Required field must not be blank: Mobius Models 1:160 Orion Space Clipper, Part 1

Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Mobius Models 1:160 Orion Space Clipper, Part 1

Next we we have the 1/160th scale Space Clipper from Mobius Models, as seen in the film 2001 A Space Odyssey.

This is a rework of a much older kit, probably from Arora but I'm not sure. It has a few enhanced details and a new decal set, but the basic kit design is the same as I remember from the original.

I plan to light the model so I started with an idea for the engines. I drilled out holes between the vanes inside the engines and then glued colored sections of a drinking straw to the inside. I mounted blue LEDs in each tube behind each engine.

I used the colored straw because there are two open vents in the sides of the hull in this area. I'll end up with a more reddish light in those ducts, with the pure blue LED light nice and bright straight out the back.

So far, so good.

I masked off the rear scoops after painting everything flat black and sealing it up with a matte finish.

Looks a little odd...

The side light is visible here. It's more violet in color.

I did not use the clear plastic parts for the windows because I wanted something very clear and easy to see through. I completely painted and finished the window area of the fuselage and placed panels of very clear plastic on the inside. I then masked off the windows with a strip of tape cut along the outer recess of the window area. With this area in its final finish, the rest can be painted and sealed when it's ready.

Next up, photo etch for the interior.

This involved making a whole lot of seats and gluing them down, then painting the whole assembly. This took awhile.

I used three white LEDs in the center area of the model. At the front of the interior are two TV screens I did in clear blue plastic. That area has its own LED. I also placed a clear red piece for two of the lights at either end of the ceiling. The other lights I made a frosted white. Two LEDs are mounted over the top.

At this point I discovered that these interior pieces are oddly not wide enough to fill the interior width of the model. This makes complete light blocking of the LEDs over the top impossible on both sides. I can do the side that I secure the interior section in, but I can't do the anything inside the other half of the fuselage.

Also, it's fairly hard to accurately center the interior pieces since they don't reach to the inside walls. I ended up with the PE assemblies slightly closer to one side. This turned out to be a good thing though as the model will look much better from that side, more interior detail and better lighting being visible.

Cockpit detail... It has seats and control panels which I did in various clear colors. It actually looked pretty good, if almost impossible to see. It is fully impossible to see on the completed model.

I placed the interior modules as best I could in one half of the model, with the lights. There's no way to light block the opposite side correctly. Also, I can already tell that the interior is too far away from the side window to see much even though one side is a little better than the other.