Attaching the wheel covers. There's still some work to be done to align all the panel edges. I was going to keep the rear bodywork separate, to access the batteries, but gluing it to the roof, allowed me to smooth the panels together, more easily.
Battery access will be through the wheel covers. These are meant to double as wings during high speed flight.
Fitting LED strips to the front wheel covers. The glass panels just push in.
A quick update on the build so far. There is still some chassis flex, so the doors don't fit properly when its on it's wheels. I will reinforce the floor pan some more. Once the glass is in place, that will help too.
Unfortunately, I'll have to redo the yellow panel. The EL sheet is quite fragile. I tried to trim the edge down with a scalpel which was a mistake. It's better to cut with scissors, as it applies pressure on both sides. The scalpel only puts pressure from one side, causing the layers to separate, giving that messy edge. Done properly, it gives a nice even glow.
I had to tweak the front wheels yet again. Even though the actuators are exactly the same, there were times they would open at different rates, which looked odd. I had to refit the gears (hidden behind panel) to physically link each side together.
I fitted more linear actuators to both doors. I wanted to avoid this, as they cost £25 each, but they are much quieter and smoother now.
A little bit of adjustment required, as the maximum opening angles are slightly different.
I had to tweak all of the linkages for the wheel covers. Before. with the covers closed, they would move out of position, with all the weight of the front end pushing them up, Much better now.
I'm going to move the instrument binnacle forward slightly, so there is more room for the controls. You can just see the metal beams added to the central spine, to stop the chassis flexing too much.
Building the side windows. These took much longer than expected, because cutting such large openings into the side panels made them very weak. As they are the main supports for the roof, they had to be reinforced.
Making the underbody strobe lights. I started by gluing some "U" channel to a frame.
A clear ridged light panel is slid into place. This was cut from a cassette case. (remember those?)
The mounts start out as plasticard strips glued into blocks.
Drill 2 5mm holes for the LEDs.
Shape the reflectors using a dremel and finesse with a knife.
Apply some chrome tape.
Glue the frames on top.
Paint and fit the light panels. Another section of channel is glued to secure it. I will make the red lenses, as soon as i can find another cassette box.
Okay, explain yourself, lol! You must have worked in the effects industry at some point. Really stellar work, and I'm grateful for your informative posts, very interesting.