derex3592

Moving on into the build, I got to the point of priming and light blocking the kit. Went with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer on the outside, some SEM high build black surface primer for interior, then a nice coat of gloss black Rustoleum, followed up by a final coat of metallic silver Rustoleum for all lighted engine parts. They say this bounces the light around inside the part and makes it brighter. Also I modified the front cockpit and rear cockpits to be larger, as they felt to cramped the way they came. I got a set of aftermarket interior decals as well from the HDA Modelworx website that would be supplemented by my own LCARS DS-9/Star Trek TNG screengrabs that I would print and turn into waterslide decals for both the front and rear cabins. I wanted actual screens from the shows and especially ones of the wormhole and DS-9 along with images of the Runabout itself on screen. I had my video editor at work insert a Cisco and Dax image into one of the images as well. I begin figuring out the wiring of the warp engines and the method I would use for the impulse grills honeycomb look. In the end, it was a cheap roll of sticky window screen mesh and old scrap orange lighting gel from my work. I had never really scratch built anything from styrene before, but with a little practice, I built a pretty cool looking transporter for the middle of the front cabin.

Hello fellow modelers! I began this project last August when I heard that AMT/Round Two had reissued the Runabout kit, so I picked on up on Amazon for I believe $25. I've always thought it was a cool design and I have wanted a good size model of it for sometime. The Eaglemoss versions did absolutely nothing for me. So at the time I bought it, I was intending for it just to be a quick, fun build as a nice break in-between more complex builds. The model itself is all of about 15 parts. Easy!!!..(although fit IS a huge issue with this kit, more on that later)...LOL. As I looked at the giant interior DEAD space inside the ship, my wheels started turning and I started doing some research online. I noticed some guys had done interiors for their kits and it looked really cool. However by the time you purchased all the parts and pieces off Shapeways, it was going to become VERY expensive and dealing with 3D printed parts, just isn't easy IMHO. So, I went looking for cheaper options. I came across a small resin interior for a good price that gave you a front and rear cabin and some seated figures. I decided I could cut some sheet styrene for walls and ceiling parts, and maybe make some custom printed decals for the interior as well. I had just come off lighting my 1st ever kit, the Bandai Star Destroyer, which came out almost perfect... so I thought to myself, man, this thing would look REALLY cool lit up with an interior! So off to the races we went! This set of pics was just planning out phases of the build...We got a "new" cat last summer about a month before this, so he was ALLL about what Daddy was doing! Here are a couple of pics of the actual filming model of the ship, I didn't use this as an end all, be all example, but more as a general guide..

Project : 1:72 Scale Star Trek Deep Space Nine Runabout: Construction Beginning Stardate - 8-22-20 - Project Completion - Stardate 8-4-21. Custom resin/homemade interior with figures - Custom interior LCARS screens decals by me - Custom LED lighting designed by me - Custom windows made from overhead transparency sheet - Custom base designed by me and glass printed by my BIL Brad's print shop. (He's awesome, PM me for his info if you need something printed for your next project!!!) LOTS and LOTS of time and love! PS - Shoutout to my wonderful wife Marcy, who endured a year of "Honey! come check out what I did" and tons of time spent over the weekends working on this, which I'm sure drove her crazy! Enjoy the pics! I was thinking about making a separate thread and doing a "Build Log" with pics from the last year, let me know if some of you guys would be interested in me doing that for future builders!

-----what he said!!!!!

SWEET JEEBUS!!!! That is just epic!!!

Ok, THAT was some great editing!

Wow! That is very cool!

YAY! 😁. Amine Export / DHL came through! 4 days from Japan to TX!

Thanks guys! I'm super proud of this! 11 months! Longest build of my modeling career thus far! There are a couple of things that still annoy me, but at this point, no one but me would ever notice. It's on the stand as of last night (HUGE shout out to wifey pooh for helping me with THAT little ordeal!) I just need to solder the wires to the switch/plug and heat shrink it sometime this week when I have time and she'll be ready for pics!

"We're in the endgame now".......

Very cool!!!

I gotta say, I'm not much on the pregancy test/thermometer thing, BUT, I doooo like that new dark blue BFG that looks like a newer version of the 262 cannon!

wow! That looks great!

I have the Moscato one. He was nice enough to sell me one a few years back out of his stash.

@Mintox - I would be very interested in seeing and perhaps discussing with you the cutting and fitting the canopies on the Cat's Eye...That's the part that is keeping me from finishing mine at some point. Chopper looks great!

Am I the only one that really loves the colored top clear stands that makes all 5 lions look like they are flying upwards just like in the title sequence of the show? That's freakin awesome! Times like this I wish I had $$$ laying around! Oh well. Congrats to those who can swing this one! It looks like it's gonna be epic! I'll just be over playing with my SOC Lion Voltron...

Well, if there is anyone who pre-ordered from Anime Export, and haven't heard anything, here's what I had to do....NO EMAIL from them on of after release day, I sent one nice short message on their website two days ago and heard nothing, so then yesterday I logged into my account on their website and lo and behold, there was my VF-1D sitting there in the "paid" row. I had to click a link, then the item moved to "shipping" something or other, then I got an email almost instantly saying they are calculating shipping. A few hours later I got another email saying my item was awaiting shipping payment. So this morning I logged in again and clicked the "pay shipping" link and paid my $42 and change for "Fast Shipping", "Economy Shipping" was the exact same price...LOL. So whatever, my VF-1D is on the way today hopefully! I guess my point here is, apparently AE is "Self Serve" now at least for me! For those keeping track, pre-order price plus shipping total out the door was $323.00 for me. As I typed that, and let it sink in, this hobby is now really getting out of my price range. That's getting damn close to what I paid for DX Vehicle Voltron! I think I'm out on 1:48 DX's.

@peter - thanks! Soooo close now on the Runabout - gotta fix some paint boo boos around the windows, which I knew 3 months ago was gonna bite me in the butt, but I just kept going, now I'm gonna have to remedy it. After that, it's gonna be time to get it on the stand and have a grand unveiling! Stay tuned!

Sounded like Bill Murray??? The wife and I are all in for this. Good or bad, we're gonna see it on the big screen!

I emailed Anime Export on their website contact feature this morning. Still radio silence from them on mine...We'll see what happens.

If budget allows, I would love to put my name in the hat for this one! I had to miss out on the Garfish and the Lloyds, , but I'm one of the lucky few with the big carrier ship, can't remember the name right now, this would be a great companion to that!

These will be very deserving of being plastered ALL OVER social media once they are completed!!!

That would be sweet @Jasonc, as the new DX Fan Racer is so close in scale, whether it's accurate or not, LOL...these could be used for both versions!

Still radio silence from AE on mine..... I waaaannaaa complain like everyone else dammit!

@Return To Kit Form - Damn man, that is one absolutely gorgeous sex machine! Great weathering! I love it!