Author Topic: 1/260 ST:TMP Drydock Build (WIP) (Read 28142 times)

NemVia · « **on:** 30 Jan , 2015, 15:58 »

I hope WIPs are welcome here! The Drydock from Star Trek The Motion Picture is one of my all time favorite Miniatures. I've already built one in 1/350 scale about 6 years ago. Now I'm currently working on 2 larger scale version of the Dock in 1/260 scale to fit a DeBoers 3' Enterprise. I've started working these for a couple of different clients about a year and a half ago and I'm getting closer to finishing at least 1 of them off. Maybe in 3 or 4 months, I hope! So, if you like detailed models, I think I was able to out-do the 1/350 scale version by a landslide. It also helped that I was able to see the original filming miniature in person. The best way to see the updates are to visit my website. So, take a look and let me know what you think! I usually update at least once a month!
Take care,
Mark
http://www.NemVia.net

Rokket · « **Reply #1 on:** 01 Feb , 2015, 01:33 »

I'll be watching with great interest...it certainly is a cool miniature with lots of detail. Quite a project! I would love to see pix of the 1:350.

NemVia · « **Reply #2 on:** 01 Feb , 2015, 15:08 »

Quote from: Rokket on 01 Feb , 2015, 01:33

I'll be watching with great interest...it certainly is a cool miniature with lots of detail. Quite a project! I would love to see pix of the 1:350.

My Avatar is one of the pics of my 1/350 scale dock Here are a few more pics and there are even more on my website. You can find it on my home page side bar. Under 1/350 ST:TMP Drydock Part 1 and 2
Mark
http://www.NemVia.net

Rokket · « **Reply #3 on:** 02 Feb , 2015, 01:21 »

WHAAAAAAAT???! I thought your av was a still from the movie LOL ...still think those other new pix are too...

that is GREAT STUFF! I have seen ST drydocks before, but none like yours...wow. WOW!!!

Amazing. Keep us posted with lots of details!

NemVia · « **Reply #4 on:** 28 Feb , 2015, 20:43 »

March Updates:
For this month's update I was able to get a lot more wiring done for additional lighting effects. I have 25 new pics in this month update page. On the outsides of the dock there are 2 rails with lights on them that run the entire length of the dock. They are more accent lighting than anything, but they are there. I've also built 2 more rails with lights on them that run along the bottom sides of the dock. These are more visible in the movie. I have also started building the Mooring Tractor Beam emitters which steady the ship while it's inside the dock. There are 4 of these that are seen in the movie and they are located on the bottom of the dock as well. There are also a few more details that need to be built before I actually mount the ship inside the dock. These include 6 outside mini panels (For what they are used for I have no idea, but you can see a great shot of them when the Enterprise leaves Drydock and the little dude is seen doing flips as the ship goes by) and I will be starting some work on the work crane and work light assemblies. These will be far different from the ones I made for the 1/350 scale dock. I will be making a master mold for these crane pieces so I can save some building time. I will also start work on the Gangway docking platform as it needs a lot of detail work on that. This piece might have to be made into casting mold as well. She's starting to come together even more and I'm hoping this will wrap up in the next 3 or 4 months if there are no more delays. Keep checking for the latest updates and I'll see you again in a month.

Mark
http://www.NemVia.net

SG · « **Reply #5 on:** 01 Mar , 2015, 10:40 »

A most Titanic achievement. Outstanding work!

NemVia · « **Reply #6 on:** 30 Mar , 2015, 18:41 »

April Updates 2015

This months update is quite extensive as far as the work done on the Drydock. To begin, I started by opaque-ing the Tractor emitters Flat Black. This took several coats because of the thinness of the styrene plastic. I had to make sure there would be no light leaks. I then painted the emitters Rust. But reviewing some of the Behind the scenes pics of the Drydock miniature and a few other sources I will be updating that color to a light brown color. I was then able to solder the wiring in place and connect it to the main frame of the Dock. All of the lights are working. I also was able to do a lot of touch-up work on all of the added pieces of styrene especially on the light panels and all of the detailing work around the entire panel frame assembly as well as all of the tension rods and turnbuckle assemblies. They are now a uniform Rust color. In addition to this I've also added the completed mark lighting rails that run along the outsides of the panel frames. These were soldered into their circuits and then painted to match the rest of the dock. The test lighting on this came out really nice!

The next part, or parts I was able to work on were the Cryo-tanks or whatever they're called that run along the bottom of the lower tier of the panel frames. There are five tanks per cluster. I scratch built 5 different kinds of tanks with various smaller tanks attached to them. I then used this as a master for making molds. I needed 120 if these tanks for 2 separate models. I cast all of these in black resin then sprayed them a Light Gray primer. They were then detached from their main sprues and put in a pile on my work bench. Then I randomly selected 5 of these tanks for each cluster. These five tanks were attached to 2 mounting bands which allowed the tanks to form a half circle grouping. I then attached all of these clusters to the 6 separate joints along the bottoms of the lower panel frames. They turned out rather well. After I cemented them in place I did more touch up work on all of the tanks.

Another area I worked on was the work crane and work light turrets. These had to be built by scratch. I had purchased a mini-lathe specifically for this project and now I was finally going to use it. I took two wooden wheels that I purchased from Hobby Lobby and put them on the lathe and was able to create the basic shape for the turrets. The turrets resemble mini Jupiter II's from LIS:TOS. After a nice light sanding they turned out perfect, but I found out that they were a bit too large for the scale, so I bought more of the wooden wheels in a smaller size and re-lathed 2 more pieces. It only took about 20 minutes to get the right shape. I then carved out a notch in one of these wheels. This is for the Boom arms that will extend out to the ship. The other wheel was made for the Gangway Docking Port. There are 2 docking ports on this piece and one on the work crane piece. I wanted to add some lighting effects on these turrets so I cast them I clear resin to all I would have to do is opaque the pieces and scrape of the paint where the lighting effect will need to be seen. The castings turned out very good. I am currently opaqueing them and then painting them a light tan color. There are 2 pieces for each of these turrets, this eliminated the need for me casting piece in a 2 piece mold, which is a lot of extra work. BTW there are 5 turrets for the work cranes and 2 for the work lights. I will alos be adding other details later on including the booms for the cranes and wiring and lighting as well as other small details. Most of this will be scratch built.

Another area I've started on are these 6 panels that run along the outside of the dock. There are 3 on the outside of each middle tier. Only 2 of them are really visible in the Drydock scene when Kirk and Scotty are in the travel pod. The only really clear shot of these panels are from a larger scale miniature that was built for a close up shot when the Enterprise is leaving the dock and the little dude is doing summer-salts as he's waving goodbye to the ship. These parts will also have a small but noticeable lighting effect. I started this by cutting up some very thin clear plastic into squares. I used a behind the scenes photo of this as a reference as to how large these panels will be for this scale model. I have added some masking tape for the parts where the lighting will show through. There is some minor detailing that will be added later on, but this too is turning out very good.

Last but not least, I am also working on connecting the armature to the Enterprise. This armature will connect the Ship to the Dock. There will be a lot of tweaking for this armature because of the weight of the ship. It has to sit in the dock very parallel to the panel frames. So hopefully this will be something to look forward to in next month's update. Otherwise there are 33 new progress pics in the April Updates 2015 page.

As always, enjoy the pics, comments and/or suggestions are always welcome. Take care and I'll see you next month.

Mark
http://www.NemVia.net

Rokket · « **Reply #7 on:** 07 Apr , 2015, 03:13 »

Beautiful already! What a LOT of work...looking great!!!

NemVia · « **Reply #8 on:** 15 Apr , 2015, 14:01 »

Thanks Rokket! There's more to come in about 15 days. Keep Checking!
Mark

NemVia · « **Reply #9 on:** 30 Apr , 2015, 19:03 »

May Updates - 2015

Well, this month I wasn't able to get as far as I would've liked to. I had several things I had to redo on the Enterprise model before I could start the wiring. I needed to add the Hanger bay doors to the back of the ship so they are in the open position. I also added a few more lightis to the hanger bay to enhance their lighting effects. But my primary task was to make sure that I was able to get the Armature mounted into the sauce and also make sure it would hold the ship up without bendig or bouncing too far up and down. The Enterprise does have some weight to it so I wanted to make sure the armature was holding the ship at an even keel. I also needed to start the wiring and have it feed through the armature up into the Drydock and down to the control panel base. This is now easy task as there are many wires to run through the ship. If this was mounted from below on the engineering deck it would a lot easier. But this ship needs to appear to be floating inside the dock and this is the only way to do it.

So I spent most of this last month doing a lot of soldering and wire running. Then after the wires were run thorugh the armature I needed to test that the ligthting circuits were working, then lable all of the wiring and the voltage for it's final connections to the power sources. So, I got the Engineering section wired up as well as most of the upper and lower saucer pieces. I am waiting for a shipment of LEDs to complete the thruster wiring for the Main deflector housing. I was able to get the main deflector dish wired up and working. I have lighting tests pics for some of the ship's lighting. By next month's update I will have the Enterprise resting inside her drydock and then I can add the Port side of the dock to the model. Hang in there gang. It's getting closer to being finished. I have 16 pics int the May Updates page. Check 'em out and enjoy! See you next month.

Mark
http://www.NemVia.net

Rokket · « **Reply #10 on:** 03 May , 2015, 06:04 »

She's big and beautiful!

NemVia · « **Reply #11 on:** 17 May , 2015, 15:31 »

Quote from: Rokket on 03 May , 2015, 06:04

She's big and beautiful!

Yes she is! Thanks Rokket! I'm waiting on a few parts in the mail before I can add her into the drydock model. In the meantime I'm working on the Port side of the Dock and getting that wires up and ready to be added onto the overhead modules. I should have new pics in about 15 days or so.
Mark.

Rokket · « **Reply #12 on:** 18 May , 2015, 01:30 »

we're standing by!

NemVia · « **Reply #13 on:** 06 Jun , 2015, 18:21 »

June Updates - 2015

Hey Everyone!

It's good to be back! We just came back from a week long cruise to the BAHAMAS! A much needed and relaxing vaca! Enough to recharge batteries and enthusiasm to get back to the task at hand.

Anyway, I was going to set up the June updates before I left, but I ran out of time, so here we go....

I needed to wait for some other parts for the model so I had to divide my time on working on the gangway/interface/armature and the port side detailing on the panel frames.

I first had to feed all of the wiring through the armature and feed it up to the top of the armature so I could add the gangway and tower details around the wiring. This will hide all of the wiring and make it appear as though the ship is under it's own power. I built the gangway on this version of the model the same way I did it for the 1/350 scale version of the model. I first started at the hull of the saucer section and work my way out to the tower section then build the actual tower section on three sides and detail it. By only building it up on three sides allows me to add any last minute additional wiring that might be needed. When I'm sure I won't need to add anything I can then seal all of the wiring in and paint all of the details. I was also able to add the three hydraulic lines that are seen in the movie. I used an enhanced screen cap to follow how these lines hang on the sides of the gangway.

In other areas I've added the lower tier mark lights as well as the port side mooring tractor beam turrets. So more soldering and wiring were needed. Also, I began working on the tension rod assemblies for the port side panel frames. I started with the mounting nuts then added the washers and bolts then cement the turnbuckles into place. Next I cement only one end of the tension rod into one end of the turnbuckle and leave the other end to slide in and out of the turnbuckle. This helps keep the rods from bending when I assemble the panel frames to the overhead modules when the weight of the structure shifts.

The last pieces I've worked on in the last month are the outside panels that are seen when the Enterprise takes off from the Dock. I just added some small details. I put some c-channel pieces as well as some tanks on either side of the c-channels. I will be adding an LED to each of these panels later on to add some more lighting effects to the outside of the panel frames. Well, now that vacation is over with, it's back to work on all counts! Enjoy the pics in which there are 12 new ones on the Updates for June - 2015 page! See you in a month!

Mark

NemVia · « **Reply #14 on:** 01 Jul , 2015, 04:01 »

July Updates - 2015

Hi my fellow model builders!

This month's updates are now posted for your enjoyment. I have pretty much been doing a lot of clean up with the port side framework. I'm getting all of the tension rod assemblies in place as well as the port side mark light bars which run along the length of the model. I've also added all of the panel frame details to the sides of each of the panel frames. Everything is pretty much in place and all I have to do now is connect all of the wires and do a lighting test to make sure everything works okay. The only part I didn't detail as of yet is between the top tier 2nd and 3rd panel frames. This is because I will have to cut into the tubing to allow the armature tower to fit in between these panels. I'm a little bit nervous about cutting into these tubes just because I don't want to ruin anything. But this has to be done in order for the ship to be supported inside the dock.

In the meantime, I will be painting up all of the added details that I've put on this last month to match the rest of the dock model. In the updates there are 32 new pics for this month. I've taken more photos to show how the tension rods are added one by one into the structure. It takes about 40 to 45 minutes to complete one panel frame. This is mainly because of all of the small parts I'm using to build this part of the dock. I can't tell you how many times I've wound up dropping parts while trying to put them all in place. I've also been doing some piece counting for the model. There are 9 parts to each of the tension rods. 2 mounting nuts, 2 mounting bolts, 2 washers 2 turnbuckle sleeves and one tension rod. There are 12 tension rods on each panel frame. So just for the tension rod assemblies alone there are 108 pieces per panel frame. 42 panel frames total including the port and starboard frameworks. This equals 4,536 individual pieces just for the panel frames alone. At the end of the entire build I will give you a complete total of all the individual parts needed for this model.

In other areas, I have scratch built some support clamps that are needed to hold the mark lighting rods in place on the outside of the port framework. These clamps were all cemented to the outside of the dock and aligned so that the entire length of the rod would appear straight over the entire length of the dock. The mark light rods are then snapped into the clamps holding them in place. Next I will be doing the wiring for these lights and then do a light test. After everything looks good I can then paint all of these parts to match the dock. I can finally move to get the Enterprise in place. Hope you enjoy all of the pics for this months. As always if you have any comments or questions I'd be happy to hear from you. See you next month! Be safe!

Mark

http://www.NemVia.net

Rokket · « **Reply #15 on:** 08 Jul , 2015, 03:46 »

Wow, soo much detail, and looking..well, awesome

NemVia · « **Reply #16 on:** 16 Jul , 2015, 04:02 »

Thanks Rokket,
Trying to keep the momentum up. I'll have an update in a few weeks.
Mark

NemVia · « **Reply #17 on:** 05 Aug , 2015, 15:31 »

August Updates - 2015

Hello Everyone!

I apologize for the delay with this month's updates. A lot going on in my life, lately! Whew! I finally am able to post the update! Anyway, Most of the past month I've been painting all of the turnbuckle assemblies on the inside as well as the outsides of the frames. No easy task considering they needed to be done one part at a time. Some parts needed more than one coat. I would have preferred to airbrush all of this but the masking would be too time consuming and the parts are way too fragile to keep in place. There are too many details on the light panels to worry about overspray and the like.

I have 9 new pics in the August Updates - 2015 page. This shows the painting completed. I've also added the cryo-tanks to the bottom tier of the frames and those are now secured in place as well. About half of the pics are some light test shots. The only other thing I was able to work on are the outside "B" panels. I've added a few more details to each of them. That's pretty much it for this month, now let's get that STARSHIP inside the dock and launch this puppy!

Thanks for being patient, See you next Update!

Mark

http://www.NemVia.net

Rokket · « **Reply #18 on:** 10 Aug , 2015, 03:15 »

A lot of work, but good points about holding and airbrushing. One rivet at a time...

SG · « **Reply #19 on:** 10 Aug , 2015, 09:59 »

Mark, Congrats on keeping the momentum up: an update every 20 days it's keeping it up if one considers there's a true life to live which runs parallel to our modelling life. And of course, Congrats on the hi-quality work you've done so far. Eager to see the next update!
Cheers!

NemVia · « **Reply #20 on:** 19 Aug , 2015, 16:54 »

Thanks SG. Yes, unfortunately LIFE sometimes gets in the way of progress.
Thanks for the comment.
Mark

NemVia · « **Reply #21 on:** 30 Sep , 2015, 16:58 »

October Updates - 2015

I Apologize for the lack of updates for September, but Life Happens! Mom's been in the hospital and a nursing home for the last Month and a half, I'm getting ready for a move and everything has been very hectic this past month - (phew)

The little I've been able to get done however is in the October Updates 2015 page. I found out that the pieces I cast for the Roof section of the overhead modules were apparently not thick enough to hold a flat shape. Some of them have warped a tiny bit, so instead of recasting all of them I had some pieces of c-channel left over from when I made the frames of the overhead modules and decided to use them for trusses to help keep any of the other panels from warping. The trusses are held in place with 2 screws. The trusses have also stiffened up the entire frame of the roof sections so it all worked out for the better on this build.

So I was able to paint up the top sides of all the roof panels the overall RUST color to match the rest of the dock. All of the panels are connected to the L-strips of aluminum so they can be dropped onto the overhead module assembly as well as be removed for any maintenance or additional details that need to be added to the module assemblies. There are 7 new pics for this month update. I know that's a little weak on what was accomplished in the last couple of months, but now I can get back to the normal work routine of this build. Once again I apologize for the lack of updates, but I'll have more to come for next months updates. Thanks for the patience and I'll see you next month!

Mark

http://www.NemVia.net

OldNoob · « **Reply #22 on:** 30 Sep , 2015, 17:21 »

Amazing build.
One has to have a lot of love for the Enterprise refit to make this piece of jewelry for it.

NemVia · « **Reply #23 on:** 03 Dec , 2015, 12:38 »

Thanks OldNoob.
One Does, and I do!
Mark

NemVia · « **Reply #24 on:** 01 Feb , 2016, 10:50 »

February Updates - 2016

Okay! Finally I've been able to get some updates back on the site. I've started by adding 12 new pics to the February Updates- 2016 page. My primary work is for the Hanger bays seen on the front of the Overhead modules. My version of the dock will also include Hangers on the rear of the dock as well. The larger one will have the Hanger doors open so you can see into the hanger and view the storage containers as well as the work bees and shuttle craft that are stored there. After I finish the assembly of the hanger walls I will be working on the main hanger deck. I'm also adding a little more functionality to the smaller flight decks that are seen on the Starboard side module. I', adding some access doors to the back walls to give them a little more depth. Thanks for your patience in all of this. I will have more updates coming next month! See you then!

Mark
http://www.NemVia.net

Rokket · « **Reply #25 on:** 09 Feb , 2016, 00:24 »

First...more Wow! I really like the open door stuff with details, gives depth and layers and just punches it up even more!

NemVia · « **Reply #26 on:** 02 Mar , 2016, 10:54 »

Quote from: Rokket on 09 Feb , 2016, 00:24

First...more Wow! I really like the open door stuff with details, gives depth and layers and just punches it up even more!

Thanks Rokkett, The depth also adds to the scale of the build. Here's this month's update. Enjoy!

March Updates - 2016

I've got a whole slew of pics for this months update! I've been concentrating on the larger hanger deck for the rear Starboard side of the overhead modules. As with the 1/350 scale version I'm adding a warehouse-like storage area for one side of the Modules. The front end of the Drydock will appear as it did in ST:TMP. The idea of showing the hanger is just to show what might possibly be on the interior of these modules. I figure that since the Enterprise is facing forward inside the dock it would make the most sense to have the supplies and cargo containers come out of the aft end of the modules to be loaded into the Shuttle Bay on the Enterprise. I'm trying to make this hanger a lot larger than the 1/350 scale version. I'm currently adding a lot of detailing to the walls and ceiling, etc. I've make some extra holes in both the deck and the ceiling for overhead lighting. As of this update I've pretty much have all of the wall details in place and I've begun spraying the parts both for light leaks and final colors. There are 30 pics in this month's update. Take a look and let me know what you think! See you next month!

Mark
http://www.NemVia.net

Rokket · « **Reply #27 on:** 02 Mar , 2016, 18:05 »

It is looking even more awesome! And the scale of the build, ya, it's bigger than a planet!

NemVia · « **Reply #28 on:** 07 Apr , 2016, 19:08 »

April Updates - 2016

This month I've been doing a lot of painting on all of the Overhead module hanger decks and entryways. The painting process can take quite a while because of all of the masking that needs to be done. All of the decks needed to have landing stripes and other colors added to them. I've been able to paint the main hanger deck and I think it looks pretty cool. It looks like a parking garage for the shuttles. I'll be adding the shuttles, Work bees and cargo containers soon. Well I 52 pics in this months updates. I mainly showed how the painting process was done. Check them out and let me know what you think. We'll see you in a month.

Mark
http://www.NemVia.net

Rokket · « **Reply #29 on:** 20 Apr , 2016, 02:32 »

standing by!

NemVia · « **Reply #30 on:** 16 Jul , 2016, 15:49 »

July Updates - 2016

Great Apologies for the long delays... Many many issues going on at the moment including some difficulties with the Drydock. More specifically the Chase lighting for the hanger decks. I've been trying to use some optical fibers I had lying around, which would have made for some great lighting effects but, alas, the fibers were way too brittle for the complex bending that needed to be done in the limited space between the hanger deck and the modules. After the fibers snapped on more than one occasion I needed to take a little breather before I pulled all of my hair out. I needed to get a more durable optical fiber, which I did. I found several sizes that were relatively in-expensive. I used a 1mm thick optic fiber for the chase lighting effect. I bought 500' of it hoping that will be more than enough. I still had some difficulty even with the thicker fibers, but I figures out a few different ways to bend them so they wont snap as easily. I first bundled the fibers according to their lighting pattern, then I put those fibers into a styrene sleeve. This would hold all of the fibers together so I can fish them through all of the holes that are on the landing deck. After that I could connect them to their respective LEDs and run them in their proper sequence. I also added some RED LED lighting for a warning track for the shuttles that are in standby for launching on the pad. I still need to straighten out some of the fibers, but the lighting effect is in place and working. Now I can continue on to the smaller hangers. I've also started painting up the Shuttles that will be seen inside the larger hanger. Some of them were cast in clear resin so I can have a lighting effect inside a few of them as well. Well, that's it for now. I was able to get passed this massive hurtle, so now I should be able to get back to my stride once again. There are 17 new pics in the JULY 2016 Updates page and I will try to get a video of the chase lighting effect in place. Thank you again for your patience and I post more next month. Thanks everyone!

Mark
http://www.NemVia.net

NemVia · « **Reply #31 on:** 17 Jul , 2016, 11:02 »

Here is the video for the chase lighting effects.
https://youtu.be/TUxS4FTIoZU

SG · « **Reply #32 on:** 20 Jul , 2016, 02:43 »

Amazing work. You "set phasers to stunning"!

Rokket · « **Reply #33 on:** 31 Jul , 2016, 01:57 »

SG has said it all!

NemVia · « **Reply #34 on:** 07 Oct , 2016, 20:31 »

Thank you, my friends! Appreciate the comments!

October Updates - 2016
Hey Everyone! No I didn't fall off the grid, I've just been extremely busy these past few months. I'm still working on the Drydock, but what I accomplished during August and September was very minimal and not worth the update. But I have a significant update and I hope you'll like it.
First off, I am still working on the lighting effects for the hanger bays. I've built some light sockets for the fiber optic effects, I've also been working on the shuttle craft that will be seen inside the open end hanger bay. They are all painted up and just need decals. I should be able to get those done by the next update. 4 of the shuttles will have some sort of lighting effect in them.
Next I took on the challenge of wiring together two sets of 60 LEDs for the work light Arrays. The soldering was very delicate and tricky. I needed to solder the wires as close to the LEDs as possible because there is a limited amount of space in the work light housing. I could have used the strip LEDs but they don't have the shape I wanted for the actual light fixtures. After getting them all soldered together I took a few lighting test pics which came out really good.
Next I started building the housing for the work lights. These are scratch built pieces with some ribbing details on the backside of the housing. I made these so they would slide over the back of the lighting array. There are some touch-ups and puttying to do but they are finished.
Also in the scratch build department I needed to build the vertical boom arm pivots. This piece will slide into the Boom arm turrets and support the boom arms for the work cranes and work lights. I made a master to be molded with silicon rubber. I then cast 7 of these pieces for the turrets. I also drilled holes into the vertical pivot so I can add the boom arms and wiring.
Lastly I was able to scratch build the boom arms. I used some Plastrux tubing for the main part of the arm. I had to taper one end and lathe the other so it will have some interesting details. I also added some other details. Pieces that I call fins, as well as adding some eyelettes to the boom arms to support some thin rod pieces that come out of the vertical pivot. I don't know what their function is but it makes for interesting details. I managed to complete the two work light booms and assemble the arrays to the boom assembly. Now I need to work on the turret mounts so that all of the work cranes can be connected to the panel frames in some manner.
There are 27 new pics in the October updates - 2016 page if you would like to see how the building process went. Well, that's all for this month. Next month I should most of these items all painted up. See you then.
Mark
http://www.NemVia.net

NemVia · « **Reply #35 on:** 31 Oct , 2016, 12:16 »

November Updates - 2016
For this month's update I've finished wiring all of the turrets with their lighting effects. I've fed the wires through the bottom section of the turret and through a styrene tube at the back of the base of the turret. This makes it look more the filming miniature versions. After getting this all set up and adding the fiber optic strands to each of the work booms I've also been working on the painting of the Work booms as well as the booms for the Work Light Array. There are 3-4 different colors used on these pieces. The main color was and off Yellow which somewhat resembles the color of our modern day work cranes. There are also gray and rust color stripes added as well as some military green. They were sprayed in layers, masked and then the next color was added. The final color was the yellow. They will need some touch ups to cover up some small pot holes created by the resin-molding process.
On the 1/350 scale dock I was not sure how I would mount these turrets to the dock because at that time there were no good pictures of the dock available. What you saw on the screen was all I could go by. But having seen the filming miniature in person I now know what to do to mount these pieces to the 1/260 scale dock.
There are some specialized mounting brackets that hold the turrets into place, so I'm trying to replicate them as best as I can using styrene. So far they are turning out okay and they look like they'll be able to support the weight of the turrets, especially the light arrays. I should have them all painted up by the next updates. There are 20 new pics under the November Updates - 2016 page. Enjoy and feel free to comment. Thanks everyone. See you next update!
Mark

http://www.NemVia.net

NemVia · « **Reply #36 on:** 01 Feb , 2017, 16:46 »

February Updates - 2017
SO WHAT HAPPENED TO DECEMBER AND JANUARY?

?
Uh..... I dunno..... Just had to take a break. Been busy with work family and a multitude of other things...... BUUUUUUUUUT! I'm ready to get moving again.
The pics are loaded up on the February Updates - 2017 Page.
Okay, so I really didn't get a whole lot done the last couple of months, But I did manage to work on a few things. The mounting clamps for all of the work booms are now complete and I mad the pincers for the ends of the booms. I kind of improvised on these because I couldn't see any functional need to the Drydocks end pieces as seen in the movie. I will be making alternate pieces that mimic TMP end pieces so they will be interchangeable. They will just slip onto the ends of the booms. Anyway, the booms were cut to the same length when I first made them and I really can't finish them until I get the Enterprise in place. Then the booms will be cut to the appropriate lengths and the end pieces will be put on. I will also cut the optic fiber to be flush with the end of the boom.
Back to the turret clamps. I have these mounted on the bottoms of the swivel shaft and they are painted up to match the panel frames. I've also started to do some re-wiring on the Enterprise Deflector dish. my client wanted the ramp-up, ramp-down lighting effects added in so I need to run a few more wires through the dorsal. I've also replaced the LED in the dish reflector with a dual color LED. I should have this wired up by next update.
In other areas, I'm starting to apply the decals for all of the shuttles that will go in the Aft Hanger bay. I also needed to take out some of the wiring for the thrusters on the Enterprise model to make room for the Gang way on the Dock. There's just too much packed into it and it might cause problems later on. I've also mounted the Enterprise onto the dock but I'm afraid the ship might just weight too much for the bracket, so I might have to stabilize the ship with some wires. .013mm I think is what I bought.
I know this wasn't much of an update, but I should be back on track during this month. Thank you everyone for your patience. I know this is a long project, but please bear with me and you WILL see it complete. Ahh yes I love that word complete. So check out the pics, let me know what you think and I will see you next month. Take care everyone.
Mark.

Rokket · « **Reply #37 on:** 04 Feb , 2017, 20:58 »

great detail in those clamps! This IS a mighty big project!

NemVia · « **Reply #38 on:** 23 Mar , 2017, 14:24 »

Just in case you are trying to get to my website, I had to update my link:

New weblink:
http://www.nemvia.net Please disregard anything with Nemvia.com. I'll explain later.
Mark

NemVia · « **Reply #39 on:** 04 Jul , 2017, 11:23 »

July Updates - 2017
Hey Everyone! My apologies to all for the big delay. As you may have noticed my website was hacked and my NemVia.com version of my is no longer functioning for my website. I have had to update my site to NemVia.net and try to clean up as much of the garbage that the hackers have caused and try to get things back in order as best as I could. I've had a few setbacks with the Drydock build, sick relatives and other problems have caused further delays. Although I do have a small update for this month I think you'll find some of it interesting.
I became discouraged when I found out that I made a mis-calculation with my armature for the ship. This armature was to keep the ship level inside the dock and also allow it to appear to be floating while inside the dock. I poured over ways to correct this problem including some extremely thin steel fishing line that would hold the engines level with the dock. I decided to do what I did with my 1/350 scale dock armature and just bend the heck out of the thing until it help the ship upright and level the way I wanted it to.
Using a pair of pipe wrenches, I found the point where the armature meets the connection rod and pushing in opposite directions I twisted the armature enough to pre-load the tension in order to hold the weight of the ship in place. I have a pic of how I was able to do this in the July Updates - 2017 page. It took me a couple of tries, but I finally got the ship to appear level inside the dock. She FLOATS! I exclaimed! Anyway that was a huge hurtle to get past. Now I can finish the wiring for the main deflector dish and torpedo launchers and finally seal off the saucer section and get ready to add the port side panel frames into place.
In other areas I had to replace the hanger deck on the aft side of the Dock. Some of the fiber optics were not lining up the way I wanted to so I redid the entire deck. It looks much better now and I have all of the chase lighting done for the entire aft end of the modules. The small hangers have the chase lighting heading into the deck whereas the larger hanger has the lighting running in take-off mode with a few shuttles in position for launch. I have 7 new pics and 4 new videos of the chase lighting effects in this month's updates I should be able to get more done in the upcoming month. Once again I apologize for the long delays. Hang in there and I'll get this thing done soon. Thanks for your patience and keep checking for more updates.
Mark
http://www.NemVia.net

NemVia · « **Reply #40 on:** 15 Jul , 2017, 12:48 »

July Updates - 2017 - Supplemental...
Okay, I usually don't jump ahead of my posts here, but I just had to add this to the blog.... I recently purchased a 80cm motorized camera dolly and I wanted to use it for several special photography effects on the side. But most importantly, when I finished the drydock build I wanted to make a duplicate flyby movie that would match ST:TMP's drydock flyby. I made a few passes with the model in it's unfinished state to get an idea of what I can do for a final project for this build. The results of the tests came out very good even though the lighting was not corrected the models are incomplete, none of the effects lighting is operating and there is no space background. But if you could just ignore all of that and take a look at the video's potential, you might understand why I had to do an early posting of this video. Now I really can't wait to finish this project. Take a look at the test video. https://youtu.be/n4EtoOLRdgg
See you in a few weeks
Mark

NemVia · « **Reply #41 on:** 31 Jul , 2017, 19:41 »

August Updates - 2017
This has been an eventful month. Adding the Test video of the Enterprise flyby to my library has given me a little extra motivation. I want to thank all of you who have checked out the video on youtube. I am looking forward to making my own ST:TMP version of the flyby when I'm finished, shot for shot. Also I'm planning on making an additional version that would include portions of the Enterprise and Drydock that were not shown in TMP. Any ideas? Let me know.
In this month's update I've been concentrating on getting all of the wiring done for all of the hanger bays on both the front and aft sides of the dock. I finally was able to hook up all of the chase lighting on all of the hangers as well as their overhead lighting. I wanted to have the overhead lighting on the hangers rather than the rear walls glowing to make the modules appear more like a gigantic space warehouse for supplying and/or repairing any starship that might pull into this humungous dock for repair/refit/resupply. This is also why I wanted everyone to see inside at least one of the hangers. If I didn't need the support framework on the inside of the modules to hold the model up, I would have made the hanger even deeper into the model. But space was limited. But, I've permanently added the shuttles into the hanger deck and at least four of them are lit. I will be adding crewmembers as well as work bees and cargo containers to add depth of scale to the dock. I also added some red LEDs to the front hanger as seen in TMP. I would guess that the RED lights would be a warning to small craft that it is not safe to enter the dock at this point. That is why on the open hanger on the aft side I'm using green LEDs to indicate it is safe for departure or arrival onto the hanger. The chase lighting on the open hanger is heading outward indicating clearance for launch.
I've also added the top f the module to port side of the dock in one of the pictures. I wanted to make sure it seated the right way and would not interfere with any of the wiring and optical fibers. It fits very snug and can be removed to access the lighting and wiring.
Getting back to the Enterprise, I am adding some super strong magnets to a few parts of the ship. Mainly the saucer and the main deflector dish housing. This will also allow access to some of the wiring. I will be finishing that wiring up as well as for the photon torpedo launchers. There are a few more small details I have to add to the ship and then do another wiring test before I seal everything up. I can then add the Enterprise permanently to the dock structure and wire it into place. After that I can begin adding the port side panel frame assembly. Keep checking for the updates. I can actually see an end coming for this build. FINALLY! Then I can look forward to making some nice HERO shots as well as the long awaited FLYBY Video. Exciting times!
Well that's it for this update. Enjoy the pics in the August Updates 2017 page. Talk to you in a month or so.
Mark

http://www.NemVia.net

NemVia · « **Reply #42 on:** 17 Sep , 2017, 07:25 »

September Updates - 2017
Hi Everyone. I've been making a little more progress with the dock build. I've added some magnets to the engineering section to hole the Deflector dish assembly in place. This will make the Housing removable in case someone needs to get to some of the engineering electronics. I've also added the wiring and LEDs for both the Deflector Ramp on/Ramp off effects as well as adding the Photon torpedo firing effects to the launching tubes. I still need to fix a few of the light leeks but the effect look very nice. I've added a small video for those who would like to view the effects. I've also built some lighting housing for the running lights that are seen on the drydock mainly on the front end. I was having trouble figuring out how I was going to wire these until I found some speaker coil wire which is extremely thin. Once it's painted up it will be difficult to see on the model. I've added 8 pics to the September 2017 page... I've also added a new short video with the Deflector dish and Photon Torpedo lighting tests. By the next updates I will have the Shuttle bay details added to the outside of the hanger deck and will begin to permanently wire all of the electronics to the circuit boards that are inside the Starboard side overhead modules. See you next update.
Mark

http://www.NemVia.net

Rokket · « **Reply #43 on:** 11 Oct , 2017, 15:32 »

again, just WOW!

NemVia · « **Reply #44 on:** 01 Jan , 2018, 14:04 »

January Updates - 2018
Hello everyone! My apologies for the delays. I really have been working on my build, but Life just keeps getting in the way of my progress. Hopefully things will be a little better now that my peak season at work has calmed down.
For my project updates I have cast resin pieces for the outside details of the hanger bay lighting effects. I had to make the pieces transparent so you can see the actual lighting effects. I'm in the process of opaqueing the castings to prevent light leaks.

I was asked by my client to put some different lighting into the saucer section of the ship. So, I pulled all of the fluorescent lighting and ballasts out and I replaced them with LED lighting strips. This was a very good idea because the lighting will have a longer lifetime in the model. I also put some white styrene strips into the saucer sections behind the viewports to reflect the lighting better. I was originally going to insert some pictures of the corridors onto the strips but there was not enough depth to the pictures. So, I decided to do what I was originally going to do with the corridors and that was to build 3D versions of them. I built one master of the corridor section and made molds so that I could cast as many replicas as needed. I cast them in clear resin so that I could have the lower panels of the corridors lit as seen in the movies. After I cast all of the pieces I masked off all of the light panels. I then sprayed the first color which was FLAT WHITE. This would help reflect some of the lighting to make it appear more even. I then sprayed them FLAT BLACK to hide any light leaks. Next I sprayed them a medium BLUE/GRAY for the tops and bottoms of the corridors. Finally I hand panted the rest of the panels ALUMINUM, for the monochromatic look. After this I sprayed some flat pieces of styrene FLAT RED and then cut several pieces of them, all the same length, to use as the doors to the crews quarters. After all of this was done I then placed all of the finished corridors into an oven at 170F for ten minutes. This allowed the styrene to be pliable and I could then bend them into the shape of the outer rim of the saucer., Next I had to use a belt sander to sand down the tops and bottoms of the corridors to get rid of both the burrs from the casting process and to make them fit into the saucer. I aligned the corridors so they could be seen through the viewports.
Since the back sides of the castings were not painted, I added the LED strips to the backs of each of the corridor strips. Then I put electrical tape over the backs of the strips to prevent too much light from shining back into the model and ruining other lighting effects in the saucer. It was a lot of work, but worth the effort to give the corridors a little more 3D depth to them when looking through the viewports. To further help with the light leaks I found these foam rubber sheets at a hobby store and cut them into long strips and cemented them all along the perimeter of the upper saucer piece. This should help block light from showing through the seams of the upper and lower saucer pieces.
I have 16 New pics which can be viewed in the Members Gallery page under the January updates – 2018 album.
I can now finally seal up the saucer and get ready to permanently add the Enterprise into it’s new home in the Dock. Again, thanks for your patience with this build and I apologize for the long wait for this update. Hopefully I can now get this build finished. See you next update.

www.NemVia.net

Rokket · « **Reply #45 on:** 04 Jan , 2018, 18:18 »

That saucer is as amazing as the rest. What a great idea, and what a lot of work! And wires...

NemVia · « **Reply #46 on:** 10 Feb , 2018, 20:01 »

February Updates - 2018
Hi Everyone! This months updates are pretty good. First I have started to add the Black Velvet Material to the Base of the model. This will help make the model appear to floating over the base. The panel frames will be supported by two screws on each side of the frames to hold the structure up and help keep it level. This is also a very good sign because it means that I will soon be adding the Enterprise permanently into the drydock, then adding the port side panel frame assembly into place. I've added all of the wiring and some new lighting to the rear hanger bay on the dock by using the LED light strips. They have some interesting details on the strips that would make the lights appear to be a natural fixture on the dock. I will also be replacing the lightings on all the other hanger on the dock as well. It just looks better.
On the Enterprise I was originally going to use magnets to hold the two saucer halves together, but because the pieces don't line up very well, I've decided to permanently seal up the saucer. The LEDs should last quite a long time and even if there were a problem it would be impossible to work on the Enterprise in the dock unless I take the whole port side off of the dock and remove the ship. That Ain't gonna happen. In cementing the saucer together, I've found a lot of other gaps that needed to be fixed or repaired. The bottom impulse engine does not meet up with the saucer, so I had to use some styrene and putty to fix that problem. Also, the collar of the Dorsal was not molded very well so I had to replace that as well and then putty, sand and repaint all of these areas. Where the pylons meet the secondary hull there was a gap at that point, so I've puttied that as well on both pylons. The reason for holding off on that was because the model was going to be handled a lot before I added it to the drydock and I knew because of the stresses and weight of the model there would be cracks forming in the putty. So I waited until now so there would be less handling of the model. I also did the same with the Deflector Housing. Because of the way the Secondary hull was molded and put together the two halves did not line-up, so there was a gap on the port side where the pieces would meet. I was originally going to use magnets with this part as well, but decided to seal it permanently and putty up the seam to get rid of the gaps.
There are just a few more touch-ups to do and then the Enterprise will finally be added to the dock. I can then add the Port Side Panel framework and begin the final wiring of the model.
On a side note, there might be another delay with this build as my landlord decided not to pay his mortgage and has gone into foreclosure with our unit so we will be moving to another location. But I will try to get back to this project asap.
I have 11 new pics in the February Updates - 2018 page. Check-em out and I'll get back to you soon. Have a great month everyone.
Mark.

Rokket · « **Reply #47 on:** 14 Feb , 2018, 01:29 »

Great pic, so full!

NemVia · « **Reply #48 on:** 07 Jun , 2018, 15:23 »

JUNE UPDATES - 2018 My Apologies everyone, Mom passed away in March so My Wife and I have been busy taking care of the related matters. But everything has calmed down now so I was able to start up again on the drydock. I left off on adding the Black velvet to the display base of the model. I was able to finish this plus add some support screws for the light panel frame assembly. These will help keep the frames from swaying and sagging. With the Enterprise touched up I was able to add it permanently to the dock. The ship is now locked into place with two screws. The ship is now free floating inside the structure. I also began running all of the wiring from the ship up the through the armature structure. As soon as I add the travel pod docking pod to the outside of the dock I can then seal up the armature arm and paint it to look like the rest of the dock. Now comes the painful part of the assembly where I have to add the port side panel frame assembly. In order to make it fit around the armature support arm I had to cut into two of the panel frames. This unfortunately weakens the structure a bit until I can re-support the frames so they won't sag. I also had to secure all of the frames to the overhead modules via some lock-nuts screws and dome nuts. It took a while to adjust everything together, but now the Enterprise is completely surrounded by the dock. Next I will be testing all of the wiring to make sure everything lights up. I've also taken all of the work-cranes and lights out and will soon be adding them to the structure. Then of course they all have to be wired in. I have 7 new pics in the June Updates - 2018 page. Don't be alarmed if the panels do not appear strait. I still have to tweak the support frames but at least you'll be able to see a little bit of progress. That's it for this update and it's good to be back. See you soon! http://www.NemVia.net

NemVia · « **Reply #49 on:** 09 Jul , 2018, 15:23 »

JULY UPDATES - 2018
Back on track for this month! I was able to Finish off the top of the display base by tacking down the Velvet material so that is now set. I can now prepare to add the trim and begin work on the lighting controls. In This month's update I have made some lighting test shots of the light panels and mark lighting. But first I had to square off the frame of the drydock. This needed to be done because the added weight of the Enterprise was causing one side of the dock to sag. So I had to level off the top of the dock by adding a cable and a turnbuckle to help even things out. This also allowed me to make the side panels square with the rest of the dock.. Next I have to do some tweaking of the individual panels to make sure they are all straight. I am now running all of the ships wiring down the back of the support frame to the switch board which will control certain lighting effects on both the ship and the dock. The new pics are posted on the July Updates - 2018 page. For now you can use the pull down menu to the right of the menu bar and the page is at the bottom. The lighting test shots came out pretty good. Check 'em out and I'll see you on the next update.
Mark
http://www.NemVia.net

42rocker · « **Reply #50 on:** 10 Jul , 2018, 10:08 »

Real Nice. Looks Great.

Later Tim

NemVia · « **Reply #51 on:** 21 Feb , 2020, 21:10 »

I know it's been a long time since I've added to this topic, but I've finally have something to update on this build....
FEBRUARY UPDATES - 2020

I've finally put together another video of my Enterprise in Drydock. It took several tries and several reshoots of certain scenes, but it's all together now. This is my version of the flyby scene in ST:TMP minus the dialog and intercuts with the travel pod. I had to extend some of the shots to fill in those gaps. I could insert the scenes to combine my footage with the movie, but the video is primarily about the Drydock model. Also because of the size of my video shooting equipment I added a different of the shot by filming it from a different angle. I also had to match the scenes to specific parts of the musical score.

This is my personal homage to one of the greatest filming miniatures ever made for the big screen: The Star Trek: The Motion Picture Drydock and of coarse the DeBoers Refit Enterprise model. To make this video, I tried to match as many of the same camera angles that were the movie as possible. There's no dialog except for a little treat at the end to finish the video clip off with.

The flyby video was filmed using a JVS Everio HD camcorder and was mounted on a Andoer camera dolly track system. The video was edited together using Wondershare Filmora9 editing system. Some of the shots where accomplished by mounting a selfie-stick to the camera dolly to get into the more cramped areas of the dock. Most everything was shot against a black velvet background, except for the long shots. I just didn't have enough velvet material to do this. I just had to hide the source lighting out of camera view and film with the room totally dark, except for the models own lighting. The long shots didn't come out as clear as I wanted, but as we zoom into the model for the closer shots, the details become very clear. I would have loved to add all of the work bees, travel pods and space walkers into the shots, but that will have to wait for some time in the future when I have the ability and time to do all of that. This was never meant to be the high quality Cinemamatic version of this now famous scene in the movie, but rather a way to show off the model. I hope you enjoy the video. Sorry about the long intro, but I needed something to fill in the beginning. Jerry Goldsmith's theme just has to be played in it's entirety. Also ear-buds or headphones are recomended for an awesome viewing experience. (click the youtube link below)

https://youtu.be/4ted2Sau4KA

Likes and comments are welcome.

Mark

http://www.NemVia.org