U.S.S. Defiant NX-74205
Development on the Defiant began around 2366 in response to the Borg threat to the Federation..
Is this CGI or the actual model?
I’m always hypnotized by the box art, since childhood..
Ok, here is the real challenge..
84 multi colored decals.. the horror
the Defiant will be my first lighted starship, dammit.. The line must be drawn here! No further! If You can’t get past this Cadet challenge, You will never progress to the upper ranks!
My idea of drilling out the hex posts revealed that the model can then easily be taken apart and reassembled. Silly Rabbit, Snaps are for Kids!
Like so..
A look at the lighting challenge. How do I get leds in there?
One major design flaw is that the the front bulkhead of the nacelle is opaque, not like the aft part.
As seen here, no light getting to the lens
The aft part looks right, but the hex post is casting a big shadow.
I will attempt to mold and cast the parts in clear uv resin. First by cutting away the tabs and then sanding flat.
Getting ready with the thermal plastic..
After boiling in water on the stove the plastic is hot and gooey and can be pressed over a part to form a mold. Bubbles pose a problem
Still not a perfect mold with this technique, but it’s easily repeated.
After 3 attempts because of bubbles, I have a working mold
The uv resin is extremely hard, it resists my diamond files
Pretty good.
Test fit.. smile on my face..
Warp coil light rig Mark I
Proof of Concept, and so much more.. The post is casting a shadow as anticipated.
It’s a dream come true. too bad only 3 small bars will be lighted from all this effort..
Removed the locator pins and posts, leds glued in place
Port nacelle assembly completed
Warp drive online
Masking fluid
meanwhile, the red leds are test fitted into place
SSSsss! Cobra!
You are getting sleepy..
First led configuration Mark I
Test run successful. The blue light reaching the plasma vents is insufficient. Red is satisfactory. I like the overall glowing effect
Blue Led configuration Mark II
Better..
The light is uneven, needs refinement.
Led configuration Mark III
Side glowing optical fiber
Side glowing optical fiber
Future Starship warp nacelles could be lighted in this fashion..
Plasma vent Led configuration Mark III is GO!
Led Plasma lighting effects rig Mk. III
Bonding with UV resin
Bonding with UV resin
Curing
Bonding sequence successful
Plasma light test rig Mk. I Proof of concept successful. Implement procedure.
Tony Stark ‘flip’
Fortunately, while uv resin is very hard and strong, it can still be worked and removed if necessary, similar to hot glue.
Meanwhile, led test fit in the forward sensor array
Led calibration. The front posts have to go
Sensor array light test looks pretty good anyway
Interesting effect, must make a note of it.
Vallejo black primer blocks the light very well
Masked…
Unmasked.
Light blocking successfully applied. Red leds installed permanently using uv resin
The capillary action of the masking fluid works in my favor here.
Ready for light blocking paint
This information is ranked Captain and above.
This information is ranked Captain and above..
This information is ranked Captain and above..
This information is ranked Captain and above..
This information is ranked Captain and above..
Meanwhile, Lower Warp nacelle housing glued into place, final electrical conduit routing for the lower Hull
Preparing to mount the plasma conduits
Entering into a critical phase, possible warp core breech, brace for impact.
Matter/Antimatter reaction unstable, losing power.. If I can just.. hold on another few seconds..
The operation was a success. Stand down Mister.. Return to station
Plasma conduits installed.. Qapla!
Upper hull standing by..
Kommentare
12 26 October 2021, 18:43
JDWelcome Torsten. The worst part of a snap kit is the snaps themselves. Meant to be permanent, once you snap them together, good luck getting them apart, and you have little control over the seams. I want avoid this pitfall by drilling out the posts, which are hexagonal, and now the fit is great. The best seams I have seen on a Polar Lights kit. I can now move on to figuring out where to mount various leds, and see where the light blocking will be needed. The major major flaw is the front nacelle bulkhead should have been made clear for lighting, so I will attempt to mold and cast these parts in uv resin..
31 October 2021, 20:13
JDCaptain's log: Stardate 99444.16 Nothing much to report, some progress indicated, that is all. Starfleet out.
5 November 2021, 10:18
JDHi there!😁 I finally got around to building and testing the nacelle with my tinted lens idea. I'm liking the results
12 November 2021, 05:57
Starbase101I see this kit suffers the same as the larger version, having a locator pin behind the lit area and casting a shadow onto the clear part. If you move the LED more towards the ship body (angle it towards the clear part) and also put a mirrored reflector in front of the locator pin you can eliminate the shadow it creates.
12 November 2021, 14:55
JDPort nacelle assembly completed.
Interesting solution Starbase101 🤔
I think I might be ok if I can cut out the locator pins, as they aren't necessary anymore.
14 November 2021, 04:28
JDNot much time on the bench lately, but made some progress. I was able to remove the locator pins in the forward sensor array, and redesigned a better parallel circuit. The blue light is a little weak reaching the plasma vents..
20 November 2021, 19:44
JDConfiguration #2 gave better results, though the light is still uneven. I have ordered 3mm side glowing optical fiber to play with
20 November 2021, 21:51
Starbase101For the plasma vents try blue LED strip tape, double density. You can scratchbuild a "box" underneath each row of vents for mounting the light strips and keeping blue light from spilling out to other areas.
21 November 2021, 01:19
JDThanks Gents. After much experimenting, I have come up with an arrangement that I think will work. Soon on to light blocking and further testing before final assembly. Then I can get started painting and decals. I've also ordered slow flashing leds for the navigational beacons.
7 December 2021, 19:54
TorstenThat with the light is already very 😎, maybe I must also think about how I can use something like that with me
15 January 2022, 08:10
JDThanks Torsten! I hope you do 😉 I finally figured out how to light the plasma vents! It only took me a month.. 🤨
15 January 2022, 08:31
