Nostromo Emergency Destruction System. The big build

By the way, would somebody please tell me how to post photographs that are larger than the thumbnails I'm posting at the moment?

I had the same problem man. If you have a Flicker account, kodak gallery, etc, then you can copy the URL address from images on those sites by right clicking, then while you are on this site, select the insert image (looks like a little picture of a mountain, yellow background.) Then just paste the URL address you copied from you image, and you are good to go.

Love the build by the way, very cool. I have always wanted to build this prop, when you are ready to cast the pieces and sell them, sign me up!
 
Thanks for the advice Fuzzual, I'll give it try.
Hadn't considered selling any parts but if I do your on the list! :thumbsup
 
Ian%20Wingrove-auto%20destruct02.jpg


They look like Frosted BEER Mugs. With stove burners on them.
 
Thanks for the photos guys.:thumbsup
The do look like beer mugs and sugar containers but they're just to big at around 160mm / 6 1/4'' diameter.
What does show up in the photo is that the lid is about 12mm smaller each side than the opening structure, making quite a sloppy fit!
 
Sorry it's been a while but I've had a really busy time at work and I’ve had to spend all my time working on 'real' modelmaking work.
Anyway we're still busy (a good thing in these difficult times) but finally I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time on the panel.

Although I wasn’t able to do any physical work, I did manage from time to time to work on the graphics for the keypads.
Using screen grabs and through watching the blue-ray over and over again I’ve managed to work out almost exactly the lower and middle layouts.

The top one is trickier as there aren’t any really good close-up shots other than the bottom right hand corner.
Anyway I’m hoping a RPF genius will be able to enhance what’s available and (please) give me a crystal clear shot just like they do in CSI! Failing that I’ll make it up using my modelmakers intuition.

So what have I’ve actually produced?
The expensive Perspex tube I’d bought ages ago was still standing in the workshop in two huge cardboard tubes, so I thought I’d better start by building one of the rising sections to see how it would look.
There are three different sizes of tube used;
Outer case - 160mm diameter,
Internal clusters - 25mm diameter
Middle - 90mm diameter

Cutting tube is one of those tasks that if not done properly can result in your expensive purchase exploding all over the workshop! - I know from experience!
With the tubes safely cut on the saw, I turned my attention to the discs which hold them all together.
For these I drew up a design and had the machine cut them.
There was a bit of trial and error as I worked out what tolerance the holes needed to be in order to allow the tubes to pass without binding or being too loose.
The end result looks pretty good, and I’m really looking forward to when I have the opportunity to try lighting them.

With the tube worked out I moved back to the ‘clutch plate’ type discs with all the bolts on.
Again from my drawing I had the machine cut out the basic shapes ready for me to clean up and detail.
I used modelboard for the discs as it machines easily and produces a great finish!
As you can see from the photograph even with the extraction working there was still a lot of swarf that got away!

As I’m treating everything as a prototype at the moment I’m not actually finishing anything completely just in case I’m not happy with it later.
I next had a go at the lower inner frame using 25mm Mdf.
I made it from lots of separate pieces just so that everything remained nice and crisp and square.
I know I could have cut it out of one piece but the thought of all that jig sawing and sanding left me cold!

So that’s where I am so far
Hopefully I’ll be able to maintain the momentum and have more to show in the not too distant future.

Phil
 
Thanks Leigh,
I've already got some, but thanks for thinking of me.
I'm hoping to use one full piece made into a circle rather than the multiple chopped up pieces they used on the original - I think it will look better.
 
Hey Stormy 320,

The machine I was referring to is my cnc router.
It’s probably the best pieces of equipment I’ve ever owned and probably the most expensive.
We use it mainly for our architectural models - for cutting out the multiple windows in buildings.

It basically cuts what you draw in a Cad programme.
We generally use cutters between 0.5mm and 6mm diameter, but when I cut the discs I used a 19mm diameter cutter.
To hold the material in place whilst cutting, the machine has a built in vacuum bed which sucks the material down tight and doesn’t allow it to move.
The machine will cut plastics, Mdf / timber, resin, foam and most non ferrous metals. It won’t cut steel.

When cutting out very small and delicate parts we also tend to glue the material down using a non permanent aerosol adhesive called Spray Mount.
If we don’t do this the components either get sucked up the swarf extractor or shoot of the machine never to be seen again!!

It’s a brilliant piece of kit and I don’t know how we’d manage without it!
 
I managed to get a bit more work done today on the unit.
Only managed a couple of bits but it felt quite productive never the less.

I thought I’d do a bit more of the structure so I made the lower panel - the one with the holes for the rising tubes and the keypad cutouts.

I used a sheet of 12mm Mdf for the panel.
As the bed on my cnc isn’t big enough to accept the panel at one time, I cut the tube and keypad holes first, before moving the board along the machine bed to a pre-set mark, before making the final two cuts.
Happy with the result I assembled it with the raised section and it looked pretty good.

The next time I get to work on this I’m going to concentrate on producing the rest of the casing.
I haven’t quite decided what the overall height should be yet.
In the film it’s not very tall, and I’m sure the original was built on a raised stage as after studying all the references I’ve got, I’m not sure that there’s enough depth in the unit to accommodate the rising tubes and mechanism without there being holes in the floor beneath it.

The other thing that perplexes me is that the working side buts up against a raised section of flooring, resulting in Ripley having to squat down in order to operate it.
You’d have thought that they’d have turned the unit through 180 degrees so that she was a bit more comfortable and not to have the additional worry of getting cramp just before detonating an M Class Star Freighter!

The other part I managed to do was the clear Perspex lower section of the keypad.
Once again I did them on the cnc. Next task is to scrape and sand the edges of the Perspex smooth before building the keypad itself.

Last task of the day was to make sure the bits I’d previously made fitted in the holes – fortunately they did!

Hopefully more soon!
 
Not only a unique choice for a build, but a really amazing piece of craftsmanship. I'm looking forward to seeing this completed.
 
Stunning progress. I love your solution for the tubes, never got that far in the thinking on mine. Are you going to "frost" coat them?
 

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