Spinning lights

So this is probably my last post until the middle of May. My parents come into town on Tuesday, and we will be headed to Disneyland for the half Marathon, and some post academic fun. I start teaching summer classes on May 16^th, so we will be back that weekend to recover. Mostly I built a prototype of the spinner assembly for the Bussard collectors. This is the most difficult electronic section. The rest of the lights are, quite frankly, simple in comparison. The rig has 8 different colored LEDs that are staggered in such a way that the blink pattern looks a little like fan blades passing in front of the lights. The larger red LED you see in the center I originally put in to give the entire thing a red hue, but after experimenting with it I have decided it looks more accurate with just the blinkers. On the second prototype I will have four more blinkers on the inside to hopefully add to the illusion. I will also add a few other colors, including a blue LED as that is what you see in the new remastered shots and I like the look. 

The bussard collectors on the remastered TOS Enterprise

The LED assembly and frosted clear cap.

A blury shot of the spinner working. I could not use the flash or the lights would not show.

A video of the spinners with some speed adjustment.

            On that note, I am thinking that I may not bother installing the clear accurate bridge. Looking at that process it will be a tough job trying to get the gaps filled in and look seamless. I know there are people out there that can do that, but I have not had much experience with it. Though it means this build will not be as accurate. I am OK with that, as I hope down the road to pick up the Polar Lights 1/350 scale Enterprise which is twice the size of the one I am working on now, and far more accurate. They have a similar sized Refit/A that I have been lusting after for about 5 years (the model usually sells for over $100, and I really do not have room for a 3 foot long Enterprise right now).

            For the clear cap, which now looks grey, I found some Krylon frosted glass paint. I gave the inside of the cap 6 or 7 coats. I was hoping it would dry a white color, but instead I got that grey. It will not look all that appealing when the electronics are off, but it does work. For some reason I always want my lit ships to look like they are without power when the lights are off. That means using colored lights in thinks like warp grills and then frosting the grill so they look clear when off. I am basing all this off of a single episode of TNG where we see the Enterprise adrift and the blue and red of the warp nacelles is instead a frosted clear. I have another paint I might try on the other cap and if that looks better strip the paint off the first one and redo it.

            I have not done much with the vanships recently. For some reason I just have not felt like working on them. I am enjoying the lighting work more than the construction at this point. I assume I’ll be back to working on them soon enough. For now, I sign off until after I have run 13.1 miles through Anaheim on Mothers’ Day.