anyone here from SFM lately ? i sure would like to get a 2 foot jupiter 2 but not sure they are still selling or even making them anymore.

Bert, Try calling Amok time. They claim to have several in stock. Heres the number. 516-520-0975.

Bert, Try calling Amok time. They claim to have several in stock. Heres the number. 516-520-0975.
thanks, is sfm out of it then ? does amok time have a web site ?

Here you go, Bert.

www.amoktime.com

wow thanks for that link !!! i guess they have plenty of them in stock ? is that the only way to get them now ?

Bert, Try calling Amok time. They claim to have several in stock. Heres the number. 516-520-0975.
hey beatlepaul, if you had to redo your jupiter 2 build, what would you do different if anything ? how was working with it, fit cutting out the features etc. ? my 24 inch lunar models version i would do different after the build.

hey beatlepaul, if you had to redo your jupiter 2 build, what would you do different if anything ? how was working with it, fit cutting out the features etc. ? my 24 inch lunar models version i would do different after the build.
Hi ya Bert. To be honest I wouldn't do anything different in my build up. There are challenges but if you built Lunar's Two footer you should be OK. I believe Sci-Fi Metropolis is still in operation. I hope they eventually tackle the other Irwin Allen shows. I would like a Two/three foot Flying Sub and Spindrift. Regards.

those would be nice for sure, how was it putting the 2 hulls together fit wise and making them line up perfectly ? how was that ring thing to work with ?

I got this e-mail from them last week.

Hello to all. First off, I would like to thank everyone for their support and patronage. With your support, we are able to bring to life some very wonderful Lost in Space items. We are getting ready for a major update in the next few weeks. We have been non stop designing and developing patterns and molds as well as getting prototypes ready for this years line-up. We are sure you will be pleased with the quality and craftmanship of all our products. We thank you for your patience and please keep a look out for the updates and new products. Charles


Robot Factory, Inc. has sent this email to you because your account preferences indicate

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those would be nice for sure, how was it putting the 2 hulls together fit wise and making them line up perfectly ? how was that ring thing to work with ?
Bert, the hulls lined up almost perfectly. I didn't use those rings. I just sealed the hulls together.High Regards, Beatlepaul

i really would like to get one, the lunar models version was a major pain with things not lining up. that was the way it was made.

Jeez Bert, ever since you gooped yer hulls together you've been crying about it! Your 2 footer is done, and you learned a lot by building it. You did a fine job of a crappy kit. I was fortunate enough to have built RC airplanes from scratch, and built and raced numerous vacuuform Hulled RC Sailboats. I had also previously done a horrid job on the 1988 series LM 16.5 inch version. I had to learn several lessons!

To get them hulls apart...

go to a hobby shop and into the model RR section. get yourself 5-6 Snap saws. they are used to cut flextrack. remove the blades from the saws and use them to carefully cut the goop. You will notice that the thinness of the blade means that you won't remove too much hull. Take your time.

I had figured out the ring for my 2 footer just to keep it rigid.
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/509/Hull_Ring.jpg


Also I have a removable cockpit -held in place with Velcro...
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/509/cockpit.jpg

does your hulls snap together with that ring ? my upper hull was a little bigger diameter than the lower and after i gooped it together i put the overhang to a grinder and evened it out,

I spread out a bunch of 120 grip sandpaper on a 3' X 3' piece of plywood, and sanded and sanded and tested for a while until they were really close. I added the rings inside, and I Put a bevel around the outside so both the upper hull ring and lower hull floor would match up without the ring sticking out which would cause a gap. The hulls on mine don't attach. I have an internal support frame with 3 small brass tubes that stick up thru the upper hull above the gear wells that align the hulls and the tubes go thru blocks of hard wood and the wood framework. this way I can thread the steel wires thru the hull and brass tubes, and attach them inside the hull. Then I slide the hull over the tubes and it's ready to support. The wood framework takes the stress of the pitching and rolling so the hulls do still stay aligned and won't skew.

i used 5 mineye epoxy to bond upper and lower 2 footer hulls together, starting to crack now, sliding hatch doors? nice touch.

i thought about doing something like that using tubes of plastic to fit into holes so the hulls wouldn't slide around. i need to open it up and redo some stuff. my lights inside quit working the day after i gooped it. i want to change the fusion core clear insert because it fogged up in spots because of super glue getting on it. once open i can fix things, just not sure how the hulls will be once free from the goop especially the side i grinded down to make it even. still have a slight overhang on the opposite side upper hull.

you can see the over hang on the ships left side where the upper hull kinda hangs over the second picture shows it better. the ships right side toward the rear just behind the hatch had the same problem that a grinder cured after it was cemented together, i may have to do the other side, then make a ring like you did mark. i would like to redo the scrimm inside with a light blue piece of plastic that can be lit from behind, and put some people up front too.

here is a bigger picture of it

Jeez Bert, ever since you gooped yer hulls together you've been crying about it! Your 2 footer is done, and you learned a lot by building it. You did a fine job of a crappy kit. I was fortunate enough to have built RC airplanes from scratch, and built and raced numerous vacuuform Hulled RC Sailboats. I had also previously done a horrid job on the 1988 series LM 16.5 inch version. I had to learn several lessons!

To get them hulls apart...

go to a hobby shop and into the model RR section. get yourself 5-6 Snap saws. they are used to cut flextrack. remove the blades from the saws and use them to carefully cut the goop. You will notice that the thinness of the blade means that you won't remove too much hull. Take your time.

I had figured out the ring for my 2 footer just to keep it rigid.
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/509/Hull_Ring.jpg


Also I have a removable cockpit -held in place with Velcro...
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/509/cockpit.jpg
mark, got a pic of your lower deck inside setup ?

Just this photo Bert...

http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/509/inside.jpg

holy cow ! you got a lot of workings in there . how heavy is that lower hull ?

Pretty heavy. Thats why I'm using STEEL wire to support it!
It's got 3 big servos,
3 really small servos,
4 different batteries,
a heavy motor and model train gearbox,
brass parts on the gear legs for uniformity,
and the brass spinner with 6 lights n sockets in the fusion core.

Mark,

If I may ask, what is the diameter of your dome reflector?

And, what is the radius of your dome light circle?

Also, what is the vertical distance between the bottom of the reflector, and the circle of lights?

The reason I ask is that I know you have managed to reproduce the dome lighting effect seen on the actual TV show.

What is the diameter of your dome reflector?
about 3/16 less than the bubble diameter
What is the radius of your dome light circle?
It's a CD clear protector. same diameter, just painted a clear flat.
What is the vertical distance between the bottom of the reflector, and the circle of lights?
a little over 1/4".
The reason I ask is that I know you have managed to reproduce the dome lighting effect seen on the actual TV show.

Thank you for the info, Mark. Sorry, for any failing, or what, on my part. :confused:

so your bottom hull screws into the upper hull in the leg wells ? did you notice the gap on the left side of mine ? it had an equal gap on the right side too before i grinded the excess away, i don't know why the 2 hulls were a different diameter about a quarter inch on each side. how much are you going to do with the 4 footer ? now that will be heavy.

Hi Woof! Finally caught your post.

Did you ever get your four-footer?

Actually, I don't have ANY screws holding the upper n lower hulls in place! Just the 3 brass tubes that stick thru the hull and are flush with the outer hull!

did you notice the gap on the left side of mine ? it had an equal gap on the right side too before i grinded the excess away, i don't know why the 2 hulls were a different diameter about a quarter inch on each side.

Bert,

I hope I am not intruding, here. It sounds like the kits two vacu-formed hull halves were not of equal diameter, where the excess plastic was cut off. Typically, with this sort of kit, both upper and lower hull edges must be measured and finished, to match their diameters. As a side benefit, this will give a nice, sharp beltline edge to the model.

I did this to the Polar Lights kit, which starts out with the hull halves the same diameter. I followed Ron Gross's tip, on the CultTVMan site, to try to make the hull more closely match the filming miniatures profile.

I started by using my machinists vernier calipers to scribe the final edge line on the upper hull, nice and clear. There was a lot of material to remove from the upper hull edge, so first I tried rough-cutting it with a Dremel cut-off tool. That didn't work very well, so I tried using the barrel sander tool. That worked beautifully! I highly recommend that. Wear eye protection, and go slowly, and frequently check your progress, because that hot plastic really flies off!

I found one sheet of new emery paper, double-sticky taped to my drafting board was perfect for the edge finishing. I had carefully rough-cut the edge all around to within about 1/32" of the final scribe line, so the sanding took only a few minutes.

Then, I had to re-match the lower hull. I carefully measured the finished upper hull diameter, along several diameters. This way, I got an average value, and an insight into the variances, so I had a pretty good idea of what the upper hull diameter 'really' was.

I then measured the stock lower hull diameter similarly, figured where the final edge would be, and again used my calipers to scribe the finish line on the hull outside. I barrel rough-sanded, and final sanded as before, and tada! They matched up perfectly, on the diameter.

In short, you need good flat edges to measure, and mark from. Make sure your mark is right where you want it(measure twice, cut once,) and your two hull halves can be brought harmoniously together. :wave:

I hope this helps; please ask, if I left something out.

The wood framework takes the stress of the pitching and rolling so the hulls do still stay aligned and won't skew.

Pitching and rolling??? How much flight time have you got, on this ship?

Actually, I don't have ANY screws holding the upper n lower hulls in place! Just the 3 brass tubes that stick thru the hull and are flush with the outer hull!

So, the tubes align the hull halves, and gravity holds your hull together?

Hmm, sounds practical, for a mere working prop. But, I wouldn't recommend it, for a proper display model. :devil:

I only ever built it to photograph and do SPFX shots with. It just sits there otherwise.

...and Lemme tell you how many 9v batteries that sucka eats!!
Jeez!
It also drains the 1000mAh RC Battery pack that powers the landing gear servos.

The fun was devising a boom to hold that heavy model and keep it from accidently whacking the ground or tearing the steel wires out!!!

I only ever built it to photograph and do SPFX shots with. It just sits there otherwise.

...and Lemme tell you how many 9v batteries that sucka eats!!
Jeez!
It also drains the 1000mAh RC Battery pack that powers the landing gear servos.

The fun was devising a boom to hold that heavy model and keep it from accidently whacking the ground or tearing the steel wires out!!!

How come you don't use the three circuits the steel wires give you?

too lazy. Actually,it was originally gonna be held up with the woven casting line, but I figured a sharp bit in one of the tubes could cut the line, and then it got heavy enough that I rethought the solution.

You finish you jupiter 2's yet?

You finish you jupiter 2's yet?

No. All the preliminary design work is done(lower hull structure, landing gear mechanicals, fusion core/dome lighting.) I just haven't hit the building board yet. Personal reasons, plus, I still haven't gotten a digital camera.

thanks toyroy i will do that, i saw how fast the plastic came away with the grinder . i just put it against the wheel real easy like, and got it to where i wanted it. once i get it done i will flatten the edges, then put a ring of plastic on each hull edge and mate it up with pegs in the bottom edge and holes for the pegs to go into on the upper ring. thanks for the help, i really appreciate it !

You're welcome. :)

has anyone heard from sci fi met ? been almost a year since their last update.

They were at Wonderfest hawking the same tired stuff.

And they seemed to have real problems keeping both their half-scale B-9 Robots working correctly.

And they seemed to have real problems keeping both their half-scale B-9 Robots working correctly.
wonder when they will update their website ?

Well it been over two years since any updates from S.F.M., I take it that they are out of business? I thought for sure once the figures started selling, as well as the 24" J-2 things would start humming along? I purchased the first three figures, and was very pleased with them, was kinda hoping that there would be a 1st season version of the complete cast, as well as a really nice 1st season Robot.

SciFi Metropolis is back, and have just released the next 1/6 figure: Dr. Maureen Robinson!:woohoo:
She looks as good as the first three figures, very nice headsculpt, looks just like June Lockhart! And the 3rd season outfit is perfect!
The Maureen figure is available at the Robot Factory website, and at the AMOK Time website.
The first three figures were a limited edition of 2000, and there are still a FEW left available of all 3(Professor John Robinson, Dr. Zachery Smith, and the Keeper).
But, the Maureen figure is a limited edition of 500, so I wouldn't wait too long to get one(I saw one sell on evilbay for 109.00 at auction close, and another that ended at 90.00).
I really like all 4 of these figures and hope they continue with the rest of the line!!:thumbsup:
:devil:Ron:devil:

has anyone freived a 4 foot jupiter 2 from sci fi metropolis

I recieved a 2 foot (24inch) Jupiter 2 from SciFi Metropolis on Thursday, and started cleaning the parts last night.
Today I start sanding and preping for primer!:thumbsup:
The one I recieved is ABS plastic. The laser cut acrylic pieces are great, and all the resin cast parts are top notch castings. There should be less clean-up and sanding with these than with alot of resin cast parts I have worked with.:)
I will try to post some WIP shots as I go.
:devil:Ron:devil:

Thats great news ! They told me a year ago they were no longer selling the ABS & were retooling it to resin. When did you order it & how long did it take to be delivered ?

Yes, They are back, and are making another run of the ABS hull 24" Jupiter 2, and they are wondering how many to run off in this shot.
I have been asked to see how many people might be interested in one of these J2 kits?
24" hull w/correct hull profile, and Derelict interior, Laser-cut acrylic, and resin parts.
The one I am building is very impressive, and is coming along quite nicely!!
It has some very good resin casts needing minimal clean-up and puttying, and the laser cut acrylic pieces are very nicely done.
SciFi Metropolis is behind on the licensed LIS products due to the owner haveing a serious life threatening injury that he is just now coming back from(taken him nearly 3 years to return from it), and so, are way behind on several products.
He is doing another production run of these 24" kits, and really needs an idea of how many to run off, so please post here or send me a pm if you might be interested in a 24" Jupiter 2 kit!!(The ONLY 24" kit of the Jupiter 2 being produced anywhere-and yes, someone did say "size matters"-LOL!!)
So, how many would love a 24" Jupiter 2 ???
:devil:Ron:devil:

Sorry, Bert, I did not recieve a email that someone had replied on this thread, and just saw your question while placeing my last post. I haven't been on here in a while(too busy with several builds for people), or I would have answered you already. I apologize for not responding sooner.
I am not sure how long it will take to get this run out the door, but it should be any time now ( I will call and ask when they will be available for ordering).
I believe they use UPS for delivery, and so, it should only be normal time to get the kit delivered, but I think what you are asking is when will the kits will be ready to ship to you? Is this correct?
I will call and ask, but I believe they should be available any day now. BUT, I will call and double-check, and post the answer here.
Can I tell them Bert wants one?
:devil:Ron:devil:

thanks Ron, right now money is scarce & i had given up on them awhile back. They emailed me a long while ago to say that they had already retooled it in resin. at this point i am not sure what they are doing without any updates on the websites.
Bert

They have had a very bad run of luck for sure, but, don't give up on them just yet.:cool:
They are getting cought up on some of their projects, and have several more to come!:thumbsup:
The 1/6 scale Maureen figure is just the next one of the figures, but the others are coming.:wave:
As for the J2, the resin thing I believe is on hold, Mr. Sockwell has the ABS molds ready to go, and is laser cutting acrylic pieces, and casting resin parts.
The 24 inch Jupiter 2 kits, with ABS hulls, will be available any time now.:woohoo:
He was just hoping to get an idea of how many people want one of these beauties!;)
They are very impressive, and are a very nice build.:D
:devil:Ron:devil: