# Moebius Pod with Lights



## Dave P (Jan 5, 2005)

Thought it was about time I shared something (and put in a shameless plug for Amazing Figure Modeler!).

I addition to the ParaGrafix photo etch and Fuzznoggin (Space Circuits) core lights I wanted to stuff as many instrument and blinking console lights in there as I could. Not counting the engine there ended up being 23 LEDs and at least 30 ft. of optics. I'm not very experienced with electronics, so I'm kind of surprised that this worked at all. But, I really like to push myself with each new project. It took about 4 1/2 months to complete.

The only disappointment came when the hull was buttoned up the ceiling light and exterior spots decided not to work.

The Smith figure is a combination of Tamiya & Fujimi 1/24 pit crew figures. It really doesn't look like him, but I think the pose makes the point.

The full build story is in the current issue of AFM, which is an all plastic issue with a lot of very well done builds. www.amazingfiguremodeler.com

Thanks!


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## Dave P (Jan 5, 2005)

A few more shots.....


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

Beautiful build ! Love what you did with all the lights. The diorama turned out really well I think. Congratulations on getting this beauty published in AFM too. .


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

The Robot comes from the Chariot?Did you scrathbuild the Dr. Smith figure yourself.:thumbsup:


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## Antimatter (Feb 16, 2008)

Simply amazing work. :thumbsup:


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## Dave P (Jan 5, 2005)

Thanks! Yes, the Robot came from the Chariot. Too bad the upcoming separate Robot kit didn't hit sooner! Smith is a combination of pit crew figure parts modified with Aves apoxy putty and covered with Bare Metal Foil.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

*GASP!*!


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## Steve244 (Jul 22, 2001)

dave.... dave.... I'm afraid dave... that you've done something quite wonderful...


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Very nice clean build. So many times lit models are strewn with wires and "over lit". Yours looks very scale in appearance.


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## jbond (Aug 29, 2002)

Fantastic job...


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Wonderful! Great work....

Steve


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## hedorah59 (Nov 24, 2008)

John P said:


> *GASP!*!


Agreed!

I read that article and I find it incredible that you were able to glue that sucker together with all that wire and fiber in there! I think your Dr. Smith, while maybe not being a great likeness, works perfectly well. I don't think there is any mistaking who he is supposed to represent. Stellar work for sure! 

My problem is I have a hard enough time finishing a kit even if its straight from the box - Seeing yours makes me want to use photo-etch and light the heck out of it as well! If I go down that road I will never have a built Space Pod! :freak:


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## Dave Metzner (Jan 1, 1970)

Hi Dave,
Thanks for posting the pics, It's fun to see what can be done with our kits.

Dave


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## Just Plain Al (Sep 7, 1999)

Man that is just breathtaking. I'm at a loss for words.


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## Prowler901 (Jun 27, 2005)

WOW!! That's some incredibly beautiful work :thumbsup:


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

Probably the nicest Pod build I've seen.

Beautiful work.

I guess there was no way to fit a 9V into the model itself...


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## Steve244 (Jul 22, 2001)

Carson Dyle said:


> Probably the nicest Pod build I've seen.
> 
> Beautiful work.
> 
> I guess there was no way to fit a 9V into the model itself...


that only works on pods with the tardis option.


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## Lou Dalmaso (Jul 13, 2004)

WOW..just..WOW

even lites on the back wall...
how did you manage to join the Fiber optics to the brass etch without globbing?


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

Steve244 said:


> that only works on pods with the tardis option.


Yeah, I haven't started on my Pod yet, but that was my impression.

Ah, well, stunning work nonetheless.

I'm going to have to try and track down that article...


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## gojira61 (May 21, 2008)

*Outstanding!* Simply outstatnding! :thumbsup:


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## Captain Han Solo (Apr 5, 2002)

*FANTASTIC WORK SIR!!!!!!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:*


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## Dave P (Jan 5, 2005)

Thanks all! Very much appreciated.

The etch parts come with holes for instrument lights. Once the kit's surface detail was removed and everything painted, the etch was glued on, holes drilled and optics fed through. The fibers were epoxied in place from behind. Solvents or super glues can ruin the fibers.

The rear wall was modified and a channel created to run the optics down and under the floor to reach the LEDs under the control console.

Even if you were able to get a battery in there you wouldn't be able to get at it without creating a nasty looking access door.


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## Sonett (Jul 21, 2003)

What an amazing build! Now I need to go off, get another kit and TRY to do what you have done. Thank you so much for sharing this with us and for the inspiration!


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## GordonMitchell (Feb 12, 2009)

Absolutely brilliant,cant wait till my AFM arrives to read this,sometimes you get so bogged down tryng to do commissions or other things that your own models suffer then along comes a piece like this and it gives you thekick up the pants that you need tpo get back into the modeling proper,thanks again for sharing this and the pics posted have really whetted my apetite,cheers,
Gordon......Scotland:thumbsup:


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## teslabe (Oct 20, 2007)

Fantastic, just does not express how
fine a build you've done.......:thumbsup: Impressive, also seems so inadequate..... Where did my jaw go??? It hit the floor
and now I can't find it......


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## Dar (Apr 20, 2007)

Great work.


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

That looks FANTASTIC! I just ordered up a subscription, so your plug worked!

You didn't mention in your emails that you'd sculpted Dr. Smith. He looks great.

Speaking of shameless plugs: the photoetch is again available at my web site.


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## Gemini1999 (Sep 25, 2008)

That model is just jaw droppingly beautiful! All those little winky-blinky lights and everything.... The only thing that model doesn't do is fly! One thing I find amazing is the amount of fiber optics that fit in that tiny little model, it just doesn't seem possible, but there it is.

Well done!

Bryan


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

*STRUTH!!!* That is o u t s t a n d i n g... :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## otto (Jan 1, 1970)

Fantastical!


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## Dave P (Jan 5, 2005)

THANKS EVERYONE.

This pic is the pod right before attaching the outer hull. The solution to fitting the fiber optics through the space where the outer hulls touch the inner bulkheads was to cut holes in the hull under the exterior tanks to create a space for the strands to pass through. The hydrogen tank on the right actually had to be moved down about 1/4 in. Surprisingly there was plenty of room under the "dash" to fit everything else.


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## fxshop (May 19, 2004)

Dave P said:


> THANKS EVERYONE.
> 
> This pic is the pod right before attaching the outer hull. The solution to fitting the fiber optics through the space where the outer hulls touch the inner bulkheads was to cut holes in the hull under the exterior tanks to create a space for the strands to pass through. The hydrogen tank on the right actually had to be moved down about 1/4 in. Surprisingly there was plenty of room under the "dash" to fit everything else.


 Hello Dave P, Outstanding job on the lighting work and build up job, well done!!!!

Thanks for posting the project!
Randy Neubert
VoodooFX
650-568-3400


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## Prince of Styrene II (Feb 28, 2000)

Carson Dyle said:


> Probably the nicest Pod build I've seen.


"Probably" *NOTHING!! *That bugger is *absolutely* _the_ nicest Pod I've ever seen!  Lights, figures, diorama... it all comes together in an amazing scene right from the show! I bow to your superior build!! 

Just... beautiful. 

(Okay, now where's the bowing icon??)


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## Seaview (Feb 18, 2004)

Absolutely magnificent, Dave! I envy you your talents!




Carson Dyle said:


> I guess there was no way to fit a 9V into the model itself...


An excellent point! I'm hoping that the next step in technical evolution will be 9V batteries the size of either watch or hearing aid batteries. :dude:


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

As a general rule, if I can't figure out a way to seamlessly contain the power source within the model then I don't bother to light it.

Then a model like _this_ comes along, which makes my no-exterior-power-source dogma look kind of small-minded and silly.

Thing is is, we've seen a lot of models with killer lighting effects on these forums, and all too often the coolness of the effect is compromised by a bad paint job or otherwise sloppy craftsmanship. What I love about this build is that it would be impressive even _without_ the fancy lighting FX.


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## Dave P (Jan 5, 2005)

Hi praise indeed. I've admired your work for a long time. Thank you.


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## teslabe (Oct 20, 2007)

Carson Dyle said:


> As a general rule, if I can't figure out a way to seamlessly contain the power source within the model then I don't bother to light it.


I try not to put batteries in my builds that have a room issue, instead I will use "Super Capacitors", which are much smaller, can be chargered over and over and will power most LED setups for a few minute after they are removed 
from the power source. Here is a photo of the copper pads I put on the front two landing pads of my PL J2. When the ship is on the display stand it powers the unit but if it gets picked up, it will run the Fusion core and Flight console lights for about three minutes. I will do the same on my Space Pod. Just a thought.

P.S. Again, Dave your build makes me speechless.....


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

That sounds like something they'd come up with on ST: Voyager to get out of a dangerous situation. 

I'd be interested to learn more about this capacitor system, Teslabe - please share details!

Dave - the shot before adding on the outer shell looks complex enough to be a real spacecraft. That is so well done.


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

Very cool power source alternative teslabe. I too would like to learn more about this technique, but out of respect for Dave P we should probably take that particular discussion to a another thread. 



Paulbo said:


> Dave - the shot before adding on the outer shell looks complex enough to be a real spacecraft.



Lol, I thought the same thing.

Makes my head spin, some of the things you electronics whizzes can pull off. I'm lucky if I can change the batteries in my kid's Thomas the Tank Engine.


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## GKvfx (May 30, 2008)

Carson Dyle said:


> .........I'm lucky if I can change the batteries in my kid's Thomas the Tank Engine........


Yeah, we all know what Carson can do with a battery:










Gene


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## teslabe (Oct 20, 2007)

Carson Dyle said:


> Very cool power source alternative teslabe. I too would like to learn more about this technique, but out of respect for Dave P we should probably take that particular discussion to a another thread.


You are so right and I am very sorry for going off topic.... I'm very sorry Dave P for my blunder....:wave:


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

GKvfx said:


> Yeah, we all know what Carson can do with a battery


I know what I'd like to see _you_ do with a battery, Gene. 

Question for Dave: How many batteries did you use -- or are you running off of AC?


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## RogueJ (Oct 29, 2000)

Sheesh! That's fantastic! What a beautiful build up and then some.

wow,
Rogue


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## Thor1956 (Aug 8, 2008)

Holly Crud Batman!!!!!

That Pod Is Absolutely Gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well Done Dave!!!!


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## Thor1956 (Aug 8, 2008)

teslabe said:


> You are so right and I am very sorry for going off topic.... I'm very sorry Dave P for my blunder....:wave:


Teslabe ... Please elaborate in the "Model Lighting" Forum ...


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## Dave P (Jan 5, 2005)

teslabe said:


> You are so right and I am very sorry for going off topic.... I'm very sorry Dave P for my blunder....:wave:


It's all good. No offense here. Nice bit of info.


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## Dave P (Jan 5, 2005)

Carson Dyle said:


> I know what I'd like to see _you_ do with a battery, Gene.
> 
> Question for Dave: How many batteries did you use -- or are you running off of AC?



Being pretty new to electronics I didn't want to wire the core and all the separate blinker boards as one, so it's running off 5 batteries and switches. 6 if you count the robot, although I need to replace his board. Everything's housed in the black box shown under the base.


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## Antimatter (Feb 16, 2008)

Dave P said:


> Being pretty new to electronics I didn't want to wire the core and all the separate blinker boards as one, so it's running off 5 batteries and switches. 6 if you count the robot, although I need to replace his board. Everything's housed in the black box shown under the base.


Rocking! When you get done please do a Youtube video.


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

I've just started up a new thread in the Lighting forum to deal with Teslabe's "super capacitor" power source. I'm going to be keeping my eyes on this one!

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=252929


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## abacero (Oct 24, 2005)

Dave:

It is an outstanding job!! Is a dream come true. It is a motivation and a challege to us modelers who want to make a good job with a good model. People like you that walks the extra mile shows that having a great model is still possilbe, of course, with a little help of a genius like you. 

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Best regards,

Alberto


_"There are always possibilities".- Spock_


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## GEH737 (Aug 9, 1999)

I'm just finishing up my "Pod" with a VooDoo Fx fusion core. I was pretty pleased that I got it soldered correctly (first time event) and managed to get everying inside and working with a decent finish. Then I see this guy... Wow - seriously, an outstanding job. Like someone else mentioned - you usually see a weak area on something like this - but you pulled off every aspect absolutely first rate. Well done 
George


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## Dr. Brad (Oct 5, 1999)

Wow! That is amazing! Great job. Almost makes me want to get one of those, and I'm not even a LIS fan!


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