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“Discover windows with built-in reflectors as you continue to assemble the graceful neck section of your Galaxy-class starship.“
Contents
Parts
Materials: All of the non-electrical parts in this stage are plastic.
Build
Assembling Deck Panel U3-15
Step A
Carefully remove three (3) Escape Pod Covers, twenty (20) Clear Windows, and ten (10) Dark Windows from their sprues and fit them into the back of Deck Panel U3-15, as shown.
Reminder: I sanded all of these windows down already. See The Windows page for more details:
As before, I used pieces of black electrical tape behind the Escape Pod Covers and Dark Windows to reduce light leak:
Fit the Reflector Panel U3-15-A over the posts on the back of this Deck Panel, as shown:
Slide the LED on the yellow/white wire of the long Deck Panel Lights cable (29J) into this notch of the Reflector Panel:
Secure the Reflector Panel to the Deck Panel with three (3) BP screws:
We can test these new window lights by connecting this Deck Panel Lights cable to the PCB and Battery Box:
And, with the studio lights off:
Assembling the Left Ventral Neck Panel
Step B
Retrieve your Left Ventral Neck Panel from the previous stage. Fit the Left Ventral Neck Reflector Panel over these two posts, as shown.
The windows lit by this panel are molded into the reflector plastic (including the blacked-out dark windows). A pair of dark windows are also pre-installed into the panel nearby:
Slide the two LEDs of the short Left Ventral Neck Panel Lights cable into these notches of the Left Ventral Neck Reflector Panel, as shown.
You may need to lift the reflector up off the panel a bit to get these LEDs under it:
Secure this Reflector Panel into place with two (2) AP screws. Then, gently bend the leads of the LED on the red/black wires towards the front of the panel as shown (arrow below). Finally, use a Sticker to cover the LED on the end of the yellow/green wires.
The Stickers were a little narrow for me, so instead I covered the LED with a piece of black electrical tape:
Connecting the Left Neck Panel Lights
Step C
Feed the plugs of the two Left Neck Panel Lights cables through these openings of the Left Neck Bracket, as shown:
Here is the same picture with the wires we are working on highlighted if it makes it easier to see:
Connect the plugs of the Left Neck Panel Lights cables to these sockets on the PCB:
Fitting the Left Ventral Neck Panel
Step D
Grab the Left Ventral Neck Panel assembly we built earlier in Step B and connect the plug of the Left Ventral Neck Panel Lights cable to this socket on the PCB:
Fit the sloped end of the Docking Alignment Light into this port aft (left side rear) hole of the Battle Section Rear Neck, matching the sloping surfaces to each other, as shown.
When this is aligned correctly, the exposed end should point straight up:
The Battle Section Lights LED that illuminates this red Docking Alignment Light is very bright and will easily show through the seams of the various panels nearby. To try and reduce this light leak, I took small pieces of black electrical tape and tried my best to seal things off. This included wrapping the entire Docking Alignment Light and the LED, as shown:
Fit the Left Ventral Neck Panel assembly to the Battle Section Neck, aligning the screw holes.
The wiring plugged into PCB may need to be pushed down and back to get this panel to fit flush. Also, make sure the top of the Docking Alignment Light pokes up through the matching hole of the Left Ventral Neck Panel:
Secure the rear edge of the Left Ventral Panel into place using two (2) AP screws.
Ensure you are not pinching or trapping any wires while attaching this panel:
Secure the forward edge of the Left Ventral Panel with three (3) BM screws.
This is your friendly reminder to try using 3-in-One Oil on all screws going into metal:
Slide the Battle Section switch to the ON position to test the lights:
I took a short video to show these lights in action, specifically the red Docking Alignment Light and my attempt to reduce light leaking out:
Thoughts
We built the Deck Panel U3-15 assembly, but did not attach it yet. Keep it safe until we install it in a later stage. The Battle Section Neck is coming along nicely and I noticed that the final three screws we added will eventually be covered up by small panels. I was curious how they were going to hide most of the exterior screw holes and this gives us an idea.
Next Up
Stage 30 – Deck Panel U3-16, Windows/Reflector/Lights, Left Neck Panel
Hello
Did you find that the left ventral panel overlaps slightly from the battle section roughly about 0.5 of a millimetre.
I am not sure if this is deliberate or is another design error .
Which part of the panel are you referring to?
The rounded part where the red line is.
The panel I installed on the battle bridge overlaps the edge of the battle bridge by a small amount.
It is fine on the sides but as it extends to front it tends to overlap.
I contacted eagle moss and they said there would be a fix in their Facebook page but I have not seen anything so far
If you mean the back flat edge of the Deck 8 Base that the Battle Bridge sits on, that slides back under the top of the rear neck a little bit. This fitment appears to be normal. I have to use my fingernails under the front edge of the Deck 8 Base to remove it and access the batteries.
Hi
No that’s not the part, shame I could not send you a photo as it’s clear as day in the photo.
Ah, I think you are talking about the curved red line of the Left Ventral Neck Panel at the nose of the ‘cobra head’. My panel sticks out there a tiny bit past the metal plate of the cobra head, but I think this is normal.