Building The LX212-OO Television Aerials & Satellite Dishes Kit

Let’s get started…

Start by painting the parts on the kit parts sheet. Here we’ve used aluminum colour using an aerosol spray paint can from The Range shop. Both sides of the sheet have been given a couple of light coats of paint. The parts sheet was put to one side to allow the paint to dry.

You’ll need the following tools…

• Cutting Mat
• Sharp craft knife
• Roket Card Glue
• Tweezers

We’ll start with the one marked in the orange rectangle box on the right.

Cut & remove the two parts from the parts sheet. The part on the right is the reflector & the part on the right has the directors.

Apply a small amount of Roket Card Glue at what would be the Dipole end of the aerial.

Slide the end of the Directors bar through the center hole on the Reflector. Apply another small amount of Roket Card glue onto the rear of the Reflector plate as shown right. Wipe away any excess glue & put to one side for the glue to set, taking care not to knock the Reflector plate.

Next, take the supplied wire in the kit & trim off a suitable length for mounting the aerial on.

Using a pair of tweezers, slide the piece of wire through the hole as shown on the right. Slide the aerial to the desired position on the wire.

With the aerial now in position, apply a small amount of Super Phatic type glue to secure the aerial in place on the wire. Allow time for the glue to set. One set, the aerial is ready for mounting on your chosen building.

You can further enhance the aerial by adding subtle weathering & attach a fine gauge wire (what would be the aerial wire) to run down the roof & wall of the building.

For the next TV aerial, we’ll now move on to the bigger one of the pack. The component parts are highlighted in the orange box on the right.

Cut & remove the three parts as shown on the right. The long ‘Y’ looking piece is the aerial mast.

Take the Reflector between your fingers & gentle bend the two half’s forward as shown on the right. DON’T bend too hard as you may run the risk of damaging or breaking the Reflector. It should look like a Vee shape once bent in to shape.

Next, slide the end of the Director Bar through the hole in the center of the Reflector. Apply a small amount of glue to the area shown in the photo on the right. Wipe away any excess glue.

Apply a small amount of glue to the two areas shown on the right (these two areas are the mounting points for the mast).

Now place the glued Director bar upon the ‘Y’ mast as shown on the right. Allow time for the glue to set. As before the aerial can be further enhanced with light weathering & a fine wire (acting as the aerial wire) attaching the aerial & running down the roof & wall of the building.

Now place the glued Director bar upon the ‘Y’ mast as shown on the right. Allow time for the glue to set. As before the aerial can be further enhanced with light weathering & a fine wire (acting as the aerial wire) attaching the aerial & running down the roof & wall of the building.

Moving on to the satellite dish. The four components that make up one dish can be seen on the right. You have the:

• Dish (Parabolic Reflector)
• Wall mounted support bracket
• Support Arm
• LNB

Start by cutting free the dish.

Take the dish & place over the round barrel. Carefully bend the dish over the round barrel, here we are using the barrel of the craft knife to form the curved shape of the dish.

The dish after being bent to a curved shape.

Next, take the support arm & apply a spot of glue on the straight end. Then insert into the hole at the bottom of the dish as shown right. Allow time for the glue to set before moving to the next stage.

This next bit may require a magnifier glass due to it being a very tiny component. In the image on the right of the parts sheet, the item highlighted in the orange circle is the LNB part of the dish. Carefully cut & remove the LNB part from the parts sheet.

At the end of the support arm, there is a ‘U’ shape section. The LNB fits into the ‘U’ shape as shown on the right. Apply a tiny amount of glue to secure the LNB in place.

Now glue & place the mounting bracket centrally on to the lower part on the rear of the dish as shown on the right. Allow time for the glue to set before moving on to the next stage.

Using Super Phatic Glue, glue along the upright on the rear support mast, place & hold against the building wall till the glue sets. The satellite TV dishes around my area where I live, tend to be in one of the following three colours, Black (the most popular), White, Silver/grey.

The dish can be further enhanced with weathering & a fine wire (acting as the aerial wire) running from the dish LNB along the support arm & down the wall of the building.

A further idea is to install a Train-Tech lighting effects module, & fit L.E.D’s wired to this unit inside the building. This will simulate the glowing light from a tv in the house, which looks very effective if done correctly.

Happy modelling