Oh YEAH, PAINTING

Now that I'm not having the Krider Blue problem anymore, I'm painting away HAHAHAHA!!!
Man, And it even rain today (Humidity) HA, Didn't even slow me down one bit.
You don't know what a feeling it is to get this painting problem solved.

New Paint Method

I tried several times to get the Krider blue to work for me and everytime something went wrong.
So I came up with my own paint method and it's very close to the Krider color.
At anyrate, Be the judge for yourself.
Krider's is the Pie Panel and mine is the Octagon.
With/Without flash pics.

New Aluminum Arms

Oh YEAH, Oh YEAH!!
I got those Aluminum arms installed!!!
They're not fine tuned yet, But I could'nt wait.
Someone had posted on R2 Builders that the Aluminum Arms were to heavy for
the A&A frame, But thats not completely true.
You just have to mount them with shims and beef up the carriage alittle.

Trial Fitting the rear Logics

I cut the area around the Logics, So I can adjust the position when its time for the final fit.

Rear Logics

Here's the pic of what I got finished.
The surrounds need some buffing and I still need the Pic Flasher. Sorry the pics are alittle bright, But i wanted the detail to show.
After I got all the LEDS in the board, I had to find 2 that went bad during the soldering and replace them. The bad part was all I had to find them with was a 3 volt battery and a print of the pattern they were in.
Anyway all 108 leds work now.

Updates

I've got alot of things ready for post, But I've been so busy and alittle sick That I'll have to post pics later.
Anyway, I got the LEDS soldered into the board I bought from Leon, Just got to get the resistors soldered.
I had to file the Aluminum surround for the Leds, Because there was a difference between
Leon's board and Wayne's surrounds. It took 3 hours to get them to match up.
Hopefully this weekend I'll have this mounted and tested.
Got the last louver mounted into the front vents and the small speakers mounted behind the
vents.
I also got the inner dome remarked, I did this so I could order the hinges and start predrilling
the countersink holes to attach the hinges and other items.
Well, I'll get the pics up soon.

Utility Arms Redone

OK, I know!!
I change things all the time, But I was not happy with the way my arms were mounted.
Sometimes you have to step back and say: Why did I do that?
I turned something simple into a mess.
Anyway, This is how they will be from now on.
I used:
6-32 x 6" Threaded rod, 6-32 Lock nuts
1/4 x .140 x 1 Nylon Spacers
Teflon washers that came with the Vex kit.
I cut the Spacers a little thicker than the A&A frame and drilled the preset holes to 1/4,
So the spacers would fit and also give some extra length so the lock nuts would tighten against
the spacers and slightly against the frame. Once set into the frame they provided a bearing for the threaded rods to slide.
The teflon washers, Also provided a slick surface for the lock nuts to slide.
More/Less I made my own bearings.
In the pics you can see how I made this work, The only problem now is to cut the rods to the
correct length and to find a belt drive gear to work each arm.
By the way, I've got the Aluminum arms on order and when they come in, I'll redo again!!

Utility Arms

Oh Boy, These things are driving me CRAZY!!!
When I first got my arms I drilled the hole the size that kinda looked like it was meant to be.
Big mistake!!!
So now I have to fill that hole solid and work it again.
Ok, What I used for bearings and spacers were the parts that come in the Vex kit from Radio Shack. As you can see the rod comes down into the belly area, Thats where I'll attach my gear to drive the arms open/close.
Here again is where I have to make a sacrifice!!
The rods will be in the area where the arms close at, So I'll cut a slot in both arms and they will close all the way and have a stop to close too. Hopefully I can paint the rods flat black and they won't show that much.
I still don't have these set correctly, But I will, I hope.
Anyway back to work I go!!!

Recent Dome Pics

Here's where I stand as far as getting the dome together.
All panels are cut and ready to silicone the domes together.
My nerves will be shot by time I get the 2 domes meshed, But it's
progress.
I've take alot of advice from Victor, He's been alot of help on this project!!!
So, after I clean the inner/outter areas, I'll have 1 dome instead of 2 domes.
I noticed the pics make some areas look jagged, But they're not.