base medium

KLINGONSNIPER617 · Post by **KLINGONSNIPER617** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 2:57 am

I'm trying build a version of the Klingon bird of prey from scratch. What would be a good medium to work with? Foam, clay....extra. I've used balsa before. Your input is appreciated

Thanks
Eric

Jeff Herne · Post by **Jeff Herne** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 10:14 am

I guess it depends on several factors...size, strength requirements, shapes, etc.

I typically do thin wings from Lexan sheet covered with styrene to accept scribing, panel lines, etc.

Hulls and fuselages are a mix - again it all depends on the shape and strength requirements.

J

Joseph C. Brown · Post by **Joseph C. Brown** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:20 am

Jeff makes some good points -- the more you tell us, the better!

Budget, desired final size, planned use (like: gaming, or yard toy, or museum display) are all going to have an effect on the answers you are going to get... and their usefulness!

ajmadison · Post by **ajmadison** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 8:01 pm

Besides the base material, anything with any dimension more than 18" tends to be very difficult to maneuver on the workbench. So making the various components, not just a sub-assembly, but easily assembled and dis-assembled is critical. Because then you can both construct them and detail as individual components. Fortunately, the KBoP lends itself easily to doing this. And its not like it takes heroic effort to build sub-assemblies that can come together just before painting. Just some planning, instead of gluing separate framework parts together, you'll need to build little sockets. Sometimes this is just a sandwich of sheet styrene. But by not gluing one main component to another, you can work on them separately as long as is feasible.

AbsoluteSciFi · Post by **AbsoluteSciFi** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 3:19 am

Medium to work with... hum...

I like foam. But in the studio model of the Bird of Prey, they used acrylic sheets for the main structure, and the base of the wings and main body. the original Klingon D7s had a resin hull. They were designed to look very different. Point is, to decide what to use as a medium, find out how you need the model to look, then assign what is best for the task.

MillenniumFalsehood · Post by **MillenniumFalsehood** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 4:40 am

Foam is suited to curves and sheets are suited to flat-faced objects. So use a hybrid of the two, or else use a paper model of the KBoP as a template. There is a very nice one that is very accurate out there on the web.