Scratchbuilding Starbug from Red Dwarf

After years of just building Gerry Anderson model replicas I decided that it was about time I did something else. Red Dwarf has been one of my favourite TV shows since it began, but especially since series three with the arrival of Kryten and Starbug. I had been collecting photographs of the original models for a while with the intention of building a replica Bug but could never start the project because of the lack of a decent profile picture or for that matter a usable blueprint. Then just before the Red Dwarf magazine folded it published an interview with the builder of the original model, Alan 'Rocky' Marshall. He stated that the models hull was mostly made from E M A Hemispheres supported on a steel structure. The three domes forming the main hull of this 1/25 scale model had diameters of 8", 10 " and then a 14" custom made size. With this information I could start building.

As usual the first question to answer is what size to build it? Normally I like to build to studio scale but I didn't like the choice of sizes, 30 inches was too big (as the rear legs are very widely spaced) and 15" was too small so I decided to go for one around 22" in length.

Unlike models that require many hours of sculpting and shaping, Starbug is simply a collection of hemispheres so all I had to do was get out my EMA Catalogue and order the parts - or maybe not.

Firstly the parts, especially the larger ones, can be a bit on the expensive side but really I prefer fibreglass models to plastic ones - I like to build my models to last. As a result I only had to order one example of each size hemisphere I needed, then make a series of plaster moulds to generate the fibreglass copies.To do this I used some Supercast moulding powder from a local toy shop, only a thin shell of plaster was required for each and then the mouldings were put to one side for a week to fully dry out.

The surface of the dry plaster then needed to be sealed, or the resin binds to it, and to do this I just sprayed them with several coats of gloss car paint - I use my collection of almost empty spray cans. I then apply some wax to the painted surface and can begin putting the resin and glassfibre in, or in the case of the four leg supports just P38 car filler.

I began assembling the model by supergluing two hemispheres together to form the midsection of the craft. Next the back half of the pilots cabin was attached by a short connecting piece. This was formed by making the circular shape in plastic sheeting and fixing it into position, then more fibreglass was added to the inside and when it had set the plastic was cut away.

As I wanted to install a detailed cockpit the front piece was left off till much later, so I now attempted to attach the rear engine sphere and ran into a small problem. The engine and central spheres merge together in an off-centre position that would need to be calculated carefully. I had actually started the project without a blueprint because I thought it was unnecessary. Lets face it the craft is just a 'bunch of balls' and I prefered to work out the details on the actual model and not on paper. So at this point I had to draw up an outline plan before I could proceed.

With the exact position plotted a large circular hole was cut out of the engine dome and the midsection glued into place, more filler sealed all the gaps.

The engine sphere is actually elongated slightly with the addition of a spacer section between the hemispheres. I formed this in the same way as the neck piece, running a strip of Plasticard in a loop around the edge and applying P38.

In this picture the two inset sections have been drilled out of the midsection and are being blocked out in Plasticard.

The next step was to create the two big engine fairings that sprout out of the top of the model. These end at EMA elliptical spheres that attach to the engine nozzles. To begin with I attached the EMA parts to give me the finishing points, then plotted the start points. Now all I had to do was create the general shape of the fairings in Plasticard and then cover it all over in filler. When this was all sanded down the thin edges of the plastic showed in the surface so they had to be cut out and then the areas filled in to get a perfect finish.

Here the fairings are almost finished and the rear leg supports are being added. Brass tubes are built into these supports to provide strong attachment points for the legs. Again where the sections join the inside areas are cut away and more resin or filler is applied to make a strong connection.

The rear detailed engine area is blocked out in thick Plasticard secured to the hull with four screws, this will allow future access to the inside - something that I have come to realise is a very handy thing to have with models.

The fibreglass shell received several coats of spray filler and was rubbed down with wet & dry paper to a smooth finish. Then surface detailing was applied using Plasticard and assorted kit parts. One part I didn't make was the thin piece of framework which on the original model looked like a kit part from the Space 1999 Hawk kit. As I could not make a good copy I decided to leave it off - I find that people (and myself) can spot a badly made part very quickly but usually not a missing part!

The four legs were now soldered together using Brass tubes and Carrs 188 solder paste from my local model shop. The feet were cut from 1/4" perspex sheet, with the edges taken off using a belt sander, and then the top surfaces were detailed with Plasticard. To create the legs spring-suspension look I resorted to supergluing solder wire around the brass tubes - real wire wouldn't bend and hold shape.

The two engines were formed from EMA domes with short sections from a Space Shuttle external tank kit part, then detailed with strips of thin plastic.

At this point I spent a great deal of time fixing the legs to the model only to admit defeat and realise it wasn't quite balanced and the model didn't sit straight . To sort the problem the front pilots cabin had to be sawn off and then reattached.

This did allow me easier access to the small dome as I built the interior. Most studio models either have no interior detail or just some crude figures installed. As the windows are quite big I needed to have something reasonable inside but the chances of me building decent figures of Rimmer, Lister, Cat and Kryten were rather slim. As it happened a front angled photograph of the live action set was published and I decided to copy it and fit it into position.

As usual the set and model don't match and I had to use two pictures, cut up and spread apart to fill the area.This was then rephotographed cut out and fitted into position.

The final effect is not what you would normally expect to see inside a model and works reasonably well.

Handsome youngish fellow (still with hair) poses with finished model and thinks he's done a good job. However after my scratchbuilding article was published in Sci-Fi & Fantasy magazine I received an offer to visit the studio and look at the original models and noticed that I'd made a few mistakes.

Overall shapewise the model was very good but there were a couple of detail errors. The two engine fairings don't actually feed into the midsection but round off just as they reach it - as these parts were just filler I could reshape them with ease.

Details around the top radar section needed improving and corrugated Plasticard pieces had to be added to the tops of the feet.

The mostly kitbashed detailing on the engine unit was very wrong and most had to be redone.

Overall the worst problem was the finish. I had painted the model using motor car spray paints - right colour wrong semi-gloss finish as the original models had a very matt and battered finish. As a result the whole model was repainted and afterwards rubbed down with very fine wet & dry paper to get the dull look. The existing glossy coloured trimline tapes were replaced with matt Letraset Letraline ones. Finally the model was airbrushed with thinned down black enamel paint to mess it up,which was then partially wiped off with a tissue to create a streaked appearance. Finally some damage was inflicted to the model - little chips and scuff marks- and finally it began to really look like Starbug.