Colonial One

Mr. Badwrench · Post by **Mr. Badwrench** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 2:40 am

I picked up Starcraft Models Colonial One at Wonderfest, (Thanks to all the guys at Federation Models!) It is well cast, very little flash, pour stubs in easy to work with locations, really a thing of beauty. It is also hollow, which makes it easy... nay, demands lighting. A lot of this will be simple: cut it open, cut out the windows, install light boxes, voila! But some of it isn't so easy. The bridge and what I think is the lounge are on the forward fin, which is not hollow. They will require some creative grinding and maybe a little rebuilding to light them up. The engines will be similar, but since I'm planning on building the thing on a landing platform, I don't think I'll light them. It doesn't make sense.

However, and here is the real problem, there is one area I don't know how to light. On the forward dorsal fin there is a, um, round thingy, with bumps and radial vents. My references show the vents are lit up, both in flight and when grounded. Here are a couple pictures showing the area in question:

Round thingy
Round thingy lit up

I've scribbled on the second picture with Microsoft Paint to show y'all where the lights go. Remember, the whole round area is about the size of a nickel, so those vents are very tiny. And there is one on each side. Anybody have any ideas of how to go about lighting this?

I put this in the Construction forum, because I'm not really asking about electronics or lighting. I'm stumped on how to modify the model to allow for lighting though. What do you think? It'll be a while before I get around to this, I've got a few other projects to finish first.

DennisH · Post by **DennisH** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 9:13 am

An easier way might be to use blacklight paint. Paint in the openings with your color of choice and hit it with a blacklight.

It should light up nicely, but you'll need the blacklight whenever you want to show it lit up.

http://www.blacklight.com
http://www.prolightingsupplies.com/paint.htm

Just a thought I had. Those tiny openings would be a beyotch to clear and keep typical with each other.

Dennis

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 10:30 am

Edge lit polycarb is one way, think flat fiber optics.

The other would be to replace the entire radius with clear, back light it and then paint what you want to not glow.

veedubb67 · Post by **veedubb67** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 2:09 pm

I'll have to side with Kylwell on this one - cast the part in clear, backlight it and paint the unlit areas. Probably the easiest way to go. If you need a caster, let me know!

Rob

Mr. Badwrench · Post by **Mr. Badwrench** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 3:17 am

DennisH wrote:An easier way might be to use blacklight paint. Paint in the openings with your color of choice and hit it with a blacklight.

Some of us CoMMiES were talking the other day about using Scotchlite to "light up" models with. Similar to your black light idea. And you know, that's not a bad idea, I may have to try that. But not on this model. The rest of the kit is so easy to light with traditional methods, I'm afraid the difference would look weird. But thanks for the suggestion, I'm sure it will come in handy for another project.

veedubb67 wrote:If you need a caster, let me know!

Thanks Rob. Your's and Robb's advice seems most practical so far. When the time comes to do this thing, I'll certainly want to get in touch with Mark.

In the mean time, if anybody has some other ideas on how they would go about this, please chime in! We can never have too many good ideas.

en'til Zog · Post by **en'til Zog** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 12:17 am

Maybe drill some holes straight into the resin with a letter gauge drillbit, then use the drillbit as a router to connect the holes and route out each trench. Tedious? yes. Possible? also yes.

Slide · Post by **Slide** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:49 pm

en'til Zog wrote:Maybe drill some holes straight into the resin with a letter gauge drillbit, then use the drillbit as a router to connect the holes and route out each trench. Tedious? yes. Possible? also yes.

are there not drill-bits specifically designed for that?

en'til Zog · Post by **en'til Zog** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 6:55 pm

There's the "Router bit" that cuts in any direction that fits moto-tools. Electronic Goldmine happens to have one that just went on sale for a whole $0.69 US - 1/8th" shank with a 1/4" long cutter section, 2.0 mm in diameter. Part # G15796 at goldmine-elec.com.

Just got their new sale flier. They always have some neat stuff. And a $10.00 minimum....