Star Trek - USS DEFIANT

This is the USS Defiant as featured in Star Trek DS9. I completed the model some time ago and the basic construction was very simple, however the paint job was a different kettle of fish altogether.

I think this was one of the first models I used filler to any effect. The basic construction was quick but left a few joins around the edge so I used a ready mixed filler that dries when exposed to the air. Most model makers seem to favour car filler so I might look at this in the future. The problem was the details on the model surface got sanded away which made painting difficult.

When I came to painting the Defiant I first sprayed it grey to give a good surface for the rest of the details, then I started to pick out the other colours, but as I said, most of the boundaries had been sanded away so I used masking tape to try and recreate them. It soon came apparent that I could not be as accurate as the original lines so I decided on a new tactic.

I decided to go for a really dirty looking ship which meant the lines did not have to be perfect. I just imagined the Defiant had visited a particularly inhospitable planet and had to take the ship down to the surface and landed in a swamp. Of course they haven't found a Spaceship wash yet!
Bottoms Up !This is the Bottom of the Defiant with some of the white windows just about visible. I used gloss white enamel on these so they would stand out more against the matt weathered look of the rest of the ship.

Once I had decided on this approach I could then be a bit more careless with the blue and yellow panels knowing I could hide the lines with dirty washes later.

This was a great project for learning new techniques but I think I would like another crack at it just to make a 'cleaner' Defiant that Sisko would be proud of ! The decals were quite difficult on this model because the was a lot of long, red lines which have to be kept straight.

I like the finished result but I love the shape of this ship more than it's paint job. I am sure this would be how the Millennium Falcon would look if it was designed in the nineties, it's got that 'Hot Rod' look about it.

DLP Guitars - Handmade in Birmingham, England

Star Wars - Tie Interceptor

This is a ETRL/MPC model I made quite a few years ago. I photographed it with an old 35mm camera and scanned the image when the film was developed. (which was what prompted me to buy my first digital camera!) I then cut out the shape of the ship using Adobe Photoshop and adjusted the color balance slightly. You can see the yellow glow of my bedside lamp in the cockpit window. I then found an image of the awsome comet Hale-Bopp and merged the two in Photoshop to create the final image.

As you can see from the original photo the join in the cockpit was very pronounced. Nowadays I would fill these in but I used to have very little patience.

The comet is Hale-Bopp but it could be a Rebel Cruiser burning up in the planets atmosphere! This Tie Interceptor must also be modified to operate in the planets atmosphere as well as space!

(c)2009 David Pagett

Star Wars - Boba Fett's Slave-1

Star Wars - Boba Fett - Slave 1 (Modified Firespray Patrol Attack Ship)

This is Boba Fett's heavily modified Firespray patrol and attack ship Slave 1. It is scared with battle damage and every mark tells a different story of a thrilling escape or spectacular shoot out deep in space. I enjoyed this model because it is so different to anything else I have ever made. Most star ships resemble aircraft in some shape of form but Slave 1 breaks all the rules. The cockpit moves depending if the ship is in space upright or lying on it's back in a docking bay.

The two 'wings' move on my model but I glued the cockpit in the space configuration. The cargo hold can also be left open to show a tiny Hans Solo encased in Carbonate, but I sealed the door shut. I used a micro-drill to make some small holes in the hull to simulate Blaster damage, the holes do look really good close up. I spent quite some time on the paint job but it is not completely accurate. The movie slave 1 has a different corrosion pattern, mine is blurred, theirs is sharper as though the paint has flaked off, but I still like my paint scheme.

DLP Guitars - Handmade in Birmingham, England

Star Wars - Snow Speeder

This is the AMT/ETRL snow speeder model photographed and scanned, then touched up with Adobe Photo-Shop and finally super imposed over an icy picture. The lens flair was added using Photo-shop.

The original background shows two brave skiers watching an avalanche which was perfect for a crash site. I suppose two storm troopers would have looked better. You will also notice the pilot and co-pilot are not in their usual orange uniforms, I don't think you could hide from imperial storm troopers in the snow dressed like a tangerine !

This is the original photo. As you can see the colour balance was way too yellow and I also added some weathering and some smoke from the exhausts. I also cloned some of the snow and lapped it around the edge of the vehicle to make it look buried.

All the brake flaps move on this model and the harpoon gun rotates although I have not done anything to the bottom because you never see under there anyway.

Star Wars - Naboo Starfighter

Star Wars Naboo Starfighter

A few years ago I got the Naboo Starfighter Die cast kit made by AMT/ETRL. The first thing I noticed about the model was the weight of the box and its contents. I have only ever used injection molded kits which are feather light in comparison. The second thing is the price, twice as much as the regular plastic kit of the same subject. The first thing that greets you is the excellent artwork on the cover of the box. This would seem to be a stock picture because it also appears in the book, Star Wars Episode 1, The Visual Dictionary.

The parts inside the box are all well wrapped to protect them from bumps and knocks that may occur in transit. The only problem I had was with the tiny screws, there packet was open and one screw had got lost somewhere along the line. I don't think it would have cost too much to put a couple of spares in the kit, they are very tiny and easily misplaced.

All the die cast parts are pre painted yellow or silver and some of the plastic parts in the kit are painted yellow as well. The only painting and assembly work needed is on the pilot and cockpit and the R2 unit. I detailed and completed the necessary work in no time, then I removed the pre painted plastic parts from the tree they are still attached to. This is a bit of a pain because it leaves a nasty little bump which I had to file down and then find some yellow paint of a similar hue to dab over the blemish. The final stage is just the simple process of screwing all the parts together and plugging the screw holes with the stops provided. And that is it, the job is done. With a normal plastic kit I would be painting and filling for days, but this kit is not intended to be like that. I could always go and buy the plastic kit if I wanted to go down that road.

DLP Guitars - Handmade in Birmingham, England