Building the SSSP Base [Episode 32] The Jet Beetle is Complete
[Scratch-building the Jet Beetle]
Up until now, I used the Small Beetle for the launch scenes from the octagonal tower, but I can't keep having it make guest appearances forever.
Let's finish the Jet Beetle.
By the way, the Small Beetle's markings only consist of the Science Patrol emblem, making it hard to identify the specific aircraft (though I can tell there are versions with transparent noses and opaque ones...), but the Jet Beetle has a large number painted on its fuselage, so it's easy to identify.
In the show, there are two Jet Beetles that launch from the base.
The first is No. SIII, which appears in the launch scenes from the Neronga episode (Episode 3) through the Pestar episode (Episode 13), as well as the Woo episode (Episode 30). The second is No. 117, which appears in the launch scenes from the second Baltan Seijin episode (Episode 16) through the Gubila episode (Episode 24).
Incidentally, the Beetles in the launch scenes for the Bemular episode (Episode 1) and the Zarab Seijin episode (Episode 18) do not seem to have aircraft numbers painted on them. In other scenes where multiple Beetles fly simultaneously, No. 118 and No. 119 sometimes appear, but they are never shown launching from the base.
As I reconsidered previously, the setting for this model is around the time of the Woo episode (Episode 30), and it seems that the SIII, which was active in the early days, has been redeployed by this time (I won't get into the pedantic discussion about stock footage). I will build this aircraft by carving stacked plastic plates, just like I did for the Small Beetle.
For the Small Beetle, I referred to Bandai's Mecha Collection (approx. 1/200), but this time I used the Woo bonus figure from Bandai's "H.G.C.O.R.E. Ultraman 05 NEXT: Conqueror of the Skies" set, which is roughly the same scale as my model (approx. 1/460 by actual measurement), as a reference.
I had a bitter experience with the Small Beetle where the left and right vertical stabilizers, made of plastic plate, kept breaking and eventually had to be remade with brass plate, so I decided to use 0.5mm thick brass plate for the Jet Beetle's main wings and canard wings from the start. However, the antenna wing on the fuselage is too small and difficult to work with, so I used plastic plate for that.
The work progressed smoothly, but once I had the shape refined to a certain point, I placed it on the elevator and found myself in trouble.
It was too big to fit in the elevator.
There had been signs.
Even though the scratch-built model was supposed to be one scale smaller than the Woo bonus figure, the size didn't change much.
Still, I wanted to avoid the hassle of rebuilding the elevator and hangar tower at this late stage.
I had no choice but to shave down the nose to make it fit in the elevator, which resulted in somewhat stubby proportions. Well, my childhood image of the Jet Beetle was round like this, so I'll accept it.
By the way, the Jet Beetle's ground stance is horizontal in many episodes, such as the Greenmons episode (Episode 5) and the Woo episode (Episode 30), but in the Zarab Seijin episode (Episode 18), it is tilted slightly backward, and the shape of the landing gear is also different.
I matched this to the Woo episode (Episode 30), which is the setting for my model.
After all that, the Jet Beetle is finally almost complete.
Next time, it's finally the Jet Beetle launch scene from the octagonal tower.
[Episode 33] Jet Beetle Launch continues
[Episode 31] Launch System Maintenance Complete! back
[Episode 1] The Secret Base of Beginnings back