Halcyon Narcissus Escape Shuttle

Thundergod

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Jul 26, 2013
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As well as my recent re-vamps of the Halcyon APC and Sulaco , I've also been reworking the Narcissus Shuttle . To cut a long story short , the model was originally abandoned 20-odd years ago when a faulty spray can caused the model to be flooded with thick , white enamel which at the time was next to impossible to remove without destroying the model . Cut to the present and I took a risk with a paint removal product which after a couple of days work , was pretty successful in stripping the offensive paint away .
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I was able to break down the model into it's components ( a fortuitous side effect of using crap cement all those years ago !) before stripping the paint and basically re-building the model from step one .
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I was quite concious of again flooding the model with paint ( and ruining the nicely scribed panel detail) , so instead of using primer , I gradually built up the base coat with a can of white semi-gloss acrylic ( my airbrushes are out of action at the moment ).
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Anyone familiar with this kit will be aware of its' shortcomings , which mostly concern the terrible fit of the engines . I used a combination of putty and styrene strip to try and disguise the joins as best I could and replaced the panels on the top of the engines with sheet styrene .
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At one point I considered lighting the model and scratchbuilding a proper interior , but as I'm not currently interested in a long-term project , I decided to keep it simple and just go for a straight rebuild . I've used a simple black acrylic wash ( with a drop of added washing up liquid ) for the weathering , letting the mix dry about 75% before wiping away the excess and letting it dry for a good 12 hours before going at it with a very worn piece of sanding pad . I'd previously tried a more subtle approach with varying shades of grey pastels in a wash , but wasn't satisfied with the results and found that the more basic approach was the better . I'm currently looking into some custom decals , which gives me the time to work on weathering the model a little section at a time .
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Wow...thats a blast from the past!!

Looking great Thundergod, good that you've recovered her

.....now funny enough, I am working on restoring this kit at the minute also

J
 
I seem to remember that it got a bit of bad press at the time for being inaccurately shaped ( it turns out a lot of this was based on the fact that people were looking at the forced perspective model used for filming ! ) , but it's actually pretty damn close to the studio model . The only problem I had was with the fit of the engines . The nose isn't a great fit either , but this just takes a little bit of work to sort out . On the subject on the "nose" , it's worth pointing out that the two "lights" on that part , are actually thrusters ( Halcyon even provided clear parts for the lights !) and I need to add styrene tubing to the inside of the holes to replicate these . On the whole though , it's a great model and one I'm glad I claimed back from the "Box Of Shame " . ;)
 
Yeah mine was in that box also...the nose was broken off, the 2 flap things that hang at the back of the ship were off (one of them was in my greeblies box)

Last week I masked it all off, gave it a coat of primer then Pre-shaded it,......thats where it is now....

....grey


....like the rest of my models

John
 
Been busy lately , so not a lot of work done on the two Aliens models , but I've managed to get around to replacing the missing detail parts at the rear of the Narcissus . I used two thicknesses of styrene tube to replicate them and although a smidgeon too large in diameter , it's nothing noticeable . I also used more styrene tube to build the forward thrusters . Next , I'll tidy up the area with some filler as well as sort out a couple more areas that also need attention with the filler .
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Cool Thundered, that is a definite improvement,.....well worth the extra work

J
 
Thundergod-
Were you ever able to make up or obtain a better set of decals? The kit's are quite lacking...
 
Well , I was contacted ( through Facebook ) by a group who were producing a new set of decals due to there being a renewed interest in this kit , but I've not heard any developments . ::)
 
I've always wanted to build this kit, I did find a kit in Forbidden Planet a few years back for £30.00 really wished I picked it up when I did.

One day I'll find it again and make it.
 

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