Another Galactica

[Snagger]

Hi folks,

I've tried starting this thread a few times, but it get rejected by the software each time, so I'll keep the posts short and avoid too many photos.

I have just started on a Revell Galactica kit, which is the reboxed Moebius kit with new decals. It needs a fair bit f work to make it reasonably accurate, and I plan to light it too.

The step between the head and spine, lack of inter-rib detail, smooth pod retraction recesses and soft detailing of the armour edges and horizontal lines between the ribs are well known faults, but there are several others too.

Many of the CIWS gun batteries are incorrect or missing. They are normally mounted in batteries of four pairs, and the model shows this in a fair few places, but is missing two full batteries from each side of the lower jaw part, with only the last of the three forward lower batteries molded into the front end of the lower main hull section. On the upper head section, most of the guns are correctly placed, but the middle battery should have two pairs, not a single pair. The guns obliterated by the poor armour plate edging along the spine are obvious. There re also problems with the batteries on the flight pods - the front and rear ends correctly show batteries of eight single guns between narrower rib recesses, but the four batteries along the main length of each pod should have four pairs again, while the model has four single guns and just three on the battery under the forward pod arm. Thankfully, the number of ribs is correct, even though the positioning is slightly off, so removing the single guns to fit corrected pairs will also allow the correction of the number of emplacements while retaining the gaps between each battery.

 

[Snagger]

The main gun turrets aren't great. They seem to have two cockpits molded in, while the Zoic model has just one on the inboard side of centre of each turret when in its parked position. The barrels don't convey the hollow frame look very well either, but the photo etch replacements aren't really any better. Since I prefer the early shows' flat name plates and the PE kits' landing bay ribbing isn't remotely accurate, I'll not be bothering with that kit.

The PE kit for the retraction bays looks pretty good, but appears unobtainable in the UK, so I'll use the Revell transfers, which are identical in plan, as cutting guides for some thin styrene sheet to provide some detail in there.

I have already removed the horizontal lines above and below the launch tubes on the pods for replacement with finer square section rod, and have done the same for the line along the sides of the lower jaw, extending back onto the lower hull. I also had to replace the small side armour plates on the lower jaw with sheet, and cut under the lower armour outboard edges to make them look more like plating and get rid of the slope between the ribs.

The head section has had the "sandwich decks" block trimmed to lower the upper section, and the rear plate was trimmed to allow the head to fit with the rear edge level with the spine. I also trimmed the rear of the head and the rear plate to make that last inter-rib gap match the other gaps, shimming the joint between the head and spine.

The left pod has already received surgery to sort out that same armour/rib problem on the front end, and the right pod will get the same.

The head and spine sections have been lines with Aves internally where the rib'armour issue exists so that I can trim through the plastic without worrying about the parts changing shape. I'll trim the edges back and use styrene rod to replace the upper ends of the ribs and sheet to replace the armour that is removed, giving a proper overhang.

 

[Snagger]

As for lighting, as per the advice on Grendel's tutorials, I have ordered 200 2mm LEDs, complete with resistors for 12V operation for £12, and 50 warm white 3mm LEDs from Australia for £6, including taxes and postage. That would have bought me only six or seven leds in total from my local Maplin!

I have four white 10mm LEDs that were bought for lighting my car's instruments, but the green filters didn't work on them so I refitted the standard bulbs. These 12V LEDs fit the upper engines perfectly and will fit the smaller, lower engines with just the slightest trimming. I plan to leave the inner engines dark, use warm white leds for the landing decks and red 2mm leds for the six red lights hidden in each retraction recess. I also plan to use yellow leds and fibre optics for the main gun turret cockpits. I would like to run seven strands of FO through the bar atop the name plates on each pod and bend them tightly through 90 degrees to illuminate the names, with the FO line proud of the bar like the lighting on the ZOic model, but I have doubts over whether the FO will work when bent that tightly. If anyone knows, tell me!

 

[Jimi]

i've just had this kit arrive here at my house can you show some picture updates for more clarification please...thanks.

 

[Grendels]

Fiber optics do not like tight bends, so be careful when you do so. I would test it first.

 

[Snagger]

I'd love to show you photos, but my posts don't work if I attach them. Is there a limit on post data size for newbs? I don't know if I'm allowed to redirect you, and it doesn't seem polite to the forum admins, so I apologise if this breaks any rules, but I do have photos of the small amount of work I have done on a similar thread at ResinIlluminati.

Thanks, Grendels. I suspected as much. My wife might be picking up some FO for me today - she's in London with my daughter for an 11th birthday girls' shopping trip, which is bound to hurt my pocket, but she's stopping into a good model shop for me. I hope they stock it.

 

[the Baron]

I'd love to show you photos, but my posts don't work if I attach them. Is there a limit on post data size for newbs? I don't know if I'm allowed to redirect you, and it doesn't seem polite to the forum admins, so I apologise if this breaks any rules, but I do have photos of the small amount of work I have done on a similar thread at ResinIlluminati.

Hi, Snagger, and welcome to the herd!

Regarding photos, I recommend using a hosting site, like Photobucket or Fotki, or something similar. You store the photos there, and the site generates the weblinks that you can post in a thread here or elsewhere. That gets you around file size limits.

For example, here is a photo I have stored at Photobucket:



If you click the Quote option to reply to my post, you will see the HTML image tag, a string of characters identified with "img". The website reads that string, and the browser goes out to the specified site and retrieves the image.

I do think some guys link to their external blogs, too, but as a reader of the forum, I know I prefer to see the image here, and not have to take a hop to another location. Nothing wrong with it, just my personal preference.

Apologies, too, if you know about linking and images, I don't know your background, so I tried to keep it simple and clear.

Hope that all helps, and I look forward to seeing your battlestar, in any case!

 

[Snagger]

Thanks for that explanation - it makes sense and obviously saves a lot of space on the server. I agree with you on having photos visible on-thread, rather than having to disappear off site through links; I have my own big blog for my Land Rover work, but when I post on the LR forums, I include photos in the post where I can. The downside of this forum's system is that when people close or delete the photos from the host site, the threads remain active with dead photo icons. Sorry, I have a knack for finding the cloud in every silver lining! I'll try to find a place to upload the pictures to. n the mean time, just a few of the more relevant ones - the first shows the lower pod sections, one with the horizontal ribs above and below the launch tubes removed (replaced with styrene rod), then the modified and standard armour and ribs on the pod fronts (with the erroneous gun batteries removes along the sides too), the replaced horizontal rib and armour on the lower jaw (gun batteries to be added), and the lowered head test fitted to the hull (green pen areas show where armour is to be trimmed away, note one double gun emplacement aft of lower armour cluster where there should be two emplacements).

 

[Quaralane]

Resin illuminati requires membership to view images, sorry, Snagger. They don't work for non-members

Which is too bad, because I REALLY want to see this ship

 

[Snagger]

Ah, I didn't realise that you wouldn't be able to see them on here. I'm working on it! There's not much to see yet, just some parts with molded detailing removed and the hull and head sections test fitted with the top of the head level with the spine.

 

[Chiefpettyofficer]

For example, here is a photo I have stored at Photobucket:

Ahh! Franziskaner Weißbier My Favorite!