Re: Enterprise NX-01 Refit
And away we go!
First off I drilled out the round and slotted window ports using a pinvise. The round ports will be filled with fiber-optic strands:
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IMG_6096 by trekriffic, on Flickr
There were some smaller holes I drilled out for spotlights over hatches, atop the bridge superstructure, on the nacelle pontoon shoulders, and so forth.
I actually bent the drill bit a tad on purpose as I drilled to impart a downward angle to the hole above the hatch doors. I'm hoping this will help the fiber cast a glow down in front of the hatch this way:
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IMG_6097 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Some of the windows after I drilled, carved, and filed away any scrappy remnants with an exacto knife:
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IMG_6098 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The neck peg that fits into the underside of the primary hull got filed out in the engineering hull upper halves. This is to allow for passage of wires into the saucer from the power jack which I'll locate in the secondary hull:
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IMG_6099 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Holes for those little red and blue lights located in the recessed front of the dorsal cowling got drilled out. The outer two will be red on each side while the innermost one will be blue:
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IMG_6100 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The observation room located at the rear of the primary hull was a bit of work. I cut the peg off the dome that slides into a tunnel in the lower part that has the three window ports and substituted clear round acrylic rod, the better to transmit light. I also carved out a slot about 2/3 of the way aroud the rim of the tiny dome facing the stern. Then I glued the dome to the top of the clear rod and glued in 2 tiny bits of styrene strip into the slot equally spaced to frame the openings and form 3 narrow windows at the base of the dome. You can see the strips sticking out before I trimmed them flush inthe pic. Then I drilled holes thru the lower 3 windows and squared them up as best I could using files and an exacto knife. FO strands were then heated to bloom the ends and fed thru the three lower window ports:
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IMG_6101 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Styrene strip was cut to form the lower frames of the 2 outboard windows. A tiny dollop of CA was dropped into the 3 slotted openings in the dome and the lower windows.
Still some work to do but it's coming along:
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IMG_6107 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The fiber stands from the inside:
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IMG_6108 by trekriffic, on Flickr
I started gluing the saucer rim segments into the lower hull. I had to remove some plastic in order not to block the light from entering the slotted windows:
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IMG_6102 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Likewise channels were carved out of the individual segments where the slotted windows were located to allow light to reach them:
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IMG_6103 by trekriffic, on Flickr
After gluing the segments in on the port side you can see how the light shines thru now:
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IMG_6104 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Here's how the rim walls look from the inside:
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IMG_6106 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Once I finish gluing the rest of the rim segments in place and come up with an idea for the three long range sensors that will be replacing the deflector dish in the saucer I'll spray the inside surfaces with Tamiya primer, lightblock with black enamel, then spray on a coat of gloss white.
Then I'll run some electrical wiring and figure out what I'm doing with the LEDs before I run the rest of the fiber.
More to come...
