( Note to the observant-this is the same post, minus an editorial comment, that I posted a bit earlier at Starship Modeler. You can haz been warned. )
Five years ago now, my friend Frank Henriquez gave me an deconstrcuted old build up of the UFO mystery ship, the simpler version
of the Leif Ericson Galactic Cruiser. After wanting one of these for ages,
I found myself a little intimidated...so it sat. Circumstances allowed me
to consider modifying the Leif that Frank had given me, so I started
recently turning it into the SCS Yuri Gagarin.
In the latest re-issue of the
Mystery ship, there is a new 'Lancer Scott' story that identifies the
Gagarin as a Cruiser built about thirty years before the Leif. Since the
two
kits are identical except for the lack of engines in the 'UFO',
I decided to substanially alter the ship to refelct my idea of an earlier
version. This is the start.
In studying the box art for the Leif in recent months, something struck me that I can't remember anybody else commenting on- ( so I'm proabably halucinating
) namely, the shuttle bay looks a bit
shallower than the kit part. So I cut it down a bit.
I've also started a new SSC frigate, the Durandal class. Its inspired
by some of Andrew Keith's
Traveller designs. Its Aves over foam,
and I'm going to try and do it hollow to be able to light it and (possibly)
cast it. Y'never know. Here's a quick view, side by side with the Gagarin.