1/08/02

      Time to start figuring out exactly where all these wires are going to go...

 

     The warp nacelles and struts aren't going to move on this model (it's going to be stuck in Impulse / Non-Warp) because I have to find a way to get the wires from the nacelles and struts through the hinges and into the body of the rear section.  If you examine the image above, you'll see that I've cut notches where the nacelles meet the struts so as to allow the wires through.  Also, I've removed sections from the hinges and glued them into place on the bottom half to make room.

     Also, the struts have their own structure to get around.  It's kind of difficult to describe, but where the struts attach to the hinges the plastic forms a circle around them.  I had to file this down carefully, so that there was enough room to go through this circle and the hinged components without filing through the plastic that would show on the bottom and topside of the model. 

     This is how things are starting to look:

    

 

     I think these components are all going to be assembled at the same time, because I also have the fibres for the rear body (shuttle landing).  So, I think the next steps are:
  • Install fibre drivers for flashing lights and port / starboard indicators
  • Install twin LEDs for impulse engines and route wires
  • Route wires for nacelles through struts and glue into place
  • Use caulk around the twin LEDs / impulse engine assembly to ensure zero light leakage
  • Assemble the struts
  • Assemble the rear body
  • Paint shuttle bay, assemble and light
  • Prepare for main engineering assembly