# Another J-2 project



## abacero (Oct 24, 2005)

Hi, people!

As many in this forum, I consider Lost in Space a special part of my youth. And the Jupiter 2 great spaceship. When Polar Lights finally made the model, I wanted to do it. Finally, my wife made the dream come true when she gave it to me. Now I want to do it in the best possible way.

I first started following the instruction sheet. Unfortunatelly, the painting and assembling instructions are not the best, so I started to look over the Internet. I think one of the best models made is the one of Steve Payne on CultTVMan. And I try to follow his steps, but since I joined Hobby Talk (by the way, thank you for the warm welcome messages!!!), I found much more features to add to the project. I started to drill the landing gear slots. I will be going very slow because of family duties and my regualr job, but I will keep posting and acceptingany kind of suggestions and tips to make this model a great remembrance of the famous spacecraft.

Also I was working with the place for the reactor (for the voodoo lighting) and the window beside the main hatch. I will appreciate any advise how to keep going and I will post some pictures later.

Thanks!

Alberto


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## DR. PRETORIOUS (Nov 1, 2000)

Look forward to following your build. I have yet to start mine, which I am glad because of all the great ides our other members have posted. MY only problem is time. I have been building my seaview for 2 years now.


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## lisfan (Feb 15, 1999)

welcome aboard


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## Steve244 (Jul 22, 2001)

Hi Alberto! Glad you made it to the board.

Well now that I'm outted I guess it's OK to say I'm JohnP's son.

On the subject of J2's, Robert Hargrave has taken renovating the old girl to new levels...

Lost and Found

On lighting effects, most of the links in "credits" don't work anymore but these guys look interesing:Fiber Optic Products. Be sure to check out their model lighting page.


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

abacero said:


> ...I think one of the best models made is the one of Steve Payne on CultTVMan...Alberto


Make sure to study Ron Gross's notes at CultTVMan; his model was the basis for the Polar Lights kit.


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## Steve244 (Jul 22, 2001)

Plus Bob Perovich's. He's got a paint guide! (word doc)


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

Steve244 said:


> Plus Bob Perovich's. He's got a paint guide! (word doc)


 yes, the Bpb perovich painting instructions are a must have, they are right on the mark. i finished my jupiter 2 after 2 1/2 years, just need time to sand the upper deck fllor edge so the hull will sit down all the way and take some pictures, i have it on my modeling table covered with a towel to keep dust off until i have time to take the best pictures i can and ones that will show the true colors


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## abacero (Oct 24, 2005)

*Back to business*

Hi everybody!

After a long waiting, I am back to the worktable. For those of you that you are looking for a nice set of lights for the J-2, and still miss the DF Howard set, I found one in the auction website not so expensive and well done. You can E-mail me for the details.

Back in the project, I am taking a lot of referencies from HobbyTalk, specially oth the "missing parts" of the upper deck, and I found a reference that I need your help:

What is plastistruct?  and Where can it be obtained on the Internet?  

I will find the way to post some pictures of the ship.

Thanks!

Alberto


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## abacero (Oct 24, 2005)

*Photos at My Gallery*

:thumbsup: Finally, you can see some pictures of my J-2 at My Gallery link.

Alberto (very happy)


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

abacero said:


> :thumbsup: Finally, you can see some pictures of my J-2 at My Gallery link.
> 
> Alberto (very happy)


 hi abacero that is a great start ! are you going to build both upper/lower decks ? please keep us posted, and, if you need any help with questions, please don't hesitate to ask, lord knows i did A LOT !!!!! but i finally got it done 3 years but it is finally done.


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## Steve244 (Jul 22, 2001)

abacero said:


> What is plastistruct?  and Where can it be obtained on the Internet?


Plastruct is styrene plastic in stock pieces made to look like girders, siding, roofs etc. It's very useful in the model train building biz (building buildings that is). Here's their site. Looks like you can download their catalogue and order directly from them. If not here's an online retailer that carries their stuff. Hobbylinc

Evergreen is the other major brand.

Nice start on the J2!


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## abacero (Oct 24, 2005)

Thanks everybody! Your information has been very valuable!!!! About the question on how I fixed the holes for removing the "love seats" on the upper deck, I used a BIG ammount of Testors putty and a lot of sanding, but I left the deck outside my balcony for about two or three days to make the putty hard dry. Apparently it worked fine. Now I am working with the landing gear bays. I made the holes in .030 styrene sheet bulkheads made (great tips from Bob Ross' posting on CultTVman and Robert too). However, the .030 shhet is too flexible, so I will reinforce with .060 sheets, so the holes will be visible and the reinforcement will be inside the structure. I will post pictures about ir very soon. Regards!!


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## abacero (Oct 24, 2005)

*Slow but working*

After a year of working, I made some advance. The landing gear bays are made, the core lights are in place and I will start to assemble the walls. In the next posting I will set some pictures

Thanks everybody for the support and the ideas people :thumbsup: 


Alberto


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

Hi Alberto, I finished my Jupiter 2 a few months ago. You can find it on CultTVmans lost in space models. I have it right at the top of the page, look at Berts PL Jupiter 2, Part 1, part 2, and part 3. looking forward to seeing your jupiter 2. Do you have any pics you can post ? would really like to see them. 
click HERE-------Bert Brasher's Polar Lights Jupiter 2 pt 1


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## Cappy D (Jun 19, 2004)

Alberto-
I too started a J2 because of my fondness for Lost in Space. I got some insane idea to try and make the interior actually _real._.. you know, have the bottom and top levels to scale, where people could actually fit...What I thought would be a simple project has ballooned into a scratch built extravaganza. I've been working with it on and off for almost three years now, completely redesigning and rebuilding portions to get it right.

Oh, well, at least I'm having fun! Enjoy yours!

-Cappy D


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

Cappy D, I too love the Jupiter 2 and have 3 of them. I worked on mine for almost 3 years. It seems to be a never ending project doesn't it ? Do you have any pictures of your Jupiter 2 progress so far ? here is my jupiter 2. look to the end of the written story about the build to see all the pages. click here ----- Bert Brasher's Polar Lights Jupiter 2 pt 1


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

http://www.culttvman2.com/dnn/Default.aspx?tabid=548


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## Cappy D (Jun 19, 2004)

Wow! Awesome J2: the painting detail is great. I especially like the replacement seats on the upper deck. There are some pics of my J2 in progress on my site:

http://home.earthlink.net/~cappy_d/bench.htm

I've got a long way to go. The drawn plans are how I would _like_ to have it look!

Cappy D


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

wow, great site and outstanding work !


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## origAurora buyer (Jan 12, 1999)

Where's the chariot fit/go?


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## Cappy D (Jun 19, 2004)

origAurora buyer said:


> Where's the chariot fit/go?


I envision the chariot as easily disassembled and stored. I am also seriously thinking about chucking the space pod, as I never did like the idea of it (why use it when the J2 can land itself?). Also, it would make for an easier build.

Cappy D


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

I have the Jonny lightning space pod and it is the perfect scale for the PL Jupiter 2


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

Cappy D said:


> I envision the chariot as easily disassembled and stored. I am also seriously thinking about chucking the space pod, as I never did like the idea of it (why use it when the J2 can land itself?). Also, it would make for an easier build.
> 
> Cappy D


Much more sensible, than a space-borne chariot garage. And, without a space pod, you'll have room for an espresso machine. :thumbsup: 

Your plan shows an interesting vertical division of the decks.


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## Cappy D (Jun 19, 2004)

I raised the ceiling of the lower deck so it could actually accomodate real people. To make everything pseudo-fit, I'm calling my model 1/72 scale, instead of 1/48 or 1/60 as PL planned it. Makes for an overall bigger ship than protrayed in the show. I even have some 1/72 Preiser figures to use as the Robinsons.

Cappy D


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