Ok, enough silliness.  After an extended absence, I’ve finally returned.  Did you wonder what happened to me?  I did.  Truth be told,  I’ve had a whole host of distractions keeping me from making the progress I need to be making on these models.  Everything from job commitments, to knee surgery, to helping family members move.  It seemed like there was always something that “had” to be done.  Those things, coupled with a laser engraving business that took off way faster than I ever expected, have kept me away from the workbench.  But, finally I’M BACK!   And this time I intend to stick around to the finish.  I’ve cleaned and reorganized my long neglected workshop in a major way, and am ready to get things rolling once again!  Plus, there’s something really big lurking  just over the horizon, 8ft. big to be specific, so I’m going to have to finish some things up to make some space.

Just for general info.  After some discussion with my client, we’ve decided to forgo the “Raytheon Effect” internal spotlighting on Build 2.  We were both concerned that it just wouldn’t look good shining through all those layers of paint used for the base coat and aztec patterns.  But what to use in its place?   There must be some solution.  Well, why not just do what the original VFX technicians did while filming TMP?  Apply them externally.  Well, sans the dental mirrors anyway.  Our solution is to build spotlights  into the stand, which will include arms, or beams that will extend out over the ship, shining lights down onto the upper hull registry  and nacelles.  Frankly, I’m pretty excited about this as I think the ship will look much more “cinematic” in the end.  Plus, it makes the assembly and painting of the model itself significantly easier and quicker.

Now, where were we all those months ago?  As I recall, I had posted a picture of the photoetch rec dec with some backlighing.  Well, it’s installed and wired up to the saucer now.

Here’s what it looks like with the lights on.  Pretty much what I wanted…an impression of something being there behind those windows.

and here it is in the dark.  ooohhhh….ahhhhh  (I know, it’s not that impressive)

Since I’ve been concentrating on the saucer, I figured I’d go ahead and get the VIP lounge installed.  As you’ll recall my lovely wife had painted up a bunch of little 1/350 figures to populate the internal spaces of the model.  Honestly, I’ve been scared to death of touching them.  They’re incredibly small, and incredibly fragile.  I knew if I damaged any of them, she’d put a serious hurting on me.  But, it had to be done, so I waited until she was asleep one day, and quietly started gluing them in place.  Luckily I was successful.  A couple of them took super glue baths, but they recovered.  So,  here’s the VIP lounge, complete with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy peering out the windows into the inky blackness of interstellar space…along with an Andorian with monkey arms.

Note the fiberoptics extending from the bottom.  Those are for spotlights in the lounge floor that illuminate the pictures on the wall, as well as the lounge in general.

The lounge was installed into the upper saucer and the lighting tested.  I tried several times, but just couldn’t get a good picture that does it justice.  It really does look much better in person.

Once I had the VIP lounge installed, I realized I needed a lighting solution for both the B/C deck windows, and the portholes on the bottom of the saucer.  I remembered I had these 10mm LED’s that are supposed to have an omnidirectional light pattern.  They have some sort of yellowish phosphorescent coating that allows them to glow all over.   I pulled one out and hooked it up to my super overkill LED testing station.

Looks good to me.

I rigged up two of them to a piece of 1/8″ acrylic.  One facing up, and one facing down.

That ought to cover it.

Now, with that out of the way I turned my attention to finishing up the ship’s arboretum.  Just add some crew and a ceiling is essentially all it needs.

Slackers!

a bit of masking for the ceiling

and some pretty blue paint

I still need to add the cloud decals to the ceiling.  Once that’s accomplished, the arboretum will be ready to be installed in the secondary hull.

Hey! Remember the hangar deck?  Well, it’s finally all coming together now.

I'm not sure what he's doing here. Waving off an incoming shuttle maybe? Or maybe he's king of the world..just a dyslexic one.

Yep, that's Scotty standing at the rear overseeing the action.

And all sealed up with the ceiling in place.

Now I just need to get the illumination in place and hooked up, then get the whole thing sealed up against light leaks.

Let’s see, what else?  Oh yeah.  The planetary sensor array.  Wow, that thing has been a serious thorn in my side!  It’s been in putty and sand hell for quite some time now.  Thanks to the miracle that is Aves,  It’s finally starting to shape up and I’m really close to being able to attach it permanently to the lower saucer half.  Here are a couple of pictures just to show how it’s been going.

Some wax paper to keep things from sticking to the saucer.

Slather the putty on. Sand....repeat.

Ok, I think that about covers things for now.  I should be back in few days with another update.  I’ve been doing some experiments with laser etching acrylic to eliminate hot spots in the nacelle grills with some interesting results. With any luck, I’ll have some interesting pictures to share.  See you next time!

They're miniscule, but you'll see them if you look closely.

We even have an Andorian officer!

Kirk is now sporting a new toupee

All the credit here goes to my lovely wife, Betsy.  She’s a stickler for detail and reworked these several times until she was satisfied.  Personally, I’m thrilled with her work, and I think they’ll add an impressive bit of realism to the interior parts of the model.  Now I just need to place them in the appropriate locations without damaging them and putting myself in the doghouse!!

Thanks Betsy!

Thought I’d share some pictures of the castings I had made of the planetary sensor array a while back.  I’m pretty happy with the outcome!

bag o' sensors!

My biggest concern was that they wouldn’t conform well to the contour of the saucer bottom.  I tried to make it fit as closely as possible with the master, but was still a little nervous.  The arrays were cast in solid resin, so I needed to start by hollowing one out.  So, out came the dremel and a dust mask.  One giant dust cloud later, the deed was done.

One solid chunk of resin

One not so solid chunk of resin

Now I could finally test fit the piece on the bottom of the saucer.

Whew! It fits!

Next I needed to add some clear parts for the spotlights.  Originally I considered adding the spots by cutting and drilling  the resin “walls” molded into the castings.  But, decided to replace them with solid pieces of acrylic instead.  The areas that don’t illuminate can be light-blocked later.

I still have some sanding to do on the front spotlight and need to add the other three, but I think it’s going to work out well.

And now for something completely different.  Here are a few pictures of how I accomplished the impulse engine lighting.

Acrylic housing for LED's

ohhh!!!....Ahhhh!!

Diffuser in Place

And the final result....which I think I may have already posted.

And here’s something even more completely different!  An arboretum!

Ta-Da!

And how about a VIP lounge as well (still a work in progress)

colers subject to change : )

The silver walls were cut and etched with the laser (of course!)

And eventually these little guys will be hanging out in the lounge…..I can’t believe she actually named them.

They're tiny. Even with the macro lens.

And here’s something completely off the wall different.  I recently started a new job.  I’m working for a company that builds industrial controls.  Here’s where I’ve been spending the last few weeks.  Doesn’t it look like fun?  Believe it or not, this cabinet will end up controlling a jet engine.

Until next time!

I’ve been doing a lot of wiring and soldering of LED’s of late.  Nothing all that photoworthy I guess.  I should hopefully have something substantial update-wise  for you real soon!

The master for the planetary sensor is finally complete!  Making this little gem has given me a whole new appreciation for those that scratch build.  It was difficult, and frustrating at times.   But, educational and fun as well.  Now the part will go off to someone who knows infinitely more about casting than me so I can have a few copies made.  That way, I can use them on future builds, and dremel out the “core” to install lighting.  On to the pictures!

styrene disks were laser cut to make the rough shape of the dome.

Bondo...sand....primer....repeat forever.

all smooth and dome shaped. Above is the collar that will go around the base of the dome

...and it snowed

Now it's starting to look like something!

I really wasn't sure how I was going to scribe the rings that go around the dome. I hate hand scribing I cheated and did it with the laser.

Tabs

The final product!

Now, let’s see.  What else have I been doing?  Oh yes!  The saucer.  The windows were masked from the inside, and silver paint was sprayed in to help block some of the light leakage.  Foil tape was applied around the periphery as well.  Next, several of the photo-etch crew silhouettes were placed behind several of the oblong windows in order to give a hint of something “being there”.   Light boxes were made from styrene sheet, and 5mm LED’s installed on each side.  After placing  one of the boxes in front of the windows, I noticed I could see the LED’s a little to easily through the windows.  I cut some 1/16″ acrylic strips, roughed them up with sand paper and used them as diffusers.

Light box with diffuser

The rest of the boxes were wired up, then installed and sealed up with foil tape.

in the dark.

"Bye Mom! We're off for a little training cruise!"

Well, there you have it for now.  Next up, I’ll be installing the RCS and running lights.  The impulse engine and crystal lighting will be added very soon as well.  See you next time!

And if I’m not back soon….you have my permission to poke me mercilessly with a pointed stick!

Here are a few shots showing a little bit of how it went together.

The framework in acrylic

skinning in styrene

Bondo!

Primered

The final version (I hope) with the spotlight housings added. It's more Bondo now than styrene. The stack of disk shapes at the left is the beginning of the dome.

I think I’ve got the hardest part licked for now.  It may not be 100% accurate, but I think it looks significantly better than the kit supplied part.   I don’t foresee the dome being as problematic as the rest.  Of course, I’ll need to mold it and cast it as well.  Hmmmmm…. we shall see.

When the frustration got to be too much, I took a break and built the Eiffel tower.  It took the laser roughly an hour and a half to cut the intricate patterns, and an additional hour for me to assemble.  It was a fun little diversion.

Not bad for a two hour project!

I’ll be back in a few days to let you know how this turns out….along with some other progress.

Well, I hope everyone has enjoyed the holidays thoroughly, cuz now it’s time to get back to work.  And when I say work, I mean model building!   And how could model building ever be considered as work?   Well, it’s not…. I just added that statement to create meaningless fluff for my blog.

I’ve continued working on Build #2′s saucer as of late, as well as installing the DLM resin impulse deck and Magnatomic Flux grill thingies on the nacelles.  So, where to begin?  Let’s start with some unfinished business with the B/C deck windows.  As you’ll recall, I’ve been replacing the kit supplied styrene windows with laser cut acrylic versions.   I put off doing the B/C deck windows until now because I knew they were going to take a bit more work than the rest.  The holes are rather misshaped and misplaced, not to mention misaligned.  It’s difficult to see in the picture below, but they’re located so low, that they actually get into the “lip” of the indented area.

Also, notice how the forward portholes are practically touching the square, raised hatch (is that what they are?) details?  Well, I just had to do something about that!  So, I pulled out the Apoxie sculpt and filled in all the windows.  After that cured overnight, I sanded everything down flush,  and cut out new holes.  The raised hatch detail I just mentioned got lost in the sanding but will be replaced later.  I lasered out some new acrylic windows, and everything was good.

Notice also the 3mm LEDs are now installed for the bridge spotlights.  They’re bright little fellows, but trust me, they won’t illuminate the upper registry markings.  For that I’ll be attempting the “Raytheon” technique …illumination from underneath.   More on that later.  I”m sure it will prove to be entertaining.

Next, I installed the DLM replacement impulse deck.  I could simply have glued it in place and been done with it, but I decided to go the more accurate route and thin the upper lip, which is molded into the saucer so it would match the new part.  As usual, time consuming, but worth it in the end.

Now it was time to glue the saucer rim pieces in place around the upper half.  Pretty straightforward here, just line ‘em up and glue ‘em in place.

That's right. I'm using the famous Raytheon "toothpick" technique.

An interesting (well, not really) side effect of the sanding and filing I did to the upper impulse deck lip is that it raises the impulse engine. This will, of course, create gaps when the primary hull is attached to the dorsal.  Not a big deal really, I knew that would happen and am prepared to deal with it.  But, apparently I didn’t think hard enough to predict this:

Not a problem.  I’ll be backing the gaps with styrene and doing some fill and sand.  Anything for accuracy!  Right?

Pet Peeve #465:  In a model kit designed to be lit, why do they block off all the windows around the saucer circumference with styrene molding?  I suppose there’s a good reason, and I’m guessing it’s technical.  Either way, it’s  a pain in the butt, and it’s got to go.  Especially if one intends to build light boxes.

After attacking the molding  with every cutting utensil at my disposal (except my teeth, perhaps), it ends up looking like this.  I’ve still got some clean-up to do, as usual.  But, it’ll work.

Now, let’s jump from the front of the ship back to the nacelles.  Here are  the stock Magnatomic flux grills.

eh, whatever

And, here it is after being attacked by me and my drill.

Cut the piece out and you get this:

Sand and file that all down, drop the replacement part in, glue it down, do a bit of puttying and sanding…dance a little jig,  and you get something a  little like this:

Oh yeah…and repeat three more times to complete both nacelles.

Ok, I’m sure you’ve had all you can stomach for now, but I promise to be back soon.  Sooner than last time.  Definitely sooner than the time before that……..