I went to the local RadioShack.Com store and purchased the remaining LEDs.  I made the purchases based on size and required luminescence, not consistency of voltage and current.  The circuit board is going to be pretty complicated.

I got some canned air for the airbrush and painted with enamel for the first time today.  There are many benefits I'll get to in a sec, but lemme tell you enamels are some high maintenance paints! You can't have enough drop cloths, paper towels, etcetera for all the drips The fumes will knock you for a loop - use enamels outside Enamels need to be thinned - being thinner, they flow smoother, and hence a little container is gone before you know it. I need to do some serious research into cleanup - my kitchen sink needs attention....

     Above all, however:

• Latex surgical gloves are your friend!

     There remain sufficient benefits for me to keep using enamels.  To name a few:

• They are thinner and smoother, hence the application is much nicer - it's easier to get a perfect consistency across a surface
• Base coat is not required - enamels bind to the plastic.  I need to research and confirm this, but it seems to be the case
• Personally, I think the colors are sharper and more accurate.  I like them more.

You can do incredible things with the metallic enamel paint!  I wanted to use an aluminum metallic paint for the inside of the hull because I wanted the light from the LEDs to be efficient in their coverage of the area.  I understood that it can be buffed into a shine - boy, can it ever!  If you look at the picture at right (both this and the above were taken at night) you'll see the saucer on the right is much shinier then the other parts - that's why.  You get a good coat of aluminum paint on it, let it dry, and really buff that up with soft cotton and blow away what pieces are left with canned air, and you get a highly reflective surface as a result.  I intend to use this technique all over the ship, inside the warp nacelles, engineering section and saucer section.

     There is another wonderful trick I discovered quite by accident.  After buffing the aluminum paint my fingers were quite shiny with particulate.  I didn't think about it as I handled the rest of the model pieces (don't forget, we are dealing with the Enterprise-D model here!) and after a while I noticed something that looked like texture on the surface.  I assumed it was the base coat, but found that the piece that I didn't put a base on had it, too (and looked a little more refined, I might add).  I discovered that if I put a fine amount of this metallic particulate over the paint job, it adds quite a different hue to the whole thing.  By fine, I mean I quickly took the same cloth I buffed the inside of the saucer with and ran it over the outer hull, then hit it with the canned air again.  I really like the effect - it gives it a less 'sterile' appearance and makes it look like, well, metal.

     I also discovered I need to mess with the primary hull color - the kit recommends Light Ghost Grey, but it doesn't look right.  The original designer recommended Deckhouse Blue (hard to find), and another said he used a variant of Duck Egg Blue.

Electrical notes:

     Working on the locations of the LEDs, voltages, etc. in preparation for final circuit creation and initial identification of placement.  I played with the brightness values in relation to each other and what I expect the general hue of the ship to be .  My notes:

ohms=volts/amps

port indicators (red)

            v=1.8

            i=.05

            min. resistance : 36 ohms

            preferred resistance : 330 ohms

starboard indicators (green)

            v=1.8

            i=.032

            min. resistance : 56.25 ohms

            preferred resistance : 470 ohms (to keep same luminescance as red)

bussard collectors:

            1 small red LED, pt 8700

                        v=3

                        i=.05

                        min resistance : 60 ohms

                        preferred resistance : 470 ohms

            small piece of mylar coating bottom and top, shining LED directly into it and down will prevent light leakage.  Align LED so

that it begins to shine where the transparent plastic begins (allowing different intensities into plastic).

warp nacelles:

            2 small blue LEDs per nacelle, pt 8005

                        v=3

                        i=.2

                        min resistance : 15 ohms

                        preferred resistance : 330 ohms

            mylar lining top and bottom of nacelle (also shielding bussard area), each LED pointing towards the other, and down. 

white LEDs (all windows, flashing running lights)

            v = 3

            i = .20

            min resistance : 15 ohms

            preferred resistance - 20 ohms

            place mylar beneath each LED to prevent leakage.  One LED per two windows, from across the hull.  Onion skin paper over each. 

window.

deflector dish - (blue, pt. 276-316)

            v-3

            i=.20

            min. resistance : 15 ohms

            preferred resistance : 20 ohms

            Pass light through onion skin paper to diffuse on the way to the main deflector.  paint on main deflector should be thin.

Ensure all cracks and any possible source of light leakage is sealed in hull construction due to internal mirroring.