Broad Ambition - The Model

[BroadAmbition]

Nice one. Well done 👏

Griff

[grendel]

well after lunch today, i decided to carry on, I already had the light housing for the stern navigation light, but needed to make the wood mount it sits on, then I had the tricky job of running the wires, the long 1.2mm drill came in handy here as there is about 2" of timber to pass through to get from the edge of the roof into the boat the hole was marked and drilled, successfully as it came out right at the roof line inside, the roof wiring is now complete, all of the circuits have plug connectors on them, ready to connect inside the boat. a tiny notch had to be made in the rear bulkhead for the wire. once again the small soldering iron made the job a lot easier, and all the thin wires and joints were protected with multiple layers of heat shrink tubing while the wires were carefully attached to the roof to prevent them being pulled. next the deck fittings, though I dont know if I have enough LEDS left on hand to finish those (more are on order, but not a quick delivery item).

[johnm]

OK, painting little tiny resin/plastic/metal models is delicate work BUT this stuff is bonkers!! 

[BroadAmbition]

Bonkers doesn't even come close

Griff

[grendel]

this afternoons task was assessing the 3 different voltage regulators that arrived in yesterdays posts, one was a plain 2.5V regulator, the other two were variable input and output, these needed wiring up, fortunately one type came with a section that could be soldered on that allowed standard connectors to fit, this made testing those two types easier.

once wired up their performance was tested using the battery pack and my power supply.

the 2.5v one was soon rejected as the white LED's dont brighten until nearly 3v (though it did a good job)

one of the variable ones wouldnt give me the 3.0V required from a 4.2V source and varied as the voltage was raised- not what I wanted, so that too was rejected, however the 3rd one did give me the results I was looking for 3.0V at the output whatever the input voltage, this was what I needed, it also worked correctly down to 3.4V on the input side (so until the battery was nearly flat) nominal battery voltage is 3.7V, but that can raise to 4.2 (and possibly 4.8V if the solar panel is in full sunlight and charging). the navigation light LED's are rated at a maximum 3.2V- (2.4-3.2V) the white start at 2.8V and I am not certain the max, but 4V plus will blow the coloured nav lights, so the lighting will be set to around 3.0V using the voltage regulator

This was the final choice

once again I am amazed at just how small these circuit boards have got, even my small soldering iron tip was almost too big to use here, the voltage adjustment is achieved using the potentiometer bottom left here, its actually smaller than most of my screwdriver tips, adjusting it was fun.

below are the other two circuit boards that didnt work for this application, I am sure to find a use for them in time.

so I now have my charging source (solar panel) my battery with voltage regulation, and some of my lights, next I will have a switch to wire up, this is mounted in the helm already.

[grendel]

instrument panel removed from the model, the centre pairs of terminals were linked up as a positive busbar, then the rest of the wires were connected up in order of the connector up the bank of switches, this gives me 12 possible switched circuits. the connectors were left on tails long enough to reach beneath the console under the sole and be connected or disconnected as needed, the wiring harness was bundled and cable tied.

[Bikertov]

It is amazing how tiny these boards are, and how cheap. I don't envy the little people that have to assemble and solder them ... 

They look like they are from Ali Express or similar ?

[Bikertov]

I really like how you have used DIP switches for the breakers - very realistic and  ingenious !

[grendel]

well a further 2 deck lights added to the two already made up and wired, the other 4 will have to wait until I get the new LED's in, I cant join these to the thicker wire as the wires will need to be fed through the cabin sides before I do that, and the remaining wiring will be done inside the model.

so unless I can think of more wiring that can be done now, It is a case of waiting for a delivery.

[grendel]

so today, after 2 unsuccessful attempts at making the backing plates,

it got serious, a fixture was needed to hold the wood firmly, yet still allow accurate alignment to the sander, some brass was drilled and countersunk for a 2BA brass bolt, then the 4 backing plates were mounted to this.

with the brass bar as a reference the end was squared to the brass, then the sides brought in square, a 20 degree angle was then sanded across two sides at that end, the wood parts were then rotated through 180 degrees to present the other end to the sander., this end was squared off too. and then a 10 degree angle was cut on the sides at that end, to meet the point the 20 degree angle came to, leaving the backing plate shape.

a bit like a coffin, this then gave the basic shape of the mounting plate, room for the light 'glass' with space under for a switch.

 the fitting now finished with the individual light backing plates were removed

next, can I cut the chromed mount from this thick stainless steel foil, or do I find another way to represent the chrome surround and light switch?

[grendel]

note to any fellow modelers, if you have your tiny part mounted to a big lump of brass rod, its a lot easier to accurately hold it against a sander for shaping.

[grendel]

Okay, so I cheated this one, getting the stainless steel to the right shape wasnt going to work, so I went with plan B, the liquid chrome markers, lamps fixed to backing plates, chrome added and chromed switch added to the plate (these ones wont work.)

[Ray]

Won't work? Who are you and what have you done with Grendel?

😉

[grendel]

OK, you can buy single switch dip switches, but at 3.5x7.6mm in size, they are still too big, if you can find working switches 1.5mm x 3.5mm case size, then I would consider fitting them.

[Ray]

45 minutes ago, grendel said:

OK, you can buy single switch dip switches, but at 3.5x7.6mm in size, they are still too big, if you can find working switches 1.5mm x 3.5mm case size, then I would consider fitting them.

That's the Grendel we know and love 🍺🍺👍

[grendel]

today dawns with 2 new issues, first my LED's have arrived, the problem is they are a warm white, not a bluish one like the previous batch, not an issue for the cabin lights, but I have 4 deck lights to do, and only 2 blue white bulbs, nothing for it but to order some more, not warm white ones, and hope for the best when these arrive several weeks down the line, the other option was to populate one side of the boat with blue white, and the other with warm white, but it will be noticeable.

the next issue was with the placement of the cabin lights, these needed to go on the bulkhead behind the seating, but, the seating brings half the floor with it when removed, and clears the bulkhead and roof- just, not enough spare for the lights to go and the sofa clear them, I needed a few precious millimetres., a light champher sanded at the front of the sofa gave me some extra clearance and now the seating can be removed around the lights, its a complex manouver, but its just possible, you lift until the floor clears the other section, then slide toward the middle of the boat, twisting slightly, then it will clear one light, and because its twisted, just leave space for the other. so the cockpit lights are now in place the other two arent as much of an issue, thould the ships wheel may have to move slightly toward the centre of the boat to allow the spokes of the wheel to clear the light, its tight in that corner.

[Ray]

Looks fantastic, beautiful work 👍

[grendel]

the necessary champher and the lights, you can see the difference would be instantly noticeable

[BroadAmbition]

A-MAZE-ING

Griff

[grendel]

ok I have placed some thin brass tube through the hole to support the wiring into the back of the lights, then test fitted a lamp with 2 layers of heat shrink through the tubing into the light fitting, then a test of a lamp glass with a light - the brass tube helps concentrate the light into the fitting without overspill out of the back or through the ply of the bulkhead.

you can just see the ends of the brass tube sticking out of the bulkhead behind the lamps.

finally a close up shot of the lamp with the heat shrink and brass tube.

[grendel]

today my additional LEDs arrived in the post (I had found a british supplier at only twice the cost, but still cheap enough.

I got a shock when opening the packet, the wiring was even thinner than the chinese supplier, it was just enameled copper wire instead of the plastic insulation used  previously, still never mind, I know how to deal with small wires now.

thus the final 2 deck lights were wired up

[BroadAmbition]

thus the final 2 deck lights were wired up

You chuffed or just plain relieved ?

Griff

[grendel]

Plain relieved, next is fitting them to the model and running the wiring harnesses, there is still some soldering to be done, as in particular the deck lights have to be threaded through the sides before further wiring can be done, I am considering using the brass tubing to give a smooth lining to the holes through the sides similar to those for the cockpit lights. but to do all this the model needs to be on the workbench, so I have to tidy that again before I can start. at least I now have a plan and strategy in my head as to how to proceed, this task has been blocking my progress for way too long, think of it as a sort of writers block, but in this case a modellers block, something that has to be worked through before you can once again make progress.

[grendel]

it was while I was moving the model to the workspace that i noticed the fragile rear door had broken, I was not overly happy with my workmanship (though when I made it i used the best tools available, but it wasnt perfect, now I have another tool in my arsenal, though, so 10 minutes in design and I had the doors modelled to cut out on the CNC router. test piecein some 1.6mm plywood, and that went fine, I do need a wide enough plank of hardwood 2mm thick to make these out of, I have the timber, in the width, i just need a 2mm thickness now.

the test came out pretty near perfect, cutting the small window openings with a precision I cant manage with a sharp knife, next to find a piece of teak and repeat. I think I may need to use the bandsaw to cut out a piece from my bigger lump.

anyway the model has moved to a position ready for wiring

[grendel]

so some days the jobs you get done are not the ones you intended doing, I was impatient, I wanted to see how the doors would come out in a piece of hardwood,  I think this was mahogany (it came from an old wardrobe), anyway it was too thick, so through the thicknesser it went until it was under 3mm.

then onto the cnc router, where I set the cuts slightly deeper than last time - this has worked as it has left a nice detail around the edges of the doors and windows, I used a 90 degree engraving bit to outline them, and it has left a very small chamfer around the edges, then it was time to cut the parts out (1/16" en mill) it took several goes because of the increased thickness, I kept setting the bit 0.2mm deeper until it did a good cut through the part (there is a jog mode to cut just 0.05mm deeper, while the machine is in operation. anyway, here is the finished set of doors - and no lights or wiring done today. oops.