It's definitely a different way to go at things, Unreality.
Sometimes, though, it's the only way to get what you want.
Time for a LONG overdue update on my progress with the Helicarrier build.
The flow here in the written version will be a LOT better than the "all over the place" from the video
Picking up with the deck island, I marked out the levels and locations for the viewing levels in pencil, and then glued a piece of Evergreen "L" channel into place to hold the top plates in place.
These were then angle cut to accomodate the filler pieces
[ATTACH=full]73221[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=full]73222[/ATTACH]
Using 1mm styrene, I cut the filler pieces to fill the angle I was looking for
[ATTACH=full]73223[/ATTACH]
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With those cut and sanded to the proper shapes, I filled the seams with Squadron green putty and sanded the assembly
[ATTACH=full]73225[/ATTACH]
Using strips of electrical tape cut to the proper width, I placed the viewing area windows.
WIth those in place, I used a sharp blade to cut the window frames into the strips.
I also cut smaller pieces of tape to stand in for the man hatches at the base
[ATTACH=full]73226[/ATTACH]
I cut the circular disks for the hover fans. Then, based on my original plan, I drilled out the centers for the eventual motor mounts.
[ATTACH=full]73227[/ATTACH]
There was a change of plan as I figured out how I wanted to work the mounts.
Starting with some strips of balsa, I created a basic form for what I was now looking to do.
The center is formed from the end of a syringe, and the details were filled in with clay.
The plan is to cut them down to the right diameter for the insides of the particular fans
[ATTACH=full]73228[/ATTACH]
With the master built, I made a silicone mold to use in casting the necessary mounts for the ship
[ATTACH=full]73229[/ATTACH]
Now, in a MAJOR retrofit from what I'd done previously, I decided that the previous build of the main engines was WAY too big for what I was going for.
So, I cut the previous engines from the back of the ship and started over.
Using the centers from the old engines, I made new mounts from 1mm styrene. The caps were epoxied to the back plates, while I used Tamiya extra thin cement to glue the other piece into place
[ATTACH=full]73230[/ATTACH]
After cutting rear plates for these new assemblies from balsa, I then skinned them with 1mm styrene
[ATTACH=full]73231[/ATTACH]
Seams were filled with Bondo
[ATTACH=full]73232[/ATTACH]
The new assembly was put together along with some balsa cut for the center supports.
I figured I'd leave them long to act as a bit of added detail to the back
[ATTACH=full]73233[/ATTACH]
This new assembly was then glued into place on the back of the ship, and the back plate was trimmed to shape
[ATTACH=full]73234[/ATTACH]
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The rather large gap was then filled with balsa scrap to give it structure while saving the weight that filling with Aves would have created
[ATTACH=full]73236[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=full]73237[/ATTACH]
This was then shaped in roughly with the drum sander in my Dremel
[ATTACH=full]73238[/ATTACH]
That was then filled with Bondo and sanded, followed by a second treatment using Squadron green putty
[ATTACH=full]73239[/ATTACH]
This was then sanded down, and the exposed wood was treated with Testors tube cement to seal the wood
[ATTACH=full]73240[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=full]73241[/ATTACH]
Youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H87yXM7oc2Q
