Constitution Class Refit USS OLYMPIA Polar Lights 1/350 scale UPDATE #16 - Secondary Hull - Part 6

Greetings!

This entry will cover my fixes to the secondary hull to get it ready to be mated with the saucer and neck.

The first issue to fix is where I left off, the shuttlebay.  There was a lot of bleeding through the tape, so I had to repaint it in sections.

I still have to retouch the angular grey sections due to overspray.

Next step was to paint the phaser banks.  I painted them from the same batch of paint I used on the saucer's RCS thruster and phasers.  (I also painted them at the same time as I painted the saucer's phaser banks and deflector dish - from a future update, so as to not waste paint from transferring back and forth from the reservoir for the airbrush and the mixed solution.)

ventral phasers on the belly of the engineering hull

just over the shuttle bay 

And the reveal...

Next step was to touch up on the strong back details. The strong back is painted a light grey made by Lowe's brand of paints, Valspar.   So I sprayed a card and touched up with a brush.

I then ran a black micro Sharpie in the grooves between the rings around the grooves of the deflector housing.

PYLON FIX

As I previously mentioned in a previous update, the tip of the pylon busted off.  https://fordosmodels.blogspot.ca/2016/11/constitution-class-refit-uss-olympia.html 

I have a second kit, unbuilt (actually two - one sealed, one open from 2005).  I gathered the parts from the unbuilt kit in an effort to cast a mould off of the pylon.

Here is the starboard nacelle. 

I mocked up the starboard nacelle and pylon with painter's tape.

I then used a two part silicon putty to make a mould off of the vents on the starboard pylon.  Having the nacelle in place helped show me where to stop filling the gap with resin.

Next, I went to my stock of pipe and rods.  I found a suitable steel rod to insert into the cavity of the nacelle pylon.

I used a 15 min epoxy to affix the rod to the hollow pylon.

And at the same time, I reinforced the socket for the stand in the secondary hull.  I found the off-balance of the secondary hull was causing the connection to weaken.  This is a heavy model and the last I thing I want to have happen is for the model to topple over.  Epoxy resin is very strong, adheres well and tough to get off... trust me on this one. 

I had considered splicing in a part from an unbuilt kit, but that might wreck the strength of the part.  I also considered cutting off both corners entirely, much like the Phase II Enterprise (Jeffries Diagram).

sourced from the web - no copyright infringement is intended

I glued in a piece of styrene too use as a stopper for the flow of resin.

Ready to pour!

note, you can see the terminal connection for the future engines

I propped up this part of the model to ensure this section of the model was 100% level.  It needs to be to pour in resin.

Survey says...

Here are the results.  I noticed there was a leak as the resin seemed to drain through the pylon.  I put in blocks with styrene and hot glue but I guess there wasn't a perfect seal. It actually drained and leaked on the hull.  Fortunately it didn't stick to the glossy surface of the paint and could be chipped off easily.  The residue easily removed with mineral spirits.  I tried doing that on the engraved detail on the pylon and created a bigger mess.

Moving forward, I cut off the metal rod with a dremel rotary tool. 

I still need to refine the fit of the nacelle to the pylon now that the resin has fully cured.

But before I do that, I need to fix the grill work.  This has been a very frustrating setback.  I paint the section with grey primer to see the faults, and there were quite a few.  I then had a new idea/approach, fill in the gaps with putty and stamp the design in with a half mould.  I wasn't going to reuse the mould I previously made, so I made a new mould off of the unbuilt pylon.

Here is my first attempt.  It's ok, but not perfect.

I then painted it, and still no go.  So a few more tries later, this time filling in the whole piece.

In the end I re-stamped it and smother over the bumpiness with my finger.

That wraps up this entry...more fixing and painting on this 'beastie'.  Next entry, I start the decals on the saucer!

Happy Model Building!

Star Trek and all related marks, logos and characters are solely owned by CBS Studios Inc. This fan blog (production) is not endorsed by, sponsored by, nor affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other Star Trek franchise, and is a non-commercial fan-made blog intended for recreational use.  No commercial exhibition or distribution is permitted. No alleged independent rights will be asserted against CBS or Paramount Pictures.

Constitution Class Refit USS OLYMPIA Polar Lights 1/350 scale UPDATE #15 - Finishing the Saucer: Part 4

Greetings!

It's finally come to this, finishing the saucer section of the USS Olympia.

Once I masked off all of the windows, I then primed the perimeter of the saucer white.  Then I masked off the sensor bands using the masking strips which came in the masking set I bought.

Once everything was masked, I then repainted it with pearlescent white.

Next step was to mask off the centre section of the wall so I can retouch the edge.  First the top edge.

Followed by the bottom section.

Once I finished repainting the saucer's edge, I then moved on to the RCS thrusters on the saucer.

And I masked off the phasers as well.

The phasers and RCS thrusters get painted the same mustard yellow, which is a custom mix of yellow, tan and green.

And here are the results:

Once I got the yellow applied, and I glued the gangway doors to the port side of the saucer.  It was a tricky fit, mostly due to the paint build-up in the opening.

TOUCH-UPS

I mixed together a custom grey to be applied to the lower sensor array and touched up the dome.

I then touched up the saucer where there were some scratches.

I also touched up with a  brush the impulse deck and B/C deck.

And around the bridge (A deck).

I've also touched up one of the landing pads which was scratched up.

NECK

During the process of touch ups, I noticed the neck was coming loose.  I glued the neck back on with Testers liquid cement and left it for 48 hours.

I then had the foresight to reinforce the connection with 15 minute epoxy by dribbling it through the hollow neck along the seams.

I drizzled it down the neck, much like drizzling balsamic vinegar in a salad, except thicker and hot.  There is a chemical reaction between the epoxy and the hardener, and that gives off heat.

Which then brought me to another concern, I've busted off the tip from where the neck connects with the secondary hull.

I reinforced this area as well.  In future I will use epoxy for major seams.

Next, my attention turned to the hole in the back of the skeg.  I previously touched up the back of the impulse engine.

I used Metal Glaze Overcoat to fill the gap, which is fortunately the same colour as the skeg.

It is a 2 part compound.

Next I had to retouch up the 'spine' of the neck.

Which included a small triangle where the neck, which in universe is an explosive bolt which is supposed to separate the saucer from the rest of the ship in emergencies.  This has never been seen on screen in the TOS movies, but has been hinted at.

Remaining glassware

I also needed to glue in the lenses for the windows in the neck.  I unfortunately lost one of the original pieces, but the kit gives you multiples of certain parts.

Well, technically it's not glass, it's clear plastic, and this piece of plastic is hardly clear any more.

I was able to fashion new window lenses by using other window parts from the kit I haven't used, which are extra.  I glued them in place with canopy glue.

This is also meant addressing the lenses where the spotlight come out of the neck.

As they are clear parts, I need to paint them white first from the back, then light block them.  Once I glued them in the model, I scraped the paint off of one side of the larger shape to let light in.

Lighting

I previously made up a wire harness with warm white LEDs.  I was able to glue these in to the aperture in the neck, into the roff of the torpedo bay.  Here's the effect:

This is starting to look very familiar...

Now with the house lights on.

On the underside, I light blocked it with Tulip black fabric paint.

Once I finished the wiring, I made sure everything worked again.  I then found the need to lengthen the wires and bind them so they will easily fit through the opening in the secondary hull.

DECALS

In the interim, I've also been working on custom decals.  During this process, re-reading the instructions and looking at other builds, I've come to a very important decision about how to continue with this part of the build...I'm going to decal the saucer.  This kit comes with hundreds of decals, not to mention I'm doing custom names and markings too.  The saucer is such a large disk, it is easier to handle it on its own, vs. having the whole model built and then decalling it.  The instructions even recommend this.

On the 1/1000 kit, which I've built one before (USS Excelsior NCC-1718 which has a busted nacelle pylon), and two TOS 1/1000 kits, I've done the saucer separately.  As it turns out, for the rehabilitation of the the original 11' USS Enterprise from the the original Star Trek series, the saucer, nacelles and engineering sections were painted separately.  It only makes sense as this is a unique shape and it's easier to handle sub assemblies and then bring it together as finished sections.  That's what I'm doing here...

I also have a lot of fixing to do on the secondary hull, which I can do in between decalling this part of the model.

One of the parts I customized for this build was the impulse deck.  I filled and sanded the detail between the two engines.  Also, the engines have a grill that go over them which can be accomplished through the use of a decal...or a brass etched part.  Since it's custom, I need to make custom decals then.  So I took a mould off of the impulse deck, using a two part silicon putty.

Here's the negative mould.

I then cut up the parts and scanned them in on my laser multifunction centre.

Moving on, I touched up the remaining paint and started to mask off areas of the ship I don't want covered in gloss coat.  Gloss coat is necessary for decals to go on properly.

Here it is, the upper saucer gloss coated, ready for decals.

This is going to wrap up this entry.  Happy model building!!


Star Trek and all related marks, logos and characters are solely owned by CBS Studios Inc. This fan blog (production) is not endorsed by, sponsored by, nor affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other Star Trek franchise, and is a non-commercial fan-made blog intended for recreational use.  No commercial exhibition or distribution is permitted. No alleged independent rights will be asserted against CBS or Paramount Pictures.