Subscribers’ Gallery – Sci-Fi

This is in 1:35th scale, made of plastic, and has got a great deal of detail on it. The painting is a base coat of Humbrol Olive Drab, coated with successive layers of acrylics blended in and streaked as though it has been exposed to the elements on different planets. I wish I’d fitted lights to it as I was building it, it would be difficult now to do that, maybe on the next one…!

This is the Dragon 1:48th scale pre-painted kit of the craft. I applied some pin washes to the craft.

Ian R.

Here’s another of my Lockdown projects – the very impressive 1:72 scale B-Wing from Star Wars and manufacturer Bandai. These Bandai kits are excellent quality.

Gav B.

I built this a few years ago, the FineMolds 1:144th scale Millennium Falcon.

The model was built out of box except for closed up undercarriage and crew in the cockpit.

The “asteroid” is a piece of polystyrene with craters made from PVA (white glue) soaked tissue and then after a liberal coating of more PVA all over the asteroid some fine grit scattered on. After drying it was suitably painted and pastelled with Falcon attached.

Ian R.

Revell Easykit
These excellent little kits are designed to be snap-together but the surface detail is so good they deserve more than that! I think when I purchased a couple of them they were only £5 each.

• The cockpit was detail painted and assembled, together with the figure of Darth Vader
• I then carefully glued together the individual assemblies; cockpit and central pod and left and right wings
• The black pre-painted radiator panels were masked off and the cockpit front and top openings blanked off
• The entire craft was then sprayed with Humbrol 196 light grey
• When completely dry the model was given a wash of Tamiya Smoke (X-19) thinned 1:1 with water
• This brought out all the surface detail
• The masking was then removed and the wings glued to the central pod
• The front glazing and top glazing were then glued in position and all that remained was to paint the tips of the two laser cannons red.

Roger B.

When I started this Bandai kit, I really wanted to replicate the detail effect on the box of the grey areas of detail, and that was the aim. At this point tho’, I didn’t know how…….

The ‘build’ took very little time, and it is actually only ‘push-fitted’ together, no glue involved. It was all undercoated first, and the interior detail had a Vallejo dark grey wash applied. Edges were dry-brushed, and then it was assembled.

To achieve the detail effects on the outside, I realised that all that was needed was a 0.7mm technical pencil, its the perfect colour and a constant width. The problem was keeping a technically symmetrical effect, and the only way to do this was make a ‘jig’.

This would allow the ‘orb’ to rotate freely, and giving me a solid flat surface from pole-to-pole to be able to apply the lines intermittently around the surface.

It worked like a charm, when finished, I quickly matt-varnished the thing, to prevent smudging, and picked out a few details with a yellow pencil to try and show tiny lights.

Its a lovely little thing. All done.
Dave S.

Model is the MPC 22inch long kit, and is beautifully moulded, sharp detail, parts fit as advertised although some are a tight fit. The key with this kit is to ensure the girder work parts are straight and or correct angle otherwise you might have problems. The kit instructions explain clearly how everything attached, some sections are built following the build in instructions don’t skip steps.

I didn’t modify the model, no need, just built it straight from the box. I primed the exterior in Matt black then applied white, the panels were applied after. I lightly weathered the model using pin washes of oil paints.

I love the iconic shape of this craft and will definitely look at building the freighter version that’s recently been released.

The Eagle Transporter is a fictional spacecraft seen in the 1970s British television series Space: 1999. The Eagles serve as the primary spacecraft of Moonbase Alpha, which has a fleet of them, and are often used to explore alien planets, defend Moonbase Alpha from attack, and to transport supplies and other items to and from the Moon. The Eagle was designed by Brian Johnson, who had worked with Gerry Anderson on Thunderbirds in the mid-1960s and had produced the spacecraft for the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Eagle spacecraft influenced the spaceship designs of Star Wars and other science fiction films and television series.

The Incom T-65 X-wing starfighter was the primary all-purpose starfighter of the Rebel Alliance and its successor governments. Known for its versatility and excep-tional combat performance, it was a favourite with Rebel and New Republic pilots. Possessing deflector shields, a hyperdrive, an R2 Astromech for repairs and navi-gation, and a complement of proton torpedoes.

This model is from Bandai in 1:72 scale.

This is my 1:100 scale Galbaldy completed. Hope you like it?

Little by little progress is now complete. Some of the cursor color was a little hard and I had help with production of the wooden base. Thank you

Here is my completed bust of General Adept Sebastian Nemo – hope you like it.

Best wishes, Andrey D.

Finished the 1:48th scale Bandai kit on its scenic base. Lovely, highly detailed parts, well fitting and quick to build.

Made a nice change from usual work commissions!
Ian R.

Here is an Imperial Knight; this machine stands taller than a house and is piloted by one person, for this specific Knight the pilot and machine belong to a House called Terryn (feudal style aristocratic house in a futuristic setting), the Imperial Knights operate under the Imperium of Man.

My Imperial Knight is from the hugely popular Warhammer 40,000 genre…

“Warhammer 40,000 (informally known as Warhammer 40K, WH40K or simply 40K) is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a dystopian science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1987 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics. Expansions for Warhammer 40,000 are released periodically which give rules for urban, planetary siege and large-scale combat. The game is in its eighth edition, which was released on June 17, 2017” (from Wikipedia).

Anthony M.

This is the Boeing entry for the Joint Strike Fighter the X-32, it lost. Italeri produced an example of a little gem of a kit in 1:72 scale. I decided to build the model as a ‘what if’ in Fleet Squadron markings from the spares box.

I also had to modify the nose undercarriage to two wheels not one and add a catapult bar. The model is set positioned on the launch catapult about to launch.

Master Yoda is a limited run 70mm scale figurine cast in fine white metal including the base. The figure is part of a growing series of subjects from the Star Wars Universe manufactured under licence by Knight Models of Spain. The figure is cleanly cast with amazing surface detail, and once assembled and primed was painted using both acrylic and oil paints along with some dried plant material I have on hand for scenic bases.
Ian R.

From the film starring Clint Eastwood, the MiG-31 “Firefox” certainly looked the part. This is the 1:72 Anigrand kit.

Alex C.

“CLOSER TO ONE OF THE BIG ONES”
This is the excellent Finemolds kit of the Millennium Falcon in 1:144th scale (approx 8 ¾ inches in length). The model was built in “flight” skimming the surface of an asteroid from “Empire Strikes Back“. My only gripe was that although the cockpit interior is visible no figures are supplied. These were sourced from “N” gauge railway figures and painted to look like Han, Chewie, Leia and 3PO.
The asteroid is a piece of polystyrene cut to shape with a “hot wire” gun. Then the craters were made from PVA soaked tissue paper. Once dry the whole was covered in PVA glue and received a layer of very fine dust to add texture. After drying it was sprayed a rock colour and a light dusting of pastel chalk.
Ian R.

Battlestar Galactica was reimaging in 2003 by Ronald D. Moore from the original 1978 series created by Glen A. Larson. Basically the overall story is the same for both series; the notable difference for the new series went with a military theme, redesigned and updated ships from the 1978 original series.

Moebius Models released an all new kit of the reimaged Battlestar Galactica in 1/4105 scale, which is in scale with the original Battlestar Galactica kit that was made by Monogram. The Moebius Battlestar comes in 68 pieces, molded in light grey plastic styrene and has clear parts for the option of lighting the kit.

The detail of the kit is fantastic and sharp crisp molding (no flash). The garage bays are about the only thing that does not have any detail in this area. After examination, snipping parts off and test fitting, I have only one complaint with the model and that is the injector pins. For the experience to the intermediate modeler this is not a problem. Snip them off with sprue cutters and you are good to go. However the novice modeler may see them and think they are part of the kit and not get a good experience with the model.

Since the Battlestar model kit can accommodate lighting, I decided to light my Battlestar. I wired up some simple blue LEDS to a 9 volt battery and a switch, which leads me to the base.

With the great photo etch detail set from Paragrafix for the Moebius Battlestar kit, I kit bashed the name – Atlantis BS-99 of the 99th Battlestar Group. This is why I love science fiction modeling, the fantasy and endless possibilities.

Moebius’s Battlestar Galactica kit is outstanding! It is in my book the “unofficial” kit of the year. I highly recommend this kit to any modeler of any skill level. It is an excellent model to have in any collection. So say we all…

Brad Hair | http://www.bradhairproductions.com/

The Revell 1:8 Astronaut on the Moon is an old classic. With a very small parts count the build is a simple affair, however the amount of filling and sanding of the body, arms and legs was a serious put off. The figure ended up on the proverbial “shelf of doom” for over a year before picking it back up and getting it finished.

Pre-shading and drybrush highlights enhance the spacesuit and the visor is coated in Alclad Holographic Chrome. Some small scratch building of the hoses and connections just detail up what is a very basic model.

The section of Lunar Lander leg is covered in tinfoil prior to painting and adding retaining straps. The base was coated in watered down PVA glue before a liberal sprinkling of Baby Powder to give a more fine dust appearance, before various shades of gray are sprayed at random over the surface.
Enjoyable in the end, Mick S.

“Victory or Death”
This character is called an “Ancient”, as you can see this figure acts as a Standard Bearer for the Chapter, inspiring his battle brothers. The white arms of the Raven Guard Chapter of the past three models indicate their veteran status.

Chaplain
This type of character is called a Chaplain, mixing the religious iconography and mysticism of fantasy or medieval Europe within a futuristic setting, the Chaplains role is to ensure that recruits transition to full marines, oversea their metal and spiritual health (although not religious in any real sense) as well as being a powerful melee fighter and inspiring presence on the battlefield. Chaplains are always clad in black armour regardless of their chapter, usually bearing the Chapter symbol on their left shoulder alone.

Librarian (Blue Sword)
This is a Librarian; these individuals not only keep the lore and history of the Chapter, but are also the only units whom possess powerful psychic and telekinetic abilities, making them some of the most dangerous individuals in the field. Librarians usually wear blue power armour regardless of their Chapter, bearing the Chapter symbol on their left shoulder much like the Chaplain.

Apothecary
This is an Apothecary; he is no usual medic, instead it is his responsibility to harvest the “gene-seeded” organs from his fallen battle brothers, to ensure that the “gene-seed” (genetically modified material) of his Chapter is protected to be used again in raising new marines for future battles.

As with the past two special characters; Apothecaries often forgo wearing their Chapters colours and instead clad themselves in white power armour.

Brother Captain (Yellow)
The above is a Brother Captain of the Imperial Fists Chapter, Captain being the highest rank in a Chapter 2nd only to that of Chapter Master; Captains are in command of entire companies, of which each Chapter consists of 10.

Captain of the Crimson Fists Chapter
As with the previous model (same model) this is a Captain of the Crimson Fists Chapter.

Captain of the Blood raven Chapter
Lastly we have a Captain of the Blood Raven Chapter.

Here’s my Naboo Fighter from Star Wars Episode One The Phantom Menace. The kit is from Fine Molds in 1:72nd scale and is a little gem of a kit.

This is my 100% scratchbuilt replica of the Nebuchadnezzar, the magnificent ship from “The Matrix” movie. Half vessel half plane, this hovercraft design shocked me since the very first moment I saw it on the screen.

I made it as a commission for a very good fellow modeler from Nebraska. In fact I convinced him of choosing this model instead of his original idea of building another Galactica as it was his first intention (sorry for that! Hope it was worthwhile)

The electromagnetic levitation disks that conform its propulsion system are one of the most amazing ideas that I’ve ever seen for a Sci-Fi ship. And weirder that is the fact that its common route are the sewage pipes and subway tunnels of destroyed human cities in an indefinite future.