The projects in this section are presented as step-by-step journals. Our intent is to delve deeper into the nuts and bolts of constructing and finishing a particular project while giving a sense of how long it takes. The subjects will range from simple kits to complex dioramas and everything in between. Authors will range in skill level, and include hobbyists and professionals.

If you have a project you would like to share here, please drop us a line to discuss it.

Stargazers 1/144 Aries 1B

Project type: Resin model with LED lighting

by John Ross - images & text © 2009

After many years of wanting to model the Aries 1-B, Ian of Stargazer models has finally given us a reasonably priced model of the subject that isn’t just a big ball of resin. Instead, he has engineered a fine model of the Aries 1-B with a well detailed exterior, and an interior that is just begging to be lit up. I am going to try and do justice to this kit and document my journey.

Day 1

After opening the kit and doing a parts inventory, it was straight to the Bleach-White bath in the ultrasonic cleaner with all the parts. This actually took a couple of days because I could not fit all the parts into the parts try at the same time.

While the kit is molded in a soft resin that does a great job popping the detail, like all resin it needs to be cleaned before use. My process for this is to soak the parts overnight in Bleach-White, an automotive product used for cleaning tires. During the soak, I put it through a number of timed ultrasonic sessions. Since my ultrasonic machine only runs for a few minutes at a time, stop by and start new sessions periodically through the day and at least 3 sessions at the end. After the parts come out of the Bleach-White, I take them over to the sink and scrub the parts with a toothbrush and rinse them off. I normally keep a soft cotton cloth (usually an cloth diaper) next to the sink to place the parts to dry.

Image: Starting point

Image: Center cylinder in place

Image: Center found, ready for drilling

Image: Test fit

Image: Epoxy 'rim' on the back of the plate

Day 2

Since I want to light this model, I need to figure a couple of things out. First, what am I going to use for lights? This was easy, I’ll probably use LED’s because they are cheap, don’t need a lot of power and I just bought a bunch on eBay. I think everyone has their own source for LED’s and other lighting parts, I usually get what I need on eBay, just because it’s cheaper than buying at the Radio Shack or most other electronic stores. For what Radio Shack charges for 2 LED’s, I normally get 100 of them with resistors, so it pays to shop around.

Second, how are we going to get power for the LED’s? The kit appears to have some space in the lower hull above the engines but below the passenger compartment, while I think I could fit a 9v battery or a pair of AAA batteries in this space, I decided that I wanted to build the kit as it would appear in flight so this meant a stand would be necessary. I also didn’t want to leave the passenger compartment floor loose nor did I want to mount a switch in the model itself. Looking at the parts I figured I could remove the locating pin in the part that is located between the engines (you can see the part in place in the images at left).

After measuring the hole in the center of the engine disk, I decided I wanted to use a 3.25" piece of 5/32" aluminum tubing. The outer diameter was the same as the pin I would be removing, it should give me enough length to mount this on whatever base I decide to use, plus I could pass two wires through it to power the LED's. So I cut the locating pin off the part and located the center, mounted the part in a small vice and took it to my drill press with a 5/32" drill bit. After drilling out the part I test fit them to make sure it all fit as planned. Then I epoxied the part to the tubing allowing enough space at the top so the engine disk could fit and approximately ¼" extra over the top. Once that dried I epoxied the engine disk in place and flared the epoxy around the ¼" stub.

Finally, my last step is going to be determining the number, locations and colors of LED's necessary. So I'll have to go dig 2001 out of my DVD collection and watch that chapter a number of times, maybe taking some screen caps to assist. If memory serves correctly, the cockpit had a Red glow, if that is correct I know I'll be adding some red LED's to the build….

Image: Some parts being drilled while others are pinned

Day 3

After digging out my 2001 DVD and locating the approximate 5 minutes the craft is in the movie, I began making screen captures for references. I broke the references into 3 groups: Exterior, Passenger Compartment & Cockpit. I would use these as references for painting and details. After reviewing my references, I decided I wanted to build the model after this screen shot. This represented a simple light scheme and should be easy to model. To light the craft I decided to use a single 3mm Red LED for the cockpit and 4-6 3mm white LED’s for the passenger compartment. More on this later…

With my reference shots in hand I went further on the construction of the kit. The kit contains parts to articulate the landing gear.

I began by test fitting all my landing gear legs to make sure they had adequate clearance. Once that had been determined, I began drilling out the for the hinge pins on the legs. Since my craft was not going to be sitting on its landing gear I opted for a fine wire to pin the parts. In the picture you will see the legs in various forms of assembly. Once all the legs were assembled I painted them and the other engine compartment pieces with a light grey. I wanted to ensure that I had contrast with the rest of the craft so I opted for the light grey.

While I had all the paint gear fired up I also took this moment to spray the entire outer shell flat white. Once this had dried, I brushed the inside of the lower sphere with the same light grey used on the rest of the engine components.

Image: Engine deck glued to lower hull

Image: First leg in place

Image: Done for the night

Day 4

While the paint was drying on the other parts I began clearing the plugs for the windows. This was accomplished by first drilling a couple of holes, then using a hobby knife to clear the rest of the plug. Take your time as you don’t want to take too much, and don’t forget the windows for the cockpit…

After I finished that I began gluing the engine parts to the platform. Once they were glued in place and dried, I gave the whole compartment a wash to help the detail pop. Because of its location I used a black wash to help the detail pop. I also applied this to the landing gear as well. With this completed I glued the engine deck into the lower sphere. For most of these operations I am using 5 minute epoxy as it sets up fast and is strong. One point to note, I did not glue the engine bells on yet as the legs for the landing gear can be affected by this.

After I left this sit for a good 20 minutes I began to attach the landing legs. This can be delicate as you are snapping them between the engine parts and into the platform. Take your time, as the parts can be brittle, not the resin as much as the glued engine pieces. Here is a shot of my first leg in place. Repeat the process around the base for the balance of the legs. Once those are in place you can attach the door following the same process. With the doors in place I also glued all the joints on my legs, as I didn't want them to flop around. Then added the feet and finally the engine bells.

Image: Decals applied

Image: Cockpit

Day 5

Now I turned my attention to interior. I started by drilling out both the passenger compartment floor and the elevator. Since I would only be lighting in the upper sphere, I needed to pass my wires for the LED’s. With those drilled out I epoxied the elevator and restrooms to the floor and let it dry. While this is drying I took my passenger seats to the belt sander and began sanding off the pour stumps. Make sure to wear your mask as resin dust can irritate your lungs. Once these were all cleaned up I painted them tan. With the epoxy dried, I painted the doors and carpet for the elevator well white. When that dried I painted the rest of the floor black.

While the passenger floor and other parts were drying I turned my attention to painting the inside of the upper sphere.

I painted around the cockpit area light grey, the padding just below the passenger windows tan, like the passenger seats, and the rest of the area a dark grey. Once that was dry, I applied the cockpit decals as well as the TV pictures in the passenger compartment. Next I focused on the cockpit itself, the kit has a couple of options that need to be considered. The actual cockpit as seen in the movie would never fit the space provided, I know that's a shock… so you have the choice of having the full passenger compartment or cockpit. I opted for the passenger compartment. This meant that I would have to leave out a row of seats in the cockpit. The instructions have you eliminate the pilot's row of seats, but I wanted them so I left out the rear seats and took the cockpit over to my belt sander and thinned things down, both the backs and the dash got thinned down, but I managed to get it all to fit.

One thing I forgot to mention is the vacu-form passenger compartment ceiling. When fitting the cockpit I needed to have this piece so I could make sure everything fit correctly. Prior to cutting it out, I painted the ceiling black on both sides except in the areas where the lights were supposed to be. I painted both sides to make sure it was opaque enough. Once the paint was dried I used my hobby knife to trim the part while it was on its plug. This gave you the ability to cut and not damage the part.

Day 6

Now that most of the work is complete it’s now time to work on the lighting. As mentioned earlier, the plan was to use a single red LED for the cockpit and 4-6 white LED’s for the passenger compartment. Because the windows are so small I decided I didn’t want to short change the lighting in the passenger compartment so I went with 6 LED’s. Because we are tight for space my goal was to link 3 LED’s together for each side and then have the Red LED and join them. So I solder everything up. Once these were soldered I used epoxy to glue each part in place, then soldered the wires together.

Once the LED’s were glued and soldered together, I performed a number of tests to address any possible shorts that might have been created from positioning the LED’s. To make sure something didn’t move later, I usually just slide a piece of cardboard between any connections that were just to close. Your other option would have been to use wire instead of the LED leads or to heat shrink at least one leg of the LED.

With the LEDs in place and working my next challenge was the passenger ceiling. The LEDs are just a bit too tall so I needed to cut openings in the ceiling for the LED to extend through. I could have laid the LEDs down but since LED light is hot and doesn’t spread well I needed to aim them down. As luck would have it the LED’s lined up on the ceiling lights I had left clear, for the most part… So I trimmed out the clear panels and any additional as required, then glued the ceiling in place routing the wires down the center.

I left a long lead of wire because I still had to route the wire through the model and into the base. Before proceeding I had picked up a project box at Michael’s for 99 cents. These make good battery boxes and they come in a variety of shapes. They are also ready for stain and are hinged… I stained the box and drilled a hole for the model to be mounted in. I slide the aluminum tubing into the hole and epoxied it into place. After letting this cure for 20 minutes I came back and started more final assembly. I started by routing the wires from the upper sphere I routed it through the passenger floor and then through the lower sphere into the base. With the wires routed I glued the passenger floor into the lower sphere. After this dried I carefully pulled the wire through the base while I lowered and aligned the upper sphere. Once everything was in place I went ahead and glued the upper and lower sphere together.

The finally step today was attaching the 9v battery clip to the wires inside the battery box: Houston, we have lights…..

Image: Done!

Image: Top view

Image: Looking up

Day 7

For all practical purposes the model was complete, but I just thought the white was too stark and the details didn’t pop, so I took a wash of light gray and washed that over the model. I was finally finished and happy with the results.

Stargazer (Ian) did a fantastic job engineering this kit. It’s obvious a lot of thought and planning went into the design and construction of this kit. I would highly recommend this kit to anyone that is experienced with resin models. This is a great addition to any 2001 collection.