Hi Gang,
I'm LONG overdue for that "End of the Weekend" Update! Unfortunately, the laser cutter is STILL acting up. We're not sure if its weather related or perhaps water/cooling (which coincides with the weather. But the hotter it is, the less she works. I was having some serious issues over the last few days. We'll figure it out. Anywho...
I hope you enjoy the update!
I really wanted to get to further along with the 1/6th Nav Chair but I can't find a few plastic pieces I ordered so... I only worked the base
The post looks really dinky. It's not exactly too scale but it does look neat!
I FINALLY wrestled the large "corrugated" floor mats, which had warped from the heat of the laser cutter, into shape and got them adhered in place
After that I adhered the side greeblies and headrest to the nav chairs
I figure a good cleaning and one more shot of black before a layer of satin clear to seal everything in place
You would be amazed how many little creatures have made their home inside the cockpit
It's so weird looking knowing this is 1/4 scale
I then worked on the center console
I love filler...
Most of the time...
Getting there
This would make a cool kit!
Painted the instrument panel interiors black - I might add reflective tape to help spread out the illumination when back lit
I resized the .25" tiles to fit snug
You guys/gals HAVE to see this backlit!
Note the size difference
Another part of the console getting some attention
Laser cut acrylic parts
Primer - still a few more bits to add
Speaking of back lighting...
It has the exact look and feel of the original 1" tiles
My Fav
I then worked on the Nav Computer
Note all the tabs to keep all the panels in place
Filler - gotta smooth out the tab lines
Shelf detail
When I first placed the nav chair next to the computer I thought "... OH NO! The scale is wrong..." Turns out the chair looks rather tiny next to the computer
Primer!
UGH... I tried to use the least amount of tabs as possible for this exact reason!
Shelf details
More shelf details
The shelf is really deep... but the measurements are accurate!
The down side to NOT having tabs are having to create support brackets to keep panels from drooping
Tape helps too
Underside of the shelf housing
I think this is round 3 or 4 of primer
Shelf dry fit in place
UGH... dang tabs
OH LOOK! Filler
Shelf dry fit in place. It's not as far out as it needs to be
End cap details now in place
More filler... more primer...
I laser cut a 1/16th sheet of acrylic, adhered to the top and added filler. This SHOULD help with the Tabs vs Filler issue I'm having
More sanding and filler
Getting close! But still need a few more panel faces cut and adhered
UGH
And more filler
Now on to the highlight of the build... So Far! Opera Scot worked like mad to get these nose parts to align to the 28". Check it out!
Console platform
A nose takes shape!
Opera Scot added the Volvo panels to the top - I wound up having to remove these parts of the nose in order to align the base structure
We DEF ran into some issues along the way. It can't be smooth sailing all the time - the shelves didn't align
I might remove the shelves from the main body and redo. I'm just not sure how much damage/chaos (if any) I'll create
After mod'ing the frame to remove the Volvo panels... I marched forward
Basic frame
So far so good...
The lower console base might need to be raised just a bit higher in order to clear the shelves
I added some extra support to the underside
Better - not much sag
Temp added the floor panels - most of these have to be recut and/or sanded/mod'd in order to fit perfectly
But it looks cool!
They will also get the "corrugated" mat look
Looking up from the underside
I found some scrap MDF and cut a temp window - wanted to see how bad the nose cone looked with the 28" diam
I think it works!
The main window also pokes forward a little bit so I dont think it's going to be that bad?
I think its going to work!
I then laser cut these oddly shaped pieces - laser cutter worked today but I had to cut the speeds in HALF to what they were prior to alignment
I take this pile of goodness and...
Adhere a few parts together like this
Finish it off like this
Add some filler to the inside
I think that's a window!
I then laser cut the outer ring and adhered the parts together for rigidity
So cool looking!
More filler... of course
And this... a window, a console, a door and a Nav Computer, is...
Where we are!
Stay Tuned for more!