Vulcan "Sled" Shuttle: Star Trek The Motion Picture
- Thread starter dirkpitt289
- Start date
The Reliant was the first Federation Starship that I scratch built when I was 13 years old. I wish that I still had that model.
I'm cutting mine out right now! Might even run another copy, for the greebling. By the way, anybody else think that the 1701-A looks totally NASA cool in dark black and clean white?
You're getting there. As for the joint in question, it underscores the value of test fitting and trimming parts (in this case, the hole for the cylindrical tunnel) until there's a decent fit. Carpentry may have, "Measure twice, cut once," but cardmodeling has, "Test-fit twice (or three or four times...), glue once."
I've also found that once the parts are joined, if I use a toothpick to apply a VERY thin bead of glue along the joint -- dabbing up the excess as I go -- the joint seams come close to disappearing.
I've also found that once the parts are joined, if I use a toothpick to apply a VERY thin bead of glue along the joint -- dabbing up the excess as I go -- the joint seams come close to disappearing.
You might want to sleeve the tunnel over a pen or pencil, and then mash it for a while to smooth out the seams, about 10 minutes of rubbing it over the former cylinder or pencil will be enough to make a better join and look smoother on the exterior. But you are doing great work! Keep it up!
I like that idea but in this case the seam is all but buried so it will never be seen.
The Vulcan shuttle is just about finished finished. I just need to attach the shuttle to the sled (engine) section and add some detail. Now its time to address the warpage. What I've done is secured the model to a board and locked it into the position that it SHOULD be in. I then placed the model in the bathroom and turned the shower on to full hot. I left the kit in the steam for about 5 minutes. Too much and the score and cut lines will absorb too much water and the kit will be ruined. After 5 minutes I took it out and hit it with a heat gun to dry it.
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@dirkpitt289 If I may suggest: When you build a model for the first time, take note of how things go together. That way, you will have an idea of how to fix, alter, or enhance the model the next time. This is what has helped me to improve my skills and develop more techniques.
Well, it turned out looking pretty good! Paper models have a little "sway" in them some times. You might have to modify the electronic image to fix that. Also, I like to print my first try in back and white, to save color ink. Making a blank inner support by stenciling the part and assembling it helps.
After a second round of steam, I unwrapped the shuttle and to my surprise all the warpage was gone. I'm happy as hell it worked, here's the finished pictures. Thank you everyone that folloed and took the time to comment on this build. I will be uploading a three part video of this build on my youtube channel in a couple days. My goal is to try and get some more people interested in the hobby.
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- Apr 5, 2013
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Good job straightening it out. I have warped aircraft wings, and boy is that aggravating. Start getting those seams tight and along with greeling, you will reach the pinnacle of this hobby before you know it.
Good job straightening it out. I have warped aircraft wings, and boy is that aggravating. Start getting those seams tight and along with greeling, you will reach the pinnacle of this hobby before you know it.
Thank you for the kind words