I'll let most of the pictures do the talking.  Click on photos to see them in their original size.

 

 
 

 

 

This is the replacement disc for the reinforcement. This goes half way through the bell. The original one had a gap between it and the disc behind it. I didn't want to fill it and still have a sloppy looking joint between them.

I turned this on a Millwaukee corded drill. This picture is only for demonstration and to show how I made this. I clamped the drill to a vise on the workbench,then I held 60 grit sandpaper glued to a board. I smoothed this to shape with a rasp file held at a 45 degree angle. I followed that up with 220,320,(Wet)and 600(wet)sandpaper.

 

I shaved this down to the same diameter of the first disc.

 

This is to show the clarity of this piece.

 
I love the look of this so much. I don't want to cut it in half.

  

 







 


This turned into a dismal failure. This was supposed to be the reinforcement ring in the middle of the intake bell.

 
I wetsanded on these discs so much that I wetsanded through my fingertips. This made them bleed uncontrollably for a couple minutes.

Here's the mess I made on the countertop while doing this.

This is the cutting wheel that I made from a fender washer with the Moto-tool. I was tired of breaking cut off discs,so I made this. It slices right through plastic like a knife through hot butter.

Thanks for the compliment! Sometimes you have to improvise to get the job done. Being a former machinist has its' advantages.

Click on photos to see them in their original size.

I know that everyone is sick of seeing this in the form that it was made in - I know I am.

Now you don't have to.

I had to shave this down,it was too tall.

Here you can see the lines I scored into it for cutting.

With its' final shape. This is for the F-4 Phantom engine mount. F-4 -it seems ironic,as this is the stamp the U.S. government uses for "rejected" projects.

The cut off  wheel that I made is very sharp. I found this out the hard way.

The discs I cut for the finial behind the flash supressor.

This is it in the rough. I turned all the discs at the same time. This was too long,so I had to remove one of the discs. I didn't glue these together to keep me from having to shave this down.

The smaller disc was to be shaved to the correct diameter later. I only cut it out at this stage to approximate its' size with the other parts.

The heat from turning the discs melted them together even after polishing them to high gloss.

This is to show scale.

I turned the ruler over for both english,and metric measurements.

More damage. It's easy to see which hand does the most work. I tore this open while cutting these discs. I have over half a dozen cuts now.  I know what everyone is thinking. You don't want to see a cut up hand. I won't be able to work on this until I heal.

Well,if you don't see any updates for a while,you'll know why.

This is the finial in its' final shape.

 A closer look. I polished this for clarity. This way,I could see if there're any imperfections.

This won't be highly polished when I'm done with it. This will have to be satin finished so that paint will stick to the cast version of it.

I just wanted to chime in and say how much I'm enjoying this project. Your passion for the subject matter really shines through your work.

Here are two of the reference photos that I used to make this with. Click on photos to see them in their original size.

Thanks jtrace214. I'm pulling all the stops out on this one. This will be my ultimate tribute to the ILM guys. Accuracy is a must!

The only thing other than having to replace parts that are the wrong size here and there is,finding out that I have to make TWO laser canon bodies,as they're not the same all the way around. There are two distinct designs they used for the top right wing,and bottom left wing - these two being the same. And - the top left wing and bottom right wing are the same design. Why they did it this way is a mystery. I'll post comparison shots when I get the other laser canon body done.

I'll let most of the photos do the talking. If you have any questions - I'll try to answer them in a timely manner. I've been busy since I got the materials I've needed for a while. This is why I haven't posted for week,I'm still building as you read this.

Click on photos to see them in their original size.



I put the new flash supressor inside the old one for comparison. I did this after realising it was too big. The smaller one is the correct size.

 



 
I had to shave a disc to the same size as the tip. I held it in my hand and removed the center with a Moto-tool until it was the same diameter around. Then I glued it to the face of the finial,so it would have the same appearance.

 



 
 


















 

 










The laser canon body started. I still need 0.05" sheet styrene to finish this. The local hobby store didn't have any,so it's on special order.

The bottom half of the engine intake shroud finished.

Thanks Jerry! I keep forgetting to cut my nails. They're just so handy to have when trying to pick up small things. I also use them for picking dirt out of joints too. My hands are healing well. I have a new small cut,but holding the blade in your hand without the handle makes for cutting yourself real easy!

Click on photo to see it in its' original size.

Does anyone else know an easier way to glue copper to PVC tubing? I've been working on this for two days gluing,cleaning up excess glue,gluing cleaning up,etc. I know this piping looks awfully crooked in places,but it's impossible to bend it to shape,then glue it without having it move. This leaves glue marks that have to be wetsanded out after it dries. The poor quality of lighting makes it look like brass,but it IS copper. I got it from a Hewlett * Packard computer transformer.

This post has been updated with a more complete version - it still needs more greeblies added to finish the inside of it. The piping is done.

 

That's the problem,Jerry - I've been using super glue gap filling(Bob Smith industries brand),but I have to use acetone to clean most of the excess off,then very carefully wetsand the areas that have been glued before,so that I don't ruin them. Afterall,I want to make this into a kit,if I ever get that far!

Yes,a 1/144th scale Saturn V model in this size would be nice,only this is a little bigger than that - it's more like 1/124th scale. I'm still working the laser canons,so I put the engine housings on hold,as they'll be easier to put together now that I have all the parts made for them. I need to finish making the lasers first,as they were in the making before I started with all the greeblies for the Saturn V housings. I've been making all the small parts after the big ones. This makes it simple. Make the larger parts,then make all the smaller parts to the same scale.

This is the part that I used for the details inside the intake. I used half of this when I took this picture. I took the entire thing apart for greeblies on a future project. The one in the second picture is now a cat toy. I took the wire off of it first.