2001 ASO USSC Discovery One

zathros

*****SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR*****
Staff member
Administrator
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I would seriously consider using fiber optics. You need less bulbs, you can run smaller light points, and it is easier to figure out electronically. I think they look better. You could light a whole ship with one LED bulb, more, if you need more colors, even then, you can surround the bulb with different color plastic sheets, and that color will transmit down the Optic line. Just my 2 cents worth. :)
 

Ken Spriggs

New Member
So, I think I have nailed the final shots...... :):)

View attachment 145101

View attachment 145106 View attachment 145103


The model has been placed on temporary stands in the display case, waiting for final lighting design and implementation.
But, it gives you a very good indication of where I am going with this ..............
Oh, and on a weird note, look at the TV's IR receiver lens, in the second photo...... Look familiar ...??
Spooky! HAL is watching me!!

View attachment 145104

View attachment 145105


Will update as and when things progress, but I have a feeling there may be a delay before the lighting gets finalized, as my LED expert is very busy at the moment. But we will see..........

Laters!

:wave:
You DID nail those shots! They really look like stills from the film! Awesome!
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
Thanks @Ken Spriggs .
On the computer, I superimposed the camera shot over the film still, to try to match it.
Unfortunately, it is still not 100% correct. The depth of field and perspective is not quite correct.
I took the shots with my Sony smart phone camera. I am hoping to try some shots with my Nikon DSLR next week, and then I hope to have even better shots than those the above.
It was getting the lighting correct that took the most time. And even that is not 100% correct either.
 
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Ken Spriggs

New Member
I understand, I've been working and reworking my Discovery pod bay for about a year! Sometimes I come up with an idea and it works great, some others I keep trying different approaches until it's just right! Too much of a perfectionist I guess ; p
 

spaceagent-9

Right Hand Man and Confidant
Moderator
im floored. most excellent!! just sitting here in awe of not only a grand model , but your landmark build of it!!! great skills and beyond excellent outcome!!
 

Ken Spriggs

New Member
Potential life expectancy issues......

OK! I put my hands up in frustration here... Which I really do not want at the start of this ....... These nuts are making me nuts.... wall1

I've tried fingers, thumbs, fingers AND thumbs, tweezers, wooden pokey thingies of different shapes and sizes, different weights of paper, beer, a jig, different states of consciousness, more beer, swearing, moaning at the good lady for complaining that the first thing that she gets shoved in her face when she gets home, is me and my nuts...... (She should be so lucky ... sign1)

I just can't seem to get the consistency that I want to achieve....

I think the main problem is lack of experience in this medium, but this project has a steep learning curve....... :cool:

As I've mentioned repeatedly, my biggest concern is linearity of the spine. To me, it is the end result under the display case, that counts....

So, as usual lately, I have been mainly playing with my nuts, and doing some test and/or final assemblies, of the couplings and other bits and bobs.
As mentioned earlier, I hand-sanded each individual metal nut and sprayed them with grey primer. While these were drying, I used 80 gsm paper for page 2 (which contains all the nuts) and cut out the strips of the nuts without the tabs or the side faces. I then glued these to the side faces of the metal nuts, and burnished the paper onto the nut with my fingers and mainly thumbs.
The end result looks acceptable, but can be bettered.

Please understand that the pics below are not final build, but just a quick throw together to understand how it will look....

All constructive critisism is welcome .... :)

View attachment 105431

I am quite pleased with the similarity of the printed spine wraps and the aluminium 8mm tube, that I am using instead of the wooden dowel...

Here are a couple of other shots for your perusal......

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View attachment 105433

Nite Nite. :wave:
I feel your pain! I'm working on a 3 ft resin version of the Discovery. I used a brass tube for the spine and although the parts were finished, all of the little "nuts" had to be drilled out and the edges sanded and smoothed with needle files. I had to come up with a jig to keep them all aligned when sliding onto the tube. Here is a link to my gallery. You can see the jig in thr background, I screwed down two strips of wood with just enough space between to fit one row of the spine sections. I lined up the next section first before gluing. http://zealot.com/gallery/photos/1492/
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
Yeah, we have got to be 'nuts' to go this far...
Your jig method is similar to mine. And, well, its works! Everything is linear! :biggrin:

I have decided that I am not happy with the backing picture .........
I am going to edit it and get it re-printed..... Another €25 to be spent.....:meh:
I really do not like the position of the moon (Europa) in the picture. It sits smack in the middle of the model, from all angles, and spoils the whole visual concept for me.... I am going to edit the picture and reposition the moon to the upper left of the backdrop.

This combo pic shows what I mean .....

General_461.JPG


And I'm still waiting on getting the lighting done ......!

See you hopefully soon ...... ;)

:wave:
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
An update, for no update .........!

It has been 10 days since I last posted....
And nothing has changed. :sorry:

Ok, well, a little thing has.....

I have 'acquired' 3 lengths of 10 mm threaded rod and purchased some wall anchors, that I require to mount the display case on the wall.

General_462.JPG

Because of the MDF boards, the display case has quite a weight to it, so I needed relatively strong materials to support it.
I will put shrouds and end-caps on the threaded rods, when affixed to the wall, and the display case will rest on these.

I have borrowed the correct size (16mm,) SDS masonry drill from a friend. (€35 for something I'm probably gonna use just this once, does not justify the cost, so hence the borrowing. ;))
So, I am hoping to make some holes, (and p|$$ the neighbours off!! ) at some point tomorrow evening. :)

At least then, everything will be ready, for when the display case lighting is eventually finished. :yawn:

:wave:
 

spaceagent-9

Right Hand Man and Confidant
Moderator
i was thinking about this again, I was wondering what your final mounting will be? acrylic planks running out from the picture, like a ------l ?

oh by the way, DBK -the d-2 was even worse, I put star trek nacelles on it! lol
 

Sky Seeker

Well Established Member
i was thinking about this again, I was wondering what your final mounting will be? acrylic planks running out from the picture, like a ------l ?

oh by the way, DBK -the d-2 was even worse, I put star trek nacelles on it! lol
Hey Spaceagent - can we see the pics?

Sky Seeker
 

spaceagent-9

Right Hand Man and Confidant
Moderator
I just messed with the image in paint. by the way I don't know if this will help, its very sturdy and is a finger slide for a guitar. about 3 bucks at any music store. it might work good, I don't know what your plans are.GEDC1592.JPG
 
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