I'm going small

Jared Bishop · Post by **Jared Bishop** » Wed Sep 14, 2011 4:48 pm

I've decided I need to build a small one first. Here are a couple of images. I've got a bunch of green putty on the bottom.

http://www.bishopart.com/wp-content/upl ... G_0900.jpg
http://www.bishopart.com/wp-content/upl ... G_0901.jpg

I'm hoping to get more work done tonight.

Mr. Badwrench · Post by **Mr. Badwrench** » Wed Sep 14, 2011 9:54 pm

Actually this is a pretty good idea. You'll be able to work out the bugs without the grief involved with troubleshooting a much larger project. Plus you'll find out if you're still in love with the design, and want to continue, or move on to something else. It's rough, pouring a couple hundred hours into a project, only to have it turn into a Job.

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Thu Sep 15, 2011 6:25 pm

Sweet. Any progress is good progress, and I'm glad to see it still going.

southwestforests · Post by **southwestforests** » Thu Sep 15, 2011 7:27 pm

Future gaming mini?

MillenniumFalsehood · Fri Sep 16, 2011 11:44 am

No, it's a maquette for his large carrier.

Very impressive! If the carrier isn't small enough to enter in a contest, you can still enter this thing. If people like it and say, "Dude, that's an awesome design!" You can say, "You should see my other one."

kerick · Post by **kerick** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 9:06 pm

Good choice! It looks like a workable scale to me. It could be an impressive model on its own. The amount of work involved on a large project seems to be exponential factor over a smaller one.
Once you get this done and work out the bugs the larger one should go quicker.

Rocketeer · Post by **Rocketeer** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 6:47 pm

kerick wrote:...The amount of work involved on a large project seems to be exponential factor over a smaller one.

Hmm; this got me thinking. I suspect it goes up as a square. For one thing, a model that's three times as large has 3^2, or 9, times as much surface area to greebilize. And the underlying structure gets more complicated, too; what would be a simple shape filed out of a block of plastic on a small model becomes a built-up shape, made of several pieces, on a larger model.

kerick · Post by **kerick** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 12:21 am

Rocketeer wrote:
kerick wrote:...The amount of work involved on a large project seems to be exponential factor over a smaller one.
Hmm; this got me thinking. I suspect it goes up as a square. For one thing, a model that's three times as large has 3^2, or 9, times as much surface area to greebilize. And the underlying structure gets more complicated, too; what would be a simple shape filed out of a block of plastic on a small model becomes a built-up shape, made of several pieces, on a larger model.

Don't forget how many more LEDs and FO lines you can put in a large build compared to a small one.

Rocketeer · Post by **Rocketeer** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 11:04 am

kerick wrote:Don't forget how many more LEDs and FO lines you can put in a large build compared to a small one.

Yeah, you're right. That would also be roughly proportional to the surface area, I suppose, and so would rise as the square of the increase in size, just like the greebilizing.

Jared Bishop · Post by **Jared Bishop** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 10:17 am

Here are a few images. I'll have 4 hanger entrances one on the bow, port and starboard sides and one more on the bottom center similar to a Star Destroyer. So far I've only worked on the starboard side. I'll greebilize the gap inside near the forward section.

Whats the etymology on greeblie?

I'm not completely sold on the adding tubes down the forward center section. I've also got a lot of work to do on the aft section. I'm looking for reference for that section. I kind of like the aft section of the Republic assault ship but I want to use large rectangular shaped engines.

Where is a good place to buy lighting materials? Any links to good write-ups would also be helpful.

http://www.bishopart.com/wp-content/upl ... G_0912.png
http://www.bishopart.com/wp-content/upl ... G_0913.png
http://www.bishopart.com/wp-content/upl ... G_0914.png
http://www.bishopart.com/wp-content/upl ... G_0915.png

Mr. Badwrench · Post by **Mr. Badwrench** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 9:41 pm

I think the tubes look good where they are.

ajmadison · Post by **ajmadison** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 8:38 pm

Looks good. Going small is definitely a good idea for a first project. One thing to keep in mind, is that when you double any linear dimension, e.g. the length, you quadruple the volume, and finally, the exterior surface is 8 times larger.

And I wish I had "gone small" years ago. One of the issues with any scratchbuild is where to stop with attempting to physically replicate detail and where to use paint, decals, or other finishing techniques. I've said this before, but I cannot cut a piece of sheet styrene smaller than 1mm square. Evergreen strip and brass rod can supply other details that may in one dimension be smaller than 1mm, but the other dimensions are larger. This fundamental "lower limit" helps me decide where to stop cutting and starting painting (or decaling).

kerick · Post by **kerick** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 9:56 pm

Jared Bishop wrote: Where is a good place to buy lighting materials? Any links to good write-ups would also be helpful.

The lighting forum here is invaluble. They also list places to buy LEDs etc. I've had good luck with American Science and Surplus and even Amazon .com.
This wizard is very helpful to me...
http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz
ajmadison- I can't imagine greeblizing to that level, it would take me years to finish the smallest project. I just don't have that kind of patience. I'd also be afraid on losing 1mm details in more than one coat of paint. It's cool if it works for you.

Carry on my friend! Keep us posted.

ajmadison · Post by **ajmadison** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:37 am

kerick wrote:
ajmadison- I can't imagine greeblizing to that level, it would take me years to finish the smallest project. I just don't have that kind of patience. I'd also be afraid on losing 1mm details in more than one coat of paint. It's cool if it works for you.

I tend to scratchbuild subjects from movies and TV shows, so I want to try and faithfully copy all of the major details I see. In one case, I was modifying a very poorly executed version of a kit now available in injected styrene, in another case, I was/am building a ship not available in 1/1000 scale (and in a larger scale, has massive accuracy problems). What I discovered by building at 1/1000 was that this 1mm square limit quickly discourages me from attempting to replicate the smallest details. Maybe I've spent too much time with photo references of FX miniatures. Still, the smaller scales has helped me refine the scope of the project and capture the essence of the subject instead of getting bogged down with rivet counting.