Here Goes Something Awesome!

[Spellbinder99]

Gary, honestly you don't need CA for this kit and it is crap for the application anyway as it is great in tension but lousy in shear and you have to put a fair amount of grunt into fitting some of the parts, but they do get there.

I have fully finished the kit, gluing everything inplace, with a combination of tube glue for the alignment pins ( first time in about 15 years) and Tamiya Extra Thin Cement for the rest of the assembly.
I now have a model that has completely rigid pylons that do not even move under the weight of the nacelles and barely move when twisted with your hands, a secondary hull that cannot be distorted no matter how much you squeeze and wrench with both hands, a dish that does not wobble or move at all on the connecting neck and can be held by the front lip of the dish and support the entire weight of the model without the joint even creaking or moving.

All this with zero added reinforcement.

As you well know with your awesome R2 projects among others, the underlying proper construction techniques must be carried out to ensure structural strength.

I am sure a lot of people are madly adding tubing into the pylons and trying to work out now to bolt the saucer onto the neck, but I can assure everyone that if the kit is properly glued together, it does not even come close to needing such things.

Cheers

Tony

 

[xaoslord]

Originally posted by LastBattlestar@May 7 2005, 01:17 PM

By your command:

http://www.olsenart.com/strek.html

You're gonna love this article.

Mike, Oz.

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Thanks for this. I've been looking for this info.

 

[Rhett J Martin]

Need some help guys. my first paint test on the nacelle grills(blue and black) did not go well. I washed, masked and primed, but no sharp paint lines. Any suggestions??? thanks..

 

[Bryancd]

Check out my post on Page 4, Rhett. There's some description and a link to the HobbyTalk Forum on how to do the grills to make that cool effect.

 

[Rhett J Martin]

UUghghhhh . . .anyone care if i take a break for a few days??? My hands have crampped up. :unsure

 

[Bryancd]

Did those instructions help at all?

 

[Rhett J Martin]

nah. It's not very specific on how he kept the paint sharp. i think the best course of action is to clean the table, organize the kits, and reattack on monday. then i can get a fresh perspective, and maybe some fresh energy to get this sucker closed up.

 

[Gary Weaver II]

Are you painting the BACK of the warp grill? If so why not just skip the painting entirely and use thin pinstriping or chartpack tape?

-Gary

 

[Rhett J Martin]

Good idea. I thnik I'm just tired, that's all. Not thinking the problem through. Afterall, cause of sites like yours Gary, I have this to build for myself...
B)

"I'm Doc Brown, b*tch..."

(Sorry B.)

 

[Bryancd]

Dude. No BTTF in my build-up thread........

 

[Gary Weaver II]

Holy crap.... Just what in the hell did that start out as? If thats one of the 1/24 Aoshima or Polar Lights models I'm extremely impressed. Those door openings look PERFECT.

That rear engine deck is all sorts of wrong though The BTTF Car doesn't use the stock engine cover and instead a custom cover was made from 1/8 Aluminum.

end hijack

-Gary

 

[Rhett J Martin]

Yes, rightly so . . . This should make up for the hitchhike.

The lighting design is very simple. As much as everyone is swearing by LEDS, I've discovered "Miniatronics Inc." They specialize in train lighting, but, according to there operators, model lighting is a hot topic around their office. On this simple little diagram, the yellow lights are placed in the obvious "spots" except for under the pylons. That light spot will be done with fiber optics. The reds are the blinkers, and these guys make two great boards, one a single, another a double, and with a typical train dial, the speed can be controled i.e. power distrobution(so you can have all the different speeds of blinking). There is plenty of room in the interior for the boards(three plenty). Here's the layout gang, and keep in mind, much can be accomplished with strategic chrome foil.

Neck: Two spots under the clear peices, block them out and place them well so that you get a good spot and no leaks. One light diagnaly in the middle of the neck. Hold in place with metal pipe and put it in between where (this is really geeky) the turboshaft would be , and put a long strip of chrome tape along there, it bounces nicely. Don't forget to place some fiberoptic in the docking ports for that detailed look.

Shuttlebay: Fiberoptics all along the back walls, in blue(check reference or dvd you'll see). One light on the back top cargo bay, one in the floor of the midsection elevator (much brighter than on top), and on the big section landing bay, put a light in the back, on top, and seal it in with it's own roof and chrome. leave the back open and laydown some transparent red on the taillights, but watch for leaks.

Dish: One blue light in the center.

Nacelles: Two blue lights spotting in on each other. One light behind the two tip spots, block it off, then lead some fiberoptics to the back fin spots and watch for leaks. Also, build a shorter lead to the dull spot on the outer cooling fins( long black part). And a blinker on the back..

Hull: Lots of chrome tape. Place in a staggering pattern where you can along the interior and outer shuttle bay. Place two lights on both sides, right under where the arrowhead decal will go. this light should reflect all along the hull(like the Bandi job). Leave the ceiling of the arboretum open an throw some clear blue on it, let the light do the rest. The spot lights are obvious. Use fiber optics for the underside, they have less light. Place boards for the blinkers where you feel comfortable. There's plenty of room.

Most of the lights will have lamp shades on them. These are little steel and brass "bowls" that direct the light( they are usually street lamps, billboards lamp, etc.) They work well. So that's the lights, and a few weeks, we'll have a hull.

Now I have to see how we can spot those saucer lights.

 

[Bryancd]

That looks great, Rhett. Very impressive and well done on the homework, I know lighting is new for you and you are doing an excpetional job, my friend. keep upi the good work.

 

[8 perf]

Such awsome detail on all this. I have been keeping tabs, since at this point I'm scared out of my wits to even try this at the moment.
Excellent work on the spots outside the hull. Even more so since there were no actual spots in the filming model but were projected from off camera and tracked during the fx shot using motion control. (so says my behind the scenes brochure anyway).

Eagerly awaiting a finished and lit model to drool over....................

 

[Mechinyun]

Originally posted by 8 perf@Jun 27 2005, 09:35 PM
Such awsome detail on all this.  I have been keeping tabs, since at this point I'm scared out of my wits to even try this at the moment.
Excellent work on the spots outside the hull.  Even more so since there were no actual spots in the filming model but were projected from off camera and tracked during the fx shot using motion control.  (so says my behind the scenes brochure anyway).

Eagerly awaiting a finished and lit model to drool over....................

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The enteprise refit had all internal lighting, including the spots

Dental mirrors were used to bounce light for the scenes in the dry dock in TMP, in space dock for STIII and only for a few tricky areas on the ship, such as the registry on the fantail.

Here is an example of the dental mirrors in use during the TMP drydock scene.

[attachmentid=2504][attachmentid=2504]

 

[Rhett J Martin]

i've been thinking about those spots, and I may have something to show for it next week. or not . . .who knows . . .

 

[Studio Stasis]

How did they do the saucer ones though? They arent consistant in every shot.

 

[Rhett J Martin]

Hiya all. Thanks for hangin' around as I took the week to try and get a new job. I'm having better luck with E. Lighting has begun and the results have been . . . so far so good. I've also redone the shuttle bay, and have added some more subtle detail (decals, railings) so that it looks smaller (like a minature). I've got the shuttle craft painted, as well as the Bumblebees. I've strayed from movie accuracy (TMP) a little and gone with the battleship deck look, with everything kinda parked. I've also done a cleaner version of the arboretum, making it easier to see throught the windows.

The sodering for the E has taken up alot of time. Even with the reduced lighting scheme, each light still has two wires per bulb, and to run the four bulbs out of each nacelle. Twenty feet of wire had to be used between the two, and I haven't even pulled it through the hull into the base yet.

Painting has also taken a run at a little more detail. With that big 46 incher over there, I've got alot to work up to. I'll be showing off the details a little later. Here's a few photos and the first test shot of the nacelle blue. Bear in mind, there's just a straight hook up to the power, no dial yet, or soft filter, so it looks really freakin' bright. I used Tamiya clear blue and some black vinyl striping to keep out light. I'm not worried about spreading the light, just waiting for the parts for the dial(to control voltage, giving a softer glow). See you soon.

 

[Bryancd]

That hangar deck looks incredible.

 

[Rhett J Martin]

thank you..

Originally posted by Bryancd@Jul 7 2005, 12:24 PM
That hangar deck looks incredible.

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