The "Other" Babaylon 5 Starfury: Sheridan's "Tigermeet" fighter

[Guest]

Getting closer and closer!

First off tonight I built the battery box that houses 8 AA batteries which will give me a portable 12v supply

No fancy switches right at the moment - I've got a couple of small switches in the electronics box from the Meccano hobby, but I can't be bothered fixing up something when this will suffice for now.

Back then to the build where more sanding was done on the back plate and a fresh coat of paint applied which looked good so happy with that now. next moved onto the lower guns and added some extra fairings to the back of the guns where they blend into the body

The conduits I had scratch built earlier had to be rebuilt as they were wrong - the two tubes should have been of different sizes, larger outer one, smaller inner one. So they should be ready to fit tomorrow. Then it should be good for some paint and on Friday I can Klear, Saturday apply decals and Sunday the final matt coat! Fingers crossed!

[Guest]

So tonight's progress: painting, gluing and Klearing! Yes, we are starting on the Klear (sniff mmmm that great smell of um... ammonia)

First off the fairings attached last night were sanded to blend in with the body, then some paint was applied over these and the various spots where filler had done in to smooth the guns into place, and then...

We have conduits!

Yesteday when I started test fitting I realised I'd made a mistake and made the back conduit the same diameter as the front and on comparing it to the images I posted earlier int eh week, I took the inner one out and replaced it with a narrower rod. Thankfully before I moved out of Central London I made one last trip to that wonderful 4D model supply shop and stocked up on plastic strip and rod so I had some 1.5mm diameter rod available. This go glued up last night and so today it was ready for some XF-16 flat aluminium and fixing in.

Here is another view which also shows Commander Sheridan in the cockpit

Now this is what the same area looks like in the Starfury I built back in the 90s, which was OOB, and I even followed the mistake in the original instrcutions that had the upper and lower guns transposed

BIG improvement eh?

So finally this evening the bottle of Klear came out and I put down a layer on the upper and lower wing surfaces which will take the decals. The paint still needs some touch ups but I'm leaving thing now to dry overnight so that tomorrow I can see if I need another Klear coat or if its okay for decaling.

[Guest]

Last nights progress: Sorry no photos as that would spoil the final reveal

So last night I took the plunge and started on the decals. I was dreading this as from reputation and from earlier experience the decals were not good, thick carrier film, huge borders, some sort of yellowish stain on the carrier and rather thick and inflexible. However, I did the best I could first by trimming as close to the decal as possible and liberal use of Micros Set and Sol. The results were a very pleasant surprise!

The Tiger decals on the upper surface were the ones I was most fearful of and indeed they were the most difficult go bed down properly, but a couple of incisions with a sharp scalpel blade gave it the flexibility to conform to the complex surface plus I trimmed the two forward shapes off which wrap around the instrument pits and added them afterwards. This helped enormously. The decals softened a little with the Micro Sol, but not as much as others, however it was enough to get them to sit over the raised panel lines.

All in all it wasn't as difficult as I expected and I am rather chuffed!

Finally last night I added the canopy. This was a bit tricky as I discovered while adding the instrument panel that sticks out in front that the resin cockpit it distinctly asymmetrical by several mm, however you don't see it normally unless you REALLY look hard Thank goodness! The canopy isn't a very good fit to the front of the body even though during construction I've test fitted and sanded portions to improve the fit. To make sure there were as few gaps as possible, I used Mr Dissolved putty as the fixing medium - using a cocktail stick I laid down a narrow strip of putty all around the edge where canopy would sit so that when the canopy was placed and pushed, the dissolved putty could squidge into the gaps and make a good seal. That left a large gap at the top of the canopy which again I dripped small amounts of dissolved putty into the gap to close it down then this morning added s couple of drops of Mr Surfacer around the canopy edge to smooth the join and then later when its all dried I'll do some very careful sanding to blend it all in.

Now that the decals are dried I'll be adding the final Klear coat today then adding some more weathering over the decals then tomorrow will be the Matt coat. Wow I can't beleive this is so close to finishing

[Guest]

You've stuck at this so well bud! I'd have given up long ago! And I have to say, your skill & perseverance are paying off handsomely! That looks pretty amazing, can't wait to see the decals on it.

Time for a bit of B5 season 4 methinks!

Patrick

[Guest]

...and so we close the circle and return to the beginning...

We have arrived at the Hour of Scampering by way of the Hour of Longing. We also know this time as... ITS FINISHED!

Some views:

Yeah so those are okay but what about in the dark?

and there we have it! Phew, that was quite a build but I am very very happy with the outcome. This model will be on display at IPMS Farnborough on Monday if anyone is a member there. Don't know when it will appear in a show as I missed Yeovilton today.

[mossiepilot]

Wow, that is great. the lighting brings it to life.

5 stars no doubt.

Thanks for sharing.

Tony.

[Guest]

Thanks Tony!

I put this up on my shelf last night and turned the lights off - its surprisingly bright and looks amazing!

[papa 695]

What a great buld Andrew your patience and stuborness with this kit shows great skill well done and well worth 5 big stars

[Ian M]

Oh Well done that man! That is really rather cool Andrew!!!

five stars from me as well!

Ian M

[Guest]

five from me too...

[Guest]

Thanks for the comments, always nice to be appreciated and now I can return to Sara and her chainmail bikini!

[Guest]

That's great Andrew!

5* from me too!!

Regards

Polux