Its just one day short of the month of May. Looking at my progress on the project, my disheartening answer is, ‘No, we are not there yet.’
When I first started the project last year, it was just to light the engines of the AMT model and nothing more. Then I realised, the cockpit needs to be lighted as well, and so, I was stuck. And to start that Ball of Doom rolling downhill, I was, finally, able to get the Revell copy of the Razor Crest. This was the original model which I was searching for and during the Pandemic, they were quite expensive. And the best of all, most do not ship to Malaysia. Anyway, to cut the long story short, it gleefully arrived, to my complete sorrow.
THE CARGO BAY
The Revell’s Razor Crest’s Cargo Bay was the main reason which got me so interested in the craft. Like all Star Wars (except the Tydrium Shuttle) spaceships, the lighting schemes are just simply boring. It is because of the Cargo Bay. Lighting it was not as clear cut as I initially thought. The actual Cargo Bay mainly consisted of the flooring, the ceiling, two side walls and the rest of the usual interior details. Once it is assembled, you drop the cargo bay to sit inside the Razor Craft’s fuselage lower fuselage or tub.
The double walls of the Cargo Bay means that in theory, you can insert it into the AMT model after some… plastic surgery. The main issue in lighting the cargo bay is that there are literally zero gap between the two walls. Lighting the 15 or so wall lights, would pose a real challenge. I mean, thinning the Cargo Bay walls to allow for 20 plus thin wires and SMD LEDs is not exactly fun. The only solution would be to simplify things and create a PCB for them. Which brings up the issue of cost as JLCPCB (and other vendors) requires a MOQ (minimum order quantity) per design. And yes, the Cargo Bay definitely needs four of them. Right now, I only have the resources for the first two.
THE COCKPIT
This is the most visible are of the craft and lighting the cockpit is an issue. Although I have designed the LEDs for them, I have not actually visited this section yet since in my mind right now, the only way to light them would be to re-cast the original model pieces into clear resin. And let’s not even talk about the cockpit door which has the panel and overhead (3-circular pattern) lighting. The issue here is to get someone who can re-cast the two cockpits in clear resin.
THE PAINTING
Yeah, this is a little stalled for the time being. My idea is to create a very robust or shiny Chrome/ Silver or Aluminum surface for the model and then seal them with an equal tough clear sealer. This way, I can weather the heck of out the model with oils and pigments. If I made any mistake, I can wipe them off without without worrying about affecting the metallic paint underneath. Sounds good, right?
The issue is that I now know that most of the paints in my inventory would react very badly to clear coats. Right now, I have ordered and waiting another clear coat to arrive before I start experimenting with them. That is, if the replacement power adaptor for my tiny airbrush compressor arrives and I hope that there are no other complications.\
COMPATIBILITY
There is a question here, which was on my mind since the beginning of the year: Would my system work with other third-party solutions and their photo-etch parts?
Well, my answer is I am not sure.
Yes, because some parts has nothing to do with the lighting such as the pilot figures, random cargo parts, the hanging carbonite units and so on.
No, because if its anything to do with the cockpit control panels (they are solid resin) and the cockpit door (this is solid resin too).
Maybe, because the engine parts have clear resin but this would also mean you’d need to align the PCB with the clear parts.
I cannot say unless I have a copy of these after-market parts and even if I did, it would also mean I would have to re-design the circuit board/s. Then again, I have learnt that more than a decade ago, one of my lighting system was successfully adapted for another model which I did not foresee.
But here and now, I can foresee that I do not have the necessary financial resources to get some of those after-market parts to try. After all, to me, this is just a single person hobby and nothing serious. Yet.
IN SUMMARY
I have a few prototype boards which I can get it ready for lighting the AMT version (Engines only) and a few friends have inquired but nothing solid. Because of the MOQ for the Cargo Bay wall lighting, I have no idea what I am going to with with the rest of the 49 pairs. Or even maybe less. I have never soldered these boards before and so, there could be a few possibilities from reduction of stock (due to soldering errors) or even writing them off completely if it failed to work. And if they do work, then I have to get my lazy ass off and create a user manual in how to use them. Sigh.
Right now, with things as they are, I am very confident that there is not much to see come June…
