[Model Man]

I started this 3yrs ago next month and last worked on it 10 months ago. At the time, I was scrounging 'angel hair' fiber optics from toys to light the interior of this model. The stuff is ultra thin and a total pain to deal with. Thus, the kit has stayed shelved for long periods of time.

A few weeks ago, I stocked up on proper FO of various diameters. The other night, I threw an hour at this and made significant progress. The white glue is curing now and over the weekend, I will be throwing leds on the fibers that I've got. Once I see where it's at, there will be another round of (fiber/led checks) until complete.

Interior will be Ep IV; exterior will be Ep V (or at least as close as I can fake them both, in spirit). Leds, ccfls, el sheet and possibly el wire will be used in this build. I wanted to use cmos, but that has been difficult to learn, so will hold off on that for now. Instead, I will use some flasher leds to simulate proper cmos effects.

There is a first video in this series done last year, but it is very dry with no bg music, so I won't be posting it.

 

[aric]

speechless.:thumbsup:

You a a lighting machine.

 

[Model Man]

I've got 4 or 5 models getting lights right now so I pulled this one out of the box to move it along some. I do big tasks in bunches. All of the models get picked up and moved along while some are left behind to gather steam with other models also at that stage. In the next few weeks I will switch to some putty, some airbrushing and several of these 4 or 5 models will be done. The rest will get picked up again next time I get back to lighting.

But to keep time on the Falcon, here are the results of that last batch of fiber work.

I let a few days pass for multiple apps of white glue to seal things down. All the foil from inside the body was pulled and the backsides sprayed black in all cases; the enamel did not damage the FO: added the cockpit tunnel to the interior, now I must detail and fiber that -a decent film grab would work as little will be seen and only from a very particular angle.

Another round of fiber is due for the console and the couch. If I don't also do the last remnants, then a third round of fiber to fill in the nooks and dress the place up a little more is required.

The bottom of the hull is going Empire, so lots of exterior work to do down there. The engines should be good with the ccfl, but if needed, I can go to blue leds as the engine detailing is a unique solution I'm employing -details on that later. The cockpit will be lit with an EL sheet around the rim and leds on the back wall and flight controls/seats.

My main idea for power is that it run down the aft legs into contact pads which will match a special diorama base. Only when positioned correctly will it light up. As it's landed, I will throw in a sep. switch for the engine lights. Will contemplate a tertiary switch as well. This model is not destined for much greenscreening, but I will get a bunch of shots as possible.

 

[Tim Nolan]

Awesome light affects so far. It does get messy in there, and you run out of room fast, but who cares whats underneath once it's all buried! The finished build should be spectacular! Nice work!

 

[Model Man]

Thanks.

While not directly related to lighting this model, these two vids are relevant.

First, a bench review covering all the models that are now getting, have gotten or are about to get leds, fiber optics, ccfl and EL sheet and possibly el wire. Of eight models, 4 are done wiring (AWStudios RBoP, CC EVAPod and AMK, Revell CyRaider) and 4 are getting along (ERTL Cut Away Falcon, MPC SD, 2 SS TIE's).

Second, this is the Falcon's exterior paint job that is still ahead of me once all this wiring is done!

 

[Model Man]

It looks like a full two months since I last worked on this. And I gotta say, it's all getting pulled and redone.

I've learned alot of good tricks in the last couple months and the rat's nest that this wiring currently is will be replaced with a much cleaner interface, making changes, fixes and upgrades much easier.

All the tough work of threading and deciding what goes where is all done. I just gotta replug things together. Once that's done, I gotta thread the remaining consoles and such. Then this gets packed away so I can finish off six other models; New years eve is the target. Those are all lit and just need the putty/sand/primer/paint routine.

In terms of lights, this model will next need the exterior done and the cockpit. I haven't fired up the engines in quite a while, so I should give them a once over before packing away.

This vid turned out a few mins longer than I'd hoped, but it does cover all previous, current and future aspects quite well.

As always, thanks to everyone for tuning in!

 

[Model Man]

Reworked all the fiber and replaced all leds while I was at it. The rgb flashers are not wired in yet, but they will be. I expect to finish this over TGiving weekend.

 

[Model Man]

Put a few more fibers and leds in the interior.

Then I did something I said I wasn't gonna do...

And it looks great!

 

[Model Man]

An excellent effort was made this evening with about 3hrs of work. The white leds in the last video were a bit green-ish. I had thought it was the brass tubes, but it was also the leds themselves. For "warm whites", they are more cool-fluorescant green than a warm orange (vs std cold blue white leds).

That aside, I pulled them all and replaced with regular warm whites. Additionally, all other leds were set in place including an led for each landing well and mandible, and 3 red leds for fiber spots around the lower hull.

I have to watch Empire and take some notes on specific light points. I'm going for flavor, not accuracy. This MPC kit is so inaccurate to begin with, that I am not worried about the letter of the law but am fully embracing the spirit.

So, some more red fibers to go, there may be up to a few more floodlights to place. With that complete, this goes back on the shelf until next time. The upper hull needs it's own lighting bus and work, so that is on tap for then. At that point, the paint job will be much of the last work to do to finish it off -apart from the diorama I have in mind...

 

[Model Man]

Here's the first assembled lighting test.

I piled a lot more red fibers in the bottom hull and drilled 4 more floodlights. No more brass or alum tubes in stock, so gotta get those tomorrow. And with those, the lower hull should be done. The interior will get finished off today with the remaining fibers. I am near empty on fiber as well, but have more on order and should be able to knock off what's left with what I've got on hand.

The upper hull will get it's own lighting bus and that will be done the next time I work on electronics. Once I wrap up what I've got here, I gotta finish off 7 or 8 other models with paint jobs.

Thanks for tuning in!

 

[Model Man]

I hate to say this is looking great, so I'll just say she's really looking fine!

I finished off all my 1mm and .75mm fiber on this one. I've got a few spools coming in next week, but I wanna be into putty and paint on several other models by then. So I don't know if this is the last video on this build for some time to come, or just a temporary aside.

I'm also heavily debating doing the paint job in the coming weeks, rather than packing it away long term again.

Either way, I do have to put it away as, despite all the progress over the last couple days and months, there is still much to do, most especially in the cockpit area and lighting the top of the hull -in addition to finishing the interior and rest of the overall paint job, never mind sealing it up, etc.

 

[roadrner]

Some great video MM! Thanks! :thumbsup::thumbsup: rr

 

[mb1k]

Fantastic work, and inspirational. More people in the hobby should film and post like you have. Well done.

 

[Model Man]

Thanks.

Here's some upgrades and some led lessons (learned) on math. All the couch fibers are in. All the 1mm and .75mm fibers I'll be doing are now in. I next gotta do a round with .5mm to fill in the remaining holes. Another few short steps and this is done for lighting. (Until I get to the cockpit the next time I get back to this model. And the engines have to go in...)

 

[WEAPON X]

Thanks.

Here's some upgrades and some led lessons on math. All the couch fibers are in. All the 1mm and .75mm fibers I'll be doing are now in. I next gotta do a round with .5mm to fill in the remaining holes. Another few short steps and this is done for lighting. (Until I get to the cockpit the next time I get back to this model. And the engines have to go in...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRr4po29Lak

So Damn Cool! :thumbsup:

:wave:

 

[Model Man]

As promised, here's the assembled model all lit up. In assessing where things are at, I think it is prudent to do the last lighting touches in the ship's hold when I do the lights for the cockpit and engines. A few more leds go into the body and several dozen more strands of fiber go in and outside the ship.

In the meantime, I will do some body work over the next couple months as I work on other SW models. When I get to lighting those, i will bring this one back. There may be one more installment in the near future, there may not. I can't rightly say at the moment. Other than to say, thanks for watching!!!

These next two clips are just beauty test shots to see what kind of angles exist in this diorama.

TO DO:
Looking it all over, it's obvious that the upper hull must be lit just like the bottom. I had holes drilled in a few places, but they are merely the start. I'll need 2 red, white and yellow leds on the top alone.

I will be drilling new spots on the perimeter wall and FO'ing w/ red and yellow. May need new leds in the lower hull to cover the surplus FO.

The Hold needs finishing touches on the control panel, the table and chair must go in, a few more spots along the couch and other minor work.

The cockpit is getting basic fibering right now for tests. A floor has been put into the back tunnel and allowances made for all wiring needed.

The engines must be dealt with. It would be easy to leave them off entirely as the ship is landed. But the engines do need lighting and it must be on a separate switch from the running lights.