Bandai UFO Interceptor

[Boldman]

So my next project is going to be this:

This should be a good companion pice to my Sky 1 from earlier in the year! I picked this up from eBay for a reasonable price even though its not a very common kit.Although it does have a spring loaded firing missile action, this doesn't - unlike most of the Imai kits - make it look like a toy and should be relatively easy to eliminate.

So whats in the box? not a huge amount...

The shape looks good, the body has raised panel lines and a hole in the middle of the nose where the missile firing button should go. That will be filled in needless to say! The worst aspect of the model is needless to say, the cockpit. However I have a cunning plan...

... a plan so cunning I could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel!

Teh resin seat is for a F-105 and about the cheapest available at Hannats, while the photetch is for a Wellington Mk 1 and again about the cheapest available and with a good selection of panels and dials. I got a French chopper pilot figure from PJ Productions, always good stuff and Allan from IPMS Farnborough also gave me a couple of 1:48 figures that could be used so I'll see which fits best.

The instructions are in Japanese but look pretty straightforward:

So now its just a matter of deciding how I will present it - you know me I never just build a model and stick it on a shelf, there HAS to be a base and way of displaying it in some way... I see Lunar landscapes and craters in my future...

Just to get into the mood:

 

[takeslousyphotos]

I'll look forward to seeing this one...............

Peter

 

[takeslousyphotos]

So my next project is going to be this:This should be a good companion pice to my Sky 1 from earlier in the year! I picked this up from eBay for a reasonable price even though its not a very common kit.Although it does have a spring loaded firing missile action, this doesn't - unlike most of the Imai kits - make it look like a toy and should be relatively easy to eliminate.

So whats in the box? not a huge amount...

The shape looks good, the body has raised panel lines and a hole in the middle of the nose where the missile firing button should go. That will be filled in needless to say! The worst aspect of the model is needless to say, the cockpit. However I have a cunning plan...

... a plan so cunning I could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel!

Teh resin seat is for a F-105 and about the cheapest available at Hannats, while the photetch is for a Wellington Mk 1 and again about the cheapest available and with a good selection of panels and dials. I got a French chopper pilot figure from PJ Productions, always good stuff and Allan from IPMS Farnborough also gave me a couple of 1:48 figures that could be used so I'll see which fits best.

The instructions are in Japanese but look pretty straightforward:

So now its just a matter of deciding how I will present it - you know me I never just build a model and stick it on a shelf, there HAS to be a base and way of displaying it in some way... I see Lunar landscapes and craters in my future...

Just to get into the mood:

That video takes me way back ............ I'd forgotten most of it. Submarine crew in string vests ??? Bloody brilliant.

Peter

 

[eddiesolo]

Top man, this series was cool, pity the missiles missed most of the time...still looked cool and the sexy space babes with purple wigs...phwoerrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Si

 

[Alan 45]

Top man, this series was cool, pity the missiles missed most of the time...still looked cool and the sexy space babes with purple wigs...phwoerrrrrrrrrrrrr.Si

You just reminded me why I loved this show so much, Gabrielle Drake !!

 

[Polux]

Beautiful choice... Very, very interesting one!

Let's see! I'm sure you will do justice on this one.

 

[eddiesolo]

You just reminded me why I loved this show so much, Gabrielle Drake !!

Aweeeeeeee...the lovely Gabrielle Drake... :P

Si

 

[PaulTRose]

im jealous. id love to get my hands on this or any other Anderson kits.....big fan of his from when i was a kid, done some Thunderbirds stuff in the past but UFO and Space1999 stuff normally goes for silly money

im really looking forward to seeing this go together

 

[noble]

I Will definitely be following this. i used to love ufo and a fan of edd straker.

Scott

 

[Boldman]

@beowulf : patience and setting alerts on eBay is the key! I just picked up an Aoshima Thunderbird 1 for £15 last week, which turns out to be a very nice looking kit. This kit did cost about £40 but its so rare I didn't mind that level of cost. Its not like the Aoshima Fireflash that goes for £80+, its just not that easy to find...

Thanks for the interest, I'm really looking forward to building it :D

 

[mossiepilot]

I'll look forward to seeing what you do with this Andrew.

The Sky 1 build was cracking.

Tony.

 

[Ziper_it]

Will be interesting to follow this ... ah, sweet memories of youth ...

 

[Boldman]

A week goes by and some progress is made! First off, we have a pilot in the "uniform" of Moonbase Interceptor pilots:

I couldn't completely reproduce the ribbed bri-nylon suit, but then again I wasn't really about to try too hard :D

So if there is a pilot there needs to be a cockpit:

No that isn't where the pilot had an accident in the cockpit! Its the dark wash from the seat from where I test fitted the seat and pilot. The cockpit is made up from plastic strip and card, plus the photo etch for the Wellington bomber.

From these photos you can also see how far the assembly of the fuselage has progressed. The fit has been pretty awful, lots of filler and sanding. One of the worst parts is the joint inside the side intakes - its pretty bad and almost impossible to sand! I've given the insides a coat of liquid poly thinned white putty filler, then a surface coat of Mr Surfacer 500. Once all that dries out I'll cut up some very small sanding pads onto coffee stirrers to do the sanding.

I forgot to photograph it but the rear opening for the engine exhaust has had an extra tube added inside the fuselage to give it some depth and extra detail. The windscreen has also been painted and will be fitted when the pilot goes in and then masked for painting. The missile has had its tip reshaped from the hemisphere you see in the earlier photos to a more pointed tip as it should be. Its painted with white primer ready for the various silver details and further painting.

Finally in this update, I made a base using my reliable old claycrete, mixed with white and a small amount of black artist acrylic, plus a brass tube araldite'd into the side of the crater to support an acrylic rod:

which has then had extra rocks and "moondust" added to give it the proper texture:

This is turning out to be a remarkably quick build compared to my usual output

 

[Alan 45]

Looking good I like what you've done with the cockpit

 

[PaulTRose]

that moonscape is impressive

 

[Polux]

Lovely base Andrew