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PracticalRe: ST:TMP Drydock (WIP)

NemViaNemVia192 Posts: 71Member
edited February 2018 in Work in Progress #1
copy-of-a-dock-107[1].jpgAlthough I've been working on this model for about 3 years now, It's still a WIP. I'm getting closer to it's completion now. This Drydock is scaled to the Deboers 1/260 scale Enterprise model and is one of 2 docks that I will be building.For now I'm* in the November update for 2016 and I should have a new update in a couple of weeks. Enjoy.

November Updates - 2016
For this month's update I've finished wiring all of the turrets with their lighting effects. I've fed the wires through the bottom section of the turret and through a styrene tube at the back of the base of the turret. This makes it look more the filming miniature versions. After getting this all set up and adding the fiber optic strands to each of the work booms*I've also been working on the painting of the Work booms as well as the booms for the Work Light Array. There are 3-4 different colors used on these pieces. The main color was and off Yellow which somewhat resembles the color of our modern day work cranes. There are also gray and rust color stripes added as well as some military green. They were sprayed in layers, masked and then the next color was added. The final color was the yellow. They will need some touch ups to cover up some small pot holes created by the resin-molding process.
On the 1/350 scale dock I was not sure how I would mount these turrets to the dock because at that time there were no good pictures of the dock available. What you saw on the screen was all I could go by. But having seen the filming miniature in person I now know what to do to mount these pieces to the 1/260 scale dock.
There are some specialized mounting brackets that hold the turrets into place, so I'm trying to replicate them as best as I can using styrene. So far they are turning out okay and they look like they'll be able to support the weight of the turrets, especially the light arrays.*I should have them all painted up by the next updates. There are 20 new pics under the November Updates - 2016 page. Enjoy and feel free to comment. Thanks everyone. See you next update!
Mark
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Post edited by NemVia on
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  • ComcoComco317 Posts: 1,281Administrator
    Hi NemVia - did you have an image you intended to attach?
  • NemViaNemVia192 Posts: 71Member
    oops!. Sorry about that.... For some reason this sight is not allowing my pics to be uploaded at the moment. I will try to figure out whats going on. For pics visit my website:

    Mark
  • NemViaNemVia192 Posts: 71Member
    100_7624.jpg100_7625.JPGFebruary Updates - 2017
    SO WHAT HAPPENED TO DECEMBER AND JANUARY????????
    Uh..... I dunno..... Just had to take a break. Been*busy with work family and a multitude of other things...... BUUUUUUUUUT! I'm ready to get moving again.
    The pics are loaded up on the February Updates - 2017 Page.
    *Okay, so I really didn't get a whole lot done the last couple of months, But I did manage to work on a few things. The mounting clamps for all of the work booms are now complete and I mad the pincers for the ends of the booms. I kind of improvised on these because I couldn't see any functional need to the Drydocks end pieces as seen in the movie. I will be making alternate pieces that mimic TMP end pieces so they will be interchangeable. They will just slip onto the ends of the booms. Anyway, the booms were cut to the same length when I first made them and I really can't finish them until I get the Enterprise in place. Then the booms will be cut to the appropriate lengths and the end pieces will be put on. I will also cut the optic fiber to be flush with the end of the boom.
    Back to the turret clamps. I have these mounted on the bottoms of the swivel shaft and they are painted up to match the panel frames.* I've also started to do some re-wiring on the Enterprise Deflector dish. my client wanted the ramp-up, ramp-down*lighting effects added in so I need to run a few more wires through the dorsal. I've also replaced the LED in the dish reflector with a dual color LED. I should have this wired up by next update.
    In other areas, I'm starting to apply the decals for all of the shuttles that will go in the Aft Hanger bay. I also needed to take out some of the wiring for the thrusters on the Enterprise model to make room for the Gang way on the Dock. There's just too much packed into it and it might cause problems later on. I've also mounted the Enterprise onto the dock but I'm afraid the ship might just weight too much for the bracket, so I might have to stabilize the ship with some wires. .013mm I think is*what I bought.
    I know this wasn't much of an update, but I should be back on track during this month. Thank you everyone for your patience. I know this is a long project, but please bear with me and you WILL see it complete. Ahh yes I love that word complete. So check out the pics, let me know what you think and I will see you next month. Take care everyone.
    Mark.
    *
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    eagledocf15
  • NemViaNemVia192 Posts: 71Member
    New weblink:
    http://www.nemvia.net disregard anything with previous website. I'll explain later.
    Mark
  • SamuraiSamurai185 Posts: 408Member
    I removed the links to the prior website for you- just keeping things family-friendly. ;)
    "Perfect. Then that's the way it shall be."
  • NemViaNemVia192 Posts: 71Member
    Thanks Samurai. My feelings exactly. I've been wasting time getting to the bottom of all this. Thanks for your help!


    July Updates - 2017
    Hey Everyone! My apologies to all for the big delay. As you may have noticed my website was hacked and my NemVia.com version of my is no longer functioning for my website. I have had to update my site to NemVia.net and try to clean up as much of the garbage that the hackers have caused and try to get things back in order as best as I could. I've had a few setbacks with the Drydock build, sick relatives and other problems have caused further delays. Although I do have a small update for this month I think you'll find some of it interesting.
    I became discouraged when I found out that I made a mis-calculation with my armature for the ship. This armature was to keep the ship level inside the dock and also allow it to appear to be floating while inside the dock. I poured over ways to correct this problem including some extremely thin steel fishing line that would hold the engines level with the dock.* I decided to do what I did with my 1/350 scale dock armature and just bend the heck out of the thing until it help the ship upright and level the way I wanted it to.
    Using a pair of pipe wrenches, I found the point where the armature meets the connection rod and pushing in opposite directions I twisted the armature enough to pre-load the tension in order to hold the weight of the ship in place. I have a pic of how I was able to do this in the July Updates - 2017 page. It took me a couple of tries, but I finally got the ship to appear level inside the dock. She FLOATS! I exclaimed! Anyway that was a huge hurtle to get past. Now I can finish the wiring for the main deflector dish and torpedo launchers and finally seal off the saucer section and get ready to add the port side panel frames into* place.
    In other areas I had to replace the hanger deck on the aft side of the Dock. Some of the fiber optics were not lining up the way I wanted to so I redid the entire deck. It looks much better now and I have all of the chase lighting done for the entire aft end of the modules. The small hangers have the chase lighting heading into the deck whereas the larger hanger has the lighting running in take-off mode with a few shuttles in position for launch. I have 7 new pics and 4 new videos of the chase lighting effects in this month's updates I should be able to get more done in the upcoming month. Once again I apologize for the long delays. Hang in there and I'll get this thing done soon. Thanks for your patience and keep checking for more updates.
    Mark
    http://www.NemVia.net
  • FlakeFlake0 Posts: 0Member
    I think it looks great :)

    I wonder if it is possible for you to photograph it like they did in 1979. This would mean taking multiple images and combining them I think? Composite the various layers and then tweak them in photoshop or something until it looks 'movie like'
  • NemViaNemVia192 Posts: 71Member
    July Updates - 2017 - Supplemental...
    Okay, I usually don't jump ahead of my posts here, but I just had to add this to the blog.... I recently purchased a 80cm motorized camera dolly and I wanted to use it for several special photography effects on the side. But most importantly, when I finished the drydock build I wanted to make a duplicate flyby movie that would match ST:TMP's drydock flyby. I made a few passes with the model in it's unfinished state to get an idea of what I can do for a final project for this build. The results of the tests came out very good even though the lighting was not corrected the models are incomplete, none of the effects lighting is operating and there is no space background. But if you could just ignore all of that and take a look at the video's potential, you might understand why I had to do an early posting of this video. Now I really can't wait to finish this project. Take a look at the test video. *https://youtu.be/n4EtoOLRdgg
    See you in a few weeks
    Mark
  • NemViaNemVia192 Posts: 71Member
    August Updates - 2017
    This has been an eventful month. Adding the Test video of the Enterprise flyby to my library has given me a little extra motivation. I want to thank all of you who have checked out the video on youtube.* I am looking forward to making my own ST:TMP version of the flyby when I'm finished, shot for shot. Also I'm planning on making an additional version that would include portions of the Enterprise and Drydock* that were not shown in TMP. Any ideas? Let me know.
    In this month's update I've been concentrating on getting all of the wiring done for all of the hanger bays on both the front and aft sides of the dock. I finally was able to hook up all of the chase lighting on all of the hangers as well as their overhead lighting. I wanted to have the overhead lighting on the hangers rather than the rear walls glowing to make the modules appear more like a gigantic space warehouse for supplying and/or repairing any starship that might pull into this humungous dock for repair/refit/resupply.* This is also why I wanted everyone to see inside at least one of the hangers. If I didn't need the support framework on the inside of the modules to hold the model up, I would have made the hanger even deeper into the model. But space was limited. But, I've permanently added the shuttles into the hanger deck and at least four of them are lit. I will be adding crewmembers as well as work bees and cargo containers to add depth of scale to the dock. I also added some red LEDs to the front hanger as seen in TMP. I would guess that the RED lights would be a warning to small craft that it is not safe to enter the dock at this point. That is why on the open hanger on the aft side I'm using green LEDs to indicate it is safe for departure or arrival onto the hanger. The chase lighting on the open hanger is heading outward indicating clearance for launch.
    I've also added the top f the module to port side of the dock in one of the pictures. I wanted to make sure it seated the right way and would not interfere with any of the wiring and optical fibers. It fits very snug and can be removed to access the lighting and wiring.
    Getting back to the Enterprise, I am adding some super strong magnets to a few parts of the ship. Mainly the saucer and the main deflector dish housing. This will also allow access to some of the wiring. I will be finishing that wiring up as well as for the photon torpedo launchers. There are a few more small details I have to add to the ship and then do another wiring test before I seal everything up. I can then add the Enterprise permanently to the dock structure and wire it into place. After that I can begin adding the port side panel frame assembly. Keep checking for the updates. I can actually see an end coming for this build. FINALLY! Then I can look forward to making some nice HERO shots as well as the long awaited FLYBY Video. Exciting times!
    Well that's it for this update. Enjoy the pics in the August Updates 2017 page. Talk to you in a month or so.
    Mark
    *
    http://www.NemVia.net
  • rojrenrojren2298 Louisville, Kentucky USAPosts: 1,970Member
    That deserves a pretty solid "well done".
  • NemViaNemVia192 Posts: 71Member
    September Updates - 2017
    Hi Everyone. I've been making a little more progress with the dock build. I've added some magnets to the engineering section to hole the Deflector dish assembly in place. This will make the Housing removable in case someone needs to get to some of the engineering electronics. I've also added the wiring and LEDs for both the Deflector Ramp on/Ramp off effects as well as adding the Photon torpedo firing effects to the launching tubes. I still need to fix a few of the light leeks but the effect look very nice. I've added a small video for those who would like to view the effects. I've also built some lighting housing for the running lights that are seen on the drydock mainly on the front end. I was having trouble figuring out how I was going to wire these until I found some speaker coil wire which is extremely thin. Once it's painted up it will be difficult to see on the model. I've added 8 pics to the September 2017 page... I've also added a new short video with the Deflector dish* and Photon Torpedo lighting tests. By the next updates I will have the Shuttle bay details added to the outside of the hanger deck and will begin to permanently wire all of the electronics to the circuit boards that are inside the Starboard side overhead modules. See you next update.
    Mark
    *

    *http://www.NemVia.net
  • NemViaNemVia192 Posts: 71Member
    January Updates - 2018
    Hello everyone! My apologies for the delays. I really have been working on my build, but Life just keeps getting in the way of my progress. Hopefully things will be a little better now that my peak season at work has calmed down.
    For my project updates I have cast resin pieces for the outside details of the hanger bay lighting effects. I had to make the pieces transparent so you can see the actual lighting effects. I'm in the process of opaqueing the castings to prevent light leaks.

    I was asked by my client to put some different lighting into the saucer section of the ship. So, I pulled all of the fluorescent lighting and ballasts out and I replaced them with LED lighting strips. This was a very good idea because the lighting will have a longer lifetime in the model. I also put some white styrene strips into the saucer sections behind the viewports to reflect the lighting better. I was originally going to insert some pictures of the corridors onto the strips but there was not enough depth to the pictures. So, I decided to do what I was originally going to do with the corridors and that was to build 3D versions of them. I built one master of the corridor section and made molds so that I could cast as many replicas as needed. I cast them in clear resin so that I could have the lower panels of the corridors lit as seen in the movies. After I cast all of the pieces I masked off all of the light panels. I then sprayed the first color which was FLAT WHITE. This would help reflect some of the lighting to make it appear more even. I then sprayed them FLAT BLACK to hide any light leaks. Next I sprayed them a medium BLUE/GRAY for the tops and bottoms of the corridors. Finally I hand panted the rest of the panels ALUMINUM, for the monochromatic look. After this I sprayed some flat pieces of styrene FLAT RED and then cut several pieces of them, all the same length, to use as the doors to the crews quarters. After all of this was done I then placed all of the finished corridors into an oven at 170F for ten minutes. This allowed the styrene to be pliable and I could then bend them into the shape of the outer rim of the saucer., Next I had to use a belt sander to sand down the tops and bottoms of the corridors to get rid of both the burrs from the casting process and to make them fit into the saucer. I aligned the corridors so they could be seen through the viewports.
    Since the back sides of the castings were not painted, I added the LED strips to the backs of each of the corridor strips. Then I put electrical tape over the backs of the strips to prevent too much light from shining back into the model and ruining other lighting effects in the saucer. It was a lot of work, but worth the effort to give the corridors a little more 3D depth to them when looking through the viewports. To further help with the light leaks I found these foam rubber sheets at a hobby store and cut them into long strips and cemented them all along the perimeter of the upper saucer piece. This should help block light from showing through the seams of the upper and lower saucer pieces.
    I have 16 New pics which can be viewed in the Members Gallery page under the January updates A– 2018 album.
    I can now finally seal up the saucer and get ready to permanently add the Enterprise into itA’s new home in the Dock. Again, thanks for your patience with this build and I apologize for the long wait for this update. Hopefully I can now get this build finished. See you next update.


    http://www.NemVia.net
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    eagledocf15
  • NemViaNemVia192 Posts: 71Member
    February Updates - 2018
    Hi Everyone! This months updates are pretty good. First I have started to add the Black Velvet Material to the Base of the model. This will help make the model appear to floating over the base. The panel frames will be supported by two screws on each side of the frames to hold the structure up and help keep it level. This is also a very good sign because it means that I will soon be adding the Enterprise permanently into the drydock, then adding the port side panel frame assembly into place. I've added all of the wiring and some new lighting to the rear hanger bay on the dock by using the LED light strips. They have some interesting details on the strips that would make the lights appear to be a natural fixture on the dock. I will also be replacing the lightings on all the other hanger on the dock as well. It just looks better.
    On the Enterprise I was originally going to use magnets to hold the two saucer halves together, but because the pieces don't line up very well, I've decided to permanently seal up the saucer. The LEDs should last quite a long time and even if there were a problem it would be impossible to work on the Enterprise in the dock unless I take the whole port side off of the dock and remove the ship. That Ain't gonna happen. In cementing the saucer together, I've found a lot of other gaps that needed to be fixed or repaired. The bottom impulse engine does not meet up with the saucer, so I had to use some styrene and putty to fix that problem. Also, the collar of the Dorsal was not molded very well so I had to replace that as well and then putty, sand and repaint all of these areas. Where the pylons meet the secondary hull there was a gap at that point, so I've puttied that as well on both pylons. The reason for holding off on that was because the model was going to be handled a lot before I added it to the drydock and I knew because of the stresses and weight of the model there would be cracks forming in the putty. So I waited until now so there would be less handling of the model. I also did the same with the Deflector Housing. Because of the way the Secondary hull was molded and put together the two halves did not line-up, so there was a gap on the port side where the pieces would meet. I was originally going to use magnets with this part as well, but decided to seal it permanently and putty up the seam to get rid of the gaps.
    There are just a few more touch-ups to do and then the Enterprise will finally be added to the dock. I can then add the Port Side Panel framework and begin the final wiring of the model.
    On a side note, there might be another delay with this build as my landlord decided not to pay his mortgage and has gone into foreclosure with our unit so we will be moving to another location. But I will try to get back to this project asap.
    I have 11 new pics in the February Updates - 2018 page. Check-em out and I'll get back to you soon. Have a great month everyone.
    Mark.
    http://www.NemVia.net
  • NemViaNemVia192 Posts: 71Member
    JUNE UPDATES - 2018 My Apologies everyone, Mom passed away in March so My Wife and I have been busy taking care of the related matters. But everything has calmed down now so I was able to start up again on the drydock. I left off on adding the Black velvet to the display base of the model. I was able to finish this plus add some support screws for the light panel frame assembly. These will help keep the frames from swaying and sagging. With the Enterprise touched up I was able to add it permanently to the dock. The ship is now locked into place with two screws. The ship is now free floating inside the structure. I also began running all of the wiring from the ship up the through the armature structure. As soon as I add the travel pod docking pod to the outside of the dock I can then seal up the armature arm and paint it to look like the rest of the dock. Now comes the painful part of the assembly where I have to add the port side panel frame assembly. In order to make it fit around the armature support arm I had to cut into two of the panel frames. This unfortunately weakens the structure a bit until I can re-support the frames so they won't sag. I also had to secure all of the frames to the overhead modules via some lock-nuts screws and dome nuts. It took a while to adjust everything together, but now the Enterprise is completely surrounded by the dock. Next I will be testing all of the wiring to make sure everything lights up. I've also taken all of the work-cranes and lights out and will soon be adding them to the structure. Then of course they all have to be wired in. I have 7 new pics in the June Updates - 2018 page. Don't be alarmed if the panels do not appear strait. I still have to tweak the support frames but at least you'll be able to see a little bit of progress. That's it for this update and it's good to be back. See you soon! http://www.NemVia.net
  • RekkertRekkert4037 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaPosts: 2,302Member
    The Enterprise is looking great in there.

    Sorry to hear about your mother, it's understandable that you took time off the project because of that, no need to apologize. :)
    For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
  • NemViaNemVia192 Posts: 71Member
    Rekkert wrote: »
    The Enterprise is looking great in there.

    Sorry to hear about your mother, it's understandable that you took time off the project because of that, no need to apologize. :)
    Thanks Rekkert. I appreciate your comments. This is my current update even though my work is causing another stalled out period until after January 1:

    AUGUST UPDATES - 2018 Wiring, Wiring, WIRING! Yes, that's pretty much all that I've been doing this last month. Wiring and double checking the circuits to make sure they're working. I've had to do this because there were so many loose wired from both the Enterprise and the Dock that I needed to start getting these out of the way so I can do more wiring and lighting. Really there are only a few more effects that need to be added and then I can start working on the display stand switches and trim work. Besides the wiring I've sealed the open hanger on the aft end of the dock. The ceiling is now permenetly cemented to the structure. I will be adding a mirror to the back end of the hanger to give the appearance that the Hanger goes much farther back into the modules than it actually does. She's coming together. Please hang in there. See you next month. Mark

    http://www.NemVia.net
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  • ComcoComco317 Posts: 1,281Administrator
    Holy heck, that's awesome work, NemVia! Wow. I can't imagine how much work that's been. All that wiring and lighting, especially! One request - can we have some high res photos? Those tiny things made me think this was 1999, not nearly 2019. ;) I want to see her in all her glory. :cool:
  • NemViaNemVia192 Posts: 71Member
    Sorry these were resized for another posting on another forum. I didn't realize the size carried through. If you go to my website, then go to the member's photo gallery page and look for the Drydock build updates, you can see the pics in a larger format.
    Mark

    http://www.NemVia.net
    eagledocf15
  • WebTrekWebTrek1 Posts: 1New Member
    Hello I am currently looking to build the drydock in 1/350 scale. I am looking for blueprints or any type of help to build. NemVia looking at your work so looks great! Not sure if you are still active on this forum as it looks like a couple of years since anything has been posted. I have tried to visit your website but for some reason I can’t get to it. Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Mike
    eagledocf15
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