Klingon Bird of Prey Revisited (Part 4)

Just cleared the decks to get back to this project: the Round 2 reissue of the AMT Klingon Bird of Prey. It's optional, but there was no question about displaying this baby in the landed configuration. It's too cool! I had one bit of cleanup that had to get done first: I got carried away cutting one of the windows open and had to fix it. Just a bit of sheet styrene. Yikes, it's been a while since I worked on this. Last post was May 5--that was four months ago!

I'd been thinking about what to do with this kit--it needs a bit of extra detailing. One thing I'm sure ought to be in the area where that ramp comes down is the warp core. I'd expect it could be jettisoned through the bottom of the hull, and for that matter, out the opening where the ramp is. If there was an imminent warp core breech, they'd open the ramp or just jettison it and then blow that sucker before the matter and antimatter meet. The passageway where the ramp comes down is almost exactly 1/2 inch wide (14 feet in 1:350 scale). So if the warp core is there, it's probably about 14 feet wide. Sounds like a good size. Also, Klingon stuff is very angular with lots of triangles and hexagons. The base of the warp core is a hexagonal piece of Sculpey I formed inside a 15/32" socket. Makes a nice neat shape.

It needed some kind of dome, so I scavenged a piece off some old blinds. It's clear, so I can add lighting effects inside it. I also added Evergreen channel to the sides. It looks like rails that the warp core would slide in and out on for installation and removal. (Or emergency jettisoning! Whee!) There's a beveled edge in the passageway so I cut a little off the warp core so it can sit in place. I also cut slots in the side walls for the channel on the sides of the core to fit in. I forgot to take a picture of the warp core installed. Well, it fits and next time there will be a pic of that. Plus cleanup of the slots and a whole lot of detailing. Klingon warp cores must have enough plumbing all over them that they look like a plate of spaghetti. And the whole interior of the landing gear bay and entryway needs gobs of detail, too. Some of this will come next time.