BRUCE'S DOMAIN

Hasegawa's 1:350 scale Soya Antarctica 1st Corp

2012-01-09T21:59:00.001+08:00

Hasegawa is among the few manufacturers that produces very nice quality ships in my book. The others are Tamiya, Trumpeteer, Heller, Revell, Lindberg, Zvezda, Airfix, Italeri ... oh hell, OK, there are quite a few manufacturers out there that produces nice quality ships. However, very few of them had been able to produce one that requires very minimal corrections and out of that few, I can think of only one brand, Hasegawa. Of course I am speaking in terms of non-military ships since I am no pro there.

Lets look at its 1:350 scale Soya Antarctica 1st Corp.

I saw this kit at a local toy store a long time ago before I picked back up my scale modeling hobby. She caught my eyes and I remembered studying her pictures for the longest time before deciding to buy her. For one, she wasn't military, and second, the amount of details on her was mind boggling. So I was sold on her.

The Observation Ship Soya is truly a remarkable ship to have made so many journeys to and back from Antarctica, survived World War II and today, resides as a Museum Ship in Japan. Not many ships are able to share this kind of achievements, as seen with the Antarctic Cruise Ship "The Explorer" that sunk presumably after striking an iceberg. She literally lived through countless dangerous situations and lived to tell the tale.

According to Wikipedia, the ice breaker Soya was originally named "Volochaevets", a real mouthful to pronounce there. It was ordered from the Matsuo Shipyard Koyagi Island in Nagasaki, Japan back in 1963 by the Soviet Union as part of a three ice-strengthened cargo ships but due to growing tensions between the two countries, she was never handed over but rather served as the ice-breaking cargo freighter for Tatsunan Kisen Co. Today she has been renamed the Chiryo Maru.

The Soya is also the very same ship that made famous those two Huskies that were abandoned along with their pack during a severe snow storm and were the only two survivors a few months later. The two dogs, Taro and Jiro, were eventually brought back to Japan where they lived their life as celebrities until their demise.

The ship was also intriguing since she was the ship used in the movie "Nankyoku Monogatari" or "South Pole" as she was released in the US, with its soundtrack "Antarctica" composed and conducted by Vangelis. She was also used in Disney's movie adaptation in the film "Eight Below".

In Nov 1939, the Imperial Japanese Navy requisitioned her and in Feb 1940 she was given the name "Varyag" and assigned duties as an auxiliary ammunition ship/survey vessel. She survived torpedo attacks in 1943 from the USS Greenling, and 10 crew members were killed in 1944 near Truk when a squadron of TF58s aircraft swooped down to attack her, which led her to be temporarily grounded.

In 1956, she was modified and overhauled to make her ready for her Antarctica Research Expedition. This involved putting in a new diesel engine and the installation of a helicopter deck. She successfully made trips to the Antarctica over the period of 1956 - 1962, with her most notable career on her second trip in 1958 where she rescued explorers stranded from the first expedition at the Syowa Research Station.

During my own research, I came across her upgrade set in the form of photo-etch, and decided to get that one too, but unfortunately I had to back order her since it was out of stock. That was way back in 2007. Would you believe I finally got that set late last year, 2011? I had even forgotten I had pre-ordered her. And at that time, I thought that this was such a set back as I couldn't start on her until I had that PE set, hence that kit had laid among my stash for so long. I also found out then that Hasegawa had produced the 2nd and 3rd Corp Soya Antarctica, refitted for specific missions to the bottom of the world. Well, naturally I got all of them plus whatever upgrade sets that was available. Here's the 1st Corp range of Soya Antarctica under Hasegawa at 1:350 scale.

Hasegawa Antartica Observation Ship Soya "Antartica" 1st Corp

Kit came with white metal parts for the two miniature snow cars but minus the PE set. It also had a booklet on the Soya with some very nice reference pictures but unfortunately the text are all in Japanese.

The one thing unique about this set was that those miniature helicopters were molded in clear plastic. You had a choice to either use the decals to simulate the railings on the craft, or opt for the photo-etch set.

I have seen numerous builds of the Soya 1st Corp, and trust me, you want that photo-etch set as the ship looks literally naked without them. Gunze Sangyo (Mr. Colour) had even came out with a three bottled paint set for the main hull colours for the Soya. I have that set and compared the shade of orange to their current paint sets. Its different, sharper and brighter. I'm not sure how you can get these now but you will need to mix your paints to get that tone.

Hasegawa reissued the Soya 1st Corp last year in tandem with a Japanese TBS Drama series based on life onboard her during a mission to Antarctica.

Last check with Hobby Search Japan, this kit is still available. Unfortunately there are still no pre-cut wooden decks made available for this kit at the moment. I know, I have checked .. :(

Here are some images of a magnificently build Soya Antarctica 1st Corp by Jedrek

Prometheus - an Alien prelude you don't want to miss

2012-01-03T00:36:00.000+08:00

Remember in the first and second Alien movie where we saw this Derelict Alien ship and its weird looking giant elephant like pilot?

Now finally a movie explaining the origins of Aliens and what that Derelict ship is all about. The new show is called Prometheus and it has lots of promises. Charlize Theron stars in it so that's another reason to see it .. hehehe. Check out the trailer and screen shots from it.

Academy's Impressive 1:400 scale Titanic

2012-01-02T23:06:00.000+08:00

Here's one to mess up your mind, Academy's impressive 1:400 scale RMS Titanic. They came up with the Premium Edition first providing metal and PE parts. This kit is probably sold out in most places.

Then comes the Centenary Anniversary Edition, this time besides brass metal and PE parts, you also get the wooden deck along with a small jigsaw ... jigsaw??? I assume perhaps the modeler would want that beautiful art piece framed next to his/her completed kit.

Its details galore, and what better way to celebrate Titanic's 100th year than to have a kit 99% close to the real thing.

Kits I am Looking Forward to in 2012

2012-01-02T02:20:00.000+08:00

Here are some kits I am hoping to have in 2012. They are a mixture of Sci Fi genre plus some really nice big ships.

First in the list is of course Revell Germany's Original Series Star Trek USS Enterprise and Klingon D7 Battle Cruiser. Sure, i could have gotten these from Round2 but from the images below, I can already see something different. For one, the windows are pre-cut and there are lots of clear plastic pieces to go around.

I hear these kits may be expensive and is already proving to be elusive as well as they are currently only available within Europe. Nevertheless I have put in a request with my local hobby store to see if they can get these.

Another kit from Revell Germany ... one I am hoping I can have, the huge 1:400 scale Ocean Cruise Liner Aida Diva. And I'm not referring to the smaller 1:1200 scale version. The moment I saw this kit, I was like, "Hey, that's how a modern Cruise Liner should look". Check out all them parts .. lovely.

Impressive, not? Well, that's my current wish list for the moment. Lets see what else 2012 brings about.

Zvezda 1:72 Scale Black Swan

2012-01-02T01:52:00.001+08:00

Black what??? Not familiar with that ship? Well, you shouldn't since she doesn't really exist. Zvezda's Black Swan is technically the Black Pearl, but since Disney has pulled the licensing rights from under Zvezda, the kit had to be repackaged as something else.

That would also explain why so many people had problems trying to buy her. I had to resort to eBay (from a Russian lady seller) before my local hobby store came through for mine. And with the repackaged kit, that would also mean that some time in the future, the original Black Pearl kit is going to be a collector's edition, that is if you manage to get her in her original box.

Its funny that someone from a scale modeling forum mentioned that it would only be a matter of time before the kit is repackaged so that she can be sold in stores worldwide, and true enough, here she is.

As far as I can tell, the only difference I see would be on the figure head, that statue thingy you see at the front of the ship, an additional structure at the bow to support the figure head, and the nameplate on the base.

And I already know of a few people who are keen on this kit as well. At the time of writing this post, I only know of a few places that offer them

1. Whatever Hobby , a relatively new hobby store owned by Bart Van der Taelen and his wife, Anne. I have written to him and he has mentioned that he has sent kits to as far as US, Australia, France, and Germany. He has a Facebook account under the name De Tempeliers Scotty, and is among the first few to advertise the Black Swan. Kits are sold in USD$.

2. Super-hobby.com, another superb store but they charges in Euro. There are also a number of shops in the UK who are already selling her, like emodel.co.uk and Modelzone and these are in GBP.

So if you are still looking for the Pearl, this would be a good alternative as you would only need to either scratch build the figurehead, or have on re-casted by someone who already have the Black Pearl (don't look at me though, I'm no pro with recasting).

Lets welcome 2012 with ....

2012-01-02T01:08:00.002+08:00

Its the New Year and this means to us modelers a rekindled anticipation of upcoming kits, and completion of current or planned projects. Of course if you have problems finishing your kit like me, then perhaps a review of your building process may be in order.

First, as we usher in 2012, we have like slightly about a year before ....

Yea yea .. the infamous Mayan calendar that stipulates the end of the world. Of course anything can happen in between too. Oh well, incentive to get as much done as possible.

As for me, I plan to enjoy my builds as I find the process of building kits are actually more enjoyable than completing them. Hence forth I am taking my time getting the parts to look and sit right ... to my satisfaction anyway. I have learned that no matter what you do, there will always be criticisms as well as compliments, so hence the saying "you can't please everyone all the time".

I'll try to update my blog more if time permits as I found that when I am building my kits, they really do take up a lot of my time, and it would be nice to show something off. As it is, 2011 has passed and all my five projects are still "in progress". A little demotivating to say the least but at least I am learning some rather interesting skill sets to get some things done.

Well, here's hoping for a wonderful 2012 with wishes of good health and fortune for everyone.

2011-12-24T23:31:00.001+08:00

WISHING ONE AND ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

MAY 2012 BRINGS ABOUT HEALTH, WEALTH AND PROSPERITY, AND MORE KITS!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

Oh, and BTW ... I finally got ........

2011-12-12T03:11:00.003+08:00

Zvezda's 1:72 scale Black Pearl, courtesy of my local hobby store. I really thought he couldn't get her when I found out Disney pulled back its License from Zvezda (this means its harder to get her). I ordered 2 units as I have plans for both. Just hope I can realise them soon. And her intructions are in English .. Yippeee!!

You can see in the background my WIP on the Gorch Fock. Have to finish that kit first, then the USS Constitution before I can start on anything else. That big kit you see on the third image .. well, that's the 1:72 scale Herman Marwade Rescue Vessel from Revell. I preordered this form HLJ but it was stated as "Discontinued" everywhere else. I was really surprise HLJ came through with this one.

Truly the biggest boat I have yet. Not planning to work on her anytime soon so in with the rest of the stash with her until I am ready for her.

Putting my foot where my mouth is

2011-12-12T03:01:00.002+08:00

In case any of you are wondering where I am ....... well, I've been busy trying to get my Gorch Fock to look right. Yeah, I'm sort of working on the Revell's 1:253 scale Gorch Fock as well as my 1:196 scale USS Constitution (though the later took a back seat for a while).

The problem here is that the kit has the Gorch Fock in her original 1933 configuration, as seen from the box art and the wonderfully build kit from LMDave.

I am trying to get mine to look like the second ship in her latest configuration (a newer ship was build and she replaces the old Gorch Fock using the same name). That means lots of correction and scratch building required. I'll post my progress later as its getting late but I want everyone to know what I've been up to.

One thing I'll say for sure. I have a real deep respect for all you ship builders out there. This kit is technically my first ship's kit and I wanted to work on her to get use to the rigging. She was suppose to be a quick build, but I ended up trying to accurize her (as usual) .... sigh.

This is what I hope to achieve

Good luck to me. I've been stuck at the mid ship railing for over a week now since I'm trying to re-create something strong enough to hold the rigging. Yup, I'm going to use threads instead of that silly looking plastic replica. So far, some progress but I haven't taken any shots yet as she's still in a very raw WIP form.

Here are just some images of what I had done. More progress were made but no pictures taken yet.

More highlights on her later.

Why is it so hard to get the Zvezda's 1/72 Black Pearl? And her English Instructions.

2011-11-17T23:35:00.002+08:00

This is definitely one kit I want. But wanting it and getting it .. well, she's proving to be as elusive as she was with Captain Jack Sparrow whenever he keeps loosing her. Rumour has it that Disney pulled the licensing from Zvezda, hence the company can't sell the Black Pearl kit in the open. I'm not sure how true this rumour is, but it is certainly hard to get this baby. My own Local Hobby Store has been waiting on my order and its coming 2 months now. In fact, I'm not really sure if he can get her at all - both hands with fingers crossed here.

So I decided to take the plunge and order her via eBay, sold by a Russian Seller whom so far have received very good reviews. I'll let you know if she's a good seller when I receive her. Be prepared as the shipping is the real killer. The kit cost USD110 and if you want the kit to come with the original box, then be prepared to pay another whopping USD120 (that's USD230 total). Otherwise do what I did, I went for the Standard Airmail option which will set me back only USD40, so that makes the kit more affordable, but you don't get that nice fancy box. Don't ask me how the kit is going to be packed as I myself am curious.

So while waiting, I realised that the instructions was going to be in Russian (says so at that eBay page). Wait a minute, I don't speak or read Russian, so this is going to be a problem. Thanks to the Internet, and to michaelstrong.com, he had posted the English instructions but they are in PDF files. I have taken the liberty to save them as bitmap so those who don't have Adobe reader can also access them.

Zvezda's 1/72 Black Pearl English Instructions

Well, I may not have the kit with me yet, but at least by looking at the instructions, I have a pretty good idea on how I'm going to build her ..... when I get her. Which brings me to another point of interest. Who exactly is currently building her?

See what others have done after the jump

I have been following two particular forums on this. The first would be at hobbytalk forum, from an esteemed scale modeler called drmcoy. He has done a wonderful job on the hull colour, and had been invaluable with some of the fittings issues. I present to you a few images from his WIP, but to see and know more, go there.

Those 1/72 figures are from Orion - Haron Miniatures called "English Pirates". Pretty good idea there ... and the funny thing is that I too had the same idea before I saw his build. Only problem .. We both have the figures, but drmcoy already has his Black Pearl. Sigh!!!

Another forum you want to go to is called HMS Victory Resource Forum, a site dedicated to period and modern ship modeling. But before you can enter, you need to sign up first, and provide the SURNAME of Nelson's Captain at Trafalgar (I am giving you a hint there in case you can't get it right- just want the surname, not the whole name). This modeler pstanfield, is not only building his Black Pearl, he is actually accurizing her. Check out his build and painting talents.

I wonder if he is using oil paints. Those look really good. And very inspirational. And talking about inspirational, do sign up soon to join that forum, then take the opportunity to browse around the other threads. There are a lot of tips there on how to get things done beautifully. I actually learned a lot just browsing around. Well, my current 1:196 USS Constitution is my very first Sailing ship .. so I'm literally a greenhorn in this area.

And of course there is also a build done by the Japanese. Check this guy's work out .. Oh wait, almost forgot to tell you. You'll need to go google translate the page first, then follow all those links that has the name "Black Pearl" on it. I wish I know that guy's name cause I doubt plaza.rakuten is his actual name. Here's some sample of his work (this guy actually reworked the details, and re-casted them)

Man, I really, really hope mine can get here soon ... like this year. Feeling kind of left out whenever I see others already making progress with theirs .... so please, please pretty please let mine come in this year ...... sigh!

My Work In Progress 1:196 Revell USS Constitution

2011-11-15T23:18:00.000+08:00

It has been a while since I posted anything on this blog ... erm .. ahem ... I can explain. You see, at first I had issues again with blogger, then when that was solved, I was too tired to post anything (too early to work, too late when I come home), then I was midway on this project, see, then ... then .. Awww Hell, ok, they're but a bunch of excuses. So here I am before i go back to my workroom.

As you can see from my recent postings, the flavour for this season is period ships. Yeah, I got too hung on the Zvezda's 1:72 Black Pearl (which I am still waiting on my LHS to deliver - coming 2 months waiting now), that I decided to practise on other period ships first. Well, you have to understand this is totally unchartered territory for me since I have never ever worked on a ship before (out of box 1:700 scale unpainted kit not counted). I did some extensive research on this and figured the rigging was going to be the most problematic area. Of course I had to try building one first to substantiate that claim.

So off I went to purchase a few kits on this topic and wouldn't you know it, I had one in my stash all along collecting dust. So now I have like a few period ships in my collection, and suddenly they have become "precious", as in, let me test my skills on the older kit first before I work on the new ones.

What I had was a very old 1:196 USS Constitution "Old Ironside" I had bought before the Millenium, that was partially assembled and painted and haphazardly kept. I didn't take any pictures prior to today as initially I was trying this and that, testing my skills on her to discover new "challenges". And knowing my knack for details, accuracy (well, not too much on this lest I go crazy) and realism, I ended up spending two weeks on her.

First I had to take stock of the parts that was scattered all over the box, and until now, I've only managed to segregate them according to hull parts, mast, cannons and sail.

Then I started working on the deck and hull itself. There was already copper painted on the hull of the Constitution, and there were some parts glued unto the deck which I had to remove (didn't do a good job on that since they broke apart on me). Here are some image montage on my progress so far .. not much but coming along slowly.

More to come when ... erm .. there's more to show.

Which is the Ultimate "Black Pearl" Scale Model kit?

2011-10-01T22:28:00.003+08:00

While anxiously waiting for my Zvezda's 1/72 scale Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean to arrive, I decided to see if I could get more images of her off the net (and its looking like I'm going to need to screen capture images of her upper and lower decks). Its a little confusing as in some images, I can't tell if those images are that of the Black Pearl, or another sailing vessel.

But I did find something very interesting. And what I found instead nearly blew my mind away.

Yup, I found me another kit of the Black Pearl, abet this one has laser cut wooden parts and metal pieces, and the details on her ... WOOT! Mind staggering! And so's the price. I do believe she is about the most accurate kit of the Black Pearl that's out there.

And here's the surprise, its made by a China based company called Z.H.L from Wuhan Poseidon Technology Co., Ltd (WPT).

I don't know anything about this company as this is the first time I have heard of them, nor have I ever seen the kit nor her parts. But if they are anything like what I see on their site, Z.H.L's Black Pearl (she's listed as 1/43 scale - that's huge) then that would make her the ultimate wooden kit for the Black Pearl, and of course I am talking about those that you need to assemble and paint. According to the product list, she's a double plank on frame construction kit.

From their product range, I could see several versions of the Black Pearl kit with each successive new kit coming in with more upgrades. The interesting part about this company is that the old kits are also made available for sale. Here's an image of the very first Black Pearl offered to the mass market:

Now note that in the above images, there are no lifeboats, the entrance to Capt Jack Sparrow's cabin is different and lacking details, and the cupboard and barrel is missing in front of the Ship's huge Steering Wheel. Other differences lies with the details on the bow of the ship. The below images are from the 2010 version which has incorporated more upgrades, including three lifeboats and more refined parts.

OK, here's the curious thing. Where can you buy her? Apparently if you were to google "Model Black Pearl", and followed through some of the links given, you'll find a lot of these offered in something like eBay called "aliexpress", and some sites have even listed her as much as USD$500 plus plus. When I went direct to the main site, the ship is only listed only at USD$258 and that is for the most recent version which is still available (They call it "Black Pearl 2"). Looking at the history of the kit, she just keeps getting better and better.

More images of the parts after the jump

Packaging wise .. OK, it sort of reminds me of a Pizza Box, with all the parts neatly segregated into sections but separated by flimsy cardboard dividers. I'm not sure how well they would hold together during delivery, but it sure looks a little risky in view of the cost of the kit. The parts themselves are made of wood and metal pieces with a few PE frets thrown in, and they do look fragile, but impressive no doubt especially with the level of details. The sails are actual I don't think she comes with paint and glue.

Impressive huh. A challenging kit I'm sure especially with all those required rigging later , but would I buy her? Probably not, since I have no experience working with wood. But if you do, or you wish to try, and looking to start on your very first wooden ship kit, I'd recommend Z.H.L.'s Black Pearl as a starter kit. Not only are they comprehensively detailed, this is the first wooden kit I see that comes with photoetch sets.

Of course I cannot say anything about the quality, mainly because like I said, I have no experience working with wooden ships. But those images they have up there, they'd make great reference materials for my coming Zvezda's kit. But you can get more information pertaining to the buildup of this kit over at Model Ship World Forum.

Tackling Period Ships Scale Modeling for the First Time

2011-09-27T01:36:00.000+08:00

I have always believed that those who undertake Modern Naval Scale Modeling will always be a cut above the rest. I still do. Its not easy working on ships. They have the most intricate PE sets made available and all those minute parts ... the level of patience they possess must equal that of a Jedi Master.

For general scale modelers worldwide, the epitome of their scale modeling experience is when they finally decide OK, I'm going to build me a ship. Not just a ship but one where rivet counters can be proud of. Yup, extensive detailing with bucko aftermarket parts, weathering ..... and finally, the rigging.

That's why I think I'm crazy. I'm going straight for periodical ships aka Old Sailing Ships. No, not the wooden ones, that'll be really asking for it. Since I placed my order for the Black Pearl from Zvezda at 1/100 scale, I've been obsessed about the tool requirements to build that baby ... and then it hit me, what about the rigging? I know nuts about knots and more knots, let alone sailor or ship jargon. And I do have a long list of projects still pending completion (which I am disciplining myself to complete).

Don't get me wrong. I'm not doing this as a challenge or anything. I really do have a fondness for ships, hence my love for Starships and all things Sci Fi. I have always been meaning to complete a few ships and the only thing I'm staying away from are tanks .... for now.

So I decided if I was going to do this, practise makes perfect, right? Oh boy, why do I feel like I'm taking in more than I can chew. To prepare my .. ahem .... journey into periodical sailing ships, I will be procuring Zvezda's 1/100 scale "Nina" Expedition ship as well as the San Gabriel. Practise will be on the Nina while I think I can modify the San Gabriel to look more like the Flying Dutchman from Pirates of the Caribbean.

Well, the Black Pearl is also from Zvezda, so it kind of make sense to work on other Zvezda kit. Of course this means I'm going to need try to master the art of rigging just so I can (hopefully) achieve the following:

I know it won't be easy. I know its going to be challenging as hell, treading into something many (I hear) had given up on. And I also think I may be crazy. I spoke to a few experienced Periodical Scale Modelers who have 6 - 14 years experience, and when I asked them if I could complete a comprehensive kit with all that rigging within two months, they laughed ......... and they're still laughing ....... and that was like a few hours ago.

OK, OK, I need to be realistic. To get a ship that detailed could take as long as 8 months to 2 years, depending on the time spent on her. According to my plans, I want to finish off my DC10-30 Malaysian Airlines first, then work on my Reimagined BSG Hangar Bay Dio, and I was kinda' hoping I could work on two kits simultaneously - the Hangar Bay, and the Nina's rigging. Well, that's the plan anyway, and my DC10-30 is really coming along painfully slow (I'm reworking the cockpit .... again. Put too much details until the fuselage won't close properly now). So I guess progress report on my scale model ship endeavour may not be forthcoming.

So with some recommendations from friends, I managed to get these two books (that scale military figure conversion is more for my BSG diorama later on). They make for easy reading for now and from my research, "Ship Modeling from Stern to Stern" may not be accurate but they are a great start for a beginner like me.

And yeah, I was told on an actual Sail Ship, there are miles and miles of lines on board with hundreds of knots all over, and they are all replicated faithfully - hence the need for this book - Rigging Period Ship

Other books currently under consideration. Well, I don't plan to me a Naval Maverick, just need to know enough to get me started.

Interesting development there, and I am hoping things don't get too difficult later on. I had always loved challenges, and well, if this project takes me 3 years, then 3 years it shall be.

Screen Cap References of the Black Pearl and Flying Dutchman from Pirates of the Caribbean

2011-09-25T02:39:00.000+08:00

The good news is that I have found a supplier that may get me a Zvezda's 1/72 scale Black Pearl. Bad news is that I hear she's going to be expensive and may take a while before I actually have her in my hands. So I'll work on the assumption I'll have her before the end of this year, hence I'm putting up whatever reference images I have on the Black Pearl, as well as the Flying Dutrchman.

You can actually see quite a few differences of the Black Pearl between the first and the second and third movies. Do take note that only the first three movies will be highlighted here since we don't see much of the Black Pearl on the fourth, and none of the Flying Dutchman at all.

Lot of screen caps after the jump.

Screen caps are segregated according to their movie titles for easier reference.

From Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

From Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

From Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

The Flying Dutchman from Pirates of the Caribbean

2011-09-25T01:59:00.001+08:00

Since we're on the topic of Pirates of the Caribbean, another cool ship that I do believe may be near impossible to replicate as a kit would be the dreaded Flying Dutchman. A cursed vessel that is out to collect lost souls at sea, and cursed again by Calypso to the captain for breaking her heart, he and his crew are forsaken to take on ghastly mutations until the curse gets broken.

To impose that cursed look on screen, the producers had the Flying Dutchman fitted with a morbid deck and hull, successfully capturing the essence of a forsaken ship and crew dreaded by sailors of that time.

And would you believe an actual mock up was created of her? Here's an image of the Flying Dutchman being towed for filming.

More images of the Flying Dutchman mock up after the jump.

Check out the ghastly details on this ship. Now imagine trying to replicate all those unto a kit. Even at 1/72 scale, I foresee a lot of missing details, not to mention jagged fragile edges. If this ever comes out as a kit, she's going to be a tough challenge to build.

Zvezda's 1/72 Black Pearl from "Pirates of the Caribbean"

2011-09-24T17:27:00.002+08:00

For such a popular ship to be made into a kit, and to have that kit remain as mysterious as the ship itself in the movies, that must have been some kind of feat. I have been waiting on news of her and believe it or not, I didn't find out that the kit is already out until I found out by chance. For your information, Zvezda is an up and coming Russian brand that is slowly but surely breaking into the world of fine scale modeling.

The problem is that all my favourite shops did not have her in stock, nor were some of them aware she was even released. I managed to find a few sites that sold her online but because I have never bought anything from them let alone hear of them, I decided to put word out if any of my favourite hobby stores would carry her. I'll let you all know of the outcome later.

As far as I know, most scale modelers who successfully got this kit got them from eBay from a seller from Moscow. Feed backs suggest the seller is reliable. Or you can try to get her from Hobbyterra.com or Scale-model-kits.com but don't ask me how these shop are as I have never shopped with them before.

So how does this kit actually look like? Well, according to the articles I've read, the Zvezda's Black Pearl is as good as any wooden panel model ship kits that is available out there. Looking at the sprues layout, this kit does hold a lot of promises besides looking challenging and good - I'm referring to all that rigging and rag tag sails you're going to need to emulate. Here are some images of a preliminary build up of her.

Another point to take note about the Black Pearl, this ship technically does not exist in the real world. In the first movie, the "Black Pearl" was build over a barge using camera angles and CGI to cover up revealing areas, while a miniature model unit was used for the overall scenic shots. In the second and third movie, the "Black Pearl" was build over an existing sailing ship. We didn't see much of the Black Pearl in the fourth movie as the ship was captured within a bottle, trapped on a perpetual angry sea by Blackbeard.

Here are some behind the scenes images of the Black Pearl. If you look carefully, you can see remnants of a Barge at the stern of the ship (that means the rear). Look for them after the jump.

A full scale mock up was build over an existing sailing ship for the second and third movie hence the Black Pearl looked more complete behind the scenes than she was during the first movie. Use of CGIs was also incorporated to capture the final fighting scenes between the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman.

Here are the part's images from the Zvezda's kit sprues by sprues in 1/72 scale.

And as expected, there are differences between the Black Pearl seen in the first movie, and the second and third. You'll need to do a comparison based on screencaps from all three movies. But I do have some studio miniature reference below you can also use, taken from a Disney exhibit.

It will be interesting to see a fine build up of this kit, esp one that is placed in a diorama setting where the Black Pearl sails off int the ocean ... being chased by her adversary.

The Moebius Black Widow in 1/8 Scale, and the Avengers Version

2011-09-15T01:31:00.003+08:00

Introduced in Iron Man 2 as a prelude to the coming Avengers movie in 2012, Scarlett Johanssen did a remarkable job portraying the Black Widow. She certainly has the looks for it, and I'm not just talking about her body. And her appearance in Iron Man 2 did make an impact for the movie. So it was truly good news when I heard Moebius was coming out with a 1/8 scale kit of Black Widow based on the movie.

It wasn't what I had expected as I had remembered Black Widow in the comics to be somewhat simpler, and her suit showing off every single contours of her body. Well, the character had to sell, right?

I'm not complaining about the new version. In fact, they had made her more realistic, and by having Scarlett portray her with that sultry look, the character really comes to focus. So how does the kit look like? Well, I don't have pictures of the kit's parts yet, but here is what you can expect.

More images after the jump.

Check out the assembly and artwork done for the kit. In essence, the pose is the same as the box art, and the suit do look like leather.

Now note that the pictures above were done by a professional, Yasutoshi Hase for Moebius, and that kit is a prototype kit based from the Iron Man movie. Let me be the first to admit that this is one very well built up kit with a fine paint job. And I'm sure you know it isn't easy painting faces, so I feel Hase-san did a very good job capturing Scarlett's appearance.

You can actually pre-order your kit from CultTVman Hobbyshop HERE. I suggest you do so to avoid being disappointed.

I've collected a few images here you can use as reference when the kit becomes available, and if you feel you have successfully captured her look, do drop me a mail with some images. I'd love to highlight your work here.

During my research for Black Widow, I managed to come across some images of her in the new Avenger's movie, or scenes from the pre-production set. Something different with her appearance there, like something has changed. Perhaps the suit looks different? Or the hair, they look shorter now. Or did Scarlett put on some weight around the hips? Hell, she still looks good.

Also curious to see what Thor and Captain America are up to here. Captain America looks really beat up though, and those guys in those weird suits looks ready to be replaced with CGIs.

And here's the cast for the coming movie, and their superhero persona.

Well, more highlight on the Moebius kit when I have some updates, and I am definitely going to watch this movie. I use to collect The Avengers comics during my youth, and as a fan, I'm hoping they can capture the essence of this team as potrayed in the comic book.

Farewell to my Father in Law, and Rest in Peace

2011-09-14T17:03:00.000+08:00

The last few days had been hectic as I only managed about 4-5 hours sleep. We were all at Nirvana Memorial Centre for the Wake to greet guest and for the Buddhist, to perform prayers. I'm a christian so I didn't really participate with the family but I stood by them to show my respects and to also be there for my wife. I was a little worried for her as she was very close to her father.

I also appreciate all those emails asking me about our funeral tradition over here in Malaysia. Well, I'm no expert in this field and I do find it morbid in a sense, but according to Buddhist and Taoist Traditions, they believe in reincarnation, and if the individual had lived a good life, then he/she would be reincarnated back into the human world. If your life is less than exemplary, then you would come back into the animal world. And of course if you were evil, you'd probably come back as a cockroach .. OK OK, insect.

To prepare the individual for the afterlife, paper houses, cars and other modern convenience are burned as offering so that the individual has all these available to them while waiting for their turn to be reincarnated.

During the funeral, I was the only son in law in the family, so I had to wear a red sash over me and lead the funeral procession. It was an honour for me, but I did feel out of place being the only family member ahead, and it didn't help that I was surrounded by two drummers directly on each side.

The burial grounds was not what I expected. Nirvana had done the place up beautifully. My FIL was buried on top of a hill and surrounded by picturesque sceneries. It really brought up a lot of emotions there. I guess its a fitting resting place for a man who brought up seven children and helped influenced their lives.

Rest in peace Dad, you have lived through a wonderful age of 81, and its time for you to rest.

It is also with this regards that I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that had written in to send their condolences, as well as all those emails and FB messages. I have posted a lot of images over at my FB account for family members who were not able to make it, as well as friends of the family.

Due to events that has happened, we had no choice but to postpone our trip to Singapore scheduled for this Friday. Unfortunately Airasia was being difficult. We were told in order to waive the cancellation and postponement fees, they required marriage certificates for my wife and me, marriage certificates for my mother in law and my late father in law, birth certificates to show our relationships and the death certificate. I can understand the last document, but what the hell with the marriage and birth certs? Then we were told there would be no waiver at all, all that just to transfer our flight to a later date, and we had to further top up almost 1K for the postponement. Virtually no compassion from them at all. Frak them. We got so frustrated with Airasia I literally told them off (expletives used), cancelled our flight (yeah, burn up all that $$$$) and have literally sworn off Airasia. They can be assured none of our family circle will ever be using their services again. Airasia is literally "X"ed.

Well, that's it for last few days. Guess I can go back to my scale modeling topics soon again. Its been raining the whole day today and the day was much cooler, so I am getting much needed rest. But its back to work tomorrow .. sigh.

I Lost my Father In Law last Friday Night, possibly to negligence

2011-09-11T02:39:00.000+08:00

It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce the passing of my Father in Law (FIL) last Friday night. My wife wasn't feeling well the whole day that day, so she decided to call it an early night, while I wanted to surprise her by doing some of the household chores. So I was a little surprised when she came downstairs half awake to tell me that her sister had called, and that her father had passed away. She was still in shock, and had to call her sister a second time to make sure she wasn't dreaming it.

My FIL had been admitted to a very comfortable and high end elderly home in the Capital City as he required a lot of care, especially after his stroke. He was bedridden and my Mother-in-Law wasn't exactly strong enough physically to care for him. His health had deteriorated some and he recently had a fractured shoulder due to reasons we were still kept in the dark over (the nurses there claim to have no knowledge of his condition).

When we got to the home, we found my FIL covered with a blanket. We asked who certified my FIL's death and if everything humanely had been done (calling for the doctor and ambulance), to which they assured us they had. But all of us found a very weak pulse on my FIL, and his neck was still warm. He wasn't breathing, and his skin had not turned blue, so how was it the nurses there was so sure my FIL had died?

We got pissed when upon further questioning, we discovered the lacklustre attempt by the nurses there to call for a doctor or even an ambulance, when they discovered he was having breathing difficulties around 9:00pm. They "decided" my FIL had passed on around 9:30pm after some resuscitation attempts had failed before placing that call to my sister in law at 9:53pm.

When queried again, they said they did call the doctor but he wouldn't come (lame excuse cause if that was true, that doctor is in deep sh*t), and that they were still waiting for the ambulance, which was by then an hour and a half late. It was only when we told them we detected a weak pulse that they placed another call for an ambulance, which arrived within 2 minutes (we are now wondering if that first call was even made to begin with).

The paramedics too queried the nurse there, only to discover to their horrors that protocol was not followed. They had failed to check the blood pressure, etc etc - Hell, the home didn't even have a torchlight available that night to check his pupils (the elderly centre had claimed to have access to all this fancy medical equipments as well as on call doctors). Frustrated, the chief paramedic demanded the head home nurse to accompany him to the hospital in the ambulance to explain that to the police.

Then I saw it, that pale look of panic. So while the paramedics were rushing my FIL into the ambulance, she was elsewhere frantically placing some calls to her boss for instructions, wasting more precious time. It was only when I shouted at her to get her butt into the ambulance that she complied. That's when I realised, were they even qualified to certify someone is dead without any medical qualification? They were after all just homestead nurses.

I'm not sure what transpired at the hospital as I had to go park the car, but by the time I got to the emergency ward, the police had "interviewed" and released her, while the doctors later certified my FIL had passed on due to old age around 10:00pm. No suspicious circumstances were found from a preliminary examination. Its even more frustrating when we discovered later that that nurse had told a different story to the police. Anyway, I shall leave the next course of action to be taken - if any, with the entire family members. I already know some of them are not very happy with this, but now is not the moment. Its time to prepare my FIL for his journey to the next world. The police finally released my FIL after 4am, and by the time I send home my in laws and had a bite to eat, I didn't get to bed until 6am.

By 8am, I started to get calls and SMSes up the cahoot, so I basically had only like about 4.5 hours sleep before a full day the next day.

Nirvana Memorial Centre

The following day we were all very busy preparing for the funeral. The family had engaged Nirvana Memorial Centre to make all the necessary arrangements, and I also discovered today its not cheap to die in Malaysia. The cheapest package was almost RM18K, and that's not even inclusive of the burial plot and tombstone. The newspaper obituary already was going to cost another 6K.

We went to check out Nirvana's Centre and it really looks like a professional outfit, and had better facilities than some of the 5 Star hotels I've seen. Of course there are cheaper packages in the market, but my Mother-in-Law insist on having the best send off, and Nirvana seems perfect for the job. Inside the canteen which looks more like a fine dining outlet, I saw this cute miniature bike. Wonder if they'll let me ride her.

Then I found out burial plots cost between a whopping RM25 - 45K - or thereabouts .... I'm not sure how much the total is going to be for my FIL's funeral but personally I find it ridiculously expensive to be dead in Malaysia. I told my wife not to spend that kind of money on me when its my time to go. Its just crazy. I rather she uses the money and go have a good time.

Of course with that kind of cost, you really do get VVIP (Very Very Important Person, emphasis on the extra "Very") services, with everything done from A-Z. The bereaved family would already be going through a rough patch and they don't need to be further burdened with the intricacies and difficulties of burying their beloved.

A lady from Nirvana then took us to Semenyih, a beautiful place where a cemetery belonging to the company was located, and its on top of a hill. I have to admit, its really very beautiful there, cool, windy and picturesque. My mother in law selected a very nice plot but it took us like an hour an a half to get there and back. That place was really very, very far. I spent almost half the day on the road, so I am looking forward to a cosy bed afterwards.

Here are some images I shot of the Cemetery ground with lots of plots still available. Personally the place is really ideal for High End expensive Bungalows. In case anyone is curious why anyone would spend so much for a funeral, well, basically a lot of Asians would due to tradition. Sending off a loved one to the netherworld is as important as welcoming a new born, and tradition demands strict adherence. Not sure where the younger generation stand on this, but their parents expects nothing less. Hence funeral homes today especially in Asia is among one of the few biggest money churning industries there is.

And here is something really out of place ... a small horse ranch at the entrance? Thoroughbred Race horses and they're very friendly too as they let us pat them.

Anyways, I'll be busy at the Wake and Funeral, then catching up on my work later as I'm sure they'll pile up fast having to take 3 days compassionate leave, so I won't be blogging much until maybe at the end of this week. I also want to be around with my family a little more especially during this time.

The Spinner from Blade Runner

2011-09-05T00:46:00.000+08:00

If you were to ask me a movie that best suits a Sci Fi Theme, the first answer off my head would definitely be Blade Runner. I admit I only went to see the movie being an ardent Harrison Ford fan, but I left appreciating the Sci Fi genre even more. When I found out the show was based on the a novel by Phillip K. Dick called "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", I went looking for it and believe me, it was just as good.

Little did I know then that James Edward Olmos was also in that movie (found out much later after the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series). Blade Runner influenced me in a few things, for one ... short hair. Since I saw the movie, I kept my hair really short (except during my college days), and still love it this way to this day. Second was the soundtrack from Vangelis. Dark, eerie and somewhat Gothic. I like.

And lastly, the Spinners. Then I thought those would make awesome police vehicles. I never thought model kits would be made of this and am I glad to be proven wrong. Here are some excerpts from the movie with the Spinners

Nostalgia yar? That was a great movie, and I hear they're going to remake it. I sure hope they don't overkill that movie. It was already perfect in its own way. So, back to the Spinner, here's a couple of image how they moved that thing behind the scene. Would you believe the chassis is that of a car? I didn't really knew that until I researched her.

The Spinner was the creation of Syd Mead, and you can read all about it HERE.

Now onto the kits. Since I only recently started researching her, I'm not really sure what was available in the previously, except for the new kits coming out. One is styrene plastic from Fujimi, and the other, well, you can expect details galore from this one, will be from Randy Cooper.

More about the Spinner kits after the jump.

Here's what you can expect from Fujimi.

The nice thing about styrene plastic kits beside the price, is their simplicity and parts. Clear coloured parts are also provided for the police lights, and looking at the set up here, I wonder if they allow lighting to be incorporated into her. You can preorder the Fujimi Spinner at HobbySearch or HLJ.

Now, if you want a kit that really depicts the Spinner in a much bigger scale with details galore, and if you truly want to stand apart from those other Spinners, then maybe you want Randy Coopers'. His Spinner is still a work in progress and will hit the market soon, but here are some images to salivate your appetite.

And here's exactly how big his Spinner is going to be. And yes, that's just the main body not calculating the protruding wheel thingy yet.

This should be good seeing they're remaking the movie. I wonder if the Spinner will change in appearance? Well, you know engineers, they love to change things.

Did any of you see this? More trivias .....

2011-09-04T21:15:00.005+08:00

They say the future is all about recycling, and the people at ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) can be very proud of themselves for doing just that ... with their studio models.

Let's take a look at the destroyed Refit USS Enterprise from Star Trek III The Search for Spock. It was heart wrenching to see her go like this.

And of course the studio model is now on display, probably owned by a fan somewhere now. Whoever it is .. take good care of her.

Now check these out. Here's the Enterprise D cruising past the wreckage of the fleet assembled to engage the Borg in TNG's episode "Best of Both Worlds". I'm sure a lot of you noticed these.

Note that separated damaged saucer section in the first image, and the wrecked hull of the USS Olympia.

And for those arguing about the battle damage on the Refit Enterprise in Star Trek II and then Star Trek III, well, here's confirmation they are not the same. The damages were augmented for Star Trek III to show that the good ship Enterprise survived hell in space, worthy of the name "Enterprise"

More trivia after the jump.

And then of course if you remember before Star Trek The Motion Picture was made, there were many concept done for the new Starship Enterprise. So what happened to some of these concepts? Look closely.

Other trivia worth mentioning. Remember the episode in "Enterprise" where they introduced the Borg, and Archer and team went to inspect the wreckage of the Borg ship? Check out what was part of the wreckage.

Yes, your eyes did not deceive you. Its the same hull used for the Enterprise E during the head on collision scene in Star Trek Nemesis.

And in TNG episode "The Naked Now", Data was viewing homage to "The Great Bird in the Sky" aka Gene Roddenberry. That bird had Gene's head on it.

In DS9, we see evidence Indiana Jones was into time travel. That statue was from "Raiders of the Lost Ark"

Of course Indy wasn't the only one. R2D2 had been busy too with its cameo alongside C3PO in "Raiders of the Lost Ark". See it there?

And of course many wasn't able to locate R2D2 in the 2009 Star Trek movie. Here's a better shot from the movie.

And wouldn't you believe it, R2D2 is also in Transformers.

And here's something interesting about the 23rd Century. HBO is still around.

And lastly, OK, this is not a trivia but something to think about. What happens if Indiana Jones was a woman? Got this from a cosplay site that got me thinking ... hmmmm.

Hope you enjoyed these.

The USS Enterprise NCC 1701 "J"

2011-09-04T20:07:00.001+08:00

For those who didn't know, yeah, there was a brief highlight on the USS Enterprise "J". So the images you see on the web, well, they're basically "concepts" done up for the actual ship and not some new fictional fan based design concepts. But wait ...... the Enterprise "J"??? Where was the Enterprise "J" seen?

Aaaahh, that's why it is important to follow up with the Star Trek Universe. The "J" was never really seen on the outside, but rather, from the inside. Its in the third season of Enterprise when Capt Archer was told of a war between the Federation and the Xindis when he was brought to the future, on board the Enterprise "J". Archer was told that this war should not have happened and was the result with someone tampering with history during his time.

Look at the "screen' in the background. There you have it, folks, the Enterprise "J".

And here are the designs derived from the above image how the Enterprise J looks like from outside.

Now I'm sure you have plenty of questions regarding this ship. I'm here to say that I'm the wrong person to ask as since I myself do not know much about her, except that she's huge, sleek and I'm sure she has a dandy crew equalling those of her predecessors.

It'll be great if we can see more of her and what she can do though. Nice ship.

Available Kits for the Ambassador Class Starship

2011-09-04T19:53:00.000+08:00

There were quite a few kits made for the Ambassador Class Starships in Styrene Plastic (where she is more affordable and easier to work with), and most of these were primarily from ERTL/AMT, Platz and later AMT Round2. I'm sure there are resin kits made as well but for this highlight, we'll focuss on the styrene plastic kits.

Two scales were made available, the first being in 1/2500 scale which first came out with the Enterprise Set 2 and later under the Cadet Series on its own, and then the 1/1400 scale version. The 1/1400 scale even had the USS Yamaguchi version which was casted in transparent plastic for lighting.

Here's the 1/400 scale when she was launched.

And here's the 1/2500 scale version, when she first came out and her latest release. Much highlight have been given to this scale on the 1/2500 Enterprise set and the stand alone Cadet Series

Despite the grandeur of being able to own your very own Ambassador Class Starship, much care needs to be given to her accuracy, esp toward the shuttle bay which was the wrong design for the Enterprise C.

More images of fanstastic build ups after the jump.

There has been quite a few debate going on regarding the correct colours to use on the Enterprise C, and some of these has gone beyond debates. I for one always maintain that it is your kit, and the most important aspect for your build up is that you must be happy with it. So don't build her to please others, build her because you want to, and you want to add her into your own private fleet collection.

Having said that, let's take a look at the Yamaguchi 1/1400 scale kit. This kit is rare now and a little hard to find (but not impossible). Many were turned off by the transparent plastic since such plastic can be quite a challenge to work with. They crack easily unlike those conventional styrene plastics. Here's how the kit looks like and when she is build, courtesy of a review done by Stephen L. :

Here's Allen Ury's USS Enterprise C in 1/1400 scale from Fantastic Plastic.

And here's a build that I had been impressed with for a while now. Its done by a Erick Muñoz and I really love the detailing he had done on his. Here's a few shots from his build, and to see more images and read his review, just click on the link tied to his name.

More on the Ambassador Class Starships:

The USS Enterprise C and Studio Model References

Other Ambassador Class Starships Reference Materials

Differences Between the Enterprise C and other Ambassador Class Vessels

Probert's Design for the Ambassador's Class Starship

Tobias Richter's Design for the Ambassador Class Starship

Available Kits for the Ambassador Class Starship

Tobias Richter's Design for the Ambassador Class Starship

2011-09-04T01:13:00.005+08:00

We have seen Andrew Probert's design for his Ambassador Class Starship and it was awesomeness on warp nacelles. Here's another out of this world design from Tobias Richter as he further stream line the Ambassador Class Starship.

More images after the jump.

More on the Ambassador Class Starships:

The USS Enterprise C and Studio Model References

Other Ambassador Class Starships Reference Materials

Differences Between the Enterprise C and other Ambassador Class Vessels

Probert's Design for the Ambassador's Class Starship

Tobias Richter's Design for the Ambassador Class Starship

Available Kits for the Ambassador Class Starship

Differences Between the Enterprise C and other Ambassador Class Vessels

2011-09-04T01:13:00.004+08:00

OK, so we've seen the studio models for both the USS Enterprise C along with the other Ambassador Class Starships, and you've decided to build your kit along one of these. And as I have mentioned, the refurbished model had some differences, so if you are a rivet counter (a term given to those who wants accuracy above all else), then you need to pay attention to the following differences.

More detailed differences after this jump.

Most of these images and information below were obtained from Ex-Astris Scientia, an excellent site for Star Trek fans worldwide. I have decided to highlight them here so its easier to refer to these instead of jumping all over, but do visit there for more information on anything pertaining to the Star Trek Universe.

You can't see the differences clearly through screen caps and the studio model images clearly, so the variance were further highlighted by Pedro and his excellent CGI rendition on these ships. Whilst Ex-Astria uses the Yamaguchi to highlight the differences, you need to take note that the Yamaguchi's model was reused for the Excalibur and Zukhov, changes done to the registry numbers. That is why in some of these studio model shots (not clearly shown unfortunately) you can see the Yamaguchi's registry on the Saucer hull, but the Excalibur's registry near the end tip of the Shuttle Bay.

There are basically nine variances to watch out for.

1. Bridge Module

Enterprise C's 12 normal-sized lifeboats are now replaced with 20 small rectangles on Deck 3, and that 2 larger elongated protrusions, one on either side. The 16 smaller rectangles on Deck 2 were removed and reduced from 4 to 2. The other Ambassador Class had 8 additional lifeboats behind the bridge module, compensating for the missing life boats on Deck 2 and 3.

2. Sensor Dome

Enterprise C's sensor dome has a simple clear round dome directly underneath the saucer hull while Other Ambassador's Class sensor dome is similar to the one seen on the USS Excelsior's with six rectangular extensions separated by a 60 degree angle.

3. Deflector Dish

The Enterprise C's deflector dish looks more like the Refit Constitutional Class Starships in that they are a smooth plain dish with 16 radial lines cutting inward. It also has the bluish light with a reddish glow when the unit is lighted. The other Ambassador's Class deflector dish is painted mid blue and has a additional rust coloured centre piece.

4 & 5. Saucer, Neck and Impulse Engine

There are two main differences within this area. The first lies with the neck section of the Enterprise C which roughly sticks out about 6m behind the saucer rim while the other Ambassador's Class neck is recessed by about 6m. While the neck and engineering section remains the same, it appears the others' complete saucer section had been moved about 12m backwards. As for the Impulse Engines, the Enterprise C's glows blue while the others appear to have a 4 LED look to hers.

A closer look at Yamaguchi's "4-LED" Impulse Engine Effect

6. Nacelle location on Pylons

The variance here is not very apparent between the distance from the nacelle front tips and the saucer when seen with the naked eye as they are roughly the same for both versions. The adjustment were probably made to accommodate the other Ambassador Class's modification when the sauce section was pushed back.

7. The Bussard Collector

The Enterprise C's Bussard Collector is a complete clear reddish piece whilst on the other Ambassador's Class, they have an upper and lower cowling.

8. A Third Shuttle Bay

While the Enterprise C has two shuttle bays, one on the back and another astern, the other Ambassador Class has a third shuttlebay located right under the engineering hull perpendicular to the the aft shuttle bay. It resembles the Excelsior's shuttlebay hung upside down.

9. The Engineering Hull Design and Aft Shuttle Bay

The engineering hull and hangar bay section on the Enterprise C is conical, narrowing at the rear while the other Ambassador Class's engineering hull resembles those of the classic constitution class starships. This is another reason why the pylons appear shorter on the other ambassador class vessels. Note that the Enterprise C do not have 6 escape pods near the engineering hull (3 on each side) as opposed to the other Ambassador Class, and that elongated rectangle box.

More on the Ambassador Class Starships:

The USS Enterprise C and Studio Model References

Other Ambassador Class Starships Reference Materials

Differences Between the Enterprise C and other Ambassador Class Vessels

Probert's Design for the Ambassador's Class Starship

Tobias Richter's Design for the Ambassador Class Starship

Available Kits for the Ambassador Class Starship

Other Ambassador Class Starships Reference Materials

2011-09-04T01:12:00.005+08:00

The studio model of the Enterprise C was of course re-used through the course of time to represent other Starships on TV and the movies, with some changes made to the hull. Some would think that these changes were done to differentiate the C from the other vessels - partly true but more toward rebuilding those parts when the studio was replacing those battle damages done to the Enterprise C model.

There were many Ambassador Class Starships highlighted in the Star trek Universe, and for simplicity, their registries are listed as per below:

USS Adelphi NCC-26849
USS Ambassador NCC-10521
USS Enterprise NCC-1701-C
USS Excalibur NCC-26517
USS Exeter NCC-26531
USS Gandhi NCC-26632
USS Horatio NCC-10532
USS Valdemar NCC-26198
USS Yamaguchi NCC-26510
USS Zhukov NCC-26136

While the original model started from the Enterprise C, they refurbished the Ambassador class studio model and that refurbished model was reused over and over again to represent other Starships. Here are a few more images of the refurbished Ambassador Class Vessels after the jump.

The USS Yamaguchi NCC-26510

The USS Excalibur NCC-26517

The USS Zhukov NCC-26136

Its good that there are variance. Even with moden naval forces throughout the world, each similiar class vessels do have something different, each with their distinguish markings separating them form the others. And the tradition is repeated at Starfleet, even through to the 23rd Century.

More on the Ambassador Class Starships:

The USS Enterprise C and Studio Model References

Other Ambassador Class Starships Reference Materials

Differences Between the Enterprise C and other Ambassador Class Vessels

Probert's Design for the Ambassador's Class Starship

Tobias Richter's Design for the Ambassador Class Starship

Available Kits for the Ambassador Class Starship

The USS Enterprise C and Studio Model References

2011-09-04T01:12:00.004+08:00

Would you believe I actually missed out highlighting the Enterprise C's reference materials? While I was cleaning up my blog of dead links, I was wondering why my Enterprise C highlights had only 3 posts and when I checked, the reference materials was missing, and I do have images collected for these.

So without any further delay, I am highlighting these now. Please note I do not have much materials on the Enterprise C as well as the other Ambassador Class starships, so I'll put down what I have.

The USS Enterprise C was first seen in The Next Generation's episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" where she travelled through time in the middle of a battle and changed history. She is classified as an Ambassador Class Starship vessel, and was seen with lots of battle damage. Destined to be destroyed by the Romulans and the catalyst for the Federation/Klingon Khitimer Peace Accord, she was commandeered by Commander Garret who was killed in a surprise Klingon attack.

Here are some screen caps of the Enterprise C with all her battle damages.

The introduction of the Enterprise C help fills in the void left in the Star Trek Universe over the evolution tree of all Starships named Enterprise. All these USS Enterprises are seen either on TV or in the movies, the original with her refit, the Enterprise D, and the B which was introduced in the movie Star Trek Generations, then the E and later a brief look at the Enterprise J, but more on the J later.

More studio model references after the jump.

Do take note the studio model of the Enterprise C is full of battle damages, as seen in the episode. I have very few clean images of her, except when the studio model was changed to represent other Ambassador Class Vessels.

Here are some helpful schematics to help you with your build. The blueprints were obtained from Star Trek LCARS Blueprint Database

More on the Ambassador Class Starships:

The USS Enterprise C and Studio Model References

Other Ambassador Class Starships Reference Materials

Differences Between the Enterprise C and other Ambassador Class Vessels

Probert's Design for the Ambassador's Class Starship

Tobias Richter's Design for the Ambassador Class Starship

Available Kits for the Ambassador Class Starship

First view of Pegasus Hobbies 1/144 Scale Alien Tripod

2011-09-01T04:22:00.001+08:00

Just a follow up on the Pegasus Hobbies War of the World's 1/144 scale Alien Tripod. Thanks to GKvfx, we now can see the kit's parts and tree sprues first hand before her release.

According to GKvfx, there were about ten trees of parts and from the measurement seen, this kit is going to be quite big. Here's his description over at the Starship Modeler Forum

"Looking at the parts on the trees, I can see that this kit is a big step up for Pegasus. The engineering is more complicated than anything I've seen from them, and the level of detail is far more sophisticated.

The leg parts seem to be split up into three sections. Each section has little tabs/keys so you know that you are doing this the right way. I test fir a single leg together this morning and it was fairly intuitive. I suspect the leg parts are identical - or maybe the two front ones are. Detail is good, with the feet being looking like suction cups and the ankles having barbs.

The waist has recessed cups that accept the hip joint of the leg. These are keyed as well, but I suspect you could cut off the tab and alter the position of the leg if you were doing a diorama.

Kit includes an option to build the version with the people baskets (molded in clear) or the variant with the destructo-ray arms (that's what I'm calling them anyway....). You also get all the little feeler arms to glue on. They are molded with a bunch of curves and, looking at the built up sample he also brought, look very natural.

The head has a couple of large parts topped by the smoked hood. I'm not sure where you can fit batteries in this thing, but I suspect watch batteries in the hood might work. (You cannot run a wire down the inside of the leg as the lower leg is solid and too curved to drill out.)

The detail on the hood is great. Subtle panel lines and textures. This will really benefit from a nice pass with the Metallizer paints and an oil wash.

There is a base, with a section of ruined street, destroyed building and crushed car. The kit is 1/144th scale - a common architectural scale, but not one with a lot of buildings. 'N'-scale for trains is very close - withing about 10%, so if you want to do any buildings, you should be able to go to a train store and get what you need. Since this is a totally alien thing, I don't think anyone will be able to tell the scale difference."

More images after the jump.

Here are some more images of the parts and they definitely look good, a little complicated esp with all those feelers. Its definitely going to be a challenge creating a diorama for this one but imagine two or three of these laying waste to a city ... whoaaa!!

There are more images over at GKvfx Flickr Album. Just click on his name to see them. Thanks for these great shots, they just convinced me to go get a few when they're released.