There has to be something better - TOS Shuttlecraft build
- Thread starter feek61
- Start date
feek61
Sr Member
Well, in real life the impulse glow doesn't look so threatening:lol I have ordered the micro-motors for the warp engines and today I wired up the LEDs for the front of the engines. I used 4 orange LEDs which stay on all of the time then two additional LEDs that cycle through red, blue and green very quickly arranged like the diargram here:
I am VERY happy with the way it looks. Similar to the MR Enterprise but cooler! Because of the changing of the colors and the different cycles there doesn't seem to be a pattern to the flashing when you look at it which is what I was going for. Here is the diagram of the flash pattern:
As you can see with the above sequence going on with 2 separate LEDs plus the orange LEDs it makes for an impressive display. The two flashing LEDs were too bright so I painted a black dot on the front of each one to tone it down a bit and it worked perfectly.
I also have a friend machining the front warp rings from aluminum and part of the rear strut out of brass. I will post some pictures when I get them.
I have run into a slight set-back which is a bummer. I have to reconfigure the back due to an error but I can do the modifications without tearing the thing apart. Luckily the problem area is too short not too long so I have to extend part of the back. More on that later. I'll keep you updated on my progress!
I am VERY happy with the way it looks. Similar to the MR Enterprise but cooler! Because of the changing of the colors and the different cycles there doesn't seem to be a pattern to the flashing when you look at it which is what I was going for. Here is the diagram of the flash pattern:
As you can see with the above sequence going on with 2 separate LEDs plus the orange LEDs it makes for an impressive display. The two flashing LEDs were too bright so I painted a black dot on the front of each one to tone it down a bit and it worked perfectly.
I also have a friend machining the front warp rings from aluminum and part of the rear strut out of brass. I will post some pictures when I get them.
I have run into a slight set-back which is a bummer. I have to reconfigure the back due to an error but I can do the modifications without tearing the thing apart. Luckily the problem area is too short not too long so I have to extend part of the back. More on that later. I'll keep you updated on my progress!
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feek61
Sr Member
Well here is the problem I ran into . . . poor calculations! 
I made a mistake while doing the conversions on the back so I made the back mid-section too short. So today I extended it and it came out great. I wanted to use something solid so I use birch plywood set in place with bondo.
I went ahead and used sheet plasitc to cover and extend the rear. Since this was against solid wood the thin plastic worked nicely and it was easy to shape. Here what it looks like with all of the parts in place.
I made a mistake while doing the conversions on the back so I made the back mid-section too short. So today I extended it and it came out great. I wanted to use something solid so I use birch plywood set in place with bondo.
I went ahead and used sheet plasitc to cover and extend the rear. Since this was against solid wood the thin plastic worked nicely and it was easy to shape. Here what it looks like with all of the parts in place.
Blackbirdcd
Well-Known Member
Maybe you mentioned this earlier (and if so I apologies for asking again) - did you draw up your own plans for this?
This is really looking nice!
This is really looking nice!
feek61
Sr Member
Thank you and yes I did draw the plans myself. I scaled them from about every source I could find. There are some photos of the filming minature with someone holding a lens cap next to it. I scaled the entire thing from the lens cap. I used photo shop and just drew them 1:1 so that I could print out the pages and tape them together. I sectioned the drawings off so that I could match the papers and make sure that I taped them together correctly (that's what the yellow and red squares are for). Here is an old picture of how I did the midplate but all of the parts were basically done the same way.
feek61
Sr Member
I've been working on getting the warp effect right while I'm waiting for the motors to arrive. I am pretty pleased with the results. Here are a few pictures. Keep in mind that this is only a throw away test piece to see how the system looks so don't be put-off by the crappy workmanship.
Next the the MR here:
Next the the MR here:
feek61
Sr Member
For those who may be interested the beginning of this build is in this thread:
http://propreplicas.yuku.com/topic/7507?page=1
http://propreplicas.yuku.com/topic/7507?page=1
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I take it that's a motorized fan blade there? :cool
feek61
Sr Member
Not yet but it will be, I expect to have the motors in by the end of the week.
UPDATE: I recieved the motors today. Hopefully over the weekend I can get more work in on the project.
Will
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feek61
Sr Member
Well I got the motors in today and they are perfect! What I bought turns at 24 RPM which is perfect (the MR is too fast) and the motors themselves run backwards if you reverse the polarity so no gears will be required at all!!!! It's too bad that MR didn't go the extra mile and install motors similar to these. They make NO noise at all. For the $40 bucks these things cost I would have gladly paid the extra (or more) for the MR. Here is the motor.
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Kuhn Global
Sr Member
I have been wondering when a SS TOS Shuttlecraft would be done.
Looks like this one will be quite nice. And... many of the "bondo" experts totally chimed in! This is one reason I love this hobby..... most everyone helps each other! Very kewl fellas!
Looking good Will!
Looks like this one will be quite nice. And... many of the "bondo" experts totally chimed in! This is one reason I love this hobby..... most everyone helps each other! Very kewl fellas!
Looking good Will!
feek61
Sr Member
I agree, with the help here I have gone back and tried to make this thing much better then it would have been without everyones help and seeing the quality of stuff on this board has been a great motivator. I was not happy with the pylons so I re-made them this weekend. I got them attached and got the wires run for the warp engines. I masked the pylon supports to keep the bondo and the JB weld from sticking to the strut. These are made from aluminum and are masked so that painting later won't be a problem (I want them to remain silver).
The holes in the model where the supports attach were filled with bondo and the supports coated with JB weld where it attaches to the wing and to the pylon (the side further away is done). I cut off the excess material that squeezes out after a few minutes. The wiring will run right up next to the pylon support and will be painted silver so it will look like a piece of conduit. It's the only way I could figure out how to get power to the warp engines.
The holes in the model where the supports attach were filled with bondo and the supports coated with JB weld where it attaches to the wing and to the pylon (the side further away is done). I cut off the excess material that squeezes out after a few minutes. The wiring will run right up next to the pylon support and will be painted silver so it will look like a piece of conduit. It's the only way I could figure out how to get power to the warp engines.
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vaderman1701
Sr Member
Well I got the motors in today and they are perfect! What I bought turns at 24 RPM which is perfect (the MR is too fast) and the motors themselves run backwards if you reverse the polarity so no gears will be required at all!!!! It's too bad that MR didn't go the extra mile and install motors similar to these. They make NO noise at all. For the $40 bucks these things cost I would have gladly paided the extra (or more) for the MR. Here is the motor.
I have to ask, where did you get the motor from? Do you have a part number? Thanks.
Scott
feek61
Sr Member
I have had a chance to work a little more on the Galileo. Today was the day to start detailing the back. I started off with some acrylic balls and drilled a hole in them.
Then I cut out a plasic disc to fit inside of the warp engine tube. I attached a screw from the back of the plastic disc leting the screw stick out the back. Then I screwed on the acrylic ball onto the screw put some JB weld in the tube and slide them in. This is same way it was done on the full scale version when it was built. The screw idea worked very nice because the depth of the ball can be adjusted. Next I made a pattern (actually I made 3 until I got it right) for the back corregated cover. I glued them onto a slightly smaller diameter ring then the warp engines so that the corregated part will be flush with the warp engine tube.
I also added the back details on the rear of the shuttlecraft. The access hatches and grill are installed on the back (I went ahead and removed the corregated cover because they are a little fragile, I won't install them until I'm nearly done).
Then I cut out a plasic disc to fit inside of the warp engine tube. I attached a screw from the back of the plastic disc leting the screw stick out the back. Then I screwed on the acrylic ball onto the screw put some JB weld in the tube and slide them in. This is same way it was done on the full scale version when it was built. The screw idea worked very nice because the depth of the ball can be adjusted. Next I made a pattern (actually I made 3 until I got it right) for the back corregated cover. I glued them onto a slightly smaller diameter ring then the warp engines so that the corregated part will be flush with the warp engine tube.
I also added the back details on the rear of the shuttlecraft. The access hatches and grill are installed on the back (I went ahead and removed the corregated cover because they are a little fragile, I won't install them until I'm nearly done).
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feek61
Sr Member
Here is where I'm at today. Over night I went ahead and did the graphics for the decals. It's a little early for decals but I am using decals for the fan blades on the warp engine so I really need them now. Not to mention it was fun doing something that resembled a finished product. First I printed them on a plane sheet of paper to make sure the size was correct. Everything looked fine so I then printed them onto a decal sheet.
You can see the warp fan blades on the lower left by the sissors (I printed a few spares; just in case, lol). It will take 2 sheets but I only printed one for now until I'm ready for the rest. These look smaller in the photo but that's a 8.5" X 11" sheet.
I was able to finish the front lower hull details and get the inner warp domes attached to the rods. Next up finishing up the warp engines.
You can see the warp fan blades on the lower left by the sissors (I printed a few spares; just in case, lol). It will take 2 sheets but I only printed one for now until I'm ready for the rest. These look smaller in the photo but that's a 8.5" X 11" sheet.
I was able to finish the front lower hull details and get the inner warp domes attached to the rods. Next up finishing up the warp engines.
modeler1964
New Member
Good god man! This looks fantastic! Awesome job and thanks for the look behind the construction of this shuttle!
:cool
:cool
