Tachyon Vanguard — 216 mm illuminated spacecraft

Tachyon Vanguard - 216 mm Display model (revision 13 ship / revision 15 cradle)

Overview

Revision 13 ship with revision 15 name-only stand, already scaled to 216 mm assembled length. THREE BLUE engine LEDs and ONE WHITE bridge LED. All four lights, the AA holder, its switch and wiring are inside the 216 mm ship. One switch operates all four lights together.

The selected prewired lights are 5 mm diameter, 8.7 mm head length, rated 3 V / 20 mA, with 20 cm leads. Use three blue units and one white unit; retain each complete inline resistor assembly.

The AA case remains 68.8 x 34 x 19 mm. The curved underside hatch remains attached on a hinge with a permanently retained printed axle and an integral thumb latch. The engine retains its single removable pin. There are no model screws. Both cradles are plain and are joined by a keyed snap-in connector embossed Tachyon Vanguard, tilted 45 degrees above horizontal. The extended feet are 12.6 x 61.5 mm. Use the revised hull halves, three-hole engine carrier, bridge carrier and translucent window strips in this package.

Wiring: four parallel branches

Permanently solder FOUR complete LED assemblies in PARALLEL to the holder leads. Join holder RED (+) to the positive inputs of all three blue LEDs AND the white LED. Join holder BLACK (-) to all four negative inputs. These are two separate soldered junctions, with no detachable connector. Do not wire the LEDs in series.

Keep each light's supplied inline resistor and wiring intact. These instructions require the selected 3 V prewired, current-limited lights. Two 1.5 V alkaline AA cells in series provide nominal 3 V. Do not use a higher-voltage pack.

The combined nominal load is approximately 80 mA if each light draws its rated 20 mA. Actual current, brightness and battery runtime require measurement. Remove batteries before soldering. Identify LED polarity from its markings. Cover each soldered junction separately with heat-shrink tubing; solder only to the holder leads, never to the batteries.

Keep the four-way joins and blue LED resistor sleeves in the AA service bay; leave the white LED resistor sleeve in the bridge cavity. Pass only its two thin wires along the 4 mm centerline channel before closing the hull. Tape the insulated wire bundle inside the hull for strain relief, leaving roughly 75-100 mm of loose service loop. Test that the case can be lifted out of its removable side mounts and opened without pulling on any joint.

Assembly

1. Print plate 0 first: assemble hinge samples 17/18 with part 15 and test latch samples 19/20. Clean the 3.4 mm hinge bores gently; the 3 mm axle should rotate freely through the moving knuckles. The spring should click over its keeper and release when pressed inward about 1 mm. Test at least 20 open/close cycles. If the latch cracks or binds, correct the print before printing the full hull. Use the same PLA and print settings as the main hatch. Also test connector sample 23 in socket sample 22 before printing plate 5.

2. Install the bridge windows before joining the hull. Part 14 is one connected strip with four window plugs; print FOUR copies. Fit two into each hull half at the forward bridge, with the plugs facing outward through their matching ports. The larger end plug goes toward the pointed bow. Secure with tiny adhesive dots along hidden backing edges, keeping glue off the optical faces.

3. Install the WHITE bridge LED in the single-hole carrier, part 13. Insert lens-first from the aft/wire side so it points FORWARD toward the bow. Tape the body/flange on the wire side without covering the lens. Set the carrier at the aft end of the bridge cavity, about 179.1 mm from the engine tip, and secure its rim with small removable tape tabs.

4. Lay the white LED leads along the open center channel toward the AA bay. Keep its resistor sleeve outside the narrow channel. This must be done before the hull is glued. The bridge LED and window strips will not be readily serviceable after the hull seam is glued.

5. Install THREE BLUE LEDs in part 11. The center LED points straight AFT toward the engine tip. The two outer LEDs follow their bores, angling 55 degrees outward while pointing aft. Insert from the hull-facing wire side and retain the bodies/flanges with small tape strips. Place the carrier about 4.5 mm inside the aft hull opening; secure its rim with removable tape tabs.

6. Mount the AA case inside the hull using removable foam tape on its long sides against the new side rails. Do not attach it to the hatch. Keep the switch/lead end toward the engine and the battery cover facing down. Check that it can be released from the tape and lowered through the 72 x 36 mm opening to reach the cover screw. Solder and insulate the four parallel branches; secure strain relief to the hull and retain 75-100 mm service slack.

7. Bench-test all FOUR lights through the engine diffuser and bridge windows before gluing the hull. Check polarity, switch action, wire clearance and glow. Then join the hull with six alignment pins and seam adhesive, keeping adhesive off all removable lighting parts. The seventh pin is a spare.

8. Slide the revised diffuser into the engine, narrow closed end first, aligning its notches with the locating pads. Then seat the engine locating tongues in the aft hull sockets. Insert part 16 (36 mm shaft) through the upper transverse hole at x=30.3 mm, z=18 mm. The head stays outside the flank. The second engine pin is a spare. Do not glue the pins. Their taper gives friction retention; test grip on plate 0 and lightly sand if needed. Never hammer them into the model.

9. Align the hatch knuckles with the two outer hinge bearings on the lower hull. Feed the 3 mm x 46 mm part 15 axle through them. Before bonding, check free rotation and latch release. Bond the axle ONLY inside the two fixed outer bearings using tiny controlled PLA-compatible epoxy dots. Keep adhesive out of both moving hatch knuckles. Once cured, the axle stays permanently attached; it is never removed for battery access. Close the hatch until its integral latch clicks. Glue radiator tabs into their slots; place cradles 39.6 and 162 mm from the engine tip. First snap the nameplate into both legs; its keys establish the 122.4 mm spacing. Put the 45-degree plate on the side opposite the hatch hinge, with raised lettering facing outward and up. Push straight along the connector ends until each catch engages. Do not twist the spring arms.

To replace batteries, switch off and lift the ship from its cradles. Support the hatch, press its exposed latch inward toward the ship centerline, and swing the hatch down to about 90 degrees. The hatch stays attached. Access the battery case cover from below; release the side mounting tape and lower the case on its service loop if necessary. Refit the case and press the hatch closed until it clicks, keeping wires clear. No loose hatch pins or magnets. Only the purchased battery case uses its own screw.

Parts

Lights: use the specified 3 V / 20 mA prewired 5 mm LEDs, THREE BLUE plus ONE WHITE, each with its own inline resistor.

Holder: LampVPath two-AA switched case, matching the 68.8 x 34 x 19 mm dimensions: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09T9XZH5M. Two 1.5 V alkaline AA cells. Verify actual dimensions before purchase.

Hatch hardware: one printed captive hinge axle, permanently bonded into the fixed outer bearings; integral printed thumb latch. No loose hatch pins, no magnets and no model screws. The separate engine retains one removable printed pin plus a spare. Seven alignment dowels include a spare. Use removable foam tape, PLA-compatible epoxy and seam adhesive, solder and heat-shrink tubing.

Translucent PLA: engine diffuser and FOUR bridge window strips. Gray, black and gold remain assigned to the structural parts. Engine BLUE and bridge WHITE come from the LEDs; opaque colored filament must not replace the optical parts.

Printing and verification

Earlier revision 13 slicer estimate: 15h 10m / 224.2 g PLA including supports and purge; the revised stand changes the final total. P1S / 0.4 mm nozzle. Main parts: 0.20 mm layers, 3 walls, 12% infill; optical parts: 0.16 mm layers, 2 walls.

Hull and hatch supports are enabled. Remove supports gently from the spring latch and hinge bores. The hatch and latch sample print on their sides so the spring length follows the bed plane. Remove them before fitting lights and windows. Assign actual translucent PLA to plate 4 and re-slice. Generic starting temperatures are 220 C nozzle / 55 C textured PEI bed; match the actual filament.

Plate 5 is a generic geometry-only 3MF of the revision 15 name-only cradle. It does not contain a printer/filament profile: choose your own settings and slice before printing. Its three matching STLs replace the earlier website-lettered cradle. The rest of the plates retain their Bambu P1S/AMS PLA profiles. STLs pass watertightness and winding checks. The original P1S projects were digitally sliced with no recorded mesh repairs. The replacement generic cradle file requires fresh slicing. Digital checks cover the holder, hatch, carriers, four LED heads, diffuser, bridge window strips, alignment pins and cradles.

Physical snap-fit grip and fatigue, hinge wear, axle bond strength, latch flex and holding force, printing tolerances, electrical operation and brightness remain untested. Motion checks use an idealized 1 mm latch release and verify geometry, not fatigue or strength. Print the matching samples first; do not force the latch. Hardware in cutaways is schematic.

Materials checklist

- PLA for hull, engine, six radiators, hatch, pins, LED carriers and stand; gray/pale hull, dark structure and optional gold accents.

- Natural/translucent PLA for the engine diffuser and four bridge-window strips.

- Three blue and one white prewired 3 V, 5 mm LEDs with individual inline resistors (5 mm diameter, 8.7 mm heads).

- One switched 2-AA holder, 68.8 x 34 x 19 mm, and two 1.5 V alkaline AA cells.

- Removable foam tape, compatible seam adhesive/epoxy, solder, insulated wire and heat-shrink tubing.

- Flush cutters, gentle deburring/sanding tools and soldering equipment.

Printing notes

Print at 100% scale in millimeters. The ship is already 216 mm long; do not apply another 90% scale. Print six radiators, six alignment pins plus a spare, four window strips, and one engine locking pin plus a spare. Review supports, temperatures and filament mapping before slicing. Slice the generic plate 5 using your selected printer profile. PETG is an alternative for experienced makers, but re-slice all relevant parts and repeat the matching fit tests; supplied P1S profiles use PLA.

License and images

Free to download and remix for noncommercial use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0). Credit Jeffrey Jay and identify modifications. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Images are design renders. Digital mesh/clearance checks do not establish physical fit or lighting performance.