Omega 7 Columbia Helicarrier MkIV

[Grendels]

Nice update! How do you like the Bondo!

 

[Junkie]

Wow, that's a nice big update Q. Looking cool. This is a nice scale you went with.

 

[cargoman5126]

Great progress.... Looks incredible... Can't wait for more....

 

[Quaralane]

Thanks muchly, guys.

And, John? The Bondo actually worked better for me than Squadron. Definitely cures faster than Aves, which is the biggest reason I went with it

 

[Grendels]

I like it better as well.

 

[Junkie]

I've used Bondo alot and provided you let it fully cure it works great.

 

[Quaralane]

Definitely right on that, Scott.
And she's being built at 1/700 scale. I wanted her big, and wanted to be able to find planes for her

 

[The Chaos]

very Great Job Dude.

 

[Quaralane]

Thanks, Chaos

Time for a quick update on this:

Using 1mm styrene, I cut and placed the detail strips for the hoverfan mounts



Once I'd trimmed those and cleared the openings again, I installed the fan mounts themselves


Again with 1mm sheet styrene, I built up the "CIC" section for the lower hull.
(Think of this as being like Fury's "command center" from the Avengers version)


Using balsa to set the spacing, I attached the main engines to the back of the lower hull



While I figure out how I want to fill the main engine section, I used Bondo on the seams for the CIC section


Using five thicknesses of balsa, I created the core for what will become the island on the flight deck


I then skinned that with 1mm styrene sheet.
The seams on this will be filled and sanded before I go in and add the first of the details


Youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uacGV29f6Tc

 

[Scrach]

Looking great, keep at it!

 

[Papermodder]

I love seeing something come from nothing.
This is coming along nicely Patrick.
I'm following.

Jim

 

[Quaralane]

Thank you, Scrach.

Thank you, too, Jim.
Definitely interesting to see it evolve from the scrap pile on my bench into this

 

[Grendels]

It is starting to take shape and look good!

 

[Quaralane]

Thanks, John.
Just have a couple of things to figure out, and then it's on for the final push

 

[JohnSimmons]

Great stuff Q this is really interesting stuff mate.

 

[Quaralane]

Thanks muchly, John

 

[Unreality]

Very inspiring scratch-build. One day, I've got to try my hand at something that takes up the entire bench.

 

[Quaralane]

It's definitely a different way to go at things, Unreality.
Sometimes, though, it's the only way to get what you want.

Time for a LONG overdue update on my progress with the Helicarrier build.

The flow here in the written version will be a LOT better than the "all over the place" from the video

Picking up with the deck island, I marked out the levels and locations for the viewing levels in pencil, and then glued a piece of Evergreen "L" channel into place to hold the top plates in place.
These were then angle cut to accomodate the filler pieces



Using 1mm styrene, I cut the filler pieces to fill the angle I was looking for



With those cut and sanded to the proper shapes, I filled the seams with Squadron green putty and sanded the assembly


Using strips of electrical tape cut to the proper width, I placed the viewing area windows.
WIth those in place, I used a sharp blade to cut the window frames into the strips.
I also cut smaller pieces of tape to stand in for the man hatches at the base


I cut the circular disks for the hover fans. Then, based on my original plan, I drilled out the centers for the eventual motor mounts.


There was a change of plan as I figured out how I wanted to work the mounts.
Starting with some strips of balsa, I created a basic form for what I was now looking to do.
The center is formed from the end of a syringe, and the details were filled in with clay.
The plan is to cut them down to the right diameter for the insides of the particular fans


With the master built, I made a silicone mold to use in casting the necessary mounts for the ship


Now, in a MAJOR retrofit from what I'd done previously, I decided that the previous build of the main engines was WAY too big for what I was going for.
So, I cut the previous engines from the back of the ship and started over.
Using the centers from the old engines, I made new mounts from 1mm styrene. The caps were epoxied to the back plates, while I used Tamiya extra thin cement to glue the other piece into place


After cutting rear plates for these new assemblies from balsa, I then skinned them with 1mm styrene


Seams were filled with Bondo


The new assembly was put together along with some balsa cut for the center supports.
I figured I'd leave them long to act as a bit of added detail to the back


This new assembly was then glued into place on the back of the ship, and the back plate was trimmed to shape



The rather large gap was then filled with balsa scrap to give it structure while saving the weight that filling with Aves would have created



This was then shaped in roughly with the drum sander in my Dremel


That was then filled with Bondo and sanded, followed by a second treatment using Squadron green putty


This was then sanded down, and the exposed wood was treated with Testors tube cement to seal the wood



Youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H87yXM7oc2Q

 

[Papermodder]

I like how it's coming, Patrick.

Jim

 

[Quaralane]

Thank you, Jim
Looking much better with the new engines