{"id":1612,"date":"2004-03-22T15:16:14","date_gmt":"2004-03-22T23:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fichtenfoo.net\/blog\/?p=1612"},"modified":"2009-02-11T15:20:38","modified_gmt":"2009-02-11T23:20:38","slug":"in-progress-%c2%bb-fourth-planet-terraformation-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fichtenfoo.net\/blog\/in-progress-%c2%bb-fourth-planet-terraformation-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"In Progress \u00c2\u00bb Fourth Planet Terraformation Initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"

01.12.04 \u00c2\u00bb Independent
\nPermanant Mars Colony and Terraformation Study<\/p>\n

“…The Men of Earth came to Mars. They
\ncame because they were afraid or unafraid, because they were happy
\nor unhappy, because they felt like Pilgrims or did not feel like
\nPilgrims. There was a reason for each man. They were leaving bad
\nwives or bad towns; they were coming to find something or leave
\nsomething or get something, to dig up something or bury something
\nor leave something alone. They were coming with small dreams or
\nlarge dreams or none at all…. it was not unusual that the first
\nmen were few. The numbers grew steadily in proportion to the census
\nof Earth Men already on Mars. There was comfort in numbers. But
\nthe first Lonely Ones had to stand by themselves…”<\/em><\/p>\n

–Ray Bradbury: The Martian Chronicles<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

ter\u00c2\u00b7ra\u00c2\u00b7form<\/strong><\/p>\n

tr.v. ter\u00c2\u00b7ra\u00c2\u00b7formed, ter\u00c2\u00b7ra\u00c2\u00b7form\u00c2\u00b7ing,
\nter\u00c2\u00b7ra\u00c2\u00b7forms <\/em><\/p>\n

To transform (a landscape) on another planet into one having the
\ncharacteristics of landscapes on Earth.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

During the Sentinel Era of the Universal Century,
\nlet’s say 0086 or something (Whatever, I’m not that big of a fan
\nboy.) Aneheim Electronics Advanced Research and Projects Group (AEARPG)
\nled an independent study on the feasibility of placing a permanent
\ncolony on the martian surface. This colony would be the launching
\npoint for a terraformation project. To make Mars into another Earth
\ncould solve the problem of overpopulated space colonies in the Earth
\nSphere.<\/p>\n

A special task force dubbed the Fourth Planet Terraformation
\nInitiative was created to oversee the project. Phase one of the
\nIndependent Permanent Mars Colony and Terraformation Study (IPMCTS)
\nwould be to seal off large portions of the Valles Marineris Canyon
\nsystem making the Canyon itself into a colony.<\/p>\n

Having no support from the Earth Federation, AEARPG
\ntook it’s own security measures in the form of three mobile suit
\nsquadrons amid fears of terrorism from Zeon remnants and other military
\ncapable groups. These MS squadrons would patrol and scout the martian
\nlandscape and defend the project if necessary.<\/p>\n

For the first year of the project, all was quiet.
\nWork proceeded on schedule and the 29th Zeta Plus MS Squadron spent
\nmost of their time mapping the landscape and escorting shuttle and
\ntransport craft.<\/p>\n

01.12.04 \u00c2\u00bb Concept Work<\/p>\n

I’ve been very interested in Mars and especially the
\nexploration of since reading several sci-fi novels. The first is
\na classic: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. The other three
\nRed Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson which
\nchronicle the colonization and eventual terraforming of Mars based
\non the science of today. It was really an enjoyable series.<\/p>\n

Because of this I decided to do a kit based on a martian
\ntheme. The Master Grade Zeta Plus A1 Type seemed to suit this quite
\nwell. It’s transformable nature made it a great choice for exploration\/defense.<\/p>\n

I’ll be giving the kit a martian style camo. Now you’re
\nthinking “why isn’t it all orange?”. Well, while Mars
\ndoes have an iron rich soil giving it an orange\/red appearance,
\nthe martian surface actually has a variety of warm colors. You can
\nsee this in many of the satellite probe images from Mars.<\/p>\n

I don’t think I’ll be doing any modifications to the
\nkit itself. Probably just a custom color scheme and custom decals
\nseen below \u00c2\u00bb<\/p>\n

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01.21.04 \u00c2\u00bb Head Modifications<\/p>\n

Here are a few shots of my modifications to the head
\nto make it more like the A2 type Zeta Plus. I’m making this front
\npiece interchangeable with the standard so that I can display either.<\/p>\n

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01.28.04 \u00c2\u00bb Head Modifications Complete
\n+ Painting<\/p>\n

Here’s the final shots of the head modification. You
\ncan see the build\/prime\/sand\/prime\/sand\/ etc…<\/p>\n

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I have gotten pretty far with the painting. I have
\nthe internals, light gray, gold, red-orange, beige and darker beige
\npainted. You can see where I have painted the red and gold first,
\nthen masked them off for the grays and beiges.<\/p>\n

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01.30.04 \u00c2\u00bb Camo Painting<\/p>\n

Okay, I’m gonna go step-by-step on painting this camo
\npattern. THis will help you do it yourself, but more importantly,
\nit will help me<\/strong> remember how to do it for a later
\nkit I’m planning.<\/p>\n

Here is a top-view of the camo pattern that I quickly
\nthrew together as a guide for where I need to mask. \u00c2\u00bb<\/p>\n

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First, I masked and painted all of the parts with
\nthe martian rust color I custom mixed.<\/p>\n

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Next I masked off everywhere that I needed to keep
\nthe rust color. Afterwards I painted the areas where the brownish
\npurple rust color goes. Note that the image of the wing is the closest
\nto the “real-life” colors. The other pics were taken with
\na flash and are over-saturated.<\/p>\n

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Tomorrow morning I will need to mask and paint the
\ngray-brown. Tomorrow evening I will mask and paint the reddish brown
\nwhich is the final color. The reason I’m waiting to long between
\ncoats is to allow some time for the paint to cure. Also, I am not
\nremoving the tape until all of the colors have been painted. Otherwise
\nI will have trouble remasking the previous areas.<\/p>\n

01.31.04 \u00c2\u00bb Camo Painting is Done<\/p>\n

I finished the camo painting today. Here are the final
\npics.<\/p>\n

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02.07.04 \u00c2\u00bb Panel Lines<\/p>\n

I am trying a new technique for my panel lines. Check
\nit out here<\/a> on my tips page.<\/p>\n

03.08.04 \u00c2\u00bb Base<\/p>\n

I started and almost finished the base for the mars
\nZ+ this weekend. The only things I have left to do is to give it
\na flat coat and drill for the rods that will hold the waverider
\nup.<\/p>\n

The base is another circular wooden plaque exactly
\nlike those I used for the Griffon and PGM Cloud 09. I coated the
\nplaque with glue and baking soda and sanded it down to a rough surface
\nwhen it was dry. Then I primed it with flat black spray paint and
\ndrybrushed many layers of reds and oranges. They don’t show up too
\nwell in these pics due to the gloss, but will show up better when
\nI flat coat it.<\/p>\n

The ejecta (rocks) are little bits of petrified wood
\nwhich I pummeled with a hammer. They’re attached to the base by
\na coat of future. After the future dried, I dusted the whole thing
\nwith a very transparent coat of the same orange I used on the Z+.<\/p>\n

I’ll apply the flat coat when I flat coat all of the
\nother pieces after I’m done with the decals.<\/p>\n

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03.20.04 \u00c2\u00bb Internals<\/p>\n

The internals are all done on the FPTI Zeta. I painted
\nthem a dark gray, then drybrushed them with silver Rub ‘n Buff,
\nthen post-shaded them with a martian dust color. The “dust”
\nwas made using the orange color from my camo mixed with a good bit
\nof Future to make it semi-transparent. The weathering looks nice
\nwhen combined with the brown ink panel lines.<\/p>\n

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03.22.04 \u00c2\u00bb Final Update!<\/p>\n

Everything’s all set and ready for the final build.
\nI’ll post photos up after I build the kit and attach it to the base.
\nHere’s a few shots of the dusted externals.<\/p>\n

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