Just thought I’d share some pics of some sci-fi models I’ve built in past years. If anybody has questions or comments, let me know and I’ll answer as best I can.
BELOW: BANDAI 1/500 scale Space Battleship Yamato from the rebooted Star Blazers 2199 animated tv series.
BELOW: Moebious Models 1/4105 scale Battlestar Galactica model from the 2004 tv series of the same name which has been renamed the Battlestar Rycon, and extra gun turrets were added.
BELOW: Moebius Models 1/4105 scale Battlestar Pegasus from the 2004 Battlestar Galactica tv series that has been renamed the Battlestar Triton, and with added extra gun turrets. The first two pics below are older. I did make a few extra cosmetic changes to the model last year in late 2024 in the very last pic.
BELOW: The idea for this model actually came about while watching a DVD biographical documentary titled “With Great Power…….the Stan Lee Story.” about MARVEL comics creator, writer, and editor, Stan Lee. One of Stan Lee’s “quirks” is that he often liked to exclaim the word “EXCELSIOR!” when finishing a project, giving an interview, or some other situation. When mentioning the word EXCELSIOR, Stan was not referencing the Federation starship that was seen in the STAR TREK III and VI movies, though he was a fan and admirer of Gene Roddenberry and his STAR TREK tv show. The word Excelsior which is Latin, actually means “ever upward” or “still higher”.
Stan Lee made it his catchphrase motto throughout most of his life while working at MARVEL Comics. The word Excelsior and it’s definition of “ever upward/still higher” would fit well within the STAR TREK universe as the Federation and Starfleet is always striving “ever upward/still higher” in it’s missions, goals, philosophy, etc. to bring peace and justice to countless civilizations on it’s journey of exploration across the vast galaxy.
The model is built and painted based on Stan Lee’s use of the word Excelsior and his work at MARVEL Comics. It is the re-boxed Polar Lights/AMT 1/1,000th scale USS Excelsior starship from the STAR TREK III movie. While building an Excelsior starship model based on Stan Lee’s use of the word Excelsior, I decided to paint the model in the colors of one of Stan Lee’s/MARVEL’s most iconic and well known superhero characters: SPIDER-MAN. The model is painted in the classic original Spider-man colors of red and blue, with various black, silver, or dark gray highlights. Main paint colors used are Vallejo Model Air Color #'s 71.003 Red and # 71.088 French Blue. Deflector grid lines on the top and bottom of the saucer section are “colored" with a rapidograph black ink pen to give the representation of spider “webbing”. Ship name of USS Marvel named after MARVEL Comics. Ship registry number of NCC-81962 based on the cover date of August 1962 on the Amazing Fantasy # 15 issue that Spider-Man first appeared in. The spider base is a Halloween wood décor piece bought from JOANNS craft store. Ship name and ship hull registry number were not added to the model. Spider-Man never had a name on his costume to identify him. So it made sense not to have a name and hull number on the ship to identify it. The “colors” are what actually helps to identify who or what Spider-Man (or the model ship) is.
