After adding the 5th exhaust, I reworked the other 4 also a little bit. You might remember, I installed a normal RGB LED strip in each exhaust. This maybe looks nice, but I dont have much controll over the LEDs. So, I took some of my left over APA106 LEDs from the WOPR project, which are individual addressable. I wanted to install 8 LEDs in each exhaust the get a nice and diffused light. All had to be connected to 104 nF capacitors first. To make them fit perfectly and ensure an even distribution of light, I printed some spacers and soldered the LEDs into place. The animation, I had in mind was something like a starting jet engine. So maybe some explosions at start and then a fading effect from red to yellow to blue. This indicates, the turbine will go up in speed. When blue, there will be some white light sparks, giving the impression the engine is actually running. All is done with an Arduino Nano to save space. Here are some pictures of the transition. More in the making-of video later. I couldn't wait and had to install two wings and see the effect.
While working on the electric, I soldered another light effect. The 4 "lasers" should also shoot some light, two at each time. So the left top and right bottom and vise versa at the same time. Therefore, I made this simple circuit using two capacitors and two transistors. You will see it later in the video. I also reworked the motorization of the BB8 and switched from a servo to a Arduino controlled stepper motor. Also, more in the video ^^ Then it was finally time to work on the inside of the X-Wing. I started in the front section of the main body and applied some carbon vinyl. Here the water tanks will be placed. Ok, I added the water tank and the first fittings right after. On the inner wall, I attached an RGB strip and soldered the controller right at the front. Before working on the cockpit, I needed to spray paint the walls first. To keep the design, I also applied some carbon vinyl to the inside. Also this was the time to put the mobo into place. I wanted to make the cockpit look more like an actual space ship cockpit. So, I first make some empty panels to see my layout. The panel on the middle has a big hole in it. Here I will make a cover later that can be removed to work on the cables. After I decided what I wanted to place on the panels, I drilled in all needed holes. Then LEDs and switches were placed. The cover for the middle panel also got the typical symbol from the rebellion.
Oh, right. There's a computer. It says a lot about the size when you can use real switches on the control panel.
Next, the panels for the cockpit were put into place. I added two more switches to the mid section. One is starting the water pump and the other switches the temperature sensor on and off. It was already visible in the upper pictures, but before I glued the panels in, I bend some acrylic tubes for the water cooling and connected the CPU to the loop. I think this is my very first mod where the drain valve is actually the lowest spot in the loop. Its right at the front and easily accessible. It will be covered with the nose part later. I already made a test, and I get like 99% of the water out of the loop this way. The special Titan X GPU will sit in the back. The opening I planned before, was not big enough. I just grabbed my Proxxon and made it a little bigger. The edges were covered with aluminum profiles. This also added a bit more stability. Luckily, my wife loves painting, so I got some help for the weathering. First all detail lines were colored in a dark tone, to highlight the separation of the panels. Then multiple layers of grey, brown and black color were dabbed on to achieve a used look. Now that the X-Wing is basically done, I needed a place for it. Its really hard to find suitable tables in the right size and height, so I build my own one as a stand for the mod. Yes, I build my own table for a case mod ^^ To hold the weight of the X-Wing, I constructed a large base from multiple layers of ply wood. At one end, I included a steel pole. The top side will bear a smaller base, that will be directly attached to the body of the X-Wing with screws.
Wow. This is one of the best mods I've seen. My fiance would love it as he's a massive star wars fan.
I'd be more tempted to do something like a Russian pre-Dreadnought or an old submarine... or a tank. (Ok, technically, I've done a tank, but I wasn't the one to physically build it.)