Bill Early’s Replica Eagle part 1
One of the most memorable Sci-Fi series of the seventies has to be Space 1999. O.K., so maybe some of the story lines left a bit to be desired. And the costumes, you gotta love those flared pants. The one thing that you have to admit, is that the special effects were second to none. Even in this day of computer generated effects, the visuals of Space 1999 still have very few equals. One of the most outstanding examples is the work horse of Moonbase Alpha, the Eagle. Even people that have never seen an episode of the series, immediately recognize the Eagle. The design still looks good today and is far from looking dated.
We’re going to take a close look at Replica’s Unlimited 23 inch Eagle. This model is an inch longer than some of the filming models used in the series. To the best of my knowledge, this is most likely the best, and largest, kit of the Eagle that is widely available today. I have seen several pictures of this kit built up, but never realized just how massive it was until I saw one first hand. I purchased this kit from Federation Models while at Wonderfest this year. They have it listed on their web page, and is available with several different options, as far as cargo pods go. Check them out at www.Federationmodels.com .
I didn’t set out to model any certain Eagle, I just used what I liked from the various miniatures. If I thought that it looked cool, I included it in this project. I was out to get the overall look and feel, not to be held to one certain version. After all, they changed from show to show, and season to season. I also wanted to put as much of it together with screws and bolts as I could. This would aid in future disassembly and repairs, if needed. If you have kids or pets, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
One thing that I noticed was that the box art was of a different kit than what was in the box. The pictures on the box were of “Eagle1”. The kit was of “Eagle2”. The main difference is in the details on the landing gear pods. Eagle 2 has black boxes on the outsides of the pods, while Eagle 1 has flatter round pieces. I have seen some pictures of this kit with the Eagle 1 parts, so I don’t know if there are two different sets of molds, or what.
PREPERATION
One of the first things you should do, is compile plenty of reference pictures. The instruction sheet is pretty much worthless. The only thing I used them for was cutting the tube for the landing gear. You really need to be familiar with the Eagle to be able to pull this kit off. There are several good web sites for reference pictures. One of the best is the Space 1999 Catacombs. They have loads of pictures of all the different size Eagle miniatures. There are also a load of good links for other sites.
The kit was packed in a large sturdy cardboard box with foam peanuts. There was no wasted space in the box. It was jam packed with parts. The smaller parts and decals were sealed in plastic zip lock bags, with the tubing and wire taped to the lid. There did not appear to be an excessive amount of flash on any of the parts.
Picture 1 shows what was the worst of the flash. The spine piece is a work of art, in itself. If you check out the out of the box review article I did on this kit, you can see loads of pictures of the parts straight out of the box. I used an AMT/Ertl eagle kit in the pictures to give you an idea of just how massive this beast is.
All the resin parts were dumped into the sink and scrubbed with dish wash detergent to remove any mold release. I used an old tooth brush to reach all the nooks and crannies. This also removed most of the flash that was present. This is a good time to check and make sure that you have all the proper pieces. I noticed that I had some mismatched landing gear pod parts. There should be two each of the parts for the pod bodies. These are mirror part of each other. I had three of one top piece, and one of the other. A quick email to Federation Models, and the parts were on their way. They shipped them out to me by Priority Mail and I had then in a few days.
I started cleaning up the rest of the flash and mold lines on the parts. I did all the parts first so that I wouldn’t have to stop and back track later. The frame pieces that go just behind the command module and just in front of the engine assemblies had a ridge on the back sides. This appeared to be from the mold shape. I used a knife and fine files to remove this raised ridge.
Picture 2 shows one of these pieces part way done. There were some small pin holes present, but they didn’t look like they were going to be a problem to fix. After all the parts were cleaned up, the first coat of putty was applied and sanded. Now the first of many coats of primer. I used a gray sandable automotive primer.
Look for one that says fast drying, or sandable.These are usually laquer based and will bond good with the resin parts. Also, they spray on in thin coats so that you don’t get too much build up. Stay away from the scratch filling primers unless you have some really serious problems to fill. The first primer coat I applied was gray, but on later coats, I used a flat white primer.
ENGINE FRAMEWORK
I started with this area because I thought that it would be the most fun, no other reason than that. When I started test fitting the frame pieces, I found out just how useful my reference pictures were. This section looks like a real nightmare to get together, but it really went together pretty easily. First off, you need to build up the four long tanks that set just in front of the engine bells. Use these to get the correct distance between the forward framework and the rear cross piece. Install an aluminum tube between these pieces and glue it in place. Use a size that fits snugly into the square in the rear piece. I cut a notch in the front end to set on the forward frame. You can now remove the tanks and start on the remainder of the frame. There are four pieces that run straight from the front to the rear, and four that run from the forward frame to the center post at the rear piece. I replaced all the straight pieces with plastic tubing. It was easier than sanding all the cast pieces, plus they were truly round. I think that the plastic pieces were also more rigid than the resin ones. At this point I assembled the four round tanks. I drilled a hole into each tank just at the raised ring. I slipped in a piece of plastic rod to hold them the correct distance apart. I used the frame to judge how far apart to place them. I used solid copper wire to replace the plumbing for the round tanks. The kit parts were used as a guide to bend the replacements. Holes were drilled into the tanks for the copper wires. After these were finished, they were attached to the framework and allowed to dry. I used cotton thread and tied the center brace between the two tanks to the straight supports on the framework.
Super glue was then applied to the thread to keep it all secure. This makes a bond that you won’t have to worry about knocking loose. Picture 3 shows the completed framework.
The oblong tanks were reinstalled into the framework and the fit was checked. The top and bottom tanks will have to have grooves cut into them so that they will set down far enough into the frame. Place them in position, then mark with a pencil where the grooves will have to be. I used a Dremel ball cutter to cut the grooves. After you’re happy with the fit, mark the tanks for the top center line. This is where the detail pieces will be mounted.
As a note, there were a couple of different arraignments for these tanks. Just choose the one you want, and plan accordingly. Picture 4 and Picture 5 show the finished engine area and detailing. I used small diameter plastic tubing and rod for these details. Small, solid core wire was also used.
I wanted to add the diamond shaped ring that went around the engines, so I used plastic tubing that looked the right size to fabricate this from. After I was happy with the way it looked, I used more solid copper wire to make the plumbing that connects between the ring and the body. Small pieces of plastic tubing were placed to later connect to the engine bells.
It was at this point that I cut the excess resin off of the engine bells and sanded the ends flat. These pieces are beautifully cast and include the baffle inserts. I marked the center and drilled a hole through the engines. Using the engine pieces, making sure that they were centered up, I marked the cross piece for drilling. Mark your engine bells so that you can remember which one goes where. This is in case your holes are slightly off. Now I drilled through the cross piece and into the ends of the tanks. I used a small tap to put some threads into the cross piece and tanks so that the engine bells and tanks could be disassembled as needed. Don’t forget to mark the tank locations, as well. The holes for the forward ends of the tanks, where they mount to the frame, were drilled also. I found some 1.5 millimeter screws and nuts that worked like a champ for all these small pieces. They were used all over the kit.
Onto part 2
