Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Holo Projectors

I started working over the weekend on my holo projectors. Got them sanded nicely and started to prime and paint them... and then I ran into a little snag. I have been using Rustoleum's plastic primer for all of the paint that I have done so far and have not run into any issues at all. After my paint coat on the HP's, I noticed that some areas were not taking paint as well as I would like. The paint appeared splotchy (yes, a technical term...) in areas. I can only figure that the mold release agent wasn't cleared all of the way, even though I felt I did clean the parts well with alcohol and soapy water. The paint, however, is not flaking off of the part.

In either case, I felt the silver needed to be toned down anyway, so.... I gave it some weathering. It has always been my intention to weather my droid since prior to actually starting my build. I just didn't expect to start that process right away. I am happy with the results, although there may be some touch up needed once the rest of the construction is complete. I'm sure "Uncle Don" would approve! Here's some pics.
I also started work on the panel where the rear PSI will be mounted. The blue panel for the front PSI is also ready to be mounted.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Front PSI

I received my parts from Keith on Friday!!!! 2 static Holo Projectors, 1 movable Holo Projector for the front of the dome, and my PSI housing kits. I took some time last night to work on one of the PSI kits. I used a circle cutter and my drill to rough cut the holes for the lens and after some detail cutting, I was able to mount the lens and glue it in place. The panel isn't yet painted, so I haven't attached it yet. It's all taped inside and I need to eliminate some light leaking out. I'll mount the housing permanently tonight and start work on the rear PSI as well.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

General Update

I have parts on order for the dome, and already started receiving some of them. My PSI leds from Fiber Optic Products came in yesterday and tested out good. PSI kit and HP's are on order from Keith and the HP lens' are ordered...just waiting for them to ship.

I found carriage bolts that did not have any branding on them - totally by mistake! I had previously purchased a couple bolts for my dome "buttons", but the only ones that I could find had the company initials raised on the surface. I had planned on removing the stamped letters with a sander. Needless to say, a dollar sixty-something later, and I saved myself the hassle of having to remove unwanted writing from a steel bolt. If you need them, check out your local Ace Hardware.