Quick sketch

Don't ask....I don't know either.

War of the Worlds

My ol' mate Tim Wade came to me once with an idea for a short film loosely based around the 'War of the Worlds' theme. I thought the approach he wanted to take with it was fantastic.

This was, of course, before the Steven Spielberg version had been made (which I like a lot).


I started with a more alien design for the war machines.



We then tried approaching them as essentially tanks on legs. The look fit in really well with the period setting of the film. I really thought this was a cool way to go. Different.
It's a shame it never happened.

You never know... maybe one day...eh, Tim?

Colonial Viper

Thanks for the kind words for my previous post. The next modeling odyssey I'll be embarking on was actually started when I was a young teenager. I had built this Colonial Viper model when the TV show 'Battlestar Galactica' got its original airing in the late seventies.


The cockpit windows were originally black stickers and it came with a pretty lame stand (no landing gear). My paint job was pretty crappy and I was never really happy with the finished result.

I have always loved the Ralph McQuarrie concept art for the original series and this painting below has always captivated me.


So I thought I might try and recreate this scene.

I'll be scratchbuilding the viper's landing gear as well as detailing the interior of the cockpit.


I had to very carefully cut out the windows for the cockpit...a little bit of sanding left to go.



My landing aren't 100% accurate, but they're not completely off either. As long as they look close enough for the overall effect to work, I'm happy.



I'll think I might modify a suitable figure to be the viper pilot. Not sure what approach I'll be taking with that just yet. I bought some Milliput (a modeling compound), so I might attempt something with that.


I think this is going to be pretty tough challenge for me. I think it will also be a bit of fun.

Escape from Beneath the Planet of the Apes

This is my first attempt at scale modelling since I was a teen. My old pal John P gave me this kit a few years ago. I have quite a backlog of model kits, which I have acquired over the years, sitting in a cupboard waiting for the day when I would 'have the time'.

If you read my earliest posts you would know that I'm a bit of a Planet of the Apes fan. So I thought it would be fab to kick start my rekindled modelling interests by giving this kit a go.



The first thing that struck me about this model, after the initial wave of nostalgia, was how inaccurate it was. I can forgive this when you take into account it was originally produced in the seventies. The surface details were one thing, but the 'far-out' paint scheme recommended by the instructions were positively drug-induced bizarre.

Original box art

I had seen this kit finished with the cover art paint scheme at a local hobby and model show. I thought it was a real shame that the same care and attention to detail that was shown to a lot of the military models there didn't extend to the sci-fi kits. So I thought I would download a ton of reference and try to stick as closely as possible to the movie/TV series colours.

Original look of the kit

The base that the figure comes with I thought lacked a certain amount of detail. I love the production design of the second Apes film 'Beneath'. I wanted to convey the twisted/melted feel given to the environment of a nuclear war ravaged New York.


My darling wife let me buy a brand spanking new airbrush to add to my arsenal of modelling tools. I put it to use base coating the figure and then 'dusting' it with a bunch of different colours to blend it all in. A small paintbrush was used for details and the gorilla's face.


I used foam fill from a can to create the melted rock as well as girders from a train accessories kit to simulate bent steel. I added the hand painted subway sign to help sell the location of the diorama.


Overall I was pretty happy with the little fella. It sure was good fun putting him together!