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Thanks Guys!

Next up... the launch bay!

After removing the parts from the sprue I cleaned up with a file and sanding sticks:

[ATTACH=full]46652[/ATTACH]

I'll mask off the ceiling, side and rear wall windows from inside before I paint the floor and walls. My plan for the ceiling, side and rear walls is to paint them silver on the inside followed by black and a coat of primer. The silver on the inside will relect light back outwards thru the clear plastic towards the windows on the side of the hull. I'll paint the final colors before applying the PE which will be painted before gluing to the plastic.

The launch bay taped toether for dry fitting into the hull:

[ATTACH=full]46653[/ATTACH]

I had to enlarge the slots in the floor (the lighting kit doesn't include a floor as you are supposed to use the kit part) so the sidewalls tabs would fit flush. On the rear of the sidewalls I had to file a little off the tab that fits between the pair of LED brackets on each side of the rear wall.

Once I had all the wire harnesses in place and taped to the bay I did a second dry fit. The first test I did without the wiring was perfect. Everything went together with no gaps. With the wiring in place it was not quite so good. There was a 1/16" gap between the hull halves caused by not enough clearance between the LED's, the wiring and the hull itself. I could force it closed but I have no intention of gluing the hull halves together with the rear seam under constant stress so... I'll have to make some modifications to the wiring scheme. The LEDs appear to be wired in parallel so the board must be supplying 3 volts to each string. Perfect! One thing I'm going to do for sure is switch out the wire for a smaller gauge-probably the 30 AWG Kynar I just got. That alone might do the trick along with grinding and thinning the square LED that fits over the hangar doors. I'm also not going to install the LEDs in the trenches in the ceiling as those will be covered with PE; the ceiling beams are not meant to be lit in my opinion. I'm going to use thin SMD LEDs over the ceiling on top of the bay. If there's not enough clearance I may have to go ahead and thin the top of the hull plastic just a little so they fit.

Stay tuned!

<blockquote data-quote="trekriffic" data-source="post: 145831" data-attributes="member: 11008">Thanks Guys!Next up... the launch bay!After removing the parts from the sprue I cleaned up with a file and sanding sticks:[ATTACH=full]46652[/ATTACH]I&#039;ll mask off the ceiling, side and rear wall windows from inside before I paint the floor and walls. My plan for the ceiling, side and rear walls is to paint them silver on the inside followed by black and a coat of primer. The silver on the inside will relect light back outwards thru the clear plastic towards the windows on the side of the hull. I&#039;ll paint the final colors before applying the PE which will be painted before gluing to the plastic.The launch bay taped toether for dry fitting into the hull:[ATTACH=full]46653[/ATTACH]I had to enlarge the slots in the floor (the lighting kit doesn&#039;t include a floor as you are supposed to use the kit part) so the sidewalls tabs would fit flush. On the rear of the sidewalls I had to file a little off the tab that fits between the pair of LED brackets on each side of the rear wall. Once I had all the wire harnesses in place and taped to the bay I did a second dry fit. The first test I did without the wiring was perfect. Everything went together with no gaps. With the wiring in place it was not quite so good. There was a 1/16&quot; gap between the hull halves caused by not enough clearance between the LED&#039;s, the wiring and the hull itself. I could force it closed but I have no intention of gluing the hull halves together with the rear seam under constant stress so... I&#039;ll have to make some modifications to the wiring scheme. The LEDs appear to be wired in parallel so the board must be supplying 3 volts to each string. Perfect! One thing I&#039;m going to do for sure is switch out the wire for a smaller gauge-probably the 30 AWG Kynar I just got. That alone might do the trick along with grinding and thinning the square LED that fits over the hangar doors. I&#039;m also not going to install the LEDs in the trenches in the ceiling as those will be covered with PE; the ceiling beams are not meant to be lit in my opinion. I&#039;m going to use thin SMD LEDs over the ceiling on top of the bay. If there&#039;s not enough clearance I may have to go ahead and thin the top of the hull plastic just a little so they fit. Stay tuned!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="trekriffic, post: 145831, member: 11008"] Thanks Guys! Next up... the launch bay! After removing the parts from the sprue I cleaned up with a file and sanding sticks: [ATTACH=full]46652[/ATTACH] I'll mask off the ceiling, side and rear wall windows from inside before I paint the floor and walls. My plan for the ceiling, side and rear walls is to paint them silver on the inside followed by black and a coat of primer. The silver on the inside will relect light back outwards thru the clear plastic towards the windows on the side of the hull. I'll paint the final colors before applying the PE which will be painted before gluing to the plastic. The launch bay taped toether for dry fitting into the hull: [ATTACH=full]46653[/ATTACH] I had to enlarge the slots in the floor (the lighting kit doesn't include a floor as you are supposed to use the kit part) so the sidewalls tabs would fit flush. On the rear of the sidewalls I had to file a little off the tab that fits between the pair of LED brackets on each side of the rear wall. Once I had all the wire harnesses in place and taped to the bay I did a second dry fit. The first test I did without the wiring was perfect. Everything went together with no gaps. With the wiring in place it was not quite so good. There was a 1/16" gap between the hull halves caused by not enough clearance between the LED's, the wiring and the hull itself. I could force it closed but I have no intention of gluing the hull halves together with the rear seam under constant stress so... I'll have to make some modifications to the wiring scheme. The LEDs appear to be wired in parallel so the board must be supplying 3 volts to each string. Perfect! One thing I'm going to do for sure is switch out the wire for a smaller gauge-probably the 30 AWG Kynar I just got. That alone might do the trick along with grinding and thinning the square LED that fits over the hangar doors. I'm also not going to install the LEDs in the trenches in the ceiling as those will be covered with PE; the ceiling beams are not meant to be lit in my opinion. I'm going to use thin SMD LEDs over the ceiling on top of the bay. If there's not enough clearance I may have to go ahead and thin the top of the hull plastic just a little so they fit. Stay tuned! [/QUOTE]

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