ewahl

Hi, Rodolpho, I usually shoot models with my old Sony Mavica digital camera that I've had since 1998. It requires a 3.5" floppy disk for recording images. Its maximum photo size is 1.6 megapixels. I love the macro setting that will allow me to get within one inch of the subject and hold the focus. Because of the size of the model and lighting in the room where I took these shots, I used the camera's flash. Normally I do not use the flash (turn it completely off) for close-ups because the flash washes out the image. I have a 3.5" disk adapter that takes a memory stick to permit around 700 images on the single disk. The file size on these pictures was around 200K, and I can get 6 shots on an ordinary floppy. It has 8x optical zoom with up to 16x in digital zoom, and I compose many shots using the zoom feature. I thank you for your kind words about the model. I shot the underside because that's where all the work and detail is. The upper hull is simply a dome on a flat conical surface with almost nothing else to see, making a dull picture. I learned something about large circular vacuform parts and how to remove them from the sheet plastic surrounding stock. I have used the score/flex/snap method on small pieces, but I was concerned with a cut into thick plastic that was over 5 feet around the rim, not wanting to score or snap or crack accidentally into the hull itself. I tried two methods, one on each hull half. For the first I used an electric hot knife tool from Auto World that supposedly cuts through plastic like butter with a hot #11 blade in a wood burning set handle. I found the hot knife difficult to control as I gently pulled it through the plastic (which was slow and NOT as easy as cutting through butter) working my way around the 22-inch square outside piece. the melted plastic beaded up as it separated and then cooled, occasionally obscuring my view of the hot blade. Also, the melted plastic built up on the blade itself and stuck, requiring frequent stops to remove the blobs from the blade. Fortunately I did not damage the hull half, but the resulting cut out round piece required many hours of sanding to get a smooth edge all the way around the rim. For the second hull half, I used my trusty razor saw. While the saw blade wandered a little as I cut my way around, I still had better control and could cut closer to the edge of the rim. There was much less sanding to clean up the rim's edge using this method. So, I've answered a question you asked and one that you did not. Thanks again for your interest. I admire your work on the armor posts. Ed

I also have the Polar Lights version so I could attempt the interior. I'm not in love with the six-segment upper and lower hull halves because of the joints. I had enough trouble with the squaring up of the rounded vacuform edges on the Lunar Models kit. I immediately noticed that the central navigation console's sphere on The Polar Lights kit is missing the inner clear sphere inside of which is the miniature ship (something else to fix). When I corrected the stair leg to the 20 steps from the resin piece's 13 steps, I calculated the rise from step to step at 8-9 inches, which is a normal rise on a stairway. This was in 1/72 scale. Polar Lights says their model with a 28" diameter is 1/72, and I believe that the Lunar Models version with a 20" diameter is 1/72. So, which is right for a fictional ship? Lunar Models issued a 1/72 accessory and figure kit in 1/72. This kit contained three crew members, Morbius, Altaira, and Robby, the land car, the service tractor, drive core, and blaster cannon array in 1/72. The id monster was in a larger scale and can be built as a separate figure. Alas, as in almost all cases, the inside of a Hollywood ship is larger than the outside, which causes confusion about the true scale of things. I appreciate your compliments on the project. Ed

Here are some photos of the C57D from the vacuform and resin Lunar Models kit I completed in 2002. This project began in 1988 when I bought the kit. The three landing ramps are scratchbuilt on the cutouts from the lower hull for shape and location. There are three interiors on top of the ramps for interior "structure" and to hide the otherwise hollow hull. The rim seam is over 62 inches around based on the kit's 20 inches diameter. The landing piston is a section of chrome sink drain pipe from the hardware store cut to length with a hacksaw. With the exception of the landing point, all the kit's resin pieces were useless--wrong detail, hundreds of pinholes and air bubbles in the resin, andno way to fill and smooth the imperfections. I scratchbuilt the stairs and two ramps with Evergreen plastic sheet, strip, and rods. The finish color is a 50-50 mix of Model Master Chrome Silver and Gold airbrushed and covered with Dullcote from a spray can. The as-yet unbuilt Earthbase landing dock for the end of the return flight from Altair-4 will give Robby the chance to say, "So this is Earth." The base you see in the photos was cobbled together using foam artboard and spray rock from a can. Ed Wahl

Are you working on the H-198 kit from 1974 or the H-182 kit from 1976? The latter kit was issued with a lot of underside stores. Both kits were based on the 1972 kit of the F-4J. I can provide you with a hard copy of either of the above kits.

The three I'll watch anytime they are on are: 1. Forbidden Planet 2. 2001: A Space Odyssey 3. War of the Worlds (1953) I have all on DVD an pop them in occasionally if they are not on the tube (sorry, flatscreen). Nobody has mentioned Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.