As I wrap up the MPC Star Destroyer, and before I get back to the cut away Falcon interior, I'm knocking off this easy one. This is ModelNutz' resin A-Wing kit.

Simply putting an amber led in each engine, a few different colors, including an rgb flasher, in the cockpit. Also drilled some holes thru the pilot to light his helmet and chest control panel thing. I'll throw a couple more fibers in the seat arms, but otherwise the fiber is done. Just gotta wire up the leds for all that fiber (30 strands or so) and this is done. The wall wart is 300mA, so plenty of juice to handle a dozen or less leds.

This will go very fast and should be done by the weekend. Back to the Falcon next week.

All told:
$2 in fiber
$1 in 'common' leds
.50¢ (1) rgb flasher
.50¢ for the wall wart from a tag sale.
.25¢ for the train track
.01¢ solder
.01¢ resistors, (ea)
.002¢ wire
Total = <$5

(Of course, these costs do not reflect the bulk price I paid for all the items. To use $2 in fiber, I of course had to buy $15 worth, for example.)


Episode 4. All fibered up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE4rdgj5Y7g

3. Rigging and external power couplings
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMs9KWA5pD0

2. Just moving along
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk-UfpvWNNg

1. An overview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G4E6YBlro4

0. The Out of the Box Review
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAD6gCegFEs

you know about the hot water trick?

You could also use a hairdryer but I've found that the hot water is far less prone to burn or score the resin.

anyway, boil some water and dip the warped part in the water, take it out after a few seconds, straighten and temper with cool running water or leave it flat so that the part straightens and leave it until cool. Fixed.

Yup. I'm hip to the hot water/heat repair. I'll be getting to that before the paint job. I'm glad you elaborated on it as I have not done so anywhere yet. The wings are molded to the engines, so keeping them flat is next to highly difficult. But I've got a couple ideas in mind...

Here's all the fibers in their cans with 4 leds functioning, all other tests have been conducted. Hope to have this sealed up by the end of this weekend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FN80bm1Ha4

nice work if you can get it. (I'm envious of your - what to call it? Stash?)

Here's an intermediate step required before I continue lighting: the painting and installation of the cockpit. I *should* have the first light test for this piece tomorrow night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d2JpOnjEn0

I think this is the last lighting installment already!
Don't hold me to that, there could be a coup de grace.

This was a fast one overall! Some drilling, threading, wiring, and painting and done.

Still to do:
-dress the rat's nest of wiring in the back
-wait for the white glue to seal the fibers
-black silicone all around to kill light leak coming off the canisters
-I gotta wire the bottom to the top
-ensure the leds get a good burn-in time before locking them into place
...and...
-just make sure all is as well as it can be before closing the body forever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5-kJ2wfwgs

So this is the last lighting video. The red led did die after 3hrs, so that has been replaced. All the wires have been snugged up as well as possible. The lower half power connectors have been connectored. It's been powered up for the last 17hrs straight and after another 15 or so, I will black silicone the leds over and seal the body at long last!


Beware. It's a long one at 8mins, but it covers all the problems and successes with a glimpse of what's next.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKzHRhBgbiM

No, no. Really. This is definitely the last lighting installment!

The body is sealed and checking for light leak at the seams is underway. Several were found. As the seams need some dressing anyway, this will not be a problem for the most part.

As the rest of the journey has nothing to do with electronics, I will start a build thread in the sci-fi section and link back to this for reference in the next few weeks.


As always, thanks for tuning in. Hope seeing my mistakes helps you make a better kit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R7k01xgMPA