# The Galactica, better late than never.



## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

The bridge is all kinds of wrong. The deck in front of the bridge had the wrong angle and wasn't wide enough. This part I can easily fabricate myself. I finished the new forward deck shape & attached it, and the platform for the new Shapeways bridge & attached it and the bridge. Detail scribed and greebles attached. Micro-sculpting followed. I didn't connect the rear engine plate yet because I have to paint it before I install the clear piece. The last step connecting the 6 modules up is tricky- dry fitting and sanding is a MUST. Also the pegs are too long & have to be shortened for a snug fit of the landing bays. But FRAK! The landing bay doohickies under the nameplates are in the wrong place! And they were the wrong shape! And I had to shorten the nameplate itself. I wiped out the doohickies & made two others. I sanded a half mm off the bottom of my Shapeways replacement nose, added 'rivets' to the new doohickies with the old dot O' paint trick, and fabricated (I love sprues) & attached the small duel parabolic antennae over the engine. This baby is built- time for painting.... maybe tomorrow if weather is good.









































This already makes my old Revell that I spent a month accurizing back in 2012 look 'ehh'.:surprise:


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

I just cut the very bottom of the new Shapeways nose off & sanded the back of it then attached it back on the front in a higher position- it was too low. Now it looks right to me. Shapeways plastic cuts unexpectedly easier than styrene... I sliced my left knuckle in the process. Luckily I bandaged it fast so I could complete the work! Open wounds are so inconvenient when you're trying to get something of importance done.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Good that you have your priorities in order. :thumbsup:


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Good that you have your priorities in order. :thumbsup:


Wounds are temporary; art is forever.:grin2:


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Remember that the nose piece exists because it hid the nose pipestand mount. 

What I'm saying, now I think about it, is don't be surprised if there are photos that contradict each other as to how it looks. You're doing it the right way, the best way- the way YOU want it to look. 

(kinda annoying they messed up such key surfaces features.)


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Steve H said:


> don't be surprised if there are photos that contradict each other as to how it looks. You're doing it the right way, the best way- the way YOU want it to look.
> 
> (kinda annoying they messed up such key surfaces features.)


Oh. All kinds of contradiction photos. Like you say, I'm just going with what looks right to ME! :grin2:


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Can't paint today, it's raining. I was comparing the old Revell I tweaked to my new unpainted Moebius... from a side view the Moebius is the clear & easy winner but from the top the Revell isn't so bad. But even from the top, the Moebius is still appreciably more accurate IMO.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Well I got home from work and it was still light out so I did some paint tests on plastic crap I had laying about & discovered the Testor's spray paint I bought was thicker than I wanted to use... so I ran out to Walmart & got a couple of cans of their dollar junk thin spray paint. I sprayed the model completely black in numerous thin coats, let it dry for a half hour then went over that with REALLY thin coats of white and to my shock & awe it came out precisely the way I wanted it!!! A nice just-off-white with deeper shadows in the recesses that suggests scale. This picture is using the remaining light with no flash (a flash makes it look totally white) but a good daylight pic will reveal it's subtleties I think. I'm a happy Colonial camper!


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

Wow! That last pic really shows off the subtlety of the shading.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Trekkriffic said:


> Wow! That last pic really shows off the subtlety of the shading.


LOL, and the rattle cans were $1 each! Sometimes going on the cheap pays off. Because of the combination of the black & white it has a *slightly* bluish quality to the off-white (just what I wanted!)... my Revell Galactica was totally brush painted with a mixed concoction of Testor's flat white & flat black that looks a bit drab by comparison. :surprise:


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## Newbie123 (Sep 7, 2016)

Chris, looking great! Maybe you'll inspire me to get off my butt and get back to work on my Galactica. Ah, there are so many other things still on my workbench. I have spent about 3 solid months on the Galactica, but that was a couple of years ago and all of it was on the computer designing or in the garage cutting etch to replace a lot of the soft surface detail. Last year I did finish the etch, tho' the tricky bit now is to find my maps of where all the pieces go. They are all numbered. If I can only remember what I did with the keys. 
Finished etch and my etch artwork here:
Galactica TOS Etch Artwork by Jay Kirk | Photobucket
939 parts for the Galactica, 42 for the Pegasus. Sounds like it's going to be a project for long winter's nights.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Newbie123 said:


> Galactica TOS Etch Artwork by Jay Kirk | Photobucket
> 939 parts for the Galactica


Lords of Kobol!!!!:surprise:


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## daytime dave (Jan 14, 2017)

It's really looking great. Thanks for the information on the cheap paint too.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

daytime dave said:


> It's really looking great.


Thanks. It's all overcast here, but this gives you an idea of what it looks like. The overcast is making it look a little bluer than it actually does.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Blue spill! blue spill! Better get some foam sheets out there and get some white bounce to counteract! 

And that second pic just makes me think it's a dog looking for a pat on the head.

I clearly need help. 

Seriously Chris, beautiful build. You still need to put the final deco on, right? name, stripes, that sort of thing.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Yeah Steve, all the little things. Just wanna let the beast dry. I can still smell outgassing.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

The outgassing is decreasing exponentially. I will detail asap. 
Another comparison photo..


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Ya know, I was watching a vid (that guy from Mythbusters, Adam something) who was customizing a Nerf gun for a friend and I watched him do something I was told long long ago to never do- using a hairdryer to help speed the cure of paint! 

Given his years at ILM I have to assume he'd know if it was going to cause problems with the finish, right? 

So, maybe give it a try?


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Steve H said:


> Ya know, I was watching a vid (that guy from Mythbusters, Adam something) who was customizing a Nerf gun for a friend and I watched him do something I was told long long ago to never do- using a hairdryer to help speed the cure of paint!
> 
> Given his years at ILM I have to assume he'd know if it was going to cause problems with the finish, right?
> 
> So, maybe give it a try?


I'll give it a try tomorrow if I still smell 'gas leaks', LOL!


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Chrisisall said:


> I'll give it a try tomorrow if I still smell 'gas leaks', LOL!


I'm thinking two things. Not too hot and not too close. 

It also strikes me for future consideration, if you have a stage for photography, if you put a painted kit there under 2 or more incandescent bulbs the soft heat may speed curing.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Bulbs? No way man, I gotta BLAST it!!! Hahahahaha!!!


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Well, it's gonna take a little longer to finish outgassing because I just touched it up some. I know the actual filming model was a light gray, but they hit it with so much light it always looked pretty white to me, so it added some more white to the horizontals and I think it looks better.


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

Steve H said:


> Ya know, I was watching a vid (that guy from Mythbusters, Adam something) who was customizing a Nerf gun for a friend and I watched him do something I was told long long ago to never do- using a hairdryer to help speed the cure of paint!
> 
> Given his years at ILM I have to assume he'd know if it was going to cause problems with the finish, right?
> 
> So, maybe give it a try?


One thing to remember though. The movie guys need it done NOW.
They don't care much what it is going to look like in 6 months to a year.
Not saying that it will, or won't cause any issues, as I have no clue.
Just pointing out that movie modeling, and our modeling can sometime be two completely different beasts.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

TAY666 said:


> One thing to remember though. The movie guys need it done NOW.
> They don't care much what it is going to look like in 6 months to a year.
> Not saying that it will, or won't cause any issues, as I have no clue.
> Just pointing out that movie modeling, and our modeling can sometime be two completely different beasts.


This is an incredibly cogent point. Our models must last for our lifetimes- movie models only need to last until filming is done.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

TAY666 said:


> One thing to remember though. The movie guys need it done NOW.
> They don't care much what it is going to look like in 6 months to a year.
> Not saying that it will, or won't cause any issues, as I have no clue.
> Just pointing out that movie modeling, and our modeling can sometime be two completely different beasts.


Yep, I completely understand that. That's why when the guy was hitting that paint with the hair dryer I kind of freaked out. 

OTOH 'baking' paint on cars has gone on for decades. Usually there it's a room with banks of infrared heat lamps so again, a 'soft' heat indirectly applied. 

On the gripping hand we're talking (in show cars in particular) lacquer applied to metal, not enamel or acrylics on polystyrene and resin.


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## robn1 (Nov 17, 2012)

I guess you guys haven't seen Trekworks on Youtube? He often speed dries his paint with a Wagner heat gun :surprise:

A few passes with low heat won't hurt anything, except maybe dry the paint before it's had a chance to level.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

I painted the gray-er bits on the top front & back of the landing bays. Next tomorrow will be the dark red markings. The circle on top will be NO FUN. But I'll muddle through. The Shapeways bridge & nose I am particularly happy with. They lend an authenticity it would not have otherwise had.








And this is my _old_ Revell Galactica model now...


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

The differences in how they look is clearly due to being built by different shipyards for different worlds. Duh. It's not like Battlestars came off a Detroit assembly line.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

"Atlantia Death Squadron attack!"


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Here it is basically finished. I may do a final flat acrylic coat- I haven't decided yet. I tried not to obsess over it. Any small errors really don't matter at this scale. Or so I tell myself.  I wasn't gonna light it up at all, but the back panel snaps into place so just-right that it begged me for this one little quickie.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

If one is going to do minimal lighting on the Galactica, I would say lighting the engines is the right way to go. But why do I seem to recall they were red in the TV series? I'm sure I must be wrong. 

Beautiful job, Chris. Be proud.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Steve H said:


> If one is going to do minimal lighting on the Galactica, I would say lighting the engines is the right way to go. But why do I seem to recall they were red in the TV series? I'm sure I must be wrong.
> 
> Beautiful job, Chris. Be proud.


Ha, thanks. It's an LED flashlight behind sharpie-painted clear styrene. Definitely low-tech. But for the money ($9 for the tiny flashlight) I'm totally happy.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Last pic.


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