Model Sculpt
1:2500 Scale Sydney Class Starship
Here is a brief description of how and what materials I used to sculpt the pattern pieces for one of my retired resin model kits.
This is the Sydney Class Starship from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Primary Hull
1:2500 scale
The primary hull was constructed of stacked pieces of expanded PVC board (Sintra). The top decks were sheet styrene with detailing made from tape and thin styrene. The bridge was cut from a 1/2500 Ertl Enterprise-A. The impulse dome was a small half bead.
Primary Hull
1:2500 scale
The rear exhaust vents were made from styrene strips. Windows and exhaust openings were added to the hull by applying small pieces of tape. Several coats of primer were sprayed on and the tape removed, resulting in recessed windows and exhausts.
Primary Hull
1:2500 scale
I made seperate plates for the bottom detailing so that all of the details would come out crisp and clean after molding and casting. The raised panels on the sides (in black) were cut from sheet vinyl and left in-place as raised detail for molding.
Detail Close-up
1:2500 scale
The fine details were made using a mix of tape strips, vinyl and small model kit parts with a few pieces sculpted out of strip styrene.
Warp Engines
The warp engines were made by re-using a set from the 1/2500 scale Enterprise model kit and adding some minor detailing with 1/64" wide graphics tape (black).
Finished Model
1:2500 scale
Photo of the final assembled and painted model kit provided by modeler Jason Caldwell.