Star Trek Scratchbuild progress pictures.

Woody

Member since
December 2002
From: Third rock from the sun.

Star Trek Scratchbuild progress pictures.

Posted by Woody on Monday, August 2, 2004 6:31 PM

The first phase of my project is to make a master for casting my warp engines.

Here is a picture of the acrylic sheets before I laminate them together.

This is a picture of a block of acrylic sheets that I have just finished gluing up.

This pic shows the six layers I have laminated together using acetone as the solvent to bond them into a solid block.

This pic shows the finished block laying on top of a drawing that I have had scaled to the correct 1/1000 scale. Can you see the part in there? lol

This pic shows the block clamped into the lathe. I'll let it sit for a day to let the laminate fully cure.

Let the chips fly! This is the material as the lathe cuts it away from the block.

One more 1/64th off and we'll be there.

I've arrived at the final outside diameter of the part! Now to rough out the shape.

I knew that warp nacelle was in there! LOL
The blue area won't be part of the final piece.

The finished model will be 9.6457" long and this piece will be about 3-5/8" long.
Note the cooling fin areas are undercut to except styrene rod stock.
That is why the profile might look a bit too thin right now.

All done I just need to seperate the part. I have also scribed guide lines for the main cooling radiators.

See the family resemblance? Rod stock will be used to add cooling fins. Tongue [:P]

Maybe I'll cast up five warp nacelles and make a Baton Rouge based dreadnaught. What would I call it? Hmmmm....How about the Mardi'gras Class? LOL

You may have noticed that this nacelle lacks a Bussard collector.
There is a reason for that. Wink [;)]

I will be turning one the correct size for a possible resin kit (don't ask, LOL) and one slightly under size to use as a form to thermo-form domes for my build. Here is the waste from the nacelle that will yeild these parts.

The second step is to build a castable saucer section out of 1/8th inch thick styrene sheet.

I'm lucky enough to be able to glean scrap styrene from work. I used my tablesaw to cut away the edges of what otherwise would have become a shutter.

I have prepared a corrected drawing to use as a templet.

Time to put this bad boy to work. With it's 105" blade and 1hp motor, it cuts thick styrene sheet like butter! Yes I still have all my fingers. Big Smile [:D]

I have stacked the three sheets together and placed the template on top. I then tightly wrapped them together with clear packaging tape.

As I cut away a portion of waste I retape that section so the stack stays tight and the template doesn't slip.

Free at last. I now have the basic shape for my saucer and impulse drive.

Here are the parts after I have removed the tape and template.

Checking the proportions to my scale drawing.

The disc sander is another useful scratchbuilding tool. The area close to the middle of the disc is slower so the plastic stays cooler. This is the bridge section by the way.

Time to do a little scribing. These are some of my favorite tools for scribing.

Drafting dividers make dandy circle scribing tools.

This is my favorite tool for crisp straight lines. It is a chisel bit chucked into a pinvise. Note the rubber grip. It's from a disposable ballpoint pen. I alway steal the rubber grips off these pens for my modeling tools and then throw the pen body in my scratchbuilding parts box.

I use this tool by dragging the tool in reverse. The tool can be turned around and the sharp edge can be pushed through a scribed groove that has started to wander. See the straight edge I have taped to the piece? That is a section of nylon freight strapping used in warehousing and shipping. Great stuff, very straight and flexable, not to mention free!!! I use the steel kind as well. Wink [;)]

For some details I make templates from scrap styrene. Use a round tipped scribe to keep from damaging the template and start with light passes to establish the groove.

Here is the top side of the saucer section all scribed. Note the bridge section is just sitting on the saucer. It is still just a basic shape needing to be chamfered, bridge dome added, and scribed. Now to do the otherside of the saucer.

Here are the main pieces of the saucer section ready for assembly.

In the picture above you see a small disc epoxied to a slghtly larger one. This is what will be at the center of the disc to give it that slight convex shape I'm looking for. I glued them into place using this two-part 90 second epoxy. I also placed a dab in the center of the impulse drive area, for strength.

After carefully aligning these four parts, I placed clamps all the way around the assemblies circumference. I started at the impulse drive, as shown in the picture, and worked my way around the whole saucer checking alignment as I went. After the epoxy had set for an hour I backed pressure off the clamps until the saucer halves opened just a hairs width. I then place a drop of CA glue at each clamp location. The capilary action suspended the glue between the two halve until I reclamped that area. I went around the whole saucer in this fashion.

The bandages come off and I check to see if there is still a family resemblance. LOL Tongue [:P]

A couple close ups of the saucer underside.

Here is a view of how I treated the underside of the impulse section. The wedge shape is meant to echo the shape of the engineering hull and help give a sense of speed. There is no official view of the underside of the Baton Rouge class of starship so I was on my own here. How did I do?

I reshaped the sides of the impulse section to match the painting. The open rectangular area is were the impulse exhaust will fit. In the kit hopefully I'll cast it from clear red tinted resin.

A couple more angles of the reshaped impulse section sides. Note that I haven't installed the bridge or sensor pallet yet.

Well there you go, I'm not dead and I'm actually making some head way. Big Smile [:D]

" I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." --John Paul Jones

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, August 2, 2004 8:05 PM

That lathe is a nice little tool. Wish I had a real workshop to put one in. Lookin' great, Woody. What are you planning to use as the saucer? Just curious.

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Woody

Member since
December 2002
From: Third rock from the sun.

Posted by Woody on Monday, August 2, 2004 8:49 PM

QUOTE: Originally posted by StevenQ

That lathe is a nice little tool. Wish I had a real workshop to put one in. Lookin' great, Woody. What are you planning to use as the saucer? Just curious.

You should get a lathe Steve. You'd really love it!
Well I had cut out several circles from some scrap styrene I got from work but I've changed my mind on building up from a basic circle shape. I'm now going to cut out the shape of the saucer and impulse drive as single pieces. The styrene and the plexiglass I'm using is about an 1/8th inch thick so several layers of that stacked for the saucer and a small disc on the top for the bridge should reproduce the saucer nicely after detailing. I'm not sure which I'll be using as the material for the saucer, styrene or plexiglass. They both have seperate properties that I like.
I have also figured out the detail I will be using for the never seen (in the source material anyway) saucer underside, neck and primary hull fronts, and primary hull bottom.

" I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." --John Paul Jones

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Buddho

Member since
March 2003
From: Newport News VA

Posted by Buddho on Monday, August 2, 2004 9:24 PM

Nice work, Woody!

Your nacelle pattern looks great.

Regards, Dan

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fightnjoe

Member since
September 2011

Posted by fightnjoe on Monday, August 2, 2004 9:28 PM

woody that looks incredible.

joe

Veterans,

Thank You For Your Sacrifices,

Never To Be Forgotten

Where you can find me:

Workbench on FaceBook Google Plus YouTube

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Woody

Member since
December 2002
From: Third rock from the sun.

Posted by Woody on Monday, August 2, 2004 9:34 PM

Thanks guys! Big Smile [:D]

I'm hoping to have a good portion of the saucer done this weekend.

" I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." --John Paul Jones

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Model Grandpa

Member since
July 2003
From: Keizer, Oregon

Posted by Model Grandpa on Monday, August 2, 2004 9:51 PM

Hey Woody, I've been eyeballing lathes for awhile now and have a question. Can you turn a cigar (for lack of a better term) shape with one?

Regards, Dan Building Scale Models At The Speed Of Dark

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Model Grandpa

Member since
July 2003
From: Keizer, Oregon

Posted by Model Grandpa on Monday, August 2, 2004 9:54 PM

Oh and BTW, very nice start on your build. I'm am very impressed by the scratch built models that you and the other Sci-fi guy's turn (no pun intended Smile [:)]

) out.

Regards, Dan Building Scale Models At The Speed Of Dark

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Woody

Member since
December 2002
From: Third rock from the sun.

Posted by Woody on Monday, August 2, 2004 10:15 PM

QUOTE: Originally posted by Model Grandpa

Hey Woody, I've been eyeballing lathes for awhile now and have a question. Can you turn a cigar (for lack of a better term) shape with one?

Yes you can but it is easier to get soft curves with a wood style lathe using a tool rest. Otherwise you can rough it out on the metal lathe and smooth with emery tape or files. I work from a 1:1 scale drawing and lift measurement from set points on the drawing and transfer these to the same spot on the work piece. After the piece is to the shape I'm looking for I smooth it with files. The example above is all straight cut except for the chamfered cut at the narrow end. I cut this with a series of small cuts that resemble stair steps. I then removed these these tiny steps or ridges with a fine flat file as the piece was spinning in the lathe. I hope my explanation makes sense. Wink [;)]

" I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." --John Paul Jones

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maxx1969

Member since
May 2004
From: Oregon

Posted by maxx1969 on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 1:22 AM

Hey woody, nice work. Multiple castings...optional parts...hummm. sounds like a possible kit. Whistling [:-^]

~Matt T Meyer

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Woody

Member since
December 2002
From: Third rock from the sun.

Posted by Woody on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 5:31 PM

QUOTE: Originally posted by maxx1969

Hey woody, nice work. Multiple castings...optional parts...hummm. sounds like a possible kit.

I would love to kit this model but Time is the main problem.
If it looks like I'll be done before the deadline I will try to make a garage kit.
At the very least I'll have to cast some warp nacelles. I'm not going to make
any promises but that is what I'd like to do. Wink [;)]

" I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." --John Paul Jones

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 6:55 PM

Wish I could afford a lathe, but just spent $700 on two nail guns for work. That would be a great way of making the nacelles for a Gorn cruiser.

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Woody

Member since
December 2002
From: Third rock from the sun.

Posted by Woody on Tuesday, August 3, 2004 8:29 PM

Gorn cruiser, did you say Gorn cruiser!? Cool [8D]

" I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." --John Paul Jones

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SNOOPY

Member since
December 2002

Posted by SNOOPY on Wednesday, August 4, 2004 12:07 PM

Woody, very nice job. How come you did not start with an acrylic rod instead of blocks? Also, do you have a mill for the other parts of the ship or are you going to hand carve blanks from something like balsa wood or that foam stuff that acts like balsa wood, etc.? I thought of building my own sci ships just for fun.

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Woody

Member since
December 2002
From: Third rock from the sun.

Posted by Woody on Wednesday, August 4, 2004 12:43 PM

QUOTE: Originally posted by SNOOPY

Woody, very nice job. How come you did not start with an acrylic rod instead of blocks? Also, do you have a mill for the other parts of the ship or are you going to hand carve blanks from something like balsa wood or that foam stuff that acts like balsa wood, etc.? I thought of building my own sci ships just for fun.

Hey Snoopy,
Let me start by saying, you should try Sci-Fi modeling but be forewarned it is addictive.
I didn't start with rod stock because I get the acrylic sheet for free. I have less than nickle worth of adhesive tried up in this project as my only expense so far!
I have a mill but I don't think I'll be needing it on this model.
I'll be using my bandsaw to cut most of the rest of the pieces I'll be using and the material will be more acrylic sheet or styrene (which I also nabbed from work).
I'm glad people are asking guestions and I hope my answers have been informative. I see the main thing in a group build like this is that we can teach one another new skills and tricks. Why don't you join in Snoopy? Plenty of time left. Wink [;)]

" I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." --John Paul Jones

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SNOOPY

Member since
December 2002

Posted by SNOOPY on Thursday, August 5, 2004 7:05 AM

I would love to but at this time I have no time with work, softball umpiring during the rest of the Summer, and doing House projects for the wife. I did start a Babylon 5 - Star fury but have not finished it yet. I kind of screwed up on the paint job a little and have not figured out how I am going to fix it yet. I also have an AMT Enterprise waiting to be built but have not dared to attempt it yet until my other project like two knight figures, a Batmoblie, USS United States, and a missle cruiser finished. My plate is full for a little while. Maybe the next go around. I am however interested in how your are doing your project. I would like to scratch build in the near future.

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Woody

Member since
December 2002
From: Third rock from the sun.

Posted by Woody on Wednesday, August 11, 2004 6:30 PM

I hope you can join in for the next go around. This has been the best modeling project for me todate. Not so much for the model itself but because I have enjoyed the interaction with other Sci-Fi modelers. Wink [;)]

" I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." --John Paul Jones

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Woody

Member since
December 2002
From: Third rock from the sun.

Posted by Woody on Saturday, August 14, 2004 10:02 PM

I have added more pictures to my first post. I've switched from the lathe to my bandsaw. Wink [;)]

" I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." --John Paul Jones

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Mikeym_us

Member since
March 2004
From: Kincheloe Michigan

Posted by Mikeym_us on Sunday, August 15, 2004 11:59 AM

obviously Woody im guessing your going to add more styrene to build up the contours of the saucer and Impulse sections

On the workbench: Dragon 1/350 scale Ticonderoga class USS BunkerHill 1/720 scale Italeri USS Harry S. Truman 1/72 scale Encore Yak-6

The 71st Tactical Fighter Squadron the only Squadron to get an Air to Air kill and an Air to Ground kill in the same week with only a F-15 http://photobucket.com/albums/v332/Mikeym_us/

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Woody

Member since
December 2002
From: Third rock from the sun.

Posted by Woody on Sunday, August 15, 2004 2:35 PM

Oh yeah. What you see is just the basic shapes. I still have to cut out the bridge and sensor discs. There will be a slight convex to the saucer, made by internal ribbing. The third profile of the saucer section will have the "wedge" with the impulse section cut out. This impulse section will be attached with a 3/16" spacer to yeild the correct impulse engine hieght. This will give an arrowhead shape on the never before seen saucer underside. I am also taking a slight liberty by introducing the saucer convex but I think it will just look right.

" I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." --John Paul Jones

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Buddho

Member since
March 2003
From: Newport News VA

Posted by Buddho on Sunday, August 15, 2004 5:12 PM

Excellent progress, Woody!

If you keep that pace going, You'll beat me finishing the Penguin....LOL

Regards, Dan

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, August 15, 2004 7:36 PM

Can't wait to see more pics, Woody. I actually found the time and energy to work on the Ranger(and the carrier) today. Heavily puttied most of the hull, then applied epoxy putty to rear hull near engine struts. Might be able to prime soon.
I've had several people "nudge" me to cast a kit from this. I would have to make another one from scratch, working out all the bugs of this one. Then I'd have to see how to kit a model based on someone else's design. Really not on my to do list though.

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Woody

Member since
December 2002
From: Third rock from the sun.

Posted by Woody on Wednesday, August 18, 2004 6:19 AM

QUOTE: Originally posted by StevenQ

Can't wait to see more pics, Woody. I actually found the time and energy to work on the Ranger(and the carrier) today. Heavily puttied most of the hull, then applied epoxy putty to rear hull near engine struts. Might be able to prime soon.
I've had several people "nudge" me to cast a kit from this. I would have to make another one from scratch, working out all the bugs of this one. Then I'd have to see how to kit a model based on someone else's design. Really not on my to do list though.

That's great Steve. I hope you get a chance to post more pictures soon. I know what your saying about the resin kit thing. I'm try to make this Baton Rouge model kit-able but it is really slowing my project up. Oh well, I'm still having a blast on it. Wink [;)]

" I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." --John Paul Jones

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, August 18, 2004 6:49 PM

Primed her last night. Starting to look better. The primer revealed a whole lotta flaws to fix. Then need to find impulse engines, etc. Pics to come.

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Woody

Member since
December 2002
From: Third rock from the sun.

Posted by Woody on Wednesday, August 18, 2004 7:19 PM

That primer is like a spot light for flaws. Wink [;)]

LOL I'm looking forward to seeing those pics Steve.

" I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." --John Paul Jones

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SNOOPY

Member since
December 2002

Posted by SNOOPY on Friday, August 20, 2004 12:01 PM

Woody,

In the future you may want to try this to see if it will help you better. Take your pattern and some 3M (non-acetone) adhesive spray and place the pattern on the plastic sheets. When you want to remove the pattern, use either Goo Gone or better, lighter fluid (or use naptham obtained in most hardware stores) and the pattern slides right off. When I had to make prototype from plastic or metal sheets I used this system. It works great. Just remember when using the adhesive spray, spray the pattern and wait a minute. It takes the adhesive a minutes to become sticky then apply it to the sheet stock you are using. Do a test run on scrap but I never had a problem with it.

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Keyworth

Member since
January 2003
From: NE Georgia

Posted by Keyworth on Sunday, August 22, 2004 10:17 PM

Woody, this is a great looking build. Wish I had the tool setup you do.

"There's no problem that can't be solved with a suitable application of high explosives"

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Woody

Member since
December 2002
From: Third rock from the sun.

Posted by Woody on Sunday, August 22, 2004 10:26 PM

Snoopy, Thanks for the tip. Wink [;)]

I have used a similar method in the past, but the main thing this time was to hold the three sheets for cutting.

Ed, Yeah, I'm a tool hound but I've been collecting them for years. Thanks for the encouragment. This has been a very fun build.

Update: I'm putting the saucer section together and I'm very pleased with how it's turning out. I hope to post more pic soon. Wink [;)]

" I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." --John Paul Jones

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Buddho

Member since
March 2003
From: Newport News VA

Posted by Buddho on Monday, August 23, 2004 7:52 PM

More pics...more pics!!!!!!!!

~ ; )

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Mikeym_us

Member since
March 2004
From: Kincheloe Michigan

Posted by Mikeym_us on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 11:30 AM

and I found for drilling through Styrene and PlexiGlass you can use a Brad nail as a drill bit and it wont warp or crack the plastic.

On the workbench: Dragon 1/350 scale Ticonderoga class USS BunkerHill 1/720 scale Italeri USS Harry S. Truman 1/72 scale Encore Yak-6

The 71st Tactical Fighter Squadron the only Squadron to get an Air to Air kill and an Air to Ground kill in the same week with only a F-15 http://photobucket.com/albums/v332/Mikeym_us/

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