Starship Interior

Building Instructions
If you haven't built any of these before, I suggest starting with the basic interiors on the left. The two molds used for
the basic interiors are also used in the Med Lab and Cargo Bay interiors.

Basic Interiors Med Lab Interiors Cargo Bay Interiors

These are made using only molds Once you have molds #301 and Here again you need to have molds
#301 (starship wall mold) and #270 #270, you can add molds #303 and #301 and #270 to start with. By
(starship deck mold). The pieces #271 to create more detailed pieces adding molds #302, #272 and 273
from these two molds are the for med labs, barracks and you can make the cargo bay
foundation from which everything command centers. sections shown here.
else is made.

Click here to go to Med Lab Click here for Cargo Bay Interiors
Click here to go to Basic Interiors Interiors

Starship Basic Interiors

For this set, you will need to cast the #301 Starship
Wall mold 24 times, and the #270 Starship Deck
mold 30 times.

I cast these pieces out of gray dental plaster, but

you can use white plaster instead if you like. The
casting will take the average person about 2 full days,
and the pieces can be glued together in a few hours.

After you complete these, feel free to make your

own custom pieces any size you want. The beauty of
casting pieces is that you can always make more
and build whatever you want.

Building Tips
 When casting blocks, be sure to use the wet water
method shown on the casting instructions page. These
sci-fi blocks are very difficult to cast without air bubbles
1. if you do not use it.

The first block shown was cast without the "wet water"
method and the second block is cast using "wet water".

When gluing blocks, be sure to put glue on the highest flat

area you can find. In the first photo, the grill design is
recessed. Putting glue there won't stick it to anything.
2.
You also want to use as little glue as possible. Use just
enough to put the pieces together. Any glue squeezed out
between the blocks can ruin the looks of the finished model.

To base these starship rooms, I'm going to mount the floor tiles on pieces
of 1/2" thick polystyrene foam insulating board. This is the stuff they
use for sheeting on houses before they put siding on. You can get it at
most lumber yards and usually comes in pink or blue.
3.
The main advantage is that it's stiff and doesn't warp easily. It's also easy
to cut (with a sharp knife), and you can make pits and holes in the floor
that actually look deep.

I'm going to show a new faster way to glue down

tiles. This method also helps to keep glue from
squeezing out between the tiles.

4. Lay the tiles down on the pink foam and line them
up, arranging them in whatever pattern you want.

Take a pencil and draw around the outside edge.

This will leave a groove around the tiles.

Use a stiff board of some kind (I'm

using a cutting board but cardboard will
do), and slide the tiles onto the board
using a ruler.
5.
When the tiles are safely out of the way,
squeeze a bead of glue onto the foam.
Stay inside the pencil line that you have
drawn. I'm using "Aleene's Tacky
Glue".
 Using a ruler, slide the tiles to the end of the board. Place the end
of the board over the glued area on the pink board.

Now hold the ruler in place and slide the board out from under
the tiles.
6.
The board will have to be very close to the glue or the floor tiles
will fall and flip over (you'll probably accidentally dip it into the
glue).

You might want to practice this a few times before you put the
glue down.

I'm using a square wall made of Legos to help me line up the edges. By making
the legos connect into a full square, I am much more sure that the sides of my floor
will be square.
7.
An "L" shaped wall of Legos can flex a little and your floor sections could be a
little diamond shaped. Since all of the floor sections are going to butt together, the
floor sections being slightly off-square would be more noticeable.

Once the glue is dry, you will want to cut off the excess foam. If
you extend the blade of your hobby knife, you can cut
completely through the foam in a few passes. Be sure you use a
sharp blade or the foam will tear.
8.
If it doesn't cut all the way through, break off the excess edge
after you cut the foam and it will break fairly clean.

Basic Set Pieces

The basic set will consist of the pieces shown here. To build these pieces, you will need to cast the #301
Starship Wall mold 24 times, and the #270 Starship Deck mold 30 times.
1.
The rooms shown on top of the floor sections are glued down to the floor. The other wall sections are separate
so you can move them where you like. When making new pieces of your own design, notice that the floor
sections are based on groups of 3 x 3 tiles.
 Floor sections

We'll start
by making
the floor
sections.
2.
Assemble
and glue
these onto
foam board.

3.
4.

The center photo

uses blocks from
mold #301.
5.
Do not glue the tiles
shown in green.

Glue these blocks together

from mold #301.

6. Remove the green tiles

(shown in the photo
above) and cut a hole in the center of the floor. Glue the blocks
into the bottom of the hole.

For the last floor section, stack and glue

two small square floor tiles on each
corner.
7.
Once dry, flip it upside down, and place
floor sections around the outside of it
(upside down as well).

Take four rounded corner blocks and sand

them down until they set flush with the top
of the foam.
8.
You may have to sand them down quite a
bit. Afterwards, glue them onto the corners
of the frame.
 Once dry, paint this hole in the floor the same
color as the rest of your floor tiles.
9.
Once you flip the piece over, it should be flush
with the top of the floor tiles.

Elevator

Glue these
blocks
10.
together from
mold #301.

Glue two identical panels back to back and

cap them with the pieces shown.
11.
Glue two doors back to back.

Glue the piece shown until you

have four main pieces.

Be sure to paint these pieces

before you glue the remainder
of the room together. Otherwise
12.
you will not be able to reach the
inside areas with spray paint.

For painting instructions, please

visit our painting instructions
page.

Power Nodes
Glue these blocks together from mold #301.
The bottom row of blocks are 1" long and the
upper row of blocks are 1/2" long.
13.
Cap it off with a stack of two small square
floor tiles and the decorative blocks around
them. Make 2 of these.

View Screen
 Glue a window block face down on
top of the tube blocks.

Glue the remaining blocks, but do

not glue the other side of the
14.
window.

Sand down one end of the window so it will fit easily after
painting. To see how to insert colored plastic in the window,
see our Tips & Tricks 18 page.

Control Room
Glue the blocks together as shown.
Center the window over the blocks
below. I'm putting the blocks against a
wall of Legos to help keep the window
straight.

Place floor tiles on each side of the

15. window and glue the remaining blocks.

The other half of the window does not

get put in until after the piece is painted.
Sand down the sides of the other
window half so it fits loosely. Otherwise
the window insert will not fit in after it is
painted.

Pipe panels go on
both sides of these
pieces.

Place floor tiles on

each side of the pipe
panels. Do not glue
16.
the walls onto the
back until after the
piece is painted.

Sand down three sides of the window so it will fit easily after
painting. To see how to insert colored plastic in the window, see our
Tips & Tricks 18 page.

Storage Room
 Glue together
two corners
as shown.

Glue four
17. panels (pipe
on the outside, flat on the inside). Glue each
on top of a buttress piece, making sure the
buttress faces outward on each side.

Add the sloped blocks onto the front.

18. The window is not glued at this point.

Paint the pieces before you glue the
window onto the back of the room.

Paint all the pieces in the above photo first. After painting, the clear plastic is
inserted between the two halves of the window and then glued together.

19. I glued the room onto the 3 x 3 floor section. You don't have to glue it onto
the floor section, but the room may be too fragile to handle if you don't glue it
down. To see how to insert colored plastic in the window, see our Tips &
Tricks 18 page.

Cargo Room
One half of the room includes the
center wall shown in the first
photo, and the two ends shown in
the second photo. These two ends
are a mirror of each other.
20.
Paint these pieces first before
gluing them together to make a complete wall section.
 The other half of the
room includes a
center wall, and the
two ends shown in
the second photo.
21. These two ends are
slightly different than
the corners above.

Paint these pieces first before gluing them together to make

a complete wall section.

The two wall sections look

like this before painting.

Do not glue them to the

floor. Instead, just set them
22.
on the floor wherever you
like. These walls can be used
for a room, or you can use the
empty floor for part of a
layout instead.

Large Conduit
Glue two of the same blocks flat side
up. Add the long thin blocks (pipe
side out) on top.
23.
Make two rounded corners as
shown.

Turn the piece upside down and glue four

floor tiles, two on each end of the piece.

Glue the curved sections on each end and

paint the whole thing afterwards. Make 2
24. of these whole pieces.

Observation Lounge
 Glue floor tiles onto the sides of these pipe
panels. Notice that two of the panels are a
25. mirror of each other.

Glue two of the same type back to back.

This wall section uses pipe panels

on both sides. Add the decorative
caps on the top.
26.
Glue the two slabs (from the photo
above) onto the ends of the wall so
the floor tiles are against the wall
ends.

Glue two rows

of windows
together as
shown.

Glue the wall

pieces using
two rounded
27. blocks on
each corner.

The pipe sections have one long pipe on the outside and
a medium and a short pipe on the inside.

Glue
together
these
28. small groups of pieces to finish the
room. Glue four doors back to back to
make two complete doors.
 Paint all of the
pieces shown here
before you glue
them together.

For painting
instructions, please
visit our painting
29. instructions page.
To see how to
insert colored
plastic in the window, see our Tips & Tricks 18 page.

I have glued this room down to the floor because it

would be too fragile to move otherwise.

Testing Center
Glue these four sets of
panels with pipes on one
side and flat panels on the
other.
30.
Glue the corners onto
these panels as shown. Be
sure that the flat panels
are facing inside.

Glue two doorway tops. Make sure you

apply glue to the edges because there is not
much surface to glue to.

Make three 90 degree corners as shown.

31. Add the small decorative blocks on the top
ends, making sure they are flush with the flat surface of the corners.

Glue two flat panels together.

Turn them around and glue the
remaining blocks on the back.
32.
Make an additional wall piece
on the right.

The photo in the lower left shows what large sections should be glued together before painting. For painting
33. instructions, please visit our painting instructions page. To see how to insert colored plastic in the window, see
our Tips & Tricks 18 page. I have glued this room down to the floor because it would be too fragile to move
 otherwise.

Science Station
Glue two windows face down on top
of the long pipe pieces shown.
34.
Stand them up and add the angle
pieces on the front.

Glue the windows at right

angles with the long block at the
corner. Glue the sloped blocks on
35. each end.

Glue five corner pieces to be

used later.

Assemble and glue the two

wall sections as shown.

36. The first photo shows the

inside of the wall and the
second photo shows the
outside of the wall.

Glue the top cap piece together using a small square floor
tile and two of the rounded edge pieces.
37.
Glue together two complete doors also.
 The photo in the lower left shows what large sections should be glued together before painting. For painting
instructions, please visit our painting instructions page. To see how to insert colored plastic in the window, see
our Tips & Tricks 18 page. I have glued this room down to the floor because it would be too fragile to move
otherwise.

38.

Spare Pieces

Glue and assemble these extra wall pieces. All of the

wall sections use flat panels on both sides of the wall.
39.
These extra pieces are used to close off hallway sections
or put barriers between rooms.

The floor sections and rooms can be

easily rearranged into any kind of
layout you want. As long as any
additional floor pieces are based on a
3x3 size, then everything will fit
together correctly.

Here are a few photos of the finished

pieces arranged in simple layouts.
The Star Wars miniatures are from
Wizards of the Coast.

For instructions on how the pieces

were painted, please visit our painting
instructions page. To see how to
insert colored plastic in the window,
see our Tips & Tricks 18 page.
Click on the photos for a larger view.

http://www.hirstarts.com. All photos, articles and plans are copyrighted by Bruce Hirst and may not be used without permission.
"Castlemolds(R)" is a trademark of Hirst Arts Fantasy Architecture Inc.
For more information contact bruce@hirstarts.com.