Plastic Models - Who still builds them? (3 Viewers)

Next project acquired
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have no idea why i loved the shuttlecraft so much - but i was always stoked when it made an appearance on the show

Nerdy Trek Fact. They didn’t originally build a shuttle craft for the show because there was no budget for it. So the Transporter was created in order to have a way to get the crew down to the surface of a planet.
 
Nerdy Trek Fact. They didn’t originally build a shuttle craft for the show because there was no budget for it. So the Transporter was created in order to have a way to get the crew down to the surface of a planet.

Additional fact - the shuttlecraft was financed by AMT (the model maker) because they wanted to have a model of it. Since Desilu didn't have the budget for the shuttlecraft AMT ponied up the money.

Here are some of the WIP pics of the diorama -

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I haven't been doing a lot at the bench lately. I've kinda' lost my mojo. I do have a couple of things in progress though, just need to get back to them. I did get a new 3D printer and I have been printing SpaceX helmets for the grandkids (we got them all SpaceX onesies https://shop.spacex.com/collections/kid/products/spacex-spacesuit-onesie)

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Are the toothpicks for alignment purposes? If so, I've seen a good answer for that. Model 2mm holes into the mating surfaces. Those holes will be the perfect size for a small piece of filament to use as an alignment pin.
 
Are the toothpicks for alignment purposes? If so, I've seen a good answer for that. Model 2mm holes into the mating surfaces. Those holes will be the perfect size for a small piece of filament to use as an alignment pin.
Yes. In this case, the original full-sized helmet (adult) was set up to use screws of a certain size. I reduced the scale of the print so it would fit the kid's heads and wasn't too concerned about resizing the holes. THe toothpicks worked perfectly.
 
I have started to get my mojo back some and have solved the curtain issue for the Lost in Space Chariot project. This is an issue that has been plaguing me for a while. A long while. The pieces supplied with the kit don't look right at all and other methods that I tried (foil, tissue paper, etc.) didn't look right either. Based on a suggestion by my cousin, who is also a model builder, I tried shop towels.

At first, I pieced together a "mold" of sorts that was OK, but not easy to work with or as consistent as I would have liked. So I whipped up a mold on the 3D printer (Fusion360 for the design, Cura to slice and printed on my Anycubic Mega X FDM printer). From there, I wet the shop towel with alcohol, pressed it into the mold, and dripped diluted Mod Podge onto the towel. Allowed that to dry.

The end result is an accordion of material that can be compressed and shaped, very much looking like curtains. Serendipitously, some heat shrink tubing was on my workbench and it struck me to try that to "gather" the curtains. It worked perfectly! A little aluminum acrylic paint and these are ready to install. The first few pictures illustrate the approach.

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In other news: I have been planning for a long while to build a full-sized B9 robot from Lost in Space and have gathered some of the materials to do just that. I have collected volumes of notes and techniques just to try to determine which way I should go when I start. I have the currently acceptable blueprints, some of the parts, and a reasonably healthy enthusiasm for the project but a couple of things have eluded me, the torso of the robot and the bubblehead. These are available from B9 Robot Builder club members but can be a bit pricey.

I stumbled upon some guys who are actually 3D printing many of the parts which solve a lot of the problems. But I decided to start smaller because I want to do so much with animation, lighting, and sound. There is a guy in England offering, for free, the files to print a full-sized R2D2 and so I have decided to take the robot plunge, so to speak, by building the R2 unit first.

The 3D printing aspect means that you're essentially printing a plastic model that you have to assemble. That is a very cool approach and it means that I can continue to print parts for another project while working on any given project. The last picture is the first piece of the R2 I printed, a portion of the dome (8 total pieces, about 40 hours total print time for about $25)
 

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I have started to get my mojo back some and have solved the curtain issue for the Lost in Space Chariot project. This is an issue that has been plaguing me for a while. A long while. The pieces supplied with the kit don't look right at all and other methods that I tried (foil, tissue paper, etc.) didn't look right either. Based on a suggestion by my cousin, who is also a model builder, I tried shop towels.

At first, I pieced together a "mold" of sorts that was OK, but not easy to work with or as consistent as I would have liked. So I whipped up a mold on the 3D printer (Fusion360 for the design, Cura to slice and printed on my Anycubic Mega X FDM printer). From there, I wet the shop towel with alcohol, pressed it into the mold, and dripped diluted Mod Podge onto the towel. Allowed that to dry.

The end result is an accordion of material that can be compressed and shaped, very much looking like curtains. Serendipitously, some heat shrink tubing was on my workbench and it struck me to try that to "gather" the curtains. It worked perfectly! A little aluminum acrylic paint and these are ready to install. The first few pictures illustrate the approach.

-----
In other news: I have been planning for a long while to build a full-sized B9 robot from Lost in Space and have gathered some of the materials to do just that. I have collected volumes of notes and techniques just to try to determine which way I should go when I start. I have the currently acceptable blueprints, some of the parts, and a reasonably healthy enthusiasm for the project but a couple of things have eluded me, the torso of the robot and the bubblehead. These are available from B9 Robot Builder club members but can be a bit pricey.

I stumbled upon some guys who are actually 3D printing many of the parts which solve a lot of the problems. But I decided to start smaller because I want to do so much with animation, lighting, and sound. There is a guy in England offering, for free, the files to print a full-sized R2D2 and so I have decided to take the robot plunge, so to speak, by building the R2 unit first.

The 3D printing aspect means that you're essentially printing a plastic model that you have to assemble. That is a very cool approach and it means that I can continue to print parts for another project while working on any given project. The last picture is the first piece of the R2 I printed, a portion of the dome (8 total pieces, about 40 hours total print time for about $25)
Regarding the B9 bubblehead - can you 3D print a clean clear object like that? I looked into having a photo prop printed that would look like clear acrylic. I learned that a nice, glassy look was hard to or impossible to achieve with the printers. There was usually some warbling or distortion even after polishing with some solutions.
 
Regarding the B9 bubblehead - can you 3D print a clean clear object like that? I looked into having a photo prop printed that would look like clear acrylic. I learned that a nice, glassy look was hard to or impossible to achieve with the printers. There was usually some warbling or distortion even after polishing with some solutions.
There is no way to create absolutely clear parts with a 3D printer. Even the resin-based clear prints are horribly foggy and no amount of sanding, buffing, or gelling can make them clear. Additionally, having an SLA printer large enough to produce the bubble would be cost-prohibitive at this point.

There is a method for vacuum-forming the bubble from readily available acrylic sheet in which a buck has to be made and it can be used with shop-vac for the pull. I might try that when it comes time and if it is too frustrating a B9 club member offers the bubble for about $300 - which might be worth it considering the trouble.
 

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