Small Starship Bridge: A Work in Progress

It may be cool to build an acceleration chair for a retro astronette character, but without a starship bridge to put in on, it seems rather pointless. This weekend. I finally started getting some work done on the bridge for the Hydran Federastion Scout "Inside Straight," though as the photos will tell, right now it looks more like the inside of a corrugated metal shed than it does a starship bridge.  In fact, an argument could be made that it bears a bit of a resemblance to an oversized Anderson Shelter from WWII.  





The basic construction makes heavy use of foam core, which is easy to cut and lightweight, though prone to warping, especially if you try to paint it. The time and budget to build this out of wood were simply not there.  The deck is made from four 1/4" foam core sheets glued together, then topped with some 040 or 060 strip plastic. (I frankly forget which it is.) This was then spray painted with Tamiya light gun metal acrylic paint. This part was actually done a couple of weeks ago, but requires mention anyway.  Normally, I would have used a thicker 1/2" or thicker board, but there just doesn't seem to be any available these days, Probably because of disruptions to the supply chain as a result of the pandemic.  

The bulkheads were made of the same foam core, cut to size, then topped with a silver coloured corrugated cardboard sheet available in art supply stores. It actually comes in many colours.  The idea here was to give the ship something of a grungy sci-fi look...it needs some weathering, though without the instrument panels that and consoles going up next, it does look more like a corrugated tin shed or Anderson Shelter at the moment than the bridge of a starship.  More on that later


An interesting thing about this corrugated cardboard is that the corrugations are on one side only and glued to a flat piece of cardboard on the other side. Therefore, if you want to affix things to it with a flush look, cutting out a backing for whatever object out of the same cardboard, then gluing the flat side to the object creates a grooved or corrugated surface on the other side, which then fits very neatly and aligns with the corrugations in the bulkhead, and voila! a flush mount is created.



The backs of the bulkheads had cuts made in them, though not all the way through, so that i could bend them to the angles seen in the photos. This is purely for cosmetic effect, to give a cramped look.  

The foam core sections were glued together using carpenter's glue and held in place by bamboo skewers which were cut flush with the other surface of the foam core.


As one can see from the photos, this will be a fairly cramped bridge once the other chairs and instruments are installed. It will fit two figures for sure, and possibly a third if I can swing it. More details will be posted as more work gets done.

Needless to say, I got distracted reading about Anderson Shelters. It seems that such shelters from the war years are still occasionally being rediscovered by unsuspecting homeowners. How exciting would that be, to find an intact WWII bomb shelter in the back garden? Some people have all the luck!

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/hidden-air-raid-shelter-found-in-garden-207153/

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/couple-unearth-wartime-shelter-207685/

Other articles say many of the shelters have survived for use above-ground as garden sheds.

That out of the way - the Anderson-class Standardized Space Cruiser Command Deck is coming along nicely! That corrugated material is fine-looking stuff! I think forum member Chip will be very interested in that material, and he would likely find a link, if available, very helpful to his ongoing diorama projects.

Compared to many 1/6 figure dioramas, this looks quite spacious. Perhaps you will want to add even a third seat in order to create a more cramped appearance. Although as you note, once control panels and what-not are installed, the available floor space will disappear very quickly.

I'm impressed by the fit and finish of the joints and corners, both on the structure and on the command chair. I would never show my dioramas in such bright lighting conditions - at least not in a story setting. My finishing skills are not nearly as good. This is looking really good, and really cool, so far.

If you wanted to get fancy, and boost your blood pressure in the process, you could try installing view ports (aka windows) in the walls along the seam where the roof meets the side bulkheads, passing through the angled section. The ports could be angled, or the ports could be set in tubes or frames that pass through the angled section. Just a thought, to kind of break up the "garden shed" appearance.

Even the floor looks good! Check out that reflective semi-gloss! High standards of cleanliness are maintained aboard this vessel!

Bamboo skewers (or toothpicks) to re-inforce the foamcore board joints - why didn't I do that?!? And Dal has mentioned that technique before, too! It should result in reasonably solid structural integrity.

This is looking fantastic, and is leading me to feel re-inspired about my own projects!

Certainly excellent and very accurate work Gary.
I certainly appreciate that you have made it cramped too.
It always irks me a little in movies when even the corridors of space craft are so damned spacious! 
And bridges like ballrooms!
(The same can often be said for submarine interiors in movies too.)
I look forward to seeing further photos of your construction.

(A fully intact WWII Anderson shelter sits in a garden here in my town. It too has concrete poured over it. There was never any bombing anywhere even near here, but somebody must have made serious provision "just in case".)

LeStryge wrote:

Certainly excellent and very accurate work Gary.
I certainly appreciate that you have made it cramped too.
It always irks me a little in movies when even the corridors of space craft are so damned spacious! 
And bridges like ballrooms!
(The same can often be said for submarine interiors in movies too.)
I look forward to seeing further photos of your construction.

(A fully intact WWII Anderson shelter sits in a garden here in my town. It too has concrete poured over it. There was never any bombing anywhere even near here, but somebody must have made serious provision "just in case".)

For a while, a Japanese invasion of Australia was considered a real possibility, though from where I stand, it would have been as big a strategic mistake as invading Russia was for the Germans or Napoleon.

Modern nuclear submarine interiors, though still cramped are a good deal less so than a WWII sub. Two films that come to mind that well illustrate how cramped and claustrophobic these vessels were are "Run Silent, Run Deep," and "Das Boot." A Naval reserve officer friend of mine who'd gone down for one ride in one of our former Oberon class subs, described the experience as "going to see in a sewer pipe."

Kimono Troop Command wrote:

Two films that come to mind that well illustrate how cramped and claustrophobic these vessels were are "Run Silent, Run Deep," and "Das Boot."  A Naval reserve officer friend of mine who'd gone down for one ride in one of our former Oberon class subs, described the experience as "going to see in a sewer pipe."

Das Boot, (the original) is a great film and an excellent representation of life aboard a German WWII submarine. (Towards the end of the war life expectancy was around 28 days.)
Submarines, ....even quite modern ones do have a "unique" smell!
During WWII, it was reported that even prostitutes would refuse service to submariners due to their having such a pungent aroma.

LeStryge wrote:

Kimono Troop Command wrote:

Two films that come to mind that well illustrate how cramped and claustrophobic these vessels were are "Run Silent, Run Deep," and "Das Boot."  A Naval reserve officer friend of mine who'd gone down for one ride in one of our former Oberon class subs, described the experience as "going to see in a sewer pipe."

Das Boot, (the original) is a great film and an excellent representation of life aboard a German WWII submarine. (Towards the end of the war life expectancy was around 28 days.)
Submarines, ....even quite modern ones do have a "unique" smell!
During WWII, it was reported that even prostitutes would refuse service to submariners due to their having such a pungent aroma.

German submarines were smaller and more cramped that American ones. Moreover, unlike their American counterparts operating in the Pacific, they lacked a shower for the crew. So whereas American submariners not only got a two minute shower every two or three days, they had enough water to wash and shave with whereas German crews would go to sea for two months without a bath or shower, a haircut, or shaving. American subs also had the best food in the navy, as an inducement or reward for choosing that most demanding service.

I suppose though, that if you were on a German sub, after two or three weeks, the smell became hardly noticeable.

Great work Gary! It looks like a great place for the chair to operate from. Looking forward too seeing more

Great sets guys

awesome set-up

I love what you've done here, Dave.  It really has a Klingon vibe to it.

The ship interior looks fantastic Dave!