Star Trek plastic kit into drop ship conversion

[Coronasan]

I have had this Star Trek Marquis Raider plastic kit knocking around for years and years stuck in a box with nothing to do. So I decided to turn it into a dropship for a sci-fi army. It had pretty much been built already so I can't do much to the inside without trying to crack it open, which I don't really fancy.



I have started by fixing some landing gear with magnets so it can be removed when the model is in flight.



I have to be a bit careful that the finished model does not get to heavy as the first magnets I used were not strong enough and the legs would not stay in place. Using some nice big 6mm mags sorted that out.

Next step is to arm it with some nice shooty weapons.

[joroas]

I turned a  similar kit of the Runabout into a transport for my Inquisitors, these kits are quite useful.

[Brandlin]

Ooo I have an un-made one of them..

Watching with interest.

[Coronasan]

Been a bit busy doing another project, but all of a sudden, I have a date for a game when I would like to use this...but I don't think it is possible to finish and paint it in time.

To make this thing "fly", I thought I would try having removable tripod legs. Just drilling holes for the transparent rod means the end inside the ship can wobble around. So I thought the answer would be to fit a sleeve inside the hull for the main rod. I got some 6mm rod (off eBay) for the tripod "legs" and some 10mm tube with a 6mm internal diameter for the hull sleeves.



I drilled a 10mm hole in the appropriate spot and measured the length of sleeve required.



I reckon there is a chance that the tripod legs will slip out during a game and this could be quite annoying, so I am putting a pin of paperclip in case I decide to fit a small magnet to each of the tripod legs.

[dijit]

Looking very good, it'll be interesting to see how it progresses.
Duncan

[anevilgiraffe]

how deep is the model?

[Coronasan]

how deep is the model?

It is deeper along the main body, up to 50mm, the thinner wings are only 18mm deep.

[Coronasan]

This might just work...



I have added some bits of sprue to help keep the tubes in place.

[Parriah]

Nice start< I want to see the finished deal-eo tho! So keep in touch, K?

[Coronasan]

It flies!

No, really!





I have not worked out what the maximum length of the tube can be yet, too high and it will be unstable. The other advantage of this should be positioning the model over just about any terrain.

[Steve F]

Huzzah!

But everyone is still going to have to be very careful when moving figures underneath it.

[anevilgiraffe]

I would create a base to hold the rods in place, should help make the legs stable...

[Coronasan]

I would create a base to hold the rods in place, should help make the legs stable...

But thats the point of the tubes inside the hull, as they hold the rods in place, they don't wobble too much.

[FramFramson]

Also, if you give it a base, that removes his ability to place it in and around terrain below.

[Commander Vyper]

Three clear discs to spread the weight then, no way would i stick painted minis under the current system, one knock of the table... wouldn't wanna risk it.