# Space Station One / Space Family Robinson



## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

I kept thinking I would not do this, but the results so far are turning out better than I thought so I will probably jinx myself and post some progress photos. I started this darn project a few years back and that attempt ended in the junk pile, the biggest hurdle was the darn domes on top of the gardens. This time I made a form first thing to cast the clear domes using a garage-built Vac-U-Form box (right now in search of a cheep toaster over to cook the plastic in.) Frist photo is my idea scale drawing for the project the model is going to be roughly 10-inches tall and 12-inches wide the scale is 1-inch = 200-inches.
CROSS SECTION:
The cross section is 192 feet long by 192 feet wide by 24 feet tall in the comic book where the cross section joins the two towers the outer wall is flat, then extends to the forward edge which is angled straight down. I tried to match this, but the front panel extend down at the wrong angel (in the comics it looked to go straight down, with this shape it angled outward and down.) To get it to look close to the correct shape, I angled the side panels inward to match the front. The observatory dome is made from a 6-inch security camera cover that I cut about three quarters of an inch off the base and the mounting flange, using a zip cutting bit and sanding the base smooth. The telescope is made from scratch styrene tubing and sheet pieces. In the background you can see tower 1 under construction with a scale space mobile sitting in the garage area, the tower is upside down resting on the form I made to Vac-U-Form the domes for the two gardens. The end caps are 2-inch clear acrylic domes that the PVC pips was cemented to, the pipe is slightly smaller that the domes. So I had to split each end section in half and fill the gap with strips of styrene to get the right shape.
The Space Mobiles the comic book gave a length and weight in one edition using those I came up with a length of 25 feet long, 6 feet tall and 7 feet wide. The space mobile in photo 2 is made out of a block of wood then filed and sanded to shape.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Excellent! There were some brilliant designs in that comic. You're definitely doing it justice.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Looking good. I watched an episode with the Lady from the Green Mist that past weekend. Maybe ahead of its time back then, but a little campy compared to now days.


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Looking good. I watched an episode with the Lady from the Green Mist that past weekend. Maybe ahead of its time back then, but a little campy compared to now days.


This is the ship from the comic book Space Family Robinson which was before "Lost in Space." When Irwin Allen came out with the TV show Dell added the lost in Space to the title. The first season of the show tried to be serious after that it went straight down hill, with exception of a couple of episodes.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Wow! Nice scratch build! Thanks for sharing!


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Excellent work so far. I have always wanted to build a model of Space Station One but I always got myself frustrated because it looked different in nearly every comic. Proportions and size were inconsistent between issues, sometimes even from one page to the other. The apparent number of decks in the main section, the height of the towers and the shape of the towers as well as the angle of the towers relative to each other, that is the one thing that drove me crazy about the comics. I have all of the comics saved on disc so I may go back through them and work up plans to create an idealized version of the station that I can work from. Seeing your work has inspired me to revisit it and perhaps finally build it.


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

krlee said:


> Excellent work so far. I have always wanted to build a model of Space Station One but I always got myself frustrated because it looked different in nearly every comic. Proportions and size were inconsistent between issues, sometimes even from one page to the other. The apparent number of decks in the main section, the height of the towers and the shape of the towers as well as the angle of the towers relative to each other, that is the one thing that drove me crazy about the comics. I have all of the comics saved on disc so I may go back through them and work up plans to create an idealized version of the station that I can work from. Seeing your work has inspired me to revisit it and perhaps finally build it.


In the comics the cross section is listed as 224 feet long and wide when I drew up my plan I shortened it to 192 feet or 12 x 12 because it looked out of proportion to most drawings in the comics, and my first scale drawing at 14 x 14 inches 224 feet looked way wrong. My towers are slightly taller than the comics design at 14 decks.


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

So I've been working on the observatory putting in the side wall and floor braces, installing the floor but first I had to make the steps and walls going from the Observatory deck down into the rest of the ship. In the comic there were just 3 steps down and a curved piece of metal as a railing, my design has a person descending a full 7 feet down into a well to clear the top of the dome wall, with side and center railings. This unit was cemented to the floor before it was installed, after painting the floor and stairs I need to attach the wall panels around the dome ring.
I am surprised my simple tool idea worked for attaching the side panels, 2 pieces of square balsa wood and a C clamp I glued a couple of inches of wall then set the balsa wood clamp in place (see photo) and worked my way around the ring repeating the process, I left a gap at the other end and cut another strip of .030 styrene and starting at the stairs again now I'm working the opposite direction then connecting the two sections. To hide the joint line I'll just install a control panel or maybe some venting duct work.
I cut the styrene slightly taller than the deepest point I found measuring around the floor, and used a large mill file to shave the excess styrene down to flush with the top of the station deck. You can see the file in the bottom right corner of the picture, about one-third of the wall has been shaved down so far. The maid has the week off, so my desk is a mess.


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

What a great thread! 
I read the comics as a kid. 
You are doing a wonderful job. 
I’m getting all nostalgic now.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Robert Hargrave said:


> This is the ship from the comic book Space Family Robinson which was before "Lost in Space." When Irwin Allen came out with the TV show Dell added the lost in Space to the title. The first season of the show tried to be serious after that it went straight down hill, with exception of a couple of episodes.


Didnt realize (remember) there was a previous comic book series. I always thought it was an adaptation only from the book The Swiss Family Robinson. 🤙


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Didnt realize (remember) there was a previous comic book series. I always thought it was an adaptation only from the book The Swiss Family Robinson. 🤙


It predates the TV show by several years, the first issue was in 1962. The comic was very different from the series, Craig and June Robinson with their teenage twins Tim and Tam are on board Space Station one when it gets hurled across the galaxy with no way to return home. The massive station could land and it had auxiliary craft, the Spacemobiles which could also fly in a planet's atmosphere. I fell in love with the concept behind the comic and I still wish someone would adapt it into a series.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Thanks for showing the Space Station One images - gives a good perspective to the size!


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

This is great! Now I wish I'd saved the Space Family Robinson comics when I sold my collection.


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## JeffBond (Dec 9, 2013)

You're smart to change the angle of the towers so they're straight instead of angled in--one of many aspects of the design that makes it hard to model (and I'm sure changed from issue to issue). I would love to figure out a way to do this--I've been trying to figure out a build for the aquashuttle from Star Trek - The Animated Series which actually has some similar shapes--I just don't have the skill set to create some of these curves...


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

John, Didn't you bash the aquashuttle? Or am I wrong?


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

Assembling the front and rear panels right now I never have much luck trying to cut square openings and both these panels have 3 openings running from the top to the bottom of the panel on each side. The top of the panel is the widest part at 6-inches across the base is 8 scale feet shorter, I cut the panels out of .040 styrene sheet 1 and a half inches tall. Then marked the opening locations and cut the ends off the main panel, at the edge of the inner most opening. Now I cut pieces of strip styrene longer than needed and cemented them in place using .040 x .188 for the openings and .040 x .125 styrene strip for the filler section between the openings. Next measure the distance from the last opening to the end of the cross section, cut the amount needed from the first piece you cut off the end of the panel and cement in place. To give the cemented strips some strength I placed a piece of .030 styrene on the back side of the panel, this piece covers the 6 openings and will be painted black to act as windows and air lock openings. I place all the parts on some wax paper, because glue will go everywhere but that can be sanded and scraped with a knife blade to smooth it down. This is the same process I will use for adding windows to both towers and the sides of the cross section, also the space mobile garage doors. See if the attached scribble helps you get the idea "the red marks are your cut lines."


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

mach7 said:


> John, Didn't you bash the aquashuttle? Or am I wrong?


I did a version of the Aquashuttle several years ago:










The build log:

Star Trek Aqua Shuttle scratchbuild | Facebook


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Very nice build!

I thought there was one on Hobby Talk also.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

mach7 said:


> John, Didn't you bash the aquashuttle? Or am I wrong?


Me? Nope. But I definitely had the Spacemobiles in mind when I converted the Voyager into a shuttlecraft:


Kitbashed Starships


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## JeffBond (Dec 9, 2013)

I love your aquashuttle build but I still want to figure out a way to do the correct upper hull shape (the whole cockpit/operations area). I would love to know how you did the sides of the hull which are exactly right. It's such a simple design but with a lot of difficult shapes to duplicate...


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

Starting to install the side panels around the outside of the cross section, here you can see the window opening system I'm using cutting the panel and inserting styrene strips to form the openings


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

So this will give you an idea how the finished project I hope will look the cap on top of the tower is the form to make the clear dome for the garden.








At first I didn't include this second image but the more I looked at it the more interesting it seemed, kind of like a ground level view of the station.


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## krlee (Oct 23, 2016)

So far this is the best interpretation I have seen of this Station yet, taking notes!


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

Oh man! I’m gettin’ chuffed now!


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

Seams are all filled with putty and sanded smooth, primer has been applied then given a light sanding with fine grit paper during the sanding a seam cracked I didn't catch that at the time. First coat of white paint applied took 3/4ers of a one ounce bottle to do the top and sides. Putty is drying on the cracked seam now.


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## aussiemuscle308 (Dec 2, 2014)

is coming along nicely. i know nothing about this, but i like it.


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

aussiemuscle308 said:


> is coming along nicely. i know nothing about this, but i like it.


Google space family Robinson space station 1 there are all kinds of images from the comic books.


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

Cross section is painted and staged the chairs, storage compartment doors, control panels and telescope are just sitting on the floor of the observatory. Now with the tower setting in place you can see how deceptive the comic book drawings of the station was, the tower always looked so trim, yet build to scale and wide enough to hold a 25 foot long space mobile it now looks fat and bulky.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

very nice, I like where this is going.
I know you are trying to replicate something from comic books and I think your rendition is great.
I am just wondering about the original designer who put two "grow" pods directly in the way of the observatory?


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

alpink said:


> very nice, I like where this is going.
> I know you are trying to replicate something from comic books and I think your rendition is great.
> I am just wondering about the original designer who put two "grow" pods directly in the way of the observatory?


Just rotate the station and your view is clear.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

LOL, of course!


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

Started adding the outer panels to the first tower, I had the curved tower base and the two curved end caps assembled from PVC pipe and strip styrene filler. I attached a crude drawing of the end cap build procedure, basic information you'll cut the PVC length wise into 4 equal widths. 1 piece of PVC will make two end sections, 1 piece of PVC cut for the base will make two tower base sections. These are cut into quarters because the PVC is slightly narrower than the 2-inch domes, so I split one end cap into two sections, I used the 2-inch dome as my guide as I filled the center cut with strips of .040 x .150 strips of sheet styrene cemented together, until the two sections fit the 2-inch dome. Same procedure you use for the base cap. When I assembled the three pieces I made a (L) shaped tray out of pieces of scrap plywood to get the sections as square as I could using basic tools. As I started building the first outer wall out of .040 sheet styrene when I did my measurements I found one tower was 1/16th of an inch out of alinement (easy fix) and one side of a tower was 1/16th of an inch higher that the others (some filing with a mill file and that problem was corrected.) The doors for the space mobiles I marked the opening location, drilled small holes along the interior edge of the marks, cut out the remaining plastic with a razor knife and filed the openings smooth. For the windows again I cut the styrene sheet sanded the cut edge smooth, marked the window locations then cut and cemented .040 x .125 strip styrene filler pieces, then cemented a strip of .020 styrene (the drawing shows .010 styrene, but it seemed to thin.) After all the pieces dry I take a course hobby file and remove excess cement, then sand smooth and apply putty to fill any gaps. I'll cement one piece of .080 x .080 styrene along each edge to give the panel more area to attach to the curved end cap when assembled.


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

The first exterior panel for the towers is assembled, this is the one with doors for the two space mobile hangers. I plan on putting one hanger interior inside this tower with the door open, the other door closed along with my upgraded space mobile docking platform. Right now the panel is just resting on top of a box and a couple of pieces of square wood, so I could take this shot.


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## Newbie123 (Sep 7, 2016)

It's so great to see this project started again. It was one of my very favorites here... how long ago was that? 
It always seemed to me that the SS's sides, while the same thickness when viewed from the front, when viewed from the side, were slightly tapered, so that the tops were a bit wider than the bottoms?


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

Something again that changed from drawing to drawing and issue to issue in the comics, but using common everyday items to build this project no way I could match that shape of the station.


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## JeffBond (Dec 9, 2013)

I couldn't even manage the shape created here so I'm not too bothered about the tapering shape of the comics! Again, I doubt this thing was ever drawn out in any kind of schematic form and certainly changed from illustration to illustration and issue to issue. I'd kill to have a kit of this. What adhesive are you using for the PVC-to-styrene bond?


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

Slow Jet super glue


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

I attached the first side wall panel, then when I pulled away the wax paper it was resting on to dry, I found a couple of areas did not go down flush with the PVC pipe end walls and base section. My fault thinking (which always gets me in trouble) the one large weight I used would make the whole sheet of styrene sit flush all the way around. I've been looking at fixes that did not require breaking the styrene sheet from the PVC and trying again to glue it in place, I figure that plan would do more damage than anything else I try, and a last resort. So I tried these options, the gaps were at the sides of the hanger doors and along the bottom of the doors in each corner, then one along one side.
Idea #1 place .050 strips of styrene and build the area up in layers, but the small area between the doors and the PVC left that idea looking like hills in the Napa Valley.
Idea #2 just slosh filler putty in the area and try and try to sand it smooth, but again the narrow area to work with left the area curving inward and looked really bad.
Final solution I took a wood rasp (seen in photo) and using the Corse side of the blade, I'm trying to reshape the PVC end walls shaving them down where they will be flush with the styrene sheet. Adding some filler putty now and then and then another round of filing till it looks right. This idea seems to be working, next panel weights all around.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

scratch building always presents obstacles and lessons.
you are making the best of a situation you could not have envisioned I think.
in any case, maybe some of us will learn from your experiences here.
I am still excited with your progress.


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

I was looking at a post someone else wrote about the space station model they built, they mentioned the towers were to narrow to hold the space mobiles. Using the dimensions from the comic book and my design I threw together a very basic scale drawing of the hanger bay of the station. Keep in mind the overhead crane is not shown or work benches or elevator, I do have the stairs from level 2 and my idea of a sled that extends out to capture the space mobile using magnetic plates and a roller system that can move it up and sideways to center the craft. If the space mobile is 25 feet in length.


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

The tower build is past the half way point, with the completion of the second side panel assembly adding the last section of windows this morning. Bracing has been added to each side of the PVC pipe section to help correctly seat the panel when I go to install it. Bracing has been added to the garden exterior wall where the dome will rest, a braced has been added for the floor of the garden to attach to and last the lounge area floor has been installed. Along with lots of filler putty to the joint sections of the end caps and base of the tower. The shaded area on the side panel marks where the cross section will attach to the other side of the tower when this is finished.


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

The main shell of the tower is finished sitting in this shot with the garden deck setting in place. I was very surprised to find I had only 4 small spots that need more work with a dab of putty and sanding, all the other many joints and seams filled in very well. In the garden area I am making another change from the comic layout, I'm moving the stairs from you enter the upper and lower deck, by walking up or down the stairs directly at them. to the stairs running along side the upper deck wall with one set of steps running under the other set. Time to start building the garden....


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

Working on the garden area on the top of the tower, in the drawing below at the bottom of the shot is the original idea with growing tables sticking out from the side walls like fingers. I built the first side and in cementing a raised edge to the rounded tables I melted the whole section, and a small spot on my MDF board on my work bench. I sat back for a bit, looked at the project and decided that these tables look good on paper, in the comic they add to the look of the growing area. But if you need to leave quickly or in an emergency do you really want to be running round and round all those tables to exit. New design is the upper drawing tables and exterior wall tables are assembled, right now I'm building the two sections of stairs in the end wall at the lounge area. On the second tower I'm going to do away with the lounge area and just do a full garden area.


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## NTRPRZ (Feb 23, 1999)

I have to hand it to you -- great job! Designing and actually creating something that's only existed in drawings is a phenomenal achievement. I'm anxious to see the finished product.


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

Me too! I loved those comics, and have always wanted a station and jetmobiles of my own!!

Larry


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

Not a lot of progress, but a lot has been going on as I noted in the last post, I made some changes in the layout of the garden area on the tower, I turned the stairs, so they run alongside the lounge wall, one running below the other not a big change. As I looked over my design, I decided the growing tables running from the walls into the garden looked good on paper. But was this design practical, if you were working in a garden like this and something happened, you needed to get to the exit right now would you want to zig zag through a maze? No, so I redesigned the table layout with one running around the full outside wall of the garden, then 4 other tables running the length of the garden with walkways between each table. Not as appealing to the eye, but more realistic in function and design.
A small set back I failed to catch when I attached the lounge deck, I should have cut down the top of the wall to allow for the thickness of the deck. Now I have had to go around the edge and attach strips of styrene to bring it all back up to level. Inside the garden more strips of styrene the thicken the side walls and bracing for the deck to set on. Building the stair wall and railings, then doing lots of test fitting of these pieces so when I paint them, they will fit correctly. All the grow tables are built waiting to be primed, tower has had several spots filled with putty and sanded with 220 then 600 grit paper. Right now sitting in the sink drying so I can spray everything with a coat of primer tonight.


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

Decks, walls, stairs and growing tables are painted the shell has a second coat of primer. Decks and stairs are installed, growing tables in the middle of the floor are just a test fit, wall growing tables are just setting on the deck. I have yet to install 3 layers of 30 x 155 strip styrene to form the table base.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Now I wish I'd saved those comics.


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

Summer has arrived and the heat n the garage is cutting down my building, but the tower is now painted growing tables installed. Just waiting to attach it to the cross section, add the furniture in the lounge area, add plants on the growing tables, then last Vac-U-forming the dreaded dome. The earth color on the grow tables I wasn't careful in slopping that paint on because any mistakes will be covered with plants aka Ground Foam.


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

Looks a lot different after you add some ground foam plants in the grow trays.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

yeah man. 
giving it some good scale dimension now


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Is that KALE? 👨‍🌾


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

Added the furniture to the lounge, my oven came in my first attempt at vac-u-forming the plastic wasn't hot enough started to suck down then deformed, tried to reheat it that caused it to split. try again when I have more time.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

Robert Hargrave said:


> Added the furniture to the lounge, my oven came in my first attempt at vac-u-forming the plastic wasn't hot enough started to suck down then deformed, tried to reheat it that caused it to split. try again when I have more time.


I've always wanted to build this. I started on it once, long ago... 
Just wanted you to know I am really enjoying this build thread. Thank you for sharing your work with us.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Excellent craftsmanship


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## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Is that KALE? 👨‍🌾


Nah, it's Popeye's favourite: Spinach!


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## Robert Hargrave (Dec 4, 2003)

Sorry for the delay in any updates, the clear plastic I wanted to use for making the garden domes has failed, two test forms failed to get soft enough to be sucked down around the model form. The first split just before it was seated around the base but ridges formed along the top of the mold, the second developed holes when I extended the heating time in the oven. I've ordered some clear styrene sheets from evergreen hobbies to see if they work any better crossing my fingers.


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