El Gato's entry: TOS Constellation Class - DONE!

[el gato]

Well, I can make it available this weekend if people want to build it, with the understanding that there won't be photos of the final version until later

[Hossfly72]

Don't do it just for me. I've got so much on my plate now that I'm a little overwhelmed. Wish I had time to build.

[el gato]

Just a quick update from the last two weeks. First, last week I applied some putty. I gave the planetary sensor dome some height. I also intended to remove the impulse engine from the bottom saucer half. Unfortunately the pin hole is on the engine (I drew the Constellation body so that it has holes and pins that match the alignment holes and pins on the saucer halves):

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The nacelles will be oriented so that the grills are pointed towards each. That means that I can't use the traditional alignment of the nacelles, where pylons are coming at an angle. The nacelles will attach to the constellation pylons at a 90 degree from the grill. I puttied the interior to give the alignment pin someting more to grab to when I glue them:

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I dislike the smell of Tenax in the afternoon:

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In order to get the proper alignment on the nacelles, I made a template that will hopefully have me drill in the right spots:

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[el gato]

See? This is what I was talking about. There are alignment holes on top of the Constellation body.

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There are also pins on the ventral side for the bottom half of the saucer

[DefiantClient]

Fantastic. The bridge looks great and I love the thought you put into the alignment pins when you made the 3d model.

[el gato]

Fantastic. The bridge looks great and I love the thought you put into the alignment pins when you made the 3d model.

Thanks! It came from a concern that I would screw up and not glue the saucer pointing straight forward I laugh because it's happened before on another model

[el gato]

Today's update: Drilled the nacelle alignment pin holes and sanded the puttied areas. I've actually glued the saucer section to the body now but haven't taken photos:

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[el gato]

Unfortunately not much to add this week. I tweaked my back Friday morning, so being bed ridden and having to move around stifly is what was in store this weekend. First, to complete what I managed to do last week. I attached the saucer to the body. Notice I also sanded the edges of the body to make it more round:

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And my big whoop for this weekend was the scratchbuilding of the long thingie replacements for the nacelles:

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[DefiantClient]

Sweet progress Gato! That side shot made it for me. Keep it up!

[el gato]

Thanks! Funny, that side shot annoys me. I didn't make the linear accelerator tall enough when I drew it. I didn't take into account the width of the saucer. Otherwise it's perfect. I'm going to correct that before the body makes it to the shop...

Shaped the thingies a little more. Now I just have to sand the sides a little more and they're ready to be placed on the nacelles

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