Sinclair's Line Starfury

constructed by Laura Appelbaum < l-appelbaum@mindspring.com>

Click on an image to see the full-size photo.

Angled view	Side view
Rear	Base visible, with light switches
Front view (note open cockpit with interior lights)	Detail of battle damage
"It's only a model!" -- Monty Python and The Holy Grail	"If I'm going out, I'm taking you bastards with me!" -- Jeffrey Sinclair in "And The Sky Full of Stars"

I've been inundated with both praise and questions about my Starfury Model, I've decided to outline how I went about painting, modifying, and constructing it. Mind you, I make NO guarantees that any of what worked for me will work for you, nor am I in any way whatsoever legally responsible for the accuracy of my electronic information -- this is intended as a rough guideline ONLY and I do not promise that these guidelines are either safe or accurate -- consult someone with the appropriate electrical experience before you build your own. If you screw your model up or burn the house down, the Entil'Zha will disavow any knowledge of your actions. Many of you have asked how long I've been modeling and what other models I've built. The answer is -- none since I was a kid! I am however, a professional artist (primarily still lifes and portraits in watercolor as well as hand papermaking and bookbinding) and there are few crafts I haven't dabbled in at one time or another. Due to my facility with a brush, as well as my asthma, the entire model was hand-painted with a brush -- no airbrush or sprays were used, other than the primer I applied to the copper piping used for the stand.
	PAINTS: The paints I used were all Testors ModelMaster Enamels. I began with an all-over coat of Lt. Sea Grey, which I then weathered by dry-brushing with RAF Dark Slate Grey and Gunship Grey. With a very fine brush, I painted over all of the raised panel lines with a mixture of Gunship Grey and Flat Black. I also used this for dark details on the vanes. For the thrusters, I first painted Gunship Grey into the incised lines and the centers of the thrusters. I then painted between the lines with Lt. Sea Grey and finally applied Jet Exhaust in the centers and over the edges of the thrusters. I used Jet Exhaust as well as Anthracite Grey Metallic to highlight various panels as well as touches of Graphite Metallic on the details of the fuselage rear. A mixture of Blue Angel Blue and Lt. Sea Grey was used to paint over the EA logo since I felt the colors of the decals were too green. For the stripes on Sinclair's s Line ship, I used regular Testors Lt. Yellow (Model Master Insignia Yellow was too orange) and Flat Black. The first model I built was his ship from B5; there I used Insignia White and Insignia Red for the Chevron pattern. In painting the pilot and cockpit, I used touches of nearly all of the colors mentioned above -- the uniform was done with the Blue Angel Blue mixture and Flat Black. There should be a touch of Silver on the bottom of the helmet, but since I only needed it for that one spot, I want to buy a whole bottle. So I winged it with a light grey mix. The only decals I used were the EA logo and the ones that go on the canopy and in the large depressions on the top wing. All other white squares etc. depicted on decals were hand-painted.
	LED/Wiring Guidelines (provided by my husband, Alan Burnstine). Again, please remember these are suggestions ONLY and we make no promises as to the safety or accuracy of this information: For the engines, I used the new Blue LEDs available from Radio Shack. I wired them in parallel to 4 AA batteries with a resister on the hot lead to keep them from burning out. Rather than go to all of the trouble of calculating the correct resistance, I wired in a .1K to 100K ohm potentiometer and twisted the dial until the LEDs were bright but didn't look like they were about to burn out. I then measured the resistance with a multi-meter and selected a resister that was close and wired it in permanently. For the cockpit LED you only need to use 2 AA batteries since it's a lower voltage LED. Alternately, you could use the same battery pack from the engine lights and just use a bigger resister. Keep in mind that LEDs are directional. The longer lead goes to the + side of the battery. In order for all of the wires to fit inside the tight confines of the model, I used the thinnest wire Radio Shack has -- 30 AWG Kynar insulated wrapping wire. I used a wrap tool for all of the connections except for the switches where I used solder.
	ASSEMBLY: For Sinclair's Line ship, I lit up only those areas of the ship that were still functioning when Jeff made his suicide run at the Minbari Cruiser -- the cockpit and rear thrusters. I also put two LEDs in the "damaged" portion of his starboard wing to simulate an electrical fire. I am currently working on a "mystery" model for the Starship Modeler's Page Starfury Wing Art Contest. For THAT model, I am wiring separate LEDs into ALL of the thrusters. After building Sinclair's Line Fury I discovered that putting the two red LEDS on the back wall behind his head didn't give the cockpit the red glow I'd hoped for, so the instructions here will describe what I'm doing for the mystery model -- attaching a single, small LED to the display panel at the front of the cockpit. Both models have hinged canopies. The hinges I used are door hingles sold for use in model dollhouses. I attached them to the painted canopy with contact adhesive, which I also used to attach the hinge to the top wing in the final steps of assembly. If you intend to put LEDs in your ship as I did, you have to alter the order in which you assemble the model. As with any model, first cut all of the pieces off of the plastic trees, trim and sand any flash and test fit and alter if necessary by sanding. THEN: Glue the two halves of the fuselage (parts 1 & 2) together and set aside to dry. Get out your drill or Dremel and drill: a) A SMALL hole (just large enough to get the two strands of tiny wire through) in the middle corner on the side of the cockpit (either side). b) Drill out the centers of any or all of the thrusters you intend to use LEDs in (parts 19, 20 & 21) Currently, Radio Shack has only a single size of Blue LED, which fits perfectly through the centers of the front and rear thrusters. You can also use that same size LED for the small maneuvering thrusters by reaming those centers out (I used an Exacto knife and round file on those since I don't have a Dremel, just a big ol' Sears Craftsman power drill.) and only allowing the tip of the LED to stick out from the ship body. Another company does sell blue LEDs that are slightly smaller, but at three times the price, they aren't really worth it. c) Drill or carve out a small semi-circle (big enough for the end of the LED and its leads and wires to fit through) from all of the parts of the body where you will be having LEDS in your (parts 3, 4, 13, 14, 12 and 11). I found I only needed to cut the semi-circle on one of the two pieces, rather than having to make a complete circle by cutting both halves. d) On my mystery model, I've decided to take the extra step and use a really small drill bit to drill holes in the centers of the guns to make them look more realistic (parts 15, 16, 17 & 18). Note that both the long, protruding gun and the smaller cylinder below that one should be hollowed out. These could be hollowed out entirely and then wired with lights as well, but I didn't bother to do so. Feel free to one-up me! e) On the bottom lower wing piece (part #4), you will need to drill three holes to put the copper tubing into. These will serve as both the legs of the stand that holds the model, and as conduits for the wiring. One should be centered just in front of the existing round hole for the stock stand. The other two should go in each of the cylindrical portions of the underside that the guns eventually attach to. After you drill these holes, you'll ll want to putty over the existing holes/slots for the stand that comes with the kit, which you won't be using. Depending upon how many engines you light up, you will either have to use three pieces of fairly wide 3/16" copper tubing, OR you may be able to get away with just using that for the front leg and thinner tubing (I don't know the size, but it fit exactly down the middle of the 3/16") for the sides. Prime it with grey primer first because the model enamel paint won't stick otherwise. f) The base of the stand is a black rectangular battery box from Radio Shack. You'll need to drill holes into that for the legs of the model to fit into. I found it easiest to assemble the entire model first and then mark the holes and drill the box. When you are done drilling, be sure to use round files and/or sandpaper to smooth out all of the openings. Test fit the LEDs into the holes you've cut in the thrusters before you go and paint them. Paint up your pilot and cockpit and glue them together. Note: if you decide not to hinge the cockpit, be sure to use Elmer'sor another brand of white glue to attach the canopy to the model -- regular model glue will craze and cloud the clear plastic. Paint the outside of the display panel. Paint the fuselage and fuselage rear (part 6). Paint all of the thrusters and the vanes that will attach to the aft thrusters. Feed the LED wires from your red LED through the hole in the cockpit you drilled earlier, leaving plenty of extra wire that will run down the center of the ship, through the copper tubing and into the battery box/stand. Use contact cement to glue a small red LED to the inside of the display panel piece. I covered the wire that was exposed inside of the cockpit with black electrical tape so it would be easy to glue down and wouldn't require painting. Glue the display panel to the cockpit. Glue together the cockpit, fuselage and fuselage rear. Roll up the wires so they don't get tangled up or damaged then tape them over with drafting tape and set this part aside. You may also want to label or color-code the wires so you'll be able to keep track of what goes where later on when you have a wad of wires hanging down the middle of the fuselage. Here's the really tricky part -- lay the LEDs in place in the holes cut in the big wing pieces and run the wires flat along the inside of the wings. I held down the ends with some drafting tape to keep it out of the way in the next step, which involves attaching the inner wings (Parts 8, 10, 6, 7) to the upper and lower wings. Don't put the tape under there since you aren't going to glue the fore and aft thrusters down yet -- you want them in position but you also want to be able to create and later pull back any slack in the wires. It DOES make things easier if you glue the maneuvering (small) thrusters (21) on the top and bottom in place now -- that'll hold those LEDS out of the way. Glue down those inner wings and clamp or tape it down while it dries. Once dry, you will probably have to use Squadron White Putty to make the seams perfectly smooth. Do that and sand. Paint the inner wings. Glue the assembled cockpit/fuselage to the lower wing (part 4). I also used some putty at these joints once they dried. Pull all of the loose wires into the hollow fuselage. Very tricky part -- glue on the tops of the lower wings (part 13 and 14). In doing so, you still want the thrusters to hang free so you can first sand and then putty the joints if necessary, and paint the wings before attaching the thrusters. Paint up those wings! While you're at it, paint the upper inner wings (parts 11 and 12), because it'll be too tight to do so later. If the joints don't come out perfectly even when you assemble the top section in a later step, you'll have to carefully putty around them and retouch the paint. Repeat step 12 with the upper wing --(parts 3, 6 & 7). Ready? Here's the make or break step -- you need to glue into place the cockpit hinge AND the upper wing assembly (created in step 14) into the fuselage all at the same time. Remember to use contact cement on the hinge. Later, you'll probably want to putty over and repaint the joint where the hinge, wing and body come together to conceal it better. You can also paint up the little hinge (especially if the only ones you find are bright brass like the ones I used! Nice for a dollhouse, perhaps, but ugly on a Starfury!). Glue in the upper weapon assemblies (17 and 18). Feed all the wires through the new holes you drilled in the fuselage. Time to glue in those upper inner wings. Odds are they won't fit the body perfectly -- just make sure they line up correctly on the outside edges where they meet the thrusters; it's easier and less noticeable to putty and disguise bad inner joints. At long last, gently pull those wires taut and glue the fore and aft thrusters in place! Feed wires into the copper tubing legs and insert legs into top of battery box. Wire up your battery box, drill and attach whatever switches you want, and then screw the box shut. Paint over the shiny screwheads and the primed copper tubing legs with f shut. Paint over the shiny screwheads and the primed copper tubing legs with flat black enamel. Turn off room lights and fire up your fusion engines! Enjoy accolades!!
	Notes specific to creating Lt. Jeffrey Sinclair's Starfury from The Battle of The Line: In order to simulate the damage the Minbari did to this particular ship, I first carefully studied and made a diagram of that damage from the visual information provided in the first season episode "And the Sky Full of Stars". Note that the Battle of the Line scenes in "In the Beginning" are not as informative as the aforementioned episode. Also, the depiction of the damage on the Fleer's Fourth Series Babylon 5 Trading Card of this ship is inaccurate. Taking all prudent and necessary precautions, you will want to drill a series of holes into the upper starboard wing and then join them together by either manipulating the drill, using a knife or file or whatever method you prefer. I also held the drill almost parallel to the wing and dug a groove into the leading end of the damage to simulate the Minbari's raking gunfire. Additionally, I added a couple of smaller grooves that I painted black just to add to the battle-scar effect -- this was artistic license as no such damage is seen in the episode. After you are done drilling, filing and sanding the damage to your hearts content, you'll want to paint it. I used a combination of Flat Black and Graphite Metallic and applied it thickly around the edges of the holes so that it looked more like the gunfire had actually melted through the wing. Take the trees the model pieces were attached to and using your favorite method (I used a candle) VERY carefully melt, stretch and cut the sprue into rods and "wires" of varying dimensions and length. Remember that model plastic burns REALLY easily and you shouldn't inhale the fumes! Paint these bits and pieces whatever colors you'd like and glue them to the inside of the top inner starboard wing so that when you attach this to the upper outer wing, the sprue will show through the hole and look like parts of Sinclair's totaled aft stabilizers, weapons and defense systems. Take special care to leave enough room between or around the sprue so that you will have room to run the wires for the rear thrusters through! If you wish, you can also enclose two small green LEDS to each side of the hole and run those wires back as well -- this simulates an electrical fire quite nicely.
	Chanting "If I'm going out, I'm taking you bastards with me!" to create the appropriate mood while working on this model is optional.

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