ALIENS Dropship

silveroxide

Senior Member
This is my third attempt at building this craft. The first attempts crashed and burned and the third try is coming out well. I have seen a few of the dropships posted here and on other sited but little or no build thread on it. This is a phot of the drop ship where it is at now. The build thread will soon follow and I hope that it will help others to build theirs. It is at 1/72 scale which is much larger than the itty bitty one and easier on the fingers for the folds. There are some construction problems but none that cannot be taken care off. Here are a couple teaser photos and the build will resume shortly. Enjoy and see you all around the forums.

NOTE: The reason I built it, is because the landing skids may be something that I need for my Warhammer dropship/shuttle craft. I rebuilt them different from the designs and it will probably fit well with my dropship/shuttle craft.
 

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silveroxide

Senior Member
Aliens Cheyenne Dropship

To answer some of the comment above, The design and plans come from the ALIENS website http://aliens.humlak.cz/aliens/alien..._modely_cz.htm and Yes it is Jan's design. It does not come with a cockpit. I scratched built the cockpit and added the acetate glass to it. I also used the reference build thread from Resin Illuminati. Halcyon Aliens 1/72nd Dropship - Resin Illuminati It is a weath of information for scratch builders, even though the work is almost all done in Styrene and plastic. Regardless, the ideas can be transferred over to paper modeling and there is also a great source of info on how to light your models. Master craftsmen on this site.

NOTE: The reason for this build, is that I am interested in the landing skids and wanted to experiment with them for my Dropship/Shuttle craft project that I am presently working on as well.

So here is the first installment on the build thread. On the cockpit, you can do it as originally designed or if you feel adventurous make a more detail scratch build interior. My interior is minimal due to the space available. You can also use parts from a modern 1/72 scale jet fighter to accomplish this as well.
 

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silveroxide

Senior Member
Aliens Cheyenne Dropship

Here are few more updates on the Cheyenne. The problem area, is that it wants to curve in and it must be at a right angle to the fuselage. Later on I forced it and there is a slight bump in this area. Enjoy and I will see you all next posting.
 

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Tirick

Member
To answer some of the comment above, The design and plans come from the ALIENS website http://aliens.humlak.cz/aliens/alien..._modely_cz.htm and Yes it is Jan's design.

Hate to ask... I cannot find any canon dropship on Jan's site other than at 1:148 scale (in the Hadley's Hope area). I don't speak Czech, could you post a direct link to the download page?

I've been looking to scale a dropship to match my 1:48 APC (Jan's rescaled) and 1:72 would be very sweet to start from.

Your build is great, by the way!

Thank you,
Tirick
 

silveroxide

Senior Member
This model is 1/72 scale but you can take it to kinko's or blow it up yourself about 150% to get to the 1/48 scale. But if you do that, you will have to download in 1/72 and cut and paste the pieces on a separate sheet to be able to place it on one sheet. Or if you have the capabilities, do a poster size size and then put the pieces together again. A 1/48th scale will a good size ship and open to a lot of detail. If you go that size, then use Resin Illuminati site for the wealth of detail information. Good luck Tirick and let's see what you come up with. !/72 is about the right size for space allocation for me.

The site above is the one for the 1/72 scale or here it is again.http://aliens.humlak.cz/aliens/aliens_papirove_modely_gb.htm

NOTE: Interesting but I cannot find the Cheyenne on the site, just the other version instead. Not sure what happened here!!!!!!:cry:
 

silveroxide

Senior Member
Aliens Cheyenne Dropship

I drop Jan a line on the 1/72 Cheyenne to see if it is still available.

So on with the next phase of the build. At the moment I am working on the struts for the landing skids but that will come later.

Here starts the problem, when #10 is attached, the side protrusion wants to fold it in.

On the top intakes, I cut them into Four separate parts and laminated the sides, and curved them to the contour of the indicated space. I then placed the top and trimmed off any extra that overlapped. The face came next. I was going to make it hollow and make some kind of fan duct system for the intake but opted out. It is still feasible if someone wants to try it.

On the short wings, I laminated the top side to help in adjusting the problem area. The sides of #10 will be laminated later on.

Enjoy and see you all around the forums or next installment.
 

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Alien99

Papercraft Member
I am not sure what you talking about. By the pics you have and building the dropship is 1:148 scale version :wave:.

http://aliens.humlak.cz/aliens/aliens_papirove_modely/aliens-lv426-vehicles_gb.html

There was NO 1:72 scale version......I´ve created first unsuccesfull prototype of the dropship in 1:24 scale long time ago (fall of 2001)...but not for download..:cry:

You probably upscaled the small version to 1:72 or print it out to bigger format like A3 or so:twisted:

great work with the detail by the way sign1
 

silveroxide

Senior Member
I am not sure what you talking about. By the pics you have and building the dropship is 1:148 scale version :wave:.

http://aliens.humlak.cz/aliens/aliens_papirove_modely/aliens-lv426-vehicles_gb.html

There was NO 1:72 scale version......I´ve created first unsuccesfull prototype of the dropship in 1:24 scale long time ago (fall of 2001)...but not for download..:cry:

You probably upscaled the small version to 1:72 or print it out to bigger format like A3 or so:twisted:

great work with the detail by the way sign1



Thanks for the reply Jan. I was surprised when it came out to a 1/72 scale. If I did upscale it somehow, there was no loss in the graphics. It sure is a lot easier to work with at this scale.
 

silveroxide

Senior Member
Aliens Cheyenne Dropship

More updates on the Drop Ship Cheyenne. Part #2 is laminated to the aft section so as to make that raised panel.

The side panels 30 and 31 are laminated 3X for strength and for later drilling holes to attach the landing skids.

The aft skid well is outlined with laminated sides. Here is where I forced the short wings out at 90%. It would have been easier to have cut this section off and patched in after the wells were finished. It is not too noticeable, but there is a slight bulge here at the short wing.

In the cargo bay, I had to adjust it a little to make it fit. The fron lip came out the bottom and I trimmed it off. Enjoy and see you all next posting.
 

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silveroxide

Senior Member
Aliens Cheyenne Dropship

Continuing with more updates on the drop ship.. The cargo bay wall are in place. I had to trim the front a little bit until it fit into the cavity. The rear/aft section for the skid is closed up and started to make the internal ribs for the cargo bay. These are the paints that I use to mix the colors for the edging: Olive green, Black, Sienna Brown, Light gray. I mix a little at a time until I get close to the models color. The front landing bay has been opened up.

At the moment, the main ship is finished and I am going to work on the ammo pods next. Only thing lacking now, is prepping the photos for uploads.
 

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silveroxide

Senior Member
Aliens Cheyenne Dropship

A few more updates on the build. Still working on the payload weapons system. Finished off with the cargo bay, Lined the landing skid wells and scratch build the rear landing skid.
 

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mysteroid

Active Member
Great job! Love the extra details. :thumb:

Upscaling Jan's dropship is one of my "someday" projects (which I suppose realistically means never!). You've given me new inspiration.

Steve
 

silveroxide

Senior Member
Aliens Cheyenne Dropship

Great job! Love the extra details. :thumb:

Upscaling Jan's dropship is one of my "someday" projects (which I suppose realistically means never!). You've given me new inspiration.

Steve

Inspiration is the name of the game. I browse through the sites all the time looking for tips and inspiration. As for the upscaling.........


For those who wonder where or how I got the 1/72 scale model, I just stumbled upon it. Jan did not make one that scale. What I did, was to download it from his site and copy, transferred it as a JPEG into my Paintshop. I then use the image button to rotate all the pages 90 degrees and it transformed them into approximately 1/72 with little loss of the details.

You can also achieve the same results through you print command. Change it from portrait to landscape if you do not wish to save as.
smile.gif
 

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silveroxide

Senior Member
Aliens Cheyenne Dropship

At this small scale, it is hard to develop the retracting features. Although it is possible with metal sliding struts from metal pen and rods. But on this model, it will be gears down, for a landing pad diorama.

As for aerodynamics, it is a flop, it just looks mean. There is no way that this hunk can hover with just those side Harrier jets on the sides and no vectors up front to keep the nose up. It is what I would refer to as a flying tumbling brick, but it looks cool just sitting there.

Here are a few more updates on the Cheyenne. The upper engine section is done. Laminated the frontal part and got rid of the tabs. I was going to carve out the front openings for some kind of fan duct indicators recessed in. The same procedure for the exhaust. Carved out a slit to place the exhaust deflectors in.

The bottom received a scratch built plate to make it easier to attach to the wing extension.

On the top side, cut some slits for the scoops and recessed them in. So much for now and see you all next posting.
 

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silveroxide

Senior Member
Aliens Cheyenne Dropship

The next batch of the previous post.
 

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silveroxide

Senior Member
Aliens Cheyenne Dropship

With all of that lamination, it is starting to feel like a small brick as well. Other than that, I like it and the details keep coming. The first sequence of pictures is like a Dejavu. The second photo has two hydraulic cylinders made. These are to help stabilize the aft skid when placed in position.

On the ramp. I drilled two holes into each extension. This must be done while still on the laminating sheet prior to trimming it out. If you drill the holes when the section is trimmed out, it will tend to shred the connectors.

Here I deviated from paper and use wire or straighten wire for the connectors. Wrap thin strips around the wires to create the illusion of the Hydraulics cylinder. Use the plans from the sheet to measure the height of the the cylinders. The long ones are to the aft and the short to the fore.

Bend the wire into a U shape and insert from the laminated bottom and cover with the bottom sheet. The wrapped cylinders should have been easy to slide off and then re inserted from the top into their respective height positions. Drill some holes into the Walls of the cargo bay for the hydraulic connections. Test fit and you will see that it is strong enough to withstand the added weight of the lamination.

This section will expand to three postings to upload the all photos for this phase.

So that is all for now and see you all next full posting.:wave::wave::wave:
 

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silveroxide

Senior Member
Aliens Cheyenne Dropship

Part 2 of the previous posting.
 

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silveroxide

Senior Member
Aliens Cheyenne Dropship

Part 3 of the previous posting, and that is all for now. The next posting will be on the front landing skids.
 

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silveroxide

Senior Member
Aliens Cheyenne Dropship

Almost coming to the end of the Dropship. The landing gears are self explanatory. I used a round paper stick and wrapped a thin strip around it, then other smaller strips to simulate the hydraulics. For the smaller secondary Hydraulics, I used a paper clip wire with a paper strip wrapped around it And finally the front gear fairings are in place.

Next step will be the weapons payload system.
 

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