Starfield lets you trade in your vessel for other models but the Frontier, the first ship you get your hands on, is bound to have a special place in your heart. And now you can watch former Mythbuster Adam Savage and his Tested team build the ship from the space game, in miniature. Why? Because they can.
There’s another reason, too. The Tested team has partnered with Bethesda so money will almost certainly have changed hands. But, sponsored content or not, it’s amazing to watch Savage and his team construct a practical filming model.
Sure, CGI is fine and the recent Starfield live-action short is impressive, but practical models still have their place. So the Tested team’s aim is to construct something that, on camera, can fool the eye and still have a sense of physical presence.
They’re documenting their Starfield adventure, chopping it up into several YouTube episodes, the second of which has just dropped. Watching it get built, piece by piece, is weirdly relaxing. And it’s impressive to see the lengths they go to get it just right.
Instead of just printing everything on a 3D printer and being done with it, the team hunt high and low for the appropriate materials. There’s cellophane, tiny pieces of brass, and so much more.
Admittedly, it helps that Savage has his own workshop, but I’ve long been fascinated by practical model making. Watching the making of John Carpenter’s The Thing, it blew my mind to discover that the UFO at the beginning was a scale model.
So it’s equally enthralling to watch the Frontier come together, piece by piece. That said, Reddit has been dinging Savage for not wearing a respirator when he was sanding, so maybe don’t try it at home.
You can watch the first two episodes above and catch the remaining ones, droppingly weekly, on the Tested YouTube channel.
If you want to know about Starfield’s Constellation, the in-game organisation that gives you the Frontier ship, we’ve got what you need to know. And here’s a list of all Starfield factions and organisations if you feel like following a different path.
Still looking for more? While a good Starfield wiki can be a handy source of information, our new Starfield Database goes further, offering you daily news, searchable databanks, and even interactive tools.