November 2007 Entries

Do you have more unbuilt or half-built models than completed ones? Build at a glacial pace? Need a contest or deadline to motivate you to finish anything? Want to join others with same "affliction" and be inspired to finish a project in a reasonable amount of time? Then you've come to the right place.

The challenge is to pick a project to complete at the start of the month - and then get it done. Each month, we'll display the works of all folks participating in the challenge on this page. All you have to do to get in on this is state for the record (either via eMail or on the Discussion Forum -- that you are going to finish one model in the time period allotted. It can be anything - a half-built stuck on the workbench for too long, a brand-new effort, whatever. Any model - sci-fi preferred, of course, but anything is fair game. All you have to do is say before Day 1 "I'm finishing x".

At the end of the month, send in images (see our Gallery guidelines) for posting here. And if you don't get done - well, you're eligible for the next month's challenge.

Show Your Colors ---- Downloadable T-Shirt Art

November 2007

Image: Closer

Image: Left/front view

Image: Left/rear

Image: Rear

Image: Above

Image: Underneath

Cylon Raider by Ken Florence

I finished the Howlin’ Wolf 1/24 scale TNS BSG Cylon Raider in just one month. The casting was crisp but the wings weren’t quite the same size and they were asymmetrically twisted. A dip in hot water and a lot of patience fixed it. I used automotive primer and automotive lacquers to paint it and covered it with several coats of future so it would be more durable.

Image: Steely-eyed determination

Image: Carefull!

British Infantryman 1991 by Dec Sibley

With the end of Op Banner in July 2007, and the British Model Soldier Society having a show within an hour drive, I thought it suitable to modify and mount a 120mm figure of a British soldier serving in Northern Ireland to display at the event. So within 2 weeks in November I created this little vignette.

As the packaging was long ago discarded I cannot say who manufactures the kit but it was a resin piece of a running infantryman with SA80 rifle in desert kit from the first Gulf War.

To change the pose from 'running man' to the awkward 'climbing over fence' stance, I modified his right arm completely and gave him a new hand. I also added fingerless gloves to both hands. The rifle needed a little work on the magazine, as it was too thin. A sling was also added. Barbed wire was scratched, as was a telegraph pole from a wooden coat hanger. The base is a polystyrene foam tile covered in wood filler set in a small picture frame. Once painted, broom bristles were added to the lower side of the fence and grass mat to the higher side. The telegraph pole has 'IRA' spelt out just as is seen in Crossmaglen. The letters are cut from thin sheets of wood sold for model boat decking. Railway scatter is added for moss. The figure was painted in enamels, the base elements in acrylics. A small brass plaque- Rural Patrols- finishes the piece.

Its tall shape makes it awkward to photograph but I hope these pictures convey the small scene.

Image: From the back

Dragon-God Gundam by Phil Gruver

Created by the resistance fighters of the L5 colony cluster, this Gundam's name is derived from the Chinese phrase "god dragon." The Shenlong Gundam's specialty is close-quarters fighting, using its spear-like beam glaive and the extendable "dragon fang" claw built into its right arm. The muzzle of the dragon fang also contains a pair of medium-range flamethrowers; the Shenlong can grasp an enemy mobile suit with its claw, then activate these flamethrowers to perform the scorching "dragon fang fire" attack.

Materials were corrugated cardboard, 1½“ thick Owens-Corning Foamular Insulpink insulation foam, foam rubber and Velcro from a fabric store, Elmer’s (white) glue, epoxy adhesive, 3M transfer adhesive, reinforcing tape, aluminized black Kapton tape, spray paints from Michael’s, blue and green construction paper, paper towel, Vano liquid starch, shredded newspapers, and (yes) those little paper cups from Starbucks.

I started by building up the torso armor out of corrugated cardboard. The front and back shells were measured out, cut and folded. Brackets also made of cardboard to hold the fold angles were bonded down with transfer adhesive. Strips of foam rubber were cut out and then bonded down with transfer adhesive to line inside of the shell at the cut outs for the neck and arms. At the cutouts, the foam rubber was then covered with a layer of paper towel bonded down with transfer adhesive. The paper towel surface was required because the blue spray paint would not adequately adhere to the foam rubber itself. The cutouts were then trimmed with aluminized Kapton tape. Velcro was attached with transfer adhesive at the shoulders and sides to mate the front and back shells. Elmer’s glue was used to stake the corners of the Velcro. I then spray painted the exterior blue.

The red chest pack was carved from insulation, coated with Elmers glue, spray painted red, trimmed in black and aluminized Kapton tape and then glued to the torsoe. Once the overall shape of the foam pieces were cut out I then sanded the edges of the foam with course sandpaper and sealed the foam with 2 layers of undiluted Elmer’s glue. The Elmer’s glue does two things: it hardens the foam which can easily be dented and provides a surface safe to use an aerosol spray which would otherwise eat the foam. I waited about a day for the glue to cure before spraying with paint. Similarly, the back pack was carved foam. An empty tape roll, a yogurt cup and Starbucks paper cups formed the propulsion module. The backpack is attached to the torso back shell with Velcro.

The waist skirts were also made from cardboard spray painted white and blue and were attached to the torso with velcro.

The shield was made from a plastic plate from a local Una Mas restaurant painted in blue and gold spray paint. A channel through with the lower left arm passes was made from folded cardboard, lined with foam rubber was glued to the back of the shield.

The aforementioned dragon fang claw on the right arm was made from folded cardboard, painted white and blue and trimmed in black Kapton tape. The claw was wrapped in aluminized Kapton tape.

The shoulder “minarets” (for lack of a better label) were constructed from cardboard with a channel lined with foam rubber through which the upper arm passes through. Painted white, each was trimmed in black Kapton tape and blue and green construction paper.

Construction of the helmets was done last. The shell was constructed by wrapping strips of newspaper dipped in liquid starch around a balloon. I applied about 3 or 4 layers of strips. The balloon was then hung and allowed to dry for about a day in the sun. I then cut the shell into the shape I wanted. The edges of the helmet was stiffened by gluing in strips of foam rubber lined with paper towel. The “fins” on the helmet were constructed from insulation foam coated in Elmer’s Glue. The shell was painted flat white trimmed in black Kapton tape and green construction paper. The emblem was cut from two layers of cardboard sandwiched together and wrapped in aluminized Kapton tape.

Total construction time was 30 hours over 5 days. It was completed the day before Halloween.

Image: Scale reference

FireFlash by Phil Gruver

My son and I were watching The Thunderbirds (TOS) DVD two weeks ago and decided to build a 3-foot model of the FireFlash.

The plan was to build up a toy that was sturdy enough to withstand the aerodynamic forces imparted by a 6-year old steering a bicycle with one hand while holding the airplane with the other and be easily reparable. The model was made entirely from corrugated cardboard, 1½“ thick Owens-Corning Foamular Insulpink insulation foam, Elmer’s (white) glue, 3M transfer adhesive, Krylon spray paints, black construction paper and wood dowels.

In general, seams were closed out with strips of ½” wide paper backed with transfer adhesive. The seams are visible upon close inspection but from a distance with several coats of paint are not really noticeable.

Shaun helped me rough out the model aircraft plan and side views on a large sheet of drafting paper. We then overlaid the paper over the cardboard and transferred the drawing by poking holes through the paper to the cardboard. We started with the fuselage which was simplified to a simple square cross section instead of a circular cross-section. Cutouts were put in the fuselage the canards, wings and tail.

The canard, wings and tail were constructed from two layers of corrugates cardboard with the stiffeners of each layer aligned orthogonal. Keeping things simple, we made no attempt to introduce any camber into the airfoils. The canard was one solid sandwich and the wing was also one solid sandwich. The tail was constructed from three pieces (port, starboard and top) folded into a V. The vertex of the V’s were brought together and the sides of each V glued the adjacent V. Elmers glue was inserted in the cardboard stiffeners near the vertex and allowed to cure for several hours before the edges were closed out. The glue made for a fairly stiff tail joint. The canards, wings and tail were then inserted through the fuselage cutouts and glues into place. The gaps around the cutout were closed with glue.

The tail mounted engines and winglets were also constructed from corrugated cardboard. Slots were cut in the corners of the engines to as to mount them to the tail pieces.

The model was primed in white paint and then painted light and dark blue. The nose was painted flat black. Decals for Air Terranean were color matched to the paint, printed out and then attached to the fuselage with transfer adhesive. Black construction paper was cut and bonded to the leading and aft faces of the tail mounted engines.

The aft landing gear wing pods were cut from insulation foam, coated with Elmers glue and spray painted blue. The Elmer’s glue does two things: it hardens the foam which can easily be dented and provides a surface safe to use an aerosol spray which would otherwise eat the foam. Wood dowel was inserted through the edge of the wings and glued in place within the cardboard stiffeners. Approximately 1” of each dowel sticks out the edge of the wing. Holes were then cut into the wing pods and the pods inserted over the wing dowels and glued into place.

Total construction time was 15 hours over 2 weekends.

The images below were created by Allison Cottreau especially for this challenge. They're ready for use - just download and print on iron-on transfer paper. They'll look best on white, light grey or light blue backgrounds.