SENTRY GUN

18/5/2001 I went for a bit of a search through all my oddments and came up with an assortment of parts that were interesting. Because I have a vague design in my head, I find that during construction the model tends to develop as I proceed along. This development so far has been able to produce some surprises for me as I build the project. The development of the original idea is ongoing with new ideas constantly being implemented into the construction. Things that may not have been thought of in the original design can be easily integrated into the project.

26/5/2001 After test fitting the various parts I came up with a configuration for the base using the rice cream jar, yogurt jar and the video spool. First up was to seal the edges of the video spool with a strip of styrene to create a solid turntable. A small box was made from sheet styrene and super-glued into place on the spool. At a later stage in the construction, I will fit a bolt to the turntable with a couple of washers and a nut so the turntable can swivel. The rice cream jar was turned upside down and super-glued to the base of the yogurt jar. IMAGE

Next job was to detail the surface. A second yogurt jar was cut down and used as a template. Once the correct outline was achieved on sheet styrene, a design was drawn in and then cut out. IMAGE These panels were cleaned up, then bent slightly backwards to create a curve and finally super-glued into place. IMAGE

08/6/2001 It was time to go for another scavenge hunt through my parts box. I came up with some main parts that included the cockpit from the Star Wars Imperial Shuttle and the sensor array from the DS9 Runabout. With the help of some plasticard, a power module to the rear of the actual 'gun' barrels was constructed. IMAGE The module will next be superdetailed to try and disguise what the parts were originally.

22/6/2001 The last week and a half was spent creating the 'blaster' with various parts. First up I used the engine housings from the Blue Thunder kit and divided the halves with some sheet styrene. A backing was then glued to one end. Next, I used 2 Maverick missiles that were cut down and glued with some more sheet styrene between the fins. I needed some type of pivoting section for the 'blaster' to move it up and down. This section was made from 2 insides of the 1/32nd scale F-15 Eagle jet that were glued end to end and then capped off with 2 water bottle lids. Finally a curved mount was constructed from styrene. IMAGE

03/8/2001 A bit of a search through the spare parts box yielded some great detail for the 'gun'. IMAGE 1 IMAGE 2 IMAGE 3 IMAGE 4

19/9/2001 These images show the gun with it's first undercoat. The images show the detail a lot better. Next I need to do some more filling and sanding before I can start the painting process. IMAGE 1 IMAGE 2 IMAGE 3 You may have noticed that I have removed the tower of the gun this was done because I thought it looked a bit top heavy.