Teeces LED work for Mike's dome 2 [May 2021]

So, Mike’s building another dome and asked if I could work my magic soldering up a set of Teeces from scratch.

Well, I had said it was just a ‘simple’ case of just soldering the components in place :D lol......

This kit is an unused set and there are some components missing, so these I will have to source and order. Whilst waiting tho I made a start on the front logic displays.

After two hours of carefully positioning, soldering, cleaning up soldering joints.....

Not to bad for first attempt. The second one will be easier now I know how.

The second one is on hold lol as first one needed to be redone :(

I also 3D printed out some Logic display screens. These will help with LED alignment as well.

Made a start on the PSI display boards.

.....more updates soon.

** NEW PAGE ADDED - R4-D4 dome build **

Finally finished writing up how I built my R4-D4 dome.

For those new to this Blog, the dome is my third one I've made out of wood and is my best (construction wise) one to date.

This page is all the build processes I went through that have appeared here on my Blog.

The new page is at the top (PC screen view),

or if viewing on a mobile, its in a drop down selction tab.

Or you can click this link here.

Dome Bag - 2.2 work has begun

Friday evening I was home alone, so put The Last Jedi, on the TV did got to work on marking and measuring the foam and material ready for cutting out.

First was marking the foam dome base. I first cut a square piece of the foam, then using the remaining of it, I wrapped the foam around the outside of R5’s dome & marked the thickness.

This was then cut around [no picture].

Next was to measure up a distance that will protect the upper edge of the R5 dome. This was thencut and wrapped around the dome. The foam material I have is enough, but it's not long enough, so an extra piece has to be cut. Well it would just be waisted otherwise.

Here the side is being measured for the extra piece of foam.

This was as far as I got, cutting wise. Once this was done and dimensions written down. I made a start on the sheet material. It was laid out and the elastic corners, trimmed off and corners opened up so the sheet could be laid flat. I then marked out the round base and the start of the main side panel. Ensuring that I had enough for edging, folding over and the pull cord at the top of the bag.

I'll post up more in 'Dome Bag 2.3'.

Dome Bag 2.1 - material obtained

Only just got round to buying more material.

The original dome bag had it's first outing on

May the 4th at Techniquest event. And it did it's job, well!

So hopefully, if I get time this weekend,
I'll be able to make the new (correct sizes) version, lol.

For Dome Bag v1, check out via this link

Dome Bag 2.0

Ordered some more foam, just need to buy another sheet of material.

.......and before I do ANY cutting of material though, I'll be measuring twice!

Next project...... Dome Bag 1.2

This is a work in progress, though it will be used as it is being built for my domes.

Step 2: The Side - continued. As mentioned in my previous blog, the base wasn't cut to be over size. This required some modification. The outer dome padding would now sit flush with the base padding, instead of sat on it. This required so stitching, which had to be done by hand.

Doing this helped make the side protection foam, curve into shape with the base. I then stitched the ends of them together. Again, hand stitched....so not the best looking.

joined side protection.

Now, I also said that I hadn't accounted for the top part of the dome, just the vertical height. So I needed to 'add' more material. Thanksfully, there's more than enough left over of the sheet.

Step 3: The Top. So I fitted R5's dome into the bag, and then worked on the top section of material.

top of dome material

Step 4: The Draw String.
Before I stitched this piece onto the side section, I needed to first add the draw string cord.The top of the material had its edge folded over and stitched.

 

I then threaded the cord through the hole and fitted a toggle on the end. The two string ends were then folded over and stitched together.

Step 5: The Handle(s).
This is one single piece which loops around and under the dome bag. This is what takes the weight of the dome. The webbing is stitch fixed at the top of the side padding and bottom of it. It's then stitched at it's crossover point. The two ends are also stitched together.

And the completed first dome bag, test fitted with both R5 & R4's dome.....

And the bag, closed, with handles raised.

Now I have upgraded my dimension and corrected my previous errors with dimensions.
I know where I need to make alterations for dome bag no2.
It will be a lot neater with the stitching lol as I now know where/how best to assemble all the panels. I only need to re-order the foam & buy another bed sheet as I have more than enough strap webbing, draw string and a spare toggle.

I'll also draw/dimension this up so I don't forget lol.

Next project...... Dome Bag 1.1

(5.4.19)
Going to event's with two domes can be a bit tricky, and also my garage seems to attrack dust. So I came up with this idea to protect (from dust) and be able to carry a dome easily.

And the 'Dome Bag' idea was created.

I did have a plan....but this first attempt was basically a test/WIP as I will eventually need another bag for the other R4 dome. Oh and maybe another for my R0 dome, but that's still being upgraded, so no rush to take that to any events.

Step 1: The Base.
I wanted there to be a padded surface as the dome connect with the body and this edge could get damaged. Now, this wouldn't stop damage if the dome where to be dropped, but a slight knock or bump would be ok.

I drew around the base of the dome, with the intention of cutting an extra bit larger for the side foam padding to sit on.......but due to distractions & thinking two steps ahead.....I forgot. So the foam diameter is the same size as the dome's outer edge.....that it's supposed to protect.

Next I drew around this foam base & cut out the material to cover it, like a cushion. The material is just a single fitted bed sheet, costing about £6. Remember, this is just to offer some protection from dust, the actual structural strength comes later on in this build.

I pinned and using the sowing machine, stitched the two panels together, inside out, then turned them the right way and squeezed the foam panel inside.

Step 2: The Side. The next step was the side protection. I measured a height that would protect the upper edge of R5's dome, above the holographic, engine turned tape panels.
The material's was cut long enough to wrap around the faom to hold it in place.

The second smaller piece was used as a guide for the turned over piece of material. I almost messed up again, by not allowing extra material for the fold.

I did however, mess up on the actual height of the material needed to cover the side height of the dome and also the top section......more about that 'upgrade' later.

Using my daughters sowing machine, and re-learning on the go, lol, I managed to stitch a half decent straight line along the edge of the panel. I didn't want it to be loose, allowing the padding to move, so I got this right and it fits nice and tight.

So far this is all going as planned.....hahahaha......

Next project...... 1.0

Whilst unloading R5 out of the car after returning home Saturday evening from Bristol Comic Con event. I had a thought.......

Had to do so sketching and searching online for ‘stuff’. And then ordered some of said 'stuff' lol.

I just need to wait for the 'stuff' to arrive, and then I can get to work on it.
I’ll post up more details when I’ve done some work.........

New display boards - Futaba & R4-D4 dome

Just one of the many little things I've been meaning to do

is create some display boards.

A brief discription about the Futaba transmitter,

the type used to control R5-D4 in the original scene,

seen below in this picture.

Next display board is for my R4 dome I made.

This has a brief discription about how I made it.

Documented with photo's from the build and a

QR scanable code for a link to the begining of the build.

Here's the QR code if not viewable on the above picture.

Hopefully this will help visitors to our table explain

how we build these domes in a bit more detail.

I'll be taking both of these along

to the Birmingham NEC this weekend,

for MCM Comic Con.

R4-D4 Holoprojector motorised - upgrade 1.2

After three 3D printed attempts to get the offset right, the rear holo cowel/servo holder (orange piece in picture) fits nicely. I drew it up to match my previous servo holder, but now to hold two.

It required minimal clean-up and only fixing holes to be drilled.

This picture shows, the assembly of parts I've CAD drawn up and 3D printed. To aid the movement, I use the same as others have which is cutting up a 'Better Breath' anti-snore strip. These work great!

The end tabs (in red box) are the parts I cut off to use.

I also needed to draw up a new bearing holder, the small dark blue splined item in above picture. This just required a slight file around the outside edge to allow it to fit snugly inside the holoprojectors rear opening.

The slot allows the holder to expand to accept the bearing, and this causes the holder to expand slightly for a tight fit in the holo's rear opening. The outside diameter did get a slight file around it to make it easier to remove from the rear of the holoprojector.

I didn't take any pictures before these test pictures below, but I will later as I have to remove to spray up the new holoprojector.

 The orientation of the servo arms is not final, this is just how they were when fitted.

I'm looking at some new LED units, this one below is one I had from before, retesting it's use, which requires me to CAD up a new holder for it.

The two other LED units will be here in a few days.

R4-D4 Dome work progress 4.0 - LED's

Been looking into the random servo movement for the Holo, as I'd like my original idea to work, but still having problems.

Next up I ordered some RGB slow transition LED's to add to the other flashing & non flashing others.

I drilled a small hole and fed the cables for it through the rear section.

This was held in place with hot glue.

Next up was the 'electronic' side panels.
I filled in the previously open upper hole and slot, with hot glue, this helped to diffuse the LED's light.

I applied some black paint around the edges to help reduce reflection, mainly on the upper edge, as can be seen in the above two pics. These were taken as the LED faded colour change.

Above picture shows the slight, light bleed above the yellow bar.

I just need to sort out the inside wires next.

R4-D4 Dome work progress 3.9 - New Holo ring cover

I drew up & 3D printed a new Holo ring.

I then painted it black with silver details. This was to cover the screws retaining the Holo eye in place.

And here it is as a test. This is not a 'film cannon' item, but as there are a few different R4 with different holo projector 'boxes', this isn't a problem for me.

Next up......LED's

R4-D4 Dome work progress 3.8 - weathering

Monday I took the dome into work and sprayed a coat of clear over it.

On the evening, once home & dried, I made a start on weathering the dome with my usual colour's. I started on the circuit board, with matt black to tone down the silver. This then worked it's way down into the grooves of the panel below. Edges and pitting on the grooves and panel faces, help to create the worn used look, which when I first started using wood, realised who good it did looked when compared to 'real' worn/used metal.

matt black with burnt umber also added to the 'electronic' panel.

Dink's, scratches, surface imperfaction's, all add to the aged character of the dome 😊.

I then made my way gradually around the dome, with just the matt black paint.

Not all sides shown.

Rear, un-recessed pannel

Front

Lid

Next up is to add some burnt umber & yellow ochre paint to help blend the lower section in with the body.

R4-D4 Dome work progress 3.7 - Re-spray Dome red

I thought I'd masked off enough to be able to spray the area needed, without leaving a spray edge. Well, I did and didn't......more tho I didn't manage this. To say I was annoyed, would be putting it mildly.....mainly as I'd only picked up one can, thinking it would be just enough to cover the area effected.

 Masked off areas that didn't need spraying

But this additional coat of paint also showed up the fact that the original layer wasn't consistent enough.

So I used some wire wool to gently rub away the paint line. This takes some of the metallic shine off, but wasn't course enough to remove actual paint.

Then it was re-masking off the entire dome....which took over an hour to do!
I also had to go back to the shop to pick up two cans (not falling for THAT mistake again) of metallic red.

Friday morning, dome back in the spay booth and I got to spraying up the WHOLE dome!

And once the masking tape and paper was removed....

I covered over the white panels and the red panels that weren't effected by the previous paint line (Above picture & below picture). I wanted to do this as well as these now have a slightly lighter red to them, which I like.

One of two bleed spots appeared after removing the masking tape...

but some light wire wool and these were gone.

So over the weekend, I'll re-apply the silver to the grooves and then clear coat the dome.