AMAZING NEW PICS of the Big E getting refurbished!

[Shaw]

The model originally (for The Cage) had many features painted in place so that the camera could move just past the center line of the model from the front or back and imply that the model was symmetric. This ability was significantly limited once lighting was added for WNMHGB, but many of these painted aspects of the model fooled audiences and fans into believing that real physical features were present where none existed.

In the image below I've highlighted areas that were painted on rather than being actual physical features (like on the other side of the model)...

... and many people still believe that those aspects were actually there originally, which shows just how well the painted features worked on screen.

 

[plynch]

The things I learn here!

 

[Warped9]

The things I learn here!

Same here. I had no idea those details were painted given the shots we had that showed the inboard side of the starboard nacelle.

 

[spockboy]

I think they will need to put in a metal armature like they did for the Master Replicas Enterprise. I can pick that thing up by the nacelle and shake it!
They did a great job re-enforcing it.

Spockboy

 

[Maurice]

A metal armature would require drastically altering the model, so that ain't gonna happen.

 

[Christopher]

I think it's possible that some kinds of internal reinforcement could be added to preserve the miniature if there's no other way. After all, the nacelles are increasingly sagging. And a record of the original construction will be preserved through the x-rays they've taken.

 

[Maurice]

One could make an external cradle to do the job.

This thing is largely solid wood, to build an internal armature of would require very invasive work, potentially damaging it further, so that's a rather high-risk answer.

Also, what about the nacelles sag? The whole thing, or the sheet metal sections?

 

[Professor Moriarty]

The model originally (for The Cage) had many features painted in place so that the camera could move just past the center line of the model from the front or back and imply that the model was symmetric. This ability was significantly limited once lighting was added for WNMHGB, but many of these painted aspects of the model fooled audiences and fans into believing that real physical features were present where none existed.

In the image below I've highlighted areas that were painted on rather than being actual physical features (like on the other side of the model)...

... and many people still believe that those aspects were actually there originally, which shows just how well the painted features worked on screen.

And, of course, if you look really closely you'll see the wiring trunk for the saucer section snaking up the left (port) side of the interconnecting dorsal.

 

[plynch]

Man, I would be a TERRible eyewitness. I notice none of these things until someone points them out.

 

[Mark 2000]

Man, I would be a TERRible eyewitness. I notice none of these things until someone points them out.

Don't worry. I didn't even see the difference between the pilot and production version for 20 odd years.

 

[BeatleJWOL]

One could make an external cradle to do the job.

Agreed, and these days with plastics ('scuse me, "transparent aluminum" ) it'd be even easier to create something that could hold up the saggy bits but be see-through.

Have fun with those mental images, folks!

 

[MGagen]

How about putting it back in a glass box, like before; but hanging each component from the top with thin piano wire that can have its tension adjusted until everything is in proper alignment and there is no extra load on any component?

A couple of thin wires anchored into the solid parts of the front and rear of each nacelle, a couple anchored into the secondary hull (into the solid wood ring forward of the hangar deck and at the base of the dorsal pylon), and four off the perimeter of the primary hull (into the solid wood vanes). Adjust for optimum alignment and lock. The result would not inhibit viewing the model, but it would be stabilized adequately without having to re-engineer it...

M.

 

[Rat Boy]

I don't envy the Smithsonian in the task ahead of them. Not only do they have to figure out what to do with a 50 year old TV model that has issues with gravity, but they have to figure out a solution that not only keeps it healthy for a prolonged period but also satisfies so many fans of said model.

 

[Christopher]

How about putting it back in a glass box, like before; but hanging each component from the top with thin piano wire that can have its tension adjusted until everything is in proper alignment and there is no extra load on any component?

Except part of the problem is that it wasn't designed to be suspended, and the fact that it was originally displayed that way by the Smithsonian caused harmful structural stresses.

Unless you're suggesting a hybrid method, both supporting it from below as it was designed and using the wires just to cancel out gravity.

Of course, the ideal way to protect it from the effects of gravity would be to display it space. Unfortunately, the Smithsonian's orbital annex probably won't open for a few decades at least...

 

[Richard Baker]

I think the hybrid approach of the original base support and some new external support (be it wires or clear glass/plastic) would be the most practical alternative. I was on the fence about hoping they would complete the unfinished side, but now I think it should remain unfinished. That is what the point of having the actual historical model on display is all about. You are seeing it as it was originally used and the practice of having a filming model with an unseen side remaining unfinished is still happening today (the Sulaco in Aliens was only one sided).
When I see it on display, I would like to see it as it was being used in the sixties, not some idealized version.

 

[Mytran]

I'm up for the one sided original version as well, FWIW. There are plenty of accurate replicas out there which display both sides - the actual filming model does not need to be one of them.

As to whether the electrical wires should be on display as well...I honestly don't know.

 

[Christopher]

Maybe display the miniature itself without the wires but have an adjacent display with photos of how it looked on the FX stage with the wires in place, as well as x-rays of its interior construction and whatever else will fit (maybe a video documentary piece too).

 

[MGagen]

Unless you're suggesting a hybrid method, both supporting it from below as it was designed and using the wires just to cancel out gravity.

That's exactly what I'm suggesting, only I omitted mentioning that it should be mounted on a pole as it was designed to be at the same time.

M.

 

[feek61]

I personally would like to see her restored to the condition she was in when she was last filmed for the series. For me I would want the unfinished side to be returned back to it's original condition with wiring harnesses taped to the unseen side of the miniature and the dorsal lights just stuck in from the back side. After all it's an historical filming miniature; not a complete model of a space ship.

 

[Forbin]

I personally would like to see her restored to the condition she was in when she was last filmed for the series. For me I would want the unfinished side to be returned back to it's original condition with wiring harnesses taped to the unseen side of the miniature and the dorsal lights just stuck in from the back side. After all it's an historical filming miniature; not a complete model of a space ship.

I agree.