Enterprise - NX-01 - a beta build of Paragon's new design in 1:1700

[cMags]

So the next step in the build was to assemble and mount the twin booms. As suspected these require a lot of forming, almost sculpting, but weren't too bad... except for one part which I am still really uncertain about, and another which I think I know exactly what went wrong.

First the initial forming of the upper boom:



Here is a close up shot of the part I couldn't figure out. There's a cut-in, and a tab that sticks out. I finally figured out that it folds in and creates a 90-degree face to the part, but I'm still uncertain why it's there. I can't see it in any screen shot or 3D render of the ship, or in James' build pics. James, I would appreciate any commentary here.




The lower boom went together pretty smoothly, though I had a little confusion about how to close the aft end until I realized it stays open for the nacelle pylon.




So now it's just a simple task of sandwiching the saucer between the parts, right? Hrm, maybe not... See for yourself:



Nice gap huh? And there's another one:



So what's going on here? The first thing I noticed was that the cutout for the side of the hull doesn't seem big enough:



And this reminds me of the EV Prep section in the aft saucer I ran into earlier, the hull is too thick by the same amount. One mistake like that in a beta build, no big deal. Two, however, of the same type, makes me think I may have messed up.

Then I thought about build style. James designed and built his model at 1:1900, using 110lb cardstock. I upscaled it (which upscales any fitment errors), and am using 65lb stock. Also James sandwiched a piece of cardboard between the upper and lower hull, then wrapped the edge strip around, where as I sandwiched the edge strip *between* the upper and lower hulls. I think this may be the difference in thickness of the hull. Let me illustrate:



Looking closely at the parts, you can see that the tolerance is tight - might need to cut slightly inside the line on the edge parts.



So what does this mean for my build? Well, scrapping or surgery. I started cutting into the hull and was able to successfully and cleanly remove all the edges without damaging the upper or lower halves. This will give me the opportunity to reinforce the hull structure because I noticed that when I pinched the boom halves together, there was no support between them for gluing to. I may redo the booms however, pending feedback from James on that inside notch. It still doesn't sit right with me, and I'm not sure how the upper and lower connect at the stern. James, happen to have any close ups (or can you take some) of this on your build?

This is just a minor setback, Enterprise will make warp trials on schedule.

[Paragon]

I keep staring at it...

I'm pretty sure I just did a bunch of squeezing and pinching and trimming. I definitely remember trimming the bottom piece's walls so it would be a little higher in the back. I probably trimmed the top part's walls too, to achieve the opposite. Just looks like a tweak job I need to do in Photoshop.

[cMags]

We can chat offline about the saucer thickness, I think it's a combination of the edge strip on mine being in the middle between the saucer halves, and my cutting just outside the gray (and filling any white with pencil).

What I'm most interested is your commentary on this section:




Is this how it's supposed to be? Do you have any pics on your model of this section (or can you snap one or two)? I still can't wrap my head around how the inside of the boom mates with the saucer and the lower section...

[pdmccool]

This is going to be one seriously awesome model. James, the surfaces look great, and I know you'll get the bugs worked out. Don't rush it just because some of us are impatient, we've got plenty of other models to keep us busy in the interim.

[Sushibones]

Yes exactly, please don't rush

[Paragon]

I could have sworn I redesigned that part completely to get rid of those weird parts, so it would just be a curved surface, but I can't even find any of my files with that modification.

[cMags]

Ok so as that last comment James made hinted at, some parts of this model were updated but lost, so redesign had to be done. I have jumped in to help James on the design here and have begun rebuilding again.

First I thinned out the saucer a bit, removing the edge piece, adding some additional inner support, and cutting the edge pieces a quarter millimeter inside the outside edge, to accommodate the thickness of the upper and lower hull in my style of building. Surgery was a success in my opinion:




Then, I redesigned the part that was giving me the most trouble, which got James' approval. I printed it out and attached it to the boom. It looks a lot better - simpler, and large enough to fit around the saucer:




I still have a little more adjusting to do - you can see there's still a large gap between the parts at the aft end. I either need to trim the top section or enlarge the lower section. I also seem to not need the darker inner edge section as it simply overlaps, so that will get cut off in the build and design.



She'll fly yet... Optimism, Captain! :D

[Paragon]

Much more like my build now. Definitely looking forward to seeing the parts that result.

Sorry I haven't been very responsive recently, settling into a new groove as it were.

[mchale]

Looks good cmags
how much longer till global release paragon

[cMags]

No worries James, glad to help. Just don't have a lot of time with a baby 7 weeks out. But like I said, she'll fly. In your build did the top side of the lower boom section bulge up to meet the top section, or did the top section taper and flatten out? I may need to thin the part so the cross-section has a shorter perimeter.