Jan Buragay Spaceship part 5

I made up the "wings" from 6mm foamed PVC sheet, bent using a heat gun and some scrap wood formers. The material is oversize and then trimmed back to shape once bent and cooled.

Once happy with the fit and placement I started paneling the surface with 0.5mm styrene and evergreen strips and textured sheet.

I also completed the skinning of the hull with the flat plates of 1.5mm styrene. The edges were beveled with a sanding stick so the edges meet snugly.  

When fitting plates around a protrusion or hole I always fit the hole first with an oversize plate and then trim back the edges afterwards. It is a lot easier this way than to try and locate a hole in exactly the right place on an already sized plate.  The protruding PVC conduit of the cabin side windows was dealt with in exactly this way and then the PVC sanded flush with the skin after fitting the plate.

Part of the skinning process involved adding a space for a crew door (I have yet to design and make the actual door) and roller style cargo door to each side. 

I always try to overlap styrene sheet where possible leaving it oversize and trimming and sanding back flush after drying. It results in a neater seamless join.

Finally just the bottom was left to skin.

Where the angle between plates was shallow I just bent the styrene cold for a stronger result by placing it in a vice along the bend line and gently pushing the styrene over. Styrene sheet has a side which is more glossy than the other. This glossy side is due to a thin layer of quite brittle transparent styrene. I have found if you cold bend styrene sheet away from the gloss side it can split as that brittle layer does not like to stretch. Bending it with the glossy side to the inside of the bend does not have that effect and it can be bent without stressing the surface. If you have styrene that has been exposed to sunlight for a period of time it will also become brittle and is much more likely to crack.

I added a couple of tanks made from PVC plumbing parts to each side of the top surface. This was how I decided to interpret the vague boxy shape thing on top of the ship in the concept sketch.

Thanks for looking.

More soon...