Accurizing The Original Series Battlestar Galactica

When I successfully secured the Monogram kit for the the original series Battlestar Galactica 12 years ago, I remembered the state of euphoria I was in. Not only was this kit so hard to find, I got her along with the Mark I Viper and Cylon Basestar - all 3 in one swoop. Talk about luck. I was OK with the initial inspection of the Viper and Basestar kit, but very disappointed with the Galactica. For one thing, she doesn't look anything like the Battlestar I remembered.

In case you have forgotten how this ship should look like, here's a few images of her in her glory

More about the Galactica kit and accurization parts after this jump


Reviewing Monogram's Original Series Battlestar Galactica

Starship Modeller has a very thorough and interesting write up on the Monogram's kit with lots of images written and provided by Tyler Robbins (click on the Starship Modeller link). Whatever that needs to be said was already covered there, and it ain't pretty.

I found this kit so wanting, and the discrepancy on her was so major that I actually put off building her. Using Robbins' images, here's my own comments on the parts:

1. Box and content - too much space inside the box causing the parts to easily fly all over the place. Spruce contents look flimsy at best, and represent more of a toy than a kit

2. Main Hulls - Monogram did capture the essence of the ship in terms of its shape, but everything else was wrong or inaccurate. Look at how empty the side profiles are. The details on the hull are also all wrong

3. Viper Hangar bay and Landing Platform - Both end tips for these were inaccurate, and missing were the Viper launch tube holes on the sides of the hangar pods.

4. Here's a major discrepancy on the kit - that mid section extension is all wrong and doesn't exist in the studio model. I believe its primary purpose is just to help hold the two hangar pods in place.

5. The base is alright but the decals are lacking more details

Try putting this baby together out of the box, and your Battlestar is going to look more like a mutant lizard than a menacing starship. Thank goodness there are fans out there who did something about this. They came up with accurizing sets to try to make the kit more palatable. As far as I know, there are currently 2 accurization sets that you can use, either on their own, or you could try using both. I plan to use both on my kit later but has yet to secure the second accurate sets.


TOS Battlestar Accurizing Sets

The first can be obtained from Federation Models. Look for it under miscellaneous Models - Its a 23 piece resin set where all you need to do is sand off the current surface details, and paste these babies on. They're the easier alternative but still requires a lot of work.

The Decals above comes separate and has more details plus the landing zone image

Parts are contained within their resin "flash" to protect the parts from going missing or damaged

Once cleaned, they should look like these

New Decals gives more details and options. You can get them at SSM

How does this set works, you ask? Well, you're in luck. I found these images on the net of someone incorporating this set on his Battlestar kit. Unfortunately I saved these images so long ago I can't remember who they belong to (do let me know if you're the project owner so I can link back to your URL and give due credit). Basically it involves lots of sanding and puttying.

Alright, now that all the side profile details are taken care of, its time for the second more comprehensive accurization set. I got this set from Avery Models a long time ago though I don't see it being made available now at his site. Saw them at Cultman too but I can't find it now. If you are interested, you could write to Avery Models to see if they still have stock. The set should look like this

The second set requires a lot of "surgical" maneuvers meaning you'll need to do a lot of cutting, sanding, fitting, puttying, etc etc ..... basically the works. The engine section alone needs 95% of the top section replaced.

Its tedious, its challenging, and its definitely not for the amateur. You'll need proper tools, glue, putties and a lot of patience. The end results is worth it as it makes a hell of a difference

With the first Accurization set

Now with the second Accurization Set. Interestingly enough, this set was made possible with Marko Osterholz effort to create an accurate model of the ship.

Not up to it? Then get the Accurate Kit
Of course if you're not the patient type, or if you simply don't have that level of skills, no problem. Timeslip, another GK, actually came out with the 1/4105 scale TOS Galactica Resin Kit. This kit is about the most accurate you will find in the market, and you needn't burden yourself with unnecessary cutting and messy puttying. Check her out below

Side by side with Timeslip's NuGalactica of the same scale

Check out the Starship Modeller Store for kit's availability.