# Orig Series Bridge with OSO lighted panels



## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

I have begun work on a TOS-era bridge that will be equipped with the Outer Space Outfitters light panels.

I started the build by selecting the Weapons Station and cutting out the lower viewscreens. I drilled holes in the viewscreens, then used an Xacto knife to connect the holes and cut out most of the plastic. Now, with room to work, I used the Xacto knife to cut down closer to the raised border of each viewscreen. I finished off each hole with small metal files and a sandpaper stick. The plastic was thick, but not brittle despite the age of the kit.










I accidentally marred the underside of the piece that overhangs the smaller viewscreens when I tried to work from the backside while clearing out the lower viewscreens. Won't make that mistake again.

Here is the Weapons Station with all the viewscreens cut out. I was able to use a different tool to cut the upper screens out (one of those linoleum cutter style blades) instead of drilling holes, but I still finished off with Xacto knife, metal files, and a sandpaper stick.










Finally, I taped some random lighting panels behind the opened viewscreens just to see what they look like.










I played around with shining a flashlight through the panels from the back just to see how that would look and it looks like the panels will "light up" quite nicely.

I plan to complete this station through painting (and perhaps lighting with LEDs) before starting on any of the others, simply to work through any problems with the process before I repeat it on all the other stations.

Suggestions welcome!


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Looks terrific! I must have inspired you!

Are you going to paint it like I did?


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

MadCap Romanian said:


> Looks terrific! I must have inspired you!
> 
> Are you going to paint it like I did?


Seeing your build-up did help me decide to work on this next, yes. I'm just finishing up my 1:350 _Enterprise _refit and was trying to decide which project to do next. (The OSO light panels for this came in before the _Galileo _panels I won on eBay so that helped too.)

I'm going to prime and paint this piece first chance the weather allows. In the meantime, I have LOTS of viewscreens to open up...


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## WarpCore Breach (Apr 27, 2005)

Awesome work, Fozzie! I'll be following your build with interest!

I have my TOS DN to work on, several other scaled TOS ships that will go with it plus get back the 1/350 Refit for the contest in May of this year. I've got a couple of Bridge kits in storage, but it will probably be Spring before I can get them. Don't know how much snow is out there in the shed where those are at plus no idea when I can get out there. And how much it MIGHT snow before then!


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## Fraley1701 (Sep 3, 2003)

Looking good so far Fozzie! I will be following your build with a lot of interest, as I just ordered the Outerspace Outfitter panels myself. I am not sure if I will use them all however. I am trying to decide how accurate I want to be and the OSO displays are accurate to the kit and not the actual set...still yet, I think they look great so I may sacrifice some accuracy.


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## modelsj (May 12, 2004)

Looks good! I started mine last year and re-built the turbo lift to proper specs and have re-aligned the whole thing to original specs. A lot of work but it pays off in looks.


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## Fraley1701 (Sep 3, 2003)

modelsj said:


> Looks good! I started mine last year and re-built the turbo lift to proper specs and have re-aligned the whole thing to original specs. A lot of work but it pays off in looks.


I would enjoy seeing some pictures if you have them! :thumbsup:


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## modelsj (May 12, 2004)

As soon as I think of it! I get going on Spock's jellyfish ship and forget.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

Let's say you build a "full bridge" with all the stations in place. Taking MadCap's idea of using screws to attach the stations to the deck plating one step further, how well do you think it would work to put some of those powerful magnets instead of screws so you could easily pop out some of the "extra" stations so you could get a good side look at the bridge?


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

The magnets should work, but you'd have to counter sink them so as not to leave too much of a gap between pannel and floor.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

MadCap Romanian said:


> The magnets should work, but you'd have to counter sink them so as not to leave too much of a gap between pannel and floor.


Agreed. I haven't decided to whether or not I want to do a full bridge or not, but I know that if I do, I will want to be able to remove a section or two to get a better look inside at times.


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

I was thinking that if you were to use machine screws or nuts and bolts with washers and drill through holes in the base/panels at exactly the same location per panel, that you could remove panels and still maintain the tension needed to hold them tightly to the base.


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## jheilman (Aug 30, 2001)

I suppose you could mount strong magnets on the backside of each floor panel allowing the pieces to sit flush with each other. Nice work on all the TOS bridge builds.


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## modelsj (May 12, 2004)

Here are the pics of the rebuilt turbo lift. I also since I had two kits reconfigured the station by the turbolift to fit the other side.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/4250085075/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/4250858354/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/4250864908/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/4250089201/


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

Your bridge should look great when it's finished. JOOC, about how long did it take to cut out all those viewscreen openings for one station? And are you planning to cut out the vent openings under the control panels as well, and insert some screen or mesh material?


Fozzie said:


> . . . I haven't decided to whether or not I want to do a full bridge or not, but I know that if I do, I will want to be able to remove a section or two to get a better look inside at times.


Just like the real set, which was built in ten "wild" sections to facilitate shooting from different angles.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

scotpens said:


> Your bridge should look great when it's finished. JOOC, about how long did it take to cut out all those viewscreen openings for one station? And are you planning to cut out the vent openings under the control panels as well, and insert some screen or mesh material?Just like the real set, which was built in ten "wild" sections to facilitate shooting from different angles.


Cutting out the viewscreens didn't take that long. Did it on and off over the course of an evening so I can't really say. Coupla hours, maybe?

Been working on cutting out the odd shapes for the control panel, however, and that has been a total pain. Will have to figure out a better way of doing it than I did this first time...! (Pictures to come.)

Yes, I have been toying with the idea of cutting out the vents and putting mesh there. I want to re-check my TOS Blu-rays to get a good look at the mesh and then check out what my local hobby shop has that might work. I think that would look really cool...!


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Fozzie...try HO scale photo etched model train boxcar walkways.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

MadCap Romanian said:


> Fozzie...try HO scale photo etched model train boxcar walkways.


If you try saying that fast 3 times you will sprain your tongue! :tongue:

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into that.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

A small update tonight as I finished up the cutting out of the console.

First, I placed the template over the console.










I cut out the black areas with my knife, scoring the plastic underneath.










Cutting out the console was a royal pain because I went about it all wrong. I tried doing it simply by using my knife and drag blade. Things didn't get better until I abandoned that approach and went back to drilling out a series of holes. _Much _faster and easier. 










I didn't pretty these holes up as much as I did the viewscreens because it isn't necessary. The light up panel goes _behind _the viewscreen holes, but in front of the console holes.

I took this holding the console up so that the light shines through from the back. It is a little hard to see, but you can just see how only the portions underneath all the console buttons is being illuminated.










Weather here is going to prevent me from painting this like I planned, so I'll move on to cutting out the next bridge station.


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## jheilman (Aug 30, 2001)

And it would look cool to have a very subtle light source behind the mesh to suggest the circuitry glowing. We see behind the mesh in one episode where Uhura is making alterations to communications.


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## Fraley1701 (Sep 3, 2003)

Fozzie - Those panels look great lit up! My OSO panels should be coming in the mail any day now. I am not sure I am looking forward to all that drilling and cutting though! I will likely use my dremel on a slow speed so as not to melt the plastic.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

Fraley1701 said:


> Fozzie - Those panels look great lit up! My OSO panels should be coming in the mail any day now. I am not sure I am looking forward to all that drilling and cutting though! I will likely use my dremel on a slow speed so as not to melt the plastic.


Let me know how that works out. I'm kind of scared of using my Dremel on something this small. I'm not that experienced with it. 

One good thing is that this plastic is soft and not brittle.

I suspect I'll have to build light boxes of some kind to backlight these properly. You won't want too bright of a light to be directly behind these. A gentle glow will probably work best--but I'll have to experiment to be sure.


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Looks great! Glad that I inspired everyone!


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## Joe Brown (Nov 16, 1999)

You did, sir! :thumbsup:

I'd acquired the basic bridge kit years ago, got a second one almost by accident, and got the OSO panels almost a year ago. I'm almost ready to actually build the darn thing now!

For references, everyone knows about this site, right?

http://startrekpropauthority.blogspot.com/2008/08/some-rare-star-trek-original-series.html

And...

http://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/uss-enterprise-bridge.php


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## Fraley1701 (Sep 3, 2003)

Joe Brown said:


> For references, everyone knows about this site, right?
> 
> http://startrekpropauthority.blogspot.com/2008/08/some-rare-star-trek-original-series.html
> 
> ...


Yes, I have been to both of those sites!

Thanks! :thumbsup:


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## BrianM (Dec 3, 1998)

...looks great! My hat is off to you guys for these ambitious builds of this great kit. I just don't have the patience to try to light the kit. I am going to experiment with glow in the dark stickers under transparancy copies of the panels...Let you know how it turns out.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

I was bidding on a 2nd bridge kit on eBay (lost) with the thought of doing a "full bridge" but, as I sat through the last 30 mins of the auction, I began to think that maybe that wasn't the way to go. With the bridge kit "as is" most of the lighting will be hidden behind the bridge stations where it can't be seen. I'll only have to build "shields" around the lighting of the main viewscreen. Not sure if I'll feel that way tomorrow, of course, but that's my thoughts on it at the moment!


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## Dr. Brad (Oct 5, 1999)

That looks great! And you've also made me realize I'd never take the time to build the one I have be a decent representation of the actual bridge on the show. I think I'll be parting with it ...


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## geminibuildups (Apr 22, 2005)

I have some Bridge kits and some extra panels. If you want to do the full circle, send me a msg. 

Geminibuildups
www.geminibuildupstudios.com


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

A bit of an update...progress has been slow mainly due to a heavy work schedule and the NFL post season (go Saints!) but I have managed to chisel out all of the view screens (upper and lower) on all of the stations. I still have the console cuts to make on all but one of the stations, however.

I picked up some brass mesh today that I'm going to test out as a possible solution for the grills set into the consoles near the crew's ankles. Will post pictures if that looks like it's going to work out.


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## Fraley1701 (Sep 3, 2003)

Fozzie said:


> A bit of an update...progress has been slow mainly due to a heavy work schedule and the NFL post season (go Saints!) but I have managed to chisel out all of the view screens (upper and lower) on all of the stations. I still have the console cuts to make on all but one of the stations, however.
> 
> I picked up some brass mesh today that I'm going to test out as a possible solution for the grills set into the consoles near the crew's ankles. Will post pictures if that looks like it's going to work out.


I can relate! It's a lot of work cutting all those panels out! It will look cool though when finished! :thumbsup:


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

The brass mesh looks like it will work out, but it needs to be painted. I thought the mesh would be too small, but it looks just about right. A bit worried about how the painting will turn out, but I'll do some tests on small pieces first. 

Of course, this means MORE cutting now as I'll have to cut the lower panels out too.


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## Refit (Oct 24, 2005)

Your build, so far, looks terrific. Makes me long for the "good old days." I wax nostalgic when I look at your progress photos. Thanks for building this kit and posting the pictures!

I'm curious; has anyone considered, perhaps, going one step further with this kit, beyond merely lighting it, to include the ship's hull exterior by use of, say, an inverted salad bowl, to include the turbolift housing, appropriately scaled, detailed, painted, lit and weathered? Since I was a boy, I've always thought that this kit would be ultimate-cool, done up with the hull exterior and transparent dome. Both being designed for removability, of course. Just a thought.

Has everyone (anyone) seen *this* site? http://www.strafe.com/bridge/ If not, then enjoy.

:thumbsup:


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## marcus welby (Sep 2, 2007)

Fozzie,

What size the brass mesh - I picked up some automotive panel patch mesh for the same idea, but not sure on size.

Refit,
The cutting out of all the panels can dissuade anyone from doing this kit except OOB. Seeing as I only have one kit I had the idea of doing a cutaway version with exterior shell like the FJ Tech manual layout, planning stages only at the moment on that. Still cutting plastic.....

Going to accurize as much as possible towards the McMaster plans, like strafes website - totally recommended. MadCap Romanian, Fozzie and Fraley have got a lot to answer for - why'd they have to be so inspiring!

Great work guys.
Cheers


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## marcus welby (Sep 2, 2007)

*Grill example*

Fozzie,

Here's an example of the mesh I had:
http://users.tpg.com.au/marcus68/Bridge/DSC03202_s.jpg

I have some other etched brass mesh from Special Shapes (Stock #SSM-83) which appears to be the same size, obivously just finer quality, it is 1 7/16 x 8 brass mesh.

Cheers


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Fozzie, you are doing a fine job so far. I too, have the light panels, so I will see how it goes with you, and see how I can do it.

Back in the 70's when the model came out, I cut out the Main View Screen, and taped waxed paper on the back side. Then I projected my 8mm projector with some scenes from TOS on the backside. It looked like the one on TV. It was fun to come up with and watch.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

marcus welby said:


> Fozzie,
> What size the brass mesh - I picked up some automotive panel patch mesh for the same idea, but not sure on size.


The packaging doesn't say. It is just labeled "Brass Micro-Mesh". I don't have one of the lower panels cut out yet, but I put it behind a couple of the small viewscreens so you all could get a look. I think it looks like a pretty good fit.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

marcus welby said:


> Fozzie,
> 
> Here's an example of the mesh I had:
> http://users.tpg.com.au/marcus68/Bridge/DSC03202_s.jpg
> ...


That looks sweet! I hope mine looks as good.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

My progress so far. Slow going mainly due to working long hours lately. :freak:


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

Refit said:


> Has everyone (anyone) seen *this* site? http://www.strafe.com/bridge/ If not, then enjoy.
> 
> :thumbsup:


Whoa...! This will be a great reference site for my build. Thanks!

By the way, it shows one of the things I never noticed until I got the Blu-ray editions...the lights behind the grids down by their feet are several different colors.


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## jheilman (Aug 30, 2001)

Looking good. And BTW, GO COLTS!!

Sorry, had to.


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Looks great so far!


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## Tiberious (Nov 20, 2001)

I remember once the trek game Secret of Vulcan's Fury was cancelled I tried to get a copy of the 3d model from a friend of mine at Interplay. Sadly he couldn't get his hands on it. The model presented at that link was of the same quality and I'd love to get my hands on that as well!


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## Refit (Oct 24, 2005)

Fozzie said:


> Whoa...! This will be a great reference site for my build. Thanks!
> 
> By the way, it shows one of the things I never noticed until I got the Blu-ray editions...the lights behind the grids down by their feet are several different colors.


You're entirely welcome, sir. :thumbsup:


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

FINALLY finished cutting out everything for the bridge stations. Sprayed the backs with black paint yesterday for light blocking and will be applying a primer coat to the front of all those pieces in a few minutes.

I still have to cut out the navigation/helm console pieces and the main bridge monitor screen, but I think I'm going to allow my hands to heal from all the nicks and cuts I've inflicted on them while doing the bridge stations first. I'm going to work on painting the stations and correcting the elevator alcove per MadCap Romanian's fix.

I have also applied a coat of primer to the brass mesh I'm going to use for the grilles near the floor. That worked out better than I expected. Can't wait to see those in place. Will have to build some light boxes to back those...

(P.S. If you ever see me post about doing a kit that requires this much cutting again, REMIND me that I said I'd never do it again...)


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

Finally finished up one of the bridge stations. I decided to do all the painting on one first, and then do all the others as a group. The OSO panels are backlit with a small flashlight and the panel for the controls is missing in this shot.








Here's a closeup of what I came up with for the metal grating on the lower part of the station near the crewman's feet.


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## Joe Brown (Nov 16, 1999)

Is that a fabric mesh or a metal screen?

On mine, I'm splitting my modeling between slowly drilling and cutting holes on the Bridge stations, painting up my RTF mini ships, and getting my Mystery Ship converted into a Leif Ericson. 

The Hallmark Kirk, Scotty, and Spock figures that I have really look good - compared to the supplied kit figures, and they measure 58.8mm. There will be an Arex and M'Ress on my bridge, but I'm waiting on a batch of figures from overseas before getting all crazy about populating the bridge.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

Brass mesh, painted.

Right now it is just held on with a little tape (as all the screens are).


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

Any thoughts out there on the best way to attach the OSO panels to the styrene...?


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

For the surface mounted control panels I'd look into buying one of the scrapbooking adhesive appliers. Test I've done on my own backlight panels have worked out quite well with that.

For the displays I like Micro Krystal Kleer. Just make sure that OSO has sealed their panels or the KK will make the ink run.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

It's been slow going, but I finally have all the bridge stations "cut out" and painted.



Well, almost. As the close-up of this station shows, I have a little touch-up work to do on the paint job.



It's starting to look like something though! 

The majority of my painting is done with rattle cans, so for those who are interested, here are the colors I used:

Testors Gloss Light Blue
Tamiya Light Ghost Grey
Tamiya Bright Red
Tamiya Black
Tamiya Insignia White (US Navy)

I'm using the Blu-ray TOS DVDs for reference and the colors change from episode to episode due to lighting...most notably the grey panel on the top of each station. In many episodes it has a distinct blue feel to it.

Don't worry about the odd colorings near the bottom of each station. That's where the stations glue to the base and won't be seen.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Looking nice! Like the van photos too.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

mach7 said:


> Like the van photos too.


Those aren't mine. I have no idea where that came from. The only photos there that are mine are the two I linked to. I think something went wrong during the upload...


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

An update for this SLOWLY moving project. Here are the floor panels done in German Grey from Tamiya. After studying several episodes on Blu-ray, this is the Tamiya color that my daughter (who has a GREAT eye for color) and I felt was the closest to what we were seeing on screen.

I know that half-sized bridge station is in the wrong place...but it was the only one I had with the OSO light panels in place. Look closely and you can see the brass grill (painted white) set into the bottom of the bridge station.



The light color around the edge is masking tape to keep the paint off the part of the floor panels where glue will have to go to attach the bridge stations.


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## Model Man (Oct 1, 2007)

Keep it comin'! 
I just ran across not an hour ago the backlit panels on ebay if they are the same. $22 I think it was. graphicsman or some such for the user name.


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## starmanmm (Mar 19, 2000)

Enjoying the build up.


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## Opus Penguin (Apr 19, 2004)

geminibuildups said:


> I have some Bridge kits and some extra panels. If you want to do the full circle, send me a msg.
> 
> Geminibuildups
> www.geminibuildupstudios.com


Do you have a customized panel mirroring the end panel before the viewscreen, so a complete circle can be done, or does the part need to be modified for the opposite side of the viewscreen if you have two kits? I have two, but would like to get a customized mirror copy of that piece to properly work in the model.


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## Model Man (Oct 1, 2007)

Opus Penguin said:


> Do you have a customized panel mirroring the end panel before the viewscreen, so a complete circle can be done, or does the part need to be modified for the opposite side of the viewscreen if you have two kits? I have two, but would like to get a customized mirror copy of that piece to properly work in the model.


Not to get too much further off topic, this is one kit that could seriously use plus-pack. Accurate figures, better doorway, details everywhere, additional walls and accurate wall gratings for the rest, a full bridge complement plus a yeoman or two. And tribbles.


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## Opus Penguin (Apr 19, 2004)

Agreed. A nice accessory pack would be nice. This has inspired me to begin work on my own bridge that I have had sitting for awhile in their boxes.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

A bit more progress shown in this latest shot--most of it involving painting.

First, I painted a sheet of styrene to act as the lower level floor.

Second, the captain's chair has been painted (though not glued into place).

Third, I've got all the parts for the railings painted. The red railing itself is shown lying on top of the deck at the moment, awaiting installation.

Fourth, I drilled out the hole where the light will come from below to illuminate the navigation display that sits between Sulu and Chekov. I still need to sand the buttons off of their console and cut out the holes so it can be lit from below. I'll also need to drill a hole in the deck below that console to run the wires through.

Also--not shown here--I've started painting the chairs.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

A lighting test. This is the center of the navigation console. The image at left is unlighted, the one on the right is lit from below by a single white LED running off of a 6v battery pack.

In person, the effect is not quite as subtle as seen here--in fact, to me, it looks perfect! I drilled a hole in the console the exact size of the white circle on the velum and there is no bleed whatsoever (see previous post for a look at the hole). The illumination is not too dim, yet not too bright. 

The console itself is not painted, nor light-blocked yet, only primed.

This one won't need a light box, but the long helm console that sits just above this surely will. I'll probably just line the interior with aluminum tape.


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## Trek Ace (Jul 8, 2001)

That looks very nice. The primer color looks very close to the actual color of the pedestal. Of possible interest to some is that the astrogator display on the original bridge was actually lit from above the set by a very sharply focused ellipsoidal spot.


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## 2001Vince (Jan 25, 2010)

Hi this is my first posting, I have just started trying to build this kit and have acquired two kits to complete the build. Very interested in your fine efforts but I can't find the compeation link for this build can anybody help?


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

2001Vince said:


> Hi this is my first posting, I have just started trying to build this kit and have acquired two kits to complete the build. Very interested in your fine efforts but I can't find the compeation link for this build can anybody help?


I was recently transferred to a new job at my company (a GOOD thing) which, unfortunately, is eating up so much of my time that progress on this build ground to a halt. I hope to pick it up again when things at work slow down some, but that will be at least another month.


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## 2001Vince (Jan 25, 2010)

Thanks for the update, good luck in your new job and I look forward to seeing how the build goes when you have the time.


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