"UFO" Interceptors
I accepted a commission on a couple of partially built Intruders. Upon arrival I found that they were made by two different pattern makers and differ quite a bit. The first step was to tear them down and remove the paint.
Project started in the Summer of 2013
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The one on the right had no cockpit, I had to scratchbuild one using the left. The detail on
the back wall was built to match the full size filming set as closely as I could.
The fire extinguisher is pill capsule.
The rear engines that came with the models were slightly lacking. The lower right was seriously warped, the upper right wasn't even close to the studio model.
New thrusters are in place.
Let's talk canopies. The ones that came with the kits are full of problems. The first being miss-shaped, both have far more rounded profiles than the studio model. The one of the left is horribly fogged, I tried several times to sand it clear to no avail. The one on the right is vacuum formed from a rather thick plastic stock, the result is a lot of optical distortion.
The new canopies are glued in place and have had the edges treated.
Now I need to mask off the canopy frame and add the center post. (What was General Dynamics thinking with that post? That must be REALLY annoying for the pilot.)
I been working on details for awhile know. The landing gear has been stripped down, had some detail added and been primed. One of the models had recessed front grilles, the other had glued on pieces that needed to be pried off and reworked.
Both models had indentations to represent forward cannons, but neither had actual cannons. This modification never felt optional.
I added detail to the exposed engine on both models. The dorsal fin and engine cover had to be scratch built on this ship. Also the side engine mounts needed to be extended.
The extended side mounts are more obvious from above. Hopefully the alteration will "disappear" once a coat of primer unifies the hull. The original thrusters for the side engines are being replaced with some unused Space: 1999 Eagle thrusters that are a closer match.
They both have a good primer coat. I used three types of primer in random blocks to create depth in the final paint. If all goes well with the topcoat, there'll be just enough of the variation showing through.
Completed in December of 2013