admiralcag Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Finally got a chance to work on models after work yesterday. The kit. I got this as a present from my Secret Santa this year. -- The parts with holes drilled out for lighting -- A quick light test. I was trying to decide the best light placement. Do I put the nav lights against the parts or use tube as a stand-off? I chose the stand-off. I also realized when I had them almost all buttoned up, I hadn't snapped a picture of the inner structure. Everything is tacked in with hot glue. I got the light harness with the kit as part of the present. I realized I am going to have to modify it to get it into the model. The arms are all glued together, but the fit is awful. Fill, sand, repeat. Vern Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Neat, I had that kit around 30 years ago. Long since "decommissioned". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
admiralcag Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 Sunday's work - one of the clubs I am in has biweekly build sessions. It seems this is the only time I get to build. First things first. I needed to identify which lead is which. Once I got that done, I cut them. This should make handling the parts for seam work much easier. I do need to ponder how I am going to power it as the battery box in the light kit doesn't even come close to fitting. I am thinking a jack for a wall wart. Vern Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 That was the hard part of my last Enterprise. Trying to find a place for the power source. I drilled out the bottom ando just connected to a 9 volt. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
admiralcag Posted March 7, 2017 Author Share Posted March 7, 2017 I realized, after I cut everything apart, that I didn't note the order the LEDs fired in. Hook up, test, mark. I did get the first pass on seam filling done. Mr. Surfacer 500 wiped down with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lost_Erik Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Looking good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 Is it ready for that shipment of Quadro- Tritically? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
admiralcag Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 No... I have been rather busy lately. I did hit the seams with primer yesterday and found I need to do more seam filling work. I am also gathering up the miscellaneous electronic parts. I got lucky and got some toggle switches at a Radio Shack liquidation sale, but no luck on magnet wire. I need to run six pairs of wire through the aluminum stand tube for power and the switches. I may strip some fine wire out of a CAT-5 cable. More updates soon. Vern Quote Link to post Share on other sites
admiralcag Posted March 29, 2017 Author Share Posted March 29, 2017 I found a CAT-5 cable and cut a 2' length from it. Stripped the outer sheath and ran it through the aluminum tube I am using for the stand. It's tight and there may have been some chafing, so I will need to see if any of the conductors are shorted out to the tube. Need to order the power supply and jack from Amazon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
admiralcag Posted April 6, 2017 Author Share Posted April 6, 2017 Worked on the stand last night. The stand with my calculations and the holes for the power and control switches drilled out Everything in place to test it. A Romulan is lurking in the background, as well as my Doolittle Raider. Power connector installed. One thing I didn't consider was if the tabs would interfere with the base sitting level. So, I bent the tabs out. Toggle switches installed. I need to prime and paint it. I also need to shim the stand hole so the tube fits better. Vern Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 Nice, can leave it plugged in!!! I was thinking about that for my Enterprise as it also uses a very simular base. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
admiralcag Posted May 22, 2017 Author Share Posted May 22, 2017 I have finally gotten a chance to do some more work. The end of the school year is always busy, but this year included moving my daughter and her boyfriend. Ugh. The gap at the bottom of the hangar doors is pretty bad. I shimmed it with some strip and... The upper pod and arms have been an exercise in "fill -- sand -- repeat." Almost done and, honestly, it is some of the best filling I've ever done. I was doing some sanding earlier this week while working from home. One of my cats assumed this was the perfect opportunity to attack the wires! I wish I had taken a picture of it. Vern Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Great, we are getting near the end! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
admiralcag Posted May 23, 2017 Author Share Posted May 23, 2017 9 hours ago, phantom said: Great, we are getting near the end! That's what I am hoping. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
admiralcag Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 Finally satisfied with the seam filling on the top disk and arms. I did a coat of Mr Surfacer 1500 Black Finishing as a final primer coat and as a light block. Looked like kryptonite. Another coat of Mr Surfacer and it looked much better. Time to put it together! This vintage 1975 AMT tooling sucks! Soldering the wires. I chose too small of a heat shrink tube and it didn't work right. The fading LEDs connected. Testing the white LEDs. They didn't all work the first time. Time to coil up the wiring and button it up. Glue the hub together. Did I mention how bad the fit is? Everything still works. Had to figure out the final wiring at this point. Had to splice an extension to the board's positive power connection. And it still fits in the brass tube. Barely. I am on vacation this week, so I may actually have it done by Wonderfest on Saturday! Vern Quote Link to post Share on other sites
admiralcag Posted May 30, 2017 Author Share Posted May 30, 2017 The fit of the arms to the hub is pretty bad. One was cocked upwards. So I cut some 0.010" shims to fill the gap. And installed. Putty and sanding. Not perfect, but getting there. I did do some extra work, but didn't take pictures. More sanding, Mr. Surfacer 500, and putty. I need to prime again, but I think it is ready. Today's task -- securing the brass mounting tube. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Oh.....nice!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
admiralcag Posted May 31, 2017 Author Share Posted May 31, 2017 Securing the brass mounting tube: The fit was pretty sloppy and the tube was just butting up against the top of the hangar module. Typically, I like telescoping brass tube to mount my sci fi models, so that's what I did. I used some Evergreen 1/4" square tube to contain the tube. Epoxied into place. Turned out, it was a little too high. So, I pulled out the Dremel and ground it down. Puttied, sanded, and glued into place. The hub: I primed the previous day's work. After some sanding, I was finally satisfied. I hand painted some Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 on the top of all the pods for extra light blocking. And, the final prime on the hub. I started working on the domes. The tops were masked so I could paint them clear read, green, and blue respectively. I took a picture, but it hasn't made it to Flickr yet. I took a break for dinner and some TV with the family. Afterwards, I started masking the individual windows. It took a half hour for one dome, but I know what I am doing now. If I am going to take it to WonderFest, it needs to be pretty much done today. Wish me luck! Vern Quote Link to post Share on other sites
admiralcag Posted June 1, 2017 Author Share Posted June 1, 2017 I decided that I shouldn't push it for WonderFest. It is coming together too nicely to rush. More pictures when I get back! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Still have a month for the official GB. But no one ever minds if you finish late. Just keep up the photos! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
admiralcag Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 Back from WonderFest. It was great! Got to see lots of friends and great models. My Vulcan Shuttle won a Merit - my first award at WF! Back to the topic at hand. Hangar pod glued to the model. Time to mask the domes. Ugh. It makes a mess. Ready for installation and the coat of white paint. White paint to help light reflection. Airbrushed on the domes. Assembly. Light blocking test. Color coat. I had thought to streak it on to help weather the model. I didn't like how it looked. This is before I decided not to get it done for WonderFest, so I went with a second coat. Still wet... Color coat on the rest of the model. I still have a few more days left on my vacation. More photos to come! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Should have enough time! Looking great Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lost_Erik Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Looking good, Admiral Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NemVia Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 Very Nice work. It's coming together, very nicely. Looking forward to more! Mark Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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