2001 ASO USSC Discovery One

Z

Zathros

Just make sure you don't use a borrowed one, cross threads are tough! :)
 

F131

F131
Great job. Like yourself, if I can find something made out of paper, metal or wood that will strengthen, improve detail or protect your sanity (multiple itty bitty parts) I'm all for using them. Everyone here is pretty understanding and supportive.
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
At first, I was going nuts....

Now the air conditioning units are playing up.....

Repetition......But, to have repetition, you must have an example to repeat...

This was my first attempt at the 'air-con' units on the ends of ALL the modules on the spine....

IMG-20120521-00289.jpg

Like I said; I'm not used to this medium, so it can be improved upon, I'm sure...

But, there again, in comparison to my nuts, which were never willing to get in shape..... (But, in hindsight, maybe I played with them too much and made them droopy and un-firm..... sign1 ), I found these little three sided things rather frustrating, because after I carefully cut, folded and shaped it, coloured the edges and then went to grab it with tweezers.....PING!!!.... There it went under the table...... My cat has a keen interest in my hobby, so, I have no idea were that one ended up....., or went....

Perseverance... And a true love of my cat... :)

I'm busy with completing the spine, and all the modules contained thereon, and won't bore you again with the repetition.... Of the linear spine.... And making sure it is all, well..... Linear... :)

Anyway, back to the air-con thingies..... Guess what... I'm gonna make a jig to speed up the process..... Somehow...

After study of the part sheets and supplied pictures by UHU02 (<-- :inw: ) I decided that to make sure of the rigidity of the whole model, I would cut the interior strengtheners/supports, for the connection of the spine tube to the engine module and command sphere, from 200 gsm card... (So far, 160 gsm has been the most utilized paper weight)

Using 160gsm for the spine/engine connection 'shroud' seemed to work well.....

IMG-20120520-00279.jpg
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
Very cool and clean build so far. Impressive!

Thank you Marco. :)

Paper modelling is a new medium for me, but with all the fantastic advice and support here, I'm sure that, with a bit of time, patience and lots of practice, I will be able to achieve my goal of creating a model of my favourite ship that I can cherish for a long time.........
 

Rhaven Blaack

!!!THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN!!!
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Some great reference work for detail on this subject by David Robinson that I found on the net....

http://www.bambam131.com/Discovery.htm

Will be posting some build progress pics soon..... Promise!!

I would have to say that is the PERFECT reference site for the USSC Discovery One.
I do not think that you can get anything better then that (unless, of course you where able to take the photos yourself).
Thank you for sharing.
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
Small update....

The M8 nuts that I used, instead of making the paper ones, turned out well.
The only slight problem was that I had to bore out the thread of the nut so that it would fit over the aluminium pipe. I also forgot to leave room for the spine wraps. So now the nuts are a very snug fit on the pipe,and are slid into there correct position and CA glued directly onto the pipe.

IMG-20120601-00343.jpg

So, I had to make separate sleeves for the connector assemblies. These sleeve/coupling assemblies will then be slid on to the pipe and glued...

IMG-20120601-00348.jpg

The same method I had to use for the central antennae module assembly, which is now complete, apart from the antennae array itself. I don't want to clumsily knock it off while I build the rest of the ship. The antennae array will go on last and become the 'crowning glory', so to speak.....

IMG-20120604-00444.jpgIMG-20120604-00442.jpgIMG-20120604-00440.jpg


Will post more as I progress....!!! :wave:
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
Update..

Been busy with other things in life, so not much progress it seems....

But, that is part of the frustration factor of this model; is that you put in many hours, and seem to get nowhere...... But, slowley, slowley it comes together...

The 'cartilage' of the spine is now installed as final build... The antennae module section is still not glued into final position onto the spine, as I want to leave this free for any tweaks that might need to be done, when attaching the modules to the spine nuts.....

354.jpg

The linearity seems to be coming together too ......:thumb:

352.jpg

I think I have practiced and played enough, to establish a reliable production process, for the endless amount of modules to be manufactured...

The module production line ......With all neccessary equipment .. :cool:

356.jpg

Will keep at it...:wave:
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
Visions?

At the beginning of the project, the nuts drove me nuts.......

Now, the modules are making me HALucinate .......

I'm seeing mini Cylon Fighters..........

IMG-20120610-00498.jpg

Or, maybe it's too much to smoke.......sign1...
But, the boring build is continuing....:sleeping:

IMG-20120610-00510.jpg
 
Z

Zathros

I look forward to seeing this done. You will have something quite special when you are done! :)
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
Thank you, and I hope so!!!

It is taking a lot of effort, but I am learning every step......
Maybe I should of done something a little less involved as my first paper model...

But, I am hopefully fullfilling a dream...

So, bite the bullet and get on with it.......
 

vbsargent

Member
Yeah, it is a bit of an undertaking for your first dip into the paper model pool!:mrgreen: MAybe you should have tried something simple, like Jan's Sulaco, or Uhu02's Das Boot. :p

Regardless, you are doing an outstanding job on this. It looks great.
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
A moment of truth.....

Well, it has been one heck of a week, and it is only Tuesday.....:rolleyes:

The good lady and I are no longer on speaking terms and she has gone away, to venture down other avenues of life........:confused::cry:

Anyway, on the bright side: It gives me more time to myself and to my modelling! :cool:

And on that note: A moment of truth has arrived.

I have finally completed one set, of three, of the spine modules. :thumb:
I decided I would build them in the sets of bottom, starboard and port sides.
Once each set is completed it can be attached to the spine in one go.

This should keep things linear ....

I decided on the level surface of the dinner table as a good flat base, so that everything can be layed out. (and now I can use it without any complaint :twisted:)
But, after wisely checking the surface with a 1m spirit level, I found that the table surface actually bowed downward slightly across the middle. Not enough that your peas would roll away if you dropped them, but enough to show up glaringly on this particular model. I needed as flat and true surface as possible. I pondered what, until I realized I was holding the answer in my hand; the spirit level itself!!!!

As was seen in a photo from an earlier post, I used two edging strips used in laminate flooring, as a straight edge, (I checked them first with the spirit level). These strips are thin enough to clear the bracket thingies on the couplings between the module assemblies, allowing me to snug the edge nicely to the widest section of the modules themselves.
I used gaffer tape to hold one of these strips to the spirit level, ensuring it was straight to the edge of the level along its length.
I then placed 4 modules at intervals along the straight edge, and then placed the other straight edge strip on the opposite side of the other, with the four modules in between.
I then taped these down, while applying a GENTLE squeezing action across the strips. Now the gap between the strips match the widest part of the modules perfectly along their lengths.
I then placed all the modules in their respective positions and checked everything FOUR times, using strips of the spine wraps as measuring sticks for the module placement.

The photo should make it a bit clearer...

IMG-20120612-00522.jpg

I sighted along the lengths of the modules to check trueness...

I noticed that the surfaces that mount to the nuts were not that level and a bit wobbily in places.

IMG-20120612-00523.jpg

I used a light and a steel rule to check for trueness.... Plenty of light showing thru :(

IMG-20120612-00518.jpg

To accomodate for this problem, I decided to use clear silicon as an attachment medium. This should help to eliminate any uneven attachment surfaces. So I turned the spine assembly upside down and added a small blob of silicone to the attachment point of each nut.
I then lifted the whole assembly and carefully, VERY carefully, lowered the spine assembly on to the laid out modules.

The weight of the aluminium tube and the metal nuts, should be enough to apply enough downward pressure as the silicon dries......

And here it is, in place, with the silicon drying....

IMG-20120612-00529.jpg

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I will take some photos of the results when dried.
But, judging by how long it has taken me to write this, that might be very very soon .:mrgreen:

Next post coming very shortly, I think............
 
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