1/350 TOS Enterprise is a go!!!

[Warped9]

I don't understand etching the gridlines. In the whole "were they they / were they not" debate nobody has ever suggested they were a physical part of the model.

You're right. To the best of my understanding they were added by someone with a pencil, and certainly not by Matt Jefferies. And it's understandable that even at the scale of the 11 footer they were very subtle and faint.

The thing is with a painted on or penciled mark it could be more visible at most angles and under most conditions. But something very finely etched would be visible only when the the light strikes it a certain way and if you're looking at it at just the right angle. And something that fine could easily disappear with a couple of coats of paint sprayed on.

But what this tells me is that they're apparently taking great pains to get this model as right as they can get it. It's an irony that one of these well built could be more detailed and better finished than the original 11 footer even in its heyday. At least this model won't have an uncompleted side.

 

[Sam McCord]

I hope it has no gridlines of any sort... IMO, it'd just be a waste of time... I'd rather just have a smooth hull to work with than worry about correcting girdlines that are too deep, and making them that faint is just useless... may as well just pencil them in in post.

 

[Vance]

You're right. To the best of my understanding they were added by someone with a pencil, and certainly not by Matt Jefferies. And it's understandable that even at the scale of the 11 footer they were very subtle and faint.

April's got it right (for once )

Roddenberry wanted the shields drawn on the ship, and Jefferies pointedly didn't. Roddenberry was the boss, however, so Jeferries drew them on just faintly enough so that they could be used for model shots and to be visible on the studio.. but fade out nearly completely under the FX lighting.

 

[Ziz]

At least this model won't have an uncompleted side.

Oh, and you think there aren't a bunch of us that haven't thought of doing a version like that?

 

[Cary L. Brown]

You're right. To the best of my understanding they were added by someone with a pencil, and certainly not by Matt Jefferies. And it's understandable that even at the scale of the 11 footer they were very subtle and faint.

April's got it right (for once )

Roddenberry wanted the shields drawn on the ship, and Jefferies pointedly didn't. Roddenberry was the boss, however, so Jeferries drew them on just faintly enough so that they could be used for model shots and to be visible on the studio.. but fade out nearly completely under the FX lighting.

I've been led to understand that the "grid" was there... and ONLY there... for a very simple reason.

This is the only place on the ship where there were large, circular markings. The lines were drawn, in very light pencil, as GUIDES for application of other markings.

These days, we're all used to computers which create perfect circles easily. We can wrap text along a perfectly circular path on a CGI model.

But have you ever tried putting the decals on a "no lines" 1701 primary hull? And have you had trouble getting it "just right?"

I'm convinced that the pencil lines on the top of the P-hull were never intended to be seen, nor to be part of the design. I think it's quite clear that they were there to serve as "cheat lines" for placement of lettering, etc.

That said, it'll be quite trivial to put subtle grid lines in the "weathering decals" and they'll be TRULY REPRESENTATIVE of what was actually on the model... ie, not raised ribs or recessed grooves.

 

[Vance]

Oh, and you think there aren't a bunch of us that haven't thought of doing a version like that?

Now THERE would be an odd customizing kit, to be sure...

 

[Vance]

But have you ever tried putting the decals on a "no lines" 1701 primary hull? And have you had trouble getting it "just right?"

Going from memory here... the first lines were drawn in barely for the stencils when making "The Cage". Roddenberry wanted to keep them (and claimed from then on that they were the shield grid, hence why you see that in both the TM and MoST) and Jefferies did not.

Jefferies then penciled the rest of the grid to be visible when the mdoel wasn't lit, but faint enough that they wouldn't show under the FX lighting (much less on a 1968 TV set). They do show, a little, in both "The Cage" and "Where no Man has Gone Before", but only barely. (You have to know they're there, basically.)

 

[Warped9]

From Wonderfest 2011. This is awesome: http://s52.photobucket.com/albums/g31/NCC-1963A/WF 2011/?action=view&current=DSC08064.jpg I'd love a copy of those drawings. Click on the pic to enlarge.

 

[Captain Robert April]

At least this model won't have an uncompleted side.

Oh, and you think there aren't a bunch of us that haven't thought of doing a version like that?

:::raises hand:::

As part of a diorama with a Botany Bay model, recreating that behind-the-scenes pic on the cover of "The World Of Star Trek".

 

[137th Gebirg]

So who's going to be the first to make a drydock diorama of the 2 1:350 Enterprise kits to show the refit underway like Lee Stringer's "All I Ask Is a Tall Ship" pic from SotL October 2006?

 

[Tallguy]

Is this the first time that TOS and TMP have had two separate kits that are to scale with each other?

 

[137th Gebirg]

I believe the two "3-ship set" kits from AMT (the TOS/TMP/TNG E-D kit and the E-B/E-C/E-E kit) for all the Enterprises were all of the same scale (1:2500). Polar Lights also has their TOS/TMP 1:1000 kits. This is the first time they are to scale in a decent size bigger than a 70's vintage hand-calculator.

 

[Forbin]

There are also Starcraft's resin kits in 1/1400.

 

[Forbin]

OBTW, Round 2 has said that if the 1/350 TOS sells well, it'll guarantee more kits of that size, such as a 1/350 K'Tinga.

BUT, if sales are poor, it'll kill any chances of ANY new large models, including a 1/1000 1701-D and the 1/1000 Akira.

The 1/350 E is going to take ALL their development budget for a full year, and they can't stay in business if they do that again in the future and that next kit fails to turn a profit.

 

[Tallguy]

I wonder how the pre-sales are going?

 

[137th Gebirg]

There are also Starcraft's resin kits in 1/1400.

AH! Right - forgot about those - I was only thinking of production styrene kits.

OBTW, Round 2 has said that if the 1/350 TOS sells well, it'll guarantee more kits of that size, such as a 1/350 K'Tinga.

BUT, if sales are poor, it'll kill any chances of ANY new large models, including a 1/1000 1701-D and the 1/1000 Akira.

The 1/350 E is going to take ALL their development budget for a full year, and they can't stay in business if they do that again in the future and that next kit fails to turn a profit.

Awesome! Maybe even a 1/350 Reliant - I'll get them all, even if it means they'll be sitting on a shelf for a while.

 

[Cary L. Brown]

There are also Starcraft's resin kits in 1/1400.

AH! Right - forgot about those - I was only thinking of production styrene kits.

OBTW, Round 2 has said that if the 1/350 TOS sells well, it'll guarantee more kits of that size, such as a 1/350 K'Tinga.

BUT, if sales are poor, it'll kill any chances of ANY new large models, including a 1/1000 1701-D and the 1/1000 Akira.

The 1/350 E is going to take ALL their development budget for a full year, and they can't stay in business if they do that again in the future and that next kit fails to turn a profit.

Awesome! Maybe even a 1/350 Reliant - I'll get them all, even if it means they'll be sitting on a shelf for a while.

They may make a 1/350 "JJPrise," but you'll need a build-up area the size of Rhode Island.

 

[Psion]

There are also Starcraft's resin kits in 1/1400.

AH! Right - forgot about those - I was only thinking of production styrene kits.

OBTW, Round 2 has said that if the 1/350 TOS sells well, it'll guarantee more kits of that size, such as a 1/350 K'Tinga.

BUT, if sales are poor, it'll kill any chances of ANY new large models, including a 1/1000 1701-D and the 1/1000 Akira.

The 1/350 E is going to take ALL their development budget for a full year, and they can't stay in business if they do that again in the future and that next kit fails to turn a profit.

Awesome! Maybe even a 1/350 Reliant - I'll get them all, even if it means they'll be sitting on a shelf for a while.

They may make a 1/350 "JJPrise," but you'll need a build-up area the size of Rhode Island.

Or New Jersey ... but the exact figure is subject to debate.

 

[publiusr]

A bit larger even
http://the-grey-ghost.com/