Merseajohn's Corellian YT-2400 'outrider' 1/72 Resin

[punkpigpen]

awesomeness! where are the fans from?

 

[JohnSimmons]

Thanks John, there from starship modeler http://starshipmodeler.biz/shop/index.cfm/product/683_42/fine-molds-millennium-falcon-pe-grille-detail-set.cfm
But there out of stock, All they are are 1/48 tank wheels with what looks like mini RSJ's stuck on the side to make the 'fan' look. PM me

 

[Quaralane]

Definitely adds a nice touch.
Keep her coming

 

[Grendels]

Those fans look great!!!

 

[JohnSimmons]

Hey guys thanks for the kind comments, really struggling now because I'm starting construction, sorry for no pics (there just of warped parts and clamps holding epoxy in place anyway :-X). Sooooooo how the hell do you deal with major warping ??? I'm hoping if I glue one piece at a time it will bring the ship straight?? Anyway any hints and tips are most welcome! Heat? (bending by hand certainly doesnt work I'v allready heard a 'SNAP!' so repairs have been made )
Errm Pennywise at the 'WARPed Tour' seemed fitting...they seem to be having more fun than me lol!
Pennywise - Bro Hymn (live at Warped Tour '99)

 

[ScaleModelMadman]

Cast resin has 'memory' and will return to it's original shape if dipped in hot water. There is a video somewhere showing this, a warped piece of resin being dipped into hot water a couple of times and straightens out.

Of course, this is easy for small pieces and not so easy for large parts but I have used this technique many times myself with 100% success.


EDIT: here's a link to the thread, but the video link seems to be private now. :

http://www.network54.com/Forum/47211/thread/1211989082/Best+way+to+straighten+out+warped+resin+parts-

 

[Chris S]

Its looking very smart ..Those fans fit in there real nice .

Zepplin fan too !...gotta love Zep ;D

Chris.

 

[JohnSimmons]

Thanks Chris! And Ken thats an awsome trick gotta try it! Thanks mate.

 

[Grendels]

Here is what NOT to do to reshape resin:

USS Thunderchild part 4

Hot water is what I have been told to use, and I have seen quite a few people use a heat gun to soften resin, and reshape it, just not what I did!!!

 

[JohnSimmons]

Thanks Grendels, Iv tried using a hair dryer on styrene and it completley mishaped suddenly went bent! So I'm a little worried about using heat, but as you say in your video that resin is a 2 part plastic so maybe I'll give it a go.

 

[Grendels]

Resin won't melt, it will deform or catch on fire. But not melt. As long as you gently apply heat, you should be OK. Don't do what I did and heat it up really fast! Smoke is a bad sign, I am speaking from experience here!

 

[JohnSimmons]

So I'v tried Grendels trick and it has made a difference, I'v been using a hair dryer on medium heat and it has regained some of its shape! Thanks Grendels & Ken!
Because of the warp issue sort of solved I started to glue the parts together with 30 min epoxy glue. While I was waiting for it to dry I started fiddling and thought my 36 LED engine was just plain stupid. So I had some flat top LED's laying around that I thought I'd experiment with.
I made a small box, covered it inside with kitchen foil and put five LED's into it. Heres the pic:

With the cover on:

I then thought about how I'm going to light inside the laser turrets (stilll dont know? ???). I didnt have any white flat top LED's so I sanded down some normal ones as shown how by Grendels earlier in this thread I believe.

Here it is just placed by hand a couple of mil behind the chair:

And finaly a BFG is done! This took me ages for the life of me I cant get a nice sharp edge to the pipes/poles/rods whatever. If I use a cutter a get a chamfer that's no good because I cant slide a smaller piece in. If I use my mini drill with a saw bit in it rips at it rather than cuts.... ??? Anyway I'm pleased with the result just would like a cleaner and easier finish.

 

[Solander]

Total mindblowing awesomeness here!!
The lights look great, You've nailed it, John, bravo!

 

[Grendels]

For the engine lights, I would stick some wax paper, or some other opaque material between the LED's and the engine output to tame those hot spots a bit.

Doubling the number of LED's will also help but it will put out twice the amount of light.

 

[Igard]

This is looking great, John. The BFG is pretty mean and the lighting is looking just right, though personally, I was looking forward to those 36 LEDs blasting engine exhaust out everywhere!

 

[JohnSimmons]

Thanks Solander! Lol Igard, yeah I wasted alot of time with those LED's at least if there's a power cut I can light up my whole house with them. And Grendels what do you mean by wax paper? I'v got very thin styrene sheets but that almost make the hot spots worse.?

 

[Igard]

You, know I watched a vid from ModelManTom recently where he reviewed side-firing fiber optics. He gave them a pretty good test and they looked like a nice way of lighting engines like this.

I don't know if you'd try yet another method, but I thought it was interesting.

Also, you're in the UK right? Or am I think of someone else, so I don't know of the availability here.

Here it is:-

Tools: Side Firing Fiber Optics

 

[JohnSimmons]

Wow! Thanks for the link, picking some of this up right now.

 

[Igard]

Cool. Are thinking about using it for your engines?

I'm not sure about getting some here in the UK. Would any other brand work the same as the one in the video? Just not sure. I might risk the customs fee and order some from the States.

I'd really like to get some for my next lighting project.

 

[Quaralane]

Liking the smaller number of lights in the engine.

I also like you solution for lighting the gunwells.

Very nice work on the BFG