# Lighted Space Coupe



## iriseye

> Here's my build of the Dick Tracy Space Coupe by Polar Lights.
> 
> Of course I had to light this baby up. I scratchbuilt an interior because I couldn't have the occupants standing outside on the moon without any kind of spacesuit. (Of course the prospect of using magnetism for space travel is a little far fetched to begin with as is the Space Coupe itself)
> 
> I used a red led for the dome, as red was the color used in the early Sixties before blue became common. I did use blue leds for the "thrust exhausts" (their term). The scratchbuilt interior is lit with one blue led, and if you peer in through the windows (clear styrene) you can see Mr. Tracy, Diet Smith, Junior Tracy, and last but not least, Moon Maiden (with white antenna--two wires painted and glued to her head). On the walls of the interior I added a door, and other instrument panel decals that I had.
> 
> One microprocessor controls the "thrust exhausts" in a random chaser mode. The other microprocessor control the interior lights, dome light, and headlights.
> 
> The unit will run on a 9 volt transformer or a 9 volt battery. I added switches so the space coupe can run in the "dark" with just the "thrust exhausts" on.
> 
> This came out almost as I wanted it to, except for one tiny error that was starting to give me a headache, so I left it as is.
> 
> I had fun with this build, especially with this being my first time doing any scratchbuilding.
> 
> Happy to answer any questions. Enjoy (I sure did).



















Video:


----------



## Model Man

Nice! Subscribed!


----------



## John P

Beautiful job!

btw, I was once involved in a private project to develop a magnetic space drive. It involved two giant toroidal magnets, one at each end of the vehicle. The difference in magnetic fields between them was supposed to draw the vehicle in either direction. Supposedly it would be capable of anything from a neutral hover to decent fraction of light speed. The project wasn't getting anywhere without funding, but we did a lot of drawings.


----------



## RallyJack

Absolutely COOL! My opinion of that model has just risen by 90%!!! Great Work!


----------



## bucwheat

Cool stuff!


----------



## roadrner

Love it! :thumbsup::thumbsup: rr


----------



## joshuathomas

Very cool! Just finished lighting an invaders saucer. (I have a twisted goal of owning all the versions). Just got the one with the figures and base from this kit. Seeing this upgrade has inspired me to Venture outside my hyper focused invaders zone. Fantastic work!


----------



## joshuathomas

Did you drill out the elbow parts to run your wires or did you melt and bend some tubing? Thanks in advance!


----------



## joshuathomas

and yet another question.... I'm planning to use the picprojects new adjustable speed chaser kit to wire this thinggy. Where did you find micro blue leds that are prewired? Thanks in advance yet again!


----------



## BOXIE

Fantastic.The lights take that one step farther


----------



## StarshipClass

Goofy looking design but a nice retro look to it. The lights definitely help. You certainly executed the build and paint job to perfection! :thumbsup: I really like the shot of the interior from outside. VERY realistic.


----------



## StarshipClass

John P said:


> Beautiful job!
> 
> btw, I was once involved in a private project to develop a magnetic space drive. It involved two giant toroidal magnets, one at each end of the vehicle. The difference in magnetic fields between them was supposed to draw the vehicle in either direction. Supposedly it would be capable of anything from a neutral hover to decent fraction of light speed. The project wasn't getting anywhere without funding, but we did a lot of drawings.


Did you get a look at the UFO technology you were basing your designs on?


----------



## xsavoie

Basically a great lighting effect.Do you have the choice of keeping the interior and two front lights not blinking for the Space Coupe.:thumbsup:


----------

