Trojan IV Naval Yard Gets Busy (July 12, 2011)

How about wire and foil? Imagine modeling each 'wing' in a computer - use the wire as a wireframe mesh for each bent surface (solder works great for this, or copper wire) and then 'wrap' the frame with thin foil (think wine bottle foil.) You can then bend and smooth the foil until it is taught, smooth and into the shape that you'd like.

If you're concerned about straying from paper, the other thing I've done for dioramas is use steam to help soften and bend paper into shape (usually for large rocks, tree trunks, or other background items.)Even a morning shower is enough to get thin cardboard pliable!

My only other thought would be some kind of paper mache type approach with lighter weight tissues, though I must confess I don't have experience with this medium and so wouldn't be much help.
 
ELTEE said:
How about wire and foil? Imagine modeling each 'wing' in a computer - use the wire as a wireframe mesh for each bent surface (solder works great for this, or copper wire) and then 'wrap' the frame with thin foil (think wine bottle foil.) You can then bend and smooth the foil until it is taught, smooth and into the shape that you'd like.

If you're concerned about straying from paper, the other thing I've done for dioramas is use steam to help soften and bend paper into shape (usually for large rocks, tree trunks, or other background items.)Even a morning shower is enough to get thin cardboard pliable!

My only other thought would be some kind of paper mache type approach with lighter weight tissues, though I must confess I don't have experience with this medium and so wouldn't be much help.
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I'm actually considering doing something a little more simple. I'm heading out to Hobby Lobby to see what I can find after work today. Basically, I'm thinking if I can find a big enough card board tube, or even a large 2 liter bottle, I can draw the wings flat and then trace them onto the tube. When I cut it out, it will hopefully retain it's curve. That way I can have the exact same curve on both wings. I'll have to play around with it. Wire frame is a good suggestion though. Maybe I'll have to tear apart a couple of hangers :)
 
You asked for a better camera, you got it. I was able to steal this camera from my girlfriend and upload some hopefully better pictures. As you can see, the glue is still drying on the pylon/wing things. I'll have to let it dry overnight. Enjoy the pics!
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This is coming along very quickly. I'm going to try to upload some high quality pics of the model tonight. I've gotten the basic structure of the nacelles pretty much complete. This thing could be finished by next week. Now I have to think about what to create next. Any suggestions. I'm thinking maybe an Exeter or Confederation Class. Maybe even Howard Day's Tolmacs class if I can dig up a few images of that.
 
Here's a couple of glamour shots of the model. As you can see, I've completed the basic structure of the nacelles. The second shot is a little blurry, but it looks like a glow is coming from inside the hangar so I decided to keep it. You can see a little Hornet on the runway if you look closely. I'll have to paint that when I'm done with the Claw. I have to say I'm pretty proud of how this has turned out so far. Soon she'll be ready to defend the Terran Confederation.

Side Note: Those are toy bullets you can in one image, don't worry, I'm not a gun nut or whatever. It was part of my Halloween costume :D
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I've done one POV landing shot. Enjoy.
 
Surfing around the site the last couple of days made me want to get started on finishing this project. It's been almost a year of on-and-off work, and I've been crazy busy but I'm committed to really finishing her off soon.

Here is some of the work that I did on the turrets. I eventually settled on a combination of washers, magnets and some spokes I ripped out of an old heat sink. They can be turned 360 degrees but unfortunately they don't point up or down. I may need to add more to the underside of the ship and to the nacelles, but that can be done later.
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These turrets are massive when you think about the scale, but I kind of like that. I want to feel like a carrier of this size and power could easily lay waste to entire cities from or poorly shielded fleets. They also don't match Howard's design, but I just didn't have the skill to produce that. I alternated the paint scheme so that they would stand out and look better based on what part of the ship they were mounted.
 
Im loveing this wish I had the skill to do it I see you have the Galactica in the background I have the same one did have the mk2 viper but my old housemate knocked it out of the window it died that day
 
Youngblood said:
Im loveing this wish I had the skill to do it I see you have the Galactica in the background I have the same one did have the mk2 viper but my old housemate knocked it out of the window it died that day
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Haha yeah I probably need to be more careful about including other vessels in my pics. Sorry to hear about the Viper, I have the same one on my bookshelf. Hopefully the pilot ejected before the viper hit the ground! I also built a paper craft Viper and Serenity (of course), if anybody is interested in seeing those I can post a few pics.
 
These look great! Anything you can continue to do to make the photos come out sharp and focused would be appreciated - these deserve to be clearly seen.
 
ChrisReid said:
These look great! Anything you can continue to do to make the photos come out sharp and focused would be appreciated - these deserve to be clearly seen.
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Ok, here are some better pics. You can probably see A LOT of the imperfections in the model, which I hope to clean up before I'm finished. Although some of the roughness appeals to me, as I want the claw to look like she's been through hell and taken some heavy torpedo hits. A ship with the history of the Claw would have undergone loads of repairs over her career. Hopefully these pics are a little more enjoyable. The camera on my Ipod touch is really a piece of crap, and that's what I usually have access to. If anybody knows anything about photographing models, give me a few tips, as I am lost!
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