Fabrication 4 (fins)

Assembling the walls of the model has proved one of the most time consuming processes of the entire build. I made a jig to help me cut the beech strips to length which, has actually proved to only be helpful in marking out the point on each piece where it needs to be cut. I had intended to saw them individually with a joiners saw but found that a saw tares up the fibres in the wood on the back too much. Because of this I switched to using a pair of wire cutters which, allows me to cut them much faster and more accurately. It also avoids ruining one side of the fin. 

Fin Marking Jig

Fins stuck in place on smallest curve

Fins stuck in place of longest flat curve

After cutting each fin to length I've needed to sand a slight taper on the end to be stuck into the slot on the acrylic curve. Because of the number of layers of paint I sprayed the curves with I've filled in the slots a little more than I should, so they're a little under 1mm wide. This does, however, mean that each fin is a very tight and secure fit.
I'm sticking the fins in place with Areldite Quick Set epoxy adhesive. This sets in approximately 3 minutes (it's supposed to be a 90 second cure). This means I can only stick 5 or 6 fins in place at a time before the Areldite sets. This gives me time to stick the 5 or 6 and then a few minutes to prepare another set ready for when the Areldite has properly cured - 10 minutes is best.

Fabrication 3 (platform and ramp)

To make the ramp/platform of the venue I've chosen to use 3mm acrylic. I made an MDF former box to heat bend the acrylic clotted curve on and which, I will also use to baed the angle of the platform.

SketchUp model of acrylic former box

MDF former box

I heat bent the slotted curve of the platform over the former box and then, using the interior line of that curve as a template, drew around it onto 120gsm white card. I attached the card to a sheet of 3mm acrylic and cut around the template on the bandsaw. After achieving the basic shape as close to the lines as possible, I used the bobbin sander to smooth the interior curves and get a more accurate shape. I then hand sanded the edges top make them smooth enough to adhere to the slotted curve.

Heat bending acrylic curve over MDF former

Heat bending ramp over MDF former

Once I had the platform and acrylic curve bent to shape, I found I needed to put a chamfer on the underside of the base of the ramp to insure it will sit flush on the baseboard. I found the angle that the ramp will sit at, drew a line across the width of it on the underside and, quite simply, sanded away the excess that lay above the line until the new surface met with both the end of the ramp and the drawn line.

Sanding chamfer across underside of the ramp base