DBMiller's 2001 Space Clipper

[DBMiller]

I don't think this needs any introduction at all. I doubt anyone hasn't at least heard of the film - 2001: A Space Odyssey - one of the best science fiction films of all time.
As well as being one of the best films it also has one of the most iconic scenes in all science fiction - the space clipper approach and arrival at the space station.




The kit - 1/160 scale:



















Decals:

There are no Pan Am markings!!!!!

There are only panel shading and a few other details! I had to order them from JT Graphics through CultTV Man. With shipping that was another $10.
Even the Airfix kit (which I have as well) came with the PanAm markings. WTF.



Oh, look. Me at my work bench.

[digger303]

[BigWall]

Hmmmmm. Looks like you're kit bashing

[Tomcat64]

I wonder if the lack of decals is down to licensing issues.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Nice project, welcome to the sig

Killing myself laughing at your ape pounding the bones comment

[DBMiller]

Nice project, welcome to the sig

Killing myself laughing at your ape pounding the bones comment

Ape? I'll have you know that is a selfie at my work bench!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Nice project, welcome to the sig

Killing myself laughing at your ape pounding the bones comment

Ape? I'll have you know that is a selfie at my work bench!

Nice, uhh hair
Might want to manscape a touch

[DBMiller]

Nice project, welcome to the sig

Killing myself laughing at your ape pounding the bones comment

Ape? I'll have you know that is a selfie at my work bench!

Nice, uhh hair
Might want to manscape a touch

You may be right - it's worse than the carpet monster when I drop a part!

[DBMiller]

I got an email that my Pan Am decals have shipped so it's time to get started!

First: clean up the major parts.



There is a support ridge along the major parts to keep the long seams aligned. It isn't perfect as I found out but better than nothing.





First parts glued!





Priming some areas before gluing - the window frames and the wing vents.



Speaking of wings - they are a bit warped. I'll have to glue them together carefully!





Here is the joint between the fuselage and the engine stage.



As I said, the seams still need work. The area around the cockpit and main window needs sanding and the nose is especially poor. The underside needs work too.

[Tomcat64]

Great to see this underway although it looks like there's going to be a decent amount of filling & sanding around the fuselage details on this one too.

[aur0ra145]

Looks like it's coming along!

[DBMiller]

The new decals are in! I still can't believe Moebius would get the license for the movie tie in but not the Pan Am logo.



Seams worked on. They are getting much better.





First coat of primer to test the seams. I'll likely paint the fuselage then install the windows. That way I won't have to mask them.

[aur0ra145]

Very good point about the Pan Am decals. They haven't been an airline in a hot minute either.

[Tomcat64]

Nice to see the decals have shown up and nice work sorting out those seams too

[DBMiller]

Second coat of primer on the main fuselage. Looking pretty good except for the nose intake. That will take some care to fix the seam.







The engine section. This thruster piece is supposed to go in this way but it looks wrong almost. And doesn't fit well.





Painting some of the inside primer black. Since there is no interior I want to make it dark inside the passenger cabin and behind the two ports on the engine section.







Next up - prime the engine section and install the windows!

[Tomcat64]

Nice, patient progress sorting out those seams... the thruster part looks really odd though

[DBMiller]

Since the lower wing section looks a bit warped I'm trying out a brace made from a piece of wood and many clips. I've only glued the edge along the inner part. I'll glue the outer seams once the wing is attached to the fuselage so I can see if the warp is gone.



Extra white around the window frames.





The engine section glued on! The tooth picks are to keep the rubber band from slipping.





Some Tamiya Smoke sprayed on the inside of the windows for tinting.

[DBMiller]

I'm so far behind in all my builds it's not funny! Summer is not my bag at the best of times and this year really got me. Too many days in the 90's and up with dense humidity. Plus work was getting me down badly.
Several days I got out of work to this!



Anyway, some of these shots were from weeks ago but never posted. Some are from yesterday when I finally got a chance to add some primer.

Windows in.





These wings...







Some tape and clamps - maybe it will settle things down?







I glued the inner portion of the wings first then the outer after that set up. I thought that might keep things aligned better. Here is the outer part of the wings clamped up.



A little primer!





A lot more primer! Almost set for paint!

[RangerNeil]

Looking good

[ForeverPlasticKits]

Space Clipper or futur airliner? The design of this space vessel is marvelous, have fun with the paint!

[digger303]

[Twokidsnosleep]

Summer kills my building too
Keep at it, I still have r2d2 to start and bb8 to finish

[Tomcat64]

Great to see you back at the bench with this one.

We've had similar temps over here so completely sympathise with the lack of motivation!

[DBMiller]

Great to see you back at the bench with this one.

We've had similar temps over here so completely sympathise with the lack of motivation!

I saw that the UK got hammered with high temps! Everyone could use a nice cool down about now!

[DBMiller]

Summer kills my building too
Keep at it, I still have r2d2 to start and bb8 to finish

I've even put in a few minutes on my Cousteau sea plane! Running out of time on that one.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Summer kills my building too
Keep at it, I still have r2d2 to start and bb8 to finish

I've even put in a few minutes on my Cousteau sea plane! Running out of time on that one.

Yes we might need an extension for the Maritime gb
I put some time after work yesterday on the Miss Budweiser too

[DBMiller]

As usual I've missed the deadline.

On the other hand - look who's ready for decals!

Several coats of white Rust-Oleum High Performance Enamel spray paint. Then Tamiya flat black for the engines.







Glossy!





Touch up on the black and some dry brush metallic on the engines then decals!

[ForeverPlasticKits]

I really like the design of this "space plane", very good work!

[DBMiller]

Look who's getting decals!

These decals are tricky for me. They are thin and fragile and don't like to move when in place - as you can see on this nose piece! They also don't like to conform to curved surfaces too well.



The decals on the next three shots are still wet.







On one review I saw the builder didn't use the decals. He preferred to paint the panels. It came out beautiful! I'm not so confident I could have painted it - at least not in any reasonable amount of time. I think the decals look fine I just should have been more careful with them.

[DBMiller]

More decals - including the extra decals I had to buy because Moebius doesn't include the Pan Am markings!

[RangerNeil]

Thats looking excellent!!
An odd thing - I remember the Airfix version of this and all it had were the Pan-Am decals - none of these nice panel ones...

[digger303]

[cor]

looking good

[Tomcat64]

Great work knocking that into shape

[DBMiller]

Thats looking excellent!!
An odd thing - I remember the Airfix version of this and all it had were the Pan-Am decals - none of these nice panel ones...

I have the re-issued Airfix kit and it comes with some generic colorful marking as well as the Pan Am. The panel decals do spiff up the look. Too bad I messed them up a bit.

[RangerNeil]

Thats looking excellent!!
An odd thing - I remember the Airfix version of this and all it had were the Pan-Am decals - none of these nice panel ones...

I have the re-issued Airfix kit and it comes with some generic colorful marking as well as the Pan Am. The panel decals do spiff up the look. Too bad I messed them up a bit.

I had the original issue Airfix kit and that only had the Pan-Am decals. Obviously the re-issue took advantage of the advances in decal tech. Yours is truly impressive.