1/1400 Scale Indomitable Construction Log

[novahobbies]

Here is the slow boat construction log of my 1/1400 scale Indomitable class heavy cruiser, based heavily on the modifications that Thomas Sasser had done for the design in the 80's. This was an unexpected surprise kit for me; a ship that I'd always liked but never expected to see in model form besides the miniscule 1/2500 kit that Thomas Models released many years ago. But lo and behold, last year Jeff Griffin got to talking with the gent from Madman Shipyards to build the model as a conversion kit in 1/1000 scale, and Madman kindly reduced it down to 1/1400 scale for me. He warned me that some detail might get lost in the reduction (which it did) but I was undeterred and pulled the trigger. I'm honestly EXTREMELY happy I did.

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Now, anyone who hasn't seen a standard 3d print might be a little put off by the rough photos. 3D models can be extremely fine....or very rough....and Madman models are somewhere in the middle. This is a perfect balance of detail and affordability, since anyone who's seen the prices of hi-def prints knows how quickly they can jump into the ridiculous range!! I consider this to be a perfect starting off point, and look a ton better with some careful sanding and detail work. This model is pretty standard for 3D prints, and I knew what to expect. I also know that a lot of this detail is comin' off. But first, I shot some paint on it to see what we're looking at. And of course I had to grab a Starcrafts hull to see how the saucer was going to look with the Madman parts.

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So, to get down to a nice surface, a lot of this detail on the strongback and the belly has to go. No big deal. I took measurements and photographs of everything that I was about to remove so I could rebuild it in styrene.

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Once the detail was off, it was an easy job to sand the hull smooth. Some work still needs to be done here, but it's coming along well. Also this nylon is very easy to scribe so I'm not afraid of losing panel lines.

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And here's where I'm at for today. The pylons are just temporarily placed. Once my Frigate collection is done, I'll be coming back to this and the Belknap, but I'm super happy I got this kitbash to add to the TMP era collection.

[Kratok]

A veritable feast in the 1400 forum this week.

You have my interest with this one. I missed the MiniMechas Idomitable for my 2500 fleet. Things are a bit crazy at the moment, but I may have to follow up and get one of these myself for the 1400 collection. I don't want to make the same mistake twice.

I have a few printed kits in the stash, but have not yet tried to do much with them. What I HAVE done leaves me impressed with your cleanup on this. Very nice - not an easy chore.

I look forward to seeing more of this one when the frigates are done.

[novahobbies]

Thanks bud. Yeah, this and the Belknap will be wrapped up when the frigates are finished...or at least when they get to the end of the paint stage, which is quickly nearing the final lap. You know how I always stall out on decals.

I *have* done a little work on this recently, but nothing worthy of even a quick pic. Just some sanding of the pylons. I'm debating giving this ship some modified engines. I'll keep the LN-64 movie era engines, but I wonder what they would look like if I stretched them to 130% length. As the Indomitable is sort of a poor-man's Excelsior, maybe the engines should keep that longer profile.....? I dunno yet. Just spitballin' here.

[novahobbies]

Just a picture to prove that this (and the belknap!) are still moving forward!
Seen here are secondary hulls for Indomitable, Federation dreadnought, Constitution, Belknap, and a Lincoln class frigate.