Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit - my build up

Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit

They were out of stock most of last year till about 2 months ago, I had my pre-order for about a year at Starship Modeler. I think they only got 6 or 7 of them in and they were gone in a couple of weeks.
 
Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit

Well all the major substructures are dry-fitted or partially cemented, the windows are all fitted and it's time to start thinking about the lighting system, which needs to be fitted before the substructures can be joined.

In a brave (or possibly very foolish) move, I've decided to try to make the lighting system from scratch, including flashing LED's etc.

Bought all the LED's, resistors and so on today from my local electronics store. I hope I've planned this out properly. It won't be 100% screen accurate, but as close as I can get with my limited electronics skills. In shock at the amount of soldering ahead of me, the thought of which is already giving me palpitations:

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Once again, I say - Oh my!
 
Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit

She is a big'un! Looking forward to your build. I have one stashed in the closet, but I want to make sure I'm not moving for a LONG time before I build it. :)
 
Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit

will you be handling the blinking etc. with the 555 alone?
I still have a long time before I get started, but I will probably be using an ATtiny85 or an ATtiny 2313 to handle the nav lights. For the Shuttlebay, i want to do a landing / takeoff sequence which may need more that what a ATtiny can do. otherwise I may use a tlc5940 to handle all the LEDs. I am trying stuff out right now on my Galactica so that I have all options covered by the time I start on the big E .
 
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Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit

I've bought some blinking LED's to hopefully handle that element of the lighting. I haven't tested them yet, I'll let you know how they work out.
 
Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit

Ohhhh I have heard of those, I never really tried them though... am kinda scared if they will still work a couple years down the road. After I seal that baby up it is a sold out show. Not that I heard anything bad about them... just not ready to stop doing it myself.

definatly let me know how they work though, I am really curious.
 
Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit

I'll let you know how they work out. Still haven't got around to installing them in the LED circuit, but I did make a good start today with a bunch of LED's for the saucer section.

Here's a video of where I am at:

Polar Lights 1/350 Enterprise build part 1 - YouTube

Once the saucer circuit is all soldered and finished, I need to paint the insides of the saucer black and line it with foil to stop the light leakage.

Overall, I'd say it's been a good days work and I'm quite happy with my progress.

A long road to travel yet, of course.
 
Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit

Making slow progress.

Here's the saucer lighting rig test before removal:

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I've removed the test lighting rig from the saucer, primed the inside and sprayed the inside sections satin black, leaving the "spotlight" sections clear. The idea is, the spotlights will be mimicked by putting a bunch of LED's inside the saucer, giving the illusion of the spotlights from the top dome/bridge section:

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It needs cleaned up, but this is the basic concept:

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I've also been given a big sheet of light diffusing material, thin enough to cut with scissors but very tough. Initial tests look good, particularly when an LED is ground down. I'm hoping the grinding of each relevant LED, the diffusing sheet and see-though paint will give me the final effect I want:

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Now, lighting removed, my next job is to go over all the details inside the saucer, clean up the unpainted spotlight sections and light-block the areas around each of the windows with black paint and a small brush, before starting to install the permanent lighting system for this substructure.

Which reminds me, I need to paint the officers lounge and install and light that at the same time as the dome.

There are so many layers involved in building this kit, particularly with the scratch build lighting system. I'm finding it quite a challenge.

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A couple more shots just for fun - messing around with the front dish lighting and an army of shuttlecraft:

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Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit

This model is killing me.

I've dremelled away the front dome support so it casts no shadow on the spotlight area and done my best to light block the upper saucer area. I think the upper saucer is ready to fit the lights now. On the bottom saucer I've also sanded away the front inner support, but I've left the two side supports which are visible through the left and right lower saucer spotlights. I don't wan't to compromise the structural integrity of the the saucer too much, so the fact that you will be able to see a slight spot on the 2 side supports through the spotlight area is a compromise. Unless anybody has any better suggestions?
 
Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit

This kit is quite a challenge to build but can be done. Looks to me like you’re doing a great job so far. I know I remember reading about a build and how someone cut out and relocated the saucer supports so they wouldn’t interfere with the lighting. I can’t find that site right now but I hope that gives you some ideas.
 
Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit

one suggestion I would have, the spot light effect through the hull, try to feather the edges. The lights would have a falloff and you don't want to have the sharp edges around the lit part of the saucer.
When i started preping mine that's what I did and it looks really good.
The supports had to go, unfortunatly, but I think the suacer is thick enough so that it will not compromise the stability.
I really should get back to this kit, I got hung up the lighting, didn't really want to pay 300.00 bucks for a kit.
 
Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit

Thanks for that. I will feather the edges of the spotlight sections.

Maybe I'll remove the two remaining supports as well. I've filed them down so they are only a tiny spot on the two bottom side spots, but they still bug me.

On the bottom saucer, I also removed the blocks of windows and snipped each one off individually so there is no shadow on the spots. It was a bit fiddly and I lost a couple of tiny windows during the process, so I had to improvise. The result is alright, not 100 percent perfect on window height, but that's the compromise for getting rid of the big blocks and eliminating the unwanted shadows:

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Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit

I need some advice regarding the nacelle colour.

My original plan was to apply a layer of transparent Tamiya blue to the inside of the clear insert, which I did, but I was unhappy with it after studying reference photos.

Pic courtesy of Phase Pistol:

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The "clear" pieces do not look blue at all. They are lilac or purple in the ref images.

I've removed the paint from my kit pieces and need to refinish them, but I'm a bit confused as to the right way forward. Should I apply a transparent lilac finish to the clear parts, with thin black lines in the grooves? I wonder how this will effect the light of the blue LED's I will be installing in this area.

I'd appreciate any advice of suggestions on this issue.
 
Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit - build up, questions and reference images

Finished the Officers lounge and 90% finished the arboretum (just needs the roof done and decals).

Also light blocked the entire saucer, that took forever to do and I'm sure there will still be some light-bleed when everything is lit.

For the arboretum I used crushed parsley and modellers foliage together with layered acrylic paints.. Tried to mix in some different colors to give a slightly alien look:

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Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit - build up, questions and reference images

I decided to remove the side pegs. The fact that they were creating a dark spot on the side spotlights finally bugged me too much, but removing them was a really quick job in the end and it doesn't see to have weakened the saucer at all. It looks much better now I think:

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Tried to introduce a subtle shadowing under the front phaser to simulate carbon scoring or some such. It might be a little too subtle, not sure how it will fare under the paint and decals:

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Lots of work and many hours devoted so far. So why oh why does it STILL look like this??! :facepalm :confused

Scotty would have had it doing warp factor 8 by now...

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Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit - build up, questions and reference images

Nice work there so far Ob1al.
I just picked up a PL 1/350 Enterprise A kit today, and it's always good to see other people's build pictures.
Also handy having a UK builder, as I find it good to compare notes on supplies that we can get in model and hardware shops here that aren't available to us from the US.
I may pick your brains about paint colours when I come to paint mine if that's ok.

Nice guitar work by the way, checked out 1 or 2 of your vids in your Youtube channel!

More build pictures please. :lol
 
Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit - build up, questions and reference images

Hey thanks RM - thanks for listening to the songs as well.

Yes, happy to compare notes and share resources, I look forward to seeing your build.

Al
 
Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit - build up, questions and reference images

A little more progress after work today and some more lighting installed. No strobes or flashing sequence lighting installed yet. I've moved away from my original idea of trying the flashing LED's and will now be using 555 chips instead, hoping to start work on those circuits tomorrow night.

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Re: Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise refit - build up, questions and reference images

Hey Ob1al,
it is going along very well. I have to be honest I am not a real fan of the backlighting method for the spots, but I also have to admit yours looks stunningly realistic... much better as I would have thought.

What made you change your plans regarding the blinking LEDs?
 
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