TMP Refit vs Enterprise A - Exterior Changes

[USS Artorius]

Hi all, I saw an old thread on here that is relevant so i'll place the link here.

https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/tmp-enterprise-pearlescent-paint.311392/

And a link to a very old forum post on the Finescale Modeller forums.

https://forum.finescale.com/t/correct-coloring-for-star-trek-enterprise-1701-refit-and-1701-a/210235

I have been trying to find some trusted sources or just high quality images that compare the exterior of the refit in TMP (or otherwise any iteration of the refit as NCC-1701...no bloody...) and then as the Enterprise A. Obviously I know its the same physical filming model. I'm not going to get into a canon debate on the in-universe origin of the A - i'm only looking for information and any comparisons of the filming model's exterior.

In TMP, the studio model was brand new and had the iconic, white & pale blue pearlescent paintjob. According to the finescale modellers forum, some areas of the ship were also painted green? If it is then I can't notice it i the film or in any publicity photos. After TMP I understand that the pearlescent was dulled down and possibly more painted detail was added for TWOK Then the model must have been repainted again for ST4 (TVH) as this is when the Enterprise A is introduced, unless all they did was modify the registry number.

I ended up on Reddit of all places and someone said that when the filming model was repainted, there was extra detail added to the underside of the secondary hull too. I just rewatched all the films on P+ and it looks to me like the pearlescent is definitely gone by ST2, but after this I can't really see any exterior changes on film apart from the modified registry (-A).

I have looked over all the christie's auction photos of the studio model (as it is today, as the Enterprise A - if it has been restored since then I have no idea). The ship still has light blue markings, but it appears like the area around the main deflector had been repainted in more of a grey than the original pale blue. Thats the only paintjob difference I can visibly notice after the first repaint, but on film all the pale blues on the model looked grey anyway.

Does anyone have more information on this? Many thanks.

 

[David cgc]

Now that all the movies are in 4K, I've been thinking about doing a blog post with screencaps and photos documenting changes to the model over the six films, with a special emphasis on distinguishing traits between the refit and the -A. I was going to start a thread here to crowdsource and make sure I got everything, so, I guess, no time like the present.

Off-hand, here are some differences I know.

TMP -> TWOK:

• Dullcoat and weathering applied over the model.
• The "ENTERPRISE" legend under the shuttlebay is flanked by dashes in TMP, but those are removed for TWOK.

Refit -> -A:

• Green-gray accents on the B/C deck teardrop, neck, and the upper engineering hull surrounding the neck, and nacelle pylons are recolored blue-gray. I think there's some controversy about if this is actually the case or if it was a change in lighting/color timing in the film. The panel pattern of the gray section around the neck and pylons is definitely different, though. Based on the overlit side-shot in TUC, it looks like the deflector housing kept the original greenish color. This change seems to have been after TVH, the deflector housing and "strongback" seem to be the same color there.
• On the starboard side of the saucer, a "STARSHIP USS ENTERPRISE — UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS" legend is added, matching the text around the gangway hatch on the port side. That area was blank in the first three movies.
• A yellow circle and three geometric shapes are added to the underside of the engineering hull, referencing the same set of decorations on the TOS model.
• At least one panel on the starboard side of the engineering section had all of its windows removed. It was a cover for the mounting point on the model, and apparently had to be replaced at some point. Note that the engineering hull window pattern was already asymmetrical when the model was built for TMP.

 

[USS Artorius]

Wow, thanks! I would love to see any sources or photos that evidence these changes. Most of them are hard to see on screen, but I haven't seen the films in 4K. I started the thread because I've started a big orthographical project on the Connie Refit & Ent-A, starting with the exteriors.

I am going to start with the TMP version as a starting point, and lean heavily on the colours of the filming model, instead of how it looks on-screen because like you mentioned, regardless of the paintjob changes, the shades of blue/green/grey are inconsistent within each movie. This can be explained away by different lighting in each scene, rushed compositing, different vfx processes in each film etc. But its still frustrating! I think its fair to assume that no changes to the model were made within each movie's filming duration (for practical reasons), but I don't have evidence to back that up either.

I just watched a 4K TMP shots compilation on YT and WOAH! Setting aside the amazing pearlescent finish on this iteration, I would like to use this space to record my observations too.

MOST of the "shaded" areas on the hull appear to be a very pale "sky blue", which is consistent with most of the orthos i've seen.

The shaded area around the navigational deflector appear pale grey in the drydock scene, and then in the space shots you can see it sometimes looks like the pale sky blue. I'm going to bet on the studio model its indeed the blue, and it only looks grey onscreen due to the lighting etc.

The triangular accents or "fins" (not sure what to call them) directly underneath the impulse exhausts appear to be a more of a green-grey colour...or "duck egg blue". I remember in an old post someone else mentioned these areas were also the same colour. Its a shame there aren't many clear behind the scenes photos of the filming model at this time under more normal "natural" lighting (not the publicity photos).

Also thanks for the list of the detail changes for its -A iteration! That helps a lot.

 

[137th Gebirg]

It also appeared (to me, at least), that the areas around the RCS units and phaser banks from TMP > TSFS were a goldish-brown, but repainted gray for the -A. Again, it could be an issue with lighting, and the differences are subtle.

Here's an original production photo of the refit in drydock. You can definitely see those areas painted in a brownish-yellowish hue:

And this is a photo of the -A at the Christie's auction. Those areas seem very gray to me, and devoid of any real color:

I also recall the "NCC-1701"/"NCC-1701-A" and "UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS" callouts at the rear of the warp nacelles to be aligned differently between the two paint jobs - the original TMP one was left-aligned and the -A was center-aligned.

TMP:


-A:

 

[USS Artorius]

These are several other photos from the Christies auction, the RCS thrusters on the on the saucer still look yellow-ish, I would probably call them yellow-brown. The phaser turrets near the shuttle bay appear to be more of a beige to my eye. The lighting in all the auction photos is not great, so its difficult to know whether the colour as it appears is accurate to the paint put on the model or not. The flash of the camera definitely helps though. I'll include the link to the website here for anyone to take a look for themselves:

http://www.startrekpropauthority.com/2008/05/detailed-photostudy-of-enterprise-8.html

I will note that the first several images are not of the 8 foot filming model. Its clearly smaller - most likely a replica as all the shaded areas of the hull are the same pale turquoise colour, which is definitely not accurate.

I did some annotations for my own peace of mind. All of the pale blue areas are likely holdouts from before it was the -A. If not then they have just been repainted a similar shade.

Yellow-Beige Phaser Turrets

This photo much easier to see the colour differences on the deflector area. I think the panel with the Starfleet logo is a reflective grey or metallic silver, as in the first photo it appears a lot lighter in colour.

And lastly a poor quality image but the RCS thrusters are definitely still yellow to a degree. The camera flash does us a favour here.

I am planning on cross referencing all these images to discern the "true" colours for each area then compare those findings with 4K screenshots from ST4 - 6. Then I can work backwards to the TMP iteration. Any more high quality images of paintjob/detail changes would be amazing. I will also look out for any information from the production staff themselves, if they had anything to say about the models changes from movie to movie. Thanks all.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Huh... yeah, they do look a bit yellowish there. Interesting. I kind of wish it was a little more obvious, like the VERY yellow (almost orange) markings that ILM put on the Reliant miniature:

Stargazer had them really yellow too:

And there does seem to be a slight difference in hue between the gray-green secondary hull coloring, vs. a faint blue-gray of the dish housing. I always thought they were changed over time, and consistent. I now wonder if the paint on the dish got screwed up somehow and they had to touch it up with new - but more bluish - paint, and couldn't exactly match it to the original green.

I wonder where the refit is now. IIRC, it was sitting in the main lobby of one of Bezos' Amazon corporate offices. Perhaps someone can get some good pro-level photography of it without getting kicked out by security.

 

[mkstewartesq]

I wonder where the refit is now. IIRC, it was sitting in the main lobby of one of Bezos' Amazon corporate offices. Perhaps someone can get some good pro-level photography of it without getting kicked out by security.

Actually it was (and as far as I am aware, still is) in the corporate office offices of Blue Origin, one of Jeff Bezos’ other, non-Amazon, companies (the rocket company that sent William Shatner and other celebrities to space)

M

 

[137th Gebirg]

Looks pretty good for a model that old - although I kind of wish they had it behind glass or something, like the TOS-E at the Smithsonian. I'd hate for some ass-clown try to take a selfie with it and accidentally knock it over. It feels like it could be a little precarious on that stand.

 

[David cgc]

All the information we have on the model at Blue Origin is over ten years old at this point. It’s possible it’s still right there as it was, but we have no real way to be sure.

 

[publiusr]

Actually it was (and as far as I am aware, still is) in the corporate office offices of Blue Origin, one of Jeff Bezos’ other, non-Amazon, companies (the rocket company that sent William Shatner and other celebrities to space)

M

I can just see someone stumbling into it.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Yep. It just feels wrong sitting out like that. I am hoping @David cgc is right and that the photos are out of date and the model is now being displayed more… responsibly. But, then again, it’s Bezos and if it did get damaged under his ownership, he’d just shrug and have a new one commissioned without understanding (or caring about) the historical significance of the original.

 

[B.J.]

I'd prefer it to be better protected too, but I can understand wanting it out. I saw the OG in the Smithsonian recently, and it is very difficult to get a good picture of it due to all the glare coming off the glass around it. It would work if it was in a darkened room with the lights coming from inside the display, but it's near some windows, so a lot of natural light is being reflected.