Quote:
Originally Posted by beckychestney
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Hehehe :D
Oh well, I'll do my best to keep the tower protected... but I know it is the planet's strongest magnet
to attract every kind of monster and be the setting of pivotal events (at least in any major Japanese film or anime).
Quote:
Originally Posted by elliott
Did you do anything to "harden" the card like coat it with CA glue or something like that, or is it just the card alone?
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Hmm yes, and no.
It just cardstock, but I sprayed a couple of thin layers of protective clear paint.
I can imagine this is helping a bit to strengthen the paper. But I really don't think it helps much.
What I did to prevent much warping was to follow UHU's own instructions:
* Cut opposite triangles, and edge color them.
* Wait for a day after everything dries and cut the rest of the structure, and edge color what remains.
And to all: thanks for your kind words on my work.
Today:
Ever since the very release of this kit there was something that bothered me a lot.
It is not that the kit is wrong, but just something I find aesthetically disruptive.
This photo is UHU's finished prototype.
As you can see in the lower right, there is a slope that begins just inside the front leg,
and turns again into flat terrain very quickly.
That steep slope is what bothered me because even though the street in front
of Tokyo Tower really descends a couple of meters, it is not so pronounced.
It is more gradual and extends from leg to leg.
If you are curious as to how the exact topography of the street is,
Google street view gives a good idea.
I can imagine UHU used this solution in the kit so that the facade of the building
can be seen better, and to avoid more complex cuts and assemblies.
But still it really bothered me.
Today I built the base to get rid of that issue once and for all.
Instead of an impossible slope (that's like 45º in just a couple of meters)
I opted for a smoother transition.
I built the pit first, reinforced it with heavy cardstock, and instead of the
diagonal I cut a curve.
For the outside "wall" I again cut a smoother transition in the shape
of an extended curve that glides from where the slope starts to the
marking of the pedestrian crossing.
You can see the white of the cardstock with some numbers of another part,
and the profile the slope should have.
Since the inner curve of the pit is shorter and more pronounced,
and the outer curve is longer and smoother, that created a lot of
tension and warping that was released by cutting a very small dart
of about 1mm just besides the crossing marking and that extends from
the outside wall to the inner pit. It also served to compensate for the
extra 1mm that made the street longer in comparison with the base wall.
What it means is that despite the change in topography, and the small cut,
the markers for the legs remain at exactly the same intended distance.
So there should be no problem when inserting the tower there.
And since the pit was built first, and deformation was prevented,
it should (ideally) be still in the position it is supposed to be, and the only
extra care to take into account is when installing the front columns of the facade.
At least that's the theory, we will know if it works at the very end when tower,
building and base are mated together.
Probably not what UHU originally intended, but I prefer this looks much better.
I mean: who parks a car in such a strong slope?
There is still some warping due to the glue not drying yet,
and the fact that the inner columns have not been installed yet.
But I expect it to look much better once they are in place.
Thanks for reading!
Until next time
PS: the base as it is only needed 256 cuts.