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This series will illustrate how I fixed the bottom thruster. The problem is that the cone was not created as clearly as the rest of the parts. This area on the front and back parts was 'sacrificed' so that the more important details would show up properly and fixing this at a later time would not be much of a problem. Unless you don't have a lathe...


Here is the base of the Pod, with the screwed up main thruster cone. The dealiebob (machinist's term...) next to it is a part I turned on my drill-press. It represents the space inside the cone that I want to wind up with, in essence a type of mold.

The first thing I did was to cut out the bottom of the Pod. Remember, this is split into front and back halves and the split goes right through the center of this thruster. So, the best thing to do is to create the bottom, with the thruster cone, as a separate part. To do this, I removed all of the bottom, leaving a beveled side to the resulting hole.


This shot actually shows the hole after the final version of the plate is mated to it, but I'm using the shot here to give you the idea... I filed this all out until the outer edges of the hole matched up with the edges of the part. Then I put a release agent on the resin parts (they were taped together in proper registration) and filled the entire hole with body filler. The result was a blank plate that fit this opening perfectly. I cleaned it up a bit and plotted where the center of the thruster would go. I used the dealiebob, centered over this mark, as a template to plot the final opening for the cone. I then cut out the area that would be the cone, such that the dealiebob would fit loosely into the hole. A release agent was applied to the dealiebob-- you'll see why in a second. Then, I applied a light coat of spray adhesive to a small piece of plastic and stuck the plate and dealiebob down so they could not move. With these two parts in place, I poured some resin into the resulting gap around the dealiebob and let it cure.

So, what we have now is a plate made of body filler and the dealiebob stuck to it with now-cured resin, right? I sanded the face of the plate to eliminate any resin that might have gotten onto the surface. The next step is to flex the plate so that the dealiebob pops an edge loose. Once that happens, its a simple matter of sticking the tip of a knifeblade into the gap and popping the dealiebob out-- that's what the release agent was for.


The result, as you can see, is a very nice conical shaped hole, right where it belongs. Its a simple matter of using a bit more body filler to create the final mating surfaces between the Pod halves and the plate. You just have to remember to put a release on one side or the other so they don't permanently stick together!


Here is the comparision between what was and how things fit now. I have to work on the hand-holds on the sides of the Pod now and then this thing is done!