Orbital Drydock
Active Member
Oh those silly little ground pins. Anytime
When you switch over to the power supply, you'll definitely want those caps on the 7805. Battery power is already DC, but the power supply is AC rectified with hiccups.
USS Enterprise (2009) (Revell) review and build
- Thread starter thorst
- Start date
Oh those silly little ground pins. Anytime
When you switch over to the power supply, you'll definitely want those caps on the 7805. Battery power is already DC, but the power supply is AC rectified with hiccups.
Orbital Drydock
Active Member
You're doing amazing work, keep it up!!
Whenever we push our own limits, great things will happen!!
Today it was time to lightblock the remaining parts. After two layers of Tamiya surface primer, one layer of Revell primer (only for the inside because of the grainy surface) I sprayed on a layer of Vallejo chrome, followed by some white in the area of the windows. This should be enough.
I also painted the deflector dish... which became the biggest flop of this project until now.
First I carefully masked the stripes with Tamiya masking tape:
Then I sprayed on the following layers on both sides: clear blue, chrome and copper. The copper was a Revell aqua color which was the worst color I ever had to deal with. The metallic pigments clumped together all the time and choked the airbrush. It was very hard to get it on.
Then after one and a half hour everything seemed to be dry enough to remove the masking tape, but parts of the copper color came with it:
I thought that it can't get worse, but when I helt a LED behind the clear plug, I could not see any light coming through the clear stripes... it seems that the clear part doesn't transport enough light to the sides.
In conclusion: I will have to strip the paint off the deflector. The method I planned to light it doesn't seem to work.
Not a good day...
Thorsten
I also painted the deflector dish... which became the biggest flop of this project until now.
First I carefully masked the stripes with Tamiya masking tape:
Then I sprayed on the following layers on both sides: clear blue, chrome and copper. The copper was a Revell aqua color which was the worst color I ever had to deal with. The metallic pigments clumped together all the time and choked the airbrush. It was very hard to get it on.
Then after one and a half hour everything seemed to be dry enough to remove the masking tape, but parts of the copper color came with it:
I thought that it can't get worse, but when I helt a LED behind the clear plug, I could not see any light coming through the clear stripes... it seems that the clear part doesn't transport enough light to the sides.
In conclusion: I will have to strip the paint off the deflector. The method I planned to light it doesn't seem to work.
Not a good day...
Thorsten
Yeah, I've been worried about getting that deflector lit. I wish someone made a photo etch one or something where you could put a piece of EL sheet behind it. I'm gonna try to figure out a way to cut a circle of EL sheet and put it behind mine. Then maybe cut a scratch piece of plastic to cover the EL sheet from behind.
Orbital Drydock
Active Member
If you have access to any sandblasting equipment. Very lightly blast the front & back to frost it(40psi tops). That will give the light a diffused surface to emit from. Frosting must be sand blasted to get a truly diffused surface for light, matte spray wont work.
I tried to frost the part with sanding paper before, but it didn't help a lot. Unfortunately I don't have acces to a sandblasting equipment. Did you have success with it? Could you share a picture, so I can see what I miss?
How did you paint it?
Somehow I don't like the idea of using EL sheet... it would make everything even more difficult.
Instead, I'm thinking of doing it like Aztec Dummy, although I would like to keep it accurate with the backside being copper, too... but I ran out of ideas in the moment.
How did you paint it?
Somehow I don't like the idea of using EL sheet... it would make everything even more difficult.
Instead, I'm thinking of doing it like Aztec Dummy, although I would like to keep it accurate with the backside being copper, too... but I ran out of ideas in the moment.
Orbital Drydock
Active Member
Sandpaper doesn't get into the nooks very well, I can never get it to look right.
I'll try to get some pics up later, I'm playing catch up from surgery recovery this week.
My method was sandblast, mask, 2 thin coats tamiya fine white primer, 2 thin coats tamiya grey, then copper.
I use the tamiya white first, that way there is flat white to diffuse & reflect light inside the dish. Then the tamiya grey is to help with light blocking & give the copper a darker primer to sit on. Don't try to light block completely with the primer, it will be too thick. I finish up with copper, & that will finish off the light blocking at the same time.
There are recommendations for using silver or metallic paints for light blocking. Stay away from this, the metallic particles never fully seal in the paint & anything put on top of the metallics will peel off. Hence the copper coming off when you removed the little "dart" masks. Same thing happens when metallic paints are masked over without being sealed first. When the masks are removed the top shiny layer gets comes off, leaving a dull finish. Always use primers or stable colors under metallic.
Quick lighblocking tips:
This is the method I use on all models for light blocking.
A couple things first, flat white is the best surface for diffusing & reflecting light. Aluminum tape & chrome paint won't diffuse or reflect enough light & will cause light blooms, hot spots & uneven light distribution in the windows. Also they add a lot of weight to the model.
Paint & primer only, I don't use aluminum tape since the adhesive will eventually fail.
For the inside of models:
2 light coats of primer(white for clear parts, Black for opaque)
1 coat black spray paint
2 light coats of flat white
If you have a cheap tools store near. A small sandblasting gun can be picked up for around $20. If you're not using a cabinet, blast outdoors, ONLY use baking soda as the blasting media NO SAND! Always wear a respirator!
EL sheet is something I had considered, but there are a few cons. Lifespan is around 10,000hrs, compared to leds with 50,000-100,000hrs. Also there's the question of where to put the ballast which gives off a lot of heat.
I'll try to get some pics up later, I'm playing catch up from surgery recovery this week.
My method was sandblast, mask, 2 thin coats tamiya fine white primer, 2 thin coats tamiya grey, then copper.
I use the tamiya white first, that way there is flat white to diffuse & reflect light inside the dish. Then the tamiya grey is to help with light blocking & give the copper a darker primer to sit on. Don't try to light block completely with the primer, it will be too thick. I finish up with copper, & that will finish off the light blocking at the same time.
There are recommendations for using silver or metallic paints for light blocking. Stay away from this, the metallic particles never fully seal in the paint & anything put on top of the metallics will peel off. Hence the copper coming off when you removed the little "dart" masks. Same thing happens when metallic paints are masked over without being sealed first. When the masks are removed the top shiny layer gets comes off, leaving a dull finish. Always use primers or stable colors under metallic.
Quick lighblocking tips:
This is the method I use on all models for light blocking.
A couple things first, flat white is the best surface for diffusing & reflecting light. Aluminum tape & chrome paint won't diffuse or reflect enough light & will cause light blooms, hot spots & uneven light distribution in the windows. Also they add a lot of weight to the model.
Paint & primer only, I don't use aluminum tape since the adhesive will eventually fail.
For the inside of models:
2 light coats of primer(white for clear parts, Black for opaque)
1 coat black spray paint
2 light coats of flat white
If you have a cheap tools store near. A small sandblasting gun can be picked up for around $20. If you're not using a cabinet, blast outdoors, ONLY use baking soda as the blasting media NO SAND! Always wear a respirator!
EL sheet is something I had considered, but there are a few cons. Lifespan is around 10,000hrs, compared to leds with 50,000-100,000hrs. Also there's the question of where to put the ballast which gives off a lot of heat.
Orbital Drydock, thank you. The lifespan numbers confirm my skepticism against EL sheet.
Using white for the "inside" of the deflector seems to be a good idea. But does this mean that the blue shine only comes from the LED itself, or do you put a clear blue coat on the windows, too?
Is the sandblasting gun a special one? I've never seen a small one yet. How much baking soda will it consume? And I assume it has to be plugged to a compressor!? I'll have a look if I can find one.
I wish you have a good recovery!
Thorsten
Using white for the "inside" of the deflector seems to be a good idea. But does this mean that the blue shine only comes from the LED itself, or do you put a clear blue coat on the windows, too?
Is the sandblasting gun a special one? I've never seen a small one yet. How much baking soda will it consume? And I assume it has to be plugged to a compressor!? I'll have a look if I can find one.
I wish you have a good recovery!
Thorsten
Would assume sandblast with airbrush (needle removed) and a compressor.compressed air tins suvk, they go ice vold fast and then pressure drops fast and it makes the airbrush stop functioning.
You dont have airbrush with compressor? If not get one you will not regret and you defo need for a bigger model!
You dont have airbrush with compressor? If not get one you will not regret and you defo need for a bigger model!
Orbital Drydock
Active Member
No blue coat, just the led. Try to find blue leds in 7k-8k mcd range, the brighter the better for the dish.
Nothing special, here are are few links to some Harbor Freight products. First is a gun handle with hopper, & the second is like an air brush. They won't use too much soda, as it would only be used for frosting & not removing material.
Gravity Feed Blaster Gun
Air Eraser Kit
Harbor Freight is a budget tool store here in the US, they're fairly cheap on quality & price. You would need an air compressor, get a small one used locally to start out with. Also moving to air brushes will change your life
Thanks, I'm on the way!
I would be cautious of doing this, as the soda is an abrasive & will wear out the tip very quickly.
Oh I do have airbrush & compressor, I only wanted to know how things work.
I'll try to find such a gun here in Germany when I buy the materials for the stand. Thanks for the hint. And OD, if you could show a picture of yours it really would add to this thread
Thorsten
I'll try to find such a gun here in Germany when I buy the materials for the stand. Thanks for the hint. And OD, if you could show a picture of yours it really would add to this thread
Thorsten
metal wood
Well-Known Member
And OD, if you could show a picture of yours it really would add to this thread
Thorsten
i 2nd that OD.
loving this build still thorst! really helping me plan out my material list for when i get my hands on this ship.
Orbital Drydock
Active Member
I'll try to get a few pics up. I really don't have much done, the first JJ I had got mostly sacrificed to the gods of mask creation. I do have a the deflector done up, but most of the ship is lost. However... a good friend sent me another one, & it will be the first build I've kept for a few years.
Right now there's a lot of planning going on, if it's mine, I'm going to go crazy on it. Thorst you've got me set on using the micro smd leds. I've also come up with a solution for the contra-rotating bussard blades. It wont be a cheap mod at around $200 just for the bussard parts. It will also need some major structural reenforcement, but I think it's the only way until we get a 1/350 version & have more room to work with.
I can understand you so well! Why build a model from which you think "I could have done better...". But for myself, I tend to get lost doing modifications and never actually finish it!
I'm glad that I could give you some ideas with the SMD LEDs (although the idea wasn't mine). I'll pass on the counterrotating blades though, the outermost layer will be enough for me. But I can't wait to see yours done!
The last days were good days for my Enterprise.
I got the engeneering hull lightblocked and ready to install the windows and lights.
The last 4 SMD LEDs have been added to the warp nacelles.
Today I was working on the Bussards again. One motor had trouble so I switched to the spare one. I modified their housings to fit into the nacelle parts and did additional tests with them. I also started to modify the kit's parts in that area for accuracy, engine fitting and mostly for the lighting of the Bussards. Now the bussard blades are primed and are waiting to be airbrushed. I hope to get them done this week, so that I can do the final assembly next week. In mid October is a model show to which I initially wanted to bring the Enterprise, and I'm still hoping!
Thorsten
Another update for today:
I proudly present my version of the Bussard collector lighting.
Here is a picture of the parts used:
I drilled some ring-shaped openings into the back plate and painted it grey-blue-green with a bright ring where the light will shine through. A circular piece of diffused clear plastic is glued atop. The rotor part as described some posts ago got the blades bent backwards and with the help of 1mm thick plastic as spacer it was glued to another circle of the clear diffusion material. In combination with two bright white LEDs from behind this already looks interesting:
The Bussard dome was sprayed with a thin layer of clear blue and added on top:
Even with the clear blue making the dome much more diffusive than I hoped I am really happy with the result. If someone of you knows a way how to make the dome more transparent again I'll give it a try though.
Enough for today, the next days I will add the motors and finish this part.
Cheers
Thorsten
I proudly present my version of the Bussard collector lighting.
Here is a picture of the parts used:
I drilled some ring-shaped openings into the back plate and painted it grey-blue-green with a bright ring where the light will shine through. A circular piece of diffused clear plastic is glued atop. The rotor part as described some posts ago got the blades bent backwards and with the help of 1mm thick plastic as spacer it was glued to another circle of the clear diffusion material. In combination with two bright white LEDs from behind this already looks interesting:
The Bussard dome was sprayed with a thin layer of clear blue and added on top:
Even with the clear blue making the dome much more diffusive than I hoped I am really happy with the result. If someone of you knows a way how to make the dome more transparent again I'll give it a try though.
Enough for today, the next days I will add the motors and finish this part.
Cheers
Thorsten
ptaylor5014
New Member
Hello I have just come across this site and nice build you are doing there, A suggestion with the clear bussard covers why not tint them from the inside with Tamiya clear smoke paint as I did, everyone seems to using blue on them but they are only lit up blue and should still remain clear so you can see the fan/blade/spinners. I put on two coats of the smoke paint to give it a dark tint but still allow the light to clearly come through, when all the lights are turned off I think the bussards look very smart! they almost black.
I never thought of using SMD led's before as I used fibre optic cable for my spot lights and like the look they give, ok not perfect but and easy install.
I had a major headache to trying to get the main deflector dish to light up correctly.
I will upload some more pictures of my model soon.
I never thought of using SMD led's before as I used fibre optic cable for my spot lights and like the look they give, ok not perfect but and easy install.
I had a major headache to trying to get the main deflector dish to light up correctly.
I will upload some more pictures of my model soon.
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Thanks for the suggestion! Your model is looking great!
I agree fully with you, a diffuse Bussard dome is clearly wrong for this version of the Enterprise.
But in my eyes, the colors on the Bussard collectors are the contrary to your description, I think the domes are tinted blueish but the light is white. In most sequences of the 2009 movie, they are barely lit up, but here is a picture where you can see what I mean nicely:
(posted by kiwicanuk here: http://www.therpf.com/f11/uss-enterprise-2009-revell-review-build-184688/index8.html#post3011385)
I think my version captures this look quite well, a lot better now than on the picture because I striped off the outer layer of the blue tint that made it too much diffusive. If I dim down the light it better captures the look of the rest of the movie. I will repaint the blades though as I don't like the color gradient.
Best regards,
Thorsten
I agree fully with you, a diffuse Bussard dome is clearly wrong for this version of the Enterprise.
But in my eyes, the colors on the Bussard collectors are the contrary to your description, I think the domes are tinted blueish but the light is white. In most sequences of the 2009 movie, they are barely lit up, but here is a picture where you can see what I mean nicely:
(posted by kiwicanuk here: http://www.therpf.com/f11/uss-enterprise-2009-revell-review-build-184688/index8.html#post3011385)
I think my version captures this look quite well, a lot better now than on the picture because I striped off the outer layer of the blue tint that made it too much diffusive. If I dim down the light it better captures the look of the rest of the movie. I will repaint the blades though as I don't like the color gradient.
Best regards,
Thorsten
ptaylor5014
New Member
Here is some more pictures, the Aztec panel effect was done using just a gloss base paint then second layer of matt which gives a reasonable effect, in the pictures i have taken photos in different lighting conditions to show what it looks like, the deflector dish did have a copper colour to it but the light did not disperse enough so off it had to come.
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