Model
Specifications:
Scale = 1/310
Length = 124.0 cm
Width = 16.7 cm
Height = 31.5 cm
The
USS Sulaco was the ship that delivered a contingent of Colonial
Marines and equipment to eradicate the alien infestation on
colony planet LV426.
Not having access to the kit, I decided to use whatever reference material I had handy. I was able to get a
decent side view drawing and went from there. This being a long model at 51", I decided to start with a piece of
wood approx 33" long to act as a spine. All separate units would be slid onto the spine in its order and glued to the previous
unit.
Most of the construction was out of styrene except for the
main rear engine and the Fusion Torus which started out as ABS pipe cut to length and wrapped in
styrene.
The forward
area, just behind the sensor array antennae was basically built as a box and finished accordingly. Both
particle beam units (I had read somewhere they were designed as side mounted cranes that would slide alongside the
hull to access the cargo hangars), both rail guns, all the pieces for the sensor array and laser turrets were constructed
separately and would be attached after painting.
All of the pictures I've seen of the studio miniature show the model as a
light bluish gray but most of us remember seeing it as a darker blue or
almost navy in color. I decided to go with the latter. My base color was
a mix of Intermediate Blue and Gray and then hit random panels with
different shades of the color.
The model was detailed using thin sheet styrene, pressure sensitive vinyl,
and various Evergreen and Plastruct styrene products. I ended up using quite a bit of spare kit parts for the smaller detail over most of the
model.
The ship's name was cut from film and then airbrushed, finished by a couple coats of
Flat Clear.
All sub-assemblies were
then attached in their proper locations. Smaller panels were cut from thin cardboard and used as a quick mask with lighter colors
airbrushed over selected areas.
