This is my first proper plastic work in over 6yrs. I can't include a Spitfire conversion I was working on as that is on hiatus, and these projects MUST be completed - for my own sanity. I wanted to do something I wasn''t going to beat myself up over in terms of rivet counting.

The two kits used here are the standard Eagle Transporter, and the 'Cargo Pod' versions. I do have to confess that the standard machine was more of less structurally built TEN years ago....I just never got around to finishing it due to magazine work and my wooden ship prototype work.

Now is the time to do this.

Oh, there will be another topic in the future which concentrates on the 'Laboratory' versions of this machine.

Ok, these are the kits:

And now the cargo machine.

More as soon as I have it. This might be a slow process.

I don't think I've ever seen an Eagle built. Definitely a unique ship design.

Did you get the detail set that MPC released with the aluminum thrusters?

Nice😀 Always thought the Eagle was one of the cooler TV scifi spacecraft......... Next to the Enterprise, of course.

4 hours ago, FG2Si said:

I don't think I've ever seen an Eagle built. Definitely a unique ship design.

Did you get the detail set that MPC released with the aluminum thrusters?

There's actually no need for those as the nozzles are thinly moulded in a way that there's zero seams to remove. Crazy that set costs as much as the model itself.

2 hours ago, Belugawhaleman said:

Nice😀 Always thought the Eagle was one of the cooler TV scifi spacecraft......... Next to the Enterprise, of course.

Don't forget the Liberator in Blake's 7!!

Looks like you've got the bench cleared for this!

Can't wait to see you do your magic again

13 minutes ago, Jeroen Peters said:

Looks like you've got the bench cleared for this!

Can't wait to see you do your magic again

And another...

Here's some work on the carousel version subassemblies. I'll start the next machine before paint work begins.

I've decided that this topic will concentrate on the Eagle with the Lab module. This is one you don't really seen online, which is a real shame as it's probably my favourite.

To break things up a little for me with all the recent building, I decided to tackle the lab module first. There are quite a few other differences between this and the other Eagle machines. Not only the lab section, but the landing pods have entirely different detail, and the engine configuration is also quite different.

So, here goes.

The kit itself is moulded in an off-white colour which is actually quite easy to set up for photography on a white background...along with some Lightroom and Photoshop manipulation too. There are also a few other parts jigged onto other sprues. In all, this build will seem a little fresher than the standard and cargo Eagles.

What you see here is the majority of that is needed to build the lab module.

The base of the module comprises two main parts that need to be glued together and a stiffener added to each end, on the outside. There are also a series of holes which need to be identified for this machine as the same base is also used for the cargo pod. All holes are now drilled out, ready for the greeblies.

This is the underside of the module, with the outer frame installed, and all those little greeblies. The real quiz is to try and identify which actual model kits the film model maker used for those details he added to the Eagle filming models.

Details of the model look halfway decent, not always the case with sci-fi kits. Can´t wait to see your progress. It´s always nice to see something off the mainstream path built.

Cheers Rob

Great choice James.

I use to watch this show back in the seventies and took that moon-base science really seriously. :) Any planes to build the landing pad as well?

Cheers

Martin

My mum used to say the show was 'as far fetched as a bucket of shite from China' 😆

No plans to do landing pad. If these will fit diagonally in my media wall, all four will be displayed there.

A bit more work today and the lab pod is completed. This was an absolute joy to build. It'll need the tiniest amount of filler in extremely small joints, and that's it. I've not added the directional thrusters to the pod protrusions as they'll be painted metallic and fitted later, after the whole section is painted and decaled.

Here you can see how those protrusions are constructed. It's simply two poles secured into the floor, with the roof angle set on them. The roof is then fitted, followed by the walls, door, and greeblies etc. The assembly then clips into the pod and extra thin cement is run along the joints (from the inside, where I can reach).

Here is the assembled lab pod, minus the thrusters which sit under the protrusions (they won't hold without glue, and I need to paint separately anyway).

And here's the module from underneath. The landing pads and thrusters aren't glued yet.

I did say there are a number of major changes with this kit, and some of those are seen here.

Up first is the engine. Despite reworking a lot of parts for this version, they omitted to do the round ball tanks you see on this framework. There's a hole in this that needs deleting. For this, I used Milliput as it dries completely solid and less likely to crack like filler may do.

The new engine set is seen on the left here, with the typical Eagle one on the right. The tanks and nozzles are not glued yet.

One massive change is these landing gear pods. The exterior is totally different to the original eagle, and this time they included pins to locate the panels. The original kit is designed so that you have to hold parts edge-to-edge in critical positions. So pleased they fixed that. In fact, the completed unit you see is unglued at this point.

The corridor passages are common throughout the Eagle types. The undersides tend to be a little concave, so I sprain the plastic outwards so the bottom is more level. The joint is a little unsightly too, so this is filled with sprue goo and sanded back to a polished finish.

Here you see the module with side equipment tray installed (dry fit) and the cages too...also dry fit.

Just so you know I've not been slacking...here's where I'm at.

A complete Eagle fleet on your desk, ready to explore the moon, nice.

Cheers Rob

The spine looks quite daunting, but it actually quite easy to build.

First, the side parts are in halves which are just glued together. There is then a couple of bracing parts added to one side, as well as a top and bottom rod at each end. When almost set, the other side is married up and then when level, allowed to dry. Once set, the remaining cross braces are popped into place and some thin glue brushed into the joints.

The only bugbear with this, as with any of the framing areas, is that there's a whole load of seams need paring down and then sanding over to a polish. Also, there's a good number of ejector pin marks of varying severity. For these I used Sprue Goo that I'd made from small pellets of the kit sprue. Works a treat.

I always liked the functional, modular, look of the Eagle, and the kits do it justice.

Even now, though, I am still wondering where the fuel for these big rockets was stored 😉

Hubert

4 hours ago, HuberB said:

I always liked the functional, modular, look of the Eagle, and the kits do it justice.

Even now, though, I am still wondering where the fuel for these big rockets was stored 😉

Hubert

It's a mystery!

There are four round bells at the arse end which are piped into the large tanks. That would account for the tail, but without an engine. As for the many underside and pad thrusters, no idea! 😆