Re: Enterprise NX-01 Refit

Today I finsihed modifying the bussard spikes using .060 dia styrene rod and some piano wire I found in the back of my LHS next to the model railroading section...

First I drilled a hole in the end of the plastic rod, sanded an angle to form a cone on the end of the rod, sliced it off with my xacto knife (it was a teensy weensy cone with an even tinier hole in the center), slid it onto the piano wire and glued it in position with CA leaving a little wire sticking out the end. This is the tip of the new spike:

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IMG_6404 by trekriffic, on Flickr

I sliced the old plastic spike shaft off the collar of the kit part and using the same bit in my pinvise I drilled a hole dead center and straight thru the part:

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IMG_6402 by trekriffic, on Flickr

Then I had a spacy sandwhich for lunch:

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Cheese sandwhich by trekriffic, on Flickr

After lunch I slid the piano wire with it's conical tip thru the collar and glued it with CA:

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IMG_6406 by trekriffic, on Flickr

Here's the new steel shaft spike next to the old plastic spike:

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IMG_6405 by trekriffic, on Flickr

And the two new spikes:

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IMG_6412 by trekriffic, on Flickr

The piano wire is high tensile strength carbon steel and should never bend or break which was my concern with the flimsy plastic spikes.

Next I'll do the same thing with the deflector dish spike.