USS Constitution by vacotton - Revell - 1:96 - PLASTIC - 1812 version - first kitbash ever

[vacotton]

Dave,

I read and re-read your amazing posts on your amped up fiber optic matrix system. I will be the first to say that this seems very daunting and in agreement with others that it would be nice to have a tutorial and schematic written in Word or as a pdf.

I got my 100 feet of Fiber Optics today and it works.  So now I will likewise cast about to find a heat sink in my old computer junk.  Shouldn't be too hard as I am somewhat of a pack rat.  It looks like the key to learning this stuff is experimentation although it is always nice to have you blazing the trail for the rest of us.

My lighting plan will not be as complex as yours as this is an early 1800's version.  Here's what I am thinking:  

Captain's After Cabin:  2 sconces on the starboard and port bulkheads.  1 candle on the table.

Captain's and Commodore's State Room: 2 sconces.

Quarterdeck areas: 1 Sconce apiece.  

Captain's Great Cabin: 4 sconces on the aft wall.  4 sconces on the forewall. 

Gun Deck:  Although fictional, maybe 3 overhead lanterns to properly illuminate the deck so that details are visible through the spar deck viewing areas. This lighting should have a warmer, softer light than the cabin lighting which might be whiter.

Thanks Dave for keeping me thinking.

Verne

Edited September 14, 2013 by vacotton

[lambsbk]

When you drill out the heat sink a word of caution: I am not a machinist and broke several bits (and 1 tap) drilling out the core for 4-40 machine screws. I LEARNED after erring to go SLOWLY while cutting the heat sink for the screws - light pressure on the drill press and twist the tap just a little until resistance is felt (as it cuts), back it out, remove debris from the tap, then rethread and tap another couple turns, repeat, etc. Use a drop or 2 of cutting oil or gun oil while drilling and tapping.

 

I should also mention the 1100 lumen beads LED was best - and it was affordable - if you decide to use a single light source to power the optics.

 

Think ahead about the fiber optic transitions from the ship. You can not get much bend out of these cables. Although I decided not to mount the LED's in the ship, the wires for LED's are easily incorporated into the model, even in tight spots. You will need a lower wattage version in the 3000K range but then you would be able to get those sconces up with a little  (smaller than fiber optic) tinkering. The down side is keeping those wired circuits from being compromised during the rest of the build. Good luck Verne. I am looking forward to seeing your build progress.

Edited September 14, 2013 by lambsbk

[vacotton]

Thanks for the cautionary words, Dave.  I think I found an old cooler that came with my old Core2 that I can tear down.  I am assuming that the brass screws and the silver screws are only for the purpose of identifying polarity?

 

Today I thought I would just go out and snap up some square clear 1/8 rod from my friendly local hobby shop.  Not even a chance.  That stuff is hard to get hence your link which turns out to be the cheapest place too.  I am wondering if the round Plastruct stock will work as well as the square stuff.  It's a lot cheaper off of Amazon: $7.50 for the round vs. $18.00 for the square stuff at US Plastics.  Shipping is the killer.

 

In the meantime, I am going to design more detail into the great room and continue planning the placement of the lamps.

Verne

Edited September 15, 2013 by vacotton

[vacotton]

I just bought this LED heat sink on ebay that appears to be pre-drilled.  Here is the link. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pcs-Aluminium-Heatsink-for-10W-High-Power-Led-Panel-free-shipping-mah-/321033809304 for $6.49.  If the holes don't fit then there is always Dave's method of tapping it. 

 

 

While I was out there I picked up a 10W  1100 lumen warm light array.  http://www.ebay.com/itm/10W-LED-Warm-White-High-Power-1100LM-LED-Lamp-SMD-Chips-light-bulb-for-DIY/330786407913?_trksid=p3984.m2045&_trkparms=aid%3D333005%26algo%3DRIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D30%26meid%3D1312256243334578027%26pid%3D100018%26prg%3D1023%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D3%26sd%3D330786407913%26 for $1.49.

 

 

Hope it works okay.  Won't get until sometime in October though. Oh well, lots of other things to do in the meantime.  Like making sconces and lanterns.  

Actually, I could continue on my build and bundle all of the Fiber Optics and run that through the keel.  Just have to make sure that everything is secure and the fibers are available above deck before gluing the hull around the gundeck. I would hate to have to rip all of those knees out.

 

Thanks everyone for hanging in there with me and especially thanks to Dave (lmbsbk) for his excellent log/tutorial concerning installing lighting.

Verne 

[popeye the sailor]

good info........something to keep in mind

[lambsbk]

After buying the tap twice and the drill twice - $6.49 is a real bargain (not to mention the saved time to drill and tap the core block.

Edited September 16, 2013 by lambsbk

[vacotton]

I have come to the realization that I put the hanging knees on too early in the project.  So at least one side of knees has to come off.  That's okay, though.  I found some errors in the knees that made me crazy anyway.  Since, I have decided to illuminate the ship ala Dave (lmbsbk), it is all the more imperative that the gun deck be correct.

 

While waiting for the LED array and the heat sink to arrive, I have gone ahead and cut approximately 50 2 feet lengths of fiber optic strands.  18 for the aft, 18 for the fore, and the balance for the midships.  I deliberately cut a few extra strands long just in case I get some wild ideas in the future about putting a lantern or two on the mainsail yard.  Then I bound up three harnesses, aft, fore, and midships and labeled them.

 

Then I tested each harness.

 

 

After that I bundled up the three harnesses right where they will pass through the keel.  

 

 

When the hull is nice and dry, I will enlarge the hole to allow the bundle of fibers to comfortably pass through and then fasten the vessel on the stock ship stand for now.  Then it's a matter of dropping the gun deck in and start drilling .075" holes per the lighting plan.  I am expecting the US Plastic 1/8 by 1/8 clear square stock any day now so my timing should be okay.  

 

 

 

 

 

The red stars represent where each lantern will be placed.

 

I watched "Master and Commander, The Far Side of the World" last night and got totally re-energized.   I sure envy those beautiful hatch gratings on HMS Surprise.  Russell Crowe wants to do another Patrick O'Brian novel but can't get the backing. That's a shame.

 

Thanks for looking in,

Verne

Edited September 18, 2013 by vacotton

[vacotton]

Well, one challenge leads to another.  I successfully installed the Fiber Optics only to discover that there isn't enough clearance between the ship and the table to accomodate the FO harnesses.  So I will have to build a stand to provide enough clearance and hide the heat sink/LED array/FO.  Right now, I am stumped. Anyone have any ideas to share?  

 

 

 

Thanks,

Verne

Edited September 18, 2013 by vacotton

[lambsbk]

Verne, I simply left the stock out and gently curved it under the hull. The temporary 'stand' I made gave very little clearance as well and I seriously thought about drilling through the base of the stand to bring the cable under it and store. But in the end it seemed too much trouble and the optic has not really been in the way where it is. I'll get a pic up later.

 

I think you are right to make more lamps. You should have no trouble incorporating them into your thickened bulwark. I believe I have too few but nonetheless they do light up the deck enough to see it. More lights on the deck area would have been better. The cabin lights are quite adequate however.

 

Good luck with this project. I am looking forward to  seeing how it turns out.

Edited September 18, 2013 by lambsbk

[vacotton]

Well folks,

I got the ac/dc power source this morning from Amazon.  This little bad boy will handle up to 30W at 2.5A.  I don't think the 10W array will even phase it.  Sorry for the pun.

 

 

 

Now waiting on the array and the sink to come from the orient.  

 

I am toying with the idea of making a cone out of thin sheet brass soldered together.

 

 

 

First I had better make a prototype out of paper and then scribe it onto the brass sheeting. Anybody have ideas about how to fasten the cone to the sink/array assembly?

 

Thanks for visiting,

Verne

 

 

 

[lambsbk]

Although these are a little blurry it shows the exit of the optic through the keel and the curve/fold under the my build.

 

[lambsbk]

I like that power supply Verne. Are there more on eBay?

Edited September 19, 2013 by lambsbk

[lambsbk]

BTW - that LED you purchased should do the trick. Heat sink that rascal before you test it (use a small amount of thermal compound ) and (although I am sure you are aware) watch those input leads for short circuits on the heat sink. What you bought is  bright. You'll be seeing flash for a while after you fire it up!

[vacotton]

Dave,

My fibers are only about two feet long.  It appears that yours are at least three feet.  I hope I will be alright.  After reading your lighting tutorial again, I realized that I may be approaching the problem the hard way. What I may need to do is to dismantle those cables and install each lantern individually strand by strand and then fasten the strand down to the inside of the hull and paint it.  THEN pass it out the hole in the keel until the entire hull is done.  If I do it that way, I will stay a lot better organized and stuff won't be in the way as I work.

 

My wife came up with a great idea.  She suggested mounting the ship on a low profile container with two healthy brass tubes. The fiber bundle would be passed down through one of the brass tubes to the concentrator on top of the LED array which would be inside the container and out of sight.  She is an idea person but it is left to me to figure out how to do that.  It's been that way for the last 36 years. 

 

As for the LED driver, I bought that from Amazon for $14.55.  Probably a little bit pricey but it should work safely.  Check it out at: http://www.amazon.com/Ledwholesalers-Power-Suppply-Driver-Transformer/dp/B0034GUEY4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379606913&sr=8-1&keywords=LED+driver If you have Amazon Prime, it can be on your doorstep in a couple of business days.

 

It seems that I have become so absorbed in lighting that I have almost forgot that the real objective is to build a ship.  Yes, this seems like the "Never Ending Story" but learning is a gratifying process.

 

I will be sure to wear my nuclear test blast shades before firing up the LED.  This is starting to remind me of "Tim 'Tool-Time' Taylor".

 

Thanks everyone for reading,

Verne

Edited September 19, 2013 by vacotton

[vacotton]

While waiting for delivery of the clear plastic "lantern" stock, I thought I would revisit my stanchions.  They were originally made out of dowelling and pretty darned crude plus they were too high to fit between decks.  So I turned my Dremel into a "lathe" and went to work.  For those of you who are interested in building stanchions under your gun deck here is how it worked out for me.

First, I got out some spare 1/4" bass wood (2 scale feet in diameter) and measured a piece to 6 1/2 scale feet which in inch-land is 13/16". Then created a guide hole with a 7/64" bit with the bit vise.  Then mounted the piece on the Dremel mandrel and snugged it up so that it was perpendicular.

Then turned on the Dremel at the lower speed and shaped it with a small file.  Presto!  A stanchion that is identical to the one shown in the Marquardt drawings.

I will replace those crummy ones with these newer ones.  I will need 22 to complete the set.

Here are some pictures:

 

             

 

 

Uh oh.  Doorbell.  The clear plastic is here.  A modeller's work is never done.  

Verne

Edited September 20, 2013 by vacotton

[vacotton]

OMG, I actually made a light! (Gasp).  The next time though, I am going to wait until I finish painting the lamp before I drill the fiber hole.  Awk! 

Here's what I came up with.  

 

 

Thanks again, Dave, for that tutorial.  This is amazing (but very labor intensive).

Verne

 

 

 

 

[lambsbk]

They do get easier as you get a few done...

 

If that is your first lantern it looks extremely good. I did not post a pic until at least test lantern no. 5! The no.s 1 through 4 were not - uhhh...- picture worthy.

[vacotton]

Actually, Dave, this is lamp number 3.  I will paint some brass on it and put it in a little sandwich bag so I won't lose it.  On the next one, I will work on making the wick housing more prominently black.  I have plenty to do to understand how to make and use the jig to install the lantern.  I suppose the best way to understand is to forge ahead and simply do one.  I must say that I don't fully understand how to hide the fiber.  Do I cut a groove in the bulkhead and then paint over it?

Another realization is that I will have to disassemble the nicely sanded gun deck ala Evan, as I will never be able to put that assembled deck in around the installed lanterns. On a more positive note. I should be able to re-assemble it without the cracks being too obvious if I use struts underneath as you did.  

Then there's the issue of how to make the correct ship stand.  This has been keeping me up at night trying to figure out what to do with those damned fibers.  

Thanks for your helpful remarks, Dave.

Edited September 21, 2013 by vacotton

[lambsbk]

I think you thickened your bulwark, right? You should be able to Dremel a carefully scribed 'trench' with the 1/32" engraving bit tool. Just go deep enough for the fiber to be slightly lower than the surface of the bulwark. I used gel type Tester's glue to fill the trench, place the fiber then I clamped them together overnight.

 

The lantern jig mainly helps keep the lanterns equidistance from the Spar deck. The blue painters tape (non-sticky side) does not adhere to the glue at all and it spreads out any access glue evenly. When dry you may want to add a little plastic putty for any areas of defect. Make sure the fiber is slightly deeper than the bulwark because you will need to lightly sand the surface with fine finishing paper (you don't want to sand the optic fiber AT ALL) then paint.

 

The stand I made  -  I used a couple of profile internal shots that gave the cross section of the ship at various places along her hull. Using these I printed them about the same size as the 1/96 model, cut them out, and used them to cut the stocks for the build supports. These were then mounted to an old piece of backyard deck board I had around the house and a couple of handle rejects (we bought several before finishing the kitchen cabinets) were screwed into the ends to allow a safe 'grab' point when moving the ship.

Edited September 21, 2013 by lambsbk

[vacotton]

Thanks, Dave, for the direction. 

Yes,  I built up my bulwarks and then put a .010 strip over that with bolt details, so lots of room for a trench.  I am assuming that the Dremel 1/32 engraving bit is different from my Dremel 1/32 drill bit.  Will it work in my Dremel rotary unit?  

As for the glue, I should be able to get the Testor's Gel at my local hobby shop.

Before long, I will have to tackle the stand project and again I appreciate your ideas.

Just as an aside, how did you embed your build and your name below your post?

Edited September 22, 2013 by vacotton

[lambsbk]

Absolutely. I could not have cut the trench for the optic without a Dremel rotary. Low speed - the plastic tends to MELT at high speed. I lightly touched the tool to the work and worked it 'pencil sketch' style.

 

In my build I have two 1/32" engraving tools. One for the rotary and the other is attached to a jewelers tool vise to use for scraping and small part work, hole drilling, etc. After power cutting the trench I used the hand tool to ensure depth and clean up the trench for any rough edges.

 

I don't remember how I embedded my build site in my signature. I looked it up. Somewhere in this forum are the instructions. I remember it was not very hard once I followed the instructions.

Edited September 21, 2013 by lambsbk

[texxn5]

Hi Verne, I'm enjoying seeing how you're handling the fibre optics and lanterns. I may attempt to do the same sometime.

[vacotton]

Hi John,

I have bitten off a lot with this project.  If you do it, be prepared to work with a magnifying glass at close quarters.  A lot of precision involved.  I can only do a few of these at a time and then my eyes feel like they are going to fall out.  This has elevated my standards and set a new personal bar for quality.

Dave (lmbsbk) has provided a brilliant tutorial to follow without which I wouldn't know where to begin.  

 

Right now, I am "building" the lamps out of 1/8' square acrylic per Dave's specs.  I doubt you will see much on the log for a while, though, because of the repetitive nature of the current work.

 

I appreciate your words of encouragement, John.  

Thanks for looking in.

 

Verne

[vacotton]

I had to lay off for a few days with the flu.  Better now.

I got tired of seeing my Constitution heaved over on the table and so designed a simple but secure stand that will allow passage of the optical fibers through the keel.

 

Here it is:

 

 

 

And here is a crude drawing of the plan.  I will mount the stand on a 2x4 and probably stain the whole shebang and then put a nameplate on the crossbar.  The nameplate will sort of hide the fiber optics that will pass behind it into the heatsink/array unit.

Still waiting for that stuff to arrive from China.

 

 

Thanks for reading,

Verne

 

[lambsbk]

Looks nice Verne. I am glad you are feeling better. Although it is a little early for the flu the virus in one form or another is around all the time. It only PEAKS in the winter/spring.

 

My progress is slow right now with the gun tackle. Keep up the good work.

 

Dave

[vacotton]

Hi Dave,  

Well I tend to self diagnose and my wife get furious with me.  She says I should let real doctors do that.  Anyway I feel better now.  I am a great believer in flu shots.  We haven't missed in years.

 

I too am absorbed with the tedium of machining all of those lanterns and wooden stanchions.  Now that I have learned how to use my Dremel, I am revisiting a lot of old work.  

 

Verne

[vacotton]

Well, I got my array and heatsink in from China and carefully assembled the array onto the sink with silver grease.  Then soldered the LED driver on to the appropriate terminals by polarity.  To make sure that there were no errors, I painted the negative side screws with blue and the positive side screws with brown paint.  This matches the polarity of the output wires from the driver.

Unfortunately, when I plugged the rig in to the wall, I got a bright FLASHING light.  Not what I wanted.  To make sure that nothing was amiss with the unit, I then drove it with a 9V DC battery and got a SOLID light just as I originally expected.  

So I RMA'd the 30W DC driver and have to find one that works.

 

Please see illustrations:

 

  

 

Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks,

Verne

Edited October 3, 2013 by vacotton

[lambsbk]

Verne: do you have a voltmeter around the house? If so, you can check the output pretty easily. If not I believe an auto parts store like Autozone has meters on premises for checking alternators, etc. and they might check that output voltage for you.

 

The intermittent flashing: was it like a 60hz flash or slower? If it was near 60hz that means the "DC" power supply is probably just a diode filter allowing the forward phase current to the output leads and simply canceling or blocking the reverse current - a poor way to convert AC to DC - as rectifier circuits usually CONVERT the reverse phase to a forward phase giving an RMS of average input voltage or the step down voltage via transformers.

[vacotton]

Dave,

I do have a voltmeter somewhere.  Haven't used it for a while.  As for the frequency of the flash, it is precisely 60Hz.  I think it is junk and I am sending it back.  I need to get a driver that works for 10W.

Verne

[cookster]

Verne, pardon me for chiming in our your LED issue.  I didn't go back and read all your posts concerning the fiber optic setup, but I did take a look at the LED you bought and it's specs  9-12V, 900mA.  It doesn't specify AC or DC, but I'm pretty sure it would be DC.  All you need is a small DC power supply.  You can get these at Digikey, Mouser or Newark just to name a few.  Since it requires 900mA, an 1 Amp supply is what you need.

 

Here is a part# from digikey for a 12V, 1 Amp pwr supply.

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/KPS1512/285-1412-ND/1631582

It's a little pricey, but it's not some cheap crap.  I've used Lambda supplies at work for years and they're great.  If this isn't in your price range you can look around and find something cheaper.  Obviously check out the size and see if it will fit.

 

If you're mounting this outside the hull you can get small plastic project enclosures to mount the supply in,  such as this.

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/762/762K-ND/331625

 

there are lots of sizes, Radio Shack may still carry these in the store, they used to.  I would recommend keeping it outside the hull as the supply will get warm, especially since you're using it at near its capacity.

 

You could also use a wall-wart (pwr suppy that plugs into the wall) and splice in some extra wire length if needed.

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/EPSA120100U-P5P-EJ/T1061-P5P-ND/2235253

 

Just cut the end off, use a voltmeter to check polarity, then connect the wires directly to your LED.  OR, get the mating terminal, connect to the LED with wire and have a male/female disconnect.  That might be pretty handy.

 

Hope some of that helps!