A perfect fit. It would not even need glueing.

Tracks 

It looks like a sweet little kit that offers a ton of potential. 

And that's that.

Fun!  The windows look super clear!  Looking forward to following your build.

Good news.  Clear parts look a lot better.  Man those tracks look cool - I could see stealing those for some kitbashing projects.

InternationalRescue

Fun!  The windows look super clear!  Looking forward to following your build.

 

Hey IR. I agree and I am looking forward to starting it. Should be a fun one to build.

Thanks for posting!

keavdog

Good news.  Clear parts look a lot better.  Man those tracks look cool - I could see stealing those for some kitbashing projects.

 

Hey John. Yeah, the tracks a cleanly molded. They did a nice job on them. Kitbashing them...now there is a cool idea.

Started some cleanup and dry fitting. Nothing is glued yet. The pieces fit very nicely. 

Below: A good view of the dash. I plan to light some sections as well add decals.

Speaking of decals. I ordered this set for the 1/24 scale kit. I will scan, scale, and print a copy onto decal paper for use with this kit.

Below: The boxy looking thing is I believe what they called a terrain scanner. I plan to add lights to it. Maybe by using fiber optic.

Below is what the 1:1 replica looks like. 

I can see that most of my time will be spent making the lighting, detailing, and with paint. There are not a lot of parts to this and that is just fine by me.

End of update.

And for your viewing pleasure. Here is a video of the actual chariot used in the movie... in color.

https://youtu.be/XS5BQBOou1w

That was cool to watch!

The original was built off of this snow vehichle

Made by none other than Thiokol!

keavdog

That was cool to watch!

 

Agreed! I remember that scene when it first aired. That set off our imaginations.

It is so cool to see in color. I love the scenic backdrop and the dramatic music too. And of course the chariot is off the scale cool.

keavdog

The original was built off of this snow vehichle

Made by none other than Thiokol!

 

Hey John. I knew a LITTLE about this but the images you posted are awesome to see. It brings it full circle. Thanks for that contribution. Very cool!

Terrain scanner

I thought the center eye was a bit soft so I replaced it with brass tubing.

I drilled out the lights and inserted fiber optic. I rounded the ends using a flame. It is TBD if I will leave it that way. I like it but experience has shown me when you round the ends it affects the light output and/or the light pattern. Some preliminary testing seems to indicate the small amount I did has minimal negative effect. I will add color from the backside. Also, the two holes at the bottom require a size of FO that I don't have in stock. I need to order some. Anyhow, the FO I have in the piece is not afixed.  It is purely for testing.

The End

I cleaned up some joins on the housing and I started with the fiber optic strands.

I did testing on how best to color the fiber optic. I tried many things and including clear colors paint on the optical end. I found that paint does not work all that well. For me, the light appears too blotchy. In the end, and for me, what works best is to use colored LEDs to drive the filament. Either an led works well, or colored gel film between the led and the optic works well too. For my purposes I am going with colored leds. It is a much simpler solution that requires far less fabrication.

Also... I found that rounding the filament end using a flame seems to work Ok. I am going with it.

In the image below I used a red led to light all the filaments but for the actual build I will route the strands to various colored leds.

As usual, led light is difficult to image. In person the light has much more pop. I am pleased with how they look.

Massive improvement!

keavdog

Massive improvement!

 

Thanks John. 

That's cool Bakster! It's good to have you back! 

To be honest though 'LiS' is one of those shows I watched a couple of episodes and it didn't catch my fancy. I did enjoy Dr. Smith but everything just bored me to tears. 

Gamera

That's cool Bakster! It's good to have you back! 

Good to be back, Gam. 

Gamera

To be honest though 'LiS' is one of those shows I watched a couple of episodes and it didn't catch my fancy. I did enjoy Dr. Smith but everything just bored me to tears. 

 

You are not alone in that. For me, it started good, but it went silly fast.  But lets face it. The hardware was cool and that my friend, is the motivation for the build. It is definitely not the show. The sillyness could make good fodder for discussion though. 

I routed the FO down through the floor and into where the transmission cover will be glued. I will hide some of the LED drivers in there.

This required drilling two holes, AND, the FO behind the panel bent into a Z shape.

This FO is stiff and it has a strong memory. So, really, they must be heated and then bent. Using a flame can work but the heat source is inconsistent and there is a high risk of melting the filament. I opted to try using my soldering iron. This worked well. Placing the optic above the solder tip and holding the optic under pressure and in the direction you want it bent, you have great control. Much less risk of melting the strands.

Notice the opening behind the housing. The directions show the piece having a flange. I don't know if I cut it off by accident or if it was not there to begin with. I must fabricate something to close up some of that light leak point. As is, the housing is elevated above the mount making for massive light leaks. I should be able to black the strands with paint and not have to fabricate much more.

And for fun I test fitted things.

Today I added handles. The replica has handles and apparently the entire unit is designed to slide. The model provides for that option but when the time comes I will glue it into a fixed position. 

I also fabricated panels and such to help give the back of the scanner a finished look to it.

I had mentioned the instructions show a flange to it. I looked at my images of the sprues prior to cutting into them and i see no flange. Not sure what the deal with that is but, it is what it is.

Short of paint and maybe some cleanup, the scanner assembly is done. I might move onto the main headlights next.

Your WIP's are so much fun to follow. Thank you for taking the time to post.  
Most of the time I'm just shaking my head and mumbling " Wow, he's good."  I need to take the time to tell you that more often.  
                   knox. 

knox

Your WIP's are so much fun to follow. Thank you for taking the time to post.  

Hey Knox... you are welcome!

knox

Most of the time I'm just shaking my head and mumbling " Wow, he's good."  I need to take the time to tell you that more often.  
                   knox. 

Thanks for following the build and for posting!

I drilled out the lights on the panel behind where the terrain scanner sits. Then shaped and installed FO for testing. Btw. I used the soldering iron method to dome the ends. It works much better than a flame. I can get much more consistent results this way.

Holding the assembly up to the light with one hand, and trying to image it using my floppy phone with my other hand. Not a great example of how it will look but it will give you a sence without my fighting to image it using a colored led. They will be driven by colored leds when I get there. Oh... and the ends need to be polished yet. As is, they are ragged from my clipping them. In that condition it distorts and reduces the light output. Not to mention the ends are not all properly aligned to the light source.

Lastly. I sure wish there was a PE set for this. I could make the dash look much better. I am sure one is coming but not just yet.

PS: I broke 4 drill bits tonight. The cobalt set I have are sharp, but they are rediculously brittle. Just a slight side pressure make them snap like a twig. If anyone has a recommendation, I would like to hear it.

Wasn't my favorite show but I liked it.  It was all about the robot.  Speaking of the robot...

http://www.b9robotbuildersclub.com/index.html

keavdog

Wasn't my favorite show but I liked it.  It was all about the robot.  Speaking of the robot...

http://www.b9robotbuildersclub.com/index.html

 

 

Yeah. I have seen that has become a big thing. I think there is company out there building 1:1 robots too.

Addressing decals I began by removing the raised relief. To the right is removed, to the left is yet to do.

The 1:24 decal sheet scanned. Also, you can see the replacment panels I made. Both are scanned and decals will be scaled to the panels using photo editing software. This model is not quite the same as the 1:24 scale so... I will surely need to modify the graphics as well.

Replacement panels applied and I have opened more lights at the top edge of the dash. As well, FOs made, and for this image installed.

I made the panels using Evergreen Plastic flat stock. Amazingly, I had a size in stock that has the perfect width. All I had to do was cut them to length. Oh, that, and reduce their thickness some. Kind of a funny story. I sanded each piece by pressing my index finger against the piece as I moved it across a sanding stick. Long story short, my finger is sore. What's worse is that I sanded off my dermal ridges. Now... when I open my phone the reader can't ID my fingerprint. I must manually enter the security code.

And that is that for now.

Always fun to follow your builds and this one is no exception. 

Great tip on using the soldering iron to shape the FO as well as round the end.  What temp do you have your iron at when shaping or rounding the FO?

PhoenixG

Always fun to follow your builds and this one is no exception. 

Great tip on using the soldering iron to shape the FO as well as round the end.  What temp do you have your iron at when shaping or rounding the FO?

 

 

Hey PG, how are you doing? Are your working on any projects? 

The station is set to 250C or 482F. Actually, that is what I have been soldering at as well. To be honest... it might not matter all that much. Depending on the setting you choose... you might go shorter, or longer, depending. The main plus is the regulated heat. With an open flame the temp fluctuates wildly, and it's hard to get consistency. Using the iron, they came out perfect almost every time.

Thanks for following and chiming in!

Btw... I think my career in crime is over. My finger print is back and I can use the scanner again. Thank goodness too. Punching the code was getting to be a pain.

I think next up is fabricating the main headlights. After that, I need to get serious about buying paint. 

Beware the carrot man.

Never fear... robot is here!