1/350 scale USS Solace LHD Amphibious Hospital Ship

[zenrat]

I haven't tried these new easy lock disks (looked at them in the shop but couldn't justify the price) but when cutting styrene with a Dremmel melting is always an issue IME.

Good work so far BTW

[Old Wombat]

I haven't tried these new easy lock disks (looked at them in the shop but couldn't justify the price) but when cutting styrene with a Dremmel melting is always an issue IME.

Good work so far BTW

That's certainly the case with mine but I'm fairly sure I've heard/read somewhere that the battery powered ones are not so bad, as they run at lower rpm's, especially if the batteries are a little flat.

[sandiego89]

Seadude, might I suggest a metal cutting blade for your Dremel?  I find the abrasive cutting disks, easy locks, or cut off wheels, cause more heat, more melting and much rougher cuts, they also cut away a thicker groove.  Below is a picture of the small metal cut off wheel I use in my Dremel for long cuts in styrene.  Very little melting. It has small teeth and has lasted for years. Very thin.  I use on high speed on a cheeper cordless Dremel.  

The metal wheel is displayed mounted in the Dremel.  A traditional cut off wheel is to the left, with a xacto knife and 1/700 harrier for scale.

     

 

[seadude]

Do you have a part # for that metal cutoff wheel? The EZ Lock plastic cutting discs were very difficult to get. Three major hardware retail chain stores in my area didn't even carry them. I had to get my local hobby store to order them for me. But anyway, the major work has been accomplished. Now all I need to do is sand/grind the rough edges, then start planning/cutting the clear acrylic sheet to fill the openings.

If I do another cutaway flight deck in the future, it might be on my Enterprise aircraft carrier  model so people can see down into the hangar bay.

[scooter]

The EZ Lock plastic cutting discs were very difficult to get.

That's odd.  My local HD has them in stock all the time

[seadude]

Got my EL wire test kits in the mail yesterday, and have finally made a "test rig" and done some testing today. The look I hopefully want to go for in the well deck for lighting is similar to this pic:



Notice how the green light fixtures are rectangular, appear to be directly overhead the balcony railing, and are at an angle. I'm wanting to try my best and hopefully replicate that same look and make the well deck lighting a bit more realistic when compared to traditional LED lighting kits.
What I have temporarily come up with so far is the following. Putting a strand of green EL wire (1.4mm) inside a styrene angle strip (1/8" = 3.2mm), then use pieces of 1/6" (4.2mm) tile squares to cover up certain sections of the green EL wire.











BELOW: The control unit. Small and simple. Only requires one AA battery to power the wire.



One problem I am having is that there is not much space between the back of the angle and the balcony well deck bulkhead wall as shown by the red lines in the below pic. And there is not much space between the bottom of the angle and the balcony walkway floor as shown by the yellow lines in the below pic. So once I have 2 lighted angle units in place (One on either side of the well deck roof above the balconies), people won't be able to see much of those baconies or the details on them due to the lighted angle units covering them up. Not sure if I should be concerned about that or not since I suspect most people will want to see the vehicles and action in the well deck and not the "balconies" per se.

[seadude]

Played around with some more EL wire.......this time, white.........or what passes for white. The color from the manufacturer actually looks more like a very, very, very, very, very light blue rather than a pure white. Sorry about the blurriness of the below pics. Nighttime shots aren't my cup of tea so to speak.
I'm really not sure if white lighting should be added to the hangar bay as I feel the flight deck cutout is big enough that people should hopefully be able to see all throughout the hangar bay, even at a well lit contest venue. Though I might still need lighting for the upper vehicle storage bay.
I laid the 1.4mm white EL wire inside a 1/8" (3.2mm) styrene U channel, then covered portions of the EL wire with 1/6" (4.2mm) square tile pieces. The effect I hope to simulate is sorta like this pic (Notice the lights semi-recessed in the ceiling.) :



My pics below:

[Captain Canada]

Holy wow the level of realism that adds is incredible ! Great stuff.

[kerick]

Looks to me like you are on the right track! I like the colors. Some real world lighting is in different colors such as sodium vapor looking yellow and mercury vapor looking blue.

I think the lighting will show up even in a lit room. This is a project that is still on the bench.

Its supposed to be white light but it still looks a little blue. Its nearly impossible to find pure white LEDs. I made one bay red.


Can't wait to see more!

[seadude]

Kerick, what type of lighting did you use for your model? It looks interesting.

[kerick]

The main lights in the big bay are strips of LEDs from the auto parts store. They can be trimmed to length and run on 12 volts. The rest are individual LEDs wired in sets depending on the location. I ran everything on 12 volts with several LEDs in series with resistors to make it work on 12 volts.
The lights from the auto parts store come in various arraignments for custom lighting inside a car. Websites have regulated wall worts in 12 volts.

[NARSES2]

I do admire this type of work 

[Captain Canada]

That looks great kerick !

[crudebuteffective]

RE armament on hospital ships

under the geneva convention hospital ships with red crosses are allowed personal weapons for some crew because not all the patients will be from the same side

EG weapons for guards for injured POWs

[seadude]

Due to my home comp breaking down, I will not be able to update this thread with more progress pics and such. It will take some time for my best friend to order parts and get my comp fixed. So for now, I'm at the library typing this post.
Right now, progress is good, but slow. Been working on finishing painting and gluing the upper vehicle storage bay and the well deck.
Not sure when I'll be back, but I hope it will be soon.