Gulp - I'm in......

[Weaver]

Couple of pics of the interior and gondola seat before fitting (the latter is probably the thing I like best about the whole thing!):

[HOG]

Douglas Airbase threw me for a minute but I love it and the backstory.  At the present I know who`s getting my vote

Cheers 
Gary

[Chap]

Fantastic, I absolutely love it!

~Steve

[Ed S]

WOW.  This really looks great and the story is fun as well.



Ed

[Mossie]

Glad you got there Weave!  Bizzare looking machine, just the kind of thing I was thinking about when I touted this GB, great stuff mate!

[Weaver]

Cheers folks - all comments and criticism welcome! 

Here's the component rundown:

Torii and internal frame: two 69p Tick-Tock Clocks.

Wings: brass sheet folded over brass stremline tube with 2mm threaded bar up centre for support, secured by locknuts at the root and self-tapped into the engine pod at the tip.

Engine pods: Felt-tip pen caps with ballpoint pen tubes, Evergreen booms and Airfix Me-262 tailplanes.

Upper surface: plasticard disc, cabin/engine/boom from Italieri Bell 1/72nd UH-1H and broken cable clip, u/c covers from DIY screw-head caps.

Lower surface: plasticard disc, hatch frame from Airfix Modern Shop and Flat, roller-shutter door and housing from Evergreen, gondola from toy stamper kit with Evergreen framing, gondola seat and controls from Hasegawa Hind D/E with frame from Plasticard and Evergreen, u/c legs from Evergreen, Plasticard and (I think) Matchbox Comet tank wheels. Searchlight from Minitanks M60-A2, LARS rocket system controls and Matchbox Panther tank.

Paint: White, dayglow and Titanium (jet pipes) from Holts acrylic car paints, rest from Humbrol enamels. Washes were Windsor and Newton black ink, heavily diluted. The dayglow is interesting stuff: it's VERY translucent and changes hugely depending on the undercoat: some of the variations on the upper torus are due to using a pale yellow undercoat instead of white. It also goes on very dusty and changes tone again when you sand it: the dayglow dust is a total pain though....

Transfers: IoM roundels, SAR, IoMDF, RESCUE and NOT ALIENS all self-printed. Rest from Italieri UH-1H and Matchbox F-5B

Best Bits (to me): gondola seat, tailboom engine conversion, weathering on upper torus, self-print decals

Worst Bits (to me): general structure and alignment (it was a pain making it fit together, the top and bottom are not perfectly aligned and the lower disc is warped), painting the brass wings, the u/c legs (I don't like them, but I can't see any other solution, they also have to be loose which means they look wonky).

Bits left out due to lack of time/skill: interior of main compartment, dorsal and/or ventral radar domes, spotlights (intended to go on the "heels" of the engine booms where the spurs are on the Manx flag), engine panels with crew-modified pointless officla warning signs....

[nev]

Ahh, the Gamesters Of Triskellion....one of my favourite Simpsons spoofs/references   I'm sure Baz will be able to give us a full brief on the original ST episode....

Oh, nice model btw

[HOG]

Congratulations on a well deserved win. As soon as I saw it I knew it was a winner. 50% of the vote is a pretty substantial block and I don`t think I`ll be demanding a recount (or a chad check)


Gary

[Weaver]

Ahh, the Gamesters Of Triskellion....one of my favourite Simpsons spoofs/references   I'm sure Baz will be able to give us a full brief on the original ST episode....

Oh, nice model btw

LOL  - the sci-fi reference wasn't lost on me, but even without it, "triskelion" (one "L") really is the proper name of the three-legged symbol: it goes back to Greek times, IIRC.

[Weaver]

Congratulations on a well deserved win. As soon as I saw it I knew it was a winner. 50% of the vote is a pretty substantial block and I don`t think I`ll be demanding a recount (or a chad check)


Gary

Cheers HOG - yours was very clever. I love the "transformed found items" route: one of the votes for it was mine. 

[Captain Canada]

Oh wow....that is awesome ! Love the shot of it perched atop the shed, not rescuing any aliens......

Thanks for bringing this one back out of the wood work !

[Weaver]

Cheers again!

Some of the IoM references involve biker freinds of mine, so the story served two audiences: they had a good laugh about it too.....