Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build - FINISHED! Page 3

[HughB]

Hi all,

First time caller, long time listener and all that . After a while away from the hobby, and six months or so researching on and off, I'm about to get stuck in to the Revell Germany Star Trek 2009/Into Darkness USS Enterprise kit. This will be the first kit I'll be lighting, and am hoping to get a nice display model out of it at the other end!

Thorst's thread on this very forum has been a great source of information and inspiration - I'll be attempting many of his modifications, and am also planning to use 0402 SMD LEDs for saucer lighting (on their way to me from a Chinese seller on eBay). I toyed with the idea of analogue circuitry for the strobes and anti-collision lighting, but after a bit of thought I've decided to use an Arduino. This should let me control the brightness of each group of lights (floods, demarkation, nav etc) using the PWM outputs. I want to be able to dial in the relative brightnesses, and avoid the thing looking like a Christmas tree decoration! As with the other firsts with this project, although I've used Arduino before, this'll be the first time I'm writing the software from scratch. I'll share the sketch once done in case it's of use to anyone.

I've also been mainlining TrekWorks and Lou "Aztek Dummy" Dalmaso's fantastic YouTube channels, and have a set of Orbital Drydock Azteking masks for when I come to that part of the build.

Since Thorst started his thread ParaGrafix have now released a set of photoetch parts for the kit. I'll be using these to add extra detail where I can. The set comes with a shuttle bay interior, but I'm not planning on using that just now. I may change my mind on that front later!

So. Intro and planning mostly done, I finally managed to cut some plastic this weekend. Here are the results of my styrene surgery...

Impulse deck opened up, and ParaGrafix brass part attached and blended in:



There's a bit more prime/fill/sand to do, but the ParaGrafix part looks lovely. I'll looking forward to seeing it with a couple of red LEDs behind it.

I also did some work on the secondary hull, opening up more holes for lighting with brass etch grills over them:



Again, fairly straightforward, and I think the grills are going to look nice with a little glimmer of light coming through (as seen on the blu-ray virtual tour on YouTube).

Finally, I tackled the recessed sections on the strongback, just below the dorsal on each side. These areas are flush on the kit, but should step down at the front and allow some light to spill up onto the strongback. This is the most hacky I've ever got with a kit and sheet styrene, and I was a bit nervous about it. It's still curing now, but I think, given some cleaning up, some filler and some sanding, it's going to look OK:



Next up: More plastic butchery, and I'm going to start prototyping some electronics.

Cheers,

Hugh

 

[thorst]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

Hugh,

this seems to be a fine start on this model! I'm looking forward to your updates! And I'm glad that my thread could help you a bit!

All the best!
Thorsten

 

[HughB]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

Thanks Thorsten, I can't tell you how helpful your thread's been already. I'm not sure I'll tackle all of the mods you did (I'm not the styrene warrior you clearly are), but I'll have a good try at most of them! How are you getting on with yours by the way?

 

[thorst]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

You just need to start with it. The deepest surgery was the one behind the deflector dish, and this was also pretty straight forward. Just give it a try!

Mine is still on hold, git distracted and now I find myself between much too much projects to continue the Big E again. I'm pretty scared to do the final assembly, but all sub-assemblies are done to 99%...

 

[Sean3z]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

Nice start HughB!

I'll be watching this thread closely (subscribed) as I've also just received my kit. It will be my first project of this magnitude (similarly inspired by thorst), so please feel obligated to point out any additional pain spots.

P.S: I really like the ParaGrafix parts.

 

[HughB]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

Thanks guys! Nothing much to report this evening, someone at work had birthday drinks and I didn't want to wield a file or an exacto blade after a few pints. I did manage to make a start on the Arduino sketch for the lighting, to the extent that I now have a breadboard with some blinking LEDs on it:

The sketch uses the PWM outputs to fade the pulsing strobe in and out. Now that I've got it to this point I'm going to spend some time working out the exact lighting timings with the virtual inspection tour and a stopwatch.

 

[HughB]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

The Arduino sketch code so far. It's not very efficient, and I want to remove the delays from the fade part since they'll stop other code from running. The circuit is really simple, an LED connected via a 220ohm resistor to pin 2 and another one to pin 3 (both PWM pins although only the pulsing strobe really needs one).

Edit to add: The code formatting is a bit messed up - sorry.

/* Enterprise Blinkies


Flashes and fades multiple LEDs in sequence, connected to PWM pins, to emulate the
strobe lights on the JJ Abrams Reboot starship enterprise.


created 2014
by Hugh Beauchamp


This code is in the public domain


*/


// set LED pins
const int doubleblink = 2;   //double blinking strobes on pin 2
const int pulse = 3;         //pulsing light on pin 3


// set variables
int blinkstate = LOW;


long previousMillis = 0;    // stores last time LED updated


long blinkDuration = 30;    // blinking strobe on time
long blinkInterval = 120;    // blinking strobe time between short blinks
long blinkWait = 3000;        // blinking strobe time between cycles
long pulseWait = 1500;        // pulsing strobe time between cycles
long pulseSpeed = 3;        // pulsing strobe delay for each fade level. Shorter times mean a faster fade
long pulseOn = 0;            // pulsing strobe time to hold at maximum brightness
int blinkno = 0;            // blink counter stores the number of elapsed flashes


int brightness = 0;            // how bright the pulse LED is
int maxbrightness = 255;    // what the maximum brightness of the pulsing strobe is
int fadeAmount = 5;            // how many points to fade the LED by




void setup() {
  
  pinMode (doubleblink, OUTPUT);
  pinMode (pulse, OUTPUT);
}


void loop() {
  
// set current time to time since sketch began running
    unsigned long currentMillis = millis();


// check if time elapsed is greater than strobe time between cycles
    if(currentMillis - previousMillis > blinkWait && blinkno == 0) {


        previousMillis = currentMillis;           // save the time the LED switched 

        blinkstate = HIGH;            // set LED state
   
        digitalWrite(doubleblink, blinkstate);         // set the LED
    
        blinkno = blinkno + 1;          // increment blink counter
    }
 
// check if time elapsed is greater than strobe on time
    if(currentMillis - previousMillis > blinkDuration && blinkno == 1) {
        previousMillis = currentMillis;   
        blinkstate = LOW;
        digitalWrite(doubleblink, blinkstate);
        blinkno = blinkno + 1;
    }
  
// check if time elapsed is greater than strobe interval
    if(currentMillis - previousMillis > blinkInterval && blinkno == 2) {
        previousMillis = currentMillis;   
        blinkstate = HIGH;
        digitalWrite(doubleblink, blinkstate);
        blinkno = blinkno + 1;
    }


// check if time elapsed is greater than strobe on time - might be able to reuse statement above
    if(currentMillis - previousMillis > blinkDuration && blinkno == 3) {
        previousMillis = currentMillis;   
        blinkstate = LOW;
        digitalWrite(doubleblink, blinkstate);
        blinkno = blinkno + 1;
    }
  
// check if time elapsed is greater than pulse interval  
    if(currentMillis - previousMillis > pulseWait && blinkno == 4) {
        // fade up pulse LED
        for(brightness = 0; brightness <=maxbrightness; brightness+=fadeAmount) {        
            analogWrite(pulse, brightness);           // set pulse LED brightness
            delay (pulseSpeed);                            // wait to see fade effect
        }
        delay (pulseOn);                                     // wait while LED is at maximum brightness
        // fade down pulse LED
        for(brightness = maxbrightness; brightness >=0; brightness-=fadeAmount) {
            analogWrite(pulse, brightness);
            delay (pulseSpeed);
        }  
        blinkno = 0;               // reset blink counter to zero
    }
}                                       // end of loop

 

[HughB]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

Last night's efforts were mostly focused on finishing off the modification to the recessed area on the engineering hull, sanding the putty applied on Sunday night, and adding back the little bit of trim in the middle with some 0.5 x 0.25mm styrene strip. After adding a coat of primer, I can see there are still a lot of high spots to sand down and the edges are nowhere near as crisp as I would like:



I've clearly got more sanding to do here - does anyone have any tips about getting nice clean edges in tight corners?

(I have heard the adage that the best way to feel bad about your models is to take photos and blow them up to maximum resolution by the way )

Cheers,

Hugh

 

[thorst]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

I had the same problem at these spots. I got it done using a fiber glass eraser (in German: Glasfaserradierer, Wikipedia has images), and strips of sandpaper which I pulled through the opening in front of the recessed area.

Good luck ;-)

 

[HughB]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

I got it done using a fiber glass eraser (in German: Glasfaserradierer, Wikipedia has images), and strips of sandpaper which I pulled through the opening in front of the recessed area.

Thanks! I've done quite a bit with the "strips of sandpaper" method - I almost wish I hadn't added the centre spine until after I'd finished sanding, but I guess it adds strength.

Is this the sort of thing you mean for glass fibre eraser? If so, Amazon Prime to the rescue!

 

[thorst]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

Yes, that is exactly what I have. You have to be careful with the dust created by the eraser, though. The fibers will break and result in small pieces which are like tiny needles. They penetrate your skin very easily. I recommend wearing a dust mask while sanding, and to remove the dust only with water, not with your fingers or by blowing them away. Nasty stuff.

 

[HughB]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

Thanks again Thorsten, the eraser should be arriving later today, and I'm fully equipped with dust masks. In the meantime, I took delivery of some 2N2222 transistors yesterday, so took the opportunity to check if I could drive multiple LEDs from my Arduino, running the transistors from the 5V rail.

The circuit I built is below:



...which, in real life, using the exact same Arduino sketch as before, looks like this:

The video makes it look like the double blinkies are coming on slightly out of sync with each other, but they're all being driven by the same pin, and in person they look perfectly in sync, so I think it's just a video artifact.

 

[HughB]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

So, this weekend, I have mostly been soldering SMD LEDs - my word is that a fiddly job! Goodness knows how many I pinged into the carpet, never to be seen again. I think the results are worth it though.

Something I haven't seen anyone else do on this model yet are the red and green port and starboard navigation lights. They aren't obvious, but if you look at the top-saucer view in the blu-ray special features, you can see them. They're very dim and subtle, but they are there, and I'm trying to replicate that by using PWM to dim them in the Arduino sketch.

The blu-ray also shows the demarcation lights to be a slightly warmer shade of white than the other floods, which are bluer. I'm trying to replicate this by using warm whites for the demarcation floods, and standard white for the rest. I think it's probably a little too warm, but there's not very much I can do about that. I haven't added any of the cool white lights yet.

Here's where I'm at:



Internal wiring uses magnet wire, and has a common ground. Resistors are mounted on little bits of prototype board:



I've also lightblocked the upper and lower saucer sections with two coats of black primer, and two coats of Tamiya flat white. Next up will be soldering leads onto approximately a million standard white SMD LEDs, and fitting the 1.8mm blinking LEDs.

I also did a bit more work on the mod to the engineering hull. I think it's looking neater:



That's all for the weekend folks!

 

[HughB]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

No pictures today due to finishing at about half midnight last night and needing to get up for work, and leaving my phone in the other room, but I've been drilling the holes the 1.8mm white LEDs for the strobes on the upper saucer. The plastic is actually quite thick here, so just a hole isn't enough to allow the dome of the LED to rise above the surface of the saucer (the LEDs have a raised 1.8mm dome on a larger rectangular part). I had to grind away a portion of the inside of the saucer behind each LED position, which now allows a very small dome to surface. I don't want them to look massive and out of scale, so I think this is OK. This obviously destroyed my light blocking behind this point. so I've touched up with some black enamel.

I've also drilled out the long windows in the spine going from the bridge to the back of the saucer, and am now wondering how to glaze these windows... the plastic is thick enough that just putting a bit of clear sheet behind won't look quite right. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't think leaving them empty is a the right solution, I'm looking for a diffuse blueish glow. Thorsten, if you're reading, how did you tackle this bit?

Cheers,

Hugh

 

[HughB]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

Hi all,

Last night I got the 1.8mm dome LEDs glued into position on the upper saucer, and wired up. I only had time for about an hour and a half's work, but I got them hooked up to the LED driving circuit for a test:

It's hard to express how satisfying this was to look at. I know it's just the saucer top, unpainted, without even all the lights fitted, but still. It was a nice moment. I'm still keen for any thoughts about how to glaze the long windows along the spine that I opened up, if anyone has any ideas!

Cheers!

Hugh

 

[tek2graphics]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

NICE!! :thumbsup

 

[HughB]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

Well, we are now up to 28 individual LEDs on the top of the saucer alone, 22 of which are SMDs. The rest of the ship has Far Fewer - 8 floods and 5 strobes on the saucer underside, 4 floods on the nacelles down the pylons, 1 strobe each on the top and bottom of the ship, and 4 more floods on the top of the spine. Obviously, I am omitting nacelle lighting, deflector lighting, impulse engines, and internal window and bridge lighting from this count. And the shuttlebay doors. And the torpedo launchers.

Am I being a bit silly here? Possibly.

Progress:

 

[propninja]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

Nice! Very Nice!

 

[RJBaxter3]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

Very nice. Thanks for the sketch.

 

[HughB]

Re: Star Trek (2009) USS Enterprise Revell kit build

Very nice. Thanks for the sketch.

No problem! It's very much still a work in progress as I add in extra lighting circuits - I've got some motor control stuff to do too, for the Bussard Collectors, and there will be some switching to cycle through various display modes. I will post the whole thing when it's done, in case it's useful.