# Battlestar Pacifica (Moebius Galactica) Build



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

For some reason Im' still not really feelin' it for working on my Moebius Pegasus, being built as the Battlestar _Atlantia_. So, I decided to pull out one of my Moebius Battlestar _Galactica_ kits and build it, since I don't have one even started - tho do have a Timeslip Creations _Galactica_ that's roughly halfway finished. 

Anyhow, I thought I could sort of play around with this particularly build, as I'd like to add some additional armor plates and gun positions to it, sort of like what we saw in "Blood & Chrome" on both _Galactica_ and the other Battlestars she's cruising with at the end of the movie. This will be the _Pacifica_, however, one of the other TOS battlestar names I've always wanted to build. 

For this build, I'm using the ParaGrafix Modeling System Hull Inserts and the name plate and registry number from this Battlestar Galactica Detail Set. I'm going to use some resin cast parts to replace one of the detail pieces that I've obsessed over, as well as will likely use the Timeslip Creations resin Battlestar Turrets. I might change my mind and add some extra _Pegasus_ guns, tho, and I'll explain why.... 

*This is the "Blah, blah, blah!" part that most folks will want to ignore.* Just sayin'.... 

In my lil' BSG 'Verse, _Pacifica_ was one of the original 12 Battlestars built at the beginning of the Cylon War. She's one of three that survived to the end of the war, the others being _Atlantia_ and _Galactica_. While there were a handful of other ships of the same _Jupiter_-class (from the series bible) that were built later in the war, those few others which survived had taken heavy damage and were either scrapped or put into Reserve Fleet status within ten years of the end of the war. The original three survivors, however, served honorably for nearly three decades before _Atlantia_ was scrapped and the second of the _Mercury_-class took her place. Galactica and Pacifica continued their service until only Galactica remained when Pacifica was Retired approximately three years before The Fall of the Colonies. She was officially listed as Scrapped. 

But she wasn't. 

She became a part of what was called The Shadow Fleet - a top secret operation wherein ships which still had at least a year or heavy combat in them were put into an Operational Reserve Fleet status. The people manning these ships were mostly Retired or recently Honorably Separated Colonial Fleet Officers and Enlisted personnel who served as a sort of beefed-up skeleton crew for these ships, which were hidden in a distant, uninhabitable star system just outside of The Red Line. Pacifica is one of those ships, and one of only four battlestars in the Shadow Fleet. The idea is that these ships can be called upon as a quick replacement fleet in case the Cylon's attacked with a larger force than the Colonial Fleet could easily repel without taking heavy losses with her ships. Instead of having surviving crews that had no ship or had a ship so badly damaged it was going to be in Drydock for months at a time, those Fleet personnel could be shifted to one of these ships. 

*Start reading again here, "Blah, blah, blah!" is done. You're about to see some purty pikshurs.* 

So, my rationale for some differences in her lines will be the above back story. I'm thinking of adding a pair of fixed super-frak canons sort of like the two dual canons that the _Mercury_-class has, but these will be under the chin. She'll definitely get extra gun mounts, but those might end up being _Pegasus_ guns as a sort of "uprate" to her systems. 




I'd already started on the hull components before I thought to start taking pics. This is one of the "hand-me-down" kits that I picked up from someone selling theirs and had already been started - the top and bottom portions of the Gator Head were glued together. I added the PGMS name plate and registry plate, then drilled out the RCS thrusters with a fairly small pine-vise drill. 




Instead of making a hole as large as the represented opening, I went with something smaller, as I always sort of considered this to be more of a rocket-engine shaped nozzle then just an large exhaust hole. I sort of like how it looks, anyhow. Plus, we never actually saw these thrusters being used - i.e. never saw any flashes of hot gases/exhaust. So, a bit of artistic license has been used. 




The PGMS Hull Inserts are great and have a snug fit. Make sure to follow the installation directions, tho, and dry fit the pieces. You'll have to do a bit of bending in a few spots so that they'll fit properly. 




I had considered adding Aptivaboy's guns, but decided I just didn't like them on this hull. They look kick-ass on a _Mercury_-class, tho! 




I cut some .010" sheet stock to shape, sanded it an have started adding it to a few locations. I've also cut out some of the ribbing on the top of the Gator Head in anticipation of adding additional guns to those areas. 




I tried my hand at scribing panel lines in the additional hull plates I added. I might have to remove these or putty and try re-scribing. I mostly am playing around with this at this point, trying to get an idea of how best to scribe the panel lines. I did these free-hand. Prolly get a larger sheet and use a straight edge or some Dymo tape to scribe them. Then I'll just cut up the larger sections to the sizes that I want. 


You can see some more pics in the PhotoBucket Album for Battlestar _Pacifica_ Each individual pic has some additional text added to it, as well, if you click on the individual images.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Dern company internet blocks photobucket!


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I like this project- looking forward to watching it develop!


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## kangg7 (Jun 21, 2000)

I like the whole concept and back story you've done with this.:thumbsup::thumbsup: I've done something similar with my U.S.S. Excalibur I'm building right now. It's nice to see similar creative thinking even though I'm sure that we all do this with our beloved kits.
John P is a master at it!! :wave:

Qa'pla
Dave


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## SJF (Dec 3, 1999)

I also like the backstory you created for this, too. Looking forward to seeing how this ship develops. 

Sean


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Thanks, fellas! 

Yes, I almost always develop some sort of back story for my non-canon ships, be it Trek or otherwise. I guess it's from when I used to be in to Role-Playing Games. something to flesh out the background of the ship, detailing why it's different than the canon ships - _Enterprise, Reliant, Excelsior, Galactica, Pegasus_, etc... It helps to fuel my work on the model, to some additional degree. 



Anyhow, slight update - it was a family day Tuesday and last night after everyone got out of school, so not much done. Highlights follow, click on the pics to see larger pics: 


   

Added some extra resin bits. There are two added to the ventral engine section, one on the ventral amidships surface (second pic) and the missing - or inadequately represented, IMNSHO - part below each of the name plates. All come from my stash of resin greeblies for the Monogram upgrade parts, mastered by Marko Osterholz. I removed ribbing and/or other details from the model with a sharp Xacto - both a standard #11 and a chisel-tip - then sanded as best I could. 


  

I also did some more scribing last night. This panel lines look like crap in the pics, yet not quite so bad when you're about three feet back. Regardless, I'm going to try using a pen to draw panel lines onto some .010" Evergreen sheet stock, then as carefully as I can, trace down over them, use some Dymo tape to scribe the basic lines, then use an angle-sided file to deepen them a bit. This is what I did for the _Pegasus_ side arm sections that I did to give them a bit more even depth. Not perfect, tho I have no clue what else I could do beyond maybe trying the Aztec Dummy generic hull plating templates, but using the "inserts" as raised hull plating. 

Anyhow, tonight being Halloween, I don't anticipate getting anything done.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

First, the new - and temporary - Beauty Shot! 





Not a lot of work done since last week. Highlights are: 

* _I bought an Opti-Visor!_ Heck yeah! Now I can see what the frak I'm doing without major eyestrain! I just have to deal with some initial motion-sickness feelings the first couple of minutes that I used it
* puttied and re-scribed the armor plates on the Gator Head
* puttied a couple of outstanding seam lines
* added some cut-to-eyeball length .010" sheet stock to use as AA guns along the flight pods and side-spine area
* test fitted Pegasus guns - decided I liked how they look, so will be adding them as an upgrade after _Pacifica_ joined the Shadow Fleet
* added some of the smaller Pegasus Gun Platforms that *Aptivaboy* made and are for-sale on Shapeways.com 


   


Hope to get more done tomorrow and Thursday. I plan to cut a new large sheet stock "armor plate" for the side of the port head, then re-scribe that one. I also plan to add a couple of plates to each of the flight pods and a couple of small plates to a couple of spots along the ventral ribbing. I'm considering adding quite a few more AA "emplacements" along the ventral and dorsal hull ribbing areas. I _had_ intended to add a couple of Aptivaboy's Box Missile Launchers, but have decided to forego those in place of just having AA guns, as the design originally called for. I still want to add a second antenna to the nose area, opposite the currently existing antenna using sheet stock for the base to mimic the one on the starboard side as best I can. 

I also plan to putty up the flight deck "plate", then primer it. Once that's cured, I want to hit it with it's base coat, let it fully cure, then put in the standard _Galactica_ landing bay decal sheet. I'll then cover the _Galactica_ registry, after some fashion or another, and add the registry number for _Pacifica_ - BS-33. 

One other thing I'm trying to decide if I want to do or not is to add an interior to the flight pods. Basically, give it some fairly solid walls. I decided to not use the PGMS PE landing bay inserts for this kit, as they just don't look right to me. I'll likely keep it simple. Or I won't add anything at all. 

.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

I'm not at all happy with how my scribing is going. I'm using the Dymo tape and very carefully scribing a line. That's not the problem, tho, as I'm gettin' nice, wide lines. 

The problem is when I try to get the panel line a bit wider and deeper. The width of the panel lines isn't even. The depth is alright, but it sometimes widens or starts to get a bit of a curve to it before straightening back out. If I don't widen the panel lines, then they look way too small compared to the others on the ship. 

:sigh: 

Anyhow, not a whole lot done, overall. Panel lines are pretty much scribed on most of the plates, tho I want to add a few more lines to the long side plates. The extra gun pads are added, as you'll be able to see in the pics below. 


   


I'm pretty frustrated at the moment, so am going to step back for a day or two. I might be done adding the plates. I hadn't intended to add much more, anyhow - just a couple to the lower hull. I'll definitely be adding more itty-bitty strips of styrene for the additional AA gun emplacements that I want her to have. I've even given some thought to maybe a couple of AA missile ports, inspired by *Aptivaboy* and his CAD designed Frigate build.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

BTW, appropos of nothing, I made Pacifica decals for my Mk II Viper. I did it in markings to evoke Dad's WWII squadron, and since he was in the Pacific, well... 
http://www.inpayne.com/models/bsg-viper-mk2a1.html


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Sorry, meant to reply before now, obviously failed! Those turned out looking great, John. I wish I had even 1/10th or your talent. 




Way past time for an update. I've not gotten lots done, as I kept fiddling with those damned armor plates and trying to scribe something that looked decent, as well as a few other minor things here and there. Mostly cleanup work. 

Basic overview of recent stuff... and things.... 

* added a second antenna base to the underside of the upper "teeth"
* re-worked a couple of the armor plates and the crappy job I did of working the panel lines. I ended up using one of my small metal jewelers files to get the straight lines I wanted. Of course, some of those lines are angled incorrectly - but they're straight! 
* added eight sets of anti-missile/starfighter missile ports to the outer hull by using some thin sheet stock and a small pin-vise drill for the port holes



New antenna "base". 



New panel lines on the flight pod armor. 



Close up of one of the port clusters - as well as showcasing just how badly I need to clean the model before I paint it!



Dorsal surface locations, mirrored port and starboard. 




Ventral surface locations, mirrored port and starboard. 

And that's all I've got up to this point. We're in the process of receiving Ice Stormaggedon here, so it's too cold to paint in the garage, even with the space heater. Pacifica needs to be cleaned up anyhow, so I'll use the OptiVisor to went sand the surface to get rid of stuck-on hair, wash it down and then "quarantine" it in one of the storage tubs that we've got in order for it to remain as relatively clean as is possible in a house with five humans, two cats and a dog.


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