1:350 Hexagonal Colony - The Settlers of P-81524-i

Dizzyfugu · May 29, 2020, 12:52:55 AM

Well, in the meantime I have also been working on a very different subject: a space station, or better a part of it. The background is a group build at the German SF modeling forum phoxim.de, whose members and others frequently make exhibits at the bi-annular "Space Days" convention in Darmstadt. This year the event will (hopefully...) take place again, and the last time the corresponding group build was about a space ship convoy à la Battlestar Galactica. Now, two years later, a new home planet was found, and the current GB centers around the settlers' new home on the planet P-81524-i.

In oder to make such a diorama idea workable, several standards had been set:

1:350 scale
Use of 10cm tabletop tiles as modular&flexible basis
Guidelines concerning the planet surface, color and some environmental details like blue crystals

Otherwise, participants have/had free hand.

I joinded the crowd of 10+ builders and decided to build a relatively small site on just six hex bases: an experimental farm with fields, greenhouses, a central lab and a vehicle shed, plus some vehcicles and "population". And this is what came out of it, after lots of improvisation and scratchbuilding:

Phoxim.de Group Build 2020: Hexagonal Colony - The Settlers of P-81524-i (Dizzyfugu's 1:350 District No. 4: The Phoximiponic Farm) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Phoxim.de Group Build 2020: Hexagonal Colony - The Settlers of P-81524-i (Dizzyfugu's 1:350 District No. 4: The Phoximiponic Farm) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

If you are interested in the whole project and other parts of the colony, check this (German language, though): http://www.phoxim.de/forum/index.php?board=144.0

AeroplaneDriver · May 29, 2020, 01:01:06 AM

Nice but that looks a lot more like P-81524-m.

SERIOUSLY though, that is absolutely brilliant. I love SciFi builds and one of my long term modeling goals is to make a colony diorama. Absolutely love this.

AeroplaneDriver · May 29, 2020, 01:03:09 AM

Great stuff on that forum too! Thanks for sharing that.

Dizzyfugu · May 29, 2020, 01:25:42 AM

Thank you, glad you like it. In comparison with other builds is mine a rather modest approach. But I did not want to let things escalate - after all it's also a matter of storing the stuff somewhere later...

Scotaidh · May 29, 2020, 02:28:33 AM

That's amazing!

buzzbomb · May 30, 2020, 11:27:54 PM

Very good, a real cameo with so much packed in it

63cpe · May 30, 2020, 11:44:01 PM

Wooow great stuff! I saw some pictures on your Flickr account and wondered what it was you're up to. It's clearly a lunar kinda base but couldn't find out why. Now it's clear. I really like it's a subject "off the beaten track"..

Keep up the good work!

David aka 63cpe

Dizzyfugu · May 31, 2020, 02:08:48 AM

Quote from: buzzbomb on May 30, 2020, 11:27:54 PM
Very good, a real cameo with so much packed in it

Yes, there's a lot going on everywhere.

Thanks a lot everyone, glad you like it - it is/was really "something different" to create and build.

Jacques Deguerre · May 31, 2020, 12:40:44 PM

That's so cool! It makes me think of all the "space colony of the 21st century" articles I read as a kid.

While not on a planetary surface, Isaac Asimov's July, 1976 National Geographic article on the L5 space colony comes to mind.

Rick Lowe · July 19, 2020, 03:47:24 AM

Interesting concept, a themed group build but everyone doing something different.
And a development of the original idea is pretty cool as well.

But the finished article is amazing.

Mossie · July 19, 2020, 05:07:30 AM

I like this idea, hope you can all meet at show and fit them all together.

Weaver · July 19, 2020, 10:52:58 AM

Nice one Dizzy!

What a cool idea for a group build.

The first thing that occurs to me re 1/350th spacecraft is to use spare 1/72nd or 1/48th fast jet canopies as the hull. paint the inside black (or detail it, of course), then glue them to plastic card, then cut the card out, trim the edges and dress them with various pods, landing gear etc. Then mask off the windows, paint the hull colour, pull off the masks and you have an 'instant' shuttlecraft.

Dizzyfugu · July 20, 2020, 04:43:46 AM

Well, the cool thing about this GB is that all the stuff that is built to this 1:350/hex standard will hopefully be assembled as a huge diorama thing - and at the moment it looks as if the Spacedays event will be postponed until April next year.

nighthunter · July 24, 2020, 08:44:06 PM

It looks like something out of classic Battletech

Weaver · July 25, 2020, 09:07:51 PM

Just noticed something that might be of interest to you and/or the other people in your GB Dizzy:

A company called Niko do a range of 1/350th construction equipment that could be useful. In particular, they're a source for the kind of tracks you get on bulldozers and the like, which are unlike military ones (with raised front sprockets/idlers) but are just the kind of thing you see on retro space illustrations:

Example: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Niko-Model-1-350-Caterpillar-Crane-WWII-Military-Engineering-Machine/124135273741?hash=item1ce709f50d:g:kKAAAOSwiFFebi5p

Everything on Uk ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2499334.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xniko.TRS0&_nkw=niko&_sacat=1188

Also, MartG's resin Traveller small craft are in 1/350th: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/martg1960/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=
(He does a bigger range than this, but they're not all listed all the same time - keep checking)