Would be nice, but also massive, 77 inches long! That’s little more than half studio scale at that point given that the model for first contact was 10 1/2 foot long from what I’ve read.
The new bottom saucer is in!!!!! I know you're glad it's finally on your workbench. The upper saucer is looking great. I remember when you schooled me on what that tulip stuff is and then I found out my wife had some the whole time!! Looking forward to the lower section coming together.
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends We're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside.... Awesome song, my friend. Keep up the great work. Peace.
Great video. I am constantly amazed with your patience and enthusiasm for this kit. Its great to see it coming along nicely now but no one would blame you if you took a week or two off after this build!😉👍
Big Ol Grey Mess sounds like when I did a WWII Dazzle camo on a ship. Layers and layers of tape and paint. And trying to remember to tape in negative.(tape covers what you want to keep) Fortunatly for me I caught the two panels I did wrong before I painted as I did final checks each time based off the diagram plates.
Lou,... I've discovered a way to bend Fiber Optics' 90%.... Hold a strand' up to your Soldering Iron'... Use both hands... You'll feel it once it gives... And they still light up! Hope that helps? Try it!
You answered all my yelled suggestions already, so I have little comment on. I am guessing the new resin is a variant on the urethane family. Very irritating to use. But, the adhesion promoter sounds good. I was going to suggest a bottom coat of clear for the vinyl to stick to. Same idea as a the adhesion promoter on the inside. If you make a jig for the FO with a lever to do the bending, you can get 90-degrees out of smaller diameter sizes. A little heat gun action to warm things up and boi-ouying. Do round the corner of the jig-- tight right angles will cut down some transmission. Everything's looking very good.
@@MrModelnutz Thank you for the info-- it seems, though, that the silica adds a surface that does not accept tack. Interesting. And good to be able to praise your work. This is no small undertaking.
As a first time commenter, I just would like to add my two cents where you had a decision on what to do with the blank part of the stand above your nicely done LCARS switchboard. A type 8 shuttlecraft would look nice if there was one out there to scale.
I think you could have just drilled out all these windows and filled them in with Solaris when you discovered the light bubbles. This would have allowed you to light block the entire inner surfaces of the hull parts. You would have had to mask the windows inside and out. It would be the same if Ed decided to start casting in opaque materials. Solarez is fantastic stuff.
There ain't no "just" when it comes to drilling out these many windows. Any mook can drill a hole, but what people don't seem to understand is it's not the window...it's the space between the windows. Show me that you can drill out and file to shape a precise rectangle window that is .04" x .16" Then do another two (exactly the same size) that are evenly spaced .02" apart from each other to make a bank of three windows. Then duplicate that effort by roughly 100 times. Then tell me that "just" drilling out the windows is easier than putting down some lightblocking tape.
Lou, it is just that easy. It’s a PITA time-wise but well worth the effort and results, particularly if you couldn’t have replaced that bottom saucer. You don’t need to cut each window exactly to shape. That’s what your window masks are for. You would need to remove the window port material - a little larger even, if you like, then apply the Solarez. You would have to mask both the inner and outer surfaces of the windows. Then light block the entire inner surface of your hull parts. I’m going to have to do this when I pull my large Excelsior hull pieces in clear. I just don’t have to drill any windows. Solarez is so easy to use. It’s crystal clear, cures rock hard with a UV light in seconds, sands and polishes beautifully if you need to.
Your idea would have merit in a world where the hulls were cast in opaque material. Cutting out clear material just to replace it with different clear material is redundant and a waste of time. The hulls are light blocked just fine with tape and paint.
Honestly, I’d still enjoy a clear kit this big for the 1701-E as she is my favorite enterprise. Been looking at getting a slightly smaller kit, the 1/1000 kit I’d seen on eBay.
I have very little experience with light blocking, but I think that if the aluminium tape is risky because of possible short circuits, wouldn´t black gaffer tape, as it isn´t conductive, be a viable alternative? Or would it just suck down too much of the light? Anyway, beautiful work Lou. I almost can´t imagine my Saturday evenings without your dulcit tones and dry wit. Although I´m looking forward to the finished ship, part of me hopes the story will never end... Cheers, S
My experience with gaffer tape is that it is very thick and heavy. The silver tape is super thin and will suck down into the tiny nooks and crannies. Plus the silver bounces the light around better
Looking good! I would say that, if Ed can fix the Hell of Tiny Bubbles in the clear, then that would be good enough. Trying to drill out all those windows is masochism. Also, what is the material on the top of your light table? Glass or acrylic?
I have a ? Do u make Aztec templates the 1350 Enterprise I want to.try to do something different instead of using the Poor lights Aztec decals thank you
