# Serenity Paper Model



## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

It appears that the website where this was originally hosted has expired or something, so I feel it my duty as a loyal Browncoat to carry the torch forward for this venerable project.

One of these days, I'm gonna do a translation of the directions and switch around a few of the steps, but for now, here's where you can find your own little bit of Serenity.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

You need to set the album, to public viewing, since I don't have your password. I'm a member of PhotoBucket, and I can't get in.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Try it now.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Thanks for posting and saving the model. I love to build paper models, and this one I don't have...until now. Thanks again!


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

I'm currently working on a color corrected version that I came across. At the moment, it's in the form of a Microsoft Word document, so I'm gonna have to do some converting, but so far as assembly goes, it's going well.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Post photos when done, or at least a link to them.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Now that I'm getting the hang of my digital camera, I'm definitely gonna post pics.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Got lots of pics, and I'm not quite halfway done.

Stay tuned.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Here we go.

First, the side engines...


























Now, with the wings attached....


















Note that at this stage, I'm deviating from the directions, and in that deviation, the above pics show a bit of an error on my part. Specifically, I shouldn't have attached those shrouds over the hinge assembly just yet. This will become clear in a moment...


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Next, the main hull...










And with it, I skip ahead to the end and attach the landing gear housing _now_, because otherwise, if I waited until almost the end of assembly, odds are they wouldn't fit, because the shroud over the hinge assembly would probably be in the way.

So, first, I attach the assembly (I still haven't decided if the gear will be deployed or retracted)...


















Then, carefully remove those shrouds so that I can get the wings on straight, and then reattach those shrouds so that everything fits.


















This way, not only does everything fit properly, but the shrouds now actually help hold the wings up, avoiding a rather ugly droop.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Looking real good! Thanks for the tip, to avoid the droop. 

What kind of glue do you use? I use mainly glue sticks, and some gel super glue. I also, use the blue 3M masking tape, with the least tack, to hold some parts together.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Plain old Elmer's white glue. Glue sticks don't stick well enough, and are rather troublesome when dealing with dinky little paper parts.

If I ever try this with cardstock, I might try something else, but with standard printer paper, I prefer to keep it basic. Plus, it's a lot easier getting Elmer's off your fingers than superglue.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

I print all my models on cardstock. I like gluesticks, because they dry fast. 

I have though lately, about just using paper for some model parts, since cardstock can be hard to work with, on cones, round, or very curved parts.

For the cargo bay of the Serenity, cardstock should work best, because of the many flat sides.

When you finish the model, are you going to glue it to a base, or hang it?


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

For now, just find a place where it won't get crushed, but eventually it'll reside on top of my computer monitor.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

And now, the rear engine cone.










Here's where working on such a small scale becomes a major pain...










First, the smaller nozzles, then the big one...



















Then stick the assembly on the end of the cone, since by this point, it's too much of a pain in the tuchus to put that little shroud thingie on there without a little more anchoring.



















No, it doesn't quite fit right. That's something you have to get used to with this model.

For instance, that thing that goes right above the rear nozzles. Be prepared to really glob on the glue, because the odds are that the curve of the thing and the curve of the cone aren't even gonna be close.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

So, we move on to the little blocky thingies on the base of the cone.

One option is to hold the cone up to the monitor screen, with the relevant directions at the proper magnification, and carefully mark the places where they go, if you don't want to print out the page. 










It's an idea that yielded mixed results, and an I wound up mostly eyeballing it anyway.



















Onward to the horseshoe.....


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Getting better as you go along! I'm enjoying seeing the build.

I understand the pains in building some parts. As you said about ill fits, and the smaller parts, they can really test your modeling skills. Thanks to your work, I have picked up some useful tips, to use on my models.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Color corrected version is now up.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Looks very nice so far, CRA. Thanks for sharing the pics.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

I figured I'd been around here long enough that it was "put up or shut up" time, and I'd been wanting to build another one of these for a while anyway, so...


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Thanks for the color corrected model!


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

And now, the horseshoe framework (I assume this is the "extenders" that Book is talking about in the pilot), and with it, the biggest pain the keister is concluded for this kit.



















A note here about the directions at this point: The two pieces that go on the bottom are the opposite of what the directions indicate. It's still not a perfect fit (no surprise there), but trying to do it according to the directions is impossible.










Best way to insert the engine cone is from this end.










Anchoring within the horseshoe is best at the blocky thingies on either side of the cone. Don't worry about the top one, since the whole thing wasn't all inside the horseshoe on the actual ship.



















The main concern is to make sure it's straight and level, because it's at this point that you stick the whole thing onto the back of the cargo hold.



















An extra bead of glue along that back edge, then set the whole thing aside, because now it's time for the nose and neck...


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## dreamer 2.0 (May 11, 2007)

Looking fine!

Thanks for that! Had a little trouble earlier, the site went down before the instructions and last page were copied. But it's back up now.


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## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

Excuse me, but are two color corrected images missing? Fuente 1 and 2?

Your build has inspired me. I haven't worked on a model in over a year and I thought a paper model would be a nice way to return. I can try correcting the images myself, but if you have them handy?

Thanks, Jennifer

PS And thanks for hosting the model in the first place. It's too bad the original website is down because I can't thank the creator.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Those two pics are there, but they're now called "Nose and Shuttles" and "Neck".

By the way, I've got a lot more pics, which will be posted shortly.

As a preview, lemme just say that assembly of the neck needs to go mostly the opposite of the directions.


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## dreamer 2.0 (May 11, 2007)

Captain April said:


> Those two pics are there, but they're now called "Nose and Shuttles" and "Neck".


No, the two pages of parts for the horseshoe frame. I had the same problem yesterday. Ended up resizing them myself, not sure if I got them right until I build it.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

They're up now. Sorry 'bout that.

Back to the progress pics.

I started off putting together the neck according to the directions, only to find it increasingly difficult to fit the pieces together the further I got into it, so I printed off the two pages of those parts again and started over, this time starting from the back, where it's easier to keep things lined up.

Actually, a slight correction: I started from the middle... 










..._then_ the back... 










and worked my way forward.










Okay, so there was a bit o' jumping back and forth...










The main point was to firm up the overall shape of the neck as much as possible and get all those pieces in position and not have them forced back by the front pieces being ever-so-slightly off.

Stay tuned...


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Now, we flip it back right-side-up and start firming things up a bit more. It's at this point that the bulkhead at the back of the cockpit goes in.




























And _now_ the front piece goes on...










And that, I guess, collar piece, for lack of a better term...










From there, it's time to attach the neck to the main hull...










And then that last neck piece goes in place.










That just leaves the main cabin and the shuttles.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Now, about that cabin...










It helps if you bend back the fore and aft bits, makes it easier to work on the shuttle docking ports.



















Here's the base completed...










And here's the roof...










And the whole thing put together...










And nestled into its spot...










Next, the shuttles, landing gear, solar panels, and just plain wrapping it up.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

And now, the conclusion.

A couple of shuttles, standard short range...

















And some landing gear feet (I've decided to have them retracted, so no need for the struts)...










Some of those solar panels in place, along with some extras, thanks to reprinting a couple of pages (that second attempt at the neck)...



















And of course, the shuttles.

Another positive aspect of having to reprint those two pages is being able to double up the little antennae bits, reinforcing them and preventing some rather ugly curling.










And we have the landing pads in place, bringing this project to a conclusion.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

And so, we get this...





































Now I'm just waitin' for the next shindig.


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## deadmanincfan (Mar 11, 2008)

Shiny!


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## dreamer 2.0 (May 11, 2007)

Captain April said:


>


Nice! 

Okay, now I feel stupid. Firefly being a Western shoulda clued me in, but I never realized before that the Serenity is supposed to resemble a horse in profile. I always thought it looked like some ghastly bird. Looking at your build it's suddenly obvious.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Impressive!







It looks so good!:thumbsup:

This is the first time, I have ever seen a paper model built, online.

I would not have though a paper model built out of paper, instead of card stock, would work so good.

I have always used 110 weight card stock, and some times it is hard to work, on small parts. Now, because of your "class", I have learned new ways to build paper models.

As you said, and I know, if you mess up, or lose a part, you print another one. Alot easier than fixing/replacing plastic parts.

Thanks for showing how you did it!


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Well, I'm glad to have been of service.

Now, let's see someone else take a crack at this puppy.


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## dreamer 2.0 (May 11, 2007)

I'm using 65lb cardstock, found it works better for things like engine bells and tubes than the 110 lb. 

Also, it turns out that long wooden fireplace matches are exactly the right sizes to fit into the wings, so I improvved a quick and dirty support structure to keep the wings perfectly staight. Pic's a little washed out, but you get the idea. The added box in the middle is probably superfluous. I like to be cautious, and it helps guide the matchsticks.

Oh, and the match sticks are also the perfect size for the engine/wing connection. I'm going to try to make those pieces movable, which I think I can do...as long as I can figure out the hydraulic pieces. If not, (shrug) they'll just get glued anyway and no harm done.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

I like your tips, Dreamer! I need to get some 65lb card stock for some parts of my models. Using that and paper, my models should be easier to fit together. If possible, your box, for support is a good a good idea. Some models I build, do have support built in, some really need it.


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## Mosheingun (Jan 15, 2009)

I have the J-pegs for printing the model, but I can't find the instructions anywhere. Does anyone have the instructions saved on their computer that you could send me, or know of a website that still has them?


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## petkusj (May 13, 2005)

Mosheingun said:


> I have the J-pegs for printing the model, but I can't find the instructions anywhere. Does anyone have the instructions saved on their computer that you could send me, or know of a website that still has them?


I think the instructions have moved on to the third page of Capt. April's photo album. They are in Spanish, but I think it's still understandable for English speakers.


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## slingshot392 (Nov 27, 2008)

That’s a really nice looking model! I have saved a bunch of free paper models off of the net and have bought a few, just kind of nervous on trying them as it’s so different. I ran across a polish site and a German site, the work they could do with paper was incredible, it would look like a plastic model, they would even burnish in some beautiful compound curves.

For those of you that want a larger Serenity, here’s a free paper model of it that is 3ft. long! It’s been awhile since I looked at it, but I think it is just in plain white. He also has a model of the Mule that was used in the movie.

http://www.tanksandtrolls.co.uk/firefly.htm


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

The link to the download doesn't work.


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## slingshot392 (Nov 27, 2008)

I forgot, when I tried it in Firefox after I found it, I couldn’t get it to work, when I copied the link over to Internet Explorer, it worked just fine. I just tried it again and it wouldn’t work in Firefox, but it worked fine in Internet Explorer.

I don’t think I would have the space to display a 3ft. model, but it would be cool to put an interior in that large of a model. At least it’s not hard to reduce the printouts. It just has the outline of the parts, but a couple coats of fixit spray over the part to seal the paper after they’ve been assembled and they will be ready for paint.


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## gardenville (Feb 20, 2009)

*Serenity Model*

Hi,

I am new but have been working on the Serenity Model for awhile. I have the two motors finished and was about to move on.

Reading you "How To" and the other ideas here should make building the rest of my model a lot easier.

Thanks


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

Ok...CALL ME nuts ( I'm use to it ) but I can't help thinking....gee....why not I take those plans, scale them to what ever you want and use them as rough templates to build this thing in styrene and what other materials needed?

I can't be the first to ponder this? I'm thinking 2 feet in length is just about perfect.


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## Lou Dalmaso (Jul 13, 2004)

^^like Ducttapeforever is doing with his Nautilus? He started by sizing up some paper model plans


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## marcus welby (Sep 2, 2007)

Captain April said:


> The link to the download doesn't work.


Try (in Firefox) placing your cursor over the "load" in "download". Little hand came up and downloaded of PDF proceeded.

Haven't gone thru it all yet but I hope there's some sort of painting guide available.

Cheers


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## marcus welby (Sep 2, 2007)

In Firefox the Adobe Flash Player seems to be covering up a few areas, at least for me. No little hand for the mule files so try this:

http://www.tanksandtrolls.co.uk/mule.zip

Had a chap here in Australia do a kitbash of the mule. Presented in our local rag ModelArt Australia issue 46 and it looked great.

Happy hunting.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Got the big one.

Actually, I've built one of those big suckers before, and while it can be awkward, it is fun having a Firefly that big to play with. Even if it is all white.

For a while, I was toying with the idea of scaling up the Chihuahua model to the same size as the big one, if only to provide some surface detail to the beast (166% is the magic number, kids), but things get so pixelated at that level that it adds another level of complexity to the operation.


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## marcus welby (Sep 2, 2007)

Not being up with all the dimensions and stuff, what's the approx scale of the Chihuahua model?

Cheers


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

I don't know about the scale, but printed out on standard typing paper, it comes out around a foot long.


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## marcus welby (Sep 2, 2007)

Captain April said:


> I don't know about the scale, but printed out on standard typing paper, it comes out around a foot long.


Wow, I reckon that makes the build even more impressive.

I'll have to try one of these.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

It does strain one's patience at times, I'll warn ya.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

About the download link for the big model: It's rather temperamental. I just tried to downlod it again, and in Firefox, I got nothin', but with Internet Explorer, it worked fine.

Weird.


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## skyman00 (Feb 24, 2010)

Old thread, I know, but seemed apprapo here.








Currently building her with 65 lb stock, upsized to 13" x 19" (about 2 ft. in length).

I'm having one helluva time putting together the gravity rotor (horseshoe/ fuentes 1 & 2). In specific, gluing parts 43, 44, 50 & 52 to parts 51 & 42 (the extenders that sweeep backwards) but not having them come out straight. Finding it quite difficult, next to impossible, to get this to come out correct. It ends up looking quite disfigured and simply wont work/fit with the rest of the engine portion.

Any advise would be appreciated. TIA, -J


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## aeryn43 (Sep 23, 2009)

*Don't know if you know*

Hi paper builders!, After having read your thread, thought you might like to see a plastic version of ole shiny!
I built it using the white paper kit as a basis (making it smaller for ease)
check her out.
chianna47.webs.com
Aeryn43


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## skyman00 (Feb 24, 2010)

Well, finished her so I thought I'd show a pic.










I would recommend swapping 43 and 44's placement when gluing.










It went together much better as the extenders should sweep inward, centrally, as they come back, just as their topskin counterparts, 50 and 52 do. When I went by the instructions, underskins 43 & 44 swept outward, resulting in a twisted mess that was completely unusable. Swap 'em and they come back inward.

That being said, the gravity rotor was still a PITA to build and keep straight.

I've got her landing gear stowed for an in-flight pose. Enjoy, -J


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## PaperLaz (Jun 2, 2012)

Hi, there is a new Paper Serenity available for 2012, with a Reaver theme and many improvements. You can find it here:
closertogod.net/Serenity/


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Looks like I'll have to update those files...


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## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)

Lloyd Collins said:


> Impressive!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Now you have! Here's a site of interest for those wanting to get into paper modeling: 
WWW.PAPERMODELERS.COM 

Thanks for showing us this, Scott. I see that it's not perfectly symmetrically even, but it would be a lot worse had I built it!! I just don't have the patience for paper models - I just don't. 

~ Chris​


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Sometimes, it's amazing coming across sites that you haven't visited in so long that you've forgotten that you already registred with them...


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## kdaracal (Jan 24, 2009)

My hats off to you sir! Just beautiful work!


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## btbrush (Sep 20, 2010)

I downloaded the Tanks and Trolls' Serenity some time ago and will probably shrink it down to 18" ('bout 1/144th scale), but that'll have to wait for awhile. I still find it hard to believe that with all this interest, kit companies would rather spend their money on a huge C-57D or a 1/72 scale submarine or yet another Jupiter 2 or Enterprise instead of probably one of the most loved ships in the Verse. IMHO. And with the unearthing of the 12' filming model, detail shots are on the plate. Grrrr Arghhhh.
Bruce
BTW, has anyone tried printing pics of the 12 footer off the QMX site? Every time I've tried it locks up my printer. It starts spewing out the same pic over and over till I shut it down.


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## PaperLaz (Jun 2, 2012)

btbrush said:


> BTW, has anyone tried printing pics of the 12 footer off the QMX site? Every time I've tried it locks up my printer. It starts spewing out the same pic over and over till I shut it down.


I haven't printed those QMX pictures, but certainly grabbed them to use for Paper Serenity Reaver, so if they are grabable then I would suggest there is maybe something wrong with your printer/PC interface.


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## PaperLaz (Jun 2, 2012)

kdaracal said:


> My hats off to you sir! Just beautiful work!



Thank you


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## kdaracal (Jan 24, 2009)

I bet aeryn43 would dig this model. Perhaps she already has it?


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

btbrush said:


> ...BTW, has anyone tried printing pics of the 12 footer off the QMX site? Every time I've tried it locks up my printer. It starts spewing out the same pic over and over till I shut it down.


It's because the enlarged image is in a layer that covers the rest of the page and it gets duplicated on every printed page.

You can right-click on the enlarged images and save them to your PC.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Never print things straight from online. You almost never have any control over how it comes out.


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## btbrush (Sep 20, 2010)

Bazinga!!! That woiked. Thanks Paulbo. Now I'll have to transfer all the sheets from Tanks and Trolls to a disc and slide on down to CopyWorks. I'll just betcha by the time I'm done with the paper model someone will release a plastic one. It's my luck. Or maybe I can bribe Stephanie into casting one. I'll flip for the resin and RTV.
Bruce


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## aeryn43 (Sep 23, 2009)

Yep Kdaracal, been there done that.....wasn't a particularly good model to build, no matter what you did it always looked twisted.....
By the Btbrush, I used the white tank and troll one scaled down to build my plastic version....Now I'm waiting for Micro to finish his 1/72 paperkit so I can use that!!:thumbsup:
check out the papermodellers site for some superb pics of what he has done so far....oh and he has done the Firefly shuttle as well!


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## btbrush (Sep 20, 2010)

MICRO? Who that be? Tried papermodelers site (leave it to the folks on the other side of the pond to put in a extra "L" in "modelers"). Didn't find the Serenity but I'll try again. Aeryn, did you build up the paper model then use it for you contours or as subassemblies?


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## aeryn43 (Sep 23, 2009)

BT, look under firefly project (currently on page 2 of the Alternate Dimensions forum......also we British know how to spell correctly:tongue:...
Actually with regard the T and T white Serenity I just printed out the parts and glued them (loosely) on to the plasticard before cutting them out, yes I did some of the paper kit first just to see where parts went!.


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## btbrush (Sep 20, 2010)

Yeah, and WE'RE the ones with a bloody accent, eh. Maybe whilst I'm waiting for the ship to print I'll slide on down to the local pub and watch the dailys and have some bangers and chips and maybe a pint 'o bitters, what. I'll check out the site again. Thanks for the info, Steph.
Bruce


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## btbrush (Sep 20, 2010)

OMG, found the thread! I was not prepared for that. To say that Mirco is amazing, would be a gross understatement. I can't even imagine what Serenity will look like when she's done. Being a retired model kit designer, I have a clue as to what it would be like to design this as a kit. But to make it into a paper model is, is, well, incredible. Thank you so much for suggesting this site. Certainly does raise the bar, doesn't it?


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Banger and MASH, mate, not chips.


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## Dyonisis (Nov 11, 2009)

Correct. The correct saying is "bangers and mash". Fish and chips is probably what confused him.


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## btbrush (Sep 20, 2010)

Aye, there ya got it. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more.


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