Stern Star Trek: Vengeance Nacelle Mod

I really enjoy my Stern Star Trek LE Pinball machine… But one of the things which has bothered me on the machine was the way the USS Vengeance shines it’s bright blue Nacelle LEDs right in the eye of the player.

This simple mod aims to correct that. I knew I wanted laser cut some blue acrylic pieces to help defuse the LEDs; so I consulted google images to give me some ideas what the Nacelles were suppose to look like:

Without redesigning the whole Stern Nacelle; I decided a piece set about 1/4″in into the nacelle would be closer to film accurate. Also; in a couple of the google images; the Bussard collector looked more cylinder shaped; so I figured a deep etch in the back side of the plastic would be ideal. Here’s what my first prototype looked like in CorelDraw:

I then proceeded to Techshop.ws and laser etched/cut these pieces out on some 1/8″ Blue acrylic.

To remove the Nacelle; simply remove the top two philps screws holding the Nacelle to the ship assembly. Then remove it… On my ship; Stern was rather liberal with the hot glue; so I had to work the nacelle off by pulling the sides of the nacelle from the hot glue. The Blue LED is attached to the ship assembly; so you shouldn’t have to worry about it coming loose.

When I got home; I used some plastic epoxy to glue the piece into the left nacelle. This piece is to be position just past the flat ridge in the nacelle:

Here’s the Bussard collector installed with a little epoxy:

NOTE: the curved etch faces the rear of the Nacelle (etch toward LED)

In my case I found it a little easier to bevel the sides of the pieces with a file so the sides of the plastic pieces would make better contact with the sides of the warp nacelles. I put some epoxy on the sides of the piece and on the little round nub at the top of the nacelle so the piece can’t be shaken loose during the Vengeance battles.

So; How’d it turn out? I only modded the left side (right in the picture) and took this picture:

A close-up Before and After:

Want to do this yourself? Have access to Acrylic and a Laser Cutter? Great; I’ve decided release this design to the public under the TAPR Non-Commercial Open Hardware License which indicates:

You may make products based upon this design, provided you do not make more than ten units in any twelve month period for your personal use.

If you agree with the license terms a PDF  is posted here under TAPR/NCL license: Vengeance Nacelle Mod Package

Don’t have access to a laser cutter? Visit our store to get an inexpensive set:
http://pinball-mods.com/oscom/product_info.php/products_id/33