Yes, yes -- it's been eight months. :o Sometimes I abandon projects and go back to them much later when the mood strikes me.
Also, some of the designing I have been doing has honed my skills enough to attempt redrawing some of the parts. There's nothing wrong with Ton's parts at all, of course. I just wanted to change things a little.
The RTG assembly was first. Went from eight fins to six, added the pressure relief device (at least I
think that's what the cylinder at the end is for), and added the approximation of the "rivets" between the fins. Also made an attempt at the end caps, which are domed on the real thing, and here have been represented as cones crushed and massaged into an approximation of domes.
I'd like to figure out a better idea for mounting them as well. Wasn't happy with the first design, so I am going to try something else. Also, the dimensions of the individual RTGs may need to be adjusted a little.
I also have changed the shunt radiator/calibration target to include the detail on the backside and the very thin black border on the front -- better pics later, as I had to use my Blackberry for these:
The backside with the radiator detail has some depth to it. I cut the white bars out and mounted it to the other side of the panel, giving some texture (which is impossible to see in this terrible picture).
I'm using pictures of the real thing, the Voyager at von Karmen Auditorium at JPL, and the one at the NASM. There are subtle differences between all three. The one at NASM takes precedence, since (I think?) it's the closest to the real thing.
This may actually be something I end up finishing eventually. :D