TOS Battlestar Galactica, Revell-Monogram rebox with lights...

micahrogers

micahrogers

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Now we dive deep down my rabbit hole... The Revell-Monogram 1998 reissue of the Original Battlestar Galactica. I will be lighting this kit as I build it with Dollar Tree LEDs and a 1990s AMT Ertl Fiber optic lighting kit
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The fiber optic strands, and maybe the light holders and battery box will be used from the AMT Ertl kit, holes will be drilled for the fibers in the Galactica kit, and the engins will be opened up to allow them to glow.

This is one of those "game changing" projects for me. Everything else has been pushed aside, LED sorting began last night.

More to come...
 
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I hope this ends up looking something like my minds eye shows...

Dollar tree LEDs, a string of 20, now 19 cause I tested cutting them off, 2 AA batteries, or a single 3v Lithium Ion cell.
20200923_142126_resized.jpg
I Scavenged some blinkie LEDs from a Dollar Tree tombstone, that my wife had... Shhh

And the back piece of the engine cluster already opened up...
20200923_160244_resized.jpg
View attachment 20200923_142150.mp4
 
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Awhoo - it looks like the boxes have experienced some severe battles!;)

I have one of the Revellogram Galacticas, too. I began modding her a long time ago but stopped because I got into paper modeling. I cut the hangar bay arms free and sanded the sides of the ship smooth to add better detail later. The stripes on the council chamber were carved thinner which already makes a difference. I painted the base to look like the planet seen in the background when the Triangle ship is passing by. When I got the Moebius kit a new plan for the old kit spawned inside of me: Chopping it apart and re-building it where possible. I think the most difficult area is the head. The angles are wrong because of two reasons: They left out a complete deck on the lower jaw which causes the sagged and "sad" look of the head and added a new deck to the sides of the ship which makes it too thick. It's gonna be a huge undertaking which makes me think that my planned paper version will be done much faster. :)
 
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I don't care about accuracy issues, It's what I have, so it's what I'm using. Just lighting it will be a major issue for me know.


Ya know what, now I'm all bummed out

<<Tosses the whole deal in the bin>>

:(
 
micahrogers said:
Ya know what, now I'm all bummed out
Click to expand...

Oh, no, no, no, no, please continue!

I didn't want to make you feel bad. I'm very sorry if I did and I apologize. My enthusiasm to see this classic kit here carried me away.

The kit reflects the era of its creation and has a very special place in my heart (in fact, its existence made me a "Revell-Fan"). There is absolutely nothing wrong with building it out of the box. And I know you are a master to make it shine. I'd love to see it with all the lights installed.
 
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The kit is older than I thought, it's a 1997 reissue. I am proceeding apace, gears in my mind rolling about how to make a "light box" that will fit inside the 'Star Drive' section of the kit, then reflective coating inside the main body, so just a few LEDs can light the whole main body, then short fiber optics thru to the outside.
 
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Revell-Fan said:
Oh, no, no, no, no, please continue!

I didn't want to make you feel bad. I'm very sorry if I did and I apologize. My enthusiasm to see this classic kit here carried me away.
Click to expand...

You didn't make me feel bad, I know the kit is bad, I've already started thinking about light sealing, and I haven't glued a piece together yet...

The kit being so old adds to the charm, and when it's done, people will wonder how I made such an old kit look so good.
 
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Just got my monthly check, and I'm already broke again, ohh well, such is the disability life. For the light box, I have one small piece , maybe 6 inches square, of black styrene, .040 inch thick, I'll make the light box out of that, and point the lights toward the thrusters. Then when the model is off, it will just look like the Battlestar is 'powered down'.
The fiber optic kit comes with 6 small 'light boxes' to hold 'grain of wheat' bulbs close to the fiber ends. I'll use these to old the LEDs that light the fibers...
 
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Ahight, I need a trip to Hobby Lobby, and get a small round base. Then more bits for my Dremel tool....

This is gonna be a long slow build. One piece at a time,
 
The light box is made for the engine cluster, the LEDs are colored, and installed, light diffuser made, and wires extended.
I did the basic paint on the rear plate and this is how it looks so far.
just mocked up at this point to show off.
20200925_224932_01_resized.jpg
And a short video to show the pulsing effect.
View attachment 20200925_224932_02.mp4
 
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