Author Topic: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models  (Read 10235 times)

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« on: May 05, 2017, 04:53:28 AM »

(Thumbnail image source: Fantastic Plastic)

Testors (kit number 576) 1:48th scale Area S4 UFO
Lindberg (kit number 91006) 1:48th scale Area 51 UFO

This is a good example of a mold being used by another company to release the same model kit with a new name with the same tooling as the original model kit. 

This post is intended to allow discussion on various ideas and perhaps solutions to problems and not something to show my WIP unless I get far enough along to deem it worthwhile to share such images.  For now, the kit I am working on is still in the box, taken out occasionally to inspect it and do some check-fit on various parts I have rediscovered in my stash of spare parts that looked suitable for inclusion in the project.   

The Testors interpretation of the popular UFO/flying saucer was produced and made available for sale to the public sometime in 1995-1996.  Fantastic Plastic has a nice description plus an image of the box top and finished model at this link: Testors' Area S-4 UFO Revealed!

Another page on the Testors Area S4 UFO with images of the instruction sheet plus box top and bottom images can be viewed at this link: Area S4 UFO Revealed 1:48 Scale Model Kit

As you can see from the images at the above link this is not a complicated model to build.  It only gets complicated when you try to use logic and a common-sense approach to what you would expect to find inside of an alien craft modified to allow human (Terran) occupancy to control and fly the craft.  The three tiny and very plain looking seats included in the kit obviously are not going to work for a 1:48th scale human size figure of any proportion unless you are modeling a child.  The only other pieces included in the kit for the top of the deck are three rectangular shapes that are supposed to interface with three cylindrical objects on the deck bottom.   Taking the easy way out would be to just do as Fantastic Plastic suggests and paint it after assembly to be done with the thing.  The two saucer halves look like something that was originally some kind of light fixture cover for a ceiling light or maybe a hub cap.  The bottom saucer half is very plain looking, no surface details at all and again, a ceiling lamp or hubcap shape.  A third part molded in grey plastic looks like a small salad bowl with some engraved rectangle shapes around the circumference, nothing spectacular to be honest. 

After opening my own kit and inspecting the contents I decided to remove the figures, deck parts (top and bottom) and the seats.  The top of the deck has a small hexagonal area engraved into the deck that is supposed to be the access port to the lower area of the craft.  I sanded this feature off of the deck along with the details on top of the areas where the seats and rectangular shapes were to be glued.  This was a good start but I feel that at some point I will need to sand or cut away the remaining raised surfaces to achieve an overall smooth surface for the upper deck in order to allow placement of new seating and various pieces of equipment to make it look like a craft capable of flight in the atmosphere or space.  Why?  Well the layout is too simple in appearance and it begs for interior details of some kind or another.  The interior is pretty much a blank slate awaiting your input, things like black boxes, tanks, proper seating for human occupants, control panels, circuit breaker boxes, cabling and some kind beg to be included.  In addition to the desired internal clutter it would be nice to also include a series of bulkheads and internal framework to suggest a structure of some kind beyond the engraving in the top half of the saucer shape.  I did cut open the door engraved in the clear plastic top half and was not pleased with the fracturing of the plastic around the area of my cut.  While I did try to be careful by scribing the area to be cut and following up with razor saw it was still a fail from my point of view.  The door part was a write off as it shattered and that means additional work to make a new door. 

Another issue I found with this model is the lack of any kind of display stand for the thing.  Your only choice is to let it sit on a flat surface or hang it from the ceiling.  I found a solution to this issue by purchasing the Lindberg Independence Day Alien Attacker model kit (link to Fantastic Plastic).  The display stand from that kit is perfect for a UFO shape since it is an inverted tripod that will hold your Testors UFO model without overwhelming the model. 
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline Frank3k

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #1 on: May 05, 2017, 10:40:06 AM »
Jeff - This kit is basically two clear-ish plastic salad bowls with some interesting parts thrown in. I sold mine years ago because I just couldn't get motivated to build it. Clear styrene is extremely brittle; if you sill have the parts, glue them back in the hole and back them with a  styrene sheet then putty the cracks/gaps. I think a hot knife might work better at "cutting" through clear plastic like that. Maybe a #11 blade in a suitable soldering iron with an adjustable temperature.

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #2 on: May 05, 2017, 12:54:23 PM »
Too late for that Frank.  I tossed the broken door part in the trash.  I am now looking at possibly cutting the entire area within the engraved archway as an alternative that would make for a much larger door.  I really have not been motivated much by the kit either which is why they have been collecting dust in the stash for so many years.  I figured building something so simple would help restore my mojo but it is not working as planned. 

I think salad bowls might fare better or the plastic plats as done by kerick with his plates in space build. 

There are times after fiddling with this kit that I want to find that asshole Bob Lazar and kick him in the shins because of the frustration he has created.  :) 

As far as ruining the kit, that is no big deal as I have three of the things in protective custody so if one goes FUBAR I can always move on to another one and not make the same mistake twice [I hope]. 
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline Frank3k

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #3 on: May 06, 2017, 06:04:00 AM »
Luckily the damaged door is only on one half of the saucer. Toss it, install the "floor" , add greebles or other interesting bits, wave the scale-o-rama wand and you can make something like this:



You can also cut out the conning tower (or whatever the central protrusion on the top is) and glue it to the floor.

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #4 on: May 06, 2017, 09:15:09 AM »
When I start bread boarding the placement of "stuff" inside the saucer on the main deck I try to keep in mind that balance is an important thing so spreading the weight around makes sense.  One of my main complaints is the placement of the crew seating so near the center and so far away from the edge of the saucer.  Also the lack of any kind of control panel drives me nuts.  Where is the steering wheel or control handles for the bloody thing?  Should I add a joystick from a fighter aircraft?  Or a steering yoke from a bomber/transport?  Maybe controls like you have on a helicopter would make more sense.  The insides of the thing are a blank slate/canvas just waiting to be realized.  Starting to think painting it one color and being done with it is the right thing to do.  Q_%*(%T_AW* Bob Lazar...  :)
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline aerospacer

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #5 on: May 06, 2017, 02:13:54 PM »
Also the lack of any kind of control panel drives me nuts.  Where is the steering wheel or control handles for the bloody thing?  Should I add a joystick from a fighter aircraft?  Or a steering yoke from a bomber/transport?  Maybe controls like you have on a helicopter would make more sense. Q_%*(%T_AW* Bob Lazar...  :)


Think theremin - http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,28724.msg301809.htm;D

Martin
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Offline Frank3k

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #6 on: May 07, 2017, 02:44:38 AM »
Maybe Bob Lazar was a fan of "This Island Earth." You could add an Interocitor:



Or this emo Exeter and his bummed out passengers:




Offline Alvis 3.1

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #7 on: May 07, 2017, 10:15:40 AM »
I re-scaled mine to 1/87 and added all the requisite Nazi equipment, including a leetle teeny Adolph waving Auf Wiedersein. I was so thoroughly annoyed at forking over a lot of money for two salad bowls and a side bowl, with no interior I scratch built an interior, added a bubble "canopy" and a bunch of crew (There's a Kubelwagen on Deck 2).
The whole saucer is actually flipped upside down from the "real' one. Cutting the hatch took forever, slowly scribing my way through, like using a butter knife to cut diamond. Ugh!
http://www.arcair.com/Gal1/401-500/gal419-Saucer-Petrie/00.shtm
For flight crew seats in 1/48, how aboot the ones from an F-16, for that casual "relaxed pilot" look? You could go with TNG-era Star trek type controls, completely smooth with touch screens galore.
« Last Edit: May 07, 2017, 10:17:31 AM by Alvis 3.1 »

Offline elmayerle

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #8 on: May 07, 2017, 12:16:21 PM »
Also the lack of any kind of control panel drives me nuts.  Where is the steering wheel or control handles for the bloody thing?  Should I add a joystick from a fighter aircraft?  Or a steering yoke from a bomber/transport?  Maybe controls like you have on a helicopter would make more sense.
Perhaps the interfaces are neurotronic as in some of the later sf novels by Lee Corey/G. Harry Stine; you wouldn't have much visible interface then.  I rather like the idea, myself, of ST:TNG-style programmable touch-screen control panels.

Offline Frank3k

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #9 on: May 08, 2017, 02:26:21 AM »
Maybe it's a Gray version of Uber - you just telepathically tell the ship where you want to go and it takes you there.

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #10 on: May 08, 2017, 02:31:13 AM »
Some of your suggestions are further outside of the box for what I had even contemplated.  Thanks for that.  Sill does not address the horribly small crew seats though.  Still undecided on whether to use seats from a civil general aviation aircraft (Cessna Skymaster/O-2) or some seats from a helicopter or C-130.  I suppose for the purpose of LoLz you could use some ejection seats :)
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline jcf

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #11 on: May 09, 2017, 12:17:11 AM »
It's fantasy bullshit, so you can do whatever you want.
As to seat size, well, aren't Grays smaller than humans?  :icon_fsm:
“Conspiracy theory’s got to be simple.
Sense doesn’t come into it. People are
more scared of how complicated shit
actually is than they ever are about
whatever’s supposed to be behind the
conspiracy.”
-The Peripheral, William Gibson 2014

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #12 on: May 09, 2017, 01:40:54 AM »
Jon, that is my point.  Trying to fit something that is suitable for human/terran size occupants. 
« Last Edit: May 09, 2017, 11:48:31 AM by Jeffry Fontaine »
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline Frank3k

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #13 on: May 09, 2017, 06:45:44 AM »
Couldn't you add a full cockpit from an 1/48 F-16 of F-15 in there and run some cables from the instrument panel to a "black box" and from there to the central "wave guide and reactor" or to one of the "gravity amplifier heads"?

Offline The Big Gimper

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #14 on: May 09, 2017, 07:01:28 AM »
But where do the Dillthium crystals go?

Work in progress ::

I am giving up listing them. They all end up on the shelf of procrastination anyways.

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Offline Story

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August, 2019: Navy officials claim their radical electromagnetic and superconductor technologies aren't theoretical, they’re already operable in some form.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/29232/navys-advanced-aerospace-tech-boss-claims-key-ufo-patent-is-operable

August, 2019: Air Force Reveals Tests Of Supposed Record-Setting Scramjet Engine From Northrop Grumman
The new design produced more thrust than any other air-breathing hypersonic engine the Air Force has ever tested, at least publicly.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/29307/air-force-reveals-tests-of-supposed-record-setting-scramjet-engine-from-northrop-grumman

May, 2020 [ the year of weirdness ]: WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Friday revealed the official flag for the new U.S. Space Force, the first military branch created in seven decades. He also touted the development underway of what he called a "super duper missile" that could outdo foreign adversaries.

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-unveils-space-force-flag-014241868.html

Offline Frank3k

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #16 on: May 18, 2020, 01:51:48 AM »
Either the Navy is run by idiots, there's some deflection/disinformation going on, or both (the "super duper missile" is an indication of which). The "UFO" are internal reflections from the optics in the pods

If Maverick and his boyfriend Iceman didn't see the "UFOs" with their naked eyes or with more than one sensor, they weren't real.

Offline Story

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #17 on: May 24, 2020, 03:11:50 AM »
If Maverick and his boyfriend Iceman didn't see the "UFOs" with their naked eyes or with more than one sensor, they weren't real.

Meet David Fravor.

He saw the Tic Tac.

Eventually, David Fravor, commanding officer of the Black Aces, made visual confirmation of one of the objects midair during a flight-training exercise.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/12/tic-tac-ufo-video-q-and-a-with-navy-pilot-chad-underwood.html

Offline Story

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #18 on: February 02, 2021, 10:21:17 PM »
Proof!
(or at least diorama inspiration)

Offline ChernayaAkula

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Re: Testors Area S4/ and Lindberg Area 51 UFO Models
« Reply #19 on: February 03, 2021, 01:28:24 AM »
Very cool photo.  8)
Cheers,
Moritz

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