide cargo door on one side and a crew door on the opposite side.








Engineering section closed in. On the original I simply stuck on the engine exhausts from an MPC X-Wing fighter as the engines. I plan on making more detailed engines on this one.








Bottom side, I will have 4 small lift motors and tripod landing gear on this, similar to the original.








Crew compartment coming together, this will be fully detailed since it will have large windows, just like the original. I will update the controls, the original had joystick controls on the seat arms and clunky crt monitors with a representation of a computer keyboard at each work station. I will follow the Spacex design for the Dragon Crew capsule controls, flatpanel monitors at each station with possibly some smaller monitors scattered about for dedicated displays.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Control cabin coming together.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

More work on the shuttle cockpit, floor framework and side shelves in place.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I have the set that astronaut comes from! Flashback!


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

John P said:


> I have the set that astronaut comes from! Flashback!


I need to dig out my bag of astronauts to get a couple of seated ones to go in this.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Cabin floor and main structure of cabin interior done.








A few small details to add before I start painting the interior. I need to make the three crew chairs and the various flat panel displays and controls to add after interior painting is done.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Cabin door made and installed.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

A "small" update, door/airlock control for the crew cabin.


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## Philbouq (May 29, 2014)

Very nice project. 
What about the original one you created in the 80's? Doesn't exist anymore?


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Philbouq said:


> Very nice project.
> What about the original one you created in the 80's? Doesn't exist anymore?


Sadly no, it does not but I do have the original drawings that I made of it after I built it back then. I am doing this from memory and updating it a little as I go, including almost doubling the size and I plan to look up the drawings after I finish it to see how good my memory of this is.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Storage lockers in the crew cabin, port side.








Storage lockers in the crew cabin, starboard side.








Beginnings of the main engines, there will be four total, the one on the right is close to being finished, it has 54 pieces on it so far with more to be added.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

More progress on the main motors, a very tedious process since everything is being made from scratch, I am guessing that there will be over 250 pieces in these motors when finished.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

After more than a couple hundred parts and hours of tedious work I have the basic form of the shuttlecrafts main engines. I wanted them to be similar to the MPC X-Wing fighter parts engine that I used on the original without being a direct copy of them. The most difficult part is now done, the rest will be fairly easy to complete.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

307 individually cut bits of styrene sheet, rod, tubing and 2 days of work went into creating the engines for the shuttlecraft model.








I was going to use a couple of these old MPC Astronauts from the 1960's as the crew but the seated ones look as if they are posed to sit on a toilet and appear very constipated or otherwise in distress.


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## Chuck Eds (Jul 20, 2009)

Hey Ken, is all that styrene from Evergreen? I have a big box full of their stuff, it's so awesome to work with!


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Chuck Eds said:


> Hey Ken, is all that styrene from Evergreen? I have a big box full of their stuff, it's so awesome to work with!


Yep, it's Evergreen, I have been using it since the 1980's.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

More pieces added to engine module, now there are 321 pieces in this unit. The size of this is 63 by 58 mm, the individual engines are 29 mm tall and 19 mm in diameter.








Close up detail of one engine.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Started Painting the engines.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Started painting in the control cabin, I used Tamiya AS-2 light Gray on the door and floor. I used Krylon satin Pistachio which is similar to the green used In the Galileo Shuttlecraft in Star Trek.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Painting done on the engines, after the paint dries for a day or two I will do a wash on it to bring out details and do some light weathering.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

krlee said:


> Started painting in the control cabin, I used Tamiya AS-2 light Gray on the door and floor. I used Krylon satin Pistachio which is similar to the green used In the Galileo Shuttlecraft in Star Trek.
> View attachment 322382
> 
> View attachment 322384


That's a great color choice!


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Found some crew figures for this model, the crew figures from the USS Enterprise Bridge model. There are three seated and one seated female figure, I will use three of them. These and a few of the decals from that kit will be the only kit parts that I will use on this build. I thought about using one of the standing figures but the pose is too stiff.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Picked out the three shuttle crew, the Starfleet uniform insignia will have to be removed and the arms will be added after I have made the seats and worked out the control panel layout. The figures are 1/32 scale instead of the shuttle's 1/35 scale but that difference will not be that apparent with seated figures.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

First seat made, still needs a little work but I am happy with it.








Pedestal added, just need to make 2 more seats now.








Perfect fit to the figure, I did have to reposition the arms to get them to line up with the armrests.








Pilot position, it's a good fit.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Parts cut out for the other two seats, 14 parts for each seat.








Original seat in the middle and the two new seats on either side, the support post for the one on the right is slightly shorter for the shorter female figure. I still have some refining to do to the new seats but they are essentially done.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Great detailing. Enjoying watching the shuttle come together 👍


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

All three figures together and in their seats, still some cleanup to do on both the figures and seats.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

So this is definitely a Starfleet shuttle, then?


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

StarshipClass said:


> So this is definitely a Starfleet shuttle, then?


No, just a generic sci-fi shuttlecraft. These were the only figures that I had and I am removing the starfleet emblems from the figures I will also paint the uniforms different than the Starfleet standard. I built the original in 1980 based on design ideas from several sci-fi shows, movies and comic books. I need to find the blueprints I drew up back then of this to see how close I came to the original design using just my memory of the original model.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Seats painted matte black, I will drybrush the arm rests and seat cushions with either tan or brown.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Weathering done on the engine module, just a wash to bring out and contrast details.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Started hull detailing, port and starboard side passenger cabin windows and doors.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Seats drybrushed with a red brown color, ready to install into the shuttlecraft.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

krlee said:


> Seats drybrushed with a red brown color, ready to install into the shuttlecraft.
> View attachment 322671


Ha! The dry-brush color looks like the color of the dust I got on my pants yesterday. Gotta love the red clay around here!🤥🤥🤥


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Seats added to the control cabin.








More hull details and engines temporarily added to shuttle to build up the engine unit mount.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Added control cabin exterior and windows.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Main control, Engineering and Communications consoles, a combination of keyboard and touchscreen style user interface.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Main control, Engineering and Communications consoles painted and decals added.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Controls in place.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Crew figures painted and in place in the shuttle, the hard part is now finished, not much left to do now.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Roof in place over the control cabin.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Continuing to add hull details.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Most of the hull detailing done, I still need to add the "escape hatches over the passenger section, thrusters, sensor/communications dish and landing gear.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Hull ribbing details done on hull bottom, time to start the panel and small details.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Thruster details going on the model, three more sets to do.








The beginnings of the communications/sensor antenna, this could look familiar to Star Wars fans. This is a recreation of the kit part I used on the original model years ago.








Antenna in place on roof, not glued on yet since I still have to make the dish that will go with this part.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Can't get over how good the rocket nozzles look. 👍


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

StarshipClass said:


> Can't get over how good the rocket nozzles look. 👍


Thanks, they were easier than I thought that they would be, drilled out the holes with a 3/32nd bit at the proper angles and glued short sections of 3/32nd evergreen tubing into the holes. After they dried I carefully trimmed them down almost flush and sanded them to blend it into the hull. I used a #11 blade to wallow out the ends of the tubes to give them a slightly conical shape inside.
If you meant the main engines, those took some time, there are over 320 parts in that assembly. I already had it in my mind what I wanted them to look like and I just kept cutting and added bits until it looked right to me. I imagined a mix of retro 1930's Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers style rocket engines blended with the X-Wing engines I used on the original model.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Antenna/sensor complete, starboard side forward thrusters done.








Port side aft thrusters, the tubes will be trimmed flush after the glue dries. I have also added the starboard aft thrusters.


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## f1steph (Jan 9, 2003)

Wow, this is great stuff...... so you're not really building a replica of a shuttle from the BG 1978, just one that could of been in the fleet..... I really like your engines.... the astronaut look way better than the 2001 Moonbus astronauts...... even with the weird bubbles inside his helmet.... I think that 1/35 figurines from that show are available on the net..... Keep up the good work....


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## Philbouq (May 29, 2014)

Yeah! Great scratchbuilding lesson!!
Thanks a lot for sharing it


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Finished the aft rcs thruster quads, added umbilical connection points, started adding lower hull plating and access panels, started on the landing gear.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Finally braved the closet of doom and found my original drawings I made of my original version of this model back in 1980. I had forgotten why I built this but the blueprints that this was with reminded me. I originally built this as a shuttle to go with my "updated" version of Space Station One from the Space Family Robinson comics. I really wish that I had dated these drawings to be sure of when I made them but I am fairly sure it was no later than 1980.








Looking at these drawings I think I came very close to capturing the look of the original that I built so many years ago. Apparently at the time I drew this I thought that rcs thrusters had to be on every single corner of the ship. While this was not based on any specific sci-fi show or movie I took design cues from both Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars and the the Travel Pod from Star Trek The Motion Picture. In fact I think the Vulcan Shuttle from THP is the origin of my inspiration for the use of so many rcs thrusters.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Paneling finished on bottom hull, landing gear details added, I still need to make the footpads and I want to add some more panels to sections of the top hull.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

The model is now structurally complete, paint and decals is all that is left to do except for the antenna dish, footpads and exterior door controls, those will be added after painting is done.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Looks great! Very practical design with plenty of detailing that sells it.

Cute little landing pads--all that's really needed and they're easy to stow away. I get a little turned off by all the CGI ships with the impossibly heavy and large landing gear. The Jupiter 2's landing gear was bad enough to try to rationalize actually fitting into the ship. A lot of the new ships are utterly impossible to.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

I kept thinking that there was something familiar about the shape of this model and then I saw one of these crawling down my wall in my bedroom and that is when I saw it:








Red Dwarf had the Starbug, I have the Stinkbug!


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Basic painting done on this, I still have to paint the insides of the thrusters, painting on the landing gear, add decals, do a light weathering and glue in the black rectangles for the rear windows.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Started adding decals to the "Stinkbug". I still have some more markings and striping that I will add.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Reminds me of some Hanna-Barbera cartoon spacecraft--kind of like something you might see in the 1980s update of _Space Ghost. _👍


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

StarshipClass said:


> Reminds me of some Hanna-Barbera cartoon spacecraft--kind of like something you might see in the 1980s update of _Space Ghost. _👍


This has a vague resemblance to the Spindrift from Land Of the Giants. It has the forward crew compartment, three people instead of two people as in LOTG, an airlock area between the crew and passenger compartments and an aft engine section. Of course the same correlations could probably be made to many sci-fi spacecraft.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

More work done, almost there:


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Finished!


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)




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## SJF (Dec 3, 1999)

Fantastic job! Thanks for sharing it with us.


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