Here is the latest news, which I'm hoping will give those of you waiting on your Big D models some encouragement. Those of you reading this, who are waiting on other project models-- I'll have some good news on those accounts very soon. And I do mean good news!
I sent out an update a couple of months ago that contained a vague schedule of completion-- some of you having your models by the end of this month and the remainder being delivered at the end of next month (August). There was also something said about having to finish a room addition so I'd have room to get all this accomplished. Suffice to say, the room addition still sits (due to the dratted things that keep plaguing my existence) but I'm forging ahead anyway. I also mentioned I was on the verge of deliving one of the models-- which finally happened in the first week of June. Unfortunately, it arrived damaged and parts were sent back, repaired and returned.
That model should be hanging in the owner's house at some point this weekend (July 19/20) and the owner has said he'd sent photos of it finally in it's home and I will post them here.
As you know, it took me FOREVER to put together that one model. The one before took only two weeks. The reason for this has mainly to do with not having a real shop to do things in, but it also has to do with molds that are now too old and the fact I was not loading it into my car to deliver it! Rather than go into way too much detail here, I'll just state the end result of the experience--
The model I delivered in June was sent in a big crate, well padded and bullet-proof. The crate arrived undamaged. But the command module and propulsion module were both damaged. However, the damage was to their mounts, not their exteriors! I secured them to the crate as if they were mounted to the spine, since that is the way they were designed to be locked down. I'm not sure exactly how they were damaged, but it could only be from a severe shock to one end of the crate-- like it was dropped. I could tell from the directional nature of the damage that this had to be the only way it could happen. So, I learned two things. The model has to be shipped in a smaller container and the various components packed like eggs in a carton-- in something form-fitting. I'm mentioning all this for two reasons.
The first is that a padded shipping crate was included in the price of the model. What I didn't know then was that anything that is too large for UPS to ship has to go by a freight carrier and it is horribly expensive. Second, one of the things I did not anticipate at the beginning of all this is that the spine modules could not be permanently attached to the spine rod and therefore have to be shipped 'off the rod', so to speak. The reason for this is the spine flexes and anything long and rigid that is glued securely to the rod would crack from the stress. It just no longer makes sense to produce padded crates, which would be a storage headache anyway. I should also say, if anyone really wants me to do padded crates for their model, I will as that was in the agreement.
Now-- the Progress Report. Those of you who were expecting to see their models by the end of this month will have to wait a week or two longer. I am behind, but not very far. I have been replacing molds that are now too old, but there are only a few of those. I have also been honing the new system for attaching the spine modules to their mounting blocks-- photos of that are coming up just below. Finally-- the corrected pattern for the command module is finished! I hope to be making a mold of that very soon, but still have to build the patterns for the interior. I will continue to deliver models with the 'temporary' command modules, so that you guys will have your models without further delay, and I will then make and deliver the final version as fast as I can after that.
Spine Module Assembly 101
The original way the modules were assembled to the mounting blocks was simple enough-- glue and screws.
Each module is cast with the outer face open. Holes are drilled in the module casting and the mounting block and the whole thing goes onto an assembly jig, to keep things square and parallel. A screw is run from the inside of the module into the mounting block and once the whole unit is done, thin super-glue is applied to the exterior joints. Then a thick styrene plate is glued into place, becoming the outer face of the module. It is then puttied to hide the joints and sanded. Finally, detail plates are glued in place and the whole module group is then painted. This process is what was used from the beginning, with some variations along the way that completely backfired. This is also why I had so much trouble with the latest model. The main problem was with the screws. The mounting block, by its nature, is too thin in cross-section for a decent screw to be used. For that, the screwhole would have to go into the rod itself. The problem became one of putting the right amount of torque on the screw-- too much and the hole would strip out. Too little and the module would not be secured. Increase the size of the screw, so that the threads were thicker, but not enough thread could engage to make it work without stripping. Use a smaller screw to increase how much thread was engaging and it stripped out easier because the resin is not hard enough. And because of the stresses involved in the sanding step, modules would come loose and there was no way, other than applying more glue, to resecure them-- because access to the screws was no longer available.
I have finally solved the problem. I went through a few variations, but securing the modules in place is no longer an issue. Of course, the solution was simple and I should have been doing it this way from the start. But, once you get started thinking in one direction for various reasons, something this simple takes a while to get through. From the outset, the problem had been addressed as securing the modules from the inside. They had to be cast hollow, so being hollow meant it was easy to hide whatever was used to attach them to the mounting blocks. It never occured to me to just use a really big, cast-in stud that would be secured through the hole from the outside!
As you can see in this photo, I went from using screws (1) to trying wooden pegs (2), but the pegs were going to be pushed into place from the inside. Then I realized I could just cast a peg onto the mounting block, which I did (3)-- but they were too small and broke easily. So I made the peg as fat as possible - 3/8" -and those hold really well (4)!! The added benefit of all this is that I can now close off the outer face of the module, attach the detail plates and paint the modules before they are assembled into their various groupings. This means the sanding step become MUCH easier and will cut the build time in half!
Sorry for being so wordy with this. I probably went into more detail than you guys wanted, but I need you to see the evolution of this thing as I continue to fight with it! I'm going to have some more photos to add to these two in a very short time, which will detail some other things that are adding up to a shorter build time. And to address that-- I really believe that everyone will have their models no later than the end of September. Some of you will have yours by the middle of next month, but the others will follow very quickly. Much progress is happening right now and I will continue to update everyone here and through messages to each recipient. The end is in sight!
Scott
I sent out an update a couple of months ago that contained a vague schedule of completion-- some of you having your models by the end of this month and the remainder being delivered at the end of next month (August). There was also something said about having to finish a room addition so I'd have room to get all this accomplished. Suffice to say, the room addition still sits (due to the dratted things that keep plaguing my existence) but I'm forging ahead anyway. I also mentioned I was on the verge of deliving one of the models-- which finally happened in the first week of June. Unfortunately, it arrived damaged and parts were sent back, repaired and returned.
That model should be hanging in the owner's house at some point this weekend (July 19/20) and the owner has said he'd sent photos of it finally in it's home and I will post them here.
As you know, it took me FOREVER to put together that one model. The one before took only two weeks. The reason for this has mainly to do with not having a real shop to do things in, but it also has to do with molds that are now too old and the fact I was not loading it into my car to deliver it! Rather than go into way too much detail here, I'll just state the end result of the experience--
The model I delivered in June was sent in a big crate, well padded and bullet-proof. The crate arrived undamaged. But the command module and propulsion module were both damaged. However, the damage was to their mounts, not their exteriors! I secured them to the crate as if they were mounted to the spine, since that is the way they were designed to be locked down. I'm not sure exactly how they were damaged, but it could only be from a severe shock to one end of the crate-- like it was dropped. I could tell from the directional nature of the damage that this had to be the only way it could happen. So, I learned two things. The model has to be shipped in a smaller container and the various components packed like eggs in a carton-- in something form-fitting. I'm mentioning all this for two reasons.
The first is that a padded shipping crate was included in the price of the model. What I didn't know then was that anything that is too large for UPS to ship has to go by a freight carrier and it is horribly expensive. Second, one of the things I did not anticipate at the beginning of all this is that the spine modules could not be permanently attached to the spine rod and therefore have to be shipped 'off the rod', so to speak. The reason for this is the spine flexes and anything long and rigid that is glued securely to the rod would crack from the stress. It just no longer makes sense to produce padded crates, which would be a storage headache anyway. I should also say, if anyone really wants me to do padded crates for their model, I will as that was in the agreement.
Now-- the Progress Report. Those of you who were expecting to see their models by the end of this month will have to wait a week or two longer. I am behind, but not very far. I have been replacing molds that are now too old, but there are only a few of those. I have also been honing the new system for attaching the spine modules to their mounting blocks-- photos of that are coming up just below. Finally-- the corrected pattern for the command module is finished! I hope to be making a mold of that very soon, but still have to build the patterns for the interior. I will continue to deliver models with the 'temporary' command modules, so that you guys will have your models without further delay, and I will then make and deliver the final version as fast as I can after that.
Spine Module Assembly 101
The original way the modules were assembled to the mounting blocks was simple enough-- glue and screws.
Each module is cast with the outer face open. Holes are drilled in the module casting and the mounting block and the whole thing goes onto an assembly jig, to keep things square and parallel. A screw is run from the inside of the module into the mounting block and once the whole unit is done, thin super-glue is applied to the exterior joints. Then a thick styrene plate is glued into place, becoming the outer face of the module. It is then puttied to hide the joints and sanded. Finally, detail plates are glued in place and the whole module group is then painted. This process is what was used from the beginning, with some variations along the way that completely backfired. This is also why I had so much trouble with the latest model. The main problem was with the screws. The mounting block, by its nature, is too thin in cross-section for a decent screw to be used. For that, the screwhole would have to go into the rod itself. The problem became one of putting the right amount of torque on the screw-- too much and the hole would strip out. Too little and the module would not be secured. Increase the size of the screw, so that the threads were thicker, but not enough thread could engage to make it work without stripping. Use a smaller screw to increase how much thread was engaging and it stripped out easier because the resin is not hard enough. And because of the stresses involved in the sanding step, modules would come loose and there was no way, other than applying more glue, to resecure them-- because access to the screws was no longer available.
I have finally solved the problem. I went through a few variations, but securing the modules in place is no longer an issue. Of course, the solution was simple and I should have been doing it this way from the start. But, once you get started thinking in one direction for various reasons, something this simple takes a while to get through. From the outset, the problem had been addressed as securing the modules from the inside. They had to be cast hollow, so being hollow meant it was easy to hide whatever was used to attach them to the mounting blocks. It never occured to me to just use a really big, cast-in stud that would be secured through the hole from the outside!
As you can see in this photo, I went from using screws (1) to trying wooden pegs (2), but the pegs were going to be pushed into place from the inside. Then I realized I could just cast a peg onto the mounting block, which I did (3)-- but they were too small and broke easily. So I made the peg as fat as possible - 3/8" -and those hold really well (4)!! The added benefit of all this is that I can now close off the outer face of the module, attach the detail plates and paint the modules before they are assembled into their various groupings. This means the sanding step become MUCH easier and will cut the build time in half!
Sorry for being so wordy with this. I probably went into more detail than you guys wanted, but I need you to see the evolution of this thing as I continue to fight with it! I'm going to have some more photos to add to these two in a very short time, which will detail some other things that are adding up to a shorter build time. And to address that-- I really believe that everyone will have their models no later than the end of September. Some of you will have yours by the middle of next month, but the others will follow very quickly. Much progress is happening right now and I will continue to update everyone here and through messages to each recipient. The end is in sight!
Scott
