1/72 Finemolds Naboo Starfighter Lighted.

texastony1946

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Joined
Mar 15, 2013
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Finemolds 1/72 scale Naboo Starfighter build. Of all the builds in this series I have done so far, this one
has the best lines. It really looks like it should be the hotrod compared to the other ships in the series.
It is very sleek and has very graceful lines. This model comes with a large base and I wanted to use it
to highlight the build. I decided to show the fighter just lifting off the base and exiting the hanger. I did
very little weathering to this model, I wanted it clean and sleek

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I started the build with the engines. I used my Tamiya cutter to cut grooves for the engine wires in the bottom
of the wings. I used pattern files to enlarge and shape the grooves. I super glued the wires in the grooves and
used filler made from Tamiya super thin glue and styrene. I sanded the filler smooth and prepared to mount the
engine LED's.


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The engine exhaust nozzle required drilling small holes to show the engine glow. I used 3mm blue candle
flicker LED's for the engines.

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I cut round spacers from styrene to mount the LED's in the engine housing. I also took time to light block the
cockpit interior with gray primer.

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I mounted the engines and assembled the engines for testing. I liked the blue glow. but it was a little
faint. Nothing I could really do to enhance this because of the size of the exhaust ports.

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l primered the parts with gray Stynelrez and prepared to use Alclad chrome on the silver parts. I have never sprayed Alclad so this was a learning experience. I used the high gloss black base primer and sprayed the chrome.
This stuff is extremely thin and requires multiple coats. I feel I put maybe one or two coats too many. Seems like I
always err on the side of more is better. It did turn out OK but I could have had a better finish with less coats. I also
preshaded some of the yellow parts in preparation for shooting the yellow colors. I used model air yellow and
golden yellow.

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I drilled the cockpit instrument panel and mounted fiber optics. I show colored fiber in this photo but
ended up using clear in the final assembly. I used the laser weapon led to light one of the instruments
and give a bit of green flicker in the cockpit. I used a cyan led to backlight the cockpit.

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I discovered that zip kicker will destroy an Alclad finish. I used silver rub and buff to try and repair. It
looked OK but the finish was pretty much ruined. I was tempted to strip the part and start again, but
changed my mind since the part really won't show when assembled.

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I built a circuit for the main weapon in the nose that would fade to blue and give a brief bright white flash. I used
YENKA to develop the circuit and breadboard to test. I used a perf board to build the circuit. Later I used
a 555 timer in a chip mounting base instead. The perf board circuit would not fit under the base and the blue fade
was not effective through the fiber optics, This allowed me to simplify the circuit and mount in the base.

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I started on the base. I drilled the six holes for the 3mm flat top LED's for the floor lights. I taped and primered black. I created a marble like finish using a stippling technique and multiple color paints. I deliberately minimized
the effect due to the scale of the model. You can really get carried away with this effect. I removed the tape and the base turned out OK.

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I cut styrene tube to create bezels for the lights. I attached the pieces to a piece of tape and flat sanded to size.
I thinned the interior of the charging station and mounted a white 3mm LED inside. The light came out diffused
after light blocking the interior.

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I mounted all the components and did a light test. After test I hot glued wires and components into
the base. I later light blocked the under side of the base.

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Still photo's

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Thanks for viewing.


YOUTUBE Video.

http://youtu.be/2iwdetr0WJ4
 
Thank you for viewing and commenting Wolf Star. I wanted to make the base as detailed as possible to show
the model off.
 

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