The start of the space tug was the result of finding a fun engine component from a model car and seeing in it a space ship. Unlike other kitbashing projects the Space Tug is a scratch bash. Instead of taking material form a model kit and modifying it to make a new project, a scratch bash is a type of model construction that taking left over pieces from kits and uses them to make a new object. While similar the spirit of a kitbash is to try to use one kit as an anchor for the project while scratch basing has no such anchor point.

However the pieces of the engine were missing and to replicate the feel of a spaceship I needed to bulk out and find to fix the silhouette of the ship. To do this I attached some Bandai Gundam model kit piece. These would serve as the front of the ship and the smokestack. The hope being this would give the appearance the ship is majority engine giving its the ability to tow larger ships it encounters with ease.

However, these pieces left significant gaps in the piece. To fill these I cut plasticard into shapes I felt were appropriate. Additionally I create a part of custom engine blocks out of styrene to serve as the thrusters for the ship. Finally, to seal the materials and fill any gaps, I glues the materials down allows the residue to act as filler for gaps.

After this I base coated the ship in black with white highlights for areas where the heat of the engine illuminate the metal. Finally giving it a base black and red color, using white and blue to signify hot spots on the ship, and chipping the paint with metallic grey paint.