Studio scale star destroyer
- Thread starter tk1565
- Start date
Looking good, whose kit is that?
Sifi dynamics out of Hong Kong
I picked this up off a friend who had it on the shelf for several years.
It required a lot of tlc to get it to take shape
Persistence = perseverance
It was pretty warped from sitting so long.
Started weathering to begin the engine build in will post some pics tomorrow of the progress.
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Coming together.Hey gang
Been working on this for a few weeks now and getting to the point I can share.
1600 fibre optic lines
31 LEDs
And lots still to do I’ll be adding a ton of custom details to his bad boy.
All is ready to seal it up and start adding the small details and build a stand.
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This is looking great! A must have in the Fan Collection!Coming together.
All is ready to seal it up and start adding the small details and build a stand.
That looks fantastic!
Update
She is sealed up now. Unfortunately I lost some LEDs and hence a few forward deck lighting and the 4 booster engines
Live and learn I won’t make the mistake of using 5 mn epoxy, I’ve come to the conclusion when I installed the fibre and lighting I didn’t spend the time to fit everything cleanly inside and the fibre was so dense it caused a very tight squeeze for all the lighting fiber and wires. Once pushed together must have separated the second parallel lighting line ( most of the small 3.2 LEDs.
So I carry on, built and painted the cannons, tractor beam emitter’s and the shuttle fine fitted the bridge and shield emitters.
Custom made 9 engine flaps for the main thrusters.
She still looks great just very disappointed with myself for not being vigilant and rushing.
Already looking forward to the next one I think I’ll start the hunt for a kit
Any recommendations guys?
She is sealed up now. Unfortunately I lost some LEDs and hence a few forward deck lighting and the 4 booster engines
Live and learn I won’t make the mistake of using 5 mn epoxy, I’ve come to the conclusion when I installed the fibre and lighting I didn’t spend the time to fit everything cleanly inside and the fibre was so dense it caused a very tight squeeze for all the lighting fiber and wires. Once pushed together must have separated the second parallel lighting line ( most of the small 3.2 LEDs.
So I carry on, built and painted the cannons, tractor beam emitter’s and the shuttle fine fitted the bridge and shield emitters.
Custom made 9 engine flaps for the main thrusters.
She still looks great just very disappointed with myself for not being vigilant and rushing.
Already looking forward to the next one I think I’ll start the hunt for a kit
Any recommendations guys?
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Don’t feel bad about the LEDS. It can happen anytime once the model is sealed. That is why I am so scared to seal mine off. As a recommendation, maybe you can try mask some gaps in the red circled area, by adding greebles like I did on mine. I still have so many gaps to fill on mine.Update
She is sealed up now. Unfortunately I lost some LEDs and hence a few forward deck lighting and the 4 booster engines
Live and learn I won’t make the mistake of using 5 mn epoxy, I’ve come to the conclusion when I installed the fibre and lighting I didn’t spend the time to fit everything cleanly inside and the fibre was so dense it caused a very tight squeeze for all the lighting fiber and wires. Once pushed together must have separated the second parallel lighting line ( most of the small 3.2 LEDs.
So I carry on, built and painted the cannons, tractor beam emitter’s and the shuttle fine fitted the bridge and shield emitters.
Custom made 9 engine flaps for the main thrusters.
She still looks great just very disappointed with myself for not being vigilant and rushing.
Already looking forward to the next one I think I’ll start the hunt for a kit
Any recommendations guys?
Great work by the way!
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There is only one way I can think of in order to power up the engines, but it will involve a small surgery like the one that I have on my bottom haul, which then is covered with a magnetic cover plate once the power adapter connectors are disconnected to power off the model.Update
She is sealed up now. Unfortunately I lost some LEDs and hence a few forward deck lighting and the 4 booster engines
Live and learn I won’t make the mistake of using 5 mn epoxy, I’ve come to the conclusion when I installed the fibre and lighting I didn’t spend the time to fit everything cleanly inside and the fibre was so dense it caused a very tight squeeze for all the lighting fiber and wires. Once pushed together must have separated the second parallel lighting line ( most of the small 3.2 LEDs.
So I carry on, built and painted the cannons, tractor beam emitter’s and the shuttle fine fitted the bridge and shield emitters.
Custom made 9 engine flaps for the main thrusters.
She still looks great just very disappointed with myself for not being vigilant and rushing.
Already looking forward to the next one I think I’ll start the hunt for a kit
Any recommendations guys?
You then will fish the LEDs wires from each of the engines and channel them towards the opening.
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You need to try think what went wrong to prevent it from happening again on another model. Do the mili-amps of all the LEDs match the Amperage of the AC adapter used? No chance of overload?
On mine I had to use 4-5 Ac adapters because I remember each individual LED was 20 to 40 mili-Amps. So having 40-50 lights was already around 1.1 AMPS. And each Ac adapter I believe was to handle max 1.2 Amps, something like that.
I wonder if just one loose cable is touching another and causing a short circuit? Did you properly insulate the wired or soldered sections?
I am puzzled because I have had mine wired for 4 years now, and after handling it a lot as I move it from one area to another to do work on it and then store it away, I haven’t had any LED go on me.
On mine I had to use 4-5 Ac adapters because I remember each individual LED was 20 to 40 mili-Amps. So having 40-50 lights was already around 1.1 AMPS. And each Ac adapter I believe was to handle max 1.2 Amps, something like that.
I wonder if just one loose cable is touching another and causing a short circuit? Did you properly insulate the wired or soldered sections?
I am puzzled because I have had mine wired for 4 years now, and after handling it a lot as I move it from one area to another to do work on it and then store it away, I haven’t had any LED go on me.
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Take your time. Thinking is best.Gonna step back for a day or two and brainstorm this issue and a resolve
I’ll get back to you on your suggestion's
Thanx MY70
Sooo MY70 I got the centre engine relit the bulb was defective,a pre wire .I should know better and pull test each one for a solid connection going forward.
As you can see now I have a different issue the two outer engines are dimmer then the center unit the replaced light.
Any idea why that could be?
I’ll keep thinking on the best way to relight the forward docking bay. I think in this case the sleeve that holds the fibre let loose the fiber in that area I used 2 types .75 and .010
The .75was a little bit of a stretch to it led.
So if I can figure out how best to get to the area that holds that harness I can hopefully just rep lug them and secure.
Thanx for your help brother
As you can see now I have a different issue the two outer engines are dimmer then the center unit the replaced light.
Any idea why that could be?
I’ll keep thinking on the best way to relight the forward docking bay. I think in this case the sleeve that holds the fibre let loose the fiber in that area I used 2 types .75 and .010
The .75was a little bit of a stretch to it led.
So if I can figure out how best to get to the area that holds that harness I can hopefully just rep lug them and secure.
Thanx for your help brother
When you add up the Amps of the LEDs that connect to an Ac adapter used, they must be equal at the most, slightly less would be preferable. So as an example if all LEDS add up to 1.1 AMPS and your Ac Adapter is for 1.2 AMPS you are ok. If they all add up to 1.3 AMPS then you have a problem. The LEDs will not receive enough power since they all together draw more than the ac Adapter can provide. You will either burn LEDS in the long run or possibly have dimming issues.Sooo MY70 I got the centre engine relit the bulb was defective,a pre wire .I should know better and pull test each one for a solid connection going forward.
As you can see now I have a different issue the two outer engines are dimmer then the center unit the replaced light.
Any idea why that could be?
I’ll keep thinking on the best way to relight the forward docking bay. I think in this case the sleeve that holds the fibre let loose the fiber in that area I used 2 types .75 and .010
The .75was a little bit of a stretch to it led.
So if I can figure out how best to get to the area that holds that harness I can hopefully just rep lug them and secure.
Thanx for your help brother
And in your case that decided for fibre optics you must ensure the fibre optics themselves are properly and securely attached to the LED source and to the desired output window hole, etc. if any end becomes loose over the years in the model, that particular area or window will go dark.
I use this stuff as a filler and to secure things down such as cables or anything in a way that it will never ever come off. This stuff once it dries it sticks so well that you need to chisel it out and then still sand a lot in order to remove it. So it’s even tougher than super glue.
I have a video on how I used it on the inside of my star destroyer. You also do NOT want to touch it with your skin since it has cancer warnings.
I apply it with a paint brush and even if it sits for 3-5 mins, can be washed away with water easily, but once you let it dry, say 20 mins, you are done. It won’t come off easily. It’s a nightare to remove which makes it so good at securing things. You can buy it at Michael’s Arts and Crafts for $20 for that jar or so.
Comes in different thickness as well. One fellow at a hobby shop that introduced me to this product glued a little antenna or detail to an HO locomotive and when dry picked up the whole thing by lifting it from that small piece and it held together. That’s how good it is.
It is also not corrosive. Do a test with one fibre optic, let it dry and see the results. Then try free the fibre optic from that gel once dry and see how strong it is.
I have a video on how I used it on the inside of my star destroyer. You also do NOT want to touch it with your skin since it has cancer warnings.
I apply it with a paint brush and even if it sits for 3-5 mins, can be washed away with water easily, but once you let it dry, say 20 mins, you are done. It won’t come off easily. It’s a nightare to remove which makes it so good at securing things. You can buy it at Michael’s Arts and Crafts for $20 for that jar or so.
Comes in different thickness as well. One fellow at a hobby shop that introduced me to this product glued a little antenna or detail to an HO locomotive and when dry picked up the whole thing by lifting it from that small piece and it held together. That’s how good it is.
It is also not corrosive. Do a test with one fibre optic, let it dry and see the results. Then try free the fibre optic from that gel once dry and see how strong it is.
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Also this is the company that I trust for my LEDs…I’ll do some math in the morning
I’d bet that’s the problem
Let me work it out and see what I get.
Buy Battery Powered & Small LED Lights | Evan Designs
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evandesigns.com
They come ready. Sometimes from other manufacturers you have to add resistor, etc, just becomes messy and easy to make mistakes.
Dropped you a pm mateAlso this is the company that I trust for my LEDs…
Buy Battery Powered & Small LED Lights | Evan Designs
At Evan Designs, we take pride in offering the very best battery powered LED lights for your projects. Shop our small LED lights, accessories, and more!
They come ready. Sometimes from other manufacturers you have to add resistor, etc, just becomes messy and easy to make mistakes.
Got it. Answered back.Dropped you a pm mate
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Since I discovered Evan Designs, their LEDs are the only ones I use.Also this is the company that I trust for my LEDs…
Buy Battery Powered & Small LED Lights | Evan Designs
At Evan Designs, we take pride in offering the very best battery powered LED lights for your projects. Shop our small LED lights, accessories, and more!
They come ready. Sometimes from other manufacturers you have to add resistor, etc, just becomes messy and easy to make mistakes.
Yup.
What’s your take on the voodoofx lighting kit?
To be honest it did ring a bell, but I needed to look it up. I think Randy Cooper (kit maker) mentioned them a few times that those lighting kits were available and a good option. And upon checking their website, they are superb. They too deserve some credit!
No wonder they were recommended. Also other model builders recommend them.
Evan’s Designs is for you to scratch build your lighting kit, basically a customized approach, by you picking the hardware that you need, so it would be your custom loop cooling for PC building, while VoodooFx lighting kits would be your AIO Cooling pre-built kit system for PCs, if I were to use a computer cooling comparison here. Hopefully you know about gaming PCs to understand the comparison.
Evans Designs and VoodooFx two excellent choices.
And after scrolling a bit on their website I finally found a couple of Randy Cooper kits for which they provide lighting options. While not cheap, they are crazy good. Good stuff costs money nowadays.
Not sure why they don’t have one for the Randy Cooper 42 inch Star Destroyer kit. Maybe that is why I went for Evan’s Designs.
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Thank you good sirThat is very cool @tk1565You did a great job.
The next one will be much better.
