SBY 2199 Haizerado Class Astro Battleship - done

[Madhatter]

hi everyone

Yes, I know I'm supposed to be building the BR52, but I just couldn't contain my excitement of building this ship any longer! I've been busting at the bit to get started on this since it arrived from Japan about 4 weeks ago. For those of you who have no idea what the hell I'm talking about, it's this ship set right here:



I just love the shape and menacing appearance of this Battleship., According to my sources, this was the latest variant of battleship to come out and to make things even better, it comes in any color you like. Don't ask me what the name is because as far as I know, it doesn't have one.

However, in the main story, there are 3 particular schemes of note. One is Blue and that belongs to the head honcho's royal guard another one is the intelligence Chief's flagship which is gray and the third variant is green and that seems to be the most common one out there.

I'm going to do the Gray scheme because so far, of all the one's I've seen online, no one has done the gray one yet and I kind of like the idea of this ship being a flagship - even though the super dreadnought makes it look small in comparison.

Also inside this set, there is a troop transporter which is in splinter colors (on the box art, it's the one on the bottom right next to the Bandai logo) but also this wicked looking unmanned drone.



I think with some extra detailing, I can maybe make it look even better. That's a big maybe mind you.

I've been thinking of ways to light this and I'll admit, parts of it will be incredibly tricky. Most of all is the scoop like things on the bottom. On the battleship, they are molded in clear yellow, which is fine - that can be adjusted with the right color LEDs, but the ones on the drone are solidly molded on and I have no idea on how A) I'm going to get the detail out of there and B) what material I'll use to replace them.:





If you have any ideas, feel free to share them!

So, enough intro, onto the build! I've had this out of the box now for about an hour or so and I have mutilated it already, getting ready for the installation of lighting. I'm waiting on the arrival of some orange, pink and green LED's which I ordered a while ago and should be here this week!

The good thing about this ship is there isn't much lighting to do, so it should be quick and easy.....famous last words!

It's a decent length too - just on 39cm.





I love the way Bandai have engineered these kits with all these little compartments that make lighting life so much easier.

Well, that's enough for tonight - it's late here and I need to go to bed, but I'll continue on with this tomorrow night and post an update soon.

Sorry to those who were watching the 52, but rest assured, I'll get back to it again soon

Thanks for looking

MH

[Madhatter]

well, time for one last up date for the week. I have made some progress, although seemingly not much. However, removing the bridge window is a challenge when you consider it is only 2mm high at it's tallest point. I will fill it in with clear cement once the paintings done so it won't look like a holed out window.







I have also begun adding the usual micro detailing to give it some texture. I will try not to go over board on this one. Fibers have also been added as nav lights and there is an SMD in the bridge for it's illumination

I have also tried out something new and dug out a small trench at the rear of these small fins to enable a fiber thread to be installed. I finally got to break out my smallest engraving tool and Ii am really happy with the over all result. I  just need to add putty over it to smooth it out and blend in with the rest of the fin.





And lastly, I  have created a new kind of light box for the side things (no one I know actually knows what they are called or what they do other than they change colors depending on the ships status). I may yet change out the frosted clear bits and re-do them but not so frosty. It depends on how much light they will disperse - or not.





Well, that;s it for this week. Be back again soon with some more of this awesome ship

Thanks for looking

MH

[Buzzbomb]

Let the goodness commence

[arkon]

you     are     insane       I like it!

[Madhatter]

Cheers guys. Hopefully I won't disappoint 

[Madhatter]

greetings everyone

Well, things progress ever so slowly, but I thought I'd catch you up where I am currently.

I spent a fair amount of time setting up the rear engine lighting - most of the time spent trying to work out what to use as an LED holder. In the end, I went with a hollowed out drive wheel from a Tamiya M60A3 tank. Works perfectly!

I cut a disc from clear plastic sheet and then sprayed a coat of Testors Dullcoat to give it a nice frosted effect. The little nozzle that protrudes in the middle got hacked up too and I must say, I am happy with the end result. Obviously, the below pics are just a light test and nothing is glued on, but on the final product I will make sure everything is centered etc







And the light box in the middle is still being worked on. Trying to make it fit is becoming a challenge to say the least!



And finally, the bridge work is now all done and ready to be installed:







Well, that's it for now. I'll continue working on the Middle light box but I am waiting on delivery of the last colored LED set to arrive. I bought 50 Yellow LED's but what I didn't realise is that they are flashing LED's and unfortunately, they blink to fast to be of use on this ship. So, if you want some flashing yellow LED's please feel free to ask me for some. I have no use for them, but it's not so bad when considering I only paid $3.50AU delivered for them.

See you again soon

MH

[Queeg]

Just love your starships ............ 

[Frank3k]

Amazing detailing, and the engine lighting looks fantastic.

[Madhatter]

cheers guys, means a lot

I spent some time on the electrics last night and I found I had to cut some corners - literally - off the central light box to make it fit. I'm still waiting on the last of the LEDs to arrive before I can finish that off and get it installed and wired in. But I'm also waiting on a critical part of this set up before I can really know if I need to make a different set of lights - I'm waiting on the micro controller to arrive. Then, once I can be sure it fits in to the space I've managed to allot for it, I can really continue. The controller will instruct the central lights to fade-change colours every 20-39 seconds from Green for at rest to yellow/orange for at battle stations (I think that's the right way around - or it might be the other - I'll have to check)
I just hope the controller will fit otherwise I'll have to change plans and have to make up a base, house it in there and up the wires up through the ship. Which would be a PITA to say the least but still do-able

Anyway, here's the fruits of my minimalistic labor

first up - the top half of the ship is mostly together and retail to detail:





I thought this little bit here was quite a nice design feature that had remained hidden until now.





And inside:













Well, that's all for now. See you again soon

MH

[Madhatter]

got to spend some time on this today as I was quite unwell this morning. Doc says get some rest, etc etc

So, with the wife and boy away visiting one of her friends, I decided that the best way for me to relax and "rest" was to do some more on this ship.

I spent a long time tidying up the wires and fiber threads and finishing up what I can ready for the micro controller to be installed.

As you can see, I have gone for the plug system again to power the LED's which are separate to the controller. Because that plug is powered, I'll use the last plug left to run the M.C and nav lights

However, I don't have enough spaces for the bridge light to plug into this board, so I'll keep the extended wires and plug it into another plug which will go into the lower half of the ship.

All being well, the last of the LED's will be here this week, so I can then finish off the central light box and get that installed to.

Organised chaos:







Well, that's all for now but I'll be back again probably on Monday with another update.

Thanks for watching

MH

[Brian da Basher]

That looks like a lot of difficult work requiring the patience of a saint!

I bet it pays off in big way! I really like that purplish light you installed.

My hat's off to you! Something like this takes abilities I can only imagine!

Brian da Basher

[Madhatter]

thanks Brian - very nice of you to say so
I must admit, my patience has been tested lately as I did a lighting test last night and found that the bottom Yellow LED isn't working and I can't get in there to replace it, so I tried to move a couple of the larger fibers into the green one and boke one off - whcih in the ned wasn't so bad as I was able to re-thread it with a larger piece and the curves on it aren't so sharp.
I also broke off one of the fin lights which is a REAL PITA because that one I can't replace. It still shines out but now I have no idea on how the heck I'm going to mask it when it comes time to paint!

*sigh*

Nevermind, I'm still hopeful they will look good once finished

[Madhatter]

hi everyone

I have made some progress over the past few days and now the top half of the ship is now detailed and I will start the bottom half tonight.

I've also had to re-do the central lighting again. I've moved the LED's around so they don't block each other and disperse the light better. I haven't taken any pics of that yet because it's not finished























That's all for now - thanks for looking and it's back to to the studio for your regularly scheduled program...

MH

[Madhatter]

hi everyone

Well, it's been a full on week with the sister in law here for a visit and an even busier working week, so those combined and with the addition of other crap, bench time has been some what limited.

I have begun work on the lower half of the ship, adding details here and there. I have decided to add some 0.7mm brass tubing bits to the guns to give them a better look. I know it's not quite screen accurate - but then, when have I ever been a stickler for accuracy?

I also got word that my micro controller is all but done and I am waiting with huge anticipation of receiving it in the mail. I'm very excited :)

Time for some pics - of which there only a few, so I do apologise.















Well, that's all for now. Will try to update again soon

Thanks for stopping in and having a squiz

MH

[Queeg]

Great build progress (to be expected now each time you post ) and very clear macro detail pics too ..........

Brent

[Madhatter]

thanks Brent  :)
Yeah - macro...I really need to step back from the ship when taking photos and learn how to use Photoshop to crop and enlarge. I would normally shoot with a much higher depth of field, but I no longer have an operational tripod and my hands are not steady enough to take a picture like that without one

Si

[Mr Ten]

wow Very cool ship and very interesting building !

[Deepsix++]

where did you get those brass peaces

[Madhatter]

Thanks guys
I got the brass from my local hobby shop. It's the K and N 0.07 tubing. It's extremely easy to cut: just roll it under a razor blade and it goes straight through
You can get right down to 0.4mm . Best of all, you can telescope them; 8, 6,4 to create some nice small gun barrels
MH

[Buzzbomb]

Just another MH masterclass in starship detail and lighting.

Nice work Simon, this is great.

Another source for good brass is Albion Alloys http://www.albionalloys.co.uk/
This gear is becoming readily available here in Aus as well with most larger (and some smaller shops) stocking it.

[Madhatter]

Albion - that's the brand I've been using, not K&N (sorry, my bad there, should have looked at the label on the carrier tube first - I just bought some larger brass tube that's K&N, hence the confusion on my part)

I got mine from VHC a while ago

[Madhatter]

greetings everyone

Well, it is a minimal update this week sorry. I am waiting on the micro controller to arrive at some point this week in order for me to be able to finish off constructing the battleship. I can't do anymore on it until it arrives unfortunately. So, I decided to make the little drone that comes with the set. I was going to try and light the "eyes" but I just couldn't find a feasible way of doing it, so it's only the engines that are lit sorry.

Since taking the pictures, I have joined the 2 halves together and am waiting for the putty to dry before I start to paint it. I hope to have the first coat on tonight (fingers crossed)











Well, that's all I have for this week. Sorry it's so minimal. Hopefully, the controller will arrive soon and I can really get things rolling toward the end

Thanks for stopping in

MH

[GTX_Admin]

Looking good.

[Deepsix++]

what sort of glue do you use for those really small bits you added for detail

[Madhatter]

I use Tamiya Extra thin cement. I pick up the chips with a sharp knife and dip the surface in a puddle of cement on the top of the jar and then apply the piece. The best and worst thing about this glue is it dries very quickly.
I'll be updating this thread again soon. Pretty much finished the drone and it's looking good

[Madhatter]

greetings all

Things have been progressing very slowly - especially with the main ship. I am unable to do anymore on it until I get the controller and the last few LED's - which I didn't realise are still in transit - almost a month AFTER I bought them. No wonder it was free shipping - it's coming from China by canoe!. Next time, I'll double check estimated arrival dates. Ridiculous really - especially in this day in age

Any way, rant over, back to the build.So, in the mean time, I have primed the ship - mostly because I was itching to see if the details will be lost - and to some degree they are, but not a lot is fortunately.





















And I have been painting and trying to finish the drone. I have the paint work done but now need to decal it (all 4 of them) and then get a small base sorted out for it.

It is still gloss coated and needs a matte finish yet, but you get the idea



Well, that's all for now until the controller arrives. From there, it should be an easy ride tot he finish!

Thanks for looking

MH

[GTX_Admin]

Coming along nicely.

[Madhatter]

well, it's time to spam the boards again with a small update

I have finally finished the drone and I am pretty happy with how it's come out. The colours aren't exact, but they'll do. I was going to try and light the intake like things up front down below but that proved way to hard, so I just painted it instead. The engines however are lit

The base is an old car display case which turned out to be perfect - I can just take the lid off to change the battery out if I have to! :)



















Well, that's it for now. See you all again soon

Thanks for looking in

MH

[Brian da Basher]

The drone really finished up nicely!

That's some mighty fine work! The lights really bring it to life!

Brian da Basher

[Buzzbomb]

Just marvellous.

that nifty little scout craft is really nice

[Madhatter]

thanks fellas
My micro controller arrived on Thursday and I finished wiring up the central lighting system, installed the controller, wired that up and tested it - and I am really pleased with the results. It looks awesome and just how I envisioned it
I should be able to finalise the wiring this weekend, and close up the 2 halves to begin painting. Almost at the end now. Once I'm there, I'll post a short video of the lighting system in operation.
Pics will follow in a few days from now

[Madhatter]

I'm thinking painting might take a bit longer than I expected it too. This is the result of just a day's worth of masking:













This is just the beginning - I've only done the black. I still need to do another 2 splashes of gray before I re-shade where I need to and then add the base color. Shouldn't need to much tweaking from there - famous last words.

Like my last build, these pics are more for my reference so I remember where I put them.

Till next time

MH

[Old Wombat]

Just take your time & get it right, brother! :)

[Buzzbomb]

Fascinating build this

Really interested to see what you do with the Micro controller. Outside of using that flasher/chaser pre-built board I have no experience.

Should be a REALLY good talk you give at Model Expo next year if I can persuade you to back up

[Madhatter]

Thanks fellas, greatly appreciated
Patience is something I seem to have a lot of which comes in handy for not only modelling but also 3 year old children who will certainly test it out!!
Brian, I will be there for next years Expo if I am still wanted by then :) I didn't program the board - I just told the bloke I got it from what I wanted it to do and he programmed it for me. I really need to learn this programming language so I can start doing it for myself and really start have some fun with lighting.
However, some gin  seems to have gone wrong with the program as e flashing part of it isn't flashing. It does the color fading fine but it doesn't flash the nav lights as hoped. I am not gutted about it as it was only a secondary function and not high on the priority list.
Started the other side and bottom lags night after I got back from the club meeting. The wife is out now and the boy asleep, so I am goi to take this opportunity to do some more
Till then
Si

[Madhatter]

well, masking went quicker than I thought and is now all done. The ship is now in the shed after being shaded ready for the main body color.

It's taken me 3 days to get this masking all done, so I hope it's worth it

Some pics:





















Well, that's it for now. I think the next post from me will be the last in this WIP thread and after that - I think it'll be finished. I still have to find a base for this to sit on as yet - I have no idea on what to use. I'll hunt around some of the cheapo $2 shops here and see what I can find

Thanks for looking

MH

[Buzzbomb]

The next pesky bit will be finding all those masks and getting them off.
Personal experience tells me that after a couple of Digital cammo jobs.

That aside.. brilliant work and really looking forward to the big reveal

[finsrin]

Your detail work is toooo good.........

Great build  :)

[Madhatter]

The next pesky bit will be finding all those masks and getting them off

Indeed, that's why I took a heap of photos so I can remember where they are

[Frank3k]

All those tiny tiny bits of tape! It would probably take me moths to apply that many. This is going to look great!

[Madhatter]

thanks Frank
I have removed all the tape and the paint work looks good to me and I'm happy with it. Just need to gloss coat it ready ofr a pin wash, then matte coat it and mount it to the stand and I am calling it done
On a sadder note, I did a final light check last night and the bridge light has gone so have a couple of other LED's whic do the nav lights, so only a few now work. Remind me next time I decide to light a kit NOT to do a WIP - so that if the lights fail as they are now, I wont embarrrass myself so badly. I have no idea why they are but they just are and I am not happy
I'm going to go back to the BR52 after this and try finish it.  I might even break out the K5 to - depends on how brave I feel

[Madhatter]

After 2 months, the Astro Battleship “Shangri La” is now finished. The kit went together well and Bandai make it easy to do lighting. However, due some problem somewhere along the line, the bridge window light and a couple of the Nav light LED’s having either blown or just stopped working. A disappointment for sure, but I’ll live with it. The main thing is the central lights still work and change colour like they’re supposed to.
I have painted mine slightly differently than what’s on the screen by adding replaced panels which in my opinion makes it more interesting than just a slab of violet hued gray. Speaking of which, I opted not to have the violet tinge to it because I didn’t like it that much
That’s the best thing about Sci-Fi, you can do what you like with the subject and no one can tell you it’s wrong 
Here’s some pics I’ve taken of it. I might try for some moodier shots later tonight if I can be bothered.



































Thanks to all those who tuned into and posted in the WIP – it is always hugely appreciated
Let me know what you think - good or bad, it’s all feedback that may help me do something better in the future
Cheers
MH

[Buzzbomb]

Well done to see this through. It really was a treat to see this come together.

Somehow I was expecting something other than grey, some sort of splash of colour somewhere.
I reckon though that the lights will add that point of interest so really looking forward to seeing it in its glowing goodeness.

Well done.

[Old Wombat]

That’s the best thing about Sci-Fi, you can do what you like with the subject and no one can tell you it’s wrong 

I wouldn't put money on that, if I was you, mate!

The Sci-Fi world has its own small but dedicated cadre of ninja JMN's waiting to pounce at any opportunity.


Me, I think it's a pity about the failed lighting elements but it looks awesome none-the-less!

[Madhatter]

thanks fellas

Yes, I know about the Sci-fi JMN's - which is why I'll never build a Star Trek kit    I value my pride. I built a Star Wars Venator a few years ago and wondered if I'd pi** someone off with that. Turns out not - but you never know while building it - it lingers in the back of your mind

I'm sure I've peeved of some hard core SBY fans with this bastardized ship, but I just don't care. I build for myself and my tastes 
hehehe - just wait till they see what I have in mind for the triple decked carrier! 

[Buzzbomb]

just wait till they see what I have in mind for the triple decked carrier! 

Wooo Hooo.... Bring it on !!

Love your work

[Old Wombat]

I'm sure I've peeved of some hard core SBY fans with this bastardized ship, but I just don't care. I build for myself and my tastes 
hehehe - just wait till they see what I have in mind for the triple decked carrier! 

That's the spirit! :)

[Madhatter]

I had the house pretty much to myself tonight, so whilst the wife was away and the boy tucked safely in bed, I decided to have a play with the camera and lighting on the battleship

The below pics are the ones I felt looked cool:



















Well, that's enough of the pics but this was more an exercise in learning and practicing photography skills. Once I figure out PhotoShop Elements Ii should be able to try and create some kind of planet mural type picture.

Anyway, thanks for entertaining me by stopping in again

Till then

MH

[GTX_Admin]

 :)

[Volkodav]

Definitely cool!

[elmayerle]

Definitely cool!

Not just cool but "Way cool!!"

[Buzzbomb]

I retract every thought I had about the grey finish...in that setting, lighting and with lights.. it just pops
Just the icing on an very, very nice cake with this entire build.

A++++ work !!

[Old Wombat]

I like it!

Pity about the lost lights but the ones that remain are very cool!

[Madhatter]

not a fan of grey then Brian? Don't worry - neither am I which is why I added replaced panels to break up the mono-tone colour.
I'm going to have a play with the contrast settings when I get a free couple of hours to make the balck blacker and to hide the cloth behind it etc then drop in a star field or planet in the right place to give it a light source.
I've still got to paint over a couple of nav lights to change their colour from green to something else but that'll be done later
One thing I like about some of these pics is the lens flare from the nav lights - it looks really cool (IMO)

thanks again for looking
MH

[Queeg]

That's just wicked cool ............. great inspiration mate!!!!!

Brent

[taiidantomcat]

That is a work of art  Excellent job on the extensive masking

[Madhatter]

thanks fellas

A friend's daughter over at Britmodeller did a Photoshop pic of this ship for me and I think it looks wonderful!



I really need to learn how to do this...

[Old Wombat]

Woh!

I say, is that a BSG Viper in the background, behind the bridge structure?

[Madhatter]

yes it is    - but even though it doesn't technically belong in that shot, I think it does add some scale to the battleship

[Old Wombat]

Actually, it could be in the foreground, too, because there's a slight gap between the bridge structure & the port wing tip.

[deathjester]

Awesome work there - really nice effect on the hull - just shows what you can do with a 'plain grey' finish, eh!