I love making scifi models. I find the latest kits too pricey and not what I'd really like to make so I have been going on my own course for the last few years.

I signed up for a booth at my local mini maker's faire and thought I would make a new model for the event. I have always loved the ships and gear from Ridley Scott's classic film ALIEN and I decided to try the shuttlecraft Narcissus.

I use a lot of different methods to build models and props, this ship owes a lot of its appeal to clean lines and symmetry so I am leaning toward computer controlled cutting and shaping. My 3D printer is pretty small and I'd like to make this about 3' x 2' so a computer controlled router will be the tool of choice.

I find a lot of 3D models on Thingiverse and I had been learning a bit of Sketchup and spent some time in the Sketchup 3D model warehouse. I found a model of the Narcissus shuttle there that wasn't created for fabricatiing but I could work with it.

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=c4f...

I hadn't really learned how to use the cnc router at my makerspace but I wanted to try it out on some dense insulation foam that others on the shop had used for swords and other props. The foam is sold in big sheets at hardware stores and it is around 2" thick.

I had a worker at the home supply store score the sheet at about the halfway point so I could snap it in two and get it to fit into my car (the sheets are about 8' long.)