Attitude Adjustor the Dalek - Is Now Finished

[Nigel Heath]

I did some more work on the gun. My new bending tool is exceeding expectations and I made another rod thingy. I drilled holes in the gun to recieve the rods (OK?):

This is the first rod glued in place:

I started to glue on the back sections:

The large side panels were cleaned up and requisite filler applied:

I added the second rod thingy to the gun:

Side panels added:

Here is a full height dry run:

The next pair of panels were cleaned up and filled:

I have vast quantities of wire in storage but without access I am forced to use this stuff, not ideal but it should work OK. I have to enlarge the hole in the eye pivot to accept it with my motor tool:

Thinking of other matters electrical, there needs to be a hole for the wires in the skirt top plate. It would have been easier to punch one out before assembly but I used my compass cutter to good effect. Run in reverse it acts as quite an efficient scriber and the required hole is soon created:

My thinking for connection to the battery in the base is two metal pads on the rear "feet". I drilled out 1.5mm holes in each:

These holes have to be enlarged in the upper part of the base. This would have been easier before I got enthusiastically on with construction but fortunately my motor tool just fits inside and does the job:

The next pair of panels are cleaned up and ready for assembly. The wiring has now reached the stage where I have to break out the soldering iron but I feel that is now a job for tomorrow:

There is quite a pronounced overlap with this panel. The best tool for this is a hooked scalpel blade, I know I have one somewhere:

I find the hooked blade and first try to fit it into my X-acto handle but it stays lose. I then go into my unused and long neglected old knife collection, I realise that it fits into one of these plastic SM handles:

It works rather well:

I have finished with todays progress, tomorrow I might get up to a bit of electrickery.

Bye for now,

Nigel

Edited September 15, 2013 by Nigel Heath

[hendie]

Nigel, this is looking great and I'm quite envious that this dalek is going to see the light of day long before my effort. I've still got a long way to go.

I have one question though.... looking at the photo above, it looks like you are taking the wiring for the eye stalk from the eye and straight out the back of the disc thingy - doesn't the eye pivot around that disc? If your wires are routed directly through the disc are you still going to be able to pivot the eye stalk successfully - do you have a cunning plan? Or am I misinterpreting your design?

FYI, I managed to get some tools and materials, however, a leak in the basement air conditioning is going to be taking up my time this weekend, not to mention starting to build a workbench in the basement.

[Nigel Heath]

Hmm, you have identified a major problem there. I had not spotted that one. My first thought is that I will have to drill through the pivot pin to get the wire through, I think I can get that to work.

I also have some very thin wire which could come into play. Most grateful for getting the old grey cells thinking again

Edited September 14, 2013 by Nigel Heath

[hendie]

Depending upon how much of the disc is enclosed inside the dome, one option could be to remove some of the back end of the brass tube and have the wires coming out of the side of the disc, just in front of the pivot. One wire coming out each side of the disc may just give you enough room

[Nigel Heath]

Hi hendie,

I have had a think about your suggestion and I'd just be a little worried the wires would be visible if they came out in front of the pivot pin. It is only 2 or 3mm below the surface of the dome. I don't think there will be a problem drilling a couple of small holes through the pivot pin, it should not compromise its structural integrity too much. Threading the wires through might be fun though and the order of construction needs careful consideration, I think the final wiring up will have to be one of the last jobs.

[Nigel Heath]

I now have to create some little discs to serve as the power connections to my Dalek. I think 4mm would be a suitable diameter; all of my punch sets have this size in them but the ones I bought specifically for modelling say that they are only for soft materials like leather so I use the Big Boy set on the piece of scrap brass sheet which happens to have been annealed so should be quite soft. The end result is these little buttons which have the unexpected bonus of naturally turning into a dome shape:

In a dry run they look like this:

I soldered these onto some wires:

While the soldering iron is hot I began to build my little electronic module, starting with the low lying resistors:

I used my special heat sink tweezers to protect some of the more sensitive components like transistors:

The third hand comes in handy:

Things like the LEDs will be connected by flying leads, I have made them extra long for the time being and make some temporary connections for testing purposes:

It works first time, on:

Off:

Scroll between these two pictures at about 3Hz and you will get quite a good approximation of the effect . These LEDs are extra bright types, if you look into them derectly its almost painfull, they are almost like little lasers, just the sort of human unfriendly things Daleks would be fitted with. This is the finished PCB, I am puzzled by the inclusion of a photoresistor in the circuit, during testing I have established that it makes no difference to the flash rate or brightness of the LEDs whether its in the dark or illuminated. I was a little worried as my plans will have the board in permanent darkness. Slightly dissapointingly the variable resistor makes no difference to the flash rate which is a little quicker than I had hoped for but I think it still looks pretty good. All it does is vary the brightness when one of the switches is in the appropriate position:

The on / off switch will have to be on or in the Dalek, I thought about putting it at the back of the skirt but I think I will be able to have it inside the removable dome. That's today's progress so far.

Edited September 15, 2013 by Nigel Heath

[Nigel Heath]

As promised to Billydick, here is a recipe for soda bread that I have tried. Its taken from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall''s book "River Cottage Everyday". I rated it as 9/10 so its pretty good but it does leave that slightly off putting film on your teeth (well it did on mine anyway).

Classic Soda Bread

Makes one medium loaf.

500g Plain White Flour

2tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1tsp Fine Sea Salt

400ml Buttermilk or Live Yoghurt

A little milk if necessary

Sift the flour and bicarb into a large mixing bowl and stir in the salt. Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk (or yoghurt) stirring as you go. If necessary, add a tbsp or two of milk. It should be a soft dough, just this side of sticky. Tip out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for a minute, just long enough to pull it together into a lose ball but no longer. You need to get it in the oven while the bicarb is still doing its stuff. You’re not looking for the smooth, elastic dough you get with yeast based bread.

Put the ball of dough onto a lightly floured baking sheet and dust with flour. Mark a deep cross in it with a sharp knife or push the handle of a wooden spoon down through about two thirds of the loaf. Put it in a preheated oven at 200°C and bake for 40 - 45 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack if you like a crunchy crust, or wrap in a clean tea towel if you prefer a softer crust. Soda bread is best eaten warm (not hot). The following day it is only fit for toast.

[Nigel Heath]

I glued on the connector pads with CA and speed up the whole business with some Zip Kicker:

To give me the nice solid feel I like so much I epoxied in some more lead:

In pressing down the lead I have managed to crush the feet domes, and one required regluing:

This is not really a problem as with the connectors they were higher than the front ones, it still leans forward somewhat, I may have to add spacers to the front feet:

Before I sealed everything up I did an electrical continuity test to make sure I hadn't got any broken wires or anything silly like that:

This section needed quite a lot trimming off the bottom to get the hemispheres to line up:

The front panels have quite a pronounced twist to them:

With this one I trimmed a bit too much off the bottom. I don't think the slight gap at the top would be visible but because of the twist I need solid material to glue to (I hope that makes sense):

Part way through the filling operations:

Quite a few of the black backing strips cracked in the odd area, no big deal I just thought I'd show you:

I glued both of these just at the bottom with liquid poly and then reinforced with tube cement at the back. I left these to harden up while I got some shopping, the tape is on standby as a clamping medium:

My faithfull and long serving tube of Beatties cement is exhausted by the whole process and we have to say goodbye. I have used about half a tube of cement on this already and I'm what - half way through?:

I actually love that. Here is the replacement:

One thing I will miss is that nice screw top, ah well. There is a bit of a gap here but that's what fillers were invented for:

The penultimate section recieved two backing strips (there was hardly any filler required on that one):

Hard to photograph (for me) but the twist does induce some curvature:

In readiness for the final section I ran a bead of tube glue down the join between the backing strip and the adjacent section. My thinking being that this might make the backing strip a little more compliant (these two front sections meet at the sharpest angle of them all). I knew some would squeeze out but that can always be dealt with later. I then applied more tube glue to the other side of the strip, the strip on the new panel and at top and bottom locations on the Dalek, the overall idea being that as I will have no access when its in place its the best I can do the reinforce the thing:

After a bit of jiggery pokery this is what I end up with, this can now be left to harden up overnight:

I am giving serious consideration to filling the whole of the skirt with builder's foam to increase rigidity, add strength and prevent the lead ever detaching - unlikely I know but then again you never know. Does anyone have any ideas of issues with this?

Well that's it so far, I might get a bit more done tonight, we'll see. I have tomorrow booked as holiday so I should get more done but I'm not really looking forward to tomorrow, I might explain later.

Bye,

Nigel

Edited September 27, 2013 by Nigel Heath

[Billydick]

Oh wow, Nigel, thanks for the soda bread recipe - will print it off. Feel a bit guilty as this is modelling thread not a cookery one. However, as recently divorced man, trying to be a modeller and a cook after so many years, your thread is such a help. Just need to get into the swing of modelling again....got everything I need stash, tools, paints etc.. except the confidence! Britmodeller is such an inspiration.. Thanks so much Nigel, you're a star.... you're all stars

[Nigel Heath]

My pleasure.

And the Dalek?

[Jockster]

You are quite a prolific poster Nigel, by the time I've finished one post you've already added another so I'll comment now while I get the chance! Excellent build mate, I've been following this since the start. Very enjoyable indeed. :-)

The only issue I can think of with the builders foam is that its a diisocyanate if I remember correctly and a little bit of moisture helps it go off! Other than that it should be OK, there may be a little exothermic reaction going on too but I don't think it'll be much. A little tester first should put you in the clear.

[Billydick]

My pleasure.

And the Dalek?

Just fascinating... your approach to building it = and now you throw in electrics !

[Nigel Heath]

The only issue I can think of with the builders foam is that its a diisocyanate if I remember correctly and a little bit of moisture helps it go off! Other than that it should be OK, there may be a little exothermic reaction going on too but I don't think it'll be much. A little tester first should put you in the clear.

Thanks Jockster, good point about the moisture, I could spray in a bit of water before the foam goes in and yes a test would be as good idea. I know that fridge linings are basically vacformed PS and they use injected PU foam as insulation, I think the chemistry may be a little tweaked but there shouldn't be an adverse reaction with the plastic.

[Nigel Heath]

I did get a little bit more done before bath and tea time. I added another radiator tube fin thingy (really should settle on a name for these things):

Then there were four done with two more as WIP:

For my dinner I made fish and chips with tartar sauce, OK the fish was not homemade but the rest was:

It looks a bit beige but it was tasty.

The chips were made from Maris Piper potatoes and came out lovely and crispy. They were par boiled and shallow fried, as good as deep fried and cleanup is a lot easier and about a million times better than oven chips which I detest.

Bye,

Nigel

Edited October 30, 2013 by Nigel Heath

[Bengalensis]

The Dalek is making real good progress here, looking nice.

I have mixed experiences with expanding foam though. The one part foam in pressure bottles I think is rather messy and a bit unreliable whether it will expand and dry as expected or become a tacky mess. I may not use it under ideal circumstances though. The two part foam we used a long time ago in the empty spaces of fibre glass RC racing boat hulls was very reliable, but had a rather extreme and forceful expansion, not something I would dare in this case, if it's still available..

[Stu_davros]

I'm loving this build, you're making fantastic progress and I'm looking forward to seeing the completed Dalek.

I built the redesigned version of the Sevans Dalek a couple of years ago, it's quite a lot simpler and easier to build.

Cheers,

Stuart

[Nigel Heath]

Hi Jorgen, the 2k foams you mention are what is used in industry for things like the fridges I mentioned. They use highly toxic isocyante as one of the components and are not really something for domestic use. I remember seeing a film about them where they use a variant of these foams in F1 fuel tanks to stop fuel sloshing, they filled the tank with the reactive foam and held a cover over the filler point and the expansion held enclosed briefly was enough to distort the chassis. Not really something I want happening to my Dalek.

The water Jockster mentioned catalyses the foaming process so it should be reasonably reliable. I have used this stuff on many occasions and it has pretty much always worked for me. You can spray water onto the surface of the foam to get it reacting but this option will clearly be limited in the case of my Dalek.

[georgeusa]

I do not know if this image will help, or even if this is the right version. I am trying to become acquainted with what looks like about 40 years of Dr. Who in a weekend. Anyway, with the weapon arm you are building I made this screen print off of the version I was watching at the time. Was an episode involving a Dalek and a Dr. Who played by Christopher Eccleston. (Not my favorite Dr. Who, but I have only watched 5 of them so far). If it helps, I am glad. If it is the wrong version, please disregard. What I find interesting is the bend in two of the top rod things (please give these a name Nigel). The layout is not symetrical as the bottom rod things are not done the same. For your perusal.

By the way, I am amazed not only by your building skills, but you seem to be an electronic genius as well. I think the finished product will be stunning.

[Nigel Heath]

Thanks georgeusa, the gun here is similar to the one I am attempting but it looks to me like there are nine or ten radiator rods (this is my new name for them) rather than the eight on mine. The shape is quite alike though so thanks for that. I am pleased you are getting into Doctor Who, how are you liking it so far? Have you had any luck tracking down the films or the episode I mentioned?

Electronic genius - hardy, although I have dabbled a little in the past and I have designed and made my own PCBs, quite good fun really. The knowledge and materials for that could come in one day for making custom photo etch.

Nigel

Edited September 17, 2013 by Nigel Heath

[Nigel Heath]

Here is some of today’s progress. I was just in the process of attaching the last radiator rod and the gun snapped:

I didn't see that one coming. There wasn't scope to dowel it because of all the metal rods in the way. Anyway I just fixed on the last radiator rod and glued it back together, aided by some zip kicker:

I will leave that for a good few hours to harden up. I started the clean up and fill the section joints:

It all feels pretty strong but if I am going to fill it with foam I might as well do that sooner rather than later so it will have maximum robustness during all the forthcoming handling. So I popped out to get some foam, I also dropped into Hobby Craft to see if they had any good tools to help with the joints. As an aside they seem to have more kits now that Model Zone has gone. I picked up the chisel like blade for my Swann Morten No 4 handle and this sanding block thing looks ideal for the job. The trouble with flat sanding sticks is that the hemispheres keep getting in the way, this should make it a much more efficient process:

I am also going to fill the cavity in the base to prevent any more feet collapsing. To fit the foam nozzle I drilled out a 7.5mm hole by hand:

I did a little test shot to make sure the plastic was compatible:

I masked off and filled the base with this arrangement, having sprayed in some water first:

This seepage proves that the front feet are filling:

I wiped and masked that one then the other fills:

Nice. I then repeated the process with the top. Unfortunately the masking on the top didn't stay attached for long and things started to career out of control:

The foam found these little leakage points, This should be easy to clean up once its hardened:

I wrestled back control with a bit of cardboard:

The foam kept oozing out and eventually I got bored wiping it away so I stemmed the flow with this arrangent:

The foam still had a leakage path so there should not be any significant pressure build up but this restriction should help compact the foam a little. It also found this little leakage point:

Eventually the flow stops and the foam starts to skin over

I will leave this overnight to harden up.

I don't think I will get much more done tonight. I have a bit of a headache from all the foam propellant fumes and possibly the trauma of the day. That stuff must be a major fire hazzard, I think the propellant was propane (that's what it smelt like) and you could see great diffractive clouds of it as the foam went in. Still a lot of fun, just a bit of clean up to do now and not too much on the carpet either.

Do you like my new Dalek avitar?

Bye,

Nigel

Edited September 17, 2013 by Nigel Heath

[Bengalensis]

Good to see that the foaming seems to have gone mostly well. I did feel a little bit worried. Hope the repair of the gun will hold.

I noticed the avatar earlier today, looks very suitable now .

[Nigel Heath]

Thanks Jorgen, The foam injection has gone very well really. At one point I had a vision of my Dalek exploding under the expanding foam's pressure. That would have resulted in a completely different diorama result.

I think the gun will be fine as long as I am careful in its handling. The cargo doors on the Rotodyne are far more precarious.

[fallmonk]

Nigel,

Cheers mate you gave me such a chuckle with all the foam escaping , am glad no damage was done , its looking good , hard work but so enjoyable

[hendie]

I'll admit to being a bit worried when you mentioned filling it with foam, but it seems to have turned out good, thankfully.

Bad luck about the gun, but again, you seem to have pulled it through.

[Nigel Heath]

Hi ,hendie,

This is how it looks now:

All the foam is setting nicely and I have this amazing foam stalegmite to deal with.