this is one of these moments I live for.
A tiny detail discovered, that makes virtually zero difference in the final outcome, but which lets me get into the heads of the original set designers and builders.
The three main panels on the crash-couch have always been a bit of a mystery to me. If they followed the shape of the crash-couch's frame, they would be curved panels on a roughly 50° incline. Not exactly the easiest shape to glue things to, such as backlight square buttons or rocker-switch molds (let alone the classic white piping, am I right Sofaking?)
so here's what I discovered. Each of the three panels is made up of two completely flat panels, set into the curved framework of the crash-couch.
how did I discover this?
when I was preparing to replicate the panel layouts, my first step was to project them onto a flat surface. I had expected the top edge of each panel to be a curved shape, but instead each one had a seemingly strange chevron shaped top edge.
and, since I know geometry in three dimensions so well (humble pause), I immediately understood that only a pair of planes, with curved top edges, which intersected the broader curvature of the couch frame, could explain what I was seeing.
so I built it, rendered it, and lo and behold,
you absolutely cannot tell that anything I described is going on!
again, this is why this is a moment I live for. It's basically something only me, you, and the original builders know, but also something that means completely jack. No joke guys, this is what the RPF is all about, in my opinion. I love it!