Hi Gang,
Time for an early morning update! Sad to say there is nothing exciting to report but let's get to it!
I had to take these panels off to get access to the lower part of the entrance and thought they looked rather boring. Should I add some red pin stripes? Maybe silver or white?
Work continues on the new/updated Volvo Panel Box Greeblies
One down.. two more to go...
Finally painted these canopy greeblies!
Desperate need of some weathering
I had to carefully mod this part of what I refer to as the "Cockpit Laser Gun" greeblie
I'm really happy with how this greeblie is turning out
Just a few more pics from this weekends adventures... no big deal... Enjoy
Started the "half" corridor frame...
A bit thin so I added some strips to beef it up
I then routed 3 more
Han's side
Chewie's
Just a few more pics to go... I'll keep the chatter to a minimum.
I laser cut these lower access panels for the corridor panels
Since I was only going half way up I thought it would be interesting to add some interior panel details...
OperaScot thought it would be cool to add more greeblies to this area so I looked at NASA docking rings for inspiration and...
I like this one best
More to follow on these...
OK... just a few more pics...
It was time to tackle the one thing I dread most about this build... The Volvo Panels!
I added these vertical supports to keep the top part of the panel from flexing so the skin would be perfectly level when screwed in place.
Time to get these skins finished up! With all the tension placed on the frame by the MDF, I wondered if it would snap the frame in two...
The moment of truth... I took the panel off to see if the shape held...
PERFECT! Was the Curse of Dreaded Volvo Panels finally over?
Trimmed the edges and sanded smooth
But... Would it fit back into place?
BINGO!!!
Just a tiny bit of flex but I am HAPPY!
Chewie's Side
As you can see I removed the Terk screws and replaced with regular screws and slightly counter sunk them - everything held! No to fill those holes!
Adding filler
As always... More filler
Why are the panels off?
4 pieces of MDF? What are those for?
Filling in and leveling out the questionable areas
Just when I thought I had tamed the Volvo Panels... The Volvo Panels Strike Back!!!!
DONE!
That curve of the nose cone is so nice to see!
Looking in from outside
The Curse Continues... Top of the glue bottle popped off and... spilllfffffffff! :facepalm
But it doesn't matter... I'm HAPPY!
More Filler
I have to cut a few small access holes in order to mount the panels to the front window - they will be covered and the smaller panels painted and blended in to hide
WHEW... The Volvo Panels are FINALLY behind us! Stay Tuned for More!