20230320 The Revell Razor Crest pt.02

20230320 The Revell Razor Crest pt.02

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This second runner, to me, is the most important part of the whole model. It has most of the parts to start off on the Razor Crest’s Cargo Bay. After examining the walls of the cargo bay, I would foresee some challenges ahead which would test anyone’s modeling skills. I am talking about plastic surgery.

20230320 The Revell Razor Crest pt.02
The yellow markings are where the lighting would be for the ceiling. The triangle is roughly the placement for the ramp light which shines out towards the ramp as seen in Season 1 Episode4: The Sanctuary. Because the plastic is solid, this means careful carving and scraping of plastics. Do note that I am designing this for the Revell version of the Kit. I am not sure if they would work on after-market accurizing parts.

THE TUB

Once you start to assemble the four parts which consists of the two walls, ceiling and floor, you will realise that this is essentially a tub. It will need to be dropped into the lower fuselage. Because the wiring is coming from the top, I would be gluing the walls to the ceiling first during assembly. However, this method might potentially create gaps between the wall and the floor. I have not shaken the model just yet, but I think I won’t hear any rattling once it is glued.

The roof the the Cargo Bay is a tight fit. The four parts (Walls, floor and Ceiling) essentially lets you create a tub which you then drop into the lower fuselage shell.
The walls are hugging the lower fuselage shells and so, the only entry for the wires would be the three beams from the ceiling part.
This is the view of the Cargo Bay from the ramp. Imagine it being all dark in there but with all the lights on…

LIGHTING BETWEEN SEASONS

Before we go any further, note that the Cargo Bay lights have changed between seasons. In Season One, the lights were warm-white while in Season Two, the lights were white. Note that there is also another small cluster of lights slightly above the knee level just outside the restroom (ie. left). To me, the position of the lights remain the same throughout both seasons. The only exception is that in Season Two, there is an additional light on the separating wall between the restroom and the sleeping quarters.

POSITION!

At the moment, there are about a minimum of 18 LEDs within the Cargo Bay, with the majority of them being on the walls.

There are five of these lights on the starboard side (right) of the cargo bay. This is one of the two challenges.
I will explain why in the image below:
The length of these cavities are about 8.5mm across with a depth of maybe about 1.5mm.
I cannot use conventional LEDs for them. Which is not an issue for me but it will reduce the number of people who can replicate my work.
The first logical solution would be to use those electroluminescence panels which are paper thin. However, they ‘glow’ and has a very limited lifespan and its inverter does hum all the time. Therefore, the next choice would still be the LED, but using the surface mount format.
On the forward side of the cargo bay, there are these row of lights which has the space and depth. One thing I did not show was that the surface of the five lights at the rear has a slight downward angle just like these above. For this part, the only issue is the round pillar guide which obstructs the eventual LED position. So, some plastic surgery has to be done in such a way that the pillar is still functional for both the ceiling and flooring.
For the five lights, I guess I wold have to use a 1.5mm scriber to widen the trench. I have to make sure that I do not overdo it though. But I can foresee the lighting would have uneven brightness because of this plastic surgery. The alternative would be to drill out the square holes and work from there. This is safer but it does completely remove the details. Unless there are clear pieces with the same details.

SOME COCKPIT DETAIL CONSIDERATION

The next ares would be cockpit lighting. Because of the details, I wished that both AMT and REVELL manufactured both consoles and doors in clear plastic. Then it would be a simple if lighting the pieces from their sides and scrape off the paints. This was, one can hide a lot of wiring since there are a lot of windows.

The details on the Revell (right) is crisp and looks convincing. I like the top detail where the nine oblong holes are so clearly detailed.
The only problem is that if you look at the image above, there are two lighted panels. This is taken from the Season 1 Episode 1: The Mandalorian
The console (if cast in clear) would require only three LEDs. The concept of scale lighting is that they do not have to be overly bright. They just need to exist.

THE ENGINES

Although the Revell Engines looked similar to the AMT’s, its internals are very different. So, you will need to use some (non-conducting) putty to shore up some support.

The PCB has the same diameter with the engine exhaust part. Where this differs from the AMT is that the secondary support ring is a little further back. So, you will need to find some kind of putty to support the PCB. Another idea would be to fit in some styrene blocks to friction fit the PCB to the secondary support ring. However, you can only support the first half of the engine (so putty on the part which has the notch for the engine parts #D45 and #D50) which is #B42 and #B49.
Unlike the AMT, Revell uses these kind of edges to align both parts of the engines. It is a little annoying keeping both parts together while taking photos. Ha ha ha.
But I think, in terms of light-blocking, they could be effective as the lip would help block any lights from seeping through the gaps of the joint.
Anyway, this is what I mean by wedging or friction fit some styrene strips to keep the PCB from moving about.
The inner diameter of the engine is bigger than the PCB and so, it WILL move about. As you can see in this image, the is a gap (orange) while there is some kind of resistance (yellow) that prevents the PCB from keeping perfectly aligned.

THE HOLES

And here you are, folks. The Revell (left) vs the AMT (right). So there will be a lot of work to be done for the Revell part.
It is not a simple matter of drilling out holes and then carve the excess plastics in the middle. There is also the ring of lights are the outer diameter of the circle too. But what I need you to see is that there are three segments (in pink) which needs to be drilled out. The sequence of the tubes are correct at 7-3-3 and in between, would be the three squares per engine. And there is one thing you might want to consider, with the image below.
Yes, there are another set of holes in the middle, in other words, there is another ring of lights.
Here, the Razor Crest is attempting an emergency landing on the Planet Trask.
But don’t panic. Sometimes, the ring is lit and sometimes, it is not.So, it is up to you if you want to drill out the holes. Or not.
For the Revell version, since I am going to show off the Cargo Bay, I am going to leave it alone.
Posted in A Piscean Works Blog, Lighting, Model Kits, Razor Crest, Revell Germany, Scale Lighting, Scale Models, Sci-Fi, Spaceships, The Mandalorian.

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