Stand by for Action, we are about to launch Stingray!

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Boldman
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Stand by for Action, we are about to launch Stingray!

Post by Boldman »

So for a bit of a change after a long and complicated bar-armoured Scimitar build, I thought I'd return to some simpler pleasures:

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I picked this up on eBay a while ago - there is another version out there which has lights and motors and stuff, but I went for the "vanilla" version. Its a remarkably simple kit and looks very much like the wonderful vehicle I remember from my childhood

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As usual there are some discrepancies with various references, for example some model shots from the series have 2 glass portholes in the side of the cockpit but as you can see from the picture above that one doesn't show it! Plus the drawing shows torpedo tubes on the fins which don't appear elsewhere.

To get you into the mood try this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnqFf9M-dUc;

The biggest failing with this kit is it has nice clear windows but nothing in the cockpit apart from a hole for a light and opening for the "periscope" which doubles as an on/off switch for the lights in the version that has electronics.

So my plans are:

1) Add light(s) for the transparent impeller-thingy
2) Scratch build cockpit and add figures for Troy Tempest and Phones (but no Marina I'm afraid)
3) Add light into cocklit
4) Hide batteries in a scenic base that supports the model

Anything can happen in the next half hour... er... year!
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DavidWomby
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Re: Stand by for Action, we are about to launch Stingray!

Post by DavidWomby »

Great!

I have always loved the shape of Stingray and over the years I have owned many kits of it but built none! I have one part built now (the Lee kit which is the smaller of the two Midori moulds - yours is the larger Midori mould). I kept a log and photos of all the mods I made but I am totally stalled by my horror of masking that paint scheme!

I'll look forward to seeing yours built.

David
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IvanV22
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Re: Stand by for Action, we are about to launch Stingray!

Post by IvanV22 »

I like this one!
But I haven’t seen/ can’t remember this one on the TV…
Can remember Captain Scarlet , Lost in space,
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MerlinJones

Re: Stand by for Action, we are about to launch Stingray!

Post by MerlinJones »

Ace!
What scale does it work out as?

Regards,
Bruce
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general rocket
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Re: Stand by for Action, we are about to launch Stingray!

Post by general rocket »

I have this kit myself, built about 20 years ago. my guess is that the scale is approximately (very) 1/144.
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Boldman
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Re: Stand by for Action, we are about to launch Stingray!

Post by Boldman »

Well there were some "blueprints" by Derek Meddings published ( http://lester.demon.nl/superm/stingray/stingray.html; ) and from them this seems to scale out at about 1/100. I'm taking a risk though and using 1:72 seats and aquanauts since I don't have any in a smaller scale.
Justin1980
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Re: Stand by for Action, we are about to launch Stingray!

Post by Justin1980 »

Awesome this should be interesting,

Justin
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lancfan
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Re: Stand by for Action, we are about to launch Stingray!

Post by lancfan »

Rivetting build, will be glued to the screen for this one and will certainly watch the DVD again before this is over.


David.
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Boldman
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Re: Stand by for Action, we are about to launch Stingray!

Post by Boldman »

...and so we begin...

First off lets dispose of some of the "toy" features, the most visible on being the huge "spotlight" periscope that doubles as a handle so you can waggle the diving planes! This is a long stick that goes through a hole in the cockpit roof, the floor and connects to the strut that joins the diving planes.

Blanking off the hole in the roof then gives me a flat surface where I can build a proper periscope from chopped up pieces of the original connecting stick:

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Next we will look at the cockpit itself. The original model comes with nothing more than a flat plate and a transparency, through which you could mount a light, but since it would be illuminating nothing, whats the point? So what should the cockpit look like? Here is a selection of pictures and screengrabs I've collected to give an ieda:

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This next set of photos was taken at the Smallspace model show back in July and shows a scratch built 1:32 scale Stingray:

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Lovely 60s internal colour scheme there :)

So lets start with cutting a hole in the floor and mounting some seats and consoles...

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I'm afraid that as usual the white plastic is glaring up a bit there, but you should be able to see the hole in the floor, the central consoles and the side panels starting to develop. The seats are a couple of cheap resin a/m jobbbies - the cheapest I could find at Hannants, so I've no idea what they are now as the packaging got thrown as soon as they arrived! The crew will come from a set of US chopper figures from PJ Productions since they have headphones and peaked caps - okay they might be baseball caps but thats close enough since you will hardly be able to see them inside! The floor has been painted gun metal to replicate that shiny black metallic floor you see in the screengrab.

The roof of the cockpit is either beige or grey depending upon the picture you look at, so I've pumped for beige - it is the 60s after all! I've also painted the lower parts red. I thought about trying to mask the transparency but the idea just didn't appeal so I'm going to compromise and leave it alone and let the paint just show through instead.

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Next, lets look at how this is going to be mounted. Since I will be doing lights, I need a way to pass power up into it as I don't' want to put the batteries inside the body, even though there is a battery box moulded into the lower hull. Speaking of which it now gets in the way of the cut out from the cockpit, so that needs to be trimmed...

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So, I want to mount the batteries in a box in the stand - just like I do with the Babylon 5 Starfury. I'l also need 6 volts for the LEDs which is another reason I can't use the built in battery compartment as that only has room for 3 AA batteries. So we return to the trusty technique I used for the Aliens Dropship and mount a brass tube to accommodate an acrylic rod as the support from the base. Supplied in the kit is a panel to fit over the battery box which is supposed to take screws. This is an ideal place to out the tube:

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The base then will be large enough to provide a good support and hold the batteries:

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Maplins sell these things for a few pounds and they are very sturdy. My plan is to disguise it as rocks and have some green seaweed tendrils which means I can paint the acrylic rod partly green as if it were seaweed! There is a slot cut into the upper surface of the connecting rod to take the wires that will connect to the model. The tip of the rod will have a socket mounted into it and there will be the connector pin at the end of the tube in the model to provide the electrical connection.

So finally for this update (I've been working on this for a couple of days and hadn't got round to posting before now) what about the lights themselves? Well the plan is for 3 LEDs, one blue, one green one red. The red one will provide some subtle lighting for the cockpit while the blue and green will light the transparent thingy at the back which is NOT a propeller.

The blue one is now glued into the back plate of the impeller thingy and when lit looks a bit like this:

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Then the green LED will mounted in the hull just behind the impeller to give a green surrounding glow like this:

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It doesn't come across too well in the photo as the blue tends to dominate but the green effect is quite noticeable to the naked eye.
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DavidWomby
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Re: Stand by for Action, we are about to launch Stingray!

Post by DavidWomby »

That's going to look brilliant lit like that.

David
MerlinJones

Re: Stand by for Action, we are about to launch Stingray!

Post by MerlinJones »

I'm going to enjoy following this.

Regards,
Bruce
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IvanV22
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Re: Stand by for Action, we are about to launch Stingray!

Post by IvanV22 »

This is looking great, I love the lights! Looking forward to seeing more!
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ntrocket88
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Re: Stand by for Action, we are about to launch Stingray!

Post by ntrocket88 »

I will be following your progress keenly. I loved Stingray growing up! Good work so far.
Neil

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Boldman
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Re: Stand by for Action, we are about to launch Stingray!

Post by Boldman »

Thanks guys, glad to have you along for the ride :)

Lots of progress today in all manner of areas. First off, work has began yesterday on disguising the base so that instead of a black plastic box there is something more in keeping with a Stingray scene. So lets begin with casting some rocks. I'm using Hydrocal, something I've had lying around for a while but I don't use much coz I really don't like it. It mixes up very frothy", so sets with lots of bubbles and crumbles very easily. I much prefer plaster of paris BUT Hydrical is significantly lighter, which in this case is desirable.

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So for the top surface I need to remember to hit a hole for the support rod to go through so to that end this arrangement was constructed:

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and here it is setting in the afternoon sun!

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Today it had fully set so I could work with it. First off the under-surface had to be smoothed off, then the edges that overhung the box were trimmed, then the top plate was added, using PVA glue to glue it. A piece of rod was inserted int he hole to make sure they stayed matched up. Then I misex up some of my old favourite claycrete with some artists acrylic and a mix of 3:1 PVA glue and water to make the resulting paste even more sticky than usual because this stuff is going to have to defy gravity a bit!

The end result was this:

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and this will be drying for the next few days before it will get painted and have the seaweed attached.

In the meantime, the underside of Stingray got some attention, the battery cover panel was glued in and the various gaps filled and later sanded down

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The support rod got some attention next, with the end drilled out to accept the power plug, along with the groove for the wires being extended up to the end. This was all then sealed with araldite to make a solid joint.

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The inside got a similar treatment, with a bracing framework built to support the socket

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After that photo was taken, a liberal dousing with more araldite secured the joints and socket into the framework. This will take a certain amount of punishment as the thing is plugged and unplugged as it gets moved around, hence why an effort has been made to give it all strong joints. Electrical connection tests were made at each step - with everything getting sealed with epoxy, the last thing you want to do is discover a bad connection after its set!!

So with that sorted and waiting for the base to dry before that can proceed further, let us return to the cockpit. The side walls and platform were added. The platform was later trimmed back to provide a good fit against the transparency.

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This was then painted and handrails added to the pit in the middle

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and a red coat added to the bottom of the transparency so that when put together it looks like a proper seal

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and when fitted starts looking right

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Bah, you can't see much there can you? How about we add a bit of internal lighting?

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and with the lights off?

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Jobs a good 'un!
MerlinJones

Re: Stand by for Action, we are about to launch Stingray!

Post by MerlinJones »

Indeedy!
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