I purchased this resin Klingon Bird of Prey (BoP) kit on eBay and thought I'd use it to post my first build blog. The wingspan is 27 inches (685.8 mm). It's the first large resin model I've built and also the first model I've ever added lights to. Much superglue and uncouth language are anticipated.




Here's a pic of the pieced together resin model compared to the AMT 1/350 BoP kit:

Wow,that is so impressive

Thank you! Even more impressive was figuring out how to post the image correctly....

While I was waiting for the resin kit to be made (it took about a month), I first purchased the BoP owners' manual for a build reference:



Then bought AMT's 1/350 scale BoP plastic kit to use as a prototype for figuring out how to build the big show when it arrived. The first thing I tackled were the wingtip disrupter cannon pods. I used brass tubing and as much from the kit as possible. I liked the way they turned out:

My goal was to copy the prototype as closely as I could when the resin kit arrived. That turned out to be easier said than done. As you can see from the image below, almost everything except the pod itself had to be made from scratch. Since the wingspan of the resin kit is almost exactly twice that of the AMT plastic kit, I used this as my guide for sizing the individual components. Putting it all together, it turned out pretty well:

Here's another view of the cannon pod before making a few refinements:

For a size comparison, here's the first completed and primed disrupter cannon pod posed side-by-side to the 1/350 scale kit:

This resin kit wasn't designed for lights and wiring, so I had to break out my inner "Scotty" and do a little creative engineering. To get lighting in the bird's "head", I had to cut away the solid resin plasma conduit and replace it with a brass tube. Click on the pictures for a larger image:

This looks to be a very interesting build, look forward to seeing more updates

The basic component construction is complete and tacked together in order to plan the next couple phases. Here are a couple views with the AMT BoP for a scale reference (click on the pics for a larger image):





Next phase, filling air bubbles and priming.

Since filling air bubbles and priming aren't exactly spectator sports, I'll skip to the next phase, painting and wiring. I wanted a look like the Bird of Prey in the Star Trek III movie, a light blue-green with almost a water color-like quality. After washing the parts and applying a flat white primer, I applied a base coat of Krylon Wild Grass that can be seen on the wings in the background. Then I covered the surface with a dark green wash from Citadel. This was followed by a dry-brushing of a medium green also from Citadel. The result can be seen on the forward fuselage in the foreground of the picture below:

This was followed by more coats of wash applied directly to the recessed areas, dry brushing the spots made too dark by the wash, then adding LED lights and wiring. As you can see here, the lighting of the front fuselage is being tested before everything is permanently glued together. Not visible is the blinking nav beacon below the computer well:

This model was not designed to be lit, so pretty much everything had to be scratch built and space made. Here is the bottom of the painted port wing with the two forward sensor lights installed:

Testing the lights before further assembly is critical if you want to avoid rework and eventual insanity. The pic below shows the results of testing the wing lights:

Very nice build so far Troy, and some clever modifications to achieve your desired results. I will be following your progress.

A quick tip, if you copy/paste the HTML Code from your gallery your will get the bigger images in these posts. The HTML code appears underneath once you click on the button to the right of the Linked Thumbnail.



Hope this helps, and keep up the good work.

Cheers, D

Thank you Damian, that's very helpful!

Another quick timeout to dry fit everything to ensure wiring, part alignment and painting still fits together as planned.

Finished painting the starboard wing. Testing the lights one more time before installing the spar and gluing everything together.

Finished lighting, wiring and painting the main fuselage. The wings are heavy and will need a central support to ensure they stay put. I created a brass laminate spar that runs through the hinge blocks and fuselage that will do the trick. The assembly was fitted, then glued together. The assembly below ways more than 10 pounds!

So what's next? You guessed it, light check. This time with the room lighting off to look for "light leak". There are areas on this model where the resin is an inch thick and places where it's thin as an egg shell. As you can see, lights coming through the windows and not shining through the walls of the ship. The coat of black plasti-dip on the inside did the trick.

Here's a picture of the Bird of Prey's impulse thruster lights.



Next step, mounting this Bird on its perch.

Originally, I hadn't given that much thought to how I was going to mount this beast. With a weight over 10 pounds and not owning a machine shop, I was forced to get creative - again. I went to the Home Depot and found nothing that would work and was starting to worry. I put a lot of time and effort into this project and it was looking like it would never get off the ground! Of all places, I found my answer in an antique shop. I found an industrial pedestal fan from the late 20's with a burnt out motor that weighed even more than the Bird of Prey. Here's a pic of the stand after I removed the old motor:

Here's a close-up of the mounting point. As you can see, it can tilt which is perfect for photo sessions and was designed to have wiring run through it. Being made 90 years ago, everything is made from heavy gauge steel or cast iron.