After a long hiatus, I have completed my move and set up a new shop. Things should be progressing more rapidly from here on out. I put the finishing touches on the neck section this week. It's very difficult to photograph because of the black color and glossy surface. It will get rubbed down to a satin finish later before it's delivered.
As I'm going along, I am remembering just how long it took me to build the last one. There are many details to attend to everywhere. Plus, I am juggling two battlestar projects at the same time right now.
The neck section is actually very tricky to build -- much more so than it looks. A surprising amount of engineering had to go into what on the outside appears to be just a simple box. Yet, every intersection is at an angle, and almost nothing meets at 90 degrees. This requires taking it very slow and triple checking everything at each step along the way.
There are probably more fiber optics in this module than anywhere else on the ship so gaps and holes had to be included in order to run them later. This required plotting out every single fiber run in the 3D computer model before the first part could be cut. Plus, the top is removable and so there is a need for some sort of support shelf for it plus screws to hold it down and some way to ensure it's all level. To make things even more difficult, two screws for securing the top hatch of the head are also present in the lid for the neck. It is surprisingly complex inside there.
It turned out very well though and this section is now ready to go on the armature for test fitting with the head and main body. Next up, I'll be building the engine section. I'm waiting on the arrival of a few key parts so I can get that started.
PS What looks like curvature or warping in the pics is barrel distortion from the camera lens. Everything is straight and flat!
As I'm going along, I am remembering just how long it took me to build the last one. There are many details to attend to everywhere. Plus, I am juggling two battlestar projects at the same time right now.
The neck section is actually very tricky to build -- much more so than it looks. A surprising amount of engineering had to go into what on the outside appears to be just a simple box. Yet, every intersection is at an angle, and almost nothing meets at 90 degrees. This requires taking it very slow and triple checking everything at each step along the way.
There are probably more fiber optics in this module than anywhere else on the ship so gaps and holes had to be included in order to run them later. This required plotting out every single fiber run in the 3D computer model before the first part could be cut. Plus, the top is removable and so there is a need for some sort of support shelf for it plus screws to hold it down and some way to ensure it's all level. To make things even more difficult, two screws for securing the top hatch of the head are also present in the lid for the neck. It is surprisingly complex inside there.
It turned out very well though and this section is now ready to go on the armature for test fitting with the head and main body. Next up, I'll be building the engine section. I'm waiting on the arrival of a few key parts so I can get that started.
PS What looks like curvature or warping in the pics is barrel distortion from the camera lens. Everything is straight and flat!
Charles Adams | www.StarshipBuilder.com | Follow me on Facebook
Author, MODEL DESIGN & BLUEPRINTING HANDBOOK, Volume 1 SECOND EDITION NOW AVAILABLE
Author, MODEL DESIGN & BLUEPRINTING HANDBOOK, Volume 1 SECOND EDITION NOW AVAILABLE