SS Battlestar....attempt II

[star-art]

These parts are all laser-engraved. It is not easy to do that with styrene. In fact, some thought it was not even possible. I developed a method of doing it that required sanding the finished parts. But, the guy who cut these parts found a way to do it that requires very little cleanup. In fact, the quality of the engraving here is the best I've ever seen.

The laser leaves the cut edge of styrene shiny and a bit bumpy. This should be scraped ("adzing" with an Xacto knife works great) or sanded. For the engraved lines, get a razor saw and gently "scratch" inside the lines with the tip of the saw to clean them out. This requires a bit of practice but it's easy once you get the hang of it. Also, some lines don't quite meet at the intersections. This was to prevent the laser from cutting too deep where the lines overlap. Use the razor saw to make the lines cross completely.

RE: Bevels I hate using putty and so I do everything I can to keep the amount needed to an absolute minimum. I like to join panels by beveling edges wherever possible to achieve a tight fit. This requires machining the edges of the acrylic or beveling the edges of the styrene panels.

CR did not like this approach because they felt it took way too much time. Therefore, I was told to leave the edges square and incorporate gaps that would be filled with putty. I carefully designed each joint so the plastic defines the edge or seam between the two panels rather than the putty. There is a small gap that, when filled, gives you a perfectly sharp transition between the parts. Hope that makes sense. . .

Finally, note the front starboard arm is unique. It does not have a beveled joint in the middle (top side). Instead, it has an overlapping plate edge. This is how the original was built. Chalk it up to being in a hurry! I guess they figured no one was going to notice. . .