Buck Rogers in the 25th Century - Visual Effects Model Maker - Draconia.

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Main Page.

The Draconia is probably one of the most expensive and complex models ever built, and was even more impressive when it was built in 1978 and 1979. Unfortunately, it never received the attention that it deserved. Over two dozen model makers, machinists, mold makers, and painters built it over the corse of almost a year. There were many times when a dozen model makers at one time were hard at work on the various parts. And parts there were. The Draconia model was assembled from approximately thirteen major parts, most of which were two part castings. Then there was the armature, electronics, fiber optics, and a half dozen pieces of neon tube.

This one hundred pound model measured approximately five feet long and five feet wide, and about three and a half feet high. It was made primarily of epoxy and fiberglass. Some parts and details were cast in urethane and the surface was covered with styrene pieces and kit parts. A six pointed star-shaped armature provided six mounting locations that were covered with a dozen hatch covers, half with a hole for the mount, half without.

The 4,000 fiber optics were powered by a custom made lamp holder that was hosed within the model. Custom made lamp holders in the main body illuminated the underside of the wings. Halogen bulbs were a new technology then, as was many other materials we used. We custom made parts that are now off-the-shelf items. Three custom made neon tubes were installed in the engines to illuminate the miniature blue screens. Three more neon tubes in the two round disks and the "fork" represented the "anti-gravity" waves. To keep the model cool, compressed air was pumped into the model.

Draconia.

On stage.

The patterns were made mostly of wood with some acrylic parts. They began with a large plywood base topped with many progressively smaller layers. Every vertical surface was not vertical but was angled at about 15 degrees. Most of the forward-back horizontal planes were also at about a 15 degree angle. There were few right angles. As the construction and design progressed, additional blocks at similar angles were added. Many cans of Bondo were used to fill in and adjust.

Top pattern. Mostly wood and bondo with some plastic.

Bottom pattern.

Rubber and fiberglass molds were made of all the parts. One or two epoxy and fiberglass castings were made of each part. The smaller parts were two piece castings permanently bonded into one piece. The fiber optics were installed in the smaller parts before the two sides of the casting were closed. The larger main body parts were never permanently attached and so received the fiber optics once the open castings were completed.

Epoxi and glass casting of top.

Epoxi and glass casting of bottom.

Finishing the half built "Cobra Head" was the first project that I worked on for the Draconia.

Cobra Head mold.

Detailing took many months. Unlike some other models of the time, kit parts were used sparingly and with purpose. Onion domes were made in several sizes and shapes and then cast in large numbers. Styrene strips were new then and we used many packages of these white strips of styrene. The Draconia space craft was like a space-going city miles long and hundreds of years old, so the details were small and layered. Scribe lines were added in several ways. Pete experimented with acid etched brass panels to speed the process of scribing, but in the end, we scribed directly into the fiberglass gel-cote and made pre-scribed styrene sheets that could be glued to the surface. Various model makers would work on detailing the various small parts and a team worked together on the main body. The model makers would work around the model and switch areas to keep consistency. As we saw what each other was doing, we would imitate or try to outdo each other and this resulted in many different styles, distributed consistently.

Detailing the top.

Detailing the bottom.

Officially, we installed 400 fiber optices in this model. In reality, there were closer to 4000.

A crew worked around the clock for two weeks to install the fiber optics.

Upper wings.

Kenneth Larson spent several weeks making the Draconia engine. He started with a block of Gelutong, an exotic soft "hard wood" with a fine consistent grain. Ken applied styrene sheets, carved out recessed areas, scribed lines into the surface, and applied styrene strips, pipes, and small kit parts. Sean Casey made a mold and Ken cast two hollow copies in epoxy and glass cloth. Inside were installed neon tubes. Ken then built three irregular frames, backed with blue screen and diffusion. The third was for the main engine which was part of the main body. Other parts of the Draconia model were made by other model makers in a similar procedure.

Engine pattern. I started with a block of wood.

Engine pattern.

Disk just before molding.

Fork being modled.

With so many systems within the Draconia model, just closing it up and detailing the seam took days. The fiber optics and internal lighting systems with self contained within the model. Only electric power cables and compressed air for cooling were the umbilical. The disks could be turned so that they always pointed toward down relative to the story, and these were controlled by internal stepper motors.

Closing it up.

Detailing the seam.

Ready for paint.

Finally the Draconia was ready to be painted and even this took a while. Some of the parts were painted off the model and then the painters tied in the color after they were installed. Panels, as outlined by the scribe lines, were painted varying hues. Aging took several people over a week. The Draconia was to be several hundred years old (I'll bet Ardala's daddy was sore when she let Buck blow it up), so there were many layers of aging applied. The onion domes were "gold lifed" using German metal which looks more like gold on film. Every last detail was attended to. After a year of work, we felt that a mini-wrap party was in order, but the moment the Draconia model was finished, we rolled it out to stage and began shooting.

Fiber Optices.

Front.

Looking up at the bow.

Looking up at the front.

Engines.

The rear.

about line 232

The "Cobra Head" was what we called the bridge or command center.

Engines.

Ken Larson made two sets of these fragile parts.

Three set pieces were built for areas of the Draconia that needed to be seen in closeup. I helped detail these.

One of several set pieces made for close-up shots.

Upper launch bay

Lower launch bay.

Larger images have been added.

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This web site was designed and built by a former Universal Hartland Model Maker for your benefit. There is no advertising, I am not selling anything, I am no longer working as a model maker, and I make no money from this web site. Non-tax deductable donations to help cover the cost of operating this web site may be made to Kesign Design Consulting through PayPal ...

This site maintained by Kenneth A. Larson.
Copyright © 2000 - 2009, Kenneth A. Larson. All Rights Reserved.
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This page last updated: Monday, 25-Feb-2008 20:19:16 CST

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