1/350 Romulan BOP

Etching a board for the plasma weapon right now. More to come.

Very cool build, I'm impresssed. Cant wait to see it done. But I do have one little thing I feel needs brougth to everyone's attention.

 

The original "Balance of Terror" Romulan BOP did not have warp capability. Watched the episode just the other night and at the conference table Scotty answers Kirk's question about Enterprise superior performance and Scotty says "No question. Their power is simple impulse." Kirk says "Meaning we can out run them?"

At that Mr. Styles says "to be used in chasing them or retreating , sir."

 

It was because of this that the Romulans signed an "uneasy" alliance with the Klingons and this is how the Romulans ended up using Klingon design ships for a while, as made known in the episode "The Enterprise Incident".

 

Hope this helps

I needed something to fire LEDs for the plasma weapon so started with Jennifer Petkus' posting of a photon torpedo circuit based on Paul Newitt's Enterprise E board. From that I designed a printed circuit board and etched such as seen here

I had to do this a couple times to rectify some errors like inverted chips and such but finally got things worked out. Here is the completed board, all tested out and functional.

When the momentary switch is activated there are two low output LEDs mounted to each side of the main weapon that begin to glow then the main weapon LED (a high output LED) pulses and then the two side LEDs fade out.

The original clear piece that came with my kit for the plasma weapon was full of micro bubbles, so much so that all the light from the LEDs was disbursed. Right now I am waiting for a replacement piece from AW Studios then will install the LEDs and test fire the weapon for video.

BTW, this is my first PCB board.

The lights are all installed now. The LEDs that will light the various sensor ports are all 130 degree LEDs so have a pretty good pattern. The LEDs used in the engines and plasma weapon are 30 degree viewing angle. Normally when installing lights and boards I like to use hot glue but am concerned about the heat warping the vacuformed plastic of the hull. Instead I have superglued each piece in place to start but since superglue is so brittle and could be popped loose easily after the hull is closed up I followed up with a good coating of silicon caulk. I am waiting on a new clear part for the plasma weapon which should be here in a couple days. Once that is done, the fiber optic lenses around the hull perimeter are done and the center post/power jack are installed I can close the hull.

Amazing, simply amazing

Quite a project there, this will be neat to see finished and all lit up.

As far as the lighting in the original series, I recall reading that the episode was inspired by WW2 ship vs sub movies. Since the BOP was playing the part of the sub they probably didn't light it as that is more submarine like, of course that doesn't really explain the giant bird painting on the bottom.

As a kid the BOP was my favorite, but also the only ship from TOS I never built.

Just finished the fiber optics tonight. Next I'll be casting a new clear plasma cannon piece with LEDs placed within the mold.

It took two attempts to get a good mold from the original kit piece, first time had an air bubble in the most inconvenient place. Once the mold was right then two tries to get a good casting. I have a much better appreciation for the problems AW Studio faced getting this part done without the micro-bubbles. The original kit piece was simply a clear part and if you wanted to light it, well -- figure something out. Since I was at a point where I was casting an entirely new piece I elected to cast a set of three LEDs right into the part. The two outside LEDs are diffuse red 1.8mm units and the central LED is a 3mm very high output red. The fire sequence will cause the two outside LEDs to ramp up to a mild glow then the central unit will pulse at maximum output then the outside units will ramp down. Testing of individual components is good so far and light output in the cast piece is excellent, soon we shall see how it all works when assembled. The only areas on this part that will be left clear are the three lenses, everything else will be painted black then metal.

Since I'm back into working with some RTV I'll be diverting for a little bit to work on some molds for my 1/48 H-19 cockpit detail set - gotta do it when the mood strikes and the seats are calling me.

WOW when you do something you go all out....

She's looking good want to see more more more ............

Bud

I've been kind of stalled on this for the last month but yesterday I picked up the brass tubing to make my power base and the multi-plug for the control systems. Just need to solder this stuff to a support plate, insert that into the hull and I'm ready to close up the main hull.

Great progress on this so far, can't wait to see how it turns out.  It's beyond my price range for now, still getting some good tips and would like to scratch build one some time.

You know how sometimes you just get stuck or simply lose your motivation on a kit? I guess that is what happened to me as I was heading toward building a mounting plate for this one. Nearly two months later I am dusting off the build and getting back into it. I drilled out a brass plate to accept a large brass tube which was soldered in place with a couple of stiffeners. A common return line was also soldered to the base.  A second slightly smaller base tube slides in from the bottom and completes the return line. A radio control multi-plug from an R/C car runs through the tube for main power and fire control. The tube acts as the display base and can be removed for transport. Now at long last the hull can be closed up. The overhanging lip will be sanded down once the glue dries completely then I can begin to attach the pylons and plasma weapon.

Here at the Imperial Romulan Ship Yards initial systems tests are underway on the newest Bird of Prey. Both warp nacelles are now in place and electrical systems are functional. Plasma weapon still has to be mounted and there are plenty of seams that need dressing before she is ready for even the first coat of paint. Speaking of paint, I spent three or four hours yesterday designing the mask sheets for this. I can see now that there will be several months of painting, masking and painting to get the look I desire. For now though here are a couple of shots for your enjoyment.




The front and rear sections of the warp nacelles will not be installed until after paint.

Turning out, as usual I might add

 

Spectacular!

And I most certainly AM ENJOYING this one Swanny!

 

Top notch, all the way!!!

Thanks guys. Four hours spent puttying and sanding last night and still not done. Every time I get one seam fixed I seam (pun intended) to find another flaw that needs addressing.

I actually did a little modeling tonight (ain't that a surprise?) and did the final install of the Plasma Cannon. Still frames don't really capture what is happening here and a video will be coming soon however the first image shows the weapon ramping up and the second show it either a split second before or after the main pulse (very hard to catch that in a still picture) then the weapon ramps back down to off.

very nice. Cant wait to see the video.

 

Great progress! I can't wait to see the video as well.

Another evening of sanding and putty application. Hopefully this will be the last round of this stuff. I'm also testing Bondoman's idea of the white glue on a couple lenses to see how it works. He suggested using it as a masking agent when I get to painting then picking it off with tweezers.

I think I will try the white glue myself on the 1/144th scale B-1 Bomber that I am building for a client.

 

It sounds like a good idea.

Swanny,

 White glue is a great trick. Both for a masking agent and even if you wanna bring something up flush and level within an opening since it dries clear.

 Just be careful to keep the glue fully within the opening because anything slightly outside that edge can trigger you pulling up fresh paint along with it later.

I tested the white glue idea and decided that using Incredible White Mask applied with a toothpick worked better. Application  was about the same but the White mask was a thicker coating that came off easier. All lenses have been masked and most of the model is now primed gloss black. Ran out of paint last night so in a short holding pattern right now.

 

Ordered some paints today, something very different from my normal fair. Can't tell you what yet - don't want to spoil the surprise. I do have to test the idea first though to make sure it will work as expected.

Swanny,

 Just a friendly bump to see if your paints arrived?

 

Don

wow I wish I had the electical sil to do that. hmm,  maybe I wil start with another Generations Bird of prey, hmmmm.

Really the electrical stuff did not take any special skill other than being able to use a solder gun and operate an on-line resistor calculator.

 

Paint; need to decant more Krylon and its just a wee bit colder out than I would like. Had some other 'special' paints arrive a few days ago and will do a test swatch once the Krylon has been decanted.

the thing looks amazing. 

Just a friendly bump in the new year to see how it's going Swanny?

Busy, busy, busy. Still have not decanted paint

But I (we!) want to see more!