"2001: A Space Odyssey" Discovery Build

Well, you're making good progress I see; as for the color of all of the models used in the original movie, you're gonna have to paint it gray (that's what I did with my 2001 Space Station). If you want, you can also search the pics of the original Aries-1B that was sold in auction several months ago and photographed at length by Gene and Andre, here at the RPF.
Gray was used to make sure that those brutes (name of some of the lights being used to film the models) weren't washing all the details away (+ other camera/practical tricks that are too long to explain here).
Eager to see your next update.


Thank you for the information. I will go with a light gray. Since I'll be putting a lot into this model, I might finally break down and buy an airbrush. I had been planning on just priming and then using a brush, but this seems like it deserves better.


As a quick update, I got the last of the panels for the MPDD printed tonight. With a little sanding they seem to be fitting pretty well. I'm printing two more support pieces to try to get just a tiny bit better fit.

I've also decided that I'm going to use hot glue to kind of "tack" the sides to the support pieces...basically just to get everything together. After I do that and I'm sure the other pieces will go onto the frame well, I'll reinforce those joints with two part epoxy. The epoxy should be able to seep into the joint a little and when brushed into the "corners" I think it should end up providing plenty of strength. I will then use the epoxy to fix the top and bottom panels, and the front and rear pieces. It should do a little bit of gap filling, and it will give me a few minutes to make sure things are placed correctly.
 
I used a combination of very light gray with a mix of graphite and Mac make-up;) Better not use a brush; spray or airbrushing should do the trick
 
Don't use solid rod for the armature. Use heavy-wall tube (brass or stainless steel) as it's much stiffer and will resist bending better. Even then, this model is very long and it's likely to need more than one vertical support to keep it from sagging. :)
 
I used a combination of very light gray with a mix of graphite and Mac make-up;) Better not use a brush; spray or airbrushing should do the trick

Okay. I will start keeping my eyes open for a good deal on a basic airbrush setup and a compressor. I don't really build models all too often, but it would probably come in handy with my RC stuff as well. I also have been doing a lot more painting of my 3D printed doohickeys, so I can use it on them as well.

I'm not sure whether I should plan on doing any OTHER detail work to it...it seems like most of the shots show it to be almost one color completely, other than the few parts that are CLEARLY different colors.

Don't use solid rod for the armature. Use heavy-wall tube (brass or stainless steel) as it's much stiffer and will resist bending better. Even then, this model is very long and it's likely to need more than one vertical support to keep it from sagging. :)

A quick Google search doesn't come up with any 1/4" heavy wall tube. Do they even make tubing in that small of a size?? The model's artist used 1/4" steel rod and it came out really well...as have a few of the other builds of it that I've seen. I will keep looking for the tubing before I order the solid rod, though.
 
Solid rod is surprisingly easy to bend -- especially when you have a long length of it.

K&S makes brass tubing in both thin-wall and heavy-wall (obviously, get the heavy-wall stuff). Some well-stocked hardware stores carry it:

http://www.acehardware.com/product/..._clickid=100e38be-0eb9-f149-7b5d-00001946917c

Also available from OnlineMetals.com:

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=1541&step=4&showunits=inches&id=84&top_cat=79

If you can find it in stainless steel, that should be even stronger.
 
Solid rod is surprisingly easy to bend -- especially when you have a long length of it.

K&S makes brass tubing in both thin-wall and heavy-wall (obviously, get the heavy-wall stuff). Some well-stocked hardware stores carry it:

http://www.acehardware.com/product/..._clickid=100e38be-0eb9-f149-7b5d-00001946917c

Also available from OnlineMetals.com:

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=1541&step=4&showunits=inches&id=84&top_cat=79

If you can find it in stainless steel, that should be even stronger.

Great thanks!!

The OnlineMetals has the tubing for only a few bucks more than the rod I found was, but shipping is a few bucks less so it's basically the same price!
 
I made some good progress today. I tacked the supports to the side pieces with just a dab of hot glue. That let me make sure everything fit together well.

Next, I used two part epoxy to reinforce all of those joints. I applied it with a brush which allowed me to get it down into the crevices well. After several hours of curing (the epoxy is cured enough to handle in about an hour) the joints were well secured. I then used the epoxy to attach the aft portion of the MPDD. That went on well and after a few hours was nice and secure.

11_zpssic4h6bf.jpg


Next, I sanded the front of the entire piece, and then attached the fore piece of the MPDD. I didn't get a picture of just this, because I was on to the next step...

I test fit the top two panels to the drive, and was happy with the result. I then glued these pieces together with CA...I figured it would be nice as one single panel and would be easier to hook to the entire unit. After letting that set, I made sure the pieces all fit together well, and then went ahead and used the epoxy to seal it in place. A bunch of rubber bands helped with making sure that the entire piece was held together correctly.

10_zpsbzng11v3.jpg


The gaps aren't nearly as noticeable in person as they are in the photos, however, I feel like I probably will end up trying to fill them in some way. I've read that Green Stuff (Kneadatite?) can be rolled into very, very thin strands...so this may end up being a good option for this project...I can get several thin strands and put them in place, then use a sculpting tool to scrape off any excess before the Green Stuff sets, allowing it to show up in a way that minimizes the difference in textures between the printed parts and the Green Stuff.

While all of that was sitting, I went ahead and printed the cargo pods that go along the entire length of the ship. Well, three of them. There's a total of, I think, 33 of these that will end up being printed. I had thought that they would take a long time to print, but they actually went fairly quickly...because they're much smaller than I figured they would be.

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Here's a picture of them with a standard glue stick to illustrate the size of them.

8_zps8iiowuut.jpg


After printing those out, I printed the "nut" pieces that will hold them in place. They printed well, but I ended up looking at a remixed version of these parts that will do a better job of holding these cargo pieces in place. I think I'll be using the remixed parts going forward, and most likely I'll be using the epoxy to hold the pieces together. I think, though, that I will be looking into getting that rod first...I'd like to be able to have the rod actually running through the nuts before gluing the cargo pods to them. This will help me make sure that they are completely flat and centered.

Overall, I'm happy with the progress. I fretted and fretted over the fit of the panels...and ultimately just decided that I was going to have to glue it together and see how it fit. The rough fits were all coming in just fine, but with a bit of pressure applied in one spot or another, it would render the whole thing just a mess. Of course, the pressure was only there because I would be squeezing on one part of the model or another, just to see how that impacted the fit of the whole thing.

I am printing another front plate for the bottom of the MPDD. I'm printing it very slightly thinner than the one I have now, so that I can hope to get it to lay flatter when it's assembled. The one I have works well, but I thought I might be able to get it just a BIT better by having one ever so slightly thinner. That part should be done printing in an hour or so, so I'll be able to see how that goes.

My next steps, other than continuing to print the cargo pods, is to put some of the epoxy on the inside of the MPDD to help secure the panels that I put on it today. Of course, I will not be able to do that with the OTHER side panels due to the fact that the entire thing will be enclosed...but the panels on the other side seem to fit a bit better, so I don't think they'll need any reinforcing at the joints. It is also possible that I COULD just use some hot glue to hold these panels in place, and have that be the top of the ship...this way if I ever needed to, I could peel them off and work inside of the MPDD if need be. I also thought about possible holding off on gluing these on until I'm completely done with the model...that way I can easily see the tube when I'm installing it for support, and not have to worry about trying to jam it in there blindly, and possibly damaging something.
 
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Coming along fine...you know, any model has its level of blood, sweat and tears;) It's looking good so far and eager to see your next update. I'm really waiting for the main command module and to see how everything is going to fit on that piece.
 
Could you do it in two pieces, split along the 'Equator' line?


Possibly. That might create a lot more finishing work than the single piece requires, considering how these prints like to warp just a tad.

I will try doing it in one piece first, and save other options for later if need be.
 
Possibly. That might create a lot more finishing work than the single piece requires, considering how these prints like to warp just a tad.

I will try doing it in one piece first, and save other options for later if need be.

I see you've started it already, fingers crossed for you!
 
Engine module is looking fairly good (as you said: work in progress) Fingers crossed for the Command Module;)

I see you've started it already, fingers crossed for you!


Thanks for the kind thoughts, guys.

After nearly 22 hours...

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1_zpsda2mawbh.jpg




It came out really well. The photos don't do it justice...I had another light on in the room and didn't realize that it was creating quite a bit of glare. The detail on it is pretty solid. I think after some primer and paint it will look really good, especially from just a few feet away. Up close you'll probably still be able to make out the print lines, but I'm planning on hanging this model from the ceiling in my media room, so it will be admired from a few feet away no matter what.

I'm happy with the results...

Now it's on to printing the bajillion other little small pieces!!!!

I'll be ordering my metal tubing probably tonight...I'd like to be able to make sure that things fit as I print them...and if they need to be adjusted I can do that on the fly, instead of getting it all done then realizing that things don't fit.
 
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Well, that didn't come out too bad:) Are you gonna use acetone to remove the lines? As for the tube, I don't think that, at that scale, you'll need some monster tube to hold the model.
What's the weight so far?
 
Acetone doesn't work on PLA. :(

The best ways to smooth it out are:
A. Use a TON of epoxy, and coat every square inch of every piece. Smooths it out perfectly because of the self leveling properties of the goop. The problem with it is if you end up with areas of the epoxy that weren't mixed really well it can take a LOOOOONG time to cure. I have a Xenomorph chestburster that didn't cure for, literally, about four months in one spot.
B. Use a good quality wood filler, then sand it smooth. It's really laborious, and with all the tiny details on this piece I'm not sure it's the best choice.

Honestly when i decided to start this project i told myself myself I wouldn't be too concerned with print lines...the epoxy method has let me down before and I don't trust doing it to this model, and the filler method ends up leaving trace amounts of lines anyway. So for now I'm planning on just printing, assembling, and painting. Down the road when I pony up for an SLA machine I'll print another one and not be concerned with lines.

Weight is pretty low. Everything is basically hollow, so there's not much to it. I planned on hanging in two points, so I think really any "spine" will suffice.
 
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