Building the GCU Sokol, Part 15

December 24, 2012December 24, 2012 KenMcConnell2 Comments

Bottom Deck and Keel Details

This post will have many pictures. Cool, right? I went on a greeblie hunt and sacrificed a few armor models to get their parts. I parted out my 1/35 scale Hummer and a Russian T-72 tank. Combined with other junk on the parts desk and this is how it all looked when I was done.

Other things of note are the panel lines on the black PVC engine tubes and the scoring and plates added to the keel. It all looks like a huge mess unpainted, so I finally did a primer coat. Bingo, bango, we now have a starship.

That’s the SS Sokol in the background. Home from my office for the holidays. It all looks more ship-like after a primer coat. I put her in the vise so I could get these beauty shots of the primer.

Here’s a shot looking forward from the stern. Most of the details are washed out in this pic, but you can see how they look much better gray.

The side view all in gray on the bottom and sides. I like this shot. The gray is slightly darker than the SS Sokol, more battle hardened.

One last shot to show off the details. I had the garage door open and it let in sunlight. I’m pretty fond of the underside. For something I was dreading doing, it turned out pretty cool.

Top Side

Directly opposite the above shot of the bottom, is the top deck. This is a work in progress still, but you can see where I’m going with it. More tank parts and various smaller greeblies.

At this point I’m also detailing the poop deck, behind the main decks on top of the star drive tubes. This area is proving to be real fun to create with deck plates and various port holes, escape pods and such.

This side was slightly thinner than the other side, so I needed to make it thicker to match better. Poor boxing skills have I. To thicken it up, I added a wing from a 1/48 scale F-16 model and some U shaped stock. Then I started to add the deck plates and small details. Most of the smaller details are guns from Warhammer models.

Close up of the decks and details. You can see some of my tank tread escape pods packed in there where the people work. The orange pill bottle is of course a laser cannon turret.

Moving on up, to that deluxe apartment, in the sky. Well, maybe not but I do believe that little area is just about done. Well, that’s all for now. I’ll be working on it more this week as I’m off from the day job. I hope to get the upper decks finished this week. The final part to build is the starfighter hanger and that will be built up from scratch.

I’ll slap the head on it and take some pictures next time, so you can see how the finished ship might look.

Building the GCU Sokol, Part 13

December 9, 2012 KenMcConnellLeave a comment

Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13

Starboard Details

This weekend I finished up the starboard sides with details on the stern gun pod and the main guns. I went with a single gun turret on top and will put another on the bottom later.

Here’s the finished stern gun pod. I tried to match it to the port version as much as possible and allowed for some variation due to repairs and such. The plan is to put thin panels on top of the black PVC tubes. That will come later on in the build. I’m particularly fond of the thin line of details above the gun ports.

This is the start of detailing on the starboard main gun decks. The rails are up and now on to the gun pits. Computer nerds may recognize the tan piece as an old rail for PC cases. The washer is protecting an open gun port.

Here we are mostly complete and looking a bit smoother than the port side. I like to make the sides a bit different, again due in part to maintenance and upgrades in progress.

Ignoring the pretty star pattern of spray paint on the black engine tubes, this is the detail inside the area behind the gun deck. I think we can stick some more tidily bits in there yet. Yes, that’s the handle of a disposable razor (green).

This is a top view showing both completed stern gun pods. Starting to come together. That empty area behind the top secondary deck is where I’m going to build a hangar deck and launch pad for the squadron of starfighters that are based on the Sokol. I know, insane.

Going Inverted

Reason you don’t glue the head on until you’re finished; so you can use the neck to hold the model in a vise while you detail the bottom. That movie slate was built by yours truly for use in a feature film from my past. I used to be an Assistant Cameraman.

Bottom’s up!

Working on the keel. Staying traditional with scoring and panels. A few details where I can get away with it and keep it flat.

Close up of the panel scoring on the bottom of the keel. I’ve only just started this process, so things will change. I stowed the kids bikes in the garage, which means I can get two cars inside and still have room to work at my bench. You can see my portable heater on the cement floor in one of these shots.

Building the GCU Sokol, Part 10

November 23, 2012December 3, 2012 KenMcConnellLeave a comment

Part 11 | Part 12

Detailing the Head

In the past 24 hours I’ve focused most of my efforts on the bow and bottom of the Sokol’s head. I’ve used parts obtained from my good friend Nate’s old Warhammer models for most of this detailing.

You may have noticed the swank new cutting mat. Yeah, it’s fine. I also worked hard on the bottom of the head. I added two gun turrets to the bottom, along with tracking sensors. One of the sensors is exposed for maintenance.

It’s a bit hard to tell in this pic, but I also scored some lines on the bottom and then added little square pieces of plastic. The orange piece is a greeblie acquired last week from the dollar store. It makes a great lower deck.

The last thing I started, but didn’t finish was the port main guns. I was able to add some strips of detail to the top and bottom and added some struts and greeblies. But most of this will get covered by armor plates. I’ll show you what I mean after I build it.