1978's Battlestar Galactica
as seen in Battlestar Galactica TV show and movies

Battlestar Galactica with all vehicles, characters, names and designs is © Universal Pictures.

scratchbuilt in 1:4105 scale with parts of my battlestar accurization kit
(now available here: Arvey Model Products)

My second attempt on building a perfect battlestar in 21,5% of studio scale. As you will see I based the fuselage around an aluminium skelleton. While building I had the idea to create detail parts in highest accuracy possible and cast them. The molds and casts looked that great, so I decided to offer them in a complete battlestar accurization kit. Corrected decals available in cooperation with JBOT decals.

1978's BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
- Behind the Scenes: building the battlestar -

photos of finished model:

click on each pic to get a hi-res image

full view port side: (3008x1024; 511KB)
   
coming towards you...: (1954x1024; 303KB)
   
body, hangar engine closeup: (2938x1300; 1,08MB)
   
eye and neck detail: (1632x640; 195KB)
   
Battlestar disappearing: (1632x729; 231KB)

building process:

click on each pic to get a hi-res image

Aluminum tube and styrene parts
   
the "head"-section of a battlestar. Upper half.
   
Area between main body and engine-section. Most of the parts have been re-inforced to give better strength.
   
the bridge module. It has only 2 cm from starboard to port side. windows have 0,3mm in diameter.
   
The head-section with some basic detail on it, some layers of styrene, a few tubes, the bridge. The whole thing got it's curves re-worked later in progress.
   
The head glued to the main body. in the background you can see some boxes of kit-bashed parts.
   
port side hangar bay of the battlestar. Some detail parts only laid on to check the look.
   
Dorsail view of the engine area with casted parts of my battlestar accurization kit glued on.
   
port side of engine area. the detail parts look even better when primed in gray.
   
Engine area form above with primer. You can get an idea of how it will look when finish. Still some parts missing in this area.
   
port side of head-section. bow curves have been re-worked and given new detail. Moreover the trench looks much more authentic with all the tiny detail.
   
port side of neck and main body. I tried to match the detail of the original filming model. the casted arms test-fit to the body
   
all-over-view. arms and hangar bays connected to the body more detail placed allover the battlestar.
   
familiar perspective. middle arm is now also a casted part. engine area about to be done.
   
detail, detail, detail. That takes time if you want to match the real thing as good as possible.
   
the nose part. the triangular parts will be replaced with photo-etched brass as soon as these parts are done
   
copper pipes all over the head section
   
the radar dish. A detail seen not that often in the movies and the series
   
with gray primer. no comment. detail looks even better when in one colour.
   
the nose part with primer
   
the 2 radar dishes on Galactica's engine section
   
starboard side of neck
   
nice bowshot
   
I decided to spray the red markings on instead of using R/M decals which are (sorry) completely crap...
   
coloured. some cleanup and nameplates still missing
   
comparison shot with the old R/M kit...
   
I chose "Galactica" for port side and "Atlantia" for starboard side. The names were printed on transparent self-adhedsive film
   
Trennlinie