Here’s my build of Michael Grosberg’s excellent Rocinante, the ship from the TV series “The Expanse.” I’ve just started watching the show, but I enjoy how they stick (pretty much) to the laws of physics.
Michael’s design is very good despite the ship’s complex shapes. The model, which is 1/100th scale, goes together with relative ease. I found Michael’s instructions to be clear and concise. I deviated from the kit pieces and instructions in a few areas:
-- Added detail to the forward sensor arrays and altered the kit parts;
-- Printed a copy of some of the pages and cut out appliqué panels to glue to the model;
-- Altered the upper airlock to better replicate photos and drawings I found online. (One note here: The various CGI renderings and other artwork online are often contradictory as to the ship’s details. I just went with what appeared in some of them….);
-- The “flaps” on bell for the Epstein Drive are attached to the bell, but in renderings I could find, they appear detached, so I cut them off and reattached them to the rectangular blocks that I guess are the actuator mechanisms;
-- One of the key features to the Rocinante are the six Point Defense Cannons (PDCs), Gatling Gun-type weapons that slide out from housings on the ship’s hull. I wanted to add them but I'm too lazy to scratchbuild all six, so I scratchbuilt the two midship PDCs. Again, renderings I found online were contradictory and/or lacked detail, so I used some “creative gizmology” and scratchbuilt them out of card. I also had to figure out what the PDC housings would look like inside, so I scratchbuilt those, too. The PDCs aren’t 100-percent perfect, but they look menacing and I was kind of surprised I could build the six-barreled weapons.
I still need to add some handrails that show up n various renderings of the ship.
The finished model is impressive in size, measuring 48cm long and with the midship PDCs deployed, 21cm wide. It was an enjoyable build and Michael did a great job designing a fairly complex model.
Michael’s design is very good despite the ship’s complex shapes. The model, which is 1/100th scale, goes together with relative ease. I found Michael’s instructions to be clear and concise. I deviated from the kit pieces and instructions in a few areas:
-- Added detail to the forward sensor arrays and altered the kit parts;
-- Printed a copy of some of the pages and cut out appliqué panels to glue to the model;
-- Altered the upper airlock to better replicate photos and drawings I found online. (One note here: The various CGI renderings and other artwork online are often contradictory as to the ship’s details. I just went with what appeared in some of them….);
-- The “flaps” on bell for the Epstein Drive are attached to the bell, but in renderings I could find, they appear detached, so I cut them off and reattached them to the rectangular blocks that I guess are the actuator mechanisms;
-- One of the key features to the Rocinante are the six Point Defense Cannons (PDCs), Gatling Gun-type weapons that slide out from housings on the ship’s hull. I wanted to add them but I'm too lazy to scratchbuild all six, so I scratchbuilt the two midship PDCs. Again, renderings I found online were contradictory and/or lacked detail, so I used some “creative gizmology” and scratchbuilt them out of card. I also had to figure out what the PDC housings would look like inside, so I scratchbuilt those, too. The PDCs aren’t 100-percent perfect, but they look menacing and I was kind of surprised I could build the six-barreled weapons.
I still need to add some handrails that show up n various renderings of the ship.
The finished model is impressive in size, measuring 48cm long and with the midship PDCs deployed, 21cm wide. It was an enjoyable build and Michael did a great job designing a fairly complex model.
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