Mid Grade Phaser project

[Chrisisall]

Just snagged an RJS midgrade kit with metal parts.
Yeah, I know I said I was done doing phasers after my last hero, but this popped up and I couldn't resist making one last perfect midgrade (my Ron Tracey is nice & all, but it was just a 'throw together').
This kit is so nice! The 1/350 Enterprise I was about to finish will just have to wait a week or so, this is exciting!
Too late tonight to do much with it, but stay tuned, boppers!

 

[Gregatron]

Having built one of these, myself, I can concur that it’s very nice.

 

[Chrisisall]

Having built one of these, myself, I can concur that it’s very nice.

Pictures please?

 

[Gregatron]

Pictures please?

With my hero and P1 midgrade.

 

[Chrisisall]

Those look great! Is that hero from a kit?

I just washed it all, and cut the holes I need with an xacto knife, and was about to super gel glue them together, but everything has to be aligned so finely I think I'll need epoxy instead. Super glue gives no room for subtle re-alignment after the surfaces touch...

 

[Gregatron]

Those look great! Is that hero from a kit?

I just washed it all, and cut the holes I need with an xacto knife, and was about to super gel glue them together, but everything has to be aligned so finely I think I'll need epoxy instead. Super glue gives no room for subtle re-alignment after the surfaces touch...
View attachment 1760652View attachment 1760653View attachment 1760654

The hero is a John Long P1, with the P2 Frankesteined together from various randomly-sourced parts—Sporak shells, etc.

 

[Chrisisall]

The hero is a John Long P1, with the P2 Frankesteined together from various randomly-sourced parts—Sporak shells, etc.

Well done!!!!!

 

[Chrisisall]

I've never worked with fiberglass before, so I may be taking an unconventional route here.
I rubber banded the P2 halves together tightly, and made sure they were lined up just right, then hot glued them together from the inside. this took a while as I had to rotate it 5 times for the glue pools not to run. The handle & the P1 were super glued and I used tape to align the back ends before I slapped them together with like 2 seconds to properly fit them together. I was successful. Don't try this at home, kids. Then I used epoxy putty to fill a seam on the P1 (I may have gone overboard here, but I'd rather have too much to work than not enough), and build up the handle length (personal preference- I like the long handle on the mid grade Parmen gave us a perfect side view of).
Tomorrow I don the mask & do the dreaded sanding....

 

[Captain Dunsel]

I've never worked with fiberglass before, so I may be taking an unconventional route here.
I rubber banded the P2 halves together tightly, and made sure they were lined up just right, then hot glued them together from the inside. this took a while as I had to rotate it 5 times for the glue pools not to run. The handle & the P1 were super glued and I used tape to align the back ends before I slapped them together with like 2 seconds to properly fit them together. I was successful. Don't try this at home, kids. Then I used epoxy putty to fill a seam on the P1 (I may have gone overboard here, but I'd rather have too much to work than not enough), and build up the handle length (personal preference- I like the long handle on the mid grade Parmen gave us a perfect side view of).
Tomorrow I don the mask & do the dreaded sanding.... View attachment 1760979View attachment 1760980View attachment 1760981View attachment 1760982

If you have never worked with fiberglass before, make sure that you are masked-up whenever you are sanding your parts…

 

[Chrisisall]

If you have never worked with fiberglass before, make sure that you are masked-up whenever you are sanding your parts…

Thanks! Yeah, a friend at work who knows auto body guys said I should either mask up before I sand or write a will....

 

[Leinads]

Uh oh. You know this spells trouble? You will look back on this project as the ‘gateway drug’ that pushed you into full hero territory.

 

[Chrisisall]

Uh oh. You know this spells trouble? You will look back on this project as the ‘gateway drug’ that pushed you into full hero territory.

No, this is my last one. Never again.

 

[Chrisisall]

I started sanding the epoxy putty but I ran out of sandpaper!! Epoxy putty just eats that stuff up.
Back to Loews tomorrow.
I didn't sand much fiberglass, but what I did sand of it was really easy. It was almost like sanding resin...

 

[Leinads]

You made a lot of progress today! This is such a cool project!

 

[Gregatron]

The midgrades are indeed a lot of fun. No headaches regarding working parts. Just glue, fill, and paint, and you have a phaser.

 

[Chrisisall]

Picture update on the RJS TOS phaser mid- grade kit I'm working on:
Priming is next.

 

[Leinads]

Wow you’ve done a beautiful job sanding these down!

 

[Chrisisall]

Wow you’ve done a beautiful job sanding these down!

You speak too soon. Priming may tell another story. But maybe not...

 

[Captain Dunsel]

You speak too soon. Priming may tell another story. But maybe not...

Out of curiosity…can you post a side by side picture of the Phaser One in your midgrade kit next to the Phaser One from your last hero build?

There’s something I would like to see…

 

[Chrisisall]

Out of curiosity…can you post a side by side picture of the Phaser One in your midgrade kit next to the Phaser One from your last hero build?

There’s something I would like to see…

Here ya go- the shape & length are clearly different, but the middies were 1/4 inch longer... at least, that's my understanding.