OK, while yesterday I mostly got the digital files prepped for upload, this evening I went back to working on the trench support frame. I'm quite pleased with how it's been going, for the most part. It's made out of .060" styrene, which is very nice to work with - it's entirely hand made. While I've mocked it up on the computer to get a rough idea of what to do, there's been no cutter involved - just a knife, a straight edge, calipers (these have been critical!) Tamiya Extra Thin, and the machinist's blocks to keep everything square.
As I've seen how well the frame goes together, my ambitions....have grown
.
While I was first just going to have a basic three-quarter trench (just the bottom, end wall, and one side wall, I'm now building something with sub-structure as well (which will hide the battery pack for the LED lighting), a top surface of tiles, and a removable second side wall. This will make it displayable in several ways (including vertically -- it stands up quite nicely on a shelf).
To explain better, some pictures:
First. here's the main three-quarter trench part, with the top surface as well. (the cutout will eventually have a back wall).
Here's what's now a full trench, with the second side wall and surface that lines up with it:
Naturally....that's going to be removable.
I'm going to build some sub-structure on both sides, with some magnets to attach them together, and channels for alignment. Here's the possibility for displaying it vertically:
And looking down the trench - this should make for some fun photography when it's done.
I've basically been improvising the structure as I go, so it definitely could have been constructed more simply. Maybe if I ever do another it will. But it's solid and well-aligned.
Next up I'm working on the sub-structure and the attachment mechanism, before making some more tiles and covering the surface. It's going to take a lot more to greeble the inside now!