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Polar Lights' C-57D Starcruiser

by Simon Mercs - images & text © 2004

This project uses a monster-sized kit - Polar Lights' behemoth C-57D Starscruiser, with a 28" (711mm) diameter. It will haveinterior lighting, engine effects, and that most difficult of finishes: metallic.

Image: Parts laid out for inspection

Image: The upper and lower saucer halves are made of pie-shaped wedges

Image: Priming of interior parts begins

Image: Accent colors follow

Image: Painted control station

Day 1

The start up phase of this prop is the same as all others. The tedious "cut" to free up parts from the "sprues" and pre-paint components that require it. The color scheme is a combination of light and metallic grays and some flat red, black and white. 1950's spaceships had very drab and military style paint schemes. There were no special effects to speak of until the mid-seventies when Star Wars started the "worn" look of real life spacecraft. This version is getting a full interior and illuminated cabin and engine effects. Should be an awesome prop when completed.

Some assembly leads to a completed top floor section and the start of the work on the bottom floor section. A lot of sanding, detail cutting and cut fingers always occur during this phase. Time spent today, about 8 hours.

Day 2

Today I spent some time on building the second story/level of the saucer's internal details. I also began assembly of the huge saucer section top and bottom. These guys have a diameter of 28 inches and are unwieldy at best ...."floppy" is the operative word today. Internal sections are now complete, and I am continuing to harden and prep the saucer hull since it has to survive the trip back to the client. The first Adhesive application is Super "T" glue, second is standard Testors plastic glue to fill in spaces. I use a lot of clamping power on the second application. That's followed by a third application of Super "T" glue to fill in gaps. It's finished by sanding, sealer, and a kiss. Pretty strong bond by the end of the process.

Once the saucer section is ready, and painted in the familiar Chrome Silver finish, lighting work can begin.

Time spent today, about 9 hours.

Day 3

Today I am painting the large saucer halves. This took three applications of Silver Chrome, followed by some edge "effects" with a metallic "exhaust" color. A big silver dish is boring to the eye, so I spice it up with some nice Airbrush coloring to bring out the details on an otherwise "featureless" look. I actually use many colors to bring this hull to life. If you ever take a good look at metal you will notice score lines, shimmer spots, many things. As with stainless steel, the metal is not just a "shiny silver polish color", it is made up of many components. I'll be on this stage for a few days.

The amount of time spent today, and last night, amount to 14 hours to get this far. This is a very difficult assembly because of it's wobbly nature.

Day 4

The LED light system (3 Volts) is being installed today. This is happening as I assemble the internal structure to the saucer bottom. The bottom floor is glued (securely) to the saucer, and the engine LEDS (red) are glued to the bottom of this internal structure as it is the top of the engine compartment. All floors have to be installed on the Saucer Bottom before you can glue the top section into place.

Each LED lamp has its positive and negative leads soldered for strength. I solder all connections to insure the lighting will work for many years. At this point I have already secured the Battery Holder in one of the Retractable Landing Gear ports as they will be in the up or "flight" position. The Bottom Dome will be "blurred" to give the illusion of the Metal becoming clear, an effect used in the film. The lighting will include 6 red LEDS in the Engine compartment and three pale blue's (white looks fake), in the Control room, Map Room, and Bunk Area. The power supply will run these 9 LEDS, and provide some nice internal and external light details. The switch will be on the outside bottom of the saucer to allow client to access to turn the unit on while hanging from a ceiling hook in "flight" display.

Time spent last night and today, about 11 hours.

Day 5

Worked late into the night again. Some of my best work happens when it's quiet and I'm left alone to my thoughts.

Light tests were all successful, internal cabin lights work fine. These were placed in three areas: Map room, Control room, and Bunk area. The engine cluster of red LEDS also function correctly. Not great pictures, my "nightshooting" isn't the best, but you get the idea. Further assembly of the internal decking can be seen. All soldering of the wire connections linking the light circuits also completed.

Time spent today/tonight: 9 hours.

Day 6

Today, I've attached the upper saucer half to the bottom. Easier said than done. I used about 9 clamps around the outer rim to get a nice clean bond.

The upper dome was then painted to match the Hull coloring. The client requested two domes: one clear, to view the internal details, the other painted and textured to provide the solid outside look.

The lower section dome which houses the engine lighting was also attached. I am not using the "elevator" stand unit, so a scratchbuilt bottom cap was needed to make the bottom dome look like it had the elevator retracted within it. I found a suitable match in my vast "spare parts" arsenal.

Some more rim and hull details were added with the airbrush as well. Unification of all components is the key to a believable paint scheme.

I am close to completion of this project. Time spent today: about 8 hours.

Day 7

Final phase of production today. First, the retractable landing gear port covers were painted to match the hull detailing and attached. The tiny Robby the Robot figure was painted and placed on the floor of the second deck, by the navigation console. Last touch-ups and quality inspections occur now. Lights were tested again to make sure all is well before shipping out. I took a few pictures of the completed craft and inside shots as well. Notice the two looks available to the client with the clear and painted upper section domes.

Total finish up time today: about 8 hours.

Thanks for checking out my latest project!

Regards, Simon Mercs