I don't have tons of pictures because I hate stopping the momentum to take photos (or to, you know, EAT) I apologize for the poor resolution but these were state-of-the-art 25 years ago
First up is the Olympic:
The primary hull was made from a plastic fishing bobber:
- olympicconstruction02.jpg (61.74 KiB) Viewed 665 times
The grid lines and windows were cut and laid out with 1/64" wide graphic tape. Life pods and other raised details were cut from sheet vinyl and laid out to be left in-place for molding.
The secondary hull structure was made from sheet styrene. The tape-and-primer method was used again for the grid lines and windows, and vinyl for the life pods.
After all details were laid out, several thin coats of sand-able primer were sprayed on with a light sanding between coats. When the primer was flush with the graphic tape, I'd trace the tape with a sharp Exacto and peel it off. This gave me the results of recessed windows and "scribed" panel lines.
The tape-and-primer method was the go-to technique for ILM on studio models and works very well.
- olympicconstruction01.jpg (64.31 KiB) Viewed 665 times
The pylon section was sculpted from styrene and a material known as Sintra. It is an expanded PVC board and was a fantastic material to work with. The little light at the rear was made from a plastic rivet head from a model railroad set. Details were added with strip styrene and T&P.
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I didn't want to sculpt two engines so I made one using a square, plastic tube as the base and inserted a square rod with the bussard collector on it. After it was molded the bussard was slid out and flipped and the "second" engine was molded. The recessed area was, of course, done with T&P. I know, what a lazy bastard
- olympicconstruction03.jpg (24.33 KiB) Viewed 665 times
Finished casting:
- pasteur2.jpg (27.58 KiB) Viewed 663 times
