K&S 2.64 Upscale Colonial Viper - Build Thread

[Salvage-1]

Prep has started.

Body tubes were attacked with sandpaper to take that nasty sheen stuff off, then slathered with sanding sealer to fill the spirals and put a nasty sheen back on.
The two side 'engine' tubes have been glued in place with Elmers Glue all, and are waiting for fillet work to strengthen the bond. Motor mount has had one of the rings modified to allow good installation of the Kevlar bridle and a 1/4" bolt added to the back for motor retention.
Other modifications will be...
> addition of two 29mm motor mounts into the two side 'engine' pods.
> sheet of ply will be added to the bottom of the 'wings' and will go through a slot for TTW fixture through to the 29mm tube.
> av bay to handle dual deploy (reasoning see below)
> timer bay will be in the top engine pod to make running timer wires much easier.
> Flux Capacitor and Reactive Shielding to be installed later.
> possible (highly probable) kitbash into a Mk IV DeSanto model Viper (see pic) This uses round intakes, etc, and engine cowling.

Hoping to set this up to run on 3Grain CTI 38mm main and 2x3grain CTI 29mm airstart 'outboards'. I175 ish off the rod, and a pair of H54's lighting 1 second after 'take off' is detected. Kind of like the Vipers kicking "Turbo". This 'boilerplate' flight is simming around 4500 (must be those H54's....), but a more realistic set of numbers will make itself apparent when I get the weights, etc, worked out properly. I dont want this to 'drift off to the next zip code', so that is my reason for making DD a possibility. Also allows me to push the main chute as far forward as possible to offset those engines!!

More to come!!

 

[Salvage-1]

This shows the jig that will make this build soooo much easier!!

 

[sodmeister]

Great thread ! I should be getting mine in the mail soon.

Post lots of pics and often please.

The fin & body tube jig is a good one ,I`ll have to use that.

Take care

Paul T

 

[chuck5395]

Subscribed. I don't foresee me making mine into a cluster, but I'll still launch along side ya.

 

[Salvage-1]

Outboard Motor mounts are cut and ready to be glued. At the moment they are friction fit with blue tape (almost as useful as Duct Tape!!). AV Bay is together, need sled for it, but that is coming off another bird, so I dont have a worry on that. You can also see the 'through the wall' addition's.

 

[Salvage-1]

Found more pics of the DeSantos Viper Mk IV. It was part of the planned production of Battlestar Galactica by Brian Singer and Tom DeSanto (more info here)


The prop being made before the show was 'cancelled'

 

[Salvage-1]

More shots of the full scale Vipers being built

and... take a look at this setup... how much epoxy will they need to fiberglass this puppy??

 

[Salvage-1]

according to the Tombs of Kobol website...

When the DeSanto/Singer production was cancelled, these Vipers were placed in storage. According to Universal Studios, there was a communication breakdown during which an accounting executive noted that storage space was still being used for a cancelled production. He terminated paying for the storage fees. The nearly film-ready Vipers were smashed apart with hammers and tossed into a landfill.

damn shame!! Now that would have been a cool L3 project!

 

[Salvage-1]

Top tube has been added to the setup. Motor mounts have had more work on them to add some detailing on the intake 'fans'. Supports have been run between the tubes. One of the wings has had the details and fillets finished.

 

[EeebeeE]

This is a great build. I'd love to see someone with far better detail skills than mine build a gunstar from "The Last Starfighter."

 

[Pantherjon]

Top tube has been added to the setup. Motor mounts have had more work on them to add some detailing on the intake 'fans'. Supports have been run between the tubes. One of the wings has had the details and fillets finished.

Looking awesome!

All that detail is just SICKIn a good way..LOL!

I plan on putting MMT's in all 3 pods..Don't think I will go as overboard with the doo-dads and whatnots on mine tho...

 

[sodmeister]

That is looking AWESOME !!!!

I love the detail you are adding ,makes it " shine" !

I plan on doing the same to mine......one day !

Paul T

 

[Salvage-1]

This is a great build. I'd love to see someone with far better detail skills than mine build a gunstar from "The Last Starfighter."

I have looked at the GunStar..... I have an old plastic model of it somewhere. It should work, enough nose weight and thrust can (and has) made a brick fly. This one is easier, in all basic theory it is a cut down 'funnel', bridge the gap with a 'ring fin' and it should work... Later.... maybe later..

Looking awesome!

All that detail is just SICKIn a good way..LOL!

I plan on putting MMT's in all 3 pods..Don't think I will go as overboard with the doo-dads and whatnots on mine tho...

That is looking AWESOME !!!!

I love the detail you are adding ,makes it " shine" !

I plan on doing the same to mine......one day !

Paul T

Thanks for all the comments, this kit gives me the chance to 'change it up'. I have always liked the Vipers, real nice shape, vaguely 1950's but not!! When the 're-imagined' series came out, I was not a fan of the new organic looking Vipers (Mk VII), but did like the redo of the older Mark II (Adama's, etc). The DeSanto version that I am attempting (referred to as updated Mk II, or Mk IV, depends where you look), is a challenge because they were never finished and there are soooo many sketches and fan designs of them.

I love adding the doodads and frills, but always get to the 'worry point' where you want just enough, but not clutter!! Toothpicks and basswood are your friends.

 

[Salvage-1]

Got a few more things done.

 

[sodmeister]

Got a few more things done.

Man on man ,that is looking great !! I love the added parts !

It`s making me itch to break mine out .

Paul T

 

[chuck5395]

Got a few more things done.

Wow! I don't think I'm going to even come close to this level.

 

[Salvage-1]

Wow! I don't think I'm going to even come close to this level.

You dont need to, and I dont think anyone else is mad enough.

Basic Storyline!

I have ALWAYS liked the Colonial Viper. It runs 3rd all time favourite after Space:1999 Eagle Transporter and Blakes 7 Liberator. When I read somewhere that Galactica was going to be 'restarted' as a continuation from the original 1978 scripts, then I was all for it. I followed the posts, etc, then it got cancelled. I hate to think of the amount of money and manpower that went into building those props, only to have them destroyed! Gods, there should be a Colonial Viper in the Smithsonian!! they are that iconic.

Now I finally got hold of a decent kit!! Yeah, I am building this into a model of Viper that hardly anyone has seen, but it is now a 'labour of love'... an art form all of its own.

and you DON'T want to have to add the amount of nose weight that I am looking at!

 

[chuck5395]

You dont need to, and I dont think anyone else is mad enough.

In that case, I'll open up the box and start work on it this weekend. I'm iffy for the May launch, so it might need to wait until the June launch before it sees the sky.

 

[kandsrockets]

You dont need to, and I dont think anyone else is mad enough.

Basic Storyline!

I have ALWAYS liked the Colonial Viper. It runs 3rd all time favourite after Space:1999 Eagle Transporter and Blakes 7 Liberator. When I read somewhere that Galactica was going to be 'restarted' as a continuation from the original 1978 scripts, then I was all for it. I followed the posts, etc, then it got cancelled. I hate to think of the amount of money and manpower that went into building those props, only to have them destroyed! Gods, there should be a Colonial Viper in the Smithsonian!! they are that iconic.

Now I finally got hold of a decent kit!! Yeah, I am building this into a model of Viper that hardly anyone has seen, but it is now a 'labour of love'... an art form all of its own.

and you DON'T want to have to add the amount of nose weight that I am looking at!

I am doing my 4" Viper similar to this. I just cut the parts for the intakes on the motor tubes. Mine is not a cluster but is dual deployment by using hte nose cone for the ebay and using a cable cutter to release the chute.

 

[Salvage-1]

I am doing my 4" Viper similar to this. I just cut the parts for the intakes on the motor tubes. Mine is not a cluster but is dual deployment by using hte nose cone for the ebay and using a cable cutter to release the chute.

I was thinking of nose cone ebay, but thought that there may be a problem with air pressure flow over the cut nose cone, so I seperated the tube about 4 inches in front of the "engine" tubes.
I am thinking this will need a little more than a H123 to lift it. H225 is more probable. Most of the smaller scale Vipers that I have seen flown (the Estes, and clones) have had a habit of flipping on their backs after launch and doing a graceful curve with their bellies up. I want to launch this a couple of times with just the single 38mm to 'profile' the flights.
After that, if all works well, then two H54's a second after launch will be a nice 'turbo'.

I am looking at the original Estes Viper that I have here (unopened) and the Klingon Battle Cruiser. How nice would the Viper have been with vac formed wings and engine cowlings?

 

[Salvage-1]

Got a few more things done, and WOW!!

 

[Salvage-1]

When I weighed this, I stuffed a 36" chute into the payload end. It doesnt have any other counterweights in the nose yet, and the alt sled isnt in there
It still also needs the engine shroud, which is going to be cut from thick 'ghostboard' card. Still looking at quite a set of lead up front though.

 

[sodmeister]

That`s looking so nice ,the detail you`ve added makes a huge difference ,gives the kit some life !

That`s a fantastic job you are doing !:handshake:


Paul T

 

[MasonH]

Wow...I really want one of these now.

 

[Green Jello]

Just curious....why is that top fin still off?

 

[kandsrockets]

Just curious....why is that top fin still off?

If you look at the last picture all the fins are still off. He has not mounted them permanently yet, makes it easier work on all the stuff.

 

[Salvage-1]

If you look at the last picture all the fins are still off. He has not mounted them permanently yet, makes it easier work on all the stuff.

Yup, I prefer to build some projects as 'sub assemblies' to be fit together just before painting. With this one, I want to paint the inside front of the tubes before I assemble the motor mounts.

This weekend I have been going over all the 'seams' with hobby epoxy and balsa 'dust' to strengthen them and smoothe things out before painting. I am leaving the 'guns' as they are, this way, if the shock cords catch them, they should pop off before doing any wing damage. Also got the 'intake grill' on the nosecone bashed together. Photo of these later.

 

[Salvage-1]

before we go any further, a message from our sponsors

This build is brought to you with the help of by dubious amounts of Coffee!!

Cheap.. cheerful and probably not good for me.

 

[chuck5395]

Got a few more things done, and WOW!!

Wow is an understatement.

 

[Salvage-1]

Some more pics..

I chopped up some basswood for the canopy, damn that was not easy freeform building. Also got the altimeter bay setup complete. I have an idea to re-do my rockets to share altimeter sleds, so, I took the sled out of a 3" and copied the position of the allthreads and away I go. Yeah, those are bent eye bolts... they will/should/maybe get replaced. I love these JST connectors. The 3" that this came out of is setup so that I can poke a straightened out paper clip into one of the vent holes to push the switch. I dont think I can do that with this one, so I have set up a couple of euro connectors in there to easily reconnect the switch system to something else, twist wire, or something. Also the connector on the back is so that I can easily switch out battery holders.

The 29mm motors will be lit from an MT3G timer stuck in the top "engine" tube.