Free Model Review: Serenity

[Sakrison]

I just completed the Firefly-Class transport "Serenity." The kit is designed by Chihuahua de Papel (Chihuahua de Papel) and modified by Laz (www.closertogod.net/main/eggs/serenity.doc).

Chihuahua de Papel made an impressive start. Laz improved (in my opinion) the coloring and some of the details. Laz' version does, however, omit some of the instruction sheets; you'll need to go to Chihuahua de Papel for those. The instruction drawings were pretty good, leaving only a few steps to be puzzled out.

In general, the kit went together fairly well. The biggest fit problem was the gravity rotor housing--the half-ring that fits around the top and sides of the main field generator. The ring itself went together alright but the cross-beams that go underneath the main engine don't fit well and the spacer blocks that attach the ring to the field generator housing are too big. I added strips to the crossbars and scaled down the spacer blocks by about 30% using L.A.R. calculations ("Looks About Right").

Other modifications I made:
I added clear glazing and a windshield frame over the printed windshield.
I built one shuttlecraft in flight, departing the docking bay (held in position by a strip of clear acetate).
I placed the other shuttlecraft in the stowed position, trimming about 1/3 of it off the inboard side to get it to nest properly in the docking bay.
I added spacers behind the solar panels--small sections of square tube made from spare parts.
I made new landing legs and feet by repainting and modifying the legs and feet from a Star Wars ATPT. (a free download at Momir Farooq's homepage)

I have a "Serenity BluePrints Reference Pack" from Qmx (blueprints). Based on those data, there are some noticeable inaccuracies in the model, but nothing really glaring. Overall, the finished model looks right and is properly proportioned. The model's large size (about 14" in length) makes it a good candidate for some additional detailing.

This is not a paper kit for beginners but it should present no real problems to an intermediate modeler with a little ingenuity.

The finished model, which I built as a birthday present for my college-student daughter, looks good enough to satisfy all but the pickiest "Firefly" fan.

On a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (outstanding), I'd rate this kit as follows:
Subject matter: 5
Artwork: 4.5
Parts Fit: 2.5
Details and accuracy: 3.5-4.0
Instructions: 4.0
Overall: 4.0
Difficulty: Moderately Difficult

Even with its fit problems, I thoroughly enjoyed this kit and I'm very pleased with the results. A huge "Gracias!!" and "Thank you!!" to Chihuahua de Papel and Laz!

[TheWebdude]

An excellent review and a fine build!
Thank you!

[CMDRTED]

Very nice. Although this isn't my main interest I can appreciate a well done model, once again very well done!

[Willja67]

I actually printed this one out (the original version you mentioned) and if I remember right it was more green? I like the grey better. Very well done!

[whulsey]

That looks really nice. Only now I'm confused which one I downloaded. Oh well, by the time I get to it, I probably won't be able to see the difference. And if it comes out half as good as yours I'll be happy.

[milenio3]

It looks really good!

Professor Jorge García (from Chihuahua City, México), has designed some good models and some for the kids, which he uses at his school.

Congratulations again for the fine build.

[dansls1]

Great model. Now I'm going to have to pull out that TV series and watch it again soon

[Lex]

Despite that I don't kow the subject... Excellent looking model!!

[dansls1]

Originally Posted by Lex

Despite that I don't kow the subject... Excellent looking model!!

It's from a short-lived TV series called 'Firefly' which they turned into a feature movie 'Serenity'. It's a sort of futuristic 'space pirate' sort of setting. My avatar is of one of the characters.

[Sakrison]

Originally Posted by whulsey

That looks really nice. Only now I'm confused which one I downloaded. Oh well, by the time I get to it, I probably won't be able to see the difference. And if it comes out half as good as yours I'll be happy.

Professor Garcia's original Serenity is a series of J-pegs and the coloring is more green. "Laz" recolored it to be more gray. His Serenity download is an MS Word document that contains the j-pegs.
--David