Dingbat's Ambassador

[Dingbat]

Also could be titled "How To Build A Model In 3 Years". No...you didnt read that wrong.
I signed up to this forum many moons ago for two easy reason:
#1 All you guys seem very helpful and encouraging to us newbies. Ive been into the hobbie since I was knee high, but not trek or lighting/electronics. Lots of great inspiration here!
#2 Ive had this Ambassador haunting me for years in its box on the shelf. I need it done. My very soul NEEDS it done.
Now Im not making excuses, but my hobby time is pretty limited. I have two kids and a third on the way. I also have like 4 other build going(all at a glacial pace) including a 1/2700 star destroyer. I plan on working and finishing this at the same time as a distraction from stuffing all those fiber optic strands.
Here how she sits:




Its a good start, but a long way to go. C/C appreciated.

[holt35]

Pictures aren't there.

[Dingbat]

oops...no images.
Lets try this:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JE0Lxufy2ycEyo772

https://photos.app.goo.gl/WllzlFxnkF6evznG3

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BtfAnJBFhBTNu4mM2

https://photos.app.goo.gl/wJSlqkw4oDY64JHj2

Sorry if these just show up as links.

[novahobbies]

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Hey dingbat (also how I adress my brother, BTW), I saved your images and moved them into inline attachments for our general laziness factor.

Nice work so far! You don't have to talk to most of US about long term projects. I am sure most of us have had our fair share.....and my own personal cup of long-term builds is more like a carafe, and it definitely overfloweth. Great job on those windows man. That's tough to get them drilled out so evenly! Sheesh, I have the clear version and all I had to do was cut away a couple layers of paint, and it's not as even as what you did.

Slow ad steady, mate. Slow and steady.

[Dingbat]

Thanks Novahobbies. I wish I could have got my mitts on the clear version too. Learning my lesson, I bought two of the clear Galaxy class: one to build stock and one to convert to a Nebula.
Drilling all the windows seemed like a chore at the time.
Looking back though it wasnt too bad. The secondary hull windows are pretty much done, but the sauser windows still need some cleanup. Losts of junk left over from drilling. I also need to fix a couple that I went a little over zealous on. The method I used was to first "center-punch" a mark with a sewing machine needle in a pin vice and then drill out a 1/32" hole with my Tamyia hobby drill. I then had another 1/32" bit in another pin-vice to "saw" the oval shape out. Worked pretty good.

[Dingbat]

Lets discuss lights! I love lights! After reading and looking at loads of others' work on lighting, I came up with this: the whole shebang will be powered via a 12v wall wart through the base (I like the stock black dome base with a 1/4" ss tube for wire routing). The nacells will be lit with some of those blue strip led lights.

Im thinking of attaching a 3/8" strip of styrene to the bottom half of the nacell and epoxying them down so they dont fall off over time. To difuse the lights and hopefully eliminate hotspots, Im think'n of stuffing some batting above them too. I tested the idea out with the impulse engines and it looked good. The red nacell tip...things (collector dome whoosits) will be light blocked with sheet styrene

I want the ship to look "powerer down" when the lights are off. To get this look, I want to spray Tamyia clear smoke to the grills and the domes. With bright LEDs, Im hoping it will look good...testing needed.

Any thoughts tips are much appreciated.

[MSgtUSAFRet]

Dingbat, great! I found your build thread!

While I am going to use some excess 3mm LEDs I have for the engine lights, the strips will work fine. Just a thought, since you didn't show them powered, have you tested the strip to see if it is too much light/brightness? The strip looks densely packed with SMDs and may overpower the rest of the model. Just a thought. The batting idea sounds like a plan, though.

How did you cut the grids down the perimeter of the saucer? That looks pretty cool!

I posted how I plan to light my Enterprise-C so maybe you can take a look and give me a critic too!

Keep going! Looking good!

Steve

[Dingbat]

Thanks MSgt!
Yea those led strips are bright. Im going to test the idea out before I totally commit. I think with the batting and spraying the Tamyia clear smoke it will cut the brightness down to a decent glow. I hope. I might also test adding a variable resistor (potentiometer) in front of the strips since they have built in resistors that cant be changed out. Maybe dial the brightness down.

I need to draw up a lighting plan for her. Get some ideas down on paper.

The sauser rim was filed down with a medium mill file. That took the ridges right down! Then sanded to clean up. I started scribing the panel lines vertically with a guide I made from some brass stock. It follows the conture of the top and edge nicely as long as you dont slip (so naturally I slipped severl times!). I'll snap a picture when I get home.

[el gato]

Ditto what novahobbies said about the windows. Excellent job!

[trekriffic]

Wow! Those windows openings look great! You are really doing a great job on this build.