Ten years ago today... took that last pic... then it sat collecting [and caking full of] dust. Dropped the refurbished port back in today... fits [barely] like a glove... whew! It was really caked with dust and originally the bottom ring was only assembled with metal tape. It also had a drone + platform sitting on top of it for seven years. Dusted it... for days... and then fixed a few old (and twisted) sections and finally epoxied it all together. Needs some more detail [still] down the road. I was very tempted to cut all of the new modular panels with a laser-cutter... but nah, it is still a full scratch-and-bash... like I originally started.
So far in 2023, have worked through the full new modularized surface, making official versions for the original "placeholder" parts (ok, pretty much replaced most of the original tiles). Since it is now modular, I also can swap the module in the lower right to represent a) the standard overhead reference shot (including "Lando's Approach") and b) the "Wedge Exit" shot... with the cool little tower. The lower left corner represents Lando's approach. The port is also now on a separate acrylic mounting plate so it can be removed for servicing, just like the whole top can be removed (or actually flipped up like a car hood) for servicing. I will be retrofitting all of the original fluorescent lighting with LED lighting in the tunnel over the course of 2023... and hopefully building a few ships... or a fireball... hmm... might be the best way to burn out all of the dust and cobwebs from the innards.
A few tweaks and wrap-ups left this week, including attaching down all of the new 2023 tiles to their new module panels, then just need to build out the mount for my SUV and pack all of the modules up. Assuming I do not smash anything while test-loading it, going to attempt to bring the top detachable surface section to WF23 for the ROJ 40th. We will see if it survives the seven-hour trip... (both ways)... over the [WI/IL] border past O'Hare, around and below Chicago, and through the ever-notorious construction while making my way down past Indianapolis! Stay tuned... "Here goes nothing...!"
So far in 2023, have worked through the full new modularized surface, making official versions for the original "placeholder" parts (ok, pretty much replaced most of the original tiles). Since it is now modular, I also can swap the module in the lower right to represent a) the standard overhead reference shot (including "Lando's Approach") and b) the "Wedge Exit" shot... with the cool little tower. The lower left corner represents Lando's approach. The port is also now on a separate acrylic mounting plate so it can be removed for servicing, just like the whole top can be removed (or actually flipped up like a car hood) for servicing. I will be retrofitting all of the original fluorescent lighting with LED lighting in the tunnel over the course of 2023... and hopefully building a few ships... or a fireball... hmm... might be the best way to burn out all of the dust and cobwebs from the innards.
A few tweaks and wrap-ups left this week, including attaching down all of the new 2023 tiles to their new module panels, then just need to build out the mount for my SUV and pack all of the modules up. Assuming I do not smash anything while test-loading it, going to attempt to bring the top detachable surface section to WF23 for the ROJ 40th. We will see if it survives the seven-hour trip... (both ways)... over the [WI/IL] border past O'Hare, around and below Chicago, and through the ever-notorious construction while making my way down past Indianapolis! Stay tuned... "Here goes nothing...!"
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