Flammarion : Interstellar rescue and exploration ship

[Mr Ten]

Hello Everyone !

Do you remember my last post a few months ago :

http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,35574.0.html

And my new big projet :



Today it"s FINISHED !!

And here it comes :

Interstellar ship FLAMMARION, specialised in recovery and exploration in the most hostile planetary atmospheres :


The ship is very big, and it's a bit hard to take pics.
Next, i'll post some more, and i'll explain you the loooong building process.
Hope you enjoy...

[pyro-manic]

Wow! Seriously impressive! The colouring is very Homeworld-ish (a good thing!), and the design reminds me of the "Hatshepsut" class destroyer from the old Freespace computer game.

Do I spy a nuclear pulse engine at the back?

[Cobra]

this is Superb has a 'Battle Beyond the Stars' Feel & Look to it! Keep up the Superb Work Dan

[Weaver]

That's a lovely job: I particularly like the Chris Foss-style paint scheme. 

I'd love to see the build pics too.

[deathjester]

  Amazing work, utterly superb!  Am seriously starting to wonder if you ARE  Chris Foss!!

[Dizzyfugu]

 

Lots of work... but great result!

[Father Ennis]

Great looking build !!!!!!     

[NARSES2]

That's some build - how big is it ? 

[Mr Ten]

Thanks from all your kind comments. 

The finished model is about 60cm long (about 23 inches).
As a great fan of Chris Foss paintings (i discovered them when i was 14...), this is my new hommage to all his inspired and fantastic works.

Now, the building process. The main problem with a such project (a total scratch) is the "white page syndrom" : what parts should i use ? Ho to organize a ship ? What colors ?...
So many doubts and interrogations... I did what i thought best with my scrap box. I took a long time to mature - It was not a hurry project. I had an idea in my (sicko ) mind. And this is how i materialized it.
Enough talk !! , now some pics :


Click on to have a full view and read the comments.
More later

[Old Wombat]

Hi, Mr Ten!

To me there is a greater similarity to Peter Elson's art than to Chris Foss' but, either way, it's an awesome tribute to a great Science Fiction artist!

... Or, maybe, artists?



Guy

PS: It's hard not to remember the Achernar, she's up for a Whiffie Award!

[Mr Ten]

Very well observed, Old Wombat...

Indeed, i was also very inspired by Peter Elson. But he is (was, in fact  )a bit less famous than Foss...
The surface details and paintings are generally more complex in Elson's Art : many more logos/numbers/stripes...
We could speak hours about these masters  ...(and others like Berkey, Burns, Gambino... ) from before the digital era...

We could also talk about  pulse nuclear wave engine... as explains pyro-manic
(Well, to be honest, the push-plate is a bit small to protect the ship from radiation , so it's probably a more advanced focused-hyperwave nuclear drive )

Some more pics :





On the third pic appears the twin tail. The base comes from Monogram's invader UFO inner wall, and the two small wings errr... An ugly Sukhoi SU17 hobbycraft sacrified for this projet... (At least, some parts can be used )
At this time, i try and check to fit secondary parts here and there. It takes more time than it seems. The ship must have a symmetry, but it must not be an absolute rule.
Note it's water in the glass, not vodka or gin...

[Weaver]

At this time, i try and check to fit secondary parts here and there. It takes more time than it seems. The ship must have a symmetry, but it must not be an absolute rule.

I've tried a few Sci-fi projects and the fine details, the greeblification, are indeed much harder to do than you'd think IF you give a damn about them looking "right". Part of the problem is that real movie filming miniatures are a) very big, giving them a bigger choice of detailing parts and b) always moving past the camera in relatively short shots so you can't study them for long. If you actually get a chance to study a filming miniature up close, you can see that they get away with murder in all sorts of ways. On the other hand, a hobbyist's spacecraft model is only ever going to be seen in still photos on a website or on a table at a show, where Joe Public can take as long as they like to pour over it, so it actually has to be better than a filming miniature...

[Mr Ten]

I agree with you, Weaver...

This reminds me the unforgettable/unbearable movie    " STARCRASH " from 1978. I saw it a few years later and it was really... appalling...
This (spaceshit) spaceship picture comes from Starcrash :


Look on the sides : they have simply glued plastic sprues (with or without parts) from kits !!!
I remember having recognized something like an 1/76 airfix matilda and a tiger...
Cutting the parts out of the sprue was probably too long.
Just try that on your own models to see the laughs on a show...

Now i get back to the main subject, with a first undercoat of silver paint. This is done to highlight and rectify flaws, and to have an uniform finish. Looks rather nice dressed like that, but it's not what i have in mind...


A few minor parts have been added from the previous pics.
The tail remains unpainted and is just in place for a final appearance . The main thruster is missing and not completely defined at this stage.

[Weaver]

Yep - I always think tank drive sprockets stuck onto a flat surface with no obvious purpose are the "canary" item for a lazy SFX model....

[deathjester]

Yep - I always think tank drive sprockets stuck onto a flat surface with no obvious purpose are the "canary" item for a lazy SFX model....

Agreed.  No reason why they can't be aerial / sensor dish / gun mounts.

Mr Ten: Congrats on the Whiffie - the finish on that ship is just glorius!  And I think I have already seen next years winner...in this very thread!!