Craig Wheeler’s C-57D

This is quite a kit, and, when finished, is definitely a project you can be proud of. I did a great deal of research before I began. CultTVMan’s website was an invaluable source of information. I thank those contributors for their posted advice on the C57-D. I had also purchased CultTVMan’s Ultimate Modeling Guide to Classic Sci-Fi Movies. This was also a great reference that complemented the website. The next best reference is the movie itself; Forbidden Planet. I rented the DVD and captured many images on my computer. This helped me obtain the color scheme, for painting.

The Hull

Well, the first thing you need when building this model is plenty of patience! Don’t be in a hurry. I myself, spent about 8 weeks on this project. The first thing I did was assemble the hull pieces. I used varying sizes of binder clips to clamp each piece together, while I glued them. These binder clips are available at any office supply store.

They are very strong, and ideal for holding the hull pieces together. For glue, I used Pro Weld. There are other brand names for it, but it is a liquid cement that welds the plastic. It comes in glass bottles, and you apply it with an ordinary paint brush – using capillary action. While the clamps are holding two pieces together, apply the liquid cement along the seam.

As you apply pressure, you will see the plastic ooze from the seam. This is the welding of the plastic. I only did one section per day. Thus, I made sure the seam was absolutely dry before I added the next section. For the three hatch covers, I secured them in place using hot glue. As you will notice, there is such a loose fit with these covers, that conventional glue won’t have sufficient surface to surface contact. After the top and bottom saucer halves have been completed, I applied hot glue over the interior seams, for additional reinforcement. I hot glued right over the binding clips. Despite this, you will notice how floppy the saucer halves still can be.

It is best to try and reinforce these halves before gluing them together later. I sprayed expanding insulating foam onto the interior of each saucer half. Don’t worry if you applied too much foam; after all it does expand. Give this at least three days to completely dry. I then used an Exacto saw to cut a great deal of the foam off. I definitely cut away more than I ended up leaving. This took some time, as I had to keep trial fitting the saucer halves to see if they would fit yet. Eventually, I used an electric sander to sand the foam down so that it was as flat as possible. This foam is quite rigid when it dries, and really did help strengthen the hull. Once I knew the hull would fit together properly, I was ready to putty all the seams. But first, I took an Exacto chisel and scraped the exterior seams, thus removing any plastic that oozed out during the gluing process. I applied white Squadron Putty on all the seams. Once the putty is dry, you can now prepare yourself for a lot of sanding! Be prepared for a compromise, because I don’t believe you can get these seams truly seamless. You will come to a point where you will say “It’s good enough”.

The Interior

Remember, supply yourself with plenty of patience, and you will be proud of the outcome. At this point, the bottom and top floors can be painted right away. I wait to wash my model pieces until I’m ready to paint them. So this would be the time to at least wash the bottom and top floors, as well as the ceiling.

I used Bob Perovich’s paint scheme at CultTVMan, for my painting guide. The first thing I painted were the flat walls. Then, I masked these walls, and painted the curved walls, as they are a different color. I used my airbrush for all painting of the interior structure. Then, leaving the straight walls masked, continue to now mask the curved walls. Now, you’re ready to paint the floor. The floor in the center, should have the three circular rings, because they are there in the movie. It’s really not that hard to achieve.

The Floor Rings

Spray the center portion of the bottom floor the appropriate color that the rings are. Again, I recommend Bob Perovich’s paint scheme; on this site. Bob also provides a dimensional sketch of the rings. Now, you need to apply a mask that will protect this floor color, thus creating the rings.

The rest of the floor is a dark brown. I created the circles on my computer, and printed them out on a full 8.5 x 11″ label paper. The whole paper is one label. I was able to print three sets of the rings all on one sheet, in case I needed them. Then, I took a fresh #11 exacto blade and taped it to my compass. I had removed the lead from the compass first. Placing the needle of the compass in the center of the circles, I then rotated the compass using several light passes along the printed circles. The blade will cut through. Then, I just peeled off the rings and carefully applied them to the floor. Making sure the rings are concentric was just a visual thing. The label paper is not so sticky that you can’t remove it well. After I painted the floor, and it was dry, I removed all the masking everywhere. I took an exacto blade and carefully pried an edge of each ring and peeled it off. As I said they protect the first floor color you applied, while you spray over the darker floor color. I am very proud of how this turned out.

Back to the Interior

I ended up gluing the second floor to the bottom floor. This is done at the end, when you’re ready to assemble the whole thing. But you will realize how much detail you cannot see.

Despite this, I still painted everything, including the ceiling of the bottom floor, as well as the ceiling portion of the stasis units. I know that no one will ever see that, but I know it’s there!

I then just continued painting all the interior and gluing the pieces together as I moved along. For the viewing screen, I used an image direct from the movie! I printed an image of the ship after it landed, onto label paper. I had to really shrink it down, then cut it to size, and stuck it right on the view screen!

I also created star charts on my computer, and printed them to size and applied them onto the center console. These are the two white curved panels. It was a bit tricky cutting the curve. Once cut, I just peeled and stick to the console! I do recommend scratch-building a small C57-D and putting it inside the globe.

When all the interior was finished, I glued the two floors together. I did not glue the ceiling, because this prevents you from seeing much of the interior. I then painted the exterior of the assembled interior unit. It is visible once the model is finished.

Painting the Hull

I chose to paint the hull with ordinary Testors spray paint. The surface is just too big for my airbrush. I used German Silver #2914, from Model Master, right out of the can. I think it’s a perfect choice. I didn’t want the ship to be like polished aluminum. That would be too shiny. German Silver is more muted in color and not high gloss. This suited my taste. I primed the hull first with primer, then applied several light coats of German Silver. I painted the bottom pedestal as well as the top dome. I chose to paint the top dome completely. Unfortunately, the seams still showed, so I decided to paint “faded lines” along each seam. This helped give the hull more detail, while hiding the seams. I used 1″ wide correction tape made by Post-It. This comes in a dispenser, so you can peel off as long a strip as you need. This tape is ideal because it has the tackiness of a post-it note. I was afraid that masking tape might be too strong and peel off the silver paint. The correction tape, when applied, gave me a edge to airbrush against, while I faded outward about ½ inch.

Final Assembly

I glued the pedestal to the bottom half of the saucer. Then, I hot glued the interior assembly to the bottom saucer. Because of the gap, hot glue is about the only thing you can use. Remember! – before you glue the interior, you must place the three landing gear assemblies in place. The interior assembly sits on top of these, trapping the hinge pins, so that they can move. Then, I test fitted the top half of the saucer to the bottom half. It’s always wise to dry fit such critical parts. I applied glue on the bottom half in small sections around the edge. I then used cloths-pins to clamp the two halves together; working around – gluing and clamping, until the whole saucer was clamped. Once dry; finally – I was done! I just sit the ceiling on top of the interior, and then sit the top dome on top of the hull!

This finished model is heavy! And it all sits on that small pedestal. Everything is pretty stable though, and you will likely find that your hull does have a wave to it in some places. As careful as I was, it seems this waviness is unavoidable.\

Yes, it’s hard to find a place to display this behemoth, but I thoroughly enjoyed making this model, and am proud of this achievement.

Craig Wheeler