Just spent a few minutes getting caught up.

I always wanted to build one of these.

I never really got into the TV series for two reasons ...

ONE:  I hated the Dr. SMITH character,  I would have  just killed him in the first episode !

TWO: I'm  a big fan of FORBIDDEN PLANET, what they did to poor robby the robot is science fiction "blasphemy " !

( tho I suppose it's work and an un-employed robot has to go where the money is ...)

littletimmy

Just spent a few minutes getting caught up.

I always wanted to build one of these.

I never really got into the TV series for two reasons ...

ONE:  I hated the Dr. SMITH character,  I would have  just killed him in the first episode !

TWO: I'm  a big fan of FORBIDDEN PLANET, what they did to poor robby the robot is science fiction "blasphemy " !

( tho I suppose it's work and an un-employed robot has to go where the money is ...)

 

 

 

Yo Tim, good to hear from and see you stop in.

I think many people would share your setiments about Smith. I remember we liked the first season but it was downhill from there. Too bad they turned it into so much cheese. I read that the other actors were not happy about it either. 

Not sure what you mean about Robby the robot. What did they do?

I like Forbidden Planet too.

https://youtu.be/8UAgDGwcX5M

Success! They fit flush as I needed them to. I didn't have to modify the housings more. I thought for sure I'd have to. Talk about a perfect fit. They can't get any better. What luck. 

The chip is not secured in the photo. When the time comes I will secure it with a dab of epoxy.

Let there be light.

Notice the tin of solder resin. I included that in the image to note a few things. Dipping your tip in that helps with two things. Firstly, it helps with the soldering process. The solder grabs better. That offers you the advantage of less time holding the hot tip to a sensitive component and, it provides a better connection. Secondly, it help keep the tip from corroding. Since I started using it the tip looks good as new after repeated use. Prior to using it, I was going through tips like water. I have no doubt the stuff helped with soldering these too. I was able to use a tiny bit of solder. A little dab will do ya.

As a side note to this. Months back I purchased a solder station off the net for I think about $50. It is working great and I love that I can control the temperature. Hardware store soldering pencils run hot and that can be tough on tips and the electronics you are soldering to. But if that is all you got, it works. I used one for years.

A note about the color temperature of the LED. When I first lit this I thought, hmm, not as yellow as the others. For grins, I tried the others again, and I think they are a fairly close match. How yellow they look several posts back is not an accurate representation. Once again, the camera was fooled. That said, I am now happier with the warm white.

Lastly, I thought I would show you how I solder these chips.

For one, you need a fine solder tip. Second to that, you need to secure both the chip and the wire in place while you solder. Sticky side up holds the chip, sticky side down holds he wire over the solder pads. 

I guess that is that.

littletimmy

https://youtu.be/8UAgDGwcX5M

 

 

Oh man, Tim. That was total cheese. But that video rocks! Lol. What a hoot. Thanks for splaining things to me. Poor Robby.

After review of the searchlights, and how the angles run, I pretty much figured I'd punt lighting them. My concern being that of blowing through the sides with my drill, and more than that... the difficulty of feeding wires through the bend.

Tonight, caution was not in me and I went for it.

I didn't blow through the sides, amazingly, but I was correct about the wires and the bend. I could not feed the wires through that angle. So, I resorted to cutting a trench along the stem. Using sprue-goo, the trench will be easy enough to fix.

Time remains limited but I hope to have all the light housings chromed and the lenses installed in about two weeks time. That is the goal. 

Btw. There are two more lights at the rear of the chariot. I will be working on those next.

Oh WOW!! I sure didn't know this one was going on till you pointed it out to me. I'll be going back through the thread to see what good stuff I've been missing out on Steve.

mustang1989

Oh WOW!! I sure didn't know this one was going on till you pointed it out to me. I'll be going back through the thread to see what good stuff I've been missing out on Steve.

 

Hey Joe, nice to see you around.

Lol, I like the Honour School Robot bumper sticker! 

She's lookin' good, really like all the lights you're adding- gives the model 'pop'!

And interesting idea on the curtains, looking forward to seeing how they work out. 

Funny in the few episodes I saw Dr. Smith was the only character I really liked. Maybe it says something about me that I laughed at him being a total jerk and then getting his just deserts at the end of the episodes. 

Gamera

Lol, I like the Honour School Robot bumper sticker! 

She's lookin' good, really like all the lights you're adding- gives the model 'pop'!

And interesting idea on the curtains, looking forward to seeing how they work out. 

 

Funny in the few episodes I saw Dr. Smith was the only character I really liked. Maybe it says something about me that I laughed at him being a total jerk and then getting his just deserts at the end of the episodes. 

 

Thanks Gam.

Bakster

 

 

Gamera

Lol, I like the Honour School Robot bumper sticker! 

She's lookin' good, really like all the lights you're adding- gives the model 'pop'!

And interesting idea on the curtains, looking forward to seeing how they work out. 

 

Funny in the few episodes I saw Dr. Smith was the only character I really liked. Maybe it says something about me that I laughed at him being a total jerk and then getting his just deserts at the end of the episodes. 

 

 

 

 

Thanks Gam.

 

LOL, love that!!! 

But somehow I want to see Worf snap his neck more...... 

Gamera

But somehow I want to see Worf snap his neck more......  

Say Gam... in the long standing Gamera tradition of fun toys, here is something I think you need. It might help if Smith bonks you on the head about the Worf thing.

Hey! Where was I when this cool thing came out. I mean seriously. 

LOL Bakster!!! 

Or else Smith ends up on the Planet of the Apes and Zira lobotomizes him.... 

Gamera

LOL Bakster!!! 

 

Or else Smith ends up on the Planet of the Apes and Zira lobotomizes him.... 

 

Yeah. Dr Zira wants more lab rats. Oh, I mean, patients.

Hmm, a bumper sticker?

Something about crossing the streams

Wo

CapnMac82

Hmm, a bumper sticker?

Something about crossing the streams

 

Works for me, Capn. Show them pesky apes who's boss. 

Part of the journey.

I have not used Alclads system of chrome, but from videos I have watched, it looks good. I ordered their paint. The first part of the process is to use a gloss black. I suppose any brand will do, but you'd want the paint to go on wet, and for sure, glossy. I figured, what the heck... I will go all in with their system. So, I purchased their black base as well.

Holy cats, their paint sprays like a dream. It spays on wet, it covers well, and wow... you can draw out a gloss with very little effort. And btw, it dries fast, cleans easliy from the brush, and I didn't need to thin the paint. 

Tomorrow, I will try spraying the chrome.

Oh my LORD man!! I'm gonna have to order me some of that stuff!! I can get a good enough gloss black but it takes me two stages and a couple of days till it's cured out enough to spray any Alclad over it. Thanks for posting that Steve.

.............aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand the order's in. Thanks again Steve. Looking forward to more here.

mustang1989

Oh my LORD man!! I'm gonna have to order me some of that stuff!! I can get a good enough gloss black but it takes me two stages and a couple of days till it's cured out enough to spray any Alclad over it. Thanks for posting that Steve.

 

Hey Joe... I think you will like it. I also ordered their clear that seals the chrome. I will test that too and report back.

I was thinking that this black would be awesome for a car body. For a straight up black, the gloss is so good one might not need to polish it out. But aside from that.. you could make the body chrome, or Alclad offers a series of clear candy colors. I can imagine some awesome paint finishes.

Glad I was of help to you.

mustang1989

.............aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand the order's in. Thanks again Steve. Looking forward to more here.

 

Awesome!

For sure. I will post images tomorrow how it comes out.

Just because it's keeping with our tendency to cross-over between sci-fy projects...

Here's a bit of a coincidence...

https://planetoftheapes.fandom.com/wiki/Michael_Conrad

littletimmy

Just because it's keeping with our tendency to cross-over between sci-fy projects...

Here's a bit of a coincidence...

 

https://planetoftheapes.fandom.com/wiki/Michael_Conrad

 

Wow, Tim. That is really interesting! Quite the coincidence indeed.

The Alclad II metalics are the cat's meow--but you are pretty much limited to airbrushing them.

CapnMac82

The Alclad II metalics are the cat's meow--but you are pretty much limited to airbrushing them.

 

Agreed.

Okay, so here is the scoop.

Based on videos I watched, you need to apply the chrome in light layers. My testing falls in line with that school of thought. There is a very fine line between going too far, or not enough. Too much paint wipes out the black base, too little, and you get a sort of black chrome.

Below: From left to right is more to less paint. You can see the difference.

Below: The light housings.

My verdict? I will say that I am not totally blown away. It looks decent, but in real life, you can see that something is just a little off. However, I am pleased with the light housings and how they came out. I have no complaints, and I guess that is what counts. They are as good as I hoped. About my thoughts on doing a car body. I think, it would be harder to pull off. The bigger the piece, the more room for fluctuations in coverage. Just my guess though.

I should note that I did not prep the spoons. They do not have a primer and in yesterdays image, I think I see evidence of crazing. You can see some bumpiness, particularly around the edges of light reflection. How much that affects the final look, I do not know. 

Joe, it sounds like you have been using this system. What can you share with us? Or anyone else too.

I have not recieved the sealer yet, so that test is TBD.

Before going to the Alclad system I started my testing using Molotow Liquid Chrome. That stuff produces an eye popping chrome. I have used it before. The problem? It is super delicate. Just touching it makes the deep shine turn into a sort of aluminum. And that is a bummer. Mounting the lights will require some handling and it would surely destroy the finish. I don't know if anyone has found a good sealer for it. I tried a few things and it destroys the magic.

Anyhow... I will wait for the Alclad sealer to arrive and then test. If it alters the chrome too much, I won't use it. The paint as is is able to take some handling.Then, I will mount the glass and move into the next phase. That will probably be the curtains.

Thus, my report for the day. 

Lol, I like it Cap!!! 

And yeah the Alclad Chrome is kinda finicky. As you say too little and it looks like black chrome and too much and it dulls out the shine. It's just a matter of fiddling with the stuff till you get it right.  

I use the Testor's Metallizer sealer on Alclad but it's been out of production for years. I've got a bottle or two but when it's gone it's gone. Looking forward to how the Alclad product works out for you. 

Alclad II Airframe Aluminum (ALC 119) is more shiney like chrome.  I did this little DC3 with it.