# PL Jupiter 2 Build



## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

*PL Jupiter 2 Build-DESTROYED!*

Here are a few pictures of a PL J2 that I am working on. I have had issues with my camera. When I tried to download some pics I kept getting error messages. I have been able to recover a few images. This is how the ship looked a month ago. She is now done and just finished the base. I'll buy a new camera as soon as I have the money.

She is lit with multi colored blinking LEDs, steady whites, blue and green LEDs. She also uses Sparkchasers awesome fusion core and dome light! O.K. enjoy these pics for now until I can recover more.

Modified the legs, before and after. Kit steps were cut out and replaced with thinner sheet plastic steps. Struts are aluminum tubing and extend into the cut out landing bay wells. Sorry, a little blurry.


Here is the upper saucer. The two were glued together and the seam puttied.


The upper section after sanding and priming. The seam is gone! This is one of the best mods to make to the PL J2.


The interior midway thru completion. Fiber optics installed in brick wall. 


Brick wall undergoing lighting test. Looks good. The wall will have steady on white lights and lights that cycle thru blue, red and green. The panels behind the stasis tubes will also be lit with FO. The flight controls up front are back lit with white LEDs as well. General interior illumination is by a Rebel Luxeon.


And here was a quick mock up with the fusion core going.


There may not be any more pics until the new owner has a chance to post some. This will be in the mail before I get a new camera. He will send me pics and I will put them in here. Peace!


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## TGel63 (Mar 26, 2004)

I never tire of watching buildups of the Jupiter 2. Looks excellent!


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## Dar (Apr 20, 2007)

Excellent work.:thumbsup: I would have loved to see a video of the working lights. 





TGel63 said:


> I never tire of watching buildups of the Jupiter 2. Looks excellent!


Same here. Over ten years and its still fun to see the builds on these. Thats saying alot about the kit and the J2. I hope I can finally get to mine one day.:lol:


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks for the comments guys. There is a video on the website. I'm at work and can't view it. Scroll down for it.

http://www.sparkchaser.biz/lightingproducts/lostinspace.html

However, I just saw this.

http://www.culttvman.biz/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7303539&p=8595

Does anyone know if someone took over the business?


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## Tim Nolan (Jul 9, 2008)

Very nice clean build. I'll be posting mine soon, I'm still mopping up the fine details on my own! Who made the board you have installed that changes the colors with the fiber optics? I'd like to do that on the Moebius kit when it comes out! (However, I just purchased another PL J2 to build, sooooo.....)


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## enterprise_fan (May 23, 2004)

It looks like you used decales on the interior? Either that you are a very good painter.:jest:


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

Robiwon, i finally found your post ! man that Jupiter 2 looks great !! I knew it would turn out looking fantastic & it does !!!!
Bert


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## Gemini1999 (Sep 25, 2008)

When I see builds like this, along with the many others documented over at the CultTVMan site, it does make me realize that a very satisfactory display model can be built from the PL J2 kit. I've seen so many variations, improvements, etc. that show various levels of sophistication. Some with lighting, others with additions of a Pod bay, storage, and so on. I even saw one kit where the existing clear plastic fusion core was modified to have fins added to it, so it would replicate the look of the TV model even closer.

In my case, I've got the model, a fusion core/dome light kit, aluminum tubing, sheet plastic and a few other bits that I gathered to make a model that I would be happy with. I know that there's a new kit coming out late this year, but there's lots of time between now and then. Maybe I should just sit down and finally get this thing going. Who knows - I might be very happy with what I come up with, eh?

Robiwon - I love what you've done so far. Your J2 is off to a terrific start! Keep up the terrific work - it's very inspirational.

Bryan


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks for the compliments guys. I just hope the new owner likes it as much. He will send me pictures so I can post them. I can't get anymore pictures offf my camera yet and it has already been boxed for shipping.

I used this for the flashing light circuit- http://www.culttvmanshop.com/shop/product.php?productid=16343&cat=0&page=1

I used one white LED, a blue LED, a green LED and a multi color change LED that goes from yellow to red to blue to green.


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

Knowing your high quality & skill at building, I am very sure the new owner will LOVE it ! & they will soon have a masterpiece from a real artist ! I know how much time & effort you put into this build.
bert


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## Chuck Eds (Jul 20, 2009)

Hi, I'm new and really having fun looking around! I totally agree that the PL JII can be built up into something really nice, with a lot of work! Gluing the 'roof' on and making a smooth upper hull is the number 1 thing to do.

I couldn't find your pics, but I'm at work too so it might be blocked. Here's a shot of my PL JII


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Welcome to the boards Chuck. A lot of work computers block a lot of photo hosting sites. It's the same for me as well. I do see your J2. Looks very nice!

Just as an FYI, my J2 will be in the hands of it's "temporary" new owner tomorrow! He will send me pics and links to a youtube video as well. Once I get the O.K. from him, I will disclose the full story behind this Jupiter 2!


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## Chuck Eds (Jul 20, 2009)

Thanks, looking forward to getting to know everybody! I did see some of your pics on a different thread after I replied, I think it was from April & I assume that's the same JII. Nice work! I don't recall seeing very many with a 1 piece top.

I got mine new when it came out and might just be at a point where I'm pretty happy with it. Just in time for another one!


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Bert, you need to sit down for this! Scroll down for pictures. Bert, you sittin down yet?
Well the new owner got the J2 last Friday. And here is a preview of how it arrived!
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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

That sucks!


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## Larva (Jun 8, 2005)

Ouch! Robinsons are gonna be stuck on that planet for a long, long time.


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## Gemini1999 (Sep 25, 2008)

I'm guessing that the landing gear of the model wasn't quite strong enough to deal with whatever shock that the box it was shipped in. The landscaping doesn't look too good either.

It's a shame - both for the builder and the customer. A lot of time and money went into the build. I'm sure that to see it in this condition is a disappointment to both parties.

Bryan


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

i know robiwon worked long, hard hours making this and packed it well as he does everything he ships, as i have recieved things packed by him. The stasis tubes inside the model were also broke & the sturdy base smashed. When something says fragile, UPS takes it as slam it to the ground & KICK, 
& bounce it all the way to the customer.


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

The good news is this is salvageable! A new set of landing legs were built over the weekend and are on the way to the owner. The lights were all functional and no other structural damage was done. Yes, the base is a loss but the main thing is the ship itself will survive.


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## hedorah59 (Nov 24, 2008)

Oh man that is heartbreaking! I worked in receiving at a place where we used to get fragile laser parts - It was horrifying watching the driver unload the truck :freak:

I am glad that the replacement gear wasn't too much trouble, will you be redoing the base?


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

I'm not sure how we are going to handle the base. It may wind up just epoxied to a wood plaque.


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## Seaview (Feb 18, 2004)

I'm visualizing waterboarding as a just and fair punishment for whoever did that. 
However, since the responsible party will realistically speaking never be located, you may want to boycott UPS, FedEx or whichever shipping "service" you used.


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Bottom line is that it was just not packed well enough to survive a trip across the US by one of our delivery services. If your going to ship something, double box it and make sure it can survive a 5 foot drop. If you don't feel like you can drop it from 5 feet and have it survive, then do not give it to a delivery service.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

robiwon said:


> Thanks for the feedback everyone. Bottom line is that it was just not packed well enough to survive a trip across the US by one of our delivery services. If your going to ship something, double box it and make sure it can survive a 5 foot drop. If you don't feel like you can drop it from 5 feet and have it survive, then do not give it to a delivery service.


Yep. Shipping such items is definitely a good excuse to over-engineer the packaging.


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## Torgo (Apr 24, 2005)

Nice work! The interior detail is very good- are those decals?


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Yes, a lot of the details are decals from TSDS. They are great declas and very complete. Here is the website. 

http://www.tsdsinc.com/index_files/j2decal.htm

I highly recomend them for anyone doing a PL Jupiter 2. I just hope they will have some stuff for the new 18 inch version!


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

I believe Henry is preparing a launch pad for the new Moebius J2, similar to the one he now offers for the Polar Lights model.


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## g_xii (Mar 20, 2002)

Robiwon--

Thanks for the plug! 

I'm really sorry to see what eventually happend with your J2 project. It was a beautiful buildup, and a crime to see what happened in shipping. 

I did a buildup recently for a disabled veteran, who had purchased a Lunar Models buildup. It was damaged even worse than yours was, and he'd bought it on ebay, so he had no recourse other than with the shipper. It was insured for $150, which was no where near enough to replace the damage. The guy is mostly paralyzed from the neck down, so there is nothing he "personally" can do to fix it. He arranged to send it back to the seller/builder, who repaired what he could and shipped it back. When he got it, it was in even WORSE shape than from the first delivery! This is where he contacted me, and asked if I would build him a nice polar lights kit and launch pad. I spent the better part of a year (off and on) doing so, and then shipped it to him. Boxes inside of boxes, padding, etc. When he got the kit that I built, it was smashed up as well. 

The only thing I can figure is that while I put HUGE stickers that said "FRAGILE!" all over each side of the box, I believe by doing so it just made the package a target. I think he's got some folks that don't like him over at the post office. Thankfully, the damage the kit I built was mainly parts that got shaken loose, and were able to be glued back together with the help of one of his friends. He is, however, now firmly convinced that the last thing anyone should do is write "FRAGILE" or "GLASS" on boxes being shipped. Who knows... But stranger things have happened!

I hope your customer is able resolve this to everyones satisfaction. Good luck with it!

--Henry


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks Henry. Your decals are truly top notch. I wanted to stop by and say "Hi" at Wonderfest but you guys were always so busy. Maybe next year! I did send him a set of replacement landing gear. I have not heard back from him yet though.


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## j2man (Jun 18, 1999)

The Jupiter 2 has survived worse crashes than that! Is there an electrician in the house?


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## kdaracal (Jan 24, 2009)

Truly wonderful. Totally filmable miniature. You just posted me a compliment on my J2 build. I was honored before, but now, Holy Cow, Batman! "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!" (I'm doing that in a Wayne's World position) Fiber optics. It kills me to see such skills. Paint is dead-on as well.


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