# Space:1999 Eagle 1 1/72 Scale



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Hi Everybody,

I've been working on and off on this project for the last year or so and I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. With the Paragrafix photoetch set and Aztek Dummy mask set I'm hoping for a nice turnout.

Here it is with the primer coat.

















\

I sprayed it with Testors Gunship Gray and Tamiya X-66 Light gray. When it was dry I added the Aztek Dummy masks and airbrushed the black areas on the command module.



















Now I just have to give it a nice base coat and hope that I got the right mix. I am going with 2 parts Testors Model Master Flat White to 1 part Testors Model Master Light gray which should warm the white quite nicely. 
I am open to suggestions from anyone who has built one of these before. Anyway, I hope you like my progress so far.

Have a great weekend!

Tom


----------



## f1steph (Jan 9, 2003)

Hi there,


Your built should go pretty nicely since you're building the Eagle straight from the box. Did you decided the colors of the passenger pod? VIP, Rescue or passenger version? Keep posting pictures of your built, it's always nice to see an Eagle ....



I've done three Eagles in the last 20 years. But with my lastest ones, I really modified almost everything to make them more accurate but did go for a more ''logic'' versions then the ones seen on the show. Pictures are here:


https://photos.app.goo.gl/m2zzYxgb8PJULsct8


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Nice, clean work so far.

a few years ago I built 2. One out of the box with the Aztek Dummy masks and one that I tried to correct some flaws. I had some success.

I used 3D printed landing gear from Shapeways. I believe its listed under "moongear"
Thats a nice, quick solution to the very poor kit gear.

The engine plumbing can be improved fairly easily, some resistors on the large tanks to replicate piping and add the center strut brace.

Another member suggested moving the gear pods slightly towards the center. This helps the look of the eagle very much.

Also the spine needs to be thinner on the top. Kind of major surgery.

I still feel OOTB it looks great, even if it is not really accurate.




























f1, I love your build.


EDIT:

Here is a like to my build thread, it explains things a little better.

https://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/99-science-fiction-modeling/453033-small-mpc-eagle-wip.html


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Hey f1steph. I haven't decided yet what direction I want to go with as far as the passenger pod. I am leaning towards the rescue because I do like the look of the red stripes. I followed the link and you do some amazing work with your modifications and I am impressed!

Mach7 your Eagles look really impressive also and I like the modifications you had done as well. I am going pretty much straight out of the box with this one. Those Shapeways landing gear look really cool and wish I had known about them before I was this far along. I don't want to go back and do any surgery at this point however, I know they are an option if I do another. Here some pics with the base coat that I applied. Mine looks a little grayer than yours and I was trying not to have it look pure white. I hope that it still looks ok. Here are some pictures.




























I do have one question for you gentlemen. What color did you paint the rocket/thruster bells? I was going to go with Testors Model Master acrylic Aluminum and if that is not good enough hopefully you could suggest another color I could use. Hopefully in acrylic though and could be either Testors of Tamiya.


----------



## f1steph (Jan 9, 2003)

TomD66 said:


> I do have one question for you gentlemen. What color did you paint the rocket/thruster bells? I was going to go with Testors Model Master acrylic Aluminum and if that is not good enough hopefully you could suggest another color I could use. Hopefully in acrylic though and could be either Testors of Tamiya.



Well chrome is the way to go if you want to look like the studio Eagle. But if you want a more realistic look (like the Saturn V F1 engine bells), aluminium is the choice. Add some black weathering to them, especially inside. If I remember correctly, I used Vallejo Aluminium on my Eagles.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Yup, bright silver is the color from the show.

I painted mine chrome silver.


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Thanks a lot for the help fellas! I picked up some chrome silver from my LHS yesterday and will use that on the main rocket bells and RCS thrusters. For the vertical thrusters I will go with the Testors Aluminum and spray a little black inside to weather them a little.


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

I was able to make some progress this weekend. I painted the passenger pod with the base coat and removed all of the masks underneath. It turned out really nice and I am pleased with the results.:smile2:




























I am waiting for some replacement parts from Paragrafix then I can finish the main rocket motors. So far it is coming along very nicely and it's looking really good.


----------



## whiskeyrat (May 7, 2012)

More Eagles! I love it! Despite the lack of detail inside the cages at either end of this particular kit, it can still be built up into a very good looking model. And you're showing just how that's done! Can't wait for the finished model!


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Thanks a lot whiskeyrat! I wish I could take all of the credit. I bought the Aztek Dummy masks and the Paragrafix photo-etch set from Culttvman and they were a huge help. After a little touch up here and there the results were awesome. I hope to have an update or two very soon.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

TomD66, did you paint your motors yet? 

This might help.

Restoring the Original 44"Eagle from Space 1999

Photo's of one of the 44 inch filming models.

For my 22 inch eagle I'm using the optional turned aluminum parts.
My understanding is this was on the filming models so it should be accurate.




























I hope this helps


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Thanks for the link to the restoration article mach 7! I have actually been in email contact with James Small and he has given me some advice as well.:smile2: I have not painted the engines bells as of yet. I have put them aside for the moment as I've turned my attention to the shoulder pods for the landing gear. I had an issue with one because every time I would paint it the masking tape would peel off some of the base coat. 










I must have repainted it three times and now that I have finally gotten that resolved it looks a lot better.










I painted the center square aluminum on the other three pods and with it going over the black paint I got an almost dark metallic gray look to it.










Someone pointed out to me that they should be gray but, I kind of like the look and with what I had to go through to mask these I am going to stick with it. I hope to get to those engine bells in the next week or so. Too bad they don't make aluminum replacement parts for the smaller eagle, that would really make this one stand out!


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

I went back and decided that the bottom of the shoulder pods for the landing gear should be gray. I sprayed over the aluminum with dark ghost grey and I think they look a lot more accurate now.



















Now I just have to prime and paint the landing gear and RCS thrusters, then go back and finish the main motors.










My plan is to have it finished up and ready for decals in a couple of weeks.

Tom


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

I was able to make a little progress this week. I prefer to paint as much as I can rather than go with a decal if at all possible. I bought the Aztek Dummy painting masks and it comes with a sheet with black vinyl cutouts to substitute for paint or decals on the black areas of the Eagle. What worked for me on what I call the gothic looking crosses on the shoulder pods is use the outline on the sheet as a painting mask. I think it turned out rather nicely on the two I have painted so far. 










The reason I have only two completed is that when I went to paint the other two I noticed that there were a few cracks that needed to filled and sanded again. I will sand and paint those and then try again to repeat my success with the first two.










I'm looking at possibly buying the diffusers for the main engines and replacement RSC thrusters set from Shapeways. I think these would probably be less difficult to work with than the photo-etch parts. I hope to have a little more progress this weekend.

Tom


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Sweet! My parts arrived from Shapeways today. I now have to get them prepped, primed, and ready for paint.

Tom


----------



## f1steph (Jan 9, 2003)

I bought the same ones for my Eagles from Shapeways. They're pretty nice. Since I was building two Eagles at the same time, I had to make 4 diffusers. I had enough radars with this kit. As for the RCS, I used the ones from Shapeways on one Eagle, and modified 4 from the Deluxe kit. Just had to drilled some holes and Voilà ...... Darn, I like the Eagle....... I have a Product Enterprise Eagle right beside me while I"m typing this reply..... Crazy, crazy.... Yeah I already know this.... hehehehe... Keep up the good work....


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Hey f1steph! How did you drill the RCS Thrusters? I have them all cleaned up and ready for paint but, I need to create holes so I can glue them to the little nubs on the shoulder pods. I'm afraid if I use a power drill or a Dremel I may drill right through and ruin them. Also, if I am a little off center that may be a problem. Paragrafix sent me a replacement set of the baffles and I thought I would do a trial run with them before I used the Shapeways parts. I believe I will save those parts for another project because these turned out so well.










Sorry for the delayed reply. We had a snow storm last Sunday and there was a power outage that fried my router and wasn't able to get on to post until today. BTW You're not crazy, the Eagle is an awesome ship! Thanks for the vote of confidence!

Have a great weekend!

Tom


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

I was able to prime and paint the landing gear as well as prime the main engine bells for the metallic coat.










Then I sprayed the landing gear with Testors MM dark ghost gray to match the bottom of the shoulder pods.










I then finally painted what I call the Gothic cross on the last shoulder pod. Unfortunately, painting the engines did not go as planned and I had to strip them down and start over.:frown2:










I had to pick up more Tamiya primer at my LHS because the two cans in the picture were empty. Now I have the engines primed for another try.










I hope to have them painted and ready to go this weekend.

Tom


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

I picked up some Tamiya chrome silver from the LHS.










I've given the engines a nice healthy coat plus I painted the insides flat black.



















Now I have to do a little touch up on the black and these should be ready to go. Then it will be on to the RCS thrusters before I tidy up and get ready for the decals.

Have a great weekend!

Tom


----------



## f1steph (Jan 9, 2003)

Cool, keep it up......


I was searching the net for some nice Space 1999 wallpapers. I found lots of very nice ones on Deviantart.



https://www.deviantart.com/tag/eagletransporter?offset=96


But one picture made me say ''WTF, how come I've never realized that !!!!!... That Eagle's landing gear were retractable....



https://www.deviantart.com/tenement01/art/Space-1999-Eagle-Re-Entry-697144530


Better late then never....


----------



## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

f1steph said:


> ...But one picture made me say ''WTF, how come I've never realized that !!!!!... That Eagle's landing gear were retractable...


Based on the design that was clearly the intent, but I can't recall them ever showing the landing gear fully retracted into the pods on the show.


----------



## f1steph (Jan 9, 2003)

Zombie_61 said:


> Based on the design that was clearly the intent, but I can't recall them ever showing the landing gear fully retracted into the pods on the show.



In the show, the landing gears were always deployed. But I wasn't sure if they were deployed before an Eagle crash. I've watched the first Eagle crash in the series, in Breakaway, and they are deployed. I guess that during filming the miniatures, they had their hats full just to control the freon coming out from the reactors and controling the Eagle with the puppet wires. And I would also imagine that it wouldn't be an easy job to make retractable landing gears and store them in the side supports on all the miniatures.


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

WOW! That's really interesting info! The design of the pods suggest that the gear should be retractable although it was never depicted in the series. I believe the miniatures were all built with the gear permanently lowered. 

Well, I was able to make a little more progress by gluing the engine section to the aft compartment. 










I am debating ordering a new set of engine bells from Round 2. Because my first attempt to paint did not go well I had to strip, prime, and repaint. This caused the ribbed detail to diminish and because it is so small plus I don't have the skill, scribing to fix it is not an option. So should I get the parts and start over or, Just go with that I have and live with it?

I'm pretty much done painting and pretty close to the final build.










My only obstacle is the RCS Thrusters that I purchased from Shapeways. After cleaning them up and sanding them smooth, I realized there is no notch to glue them to the pods and I am looking for suggestions to find ways to create them. I could drill but, I'm worried I will not be able to control the drill and ruin the parts. If anyone can help I will very grateful.

Tom


----------



## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

For me, most of the people who would see the model woldnt know if the lines are suppose to be there or not. So it would be a choice of whether or not I (you) would not be happy with the end result.

If it is goint into a contest by all means replace them.

It would mean striping and priming again, but did you lose detail because of overall paint thickness? Or did the striper remove material?

A set of jewelers file may be more controlable for you - in making the notch you need in the thrusters.

Good luck in the rest of the build.


----------



## f1steph (Jan 9, 2003)

Hum..... pretty hard to scrib those lines on the thrusters, they need to be straight or else it will look pretty bad. You could always try to mark them with a pensil, I would try to find a thin rubber O-Ring that you can stretch on the bells and mark them around the bells. Then you could use a scribbing tool or make you own for 2$:








Or if you can find very thin rubber O-Rings, glue them on the bells and paint them. They need to be thin tho......


BTW, buy some Castrol Super Clean (CSC), put that purple stuff inside a container with a big opening and dump the parts that needs to be cleaned in it. Leave if for awhile. Clean them good after with an old toothbrush and soap. ALWAYS USE RUBBER GLOVES or else your skin WILL BE DAMAGED.... CSC works darn well with acrylic paint but not with Tamiya paint because of the lacquer in it.


----------



## f1steph (Jan 9, 2003)

Here's another idea. Get a Staedtler Circle Template and find the right size you need and mark each detail lines with a pensil on each bells. Note wich circle you are using. Then use the smallest styrene stripes you have and put them inside the circles on the template, make all the circles that you need in different sizes. You can fix the joints with CA and once dry, sand the joint. All you'll need to do after that if to glue all the different styrene circles on each bells and paint them..... That's a long process but it can be done...... 



https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/730600/Staedtler-Mars-Template-Circle-Combo/


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Thanks for all of the great advice Milton Fox and f1steph! After reading what you both had to say I think I'm going to stick with and live with what I have. It will save me some money on parts, paint, etc,. Also, who's to say that I won't go through all of the effort to do them over and come up with the same result? I'll glue them with the dull sides in and no one will notice the difference. The rest of it is going to look awesome and will more than make up for this one little detail.

Have a great weekend!

Tom


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

After a long weekend out of town for a birthday party I was able to make a little progress this week. Unfortunately, I had to scrap the Shapeways RCS thrusters because when I tried to create a mounting hole in the back I snapped off one of the nozzles on two of the parts. I went back to the original kits parts and primed and painted those. It's a shame but, I will make do with thee and I think they turned out pretty well just the same.



















When they are completely dry I will then mount them to the pods. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will look good.

Tom


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Well, I hate to make myself out to be a liar but, I guess I did. After saying I was going to live with the engine bells with the faded detail, I then proceeded to order new parts from Round 2. Because I used Paragrafix baffles in the original engine pieces I had my Shapeways baffles still in the box. Round 2 is great as far as replacing parts if they have them in stock, and luckily they did. Mailed out the order last Tuesday and they were here by Friday. Glued in the baffles that evening and primed them on Saturday. Then gave them a coat of Tamiya gloss aluminum yesterday.










I will now clean them up, give them another coat and they should be good to go!

Tom


----------



## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

You have the right to change your mind - for the build of course. :cheers2:


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Thank you Milton you are so very right Sir!!:smile2: Yesterday I painted the insides of the bells flat black then after they dried for a couple of hours glued them onto the back of the Eagle. Using weight and gravity to get a tight bond.










After drying over night I propped the Eagle back on top of the spray cans and I have to admit I was blown away. They look great and I'm glad I made the effort to start over.



















I'm coming into the home stretch and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel although there is still plenty to do. I hope to have some more updates soon.

Have a great week!

Tom


----------



## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Glad it worked out favorably for you. :cheers2:


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Thank you Milton! This is where I really get excited about model building. After all of the hard work, the anguish, the setbacks, and the successes, it's nice to get an idea of what it is going to look like.

Tom


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

I've glued on the RCS thrusters this evening and going to let them dry overnight.










Before I glue the pods to the main body I have to figure out how I am going to paint the shaded panels. There was no rhyme or reason to it and from what I understand varied on the different models used in the series. Do I go with a standard gray or lighter shades so it doesn't contrast too much with the white? I will have to figure this out eventually.

Tom


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

For what its worth, on my latest 12 inch eagle builds I painted everything flat white. Then I masked off small squares/rectangles and applied some black-silver cheap eye shadow. Unmasked and then sealed with semi gloss clear. 

The effect is good, but slightly more pronounced than I wanted.

On my 22 inch eagle I painted black patterns on after the primer, then hit it with gloss white. I'm still working on it but it looks not bad.

I hope this helps.

Mark


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Those are both great suggestions Mark! I would like to see the pictures if you have any of how they turned out. I bought some decal sheets online from someone on another forum. It has various shades that I can make into the various panels. My preference though is really to paint.

Tom


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Sorry it took so long,










The markings are on the gear pods.


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

No Worries Mark, I was house sitting this past weekend and have been away for a few days. I see now what you are trying to achieve in these pictures. I do have one other question though. How did you mask the thrusters on the command module? I still have to paint mine and am not sure how I am going to tackle that one yet.

Tom


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Hmmm,

That was a while ago. I'm pretty sure I used a fine microbrush after everything was painted.


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Wow! You did a really nice job with the brush. What I am thinking of doing is, finding a punch that is close in size and try to mask them. Then I will airbrush them either chrome silver or aluminum. 

Tom


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Hey Guys,

I've been away for a while and I thought i would check in with some updates. I'm pretty much done painting the paneling on the command module, passenger pods and the landing pods. I painted the thrusters on the CM chrome silver and the various patches were painted light gray darkened with flat black, and light gray.

Here is the command module.
























The passenger pod.



















The landing pods.



















I'm fast coming near the end. Just a few touch ups then I should be ready fro decals and clear coat.

Tom


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Hey Fellas,

It's been a while since I've posted because I needed a little break for some family time.

I was able to make just a little bit more progress since I last posted. I added the Aztek Dummy decal replacements to the bottom of the landing gear pods. part of the delay was that I messed up the original set and Lou at Aztek Dummy was kind enough to send me a new set. BTW he told me that Round 2 plans to retire this kit once the new tooling is complete and those kits are out so you better stock up on his masks while you can. Anyways, here are my results so far:











With the landing gear glued on.










All four are now completed.










Not sure how much more I will get done because of a busy work schedule but I hope have more progress in the next week or two.

Tom


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Hey Everyone,

I haven't posted here in a very long time and I see there have been some changes. I do like the new look and I have to get used to things being different. I have been busy traveling and taking care of other business so I had to set this project aside while I tended to other business. I was finally able to finish this project a couple of weeks ago putting on the decals and spraying a couple of layers of Dullcote. Here are a few pictures of my Eagle now that it's finished.

































































I want to thank everyone who supported me and gave me advice on this project, I wouldn't have been able to get it done without you. Thanks Again!

Tom


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Nice job on the old kit! You did it proud.

Thanks for posting the end results.

Nice trek ships also!


----------



## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

Thank you so much mach7!!! Coming from you that means a lot!!!!!

Take care and stay safe everybody!!!


----------



## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

Beautiful!

Just an observation, but if you're interested in a similar look to the turned alumium engine bells, try Rustoleum Bright Aluminum. I ust used it on the Apollo Command Module in a Revell 1/144th scale Saturn V I'm building and it looks like I chromed it!

Larry


----------

