38" Super Star Destroyer Executor

[JAWS]

This kit was bought from Korbanth on ebay. It is said to be a Randy Cooper kit. It has been in progress for nearly a year now. I wanted to try & light this beast which would have been my second lighting of a model ever & my first with Fibre Optics & LED's. It is a work in progress as there is alot of resin that needed & still needs to be removed for the LED's to be able to get into all the little details on this kit. It has certainly been a learning process & continues to be such.

[JAWS]

Ok so after sorting the pieces I base coated everthing. i wish I hadn't done that now as I never washed the resin pieces first. Now I know some stuff about moulding & casting I know the kit was cast with a release agent to help remove it from the mould( I will do a thread on moulding & casting in the appropriate section). Because I did not thoriughly wash the pieces the 'Primer' has not attached to the surface as one would hope & now over a period of time is flaking off(damnit) Here are the pieces 'Primed' & highlight of some repairs.... I then proceeded with a 'Test Fit' & yep everything fittedtogether pretty good. Its wicked how many pictures can be loaded up at the same time, well sort at the same time..

[JAWS]

Funny, I forgot how good this kit looked before I got to it . She'll be right. Ok this was my plan for restructuring as I would say So the kit was primed & was time to start drilling the resin out of the buildings & superstructure. This was my first time trying this & learnt a couple of valuable lessons in the process... This is not really a fun process as a beginner or learner. Lucky I had excellent technical assistance from my buddies at RI(http://resinilluminati.com/) Thanks guys. The boss dropped in & gave the orders to proceed
                       

[JAWS]

That was not so much fun... I have alot of resin to remove so the small Micro Drill Bits will be able to drill through for me to thread Fibre Optic Cable through to light this sucker. The first time I did this I did not wear a mask. I spent that night hydrateing myself so i did not asphixiate from resin inhilation. Please always wear the correct PPE. The minimum is a face mask....:dodgy
               
Now we all wear them
       

[JAWS]

After that near death experience it was time to push on. More drilling & hollowing. Theres alot of resin on this kit. The kit is just under a metre long & thats just the hulls.

[JAWS]

Okly dokly as they say. that was the top half & most of the buildings. On to the belly of the beast & the engines section...

[JAWS]

Hmmm, no comment... I got some resin to remove from the upper deck where I hollowed out a large buildings section. A huge chunk of resin was left floating in the guts of the beast

[JAWS]

Wow what alot of resin has been removed from this kit. If I ever do something like this Im casting it in clear resin Got some more buildings to hollow out & clean up. Thats really just the preliminary work on most of the structures. Every seperate area getting lit will require fine tuning to allow for drilling & threading of Fibre Optics to light this Biyaatch up.

[JAWS]

Slowly making progress... Got some areas to hollow out on the rear engine section. Want to get some lighting in there for that WTF! sort of response. Continue on I must

[JAWS]

Present day. Just over a week ago I had my house robbed by some scum bag. They took my cameras & assorted other items. i only just got a replacement camera & got straight back to work. With the multiple project I have on the bench & coming this is the one I want to move forward on. Today I put the nearly stolen Dremel Drill press to the test. The thieves stole it but left it in the side garden where i found it the next morning with my broken Micro drill bits Anyway it came in perfect today for the next fase of this project, drilling the Fibre Optic holes for the Fibre Optics to be thread through. I got 2 pieces done then unfortunately my smallest bit left which I believe was a 0.75mm Micro Drill bit broke So I now have to waite to get paid, put in an order & waite for delivery. This project is on hold again...

[Wombat]

Good to see you back playing at your bench there mate,even if it was only for a short period.
Typical,your still being effected by what that scumbag did,but hope you get them bit's in real quick and can press on with this one.
Kind of mind blowing just how many fibre's this is going to take but it'll look very cool when done dude.
I guess you'll just have to play around with the Falcon until them bit's arrive instead?

[JAWS]

The Falcon... Buddy I have served myself up a smorgasboard of projects & I still have a couple of 'beauties' in the mail. It took me like 4-5hours just to reload all these images. The damn hosting dropped out a couple of times so Ive done some post twice... Im at present day now so thats a big weight off the shoulders. Theres over a 100 holes drilled in each of the 2 pieces I did today. This suckers gonna have some serious twinkleing when Im done + the red engines.

[JAWS]

Ordered my new Dremel bits thisafternoon. Kust gotta waite for them to come in, which will probably be a week. They are Micro Carbide Drill Bits that fit a Dremel. i got them on ebay Im using a larger size than the 0.25mm as they jst beak too easy. I have bought 0.5 & 0.6mm I wasn't sure which size I started with when getting back on this until I realised the guage is printed on the end of the bits...

[JAWS]

Got pointed to a local Electronics shoptoday by the elictrician at work(should have asked ages ago!) So off I went & got me some goodies for this bad boy. Bought some wire, resistors with some red & blue LED's Stoked now we're starting to get close to some action. The blue LED's are for the Fibre Optic city lighting & the red ones are for the Engines. Im getting a 12 Volt power pack tomorrow so I need to do some electrical wiring homework so I don't fry myelf. I already had my Fibre Optic Cable which is the last picture
   
   
   
   
   

[Wombat]

I think your signature say's it all!

Good luck with all that mate!

[Damien9479]

Damn dude you don't mess around!!
I think you spend more $$$ in a day than I do in a month
But that's not a bad thing though

[JAWS]

Well I have a second job pushing rubbish bins that starts at 2am Friday & Saturday nights to pay for this stuff. Its a dirty heavy job. This is an expensive hobby.

[Wombat]

It just shows you are more than dedicated to your hobby mate,and it's all worthwhile with what it's letting you achieve!
In the end you'll be able to give that second job the arse and you'll be left with more than just a fine collection there too!

[erospawn]

I dont know.. you might be able to save some money on the LED's anyway.. Before I woke up and realized I could buy online, I was paying about $3.50 US for one stupid White LED.. now, its about .60 cents a piece.. I get mine from
http://www.superbrightleds.com .. You should be able to get them pretty easily from Japan or Hong Kong though..

[JAWS]

(11-20-2009, 06:23 AM)erospawn Wrote: I dont know.. you might be able to save some money on the LED's anyway.. Before I woke up and realized I could buy online, I was paying about $3.50 US for one stupid White LED.. now, its about .60 cents a piece.. I get mine from
http://www.superbrightleds.com .. You should be able to get them pretty easily from Japan or Hong Kong though..

Oh yeah I forgot that link you sent me. The LED's were like $1.80 & $2.10, resistors 0.10, wireing 2.00, Fibre Optics was $23.00. Im usually a pretty confident person but when I talk to Electronics people I feel so stupid & inadiquate. the guy behind the desk just looked atme like you dumb shit when I was trying to explain what I wanted... He was nice though & helped me out.

[JAWS]

I need to remove the base coat as its flaking off. Whats the stuff to do this job. Before I knew anything about resin it was base coated & I didn't wash the pieces thoroughly so the mould release is making the paint flake. Want to get this done pretty quick. I see an end result maybe by Christmas or early January. I also need to mount this piece so any one got some suggestions. the wiring for the lighting needs to run up through the mount also??

[Damien9479]

Well since it is a resin kit Jase you can to use lacquer thinner to get the paint off without destroying it
The lacquer thinner should take off the mould release also
Then use a good self-etching primer on it and then your primary color coat and you shouldn't have flaky paint problems
It has worked for me in the past

[777]

Ha! That picture of you sitting down covered in dust wearing a mask... priceless! This is a monster project, looking great!

[scratchy]

Now that's a project and a half, Looking forward to seeing more!

[JAWS]

Its a kit. Theres no comparison to what guys like yourself can do. I'll be lucky if I ever get this finished let alone be something worth someones time to look at.

[scratchy]

Kit or Scratch,.....That doesn't diminish the fact that you're building a Super Star Destroyer.

[JAWS]

Thanks scratchy. Think I had a pesemistic moment. I hope I get my drill bits today so I can do something constructive on my weekend. Yes I have other builds but am waiting on stuff to move forward. Might try & finish the Tie Bomber also...

[JAWS]

Holy crap guys. I just checked out the site where i first saw one of these lit up & the guys freakn done 4 of the!!!! Check this out these look great. Hope mine comes out close... i found this guys site like nearly 8-9 years ago. Excellent work.

http://stardestroyerproject.com/SSD2.aspx

[Wombat]

Fuck!!!

I hope ya got a shit load of them drill bit's coming!!!


They look cool though as i'm sure yours is going to also mate!

[JAWS]

Well 2 of 3 sets have turned up so looks like Im doing some 'drillin' on the weekend! These bits are twice the size of the Fibre Im useing as everything else just snaps at the slightest twitch...

[scratchy]

(12-02-2009, 08:43 PM)jasonwright.1972 Wrote: These bits are twice the size of the Fibre Im useing as everything else just snaps at the slightest twitch...

Jason, how are they breaking?

[JAWS]

The 0.25mm drill bits were just snapping off in the resin. That was before I bought the Dremel Drill Press so Ive bought some more to try again. Which filler is best for resin? in a couple of places where Ive sanded openenings to allow for lighting it became too thin & fell away when drilling. So I need to repack it...

[scratchy]

When I drill my holes in my ISD, I don't use my Dremel, i use this, I haven't had a bit break yet, but then I'm drilling into styrene

http://www.zonatool.net/37-140.html

[JAWS]

Yeah thats what I tried with originally. The resin on this kit is really dense. I think I just needed to remove more resin but the shapes are really dificult to hollow out as they cut in & out alot. I was going to scrap this build, as in just build it without lights & sell it off. Theres a 6' version being made & Im one for bigger is better! Im definately getting the 6'er. This was my first resin kit & a learning curve. I'll finish it just because I don't not like finishing projects. The casting wasn/isn't great with alot of details imperfect. Was one of the last cast off the original moulds. It has just recently been remoulded & fresh casting again...This kit really needs to be cast clear.

[scratchy]

(12-29-2009, 08:48 AM)jasonwright.1972 Wrote: Yeah thats what I tried with originally. The resin on this kit is really dense. I think I just needed to remove more resin but the shapes are really dificult to hollow out as they cut in & out alot. I was going to scrap this build, as in just build it without lights & sell it off. Theres a 6' version being made & Im one for bigger is better! Im definately getting the 6'er. This was my first resin kit & a learning curve. I'll finish it just because I don't not like finishing projects. The casting wasn/isn't great with alot of details imperfect. Was one of the last cast off the original moulds. It has just recently been remoulded & fresh casting again...This kit really needs to be cast clear.

Why not take the Dremel tool, grind down the "inside" of the wall to make it thinner, then follow up with drilling with the pin vise. It may save on drill bits.

(Actually, you answered my question above )

[JAWS]

Well I was just checkin out your SD & damn that is serious lighting jammed in there. All the pieces on this kit were solid cast & its tough resin. Being my first resin kit I didn't really have any idea what the correct procedures were for achieving what i wanted which was a build similar to Lee's from the 'stardestroyerproject.com' that I saw a few years earlier.

[scratchy]

Well, I have absolutly no experience with resin kits,..... yet. However, I would be curious enough to take a small scrap of resin, warm it with a hair dryer and then drill it, and see what happens.

This is just a theory, the majority of the time I don't have a clue what I'm doing, it's all trial and error with me

[JAWS]

Scratchy what size FO are you using on the ISD? Im using 0.25mm The 0.25mm drill bits snap under any movement. Anyway on my trip to Bunnings today I stumbled across alluminnium tubing! Stoked so I grabbed a pipe for the Fibre Optics to get stuffed into with the LED's Happy chappy. this thing really hasn't got that far to get finished, well if a 1000 or more holes that need to get drilled & threaded isn't much work anyway... But I am getting closer. I have the LED's, the resistors for the LED's to run off 12volt, the wiring, power pack & now the tubing to stuff full of Fibre Optic. So think I'll get back to drilling & filling. Filling the bits that have been thinned too much & drilling the holes for threading the Fibre cause I can now thread sections & stuff into the tubing while I waite for some electrical tutoring.

[scratchy]

To be completely honest, I haven't got a clue of the size of the Fiber Optic that I'm using. I purchase three fiber optic lights at the local shopping mall and cannabilizied the parts for the build. I noticed when I threaded the fiber into the model that there is different thicknesses of strands, but nothing that stands out like a sore thumb though.

I also have three ac power packs, nine aluminum tubes and the rubber ends that go with them, and three clusters of blue LEDs that I can use at a later date from these fiber optic lights.

That build is looking phenominal!

---

I put a micrometer to some strands and the average thickness that I received is .015"

I hope this helps

[JAWS]

After getting some good progress on the Falcon it was time to get this bad boy movin along aswell. So today Ive cut some alluminnium tubes for the fibre to sit in. Now this fibre is 0.25 mm so it takes a heap to fill just one alluminnium tube.
   
   
I then started drilling out the engines to make way for the LED's There are 13 engines on this beast with 7 large & 6 smaller. I have made it so the LED's heads justs tick out on the large ones where as just the tips stick out on the smaller. I wanted to give them some difference in lighting. I think that will work best. The LED's fit in real good & am looking forward to the electrician showing me how to attache resistors to them so I can hopefully getem lit up soon.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
I then started getting the Fibre Optic ready for threading. This was seeming quite a daunting task just cutting so much FO for each hole 1 by 1 so I made up a simple jig to mass produce the same length strands & save time.
2 nails at the length I wanted the Fo & then just went round & round & round until it was all nearly wound around these 2 nails. I had 500ft of 0.25mm Fibre Optic on the reel & I wound about 300-400ft around these 2 nails. I then got some tape & taped one end around to secure the Fibre the cut the other end with very sharp scissors. I then put the scissors through the taped loop & cut the other end. So now I have all this Fibre at the same lengths waiting threading.
   
   
   
   
   
Were getting there now & once Ive been shown how to attache the resistors thing will move right along. Its good to work with a good movie on to keep you motivated!

[JAWS]

Sheer INSANITY!!!! I thought I might aswell start threading some FO in parts I had already started drilling. OH MY GOD this task is time consuming & mentally frustrating. This stuff is as thin as my hair & I am threading into tiny holes & pulling it through with clamp twesers. I have only done one level on one piece & I already know this is going to send me insane but if Lee Fury can do it 5 times I can do it once...

[dbhs]

Does this help ?

[cheerleaders] Jason, Jason, he's our man....
Thread that fiber like no one can !!! [/cheerleaders]

Yeah, you're crazy but we're having fun watching !!

[JAWS]

Things are getting brighter After a good tutorial by the technician/electrician at work today Ive got a small handle on what I need to do to get this bad boy lit up. I now know how to solder the resistors for the Led's & what I can & can't do. Ive got the basics & that all I need right now & bein Australian he explained it all in a way in which I pretty much understood(SIMPLE) So heres a quick couple of pics of my first light test. I'll be drillin, fillin & threadn mor FO tonight as I wanna see one of these cities all lit up
I did the test with a small 9volt battery but she's been tested on 12volt to make sure the resistors held up.

[JAWS]

Picked up some putty to bog up some areas that I sanded too thin & fell away when drilling Fibre Optic holes. This stuff was all I could get & just had to get something. Actually worked really well & set hard as. Can redrill now & move on. Ive now taken away any excuse not to move forward on my builds everyday now. So progress shots daily from now on.

[JAWS]

This is not fun...

[Scott Graham]

Yeah, not fun...it's driving me insane just looking at it - and noticing it's just a small part of it!

[JAWS]

Yep that is one section at the rear. Theres about 120-130 strands on that one piece I actually had to do it again cause I didn't secure the fibre well enough & strands fell out, so I started again... I went to sleep dreaming of threading fibre. I woke up early & went back to it. Its amazing how my eyes have adjusted to it now & is actually a little easier. I just have 22 building section, the entire top hull & the entire bottom hull & engines to do..............

[JAWS]

Starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel, I mean fibre The first piece ready & awaiting. Quick light test & she's on Its getting exciting now.

[dbhs]

That's a very rewarding sight.

Very cool.

[scratchy]

She's coming along really good now Jason