BSG Colonial build

[Keptin Barnes]

Namaste all.
This is my first foray into building cardstock models.
This kit was sent to me by a friend who knew how much I love TOS Battlestar Galactica and has been sitting, printed for about 8 months, in my studio. This is ‘Gearz’ paper kit of that ship.

I had been waiting for the time I felt comfortable attempting such a new medium (for me) in modeling.
That time came when I moved to Hawaii and could not bring my studio and supplies with me, yet I wanted to build.

So, out came the kit, on came the Internet for me to learn more about how to build, and out I went in search of Elmer’s Glue and a ruler with a metal strip and a #11 Exacto.

Okay. Let’s get what you all came here to see started.
The building of a cardstock model.


This is the Galactica model by ’Gearz’. However, something happened, somewhere, somehow, that created a problem. One of the pages of parts is missing from my printed sheets--the P/S arms connecting to the Flight Pods.
Normally one would just grab a sheet of card and print it out. I do not have that luxury just yet. So I have to make due with what I have.

First thing, here is the picture of the first page of parts: The Bridge.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...pia/Cardstock Destroyer/PaperDestroyer-00.jpg

Before I started cutting the parts out, I read that I should spray them with a fixative--especially living in a pretty humid place. Here’s what I used.
Matte for all of the parts. Gloss for the Base and Engine Exhaust parts.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-00.jpg

I cut the first part from the sheet following the instructions of not cutting the Red Tabs until after folding the parts.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-02.jpg

Here is the parts folded.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-03.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-04.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-05.jpg

Next came the back wall.
Cut
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-06.jpg
Folded
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-07.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-08.jpg
And in place
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-09.jpg

I then cut the Bridge Brace
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...lestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-10a.jpg
Folded the tabs in a alternating pattern
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-12.jpg
Then glued it in place.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-13.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-15.jpg

Next came the lower edge of the ship
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...lestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-16a.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-16.jpg
Again, folded
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-17.jpg
Then placed
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-18.jpg
And placed on both sides
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-19.jpg

According to the Instructions the next part to add is the “neck”.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-21.jpg
Folded
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-22.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-23.jpg
And in place
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-24.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-25.jpg

Here comes a part I never thought of, the Bridge Brace Cross Beam.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-26.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-27.jpg

Now were supposed to build the indent/ “sideburns” of the ship.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-28.jpg
Cut
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-29.jpg
Folded
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-30.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-31.jpg

Here come the “cheeks”
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-20.jpg
Cut
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-32.jpg
“Sculpted”
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-33.jpg
In place with “sideburns” temporarily in place (as per instructions).
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-34.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-35.jpg

We’re almost finished with the head.
Now comes the top
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-36.jpg
Glued in place
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-37.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-38.jpg

The next part is the… um… I don’t know what it’s called. But it goes underneath.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-39.jpg
Folded
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-40.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-41.jpg
In place
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-42.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-43.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-44.jpg

It’s time for the small detail parts.
Part of the Bridge Module
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-45.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-46.jpg
In place
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-47.jpg
The Bridge itself
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-48.jpg
Also in place
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-49.jpg
And a small area behind the bridge.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-50.jpg

Now we are finished with the Bridge Module of the kit.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-51.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-52.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-53.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-54.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tlestar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/PD-55.jpg

Next, I will show you the work on the Engine Module.

I hope you have enjoyed my first Build Diary of my first card model.
Sorry about the length of this.

Cheers aussie
Nikita

 

[sjsquirrel]

She's a classic

Your build is looking good so far Keptin.
I'm a huge BSG fan myself - it's always a treat to see the ships again.

Look forward to your next update.

Steve

 

[Keptin Barnes]

Namaste Steve.

Here is the next section I am working on. The Engine section.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-00.jpg

Per the instructions, I cut the main parts out and glued them together.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-01.jpg

After I got those two parts glued together I started on the next sheet.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-02.jpg
These parts are going to be the indented detail that make the trench along the middle of the engines.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-03.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-04.jpg

They are a little tricky to glue but not too bad. Mostly just long areas to glue.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-05.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-06.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-08.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-09.jpg
From behind.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-07.jpg

Once that was finished the instructions say to work on the engine exhausts. I sprayed these with Gloss Finish to give it a bit more of a powered up look.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-10.jpg
So far these are the biggest challenge (for me at least) because they require tiny tabs to be folded into a small ‘indentation’.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-11.jpg
Finished one.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-12.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-13.jpg

Something that kinda bothered me a bit is there is beautiful detail for the light speed engines, but no such detail for the sub-light engine.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-14.jpg
So I decided to add my own by adding three different shades of red. I traced the shape of the sub-light engine onto a piece of regular paper, colored it then glued it onto a blank sheet of card stock. That way it would be on a white background instead of the dark gray of the original piece.
Once it had dried, I glued it to the actual piece.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-15.jpg
Cut it out.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-16.jpg
And added it to the rest of the finished Engine Exhausts.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-17.jpg

Next came the Housing.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-18.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-19.jpg
With the added exhausts.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-20.jpg

Finally I needed to do the Engine Brace.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-21.jpg
It says to fold the tabs 90 degrees. However, most of the tabs need to be folded like that. So I don’t know exactly what he meant by that, but I did my best by folding them not 180 degrees and then back to 90 to make it as flat as possible. I just folded as close to 90 as possible and left it alone for it to retain strength.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-22.jpg
Placed on the rear Housing.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-24.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-25.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/...tar Olympia/Cardstock Destroyer/Engine-26.jpg

That is all for now. I shall continue folding away.

Cheers aussie
Nikita

 

[sjsquirrel]

Beauty

Looking good. I really like what you did with the sublight engine. Makes it ever so much better.

Re the 180 vs 90 on that engine brace, I had the same confusion. As far as I know what you've done is correct.

Keep up the good work.

Steve

 

[strangelysaucy]

looking really good! love the photoreal texturing!

 

[Keptin Barnes]

Sorry there haven't been any posts lately.
I was starting to lose the fun of building because I chose to photograph each step.

So I took a break and decided to just finish the model and show you what the finished ship looks like.

Here it is gang. The final look of the model.

I present the Colonial destroyer Valiant.

Upper Bow
Starboard Beauty
Top
Bottom
Port
Starboard
Aft
Upper Aft
Aft Beauty

Now for the display base.
Front
Back
Right
Left

And finally a closer beauty shot.

This was pretty fun for my first build of a paper model.
I am looking forward to my next build. I hope to start that one within the week.

Cheers. aussie

 

[Aerospace]

Good job Keptin...