“Moonbase Alpha Main Mission Study Model

Revell-Fan said:
i know exactly what you are going through..! I have the new BSG hangar bay in 1:32 scale waiting to be test-built. The sheer amount of paper required is intimidating... Like assembling a dozen single paper models.
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WOW!!!
Now THAT is ambitious! Wouldn't that wind up being as long as a large living room?!! That's the same scale as the Moebius/Revel kit, yes? I have that kit... It's a REALLY good kit... It would look great in a hanger bay diorama... *sigh* Well, I'm looking forward to it but I won't hold my breath ;)

I have a building list that I likely won't live long enough to complete and now that I'm designing it will take even longer but, hey... it might help me live longer (or come back as a ghost, doomed to walk the earth until I complete all of my kits...:eek:)
 
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Quick update:

I've completed the lower floor supports and the stairs. Have to wait for the stairs to dry thoroughly, then I will trim the edges so everything fits.DSCN0334.jpg
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When all is glued and done; the edges of the upper floor should fit perfectly over the box supports. Then it's on to the walls. I've redesigned them so they will be easier to position and glue down.
 
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Dude, are you an Architect? Great work going on here! :)
 
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YET ANOTHER SNAG!!!
The upside to installing the stairs one tier at a time is that they line up wonderfully...
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The downside is that; because the stairs are composed of several layers of cardstock... THEY BOW! If I try to glue them down to the main floor, it will just wind up bowing with the stairs...

Solution?

FOAMCORE!
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Adhesive backed foamcore with a nice bite out of it!
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Mount the main floor to the foamcore and the stairs will have to relent and conform.
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Mind-bogglingly...the foamcore was also bowed and needed to be flattened out a bit.
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Sufficiently flattened; the main floor is adhered to the foamcore, the upper floor is glued to the main floor (after trimming the stairs a bit, everything lined up perfectly) and the whole paper model sandwich gets pressed under glass so it all dries as flat as possible.

If this all works it should look really good.

Fingers crossed!
 
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AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!

Okay, so... one of the drawbacks to using weight to glue something down is that it can cause the glue to bleed through your cardstock...
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Solution: Glue another layer on top of everything and count yourself lucky.
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No, it won't be perfect anymore but it is only a study model and it doesn't take that much away.
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Anyway, The floor is done once again and it actually does look a lot better than the first attempt. I think I'm going to glue an extra layer of cardstock on the outside margins where the walls get glued to the floor, just to make certain everything winds up fitting where it needs to.

*sigh*
It's still worth doing but dues on this one are high. :headbange:
 
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I actually contemplated making a sunken living room in my house, but did not have the time. I was paying a mortgage and rent for 6 months before I could get the house ready to move in. :)
 
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@Octoman Did you use regular glue to mount the floors. I use a lot of chipboard for strength so I use spray adhesive in light coats. I rarely have any bleed-through as long as I give it long enough to set up...not that I ever get in a rush...:angelic: Liquid type glues out of the bottle always go on too thick for me.

BTW, I've got a few nice resolution pics of the crew you could scale down and use just for looks. PM me if you want the files. Can't wait to see more. And don't stress out. Just think, if you'd been building an Eagle it would have blow up 3 or 4 times by now! ;)
 
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zathros said:
I actually contemplated making a sunken living room in my house, but did not have the time. I was paying a mortgage and rent for 6 months before I could get the house ready to move in. :)
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I used to be a builder so I KNOW how that goes... I live in a "double wide" that I am slowly converting into a "stick built" as time and money allow. Never enough time or money!
 
bgt01 said:
@Octoman Did you use regular glue to mount the floors. I use a lot of chipboard for strength so I use spray adhesive in light coats. I rarely have any bleed-through as long as I give it long enough to set up...not that I ever get in a rush...:angelic: Liquid type glues out of the bottle always go on too thick for me.

BTW, I've got a few nice resolution pics of the crew you could scale down and use just for looks. PM me if you want the files. Can't wait to see more. And don't stress out. Just think, if you'd been building an Eagle it would have blow up 3 or 4 times by now! ;)
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I did use regular glue and hesitated for a moment wondering whether I should. That's what I get for not following my instincts! I'm using a decent quality, fast drying craft glue but I'd appreciate any suggestions from anyone.
Will do on the crew files and I WILL be building an Eagle soon enough and you're right; you do have to count on a few crashes:biggrin:
 
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Just like I do when something has to be changed - glue another layer over the bad part. Resourceful thinking! :)
 
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Revell-Fan said:
Just like I do when something has to be changed - glue another layer over the bad part. Resourceful thinking! :)
Click to expand...

Yep, it worked but with the added thickness on the upper floor, I'm having to readjust everything to fit right. It seems I didn't leave a whole lot of room for error. I need to remember to do that. ;)
 
This is taking longer than it did last time but the results are much better. Here's some more progress pics;
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The walls of the main room cut out and scored...
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The redesigned computer wall assembled and ready for the consoles.
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This is actually much simpler than my first design. The consoles get glued in between the lines of the wall so they will all be evenly spaced and hold their shape better.
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It occured to me that if I redid the ceiling panels as transparencies, I would save myself a lot of cutting, have a more structurally sound part and be able to see the model better.
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Close up of the air conditioning panel that will go above the view ports on the balcony.
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I installed the wall that is the least repossitionable first and then glued the "window" wall to it and not the floor... The window wall will get glued down when the other walls go up so I can make certain it's where it needs to be.
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This is the back wall for the balcony which gets installed behind the computer wall. Note the ledge I added to help support the balcony.

That's it for the moment but I'll keep working and posting photos.

Thanks for looking! :wave:
 
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Marco Scheloske said:
So... this will not just be a one-of, but a kit that we all can download and build?

Yeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaa! :Bravo::bowdown::Drinks:
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Yep... I went and said I would do it and now I have to keep that promise. Still debating (with myself) I'm now also considering 1/72 which would put it in scale with the MPC/Airfix Eagle model kit and also 1/48 which would put it at the approximate scale of the new 22" Eagle kit coming out soon. Will probably stick with 1/35 just because I could make it REALLY detailed!
 
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