[Fozzie]

As a companion piece to my recently completed TOS bridge turbolift alcove, I have started work on a 1:10 scale bridge station. Like the alcove, the bridge station is being scaled to Art Asylum/Diamond's excellent TOS action figures.

The pieces below were taped together for a test fitting.

Spock is standing on a small platform because the legs of the station have small tabs on them which I will use to aid in positioning and gluing it to its base, so I put him on the platform so his height would be correct in relation to the station behind him. (Even though this will not be Spock's station, I like to use the Spock figure because Leonard Nimoy was right around 6 foot tall which makes for a convenient "yardstick" when checking my build against photographs from the series.)

I am using the McMaster bridge blueprints as the basis for the build.

For additional support I will be adding a third "leg" in the middle of the station pretty much identical to those on each end.

I am building this with an eye towards lighting it.

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

[Steve H]

Looks like it's gonna be fun!

I'll go out on a limb and suggest maybe not using the McMaster blueprints as your main guide. Not to take away anything from his work which was a wonderful effort in its day, but I don't think he had any actual access to sets or construction blueprints, I'm pretty sure his work was all extrapolation from film clip slides. Of course I could be completely wrong.

Thing is, he, like most of us back in the day, was somewhat hypnotized by the FJ Technical Manual and the earlier Enterprise Blueprints. We now know how far afield of 'reality' the fanspec (fannish speculation) tended to get and the...hm... mis-interpretations? became fixed in many minds. The easy example is just compare the FJ Tech Manual page on the Phaser to what we know now is how it 'actually' worked to see what I mean. That set of assumptions on the parts and working of the Phaser got carried over into the Phaser (designed by Probert? Built by Price) built for ST:TMP. And maybe it doesn't really matter but it's one of those things that just sticks in my head now.

However, saying that, I'm pretty sure a number of fans out there have built full-scale bridge sets and set pieces based solely on McMaster's blueprints and they tend to look pretty good, so.

I suspect someone is going to have amazing suggestions for alternate data to use.

 

[aeryn43]

Wow its like a flashback...I started my 1/8 bridge build with Spock's console.....and look where it got me!!
Yet to build turbo lift.....
IF you decide to do more consoles keep an eye on the angles, I cut out all my panels at the same time using cardboard formers and they still ended up slightly different!

 

[SteveR]

It would be fun to have removable sections to simulate camera angles from the show.

 

[Fozzie]

Wow its like a flashback...I started my 1/8 bridge build with Spock's console.....and look where it got me!!
Yet to build turbo lift.....
IF you decide to do more consoles keep an eye on the angles, I cut out all my panels at the same time using cardboard formers and they still ended up slightly different!

Your build is simply incredible...! I am really enjoying following it. Thanks for sharing.

I don't have the space to do the entire bridge (that would be around 37" in diameter at 1:10 scale), so I thought I'd do 2-3 pieces that I can place the TOS crew figures into and display with my 1:350 TOS Enterprise from Round 2.

I'm going to make this the station either on the left or right of the alcove so that I can mate them if I want and, perhaps, light them and run them both off of one lighting solution...maybe have it set up so that the simple lighting of the alcove (overhead lights and red alert light) can be easily unplugged from the lighting circuit in the console. Not sure yet. Still thinking about all the lighting.

 

[Steve H]

It would be fun to have removable sections to simulate camera angles from the show.

Yes. Not only the best, most logical way to do it, but it also gives storage options. Each station can also serve as a display for the figures and they can sit on a shelf.

Conversely, gluing it all together in one unit (a non-wild set, similar to what Wise did with the bridge set in ST:TMP) would increase the strength of the whole, but that does limit viewing options.

I would think designing any electronics to be modular, self contained and 'gangable' (hooking all up in a chain or able to be powered individually) would be the way to go.

 

[Fozzie]

It would be fun to have removable sections to simulate camera angles from the show.

I am experimenting with magnets to hold the sections in place. Looks promising. In fact, the red turbolift door in my other build is held in place with magnets so that I can easily remove it in the future if I decide to add the turbolift car behind it (still want to do that...).

 

[Steve H]

Your build is simply incredible...! I am really enjoying following it. Thanks for sharing.

I don't have the space to do the entire bridge (that would be around 37" in diameter at 1:10 scale), so I thought I'd do 2-3 pieces that I can place the TOS crew figures into and display with my 1:350 TOS Enterprise from Round 2.

I'm going to make this the station either on the left or right of the alcove so that I can mate them if I want and, perhaps, light them and run them both off of one lighting solution...maybe have it set up so that the simple lighting of the alcove (overhead lights and red alert light) can be easily unplugged from the lighting circuit in the console. Not sure yet. Still thinking about all the lighting.

Space being tight, you might do what some fans have done: Turbolift, Comm and Engineering stations, Captain's Chair and Helm/Nav. That gives you the main master shot 'pie slice' often seen on the show.

If you choose to really cheat and have just the one station, maybe consider having the desk top removable, so it can be 'redressed' as other stations. If you use the Cameo for the cutting you can always build other stations when the mood takes you.

 

[Fozzie]

Space being tight, you might do what some fans have done: Turbolift, Comm and Engineering stations, Captain's Chair and Helm/Nav. That gives you the main master shot 'pie slice' often seen on the show.

If you choose to really cheat and have just the one station, maybe consider having the desk top removable, so it can be 'redressed' as other stations. If you use the Cameo for the cutting you can always build other stations when the mood takes you.

I have played around with the idea of that very arrangement actually.

The Silhouette Cameo does make repeatability a bit easier.

 

[Fozzie]

I am looking at the console buttons and am stumped about how to create the round (hemispherical) buttons at 1mm and 2mm sizes. I thought about using rod stock at that diameter, but sanding something that small into a dome seems daunting--or is that easier than I think?

My plan is to make all the buttons and glue them to the panels, then cast a copy of each panel in clear resin so the buttons can be colored with transparent paint.

 

[Steve H]

I am looking at the console buttons and am stumped about how to create the round (hemispherical) buttons at 1mm and 2mm sizes. I thought about using rod stock at that diameter, but sanding something that small into a dome seems daunting--or is that easier than I think?

My plan is to make all the buttons and glue them to the panels, then cast a copy of each panel in clear resin so the buttons can be colored with transparent paint.

Since you're making a master and don't require them to be clear...what about craft beads?

Or if you can't find beads that small (and I'm pretty sure they do come that small), what about just taking a piece of plastic rod, sanding the end round and sticking it into clay or RTV over and over to make lots of little dimples to pour resin into?

There's a two-part rubber called 'Amazing Mold Putty' that might just be the ticket. Hobby Lobby or Michaels has it for about $20.

Don't forget the various units of rocker switches and the occasional push button.

 

[Fozzie]

Progress report

This weekend I started taking the bridge station from cardstock to styrene. This is as far as I got. (Everything is glued together except for the light panel stuff at the top.)

I used a "top down" angle because it shows off all the parts that are done. What isn't done are the parts you can't see, essentially the bottom panels (near the floor) and the big panel above the console that has the 2 large screens set into it.

 

[SteveR]

Conversely, gluing it all together in one unit (a non-wild set, similar to what Wise did with the bridge set in ST:TMP) would increase the strength of the whole, but that does limit viewing options.

Maybe a polygonal ring could be constructed that surrounds and unifies the sections at waist level? Or a series of "T" braces, one for each section, could snap into the floor and each other?

 

[liskorea317]

It would be fun to have removable sections to simulate camera angles from the show.

Maybe even make a scaled camera with crew to go with it!

 

[Fozzie]

Here's a shot of the station as it looks now. I put in the dual viewscreen panel and the bottom pair of panels this morning.

Most everything you see here is glued in place but not everything, which is why there is a noticeable gap btw the dual monitor panel and the ceiling plate above it.

I have a few more parts to work up and put into place and then I'll start working on the seams and gaps.

I included this shot to show the multi-layer construction of the dual screen panel as well as to highlight the finely scribed line that goes around each viewscreen. This will, of course, be painted light blue.

 

[ClubTepes]

Your work look GREAT.
I think you've got the details right.

The people who suggest making the shows camera angles 'wild' have a good point.

Are you doing this to make some stop motion animations?

If you haven't, perhaps think about it.

 

[Fozzie]

Your work look GREAT.
I think you've got the details right.

The people who suggest making the shows camera angles 'wild' have a good point.

Are you doing this to make some stop motion animations?

If you haven't, perhaps think about it.

Thanks.

No. No plans for stop animation. Just something to go with my 1:350 Big E next year!

 

[Fozzie]

Finished gluing on the last of the pieces that will make up the shell of the station. My nights this week will be spent working on the seams with an eye towards shooting some primer on it next weekend.

Also time to start really looking at the console buttons and switches and how I'll do those...

 

[Fozzie]

Most of the putty work on the main station is done, but the torrential rains we've been getting here every day have kept me from priming it to identify the areas that need to be reworked.

This week I turned my attention to one of the more intimidating aspects of the build, the console panels. Once I found some hemispherical beads in the right sizes (1mm & 2mm--small!), however, it went better than I expected. The rectangular buttons were cut from .030 styrene (2/16" x 1/16").

My intent is to cast these in clear resin, coat the buttons with transparent paints, then light from behind with fiber optic strands.

I used high pass sharpen on this photo which brings out the edges of the buttons more than you can see in person.

 

[Fozzie]

Another shot, this time with the panels gingerly placed into position in the console...