Star Wars Quadjumper Ship (group build)

[John Everett]

Despite the need to finish other things first, the interest in moving forward with the Quadjumper outweighs the need to finish the "other things". (In truth, I'll just build both as circumstances allow.)

So for those who've not seen the earlier threads, This is a Quadjumper:



This diagram is pretty much the only reference available about the ship. It made only one appearance in the new film, here:



A moment later we see the last of the Quadjumper:



As the engines are the dominate feature of the design, I needed to work out the intake and exhaust sections. The main body of the engines will be made from simple 2" diameter PVC pipe.

I don't own a lathe. So there was considerable "improvising" with the drill press. 

A simple blank was produced first in clay, then in epoxy putty. This blank was then used to produce a rough resin casting which was again turned on the drill press to produce the final master for molding of duplicate parts.

Beginnings of intake section here.





Rough ring of resin refined into the final shape on the drill press.



Mounting in the drill press was accomplished with the components of a hole cutting rig.



A reasonable likeness.



Finished intake ring.



Exhaust section was formed in much the same way. Commercial plastic parts stolen from bathroom supplies and bottle caps are included in the exhaust assembly.





Master is covered in rubber and we will await the result tomorrow afternoon. If all goes well, I should be able to produce the exhaust sections by the end of the weekend.



Wish me luck! I've got a solid idea about how the cabin an cockpit sections will be built. But it's all just theory at this point.

Thanks for stopping by!

John

[dierk]

Looking forward to this! Snacks in 10 o'clock position, drink in 2 o'clock.
I've got one of those 'other things' lists too - getting longer all the time...

[Leon]

Pulling up a chair in the front row! This is going to be really interesting.

[wbill76]

This will be a fun ride, buckle up!

[tobias5555]

An other master Piece in work. Cool.

[John Everett]

Success! The mold turned out better than I expected.


A single piece of resin.



The outer bell housing is made from the top half of a plastic shot glass.



Not a perfect match for the drawing. But I need to strike a balance of what can be perfect and what can actually be done.



Engine tubes next. 

Thanks for stopping to look.

[Leon]

Excellent work on the casting John!

[joeydee]

Great project, congrats to the cast!
I'm looking forward what comes next.

[kaytermarram]

Looks more and more that I have to master the resin casting technics, too! This will be the hell of a ride here!!

Frank

[John Everett]

Jun 4, 2016 8:39:09 GMT -5 kaytermarram said:

Looks more and more that I have to master the resin casting techniques, too!

Frank

You should. It opens a whole new realm of modelling possibilities.

Engine tubes!

There's this exposed area on each engine tube which I need to replicate on the model:



1.5" PVC pipe from the home store. (The same material I used in creating the intake and exhaust sections.)

Obviously, a milling machine would be best. But I don't have one. Sooo...more cutting happens on the drill press. It actually worked better than expected.

Steel Dremel bit mounted in the press.





Final work cut with hand tools.




No two are the same, unfortunately.But they should be close enough that a viewer would be hard pressed to notice.



I've got to start thinking about the N1 compressor stage (fan disk). That may be done from a 3D printed part.

It also may be time to consider the actual center section of the hull.

[dierk]

Loved the initial idea, loving it more with each update.

[Leon]

Nice work on the engine tubes John!

[k1w1]

Looking pretty good so far ...........

[wbill76]

Nice solution for the tubes, the drill press router works just fine!

[dupes]

That drill-press router idea is genius.

[John Everett]

Jun 7, 2016 15:21:39 GMT -5 dupes said:

That drill-press router idea is genius.

Not genius, but desperation.

Also done from desperation: It would seem that my favorite source for 3D printed parts has gone dark.....SHITE!!!

So I need to produce my own master for the first stage compressor disk.

Hasagawa's 1/48 Tomcat engine.


Not perfect, but workable. (That's 32 blades "mostly" lined up.)



Some readjustment of misaligned blades.



It's supposed to look like this:


As with the rest of the engine, it's far from an exact copy, but there's what's possible and then there's what's possible within reasonable time and budget.


And...RUBBER!



I may be able to try to run off a few copies in the morning. That could be cool!

[wbill76]

Desperation is often the motivation for greatness! Looks like your fan blades will do the trick nicely.

[kaytermarram]

Good luck with casting this delicate piece. Will be a blast, I guess!

Frank

[tobias5555]

You should start to work for Lucas Film. Impressive, most imressive.

[jpc1968]

The force is strong with this one. Outstanding. I love to watch your work progression. Plus, this thing is gonna be HUGE!

[Leon]

Nice work on the master John! Fingers crossed you have a trouble free casting.

[John Everett]

Jun 8, 2016 20:08:06 GMT -5 Leon said:

Nice work on the master John! Fingers crossed you have a trouble free casting.

The castings went well.


Test fit looks pretty good.



I also was able to paint the speeder (Pickup truck) which will also be in the final scene.







I'm not sure if I like the canopy. I may remove it and go "full jeep" with the open vehicle design. Any thoughts? 





Dirt and wear in the cargo bed.



Still more detail and things to paint on the speeded. But I may be able to get the engine group ready for paint within a couple of days. 

[S e r z h--Rest In Peace]

John - a great result! The ability to make copies - great happiness !!!

[Leon]

WOW.....Castings look fantastic John! Really like the speeder (Picup truck). The canopy does look out of place.

[Return_To_Kit_Form]

Great work on the masters and casting John! Top stuff I love it and can't wait for more

[kaytermarram]

Outstanding!! The canopy looks maybe a bit "out of sight" because of its bubble form. To make something more rectangular could look better. But I thing, no canopy would be the way to go! You have a run, John, definitly!

Frank

[jpc1968]

Yes, I agree, no canopy. But! what about a small windshield like Luke had on his landspeeder? The castings came out great, very envious of your skills.

[kaytermarram]

Windshield, very good idea!

Frank

[John Everett]

I did indeed remove the canopy and went "full rebel alliance" with the paint scheme.




I've always been inspired by the red canyons of the Western US. Arizona, Nevada, Utah and my home state of Colorado all offer a limitless ideas for diorama landscaping.

I completed this diorama a few months back and decided then that I wanted to do a larger, more spectacular version of these types of mountains.




I want to include these kinds of elements into the final Quadjumper scene:














Where I'm at in the layout planning:

The red box is just about the same size and proportion as will be the finished Quadjumper. And the landing platform is going to need A LOT more "logs".





Multiple levels are important in a diorama. They increase visual interest and can often be used to tell a small part of the story at each level.



With the final layout determined, Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) was used to melt away the low spots. This had the accidental effect of creating a very pitted and cratered surface in the "pools". I may keep it this way if it works with other elements.












Obviously at this point there will be a lot of shaping yet to be done with acrylic paint and acrylic bathroom caulking. But it's been a nice change of pace in switching to base-work.

Stay tuned!

[wbill76]

Making great progress with your vision on this one John. The landscape inspiration you're using is perfect for this type of setting IMHO.