Another Salzo V3 Build

Back on the build .. since I'm now all done on the cockpit and lighting .. I feel like I can now begin planning the joining of the fuselage. That brings a few noob questions (did you guess?):

1. As you can see in the picture below, I've already pierced through the fiselage to be able to insert my light board / change leds or anything that should be accessible. But I have to admit, I have no idea how to properly setup my FOs in the fuselage to have a good access in case anything needs to be played with. I have about 4-5" of FOs on the cockpit and about 6-7" from my R2. I need to plan 2 leds in there. One blue and one Red.

Does anyone have a pic of how his inside would look like? Just so I have an idea of what the heck I'm doing? :)
medium.jpg


2. Since the cockpit is all lit, I don't want the FOs to show under my Luke .. so should I close the cockpit are / do a floor under Luke so that it sits on it? I also noticed that Luke is a little tight in the cockpit too. I think I can still squeeze it in proper position but I just don't wanna mess its paint and of course, now is too late to modify the cockpit since it's already painted.

3. Before installing permanently the cockpit, I guess I'll have to paint the inside of the canopy .. from what I see on my refs, it's the same grey as the cockpit, sometime I see it black in some pics too. What's the best solution here?

I was planning to black primer the inside then shoot the inside canopy the same color as my cockpit grey .. does that make sense?

4. Considering the 2 LEDs for cockpit and R2 + 4 more LEDs for my thrusters, will that be able to live on a single 9V battery? I suck at voltage calculation :)

The base I picked up for this is an IKEA lamp that I think will fit perfectly. It's a simple halogen lamp with hollow tube that I'll cut. So I hope my wires will run through this tube to the base of the lamp where I'll install the battery and switch.
 
* Cough cough * Anyone ever heard anything about Tamiya Insignia White for base coat on the X-Wing?

I stumbled on that little can at my hobby store and looked pretty dead on as far as reference pics goes. So if you have any hint on it .. lmk.
 
Bigturc said:
* Cough cough * Anyone ever heard anything about Tamiya Insignia White for base coat on the X-Wing?

I stumbled on that little can at my hobby store and looked pretty dead on as far as reference pics goes. So if you have any hint on it .. lmk.
Click to expand...


Base coat: Primered black with automotive gloss white burnished with steel wool, the effect is awesome. Everything else added was floquil.
 
Thanks for the advice .. I had been suggested using the primer black with primer white over it .. not the gloss though ..

I'm having a hard time figuring out the whole 1) white becoming kinda light grey to the eye (even though I know weathering will change it) and 2) GLOSS white with that? Damn it .. I gotta get myself some of that steel wool now.

Now, I'll get to paint the inside of the canopy since I don't really know what to do with all this .. I need to get that fuselage closed ASAP!
 
Big T,

That Artoo & Luke are lookin suh-weet!

Might do a burn test on the LEDS. Let them stay on for a few days, before closing it all up.

Also, was thinking about heat shrink tubing around the FO. Shrinking heatshrink tubing might get too hot for FO, but if it worked would help contain the light leak, and possibly make your FO ends brighter. Or you could just buy narrow heatshrink tubes, and just use them as sleeves without shrinking them.

All of this would need testing, before assembly.

Also wouldn't hurt for you to test the hull paint on regular styrene sheet before going for it on the ship.

-DM
 
Thanks DM,

I will definitely do a test paint before launching my wrath on the V3 .. :) But I had never heard about testing the LEDs? I'll do that .. although by now, with all the lighting test I've done for the cockpit and thrusters with the LEDs, I figure they would have burned out if they were not good?

I was suggested to shrink the tubes with a soldering iron that you hold close enough being careful to not heat the FOs .. but at some distance, the reaction on the shrinking tube works and it does shrink properly ..
 
Had some more time today to work on this, so I primered the inside of the canopy and shot the light grey paint through the airbrush .. I thought paint would go in these small flaws and of course, I was wrong ..

Although I'm amazed at how the moulds pick up the details from the tape that was inside the canopy upon molding .. do you guys remove all that by sanding it all out then putty the inside and rework the details to be crisper? If I have to sand it now, I guess I'll remove the extra lips in the window frame ..

Or am I just being picky and you guys live with the flaws and don't worry about this?

Any answer would be truly appreciated.

 
Well, I got tired of waiting for answers! :D The canopy has been sanded back to the resin and I didn't dare remove the lips around the frame but it would certainly have added visibility to the pilot inside.

Pilot has been fixed inside the cockpit and this was a pain in the ass as I found the pilot to be a little too large at the arms for the inside of the 1:1 cockpit. While it was fitting with space all around in the SS cockpit version. So I'd recommend to anyone doing this to enlarge the inside of the 1:1 cockpit before painting it so that the pilot will sit with some space around him. I did scratch the paint on his arm to get a proper position but in the end, it will not be visible.

Also added is a foam piece that will be glued under the cockpit to prevent any lights from bleeding under the pilot.

 
Sorry bud, late answer, but yes, i did the same to my hull, didnt want that tape mold there too lol.
I did remove the window frame too, and TBH it was an easy job, so dont worry about it, just jump in with a file, it soon all comes away and does look much nicer!

lee
 
Hi BigT,

I don't have an alternate solution, but I believe the foam you are using will breakdown over a short time. I have camera lighting cases that have a similiar cell structure and the foam collapses, or turns to powder.

It may not matter at all, because your foam will never be touched after you close your V3 up.

-DM
 
ralphee said:
Sorry bud, late answer, but yes, i did the same to my hull, didnt want that tape mold there too lol.
I did remove the window frame too, and TBH it was an easy job, so dont worry about it, just jump in with a file, it soon all comes away and does look much nicer!

lee
Click to expand...

Lee,
Well, you gave me the final kick in the butt and I went out, bought some files and did it ... I LOVE it, I see much more the inside and the pilot now. Plus the FO will also be much more visible!

Tomorrow, I prime, then reshoot the inside the canopy ..

My question from a couple post back still holds though, what color is technically accurate for inside the canopy? Is it the same light blue as the outside, black? dark grey? Anyone...




 
Thats better Turc lol, wasnt so bad huh? As for the interior canopy bars, go for the blue, would make it neat and uniform, and eFX have done that very thing!

lee
 
I'm happy to say I finally figured out my problem with the engine lighting .. I had the LEDs illuminating the filter in a way that it was too directional (you can see a yellower spot directly on the filter in the first 2 pics) .. after looking around, I decided to sand my LEDs with a 1000 grit to diffuse the lighting around! BINGO! So yesterday, I redid my 4 filters with hot glue to give the engine can a fire look .. anyway, I think it looks pretty good and I'm happy with the result.

Here's what it looked like before...



And now...


Anf the filters...
 
Current progress!

Wings will be closed today .. I plan on shooting the black primer inside the cans first, then, I'm putting back the the wiring in them and closing them for good.

I also finally built the canons and figured it would be better to shoot the primer first without the ring glued over the star parts (sorry for my lack of better names) to allow the primer to go everywhere properly (inside all the grooves of the star and inside the ring).

I'm wondering, do you guys shoot the primer on all the parts first, THEN glue them? I'm having a hard time figuring what parts should be glued first, or perhaps SOME should be glued then primered after to allow a better covering in all the details? As I've never seen a shot of this step .. it's always shots that go from assembly to almost completed paint job.

Same goes for painting .. I saw people would keep the wing assembly for later .. is this the only thing that shouldn't go on the fuselage right away? What about the canons? Painting them first, THEN gluing them seems like a good approach but I remember Guy's build when he ended up saying that was not a good idea .. why?

 
Whilst I have never done a SS kit before I always find it better to build in sub assemblies and then paint. But it also depends on the parts your painting, if adaquate coverage is achievable this way. Building in subassemblies and then painting makes painting small parts easier that way but may not always be the best route.

Your doing a bang up job so far.The engine lights look awesome. I think when I get my vacation check in three weeks I am going to have track one of these kits down.
 
Thanks for the answer Robiwon,
I can't wait to show the 4 engine lit .. I'm very happy with how they came out!

I finally figured out the electronics for this!!!!!!!!! Not only it's super cheap, but all 4 engines will oscillate separately on their own timer .. and for under 10$!!!!
 
Cool. Would also like to see some shots on how your going to wire the model up. Are you going to do a battery power supply or a wall wart? And, are you doing a clear yellow visor for Luke?
 
Part of the wiring can be seen for the wings in one of the millions of pictured above! ;)

I'm not sure yet on the power source .. since I have only 4 engine LEDs + 2 cockpit/R2 LEDs, I might still use a 9V battery that would fit under the R2 strip. A buddy of mine here wants to help me wire it in the wall .. but I'm just not sure it's worth it for the time this thing is gonna be left lit!

Plus the fact that the lamp stand I bought, to put my X on, has an hollow rod but doesn't have an hollow base!

I will post a ton of pictures when I'll get there! :love
 
Questions about the rods

I bought 1/16" rids for the side of the canons and now, I'm thinking I might have been wrong and they're just too big .. Also, I noticed a lot of people not putting them on .. are these only for Red5 or something?

My brass rods for the wing trenchs are 3/32" .. that's what fitted the best at the end of the piston part. Now, I tried my 1/16" in there, and they actually seem to fit better .. I think I remember reading this somewhere ..

Q. Can anyone confirm those sizes?

Q. In the wing trench, do they sit against the piston part (which sits on its little base) OR they sit at the bottom of the trench (thus not in line at all with the piston part).

Wings on piston 3/16"



Wings at bottom 3/16"


Wings on piston 1/16"

 
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