Fascinating. I love the hybrid schematics where you superimposed x-rays of the 11-footer atop the Enterprise. And in the half-century I've been staring at this ship, I don't think I've ever seen that memo from Roddenberry.
Agreed! I believe this is the first time I've seen confirmation that Roddenberry wanted the inboard "flux chillers" lit. I'd heard rumors about it for years, but always thought they were just fanboy retcons. I wonder what he wanted to see.
I guess when I hear "Shaw is doing a tech manual" my head tells me that it would be a collection of mostly production materials with some "in universe" context. There's lots of tech manual material out there (although only a handful with you kind of skill). That kind of approach would make yours stand out, certainly. You could be the Cushman of ships, sets, and props. Only, you know, accurate. Have you met us? EDIT: Just realized that my phone wasn't showing me most of the images here. WOW!
I got the AMT Exploration set in the mid 70s as a kid. I loved that. The AMT Models and Franz Joseph Tech Manual I got at about the same time. This is great stuff, Shaw. They are definitely artifacts of an era. That decade of Trek in the wilderness, from the end of the TOS show to TMP (1969-79) is near and dear to my heart. Anything from that time, or done in that style will always get my support. Well done!
Thanks everyone for all the encouragement! I'm hoping to get back to the exploration set in the near future. I just need to figure out brass etching for the communicator lid. The X-Rays are from publicly posted images by the Smithsonian. They are from two different sets, one set was taken in June of 1999 and the second from January 2015. At one point I was going to submit a FOIA request for a more complete set, but I realized that the data has many of the same issues as photos (distortions) and I already had a really good idea of the inside structure of the model. The X-Rays are best for what they are intended for, spotting issues with the model you might not normally see. I noticed that I used an older image on one of the pages I posted... here is a better version... Click to enlarge In the end there is something more rewarding about researching this stuff as real world artifacts... it brings more attention to the talent of the people who made it all happen for us. Reconstructing the original plans of the Enterprise and the plans for the Phase II Enterprise helps us see this iconic ship through Jefferies' eyes. Detailed plans of the 33 inch model helps see the artistry of Datin, and plans of the 11 foot model that of Keys, Sion and Jensen. And plans of the Phase II studio model let us see the work of Price and Loos. Plus, in a lot of ways, models are like actors. And I've always felt that studying the Enterprise from TOS should include all of them. So even though I've posted these in other places, here are my plans for the 3 inch and AMT 18 inch models... Click to enlarge Click to enlarge High Resolution Version (2.8 MB) And the AMT model finished as the Constellation... Click to enlarge Can't bring up the Constellation without pointing everyone to her digital double. And she, of course, lives again in a more recent incarnation. A few years back I had started playing with the idea of construction plans of the Enterprise (circa 2243)... Click to enlarge And started in on the layout of some of the decks... Click to enlarge ... but it has been a while since I last played with it.
You, Sir, have earned it! Oh wow. Nice way of looking at that. Oh man! Where were these when I was doing my Pike-era Enterprise! Sweet!
Holy cow! I didn’t know the itty-bittyprise was used in that iconic “Doomsday Machine” shot! All these years I assumed it was an AMT model (after all, another AMT kit was used for the Constellation). It’s also surprising to read this and realize that the planet killer studio miniature really WAS miniature! If they used that tiny Enterprise stand-in like this, the PK model couldn’t have been more than a couple of feet in length at most. (I always assumed it was more like four or 5 feet long.) Oh and BTW, I am flattered by your mention of my current efforts The time and effort you’ve put into all of this research is, quite simply put, staggering. It is also very much appreciated by this graying Trekkie. Stupendous!
I was told long ago that the Enterprise miniature in this shot was the balsa wood and cardboard proof-of-concept model. Wow! I love to learn new things about my favorite show! And of course the tiny Enterprise could have been in as a separate element ... or they could have done them at the same time like the Botany Bay and the Enterprise. I'd love to know more, or to have been there. Man, that would have been fun. And of course, I'm such a sad, pathetic little man that I have to include this. I'm not done yet, but getting there. The reason to include this (beyond my fragile little ego) is because I based this on your AMT model plans!
One thing I would like to see done would be this blueprint to be--updated.... https://www.yourprops.com/Matt-Jeff...Trek-The-Original-Series-TV-1966-YP22718.html
Sadly, Matt Jefferies is no longer with us, but you can take your pick: https://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/blueprints-main2.php David Shaw has done spectacular work on replicating the plans for the 3 foot model, and I have seen his work on the 11 foot model as well (my personal favorite). The 3 foot model plans have been gathered on the blueprint database. https://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/1701-33inch.php I wish they had done that with his 11 foot drawings as well. They are lovely.
That is spectacular! I hadn't seen it before this... but I also don't get on the net much, so it makes it easy to miss things. So earlier today my wife suggested opening the blinds to let some light in, and when I turned around I saw something worth the effort of taking a couple photos and uploading them... Click images to enlarge Normally she (the Enterprise), like everything else around me, is in the dark... so this was a nice change. Of course I closed the blinds as soon as my wife left, I'm not much for bright light.
This is a long project that I'm attempting to finish. I started it back in 2014 using the leftover parts from my Phase II Enterprise build. I made modifications to those parts and started in on putting together the graphics for the decals in the intervening years. Recently I bought the Round 2 reissue of the old AMT refit kit to supply the missing parts I needed and I'm now at the stage of applying decals. - WARNING - I am not a fan of the refit Enterprise. While this is a study of the studio model's original configuration, this does not represent the same type of exhaustive research I've devoted to other subjects that I'm very passionate about. I had the extra parts and was curious. I don't even have all the data on this version of the Enterprise I had back in 2014/2015, so I'll be going mostly from memory. And given that, this most likely doesn't really need its own thread, so I'll throw it in here. With that said, here is the model waiting for the decals... Click to enlarge The starting of the decal application... Click to enlarge Click to enlarge And a bit more progress with a quick comparison to the Phase II Enterprise... Click to enlarge Here is the start of decaling the secondary hull... Click to enlarge Some more shots of the primary hull (now with windows)... Click to enlarge The deflector assembly might not be the final part. I had reworked the kit part to have a deeper bowl (same thing I did on my Phase II Enterprise), I made a mold of it and used the rest of my clear resin (which had yellowed). I might try it again with a new batch of resin and tenting it blue. And here is some progress on the warp nacelles... Click to enlarge I took a short health break, so here is where the model is at currently... Click to enlarge Because I didn't want to put the model away I stuck the primary hull on with a drop of CA... Click to enlarge Sorry about that image being blurry, I was having a hard time keeping the camera steady during that shot. Here are a few more (clearer) shots... Click to enlarge I made a little more progress on the decals, and I hope to take some more shots to upload in the next couple days.
Nice work. This really reinforces my opinion that the refit looked better after the pinstriping was removed and the upper and lower domes were changed to what we ultimately saw on film.
This sentence makes no sense to me. But you're you, so... Ok. Nice job on the thing you're a fan of. I am a fan and I've never done anything close to this.