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By E. James Small
With the fantastic Polar Lights Enterprise “A” in 1/350th scale being re-released by Round 2, there will be a few people who want to build it a number of ways. For example, if you’ll be gluing the rear hangar door shut on the model, it may seem that the interior of the shuttle bay is just so much wasted detail.
But, not so fast! The kit lends itself very well to having the bay built separately from the main model so that it can be displayed on it’s own! And, because of the excellent fit of the main shuttle bay parts, you don’t need to glue the walls and roof in place. Just snap ‘em together! That means you can display it with some of these parts removed to see it better from different angles.
The problem is, you need something to put it on so it looks like something better than something that was just something to be discarded or something. That’d be something else!
This article deals with how to make something (sorry. Couldn’t resist again) to display it on. All you need is a little bit of sheet plastic or similar and some basic tools. You can make this piece out of wood or other materials too, of course, but we’ll cover how to make it out of plastic here, as that requires the simplest tools and equipment.
First, print out the PDF template linked here. You’ll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read and print it. (If you don’t have or want to install Acrobat Reader, you can just follow the dimensions and instructions as shown on the Jpeg picture shown as an alternative.) Make sure the template is printed to actual size by measuring the dimensions shown on the paper, making sure they match up! The template is no good if it’s printed the wrong size! Only the dimensions shown in green are critical.
Next, temporarily glue the paper template to a piece of thick styrene plastic sheet (Fig 1). Thickness is unimportant, but it should be at least 1/16” thick or more. (The one I made for the Polar Lights display buildup used 1/8” stock.) Use easily removable glue like rubber cement (NOT contact cement!) or paper glue stick or other water-soluble temporary glue. You’ll need to remove the paper and leftover glue after you’ve cut out the parts. Rubber cement is good because you can simply remove it by rubbing it with your fingers like an eraser.
Then, using a sharp hobby knife, score the plastic around the edges (Fig 2). Use a ruler on the straight sections (Fig 3). Try to be as accurate as possible on the green lines. Also LIGHTLY score the black line section to mark the centre of the elliptical base (Fig 4) but you will not be cutting this out. Just score with enough pressure to make a scribe line.
With the parts scored, you can flex the plastic to separate the edges from the parts you’ll be using (Fig 5).
Remove the paper from the cut out pattern by pulling it back on itself (Fig 6) and use a sanding block or a file to smooth out the edges (Fig 7) keeping them as square as possible.
When the parts are all cleaned up, glue the support section to the base with model cement, using the scored centerline as a guide (Fig 8). Allow to dry thoroughly. When solid enough, glue the support to the bottom of the bay floor, centering it properly (Fig 9).
Finally, finish the shuttle bay and paint as desired.
Enjoy the work you’ve done! You deserve it!
EjIMBo.
E. James Small
Excellence In Model Building
www.smallartworks.ca
All photography by E. James Small
