Kresty working on Fusion Power Generator

[kresty]

After priming I needed to figure out where all the greebles go, which is part of the other delay.  The 8 holes for the main upper hose mounts are great alignment marks, but the bottom sloped ring has 32 (THIRTY-TWO!!!!) places where stuff gets stuck.  

There was no way I was going to guess very accurately where 1/32nd of a circle was, so I printed & laser cut some rings with ticks where the parts go.  I could then mark the panels with a pencil.

Fusion Generator Template

Because I didn't have spots for the top, Savage gave me a top view that I did something similar with so I can figure out where the T pieces go.  I'm not going to bother to post the template because the updated plans have cutouts for the T bits to be held in place.

Top Template since I didn't have holes
I've added holes and knobs for the laser cut plans so this won't be a future issue.

For the base's template, I went ahead and posted the files in case other folks want to print and cut them out.  They're ~18x18" so you'll need to tile papers.  There's also a version with thin black and thin blue lines so the blue ones can be vector etched with a laser - but they're harder to see, so I used the blue ones.  

The template's in the file section:

Alignment Guides for Greeblie Placement
I used this to figure out where those 32 greebles go around the angled ring.

[kresty]

So I went to drill the hole for my "fun" 1/4" socket/cord idea, and, of course, the location I chose was one of only 8 spots that has a support right in the middle of it!

Lesson: If you want to drill holes for sockets & stuff, plan ahead!

Oops, my hole had a support in the way.

Of course, that meant I had to dig out the support. Given how tight it (and how big the interior bit of socket was), that invariably meant I made the hole too big. There were still a couple of points it touched, so I CA'd the socket into place and then bondo'd the hole.

Fixing support hole.

[kresty]

Some of the spots didn't fill as much as I expected, so I'd been thinking of filling them more, but lara thought the effect would look good when she weathered it.

[kresty]

Hmm, I questioned the E² squares a little when I started laying them out. I decided it looked OK, but it made me take a closer look at the references. I'm pretty impressed how Savage pulled detail out of these!

Anyway, a few of them, like this one, look to me that the E² squares are more like round metal coin cap things instead of squares. (They're also silver, good to know). It's really hard to make out, but we're probably going to go with round instead of square. Look about as tall as the "buttons" on either side of it.

Close up of Fusion Generator and Plug
Cropped and Magnified from Still

I also saw one picture that made me think I'd screwed up the mount points of the bottom hoses, but now I can't even figure out which picture it is. I can't even tell if there's any sort of sane pattern to the bottom hoses. Some photos make it look like they cross, like in X going around the circle. Others make it look more like they connect to the adjacent fitting to one side as they move on. Others are tangled up with the coiled power charging cable, so it's really hard to tell.

[kresty]

I'd thought the base coat of paint would be done, but details... So top has base coat (trying to decide if I like it) and bottom is primed. (There's a gap because top is drying.)

Getting closer...

[savagecreature]

Wow. That's lookin' really cool. Very cool.

[kresty]

Better now but snapped off two angled hose fittings from bottom too easy. I was cheating on glue. Have to see how that goes. (I used ABS cement since I'd printed in ABS, which worked OK elsewhere, but the bottom bits were on Bondo, not polystyrene, so they pretended to stick but didn't do it very well.) Reattached those 2 with CA.

[kresty]

So, I test fit the hoses. My drip hose ID is a little small, so I shoved scissor points into the end to widen/loosen it a bit. I wasn't trying to remove material so much as stretch it.

But my glue for the hose fittings was terrible. So about 1/2 those snapped off and had to be reattached (CA this time).

Widening Lower Hose End
My little hoses were too small for my posts.

[kresty]

And, of course, I had to see how it was looking... Still needs Lara's dry-brushing, more permanent hose attachment for the upper hoses, and, of course, coils (on a boat somewhere in the Pacific).

The bottom hoses are 10" of gardening drip line.  The top hoses are currently 7 1/2".  I think I want the tops hoses to be a little longer.  They're "adjustable" since you can shove the bottom in a little bit.  I'm thinking of trying the heat gun on one to try to get it to stay in that ? shape.

Test Fitting Hoses

Also played with my "power cord" that runs out to Artoo - the Artoo end differs from the prop (not that it's very visible), but I thought the cord was kinda fun.

Test Fitting Hoses - with plug cable

You'll observe that upon reflection I decided to go with small silver discs instead of squares on the bottom row.

Test Fitting Hoses - with plug cable

So... still needs a bit of work, but looks like it might actually turn into something!

[kresty]

Oh, also I messed up the top Tees.  Somehow I offset them by 22.5 degrees so my top doesn't fit correctly.  I'm going to cut a shim piece to fake it.  My "windows" then won't be lined up, but nobody can see those anyway.

I'm also going to need something to keep the lid down.  Right now the hoses are trying to push it up!