The base for this kit is the final item that needed to be completed. The problem was to arrive at a form that we could cast that would not distort due to the amount of resin being used. The base is almost 3/4 of an inch thick and about 16 inches on a side.
So, casting it in sections was one option, instead of trying to cast it as one piece. This would reduce the amount of resin used in one pour, but I felt a better solution was at hand, which you can now see below--
So, the base is now 6 pieces-- 3 'risers' and 3 'decks'. Each riser and deck is assembled and then glued to the others, forming the whole base. What you can't see in these photos is that the riser actually registers to the deck two ways. First, there is a rim that goes around the outside. Second, the 'button' you can see on the surface of the deck. This button is actually molded into the riser and sticks through a hole in the deck, but its real purpose is to engage the feet of the Moonliner.
Sockets are molded into the bottom of the feet, which fit over the buttons on the base. This keeps the rocket from being nudged off it's base.
The intention is that the model can be displayed without the danger of it being easily knocked over, but at the same time it can be taken off the base easily.
Lastly-- the etched brass finally arrived and fits nearly perfectly. The 'nearly' part will be explained in the assembly guide and you can see that the pieces overlap slightly. And, no-- I don't know why the tape wouldn't stay stuck, though I think the curved surface had something to do with it. Fortunately, no one is going to use tape on this!
In case you don't know, the grating covers a lighting trench. Floodlights were inside this trench, shining straight up. This lit the lower fuselage at night. I'll have to check the plans, but I don't recall that they show how many lights were in there. That info will be contained in the assembly guide as well.
I'll have another update very soon and it will cover exactly when the kit will start going out. It will be very, very soon!
So, casting it in sections was one option, instead of trying to cast it as one piece. This would reduce the amount of resin used in one pour, but I felt a better solution was at hand, which you can now see below--
So, the base is now 6 pieces-- 3 'risers' and 3 'decks'. Each riser and deck is assembled and then glued to the others, forming the whole base. What you can't see in these photos is that the riser actually registers to the deck two ways. First, there is a rim that goes around the outside. Second, the 'button' you can see on the surface of the deck. This button is actually molded into the riser and sticks through a hole in the deck, but its real purpose is to engage the feet of the Moonliner.
Sockets are molded into the bottom of the feet, which fit over the buttons on the base. This keeps the rocket from being nudged off it's base.
The intention is that the model can be displayed without the danger of it being easily knocked over, but at the same time it can be taken off the base easily.
Lastly-- the etched brass finally arrived and fits nearly perfectly. The 'nearly' part will be explained in the assembly guide and you can see that the pieces overlap slightly. And, no-- I don't know why the tape wouldn't stay stuck, though I think the curved surface had something to do with it. Fortunately, no one is going to use tape on this!
In case you don't know, the grating covers a lighting trench. Floodlights were inside this trench, shining straight up. This lit the lower fuselage at night. I'll have to check the plans, but I don't recall that they show how many lights were in there. That info will be contained in the assembly guide as well.
I'll have another update very soon and it will cover exactly when the kit will start going out. It will be very, very soon!
