Revell - Maquis Fighter

@Sol. Unbelievable! I've just got in from a trip to the electronics store via my local hobby shop (which is closing down! :'() and this is exactly what I've picked up for my next build. Only difference, I've got a 2.1mm connection (didn't want it to be too big). Still to test it, hope it works. Should I have gone for the 3.5mm? All the others looked a bit big. :-\

@Baron. That's really great if anyone's finding this helpful. I'm just finding my way with everything, but lighting kits is really something that's important to me. Don't know why, 'cos I haven't really used them much.

Incidentaly, I live in a town in Scotland called Linlithgow which is the fictional birthplace of Montgomery "Scotty" Scott. There's even a place in the local museum for him. 8)
 
No no, that's ok, 2.1 mm must hold well to. to avoid ANY problems with it just make sure that you mount the model directly over the plug. For horizontal or angled mountings I'd still recommend to use a 3.5 just in case - it always sucks when your beauty falls down an crashes antenas on the sensor cluster, right?))
The idea of those sockets as I see it is the following: bigger model -> more weight -> but along with that more place inside fr a bigger mounting. Relatively small model -> nice fitting of a 2.1 mm. By big models here I meant really big, like some Enterprises, 1/350 refit or revells Voyager.
 
Awesome, thanks Sol. I think the 2.1 will do nicely, my next build is a good little size.

On a side note, can't believe my model shop's closing. I used to go there as a kid. Now I'll have to go all the way to Edinburgh if I need something. Looks like I'll be ordering everything online from now on, which sucks if I run out of paint or something like that. :'(
 
Thanks, mario. I'm into the puttying stages now and glueing on the impulse engine parts.

Changed the little latch handle because the other one was the wrong shape and it didn't look very good either.

31082011322.jpg


Glued the impulse engine covers. Not a bad effect. Just the right amount of light I would say. The wires and LEDs are quite visible though. I don't know if I'll fix this, it doesn't really bother me and I can't figure out a way to hide them. Mirrors maybe? There's not really enough room in there. If I'd planned it differently, it might be possible. Sorry you can't see the problem from this angle.

05092011323.jpg


Not glueing the warp engine grills yet, just placed them on for the photo. I can do the forward ones, but not the large ones where the wings will connect.

Problem here is puttying enough around the edges to block the light around them. I don't know how clear it is, but there's 2 layers of clear plastic here. One inside the hull, and the other is attached to the grill.

05092011324.jpg
 
Thanks PpigP and Jamaica. We'll just see how long these batteries last! ;D

Wings are looking OK. All done, I'm going to paint these seperately and attach them last. Got most of the seams sorted, I think. I'll give it a spray of primer again tomorrow and see how they look.

05092011325.jpg


Forgot to take a pic without the lights on. You can see where there is a large gap. This is mainly my fault. The clear plastic inside the engines prevents the part fitting properly. I sanded down the inside edge to try and make it fit better with small success.

05092011328.jpg


Still lots to do, but that was another good weekend.
 
There are ways to get the LED's to not be such hot spots. One is to file down the LED's. Here is an example:

led-test-2.jpg

Take a look at how much I filed down that LED. A bit crazy but it will disperse the light. Second, try inserting some wax paper or something like it between the LED and the clear plastic. That will diffuse the light even more.

Keep at it, I want to see the finished model!!
 
For light dispersal, you can also sand the surface of the LED to help with the hot spots.

Work's looking good.
Your putty work may help with the light block issue. You can also put black over the putty work first
 
@Grendels, didn't know you could file them down as much as that! I've got a few wide angle red LEDs but they're 5mm and I didn't want to use any of those.

I used squadron on my USS Spitfire build with some less than perfect results. I never thinned it with acetone, like I saw in one of your vids though.

Here, I'm using epoxy magic sculp (without a 't') (I'm told it's similar to aves), which I think doesn't block light completely. It's much easier to work with though and gives a smoother finish.

@Quaralane, do you mean black paint over the putty first? That ought to do the trick!

Thanks guys, and don't worry, the finish line is in sight. I've just got to jump another couple of hurdles. Though my knees are bloody, I'll get there! ;D
 
Igard, it is looking good!
The lights are really bright.
The grill work looks very kewl.
One of the great aspects of this forum is all the helping hands, willing and ready to share their knowledge! ;D
 
Igard,
That's what I meant. I just didn't write it out very well.
Black paint over the putty coat
 
punkpigpen said:
i've never see an LED filed down like that before. but thats good to know its okmto do in case!
Click to expand...

you can file them down quite a bit! As long as you don't file them to the point that their innards are showing, it will still light up. The plastic coating is mainly there to keep air away from the inside parts and to focus the light. I don't like the light focused so much, so I file the plastic into the shape I want.

Igard: Yes black paint should work over the putty just fine to block light!
 
Quaralane said:
Igard,
That's what I meant. I just didn't write it out very well.
Black paint over the putty coat
Click to expand...

Awesome. Thanks, Q. I've got some of the nasty gaps on the impulse engines puttied with magic sculp and it seems to be blocking the light pretty well. I'll put a layer of black paint over that just to be sure.
 

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