Galaxy Quest Protector - WIP

GeneralFROSTY

Now that my first warmup kit is finished while I continue to slowly work on my 1/350 Enterprise refit, I am on to my newest 'side project' to keep my ADD mind busy....the NSEA Protector from Galaxy Quest.
From the get-go, I knew I wanted to add lights to this thing, which means I have to try my hands at soldering - a subject I am currently doing my homework on before I begin the trial and error process.
My wish was to have the model removable from the base, but still have lights installed. Though I can't think of a good way to keep the lights on while the kit is removed, a friend and I came up with the idea of having the display base support have a 'male' end adapter and a 'female' end would be hidden inside the underbelly of the model - a perfect spot would be in the hole that is already present for the kit's stock display support arm.
When connected, the cable jack will not only add power to the model's lights, but also act as a holding mechanism to keep the model in firm place while on display.
While I wait on my stupidity with electronics to subside, I have begun the initial prepwork on the kit.
First things first was to drill out all those windows using a micro-drill bit.....by hand....
Shown in the images below, you will see that one of the model's interior support struts had to be removed because it was in the way of some of the windows that needed opened up on the hull.
You will also see how the windows look drilled out in a side-by-side comparison.
Work on this kit is going to progress slowly as I am dividing my time between two kits to better keep my impatience and short attention span on a leash.
here is where I am at thus far:

GeneralFROSTY

I'm still a LITTLE in the dark as far as exactly how I am going to do the light setup, but I can forsee what other sections of the kit need to be cut out or modified in the meantime.
Today, I did some cutting and grooving to allow LEDs and wires to safely reside inside the kit.
I did not have any really thin wire on hand, so I had to do my work based on the thicker kind shown in the photos. The wire I used as a test only is a tight fit - but fits nontheless, which means that when I do my lightwork with thinner wire, there will be NO problem whatsoever with real-estate inside the kit.
More connection tabs had to be removed in the engine area as they would block the LEDs I plan on installing there.
There is not much more I can do with this kit until I get a light unit setup. After that, it's a piece of cake....and some time to eat that cake....yummm:
Grooves cut to accomidate wires running down the pylons:


Areas that will need cutting or modding are marked with a Sharpie:


A before-and-after look at how the tabs inside the engine would have obstructed the LED:


And finally, a quick dry-fit of most parts:

Taggart

It looks beautiful already can't wait to see her finished.

Architect

that is looking good. for the thinner wire you might consider networking cable. I have used it on many a work including running 100 watt 8 ohm speakers from and it holds just fine. for what you are doing it should be more than sufficient and save a ton of money since a section will yield 8 wires total with color coding so it makes wiring things up easy. If you go with one wire being the ground then you have 7 others left over for all sorts of separate lighting schemes.

GeneralFROSTY

It's going to be a slow process until I get the electronics hammered out. After that, it's all pateince and time during the puttying/sanding process.
I am planning on doing a two-tone paint scheme to mimick the panels on the studio model. I am basically going to hit the model with a coat of white pearl, mask off hundreds of panels then flat coat. Once the masks are removed, the subtle contrast should provide a suitable appearance of hundreds of panels all over the ship.
We will see.....don't want to get TOO ahead of myself. Although it is good to plan ahead, I have to break down the big picture into smaller managable tasks and focus on one at a time with patience and hard work.

MooCriket

I love the design of this ship, and can't wait to see more!

Aquaman

nice! can't wait to see it lite

Taggart

I like the plan, I'm going to do the 2-tone look myself.

PHArchivist

I just bought this kit.

Did your project get finished?

Taggart

Uh-oh the pictures stopped working