For the last several days, I’ve been giving some thought to creating a space battleship. Now whether this is similar to the battleship from Space Battleship Yamato (Star Blazers) or whether it’s a non-SBY space battleship, I’m not sure yet. But I’m kind of leaning toward the latter option.
I’ve got a bunch of spare 1/350 scale USS Missouri hulls at home, plus a BANDAI 1/500 scale SBY model that I got from my best friend’s stash when he passed away. I’m not exactly keen on using parts from the smaller 1/500 scale SBY kit on the larger 1/350 battleship hull because of the large scale difference. Some parts from the SBY kit may look good and may work, while others won’t.
As I said, I’m leaning toward doing a regular non-SBY space battleship instead. Which means probably no large round engine at the back and no wave motion type gun at the bow.
My other issue is that I don’t think a space battleship Iowa should have flat hull sides and bottom. I know the hull shape is iconic to that class of ship, but I’d like to change it somehow. I just don’t know how?
A space battleship should have large engines just like on the Space Battleship Yamato. The only thing that comes to mind is repurposing 1/32 scale engine parts from a A-10 Warthog kit and use those at the back end. That’s all I’ve got at home to work with.
I’m also not even sure how or where I’d create and add a small hangar bay for the vessel.
Does anybody else have suggestions and ideas on how I could design such a vessel, parts to use, etc., etc.?
One suggestion for engines: Use some mini-flashlights as engines and accessorize as needed. One things about them is you’ll already have working engines without the cost of lighting!
I already did that for a previous BANDAI 1/500 scale SBY kit I built several years ago. I think I used some mini handheld lights for Halloween trick or treating.
Spacefighters don’t need runway they just fly! Perhaps you could use the recessed area in the rear as an elevator, move the rear AA to the sides of the hull and flatten out the rear, mark it similar to a carrier deck and voila instant small craft take off landing pad.
Though it admittedly looks like it could be a fair amount of work to do that.
The area you are suggesting would also be right under the barrels of the aft main gun turret. So for a fighter to launch, the gun has to traverse either to the left or the right. so the barrels are pointing to starboard or port. Not keen on this option.
Anyway, getting back to reality…
I might work on the 1/32 scale A-10 Warthog engine parts this weekend and/or over July 4th weekend. Do a test fit as they’ll sit on top of the aft skeg area on the bottom of the Iowa hull. It’s the only place I can think of to put the engine assembly.
As far as lighting the engines or anything else on the proposed model, I doubt it. I’m not very good with electronics and wiring, etc. For lack of a better term, anything I did use would need to be simple, i.e., “plug and play” so to speak. I don’t like complicated stuff.
As for how much of the original bulkheads and superstructure this space battleship will retain, I have no idea. I’m going to at least have to make some parts and structures more “future-like”. How, I don’t know yet.
As I said, I’m open to ideas and suggestions. But I am NOT making this into a space battleship as if it came from the Space Battleship Yamato universe.
