My 1:350 Enterprise NX-01 build with custom 24-channel lighting system

[publiusr]

Wow!

 

[Jastor00]

This is incredible! I love the attention to detail on the flashing patterns for the various position and strobe lights. That is so often a neglected thing on a starship model, and makes a big difference in how the overall miniature reflects its subject. Nicely done.

 

[turner3d]

This is incredible! I love the attention to detail on the flashing patterns for the various position and strobe lights. That is so often a neglected thing on a starship model, and makes a big difference in how the overall miniature reflects its subject. Nicely done.

Thanks! I actually just made a better video because I wanted to highlight the startup sequence and I got a better phone do take the video

This one has the startup sequence, sound effects, and versions all the way up to 2160p @ 60fps

 

[Jastor00]

Thanks! I actually just made a better video because I wanted to highlight the startup sequence and I got a better phone do take the video

This one has the startup sequence, sound effects, and versions all the way up to 2160p @ 60fps

Holy cow I'm in awe. I wish I had the programming skill to do something like that. Well done!

 

[srspicer]

Excellent!! !!! !!!!

 

[turner3d]

I just wrapped up a little demo video that covers some of the functionality of the browser-based show-themed lighting-control system for the Arduino-powered 1:350 NX-01. (Wow... that's a lot of hyphens) I tried to keep the aesthetic as close to Mike Okuda's original designs as I could.

 

[hoggworks]

Hey turner3d!

This is incredible work. Just gorgeous! I'm planning out a build of a 1/350 1701-A I got last year, and am taking the opportunity to finally learn how to implement electronics via Arduino, specifically how to handle the big ol' mess of LEDs required. You mention the TLC-5947 which I'm guessing will be very helpful for me, but I'm curious about the LED strips you used: From the picture of the two halves of the saucer section, it looks like you're using the interior of the model itself to diffuse the lights, rather than worry about pointing the lights directly at the windows. Is that right?

Was that a stylistic choice, or was it one of practicality (since it would presumably require fewer LEDs to manage than if you'd put one to each window?

Thanks!

 

[turner3d]

Hey turner3d!

This is incredible work. Just gorgeous! I'm planning out a build of a 1/350 1701-A I got last year, and am taking the opportunity to finally learn how to implement electronics via Arduino, specifically how to handle the big ol' mess of LEDs required. You mention the TLC-5947 which I'm guessing will be very helpful for me, but I'm curious about the LED strips you used: From the picture of the two halves of the saucer section, it looks like you're using the interior of the model itself to diffuse the lights, rather than worry about pointing the lights directly at the windows. Is that right?

Was that a stylistic choice, or was it one of practicality (since it would presumably require fewer LEDs to manage than if you'd put one to each window?

Thanks!

Thanks! This was my general approach to the lighting:

• Heavy coats of black primer on the interior for light blocking
• White paint on top of the black on the inside of the saucer section for reflectivity
• LED strip lighting only on the top half of the saucer section pointing down - the white paint makes the light bounce around enough to light both top and bottom windows - you can see how the LED strips are arranged only on the left saucer in the original post.
• Airbrushed a light coat of white paint on the inside of all of the clear windows. This accomplishes 2 things: It prevents direct line of site to any LEDs or other internal parts, and also essentially turns each window into a little rear-projection screen that picks up the light bouncing around inside
• For additional lighting (navs, strobes, marker lights, floods, etc) the backs of the LEDs are coated in black Tulip. It's a dimensional fabric paint, terrific for light blocking. This ensures that blinking lights won't light up windows and vice versa.

Lighting strategy is going to change with different ships, but it usually involves windows lit as a group from sort of community light sources, and all other lighting isolated with additional light blocking.

 

[hoggworks]

Thanks! This was my general approach to the lighting:

• Heavy coats of black primer on the interior for light blocking
• White paint on top of the black on the inside of the saucer section for reflectivity
• LED strip lighting only on the top half of the saucer section pointing down - the white paint makes the light bounce around enough to light both top and bottom windows - you can see how the LED strips are arranged only on the left saucer in the original post.
• Airbrushed a light coat of white paint on the inside of all of the clear windows. This accomplishes 2 things: It prevents direct line of site to any LEDs or other internal parts, and also essentially turns each window into a little rear-projection screen that picks up the light bouncing around inside
• For additional lighting (navs, strobes, marker lights, floods, etc) the backs of the LEDs are coated in black Tulip. It's a dimensional fabric paint, terrific for light blocking. This ensures that blinking lights won't light up windows and vice versa.

Lighting strategy is going to change with different ships, but it usually involves windows lit as a group from sort of community light sources, and all other lighting isolated with additional light blocking.

Thanks for the quick response, and the amazing tips! I have another question for you:
Did you paint the entire model first, then start worrying about the electronics after? Did you do the electronics first, or did you do them both sort of at the same time?

For the 1701-A I have, I'm going to be printing upgraded shuttle bay/bridge/officers lounge pieces, which would have their own lighting needs, but for the rest, I'm guessing painting first makes sense?

Thanks again!

 

[turner3d]

Thanks for the quick response, and the amazing tips! I have another question for you:
Did you paint the entire model first, then start worrying about the electronics after? Did you do the electronics first, or did you do them both sort of at the same time?

For the 1701-A I have, I'm going to be printing upgraded shuttle bay/bridge/officers lounge pieces, which would have their own lighting needs, but for the rest, I'm guessing painting first makes sense?

Thanks again!

For the NX-01, I decided to do the base coat before doing the electronics. That meant that I had to be very careful with it, always resting on a clean towel on the workbench, but it also meant that I didn't have to mask the tons of windows. This was the order or operations:

1. Light blocking with heavy black primer on the inside
2. White paint on the inside
3. Prime & base coat on the outside
4. Glue in clear plastic windows from inside
5. Airbrush thin coat of white on the inside of the windows
6. Wiring
7. Glue everything together
8. Putty seams
9. Airbrush touchup base coat on seams
10. Clear coat outside
11. Lay down aztec decals
12. Paint small details
13. Clear coat outside
14. Lay down detail decals
15. Clear coat outside

It's going to be a toss up of which is more of a pain - masking the windows when painting the base coat, or babying the base coat and dealing with touch-up work after assembly. It's a matter of preference. You really just have to kind of imagine the steps and what implications will be of their order

 

[hoggworks]

For the NX-01, I decided to do the base coat before doing the electronics. That meant that I had to be very careful with it, always resting on a clean towel on the workbench, but it also meant that I didn't have to mask the tons of windows. This was the order or operations:

1. Light blocking with heavy black primer on the inside
2. White paint on the inside
3. Prime & base coat on the outside
4. Glue in clear plastic windows from inside
5. Airbrush thin coat of white on the inside of the windows
6. Wiring
7. Glue everything together
8. Putty seams
9. Airbrush touchup base coat on seams
10. Clear coat outside
11. Lay down aztec decals
12. Paint small details
13. Clear coat outside
14. Lay down detail decals
15. Clear coat outside

It's going to be a toss up of which is more of a pain - masking the windows when painting the base coat, or babying the base coat and dealing with touch-up work after assembly. It's a matter of preference. You really just have to kind of imagine the steps and what implications will be of their order

Thanks so much! This will be incredibly helpful.

 

[turner3d]

I finally have a log of the full build adventure online here: NX-01 Build Gallery

There were a lot of unusual aspects to this build, and hopefully you'll find something useful in there if you're planning on building your own.

 

[NakedMoleRat]

Simply incredible! Not only is the model, magnificent, but your videography is superb. It brings the whole thing to life.

 

[srspicer]

Nice! Just started reading through the build thread. Excellent work.

 

[turner3d]

Nice! Just started reading through the build thread. Excellent work.

Thanks! I honestly can't say if it's entertaining or not - I'm too close to it to make that kind of call. What I can say for sure is that there are a ****-ton of hours represented on that one page - more than a year.