Colonial Viper Mk1

[RangerNeil]

I thought I'd have me a stab at this one too. l always had a hankering for a Colonial Viper from the original Battlestar Galactica series and now seemed as good reason to risk the wrath of the OH and go for it.....

Cue the hilarious laughter!!

You may have noted I tend to attract problems to builds like a fly to the dogs doo-doo's?
Well - I never in my life expected to have the problem before I even got the flipping kit.
It's truly a case of the Mrs Beetons "First catch your hare" - or in this case first find somewhere that actually has the kit in stock. I headed to eModels as it was listed there - and I must have had a cached copy of the page because as soon as I clicked on "add to cart" it suddenly flicked to "out of stock". Cue two solid hours of searching the net to trying to find a dealer who
(a) Has one in stock
(b) Isn't so far away that the postage is more than the kit is!!
Hopefully I have found one in the Netherlands - a site called Toms.nl had it listed and took the order but I am awaiting payment details still. In the mean time the advanced decals are coming from Australia and the PE is coming from Greece. And I am looking into a lighting kit now..... Oooh err.....

So - in the deep end for me folks.. Dipping the toe into the Sci-Fi field, going to have a stab at PE for the first time as well as non-OE decals. And possibly electronics.... Modeller - thy middle name is insanity!!

The kit is the Moebius 940 Colonial Viper Mk1 - supposedly the best of the Mk1 Vipers going. To supplement this will be the Paragraphix PG175 PE - Colonial Viper detailing set that includes instrument panels and the
Dekl DSF-32025 - Enhanced Stencils for the Colonial Viper.

This is the box art for the kit


Paragraphix PE Detailing




Advanced decals

[Twokidsnosleep]

Excellent choice, always loved this both new and old school versions

[Hawkmoon]

[RangerNeil]

OK - remember I said I attract kit problems like flies to doggie doo-doo?? Well:
* Advanced decals- confirmed dispatched.
* Paragraphix PE set - confirmed dispatched.
* VoodooFC lighting kit - confirmed dispatched

BUT - Moebius Colonial Viper Mk1 kit - just been told by the company that in fact they do NOT have it in stock - and have no known delivery date....... Oh Ffff-udge!!!

Moebius are in production still - the CultTVMan store has had new deliveries of the Lost In Space kits this week. if I've heard nothing more by the end of the month I think I might have to rethink the build subject!
Star Wars and Trek stuff seems to be crawling out of the wood work...
I really wanted to do a Viper though so fingers crossed.

[Hawkmoon]

Thats a bummer, I have had it happen a few times now where they say they have an item in stock and then goes out of stock when you order it and thats with kits and aftermarket stuff. Funny how they quickly unloaded the after market stuff on you before admitting the one thing you need ie the kit wasnt.

I had a quick look on scalemates and there is one available in Japan

[RangerNeil]

Thanks Hawkmoon - I'm going to look now!! You may well have saved my bacon!!

EDIT:
Damn!! - followed the link from scalemates and the Hobbylink Japan website says "This item is not in stock, but can be ordered. A restocking date is currently unknown."

[Hawkmoon]

Thanks Hawkmoon - I'm going to look now!! You may well have saved my bacon!!

EDIT:
Damn!! - followed the link from scalemates and the Hobbylink Japan website says "This item is not in stock, but can be ordered. A restocking date is currently unknown."

Sorry Neil

When you open up the timeline/full history for the kit on scalemates it turns out to be a monogram/bandai /revell re-boxing so in reality any of these kits will still be good for the etch/upgrades you have.

Andy

[digger303]

Thanks Hawkmoon - I'm going to look now!! You may well have saved my bacon!!

EDIT:
Damn!! - followed the link from scalemates and the Hobbylink Japan website says "This item is not in stock, but can be ordered. A restocking date is currently unknown."

Bet the freight is going to be horrendous. ...

[RangerNeil]

I actually found ONE available on Amazon.com last night - for $79.86 US and $14.50 shipping. Moebius list price was $39.50 US.
I don't know if its cos I'm the wrong side of 60 or what but I have a deep seated objection to paying double the list price for anything!!!
However - it does provide an option!!!

There is a video review of the Moebius kit on YouTube where the poster compares it to the Revell one. Apart from the fact the Moebius one actually includes the landing gear (hence why I opted for it - not a great lover of stands) their one is physically larger than the Revell. For instance the three engine thrusters on the Revell kit actually fitted inside the Moebius ones.....

[Tomcat64]

Hope you manage to get one sorted soon mate - I'll keep an eye out when I'm browsing

[RangerNeil]

Hope you manage to get one sorted soon mate - I'll keep an eye out when I'm browsing

Much obliged sir!!
I notice the CultTVMan web site has frequent resupplies from Moebius so I dropped them an e-mail last night asking if they knew when - or even if!! - they reasonably expected a restock of the Viper Mk1 and MkII. Their reply should be quite interesting....
I had a browse through scalemate.com last night looking for alternative topics/projects...It was terrible - everything that came to mind as a favoured topic was in the 3 figure price bracket.

[DBMiller]

I do like the original Viper.

[RangerNeil]

Had card stuck through the door yesterday - I am thinking its the courier firm not bothering to knock again - then I read it. It was from Royal Mail telling me they had a parcel for me that needed VAT paying on it because it comes from a non-EU country (America) to the sum of £4.17. And they wanted another £8.00 for the privilege of printing off an automated card and posting it to me!!
Dreading to think what will happen when the decals from Oz arrive in-country!! The photo-etch is coming from Greece so that - should - be OK.

On the positive side - its the lighting kit from VoodooFX so at least I am one step closer - or will be once they actually deliver it...

Been looking at US dealers for the Vipers - or, failing that, one of the 3 Battlestars (TOS, reboot and Pegasus) but if I'm going to get hit with that sort of demand from Royal Mail its putting me off buying from the USA......

[RangerNeil]

Yay - good news - I think I found one!!
Dealer says he has it in stock so we will see. Wound up paying 2.5 x the list price but, as the saying goes, right now it's a sellers market.. And I've been a bit sneaky too... He had the 1970's OS Galactica and the Pegasus from the new series so I've ordered those two as they are mean looking ships.
He didn't have the revamped Galactica so I think I will watch for that on and off and maybe end up with the trio of Battlestars as well as the Viper....

[bfrd]

I checked my LHS today but they were out as well.

[RangerNeil]

I checked my LHS today but they were out as well.

Yes - I think Europe is cleaned out now. Hopefully when normality returns to the USA and Moevius can resume production the dealers will eventually get restocks as opposed to the runs being ended. Most of the stores I spoke to this side of the big puddle felt fairly confident they WILL be getting fresh supplies in - they just don't know when.
So hopefully - if this order arrives (anywhere between the 1st and 10th July) - I can afford to sit back and wait for the prices to drip for the New Gen Galactica and the Mk II and Mk VII Vipers. Oddly enough many stores still have stocks of both the old and new Cylon Raiders and of Colonial One for the new series. Wonder why?

[RangerNeil]

As stated on the "what the postie brought" thread elsewhere the first of the bit for this arrived today.
It got held up by BorderFarce for a few days whilst they whacked me with a £4+ VAT charge - and an £8 handling fee. To say I was considerably un-amused is an understatement (got me a bit worried as to what I'm going to get hit with when the other 3 items arrive from the USA).

But that's by the way - the kit is quite neat, comprises:
* An "On/Off" switch
* A length of ribbon cable
* A battery connector (9v PP3)
* 4 white LED's
* 1 green LED
* A circuit board
* Some white diffusion material to go behind the cockpit panels
* Some heat shrink tubing to cover the soldered joins
* What looks like a reasonable instruction leaflet.

At the moment its hard to tell how it all fits in to the kit but once it gets here I think it will become apparent. Mean time - I need to practice my soldering skills....

[RangerNeil]

I begin to think this build is cursed for me!!
As of the date of this post:
* The photoetch for the Viper has vanished into the ether. Hellenic postal service tracking shows it leaving Greece on the 12th June. Royal Mail tracking says it left Greece on the 12th but has no record of it arriving in the UK.....
* Last I heard the Viper and all 3 Battlestars had been intercepted by Borderforce and were being "assessed".... That was a week ago.
* The enhanced decal sheet for the Viper coming from Oz also seems to have vanished into the ether......

Not doing so well in this build...

[digger303]

As stated on the "what the postie brought" thread elsewhere the first of the bit for this arrived today.
It got held up by BorderFarce for a few days whilst they whacked me with a £4+ VAT charge - and an £8 handling fee. To say I was considerably un-amused is an understatement (got me a bit worried as to what I'm going to get hit with when the other 3 items arrive from the USA).

But that's by the way - the kit is quite neat, comprises:
* An "On/Off" switch
* A length of ribbon cable
* A battery connector (9v PP3)
* 4 white LED's
* 1 green LED
* A circuit board
* Some white diffusion material to go behind the cockpit panels
* Some heat shrink tubing to cover the soldered joins
* What looks like a reasonable instruction leaflet.

At the moment its hard to tell how it all fits in to the kit but once it gets here I think it will become apparent. Mean time - I need to practice my soldering skills....

With that 8 quid handling charge I'm sure every Lord and Earl has cleaned his moat and had the whole castle refurbished by now...it is a bit of a rort charging that sort of money......The sheriff of Sherwood seed didn't fall far from the tree...

[RangerNeil]

I left the Royal Mail tracking tab open last night when I closed the machine down. Before I did I went digging on the web for a contact e-mail for them, found one that actually worked and messaged them asking where the package that left Greece 14 days ago had got to, Got an auto response saying it was a dead drop - no one was monitoring it anymore.
When the browser loaded tonight I noticed the tracking message had changed to "Your item has left our International Logistics Centre and is on its way to you. More information will be available as it travels through the network."
Seems someone DOES look at the incoming mail messages!!

With a bit of luck the PE for the Viper should arrive around the same time as the Viper itself.....

[LWWales]

I had a super detail set for a 1/12 motorcycle delivered from Oz last month and didn't have to pay any additional, so that's good news for you!

The tracking from Australia Post wasn't very good either, it was in my hands and the tracking said it was just leaving South Vic!

[RangerNeil]

I had a super detail set for a 1/12 motorcycle delivered from Oz last month and didn't have to pay any additional, so that's good news for you!

The tracking from Australia Post wasn't very good either, it was in my hands and the tracking said it was just leaving South Vic!

Fingers crossed.
Weird thing was when I looked again the tracking link said it was actually the US postal service/customs who were interested in it and had pulled it for investigation??
Tonight (I literally just checked) it says that this package - the larger of the two BSG packages (Viper, OE Galactica and Pegasus) - is in the UK at the delivery centre..... I also rechecked the order info on eBay for the decals and it says a delivery date between the 23/6 and the 7/7 so still time for that to arrive "on time" !

[RangerNeil]

Photo-etch for the Viper arrived today so I just need the enhanced decal set coming from Oz - and the Viper itself - to crack on with this one. The other thing that did arrive though, on the subject of the Viper, was a demand for £44.66 from BorderFarce and ParcelFarce for the taxes and handling charges levied on a packet from the USA.
I think it might be safe to assume the Viper and the other 2 Battlestars have arrived in the UK.

In line with my trust in these two august bodies abilities these days I think I will start a second build tread for the Battlestar I do have - just in case!!. I hope thats OK?
(I just noticed - this thread is 3 pages already and I haven't started work yet!!! Think I might talk too much.... )

[Twokidsnosleep]

Ok here we go

[RangerNeil]

Right then - we have a kit to crack on with.
First off - the sprues:














Nicely moulded, no flash or visible ejector pins - looks like it will be a simple and pleasant build. Although appearances have been known to be deceptive.

First job then is to take the cockpit tub and clean off all the raised detail ready for the PE and hole cutting for the display films.

[digger303]

I had a super detail set for a 1/12 motorcycle delivered from Oz last month and didn't have to pay any additional, so that's good news for you!

The tracking from Australia Post wasn't very good either, it was in my hands and the tracking said it was just leaving South Vic!

It's shocking and they don't seem to be doing anything to improve it either. 8 days from one town to the next, tracking is hit and miss, but you know the capital cities are getting good service....it's where the votes are. Do I sound cynical ?

[RangerNeil]

First step on this one was prepare the cockpit for the Para Grafix PE.. Sounds quite blase doesn't it??
8 hours later my hands are knotting up with cramp and the job is done (old age is a right b*gg*r!!)

I started off with this:


Took about an hour to remove all the moulded on surface detailing on the instrument panels with a sharp knife and coarse/fine paper. The PE panels were then laid over and the various apertures marked out onto the now smooth surfaces 0 and the fun began.... (First time I've ever used PE and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to bend the side panels to conform to the cockpit profile!!) Holes were hand drilled around the outlines and then the centres cut out - slowly - using the sharp knife until at last I reached this stage:




Then the PE panels were laid back into verify the openings match the cut holes:


Now I have to wait for the primer to be delivered before going any further with this phase. Once painted there are film panels that get stuck on the back of the PE to simulate the various displays and which should - in theory - look very nice when illuminated.

[digger303]

Then the PE panels were laid back into verify the openings match the cut holes:


Now I have to wait for the primer to be delivered before going any further with this phase. Once painted there are film panels that get stuck on the back of the PE to simulate the various displays and which should - in theory - look very nice when illuminated.

The Pe really sharpens up the cock pit....it's brilliant

[RangerNeil]

Finished off the PE for the cockpit today. I have to say - what a PITA it was getting the overlay panels to line up on the base panels.... Increases my respect for those guy who do a lot of PE work immensely. They are on now though and the assembly is awaiting priming and painting before the film inserts get put in behinds them.









All the YouTube building clips say joining the fuselage halves is bad news - I tried it on their own, just the nose gear bay in and it went together fine. Then I put the cockpit assembly in place and the story changed!!
The amount of pressure required to join the two halve where the cockpit site is - worrying - to say the least so I need to investigate the why of this.

I also got the 3 pieces of the engine assembly together - the inlet and exhaust parts are only on loose at the moment to ensure correct alignment of the three pieces:

[aur0ra145]

Oh nice! I didn't even know they made photoetch for these kits.

[digger303]

Like the engine module, looks suitably detailed and will paint up nicely. Not sure how your going to go getting the cockpit and fuselage halves together. Almost looks like the walls of the cockpit are too high. Sure you will get it figured though

[RangerNeil]

Had a play today with the cockpit assembly before I start adding paint to it. In this picture the two red arrows show where maximum resistance is when trying to close the fuselage halves together:


Separating the two halves to look at the actual cockpit module it can be seen that the points line up with the rear cockpit mounting points:


So out came the file to take a little bit off of each of the rear mount points and bingo - perfect fit!!


Strange thing is - none of the build video's posted on YouTube mention this issue - but the problem points they do talk about - I haven't had... The law of Murphy I guess..

[digger303]

Good fix...just a bit fat in the middle.

[RangerNeil]

Good fix...just a bit fat in the middle.

To be expected Digger - because so is the builder!!

[digger303]

Good fix...just a bit fat in the middle.

To be expected Digger - because so is the builder!!

aren't we all ...

[BigWall]

Doh!

Nice fix!

[RangerNeil]

A bit more done today - fancied a change so I had a go at the main body. Essentially its 3 parts - the exhausts,, the main body assembly itself and the intakes. Like the Battlestar most of the work is in the painting I guess. Anyways this is how far I've got - the rear, exhausts piece still has work to be done on it and the main assembly needs the grey paint as its in primer only.
Now - here's where I've hit a problem - the Tamiya XF20 I used to paint the intake nozzles dries far too quickly!! Look at the top intake in the front view and you can see where I've had to rub down bad brush marks.
So I am thinking maybe I would do better trying to find an aerosol of a similar grey for the size of the panels on this kit....

[RangerNeil]

Quickie update on this one as I'v been concentrating on Galactica's the last few days for some strange reason...

Sub assemblies are getting ready for final assembly - reason for the delay on this build is two fold:
1) I'm waiting for the paint to arrive to finish the sub-assemblies off.
2) I am struggling to find the mojo to get into the wiring and LED placement for the lighting kit.

For #2 I really need to summon the whatever it is required to get into cutting out the films for the cockpit - in part I think because I cannot satisfy myself as to the finish in the cockpit. I did it in the evening and gave it a coat of satin varnish - then looked in the daylight and went "Ugh"!!









Right now I really am in two minds as to whether to strip it all back to bare plastic and brass and start again......

On the positive side though the sub assemblies ARE coming together....



Painting the wheels in the landing gear is proving another pig to do. Free hand is not working at all well. There is no way of using masking tape so I am thinking of trying Maskol to block out the back ground and do it that way.

[Parker]

Looking great!

[digger303]

Your right painting those wheels is going to be a B*+*ch.
Sorry can't think of any encouragement..

[Bdiddy]

Quickie update on this one as I'v been concentrating on Galactica's the last few days for some strange reason...

Sub assemblies are getting ready for final assembly - reason for the delay on this build is two fold:
1) I'm waiting for the paint to arrive to finish the sub-assemblies off.
2) I am struggling to find the mojo to get into the wiring and LED placement for the lighting kit.

For #2 I really need to summon the whatever it is required to get into cutting out the films for the cockpit - in part I think because I cannot satisfy myself as to the finish in the cockpit. I did it in the evening and gave it a coat of satin varnish - then looked in the daylight and went "Ugh"!!









Right now I really am in two minds as to whether to strip it all back to bare plastic and brass and start again......

On the positive side though the sub assemblies ARE coming together....



Painting the wheels in the landing gear is proving another pig to do. Free hand is not working at all well. There is no way of using masking tape so I am thinking of trying Maskol to block out the back ground and do it that way.

With the landing gear, paint it all black, then paint over it in silver & then use a cotton bud with thinner to rub off the silver so it reveals the black.

[RangerNeil]

<Snipped>
Painting the wheels in the landing gear is proving another pig to do. Free hand is not working at all well. There is no way of using masking tape so I am thinking of trying Maskol to block out the back ground and do it that way.

With the landing gear, paint it all black, then paint over it in silver & then use a cotton bud with thinner to rub off the silver so it reveals the black.

That is a nice idea. Might be a bit tricksy getting the silver off the bit where the wheels meet the silver surface - but certainly worth a try!! Thanks

[Bdiddy]

<Snipped>
Painting the wheels in the landing gear is proving another pig to do. Free hand is not working at all well. There is no way of using masking tape so I am thinking of trying Maskol to block out the back ground and do it that way.

With the landing gear, paint it all black, then paint over it in silver & then use a cotton bud with thinner to rub off the silver so it reveals the black.

That is a nice idea. Might be a bit tricksy getting the silver off the bit where the wheels meet the silver surface - but certainly worth a try!! Thanks

No worries mate hopefully it does the trick

[Stokesy44]

I think the cockpit will be transformed by the transfers.

If you're not happy with it how about painting the brass all black (save for where the transfers will go. It will give it more uniformity and give the effect of wrap around instruments and controls like you see in a jet like a F14.

It will highlight the brass surface detail better, maybe do it in a satin or a gloss to really pop the detail?

I love that classic Viper shape. Those toasters must have short circuited when they saw Apollo and Starbuck coming!

[RangerNeil]

I think the cockpit will be transformed by the transfers.

If you're not happy with it how about painting the brass all black (save for where the transfers will go. It will give it more uniformity and give the effect of wrap around instruments and controls like you see in a jet like a F14.

It will highlight the brass surface detail better, maybe do it in a satin or a gloss to really pop the detail?

I love that classic Viper shape. Those toasters must have short circuited when they saw Apollo and Starbuck coming!

The brass PE panels ARE black now!
The fillings for the various holes are translucent printed film so that the LED backlight shows through.
There are 4 LED's in the kit - a biggie for the cockpit and three lesser ones for the engines. Currently working through ways of mounting the LED's...

[RangerNeil]

Amazon delivered the top coat today. Been looking at video clips from the show and to me Tamiya's AS-2 was a pretty close match to the original finish.

[RangerNeil]

OK - delivered my self the necessary kick-up the backside to get back on with the cockpit on this one.
First I looked at how to mount the cockpit LED. A hunt on YouTube gave me the idea of a piece of scrap sprue stretched across the fuselage with the LED bonded to it. In the photo you can see the sprue taped into place whilst I trimmed the piece down until the fuselage halves fitted together properly.



Next was time to get the instrument panel screens in place. Despite the instructions to the contrary none of them would fit the cut holes so a fair bit of fettling and VERY careful trimming was needed. Apologies for the torch in the photo being used to test out the lighting effect







Next job is to get the LED soldered onto its feed cables and then mounted in place and the front fuselage closed up. meantime - here is the first pre-assembly build. Everything is put together loosely - only the fuselage and wings are joined up...

[Parker]

Loving this.

[digger303]

Looks better and better each time I see this

[Bdiddy]

OK - delivered my self the necessary kick-up the backside to get back on with the cockpit on this one.
First I looked at how to mount the cockpit LED. A hunt on YouTube gave me the idea of a piece of scrap sprue stretched across the fuselage with the LED bonded to it. In the photo you can see the sprue taped into place whilst I trimmed the piece down until the fuselage halves fitted together properly.



Next was time to get the instrument panel screens in place. Despite the instructions to the contrary none of them would fit the cut holes so a fair bit of fettling and VERY careful trimming was needed. Apologies for the torch in the photo being used to test out the lighting effect







Next job is to get the LED soldered onto its feed cables and then mounted in place and the front fuselage closed up. meantime - here is the first pre-assembly build. Everything is put together loosely - only the fuselage and wings are joined up...

Looking good Neil, the light up cockpit will look awesome great job so far