Let There Be Lights

Though I have not posted in a while, I have been busy with some small things. We spent last weekend at a conference in Denver, and spent a day in Salt Lake with old friends, leaving little time for project work. Over the week I have done some more organizing and ordered a few tools. The power adapter I use to simulate a 9v battery also came in, so I now have power to begin to work on the electronics.  I also restored an old computer system so I now have music, video, and internet access at my work station. This allows me to look thing up without coming back inside.

desk with computer screen

After school today we went to Home Depot for me to get some wood for a tool rack. Based on Adam Savages tool rack in this video, I built a small rack that holds my most used hand tools, pliers, clippers and nips, files, x-acto knives, and pin vices. I can move the rack forward and have quick access to all the tools I use. The rack is not perfect, but it does make for a better work flow. 

new tool rack

After dinner I spent some time test fitting the parts of the Enterprise, then bored out the holes for the wires that I will need to run for the power. I used my handy Dremel tool that Coowee got me a few years ago for my birthday. It makes quick work of this kind of plastic, and gives me some solid control. I used needle files and an x-acto to finish off the edges. They are somewhat ragged, but they will not be seen once the model is assembled. 

joint on the bottom of the pylon

The joint for the pylon to fit in seen from the inside of the engineering hull.

joint on the bottom of the saucer

top of the neck where it connects to the saucer

I did tinker on the blinking circuit I am hoping to use on the bussard collectors. I believe my 4060 chips are all somewhat fried. I did get some blinking, but without the proper resister and capacitor, so I was a bit skeptical. It also was intermittently not working. I have ordered new components, as the others I have were out in that garage for over a year, and before that were moved from Portland. Hopefully I can get something running when they get here. 

I also did some work on the stand. Normally I use project boxes to make stands where I can easily mount power hookups and switches. This base, however, is a nice round dome. I thought it would be cool to make it look like a planet that the Enterprise is orbiting. I think I am going to go for a satellite like our moon, or Pluto with craters and ridges. I carved out a notch on one side to place the power hook up. I will sort out a switch next, then find some kind of clay I can use to sculpt the planet details, hiding as best I can the switch and hookup. I think that will be a cool effect. 

stand with the pole provided in the kit before modification

notch cut for the power hookup

Finally, I have been researching airbrushes and compressors, trying to get a good brush for a good price. A lot of people say it is a $300-$350 start up. I think I can get what I want for under $200, but I still need to do some more research on that. I will only be able to get so far until I have the airbrush as some of the pieces would benefit from being painted before assembly. 

Now that I have the power adapter I can show a few other projects in process. This is my Klingon D-7 warship, the original. I have a good paint job one it, but there was problems with my masking on the front windows. This means a repaint. I did not do this with an airbrush, but with a rattle can and a brush. The paint, I think, is just too thick for the masking method. I have the same problem with my Romulan Bird of Prey model. Only a few of the windows are exposed at the moment while I try to figure out how to fix the problem. The rear impulse engines for the Klingon ship are my own add on. The Romulan ship has them as well, but they are still masked at this point.

D-7 that needs a new paint job. The lights still work. 

 

  

Romulan bird of prey in need of new paint.

 

These other two are a pair of kitbashed Star Fleet ships I made a few years ago. They need some clean up, some filler, and then painted. Their blinker boards are not working either, for some reason. I need to crack open the bases and see if I can figure out why. These were fun to build. The warp grills on the one with the round saucer are made from engine housings from a ‘50s bomber, the top of some clear pens Valah likes (they were dead), and the ends of some clear plastic forks. I used other parts of the forks for the engine grills on the triangular one. The pictures do not exactly show how cool the lights are. 

 

With the term coming to a close, and a half marathon in Disneyland at the beginning of May, I expect that progress will be slow. Hopefully after that, as summer term gets started, I will begin to make some real progress.