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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. --

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The parts with holes drilled out for lighting --

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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?

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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.

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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.

First photo for the Star Trek group build on ARC. This is the lighting harness for K-7.

 

The arms are all glued together, but the fit is awful. Fill, sand, repeat.

 

Vern

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  • 2 weeks later...

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.32194311582_2825a0bc3f_k.jpg

 

Once I got that done, I cut them. This should make handling the parts for seam work much easier.32305215856_080ef17bf0_k.jpg

 

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

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  • 1 month later...

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.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

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

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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.32896963283_628d96ceb4_k.jpg

 

Need to order the power supply and jack from Amazon.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Worked on the stand last night.

 

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The stand with my calculations and the holes for the power and control switches drilled out

 

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Everything in place to test it. A Romulan is lurking in the background, as well as my Doolittle Raider.

 

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Power connector installed.

 

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One thing I didn't consider was if the tabs would interfere with the base sitting level. So, I bent the tabs out.

 

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Toggle switches installed.

 

I need to prime and paint it. I also need to shim the stand hole so the tube fits better.

 

Vern

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  • 1 month later...

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.

 

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The gap at the bottom of the hangar doors is pretty bad. I shimmed it with some strip and...

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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. 

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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

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Finally satisfied with the seam filling on the top disk and arms.

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I did a coat of Mr Surfacer 1500 Black Finishing as a final primer coat and as a light block. Looked like kryptonite.34891596746_3133d40eee_k.jpg34891599246_d097324efd_k.jpg

 

Another coat of Mr Surfacer and it looked much better.

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Time to put it together!34948437095_13a96359ef_k.jpg

 

This vintage 1975 AMT tooling sucks!

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Soldering the wires. I chose too small of a heat shrink tube and it didn't work right.

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The fading LEDs connected.

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Testing the white LEDs. They didn't all work the first time.

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Time to coil up the wiring and button it up.

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Glue the hub together. Did I mention how bad the fit is?

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Everything still works. Had to figure out the final wiring at this point.

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Had to splice an extension to the board's positive power connection.

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And it still fits in the brass tube. Barely.

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I am on vacation this week, so I may actually have it done by Wonderfest on Saturday!

 

Vern

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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.

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And installed.

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Putty and sanding.

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Not perfect, but getting there.

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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.

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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.

 

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I used some Evergreen  1/4" square tube to contain the tube.

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Epoxied into place. Turned out, it was a little too high.34609502140_a54668faa4_k.jpg

 

So, I pulled out the Dremel and ground it down.

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Puttied, sanded, and glued into place.

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The hub:

I primed the previous day's work.34186382163_84807eda6a_k.jpg

 

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.

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And, the final prime on the hub.

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I started working on the domes. The tops were masked so I could paint them clear read, green, and blue respectively.

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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

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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.

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Time to mask the domes. Ugh.

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It makes a mess.

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Ready for installation and the coat of white paint.

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White paint to help light reflection.

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Airbrushed on the domes.

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Assembly.

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Light blocking test.

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Color coat. I had thought to streak it on to help weather the model.

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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...

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Color coat on the rest of the model.

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I still have a few more days left on my vacation. More photos to come!

 

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

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