Just got my Polar Lights Enterprise kit

[Fedaykin]

It's a very nice looking kit, definitely very accurate compared to past kits. It's been awhile since I did a Trek model, anyone have any tips for this kit?

[Rÿcher]

Aside from "take your time"?

yes

it's not necessary but it helps to join the lower saucer to the neck before you join the saucer halves together. That way, you can glue it from the inside.

Also, the assembled nacelles roll and snap into place. There are some "C" shaped supports inside the nacelle halves. Check to see which of them the pylon will fit onto and trim it ever so slightly to ensure it does snap on later.

The little thing at the very front edge of the saucer isn't supposed to be there. Sand it off.

HTH

[Fedaykin]

Yeah, I noticed that little nub there, plus the writing on the rear of the saucer I'll have to sand off as well/ I fully intend to take my time with it.

[Rÿcher]

there's a trick to the copyright;

sand it smooth, apply the liquid cement over where you sanded (the stuff in the glass bottle) and you'll see the copyright come back slightly when the glue dries. The same would have happened if you painted it. Sand again, repeat the glue/sanding process until you apply the glue again and don't see the copyright anymore after you apply the clue and let dry.

[Forbin]

Or just sand it thoroughtly in the first place. I've never had the lettering reappear after painting. Is it really wise to smear glue all over an exterior surface like that? I've never heard of such a thing.

[Rÿcher]

Not like I'm trying to mess up his kit from afar.

[Fedaykin]

I see how it is...

[Forbin]

Rÿcher wrote:

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Not like I'm trying to mess up his kit from afar.

And I wouldn't suggest you were! I'm always open to new techniques, but I always thought it was bad to spill glue on the parts of your model that'll show.

[Rÿcher]

Works for me. Besides, I'm not talking about spilling glue on the kit. Just brush it on like you would a seam.

See, the polymer molecules that make up the trademark are more arranged and dense than would the flat, flawless surface of the saucer. The increased density of the sanded down copyright would attract more paint and/or glue to it leading to build-up around the letters you thought were gone by the act of sanding. That's why you have to rearrange the polymers with the glue. It melts it slightly.

You can sand and sand and sand but I think you'd get a depression that you would easily notice in the saucer.

I'm not saying it's the only way to do it. It could very well be the paint I was using (Testor's Model Master II).

Through trial and error, I've found that the glue works best. I've tried running a lit lighter over the sanded area. Bad idea. I tried sanding until my arm felt like it was going to fall off.

BTW, you have some INCREDIBLE models on your site!

[Forbin]

^Scientific!

(And thanks )

[Forbin]

Ya know, I had to go look at some of the kitbashes I did with that saucer, and I'll be damned, I can still the slight raised areas where the lettering was on one of them that I swore was smooth. D'OH!!

[Turbo]

Psh. Taking off that little strip of lettering is nothing. Fixing the @(*#! raised panel lines on the ERTL Excelsior, however...

[Rÿcher]

the only panel lines on the Excelsior are the grid lines (very fine) on the engineering section and those are easy to sand away. Them and on the pylons and just fore of the shuttlebay.

[Cary L. Brown]

Forbin wrote:

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Or just sand it thoroughtly in the first place. I've never had the lettering reappear after painting. Is it really wise to smear glue all over an exterior surface like that? I've never heard of such a thing.

Never seen this either, but I think I "get" what he's saying.

When you injection-mold any part out of plastic, you get a "skin effect" where the material is much denser and more... well... "aligned" is a good way to put it... at the surface, compared to being more porous and more "randomized" internally. The depth of the "skin effect" depends on a number of issues, including injection pressure, injection temperature, mold cooling, the nature of the resin being used (filled versus pure, for example) and so forth.

If the "skin layer" is quite shallow, it's possible to see a bit of sinkage in the area where you removed material, potentially even leaving the nomenclature in a visible form. I've never seen it happen myself (the skin layer is typically thicker than the lettering, and that's by DESIGN, so if you sand away the lettering, you're still inside that very dense "skin effect" and you won't see what he's discussing.

If you did see that, it would be a very, very shallow "sinkage" where the lettering would occur, and a single primer-and-sand operation would totally mask any such effect.

What he's discussing is a way of "resealing" the porosity after sanding it away. Which, if this were present, would have the potential to give a smooth surface, at the expense of requiring multiple passes and probably removing a lot more of the plastic than you really want to lose.

In other words... I don't recommend this approach. Instead... sand it off, get a nice smooth finish on that area, then prime, and if you can see it, sand the primer layer (NOT the plastic) to eliminate this. Filling in with paint is preferable to trying to alter the internal properties of a molded plastic part, I think.

[Turbo]

Rÿcher wrote:

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the only panel lines on the Excelsior are the grid lines (very fine) on the engineering section and those are easy to sand away. Them and on the pylons and just fore of the shuttlebay.

And the raised panel lines all over the saucer which should be engraved.