YOULI
That which does not kill us makes us stronger !
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2011
- Messages
- 947
Here is my NX-04 Atlantis, a Refit Starship made from the same model than the NX-01 ENterprise (Star Trek Enterprise).
First thing first, what is this Starship ? :
NX-04 Atlantis
That was a beautiful project. I began it in 2005 or 2006. I bought it to some guy on E-bay, I thought it was a recast from the Bandai kit, but, no. It was a partial recast of the Art Asylum toy, a superb representation of the NX-01 I might add.
The idea was to do a Refit version of the NX-01, a logic evolution with a secondary hull like the TOS Enterprise. The plan was ingenious and very appealing but...
Here are some pictures I got from Ebay from the vendor.
You see the kit, built but not painted. As is when I received it.
You see the main hull and the part to cut... That will support the sensor dish.
Two shots of the kit built.
And here are the images of the parts prepared with love with, mainly, copper and black for the inside (If it was to be lighted) then grey for the hull (I was not totally sure about the color to apply). All the parts are resin made but... The warp engines.
What a nightmare. You'll understand it sooner or later. It's made in a rubber-like material, translucid, but maleable. So if you ever touch it, here is what you've got. It's no model kit material...
But I couragesly decided to move forward finding solution to paint it regardelssly. I used some regular permanent marker for the blue and red color, add some black on the engine, and used my truster Gundam marker for the silver look.
So, the blue and the red that will appear clear.
Then some black.
Then some steel marker from Gundam marker. And some gold here and there and some dry brush in silver... Here we go for the moment.
I made up my mind for a steel/metallic look like the NX-01, even though I will add some various metallic effect for the paneling.
All the parts are here, spray can painted.
The main hull have to be modified to eliminate the Sensor dish display. The main sensor dish have to be detailed also, but I have some Option Parts (Wave, Kotobukiya) in mind.
This part needs more attention than I thought, to level it up to the dish. A bad surprise than need to be fixed with Epoxy.
The pilones needs some attention too. They won't be straight and the blue resin are supposed to be illuminated. More epoxy needed here.
Here are the parts I will mask before glueing all together.
The work done, I'm asking myself how to find any decals for this scale and starship. I Think I may use the 1/1000 decals, Atlantis is on the decal sheet. And maybe some old Dry Transfer I've got for the identification name near the bridge.
The adjustement was a nightmare. The pining is made with simple pins, to strenghten all of the structure. Super glue and epoxy will have to do the trick...
The pilones are glued, ditto with the sensor dish, I added the option parts detail and it works perfectly. But the all starship need some attention to fit together. I'll have to fixe this one way or another.
I was kinda satisfied with the look of all this messy model kit, but all of this is fragile, and checking the fit, I discovered it will need more patience and work.
On the front the work is done. You can barely see the gap when the ancient sensor dish was.
But you can see that the main hull and the nacelles are not right, not the same level.
So more putty here, White Tamiya putty, finest and easy to sand afterward.
But beneath the main hull, the new part is too visible...
I cut too much. More putty here, more details glued, some windows from train modeling, photo etch parts...
All was on its way and then I decided to spray can with a new paint... It was a MESS... It's not made for modeling so get rid of it was a nightmare.
But I will find the way to build it correctly.
Never Give Up ! Never Surrender !!!
First thing first, what is this Starship ? :
NX-04 Atlantis
That was a beautiful project. I began it in 2005 or 2006. I bought it to some guy on E-bay, I thought it was a recast from the Bandai kit, but, no. It was a partial recast of the Art Asylum toy, a superb representation of the NX-01 I might add.
The idea was to do a Refit version of the NX-01, a logic evolution with a secondary hull like the TOS Enterprise. The plan was ingenious and very appealing but...
Here are some pictures I got from Ebay from the vendor.
You see the kit, built but not painted. As is when I received it.
You see the main hull and the part to cut... That will support the sensor dish.
Two shots of the kit built.
And here are the images of the parts prepared with love with, mainly, copper and black for the inside (If it was to be lighted) then grey for the hull (I was not totally sure about the color to apply). All the parts are resin made but... The warp engines.
What a nightmare. You'll understand it sooner or later. It's made in a rubber-like material, translucid, but maleable. So if you ever touch it, here is what you've got. It's no model kit material...
But I couragesly decided to move forward finding solution to paint it regardelssly. I used some regular permanent marker for the blue and red color, add some black on the engine, and used my truster Gundam marker for the silver look.
So, the blue and the red that will appear clear.
Then some black.
Then some steel marker from Gundam marker. And some gold here and there and some dry brush in silver... Here we go for the moment.
I made up my mind for a steel/metallic look like the NX-01, even though I will add some various metallic effect for the paneling.
All the parts are here, spray can painted.
The main hull have to be modified to eliminate the Sensor dish display. The main sensor dish have to be detailed also, but I have some Option Parts (Wave, Kotobukiya) in mind.
This part needs more attention than I thought, to level it up to the dish. A bad surprise than need to be fixed with Epoxy.
The pilones needs some attention too. They won't be straight and the blue resin are supposed to be illuminated. More epoxy needed here.
Here are the parts I will mask before glueing all together.
The work done, I'm asking myself how to find any decals for this scale and starship. I Think I may use the 1/1000 decals, Atlantis is on the decal sheet. And maybe some old Dry Transfer I've got for the identification name near the bridge.
The adjustement was a nightmare. The pining is made with simple pins, to strenghten all of the structure. Super glue and epoxy will have to do the trick...
The pilones are glued, ditto with the sensor dish, I added the option parts detail and it works perfectly. But the all starship need some attention to fit together. I'll have to fixe this one way or another.
I was kinda satisfied with the look of all this messy model kit, but all of this is fragile, and checking the fit, I discovered it will need more patience and work.
On the front the work is done. You can barely see the gap when the ancient sensor dish was.
But you can see that the main hull and the nacelles are not right, not the same level.
So more putty here, White Tamiya putty, finest and easy to sand afterward.
But beneath the main hull, the new part is too visible...
I cut too much. More putty here, more details glued, some windows from train modeling, photo etch parts...
All was on its way and then I decided to spray can with a new paint... It was a MESS... It's not made for modeling so get rid of it was a nightmare.
But I will find the way to build it correctly.
Never Give Up ! Never Surrender !!!
