Nice! 
And the Curator sounds like she knows her stuff.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=960926837253437
And the Curator sounds like she knows her stuff.https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=960926837253437
AMAZING NEW PICS of the Big E getting refurbished!
- Thread starter spockboy
- Start date
I think that is the best idea. The model wasn't designed/built to be fully assembled for extended lengths of time, just when it needed to be shot for effects footage.
The model was originally designed as a hanging model... only it was intended to be hung from a single wire that entered the model on the spine of the dorsal pylon and anchored at the base of the secondary hull's interior.
The real problem was that the 1974 restoration team modified the model to be hung from three points... the dorsal (via an eye-bolt) and each of the nacelles. To do this the nacelle support pylons were bolted to the secondary hull and to the nacelles. I assume this is another type of violation to the model that they wouldn't do today.
The diagram below shows approximately where the changes to the model were made...
I've been studying the Enterprise model as a model for quite some time, making notes about details of the model that weren't supposed to be seen, and changes to the model over time. I threw together a few quick-n-dirty diagrams that might be helpful (or at least interesting) for those that like this type of thing...
I love the fictional Enterprise, but the models are a testament to the artistry of those that helped bring her to life in the original series.
If they're shots of the filming model, they'd be standard incandescent lights -- LEDs weren't invented until 1962 and they cost hundreds of dollars per unit until 1968 so the internal lighting had to be done with normal bulbs.
In one of the X-rays there's something that looks like one of these: http://www.costlesslighting.com/images/CREE_LED/Quad.jpg .
Might it have been added in the Miarecki resto?
Nice!
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=960926837253437
After watching the video and realizing what a huge piece of history the Enterprise is, I've changed my mind about the restoration and would like to see it as close as possible to the shape it was in when last filmed. I understand that they may have to add internal bracing that wasn't originally in the model but as long as the outside isn't altered, that's ok with me.
Nice!
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=960926837253437
After watching the video and realizing what a huge piece of history the Enterprise is, I've changed my mind about the restoration and would like to see it as close as possible to the shape it was in when last filmed. I understand that they may have to add internal bracing that wasn't originally in the model but as long as the outside isn't altered, that's ok with me.
It sounds like they get it.
Restoring the exterior to its 2nd season look is exactly what I'd like to see.
Nice!
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=960926837253437
After watching the video and realizing what a huge piece of history the Enterprise is, I've changed my mind about the restoration and would like to see it as close as possible to the shape it was in when last filmed. I understand that they may have to add internal bracing that wasn't originally in the model but as long as the outside isn't altered, that's ok with me.
It sounds like they get it.
Restoring the exterior to its 2nd season look is exactly what I'd like to see.
Except for the lighting which I'd put on the "Would Be Nice" wishlist. Not sure what'd it entail to install LEDs like the video mentioned except for the whole taking her apart, which might be a little perilous depending on the condition she's in.
Not a big deal to replace the lighting and certainly they need to get rid of the compact fluorescent lighting put in during the 90's renovation. The model was originally built in '64 without lighting and was retrofitted with lighting for the second pilot episode and then later for the series. The miniature comes apart and there is ample access to replace the lighting which has been done several times. I would like to see LED lighting installed which would allow the miniature to stay lighted which really is what people want to see and it is what makes the Enterprise come alive.
I'm all for that, as long as they can do it without damaging the structure. But I'm confident that the team they've assembled will do it right this time.
Thanks!
I believe the modification predates the 1991 restoration because in photos from the disassembly it looks like there is a discoloration on the inner surface of the primary hull from a CFL.
That is the same access port that was in the x-ray from the diagram.
In the following image I composited one of the Smithsonian x-ray images with a photo of the model... and placed the light bulb in the x-ray similar to what would have been there originally.
The thing to keep in mind is that the original lighting wasn't intended to be on for very long (much like how the model wasn't intended to be assembled for extended periods), and the heat of the original lights in the primary hull would cause visible warping of the surface if left on too long.
In either 1974 or 1984, the lighting was altered to something that gave off much lower heat (and was also much dimmer than the original lights used in filming) so that the model could be displayed lit. I don't believe Miarecki changed any of those internal elements, but he did try to bring the nacelle domes back to something similar to what was seen on the show (many of those parts were missing when the model was donated in 1974).
http://trekcore.com/blog/2015/02/enterprise-smithsonian-photos-video/
Interesting comment at the bottom of the page made by someone called "Nowhereman10" - it appears that he claims that the port side of the ship was actually finished up until the second pilot and was then "altered" when they added the lighting cables. Has anyone heard this story?
Nowhereman10: "Interesting that you bring up the ruined port side of the model, because it wasn't always that way. If you can find the photos, which are *extremely* rare, you will see that up until the Second Pilot version of the port side of the model's stardrive was still intact. Only when the Production version alterations were done and the need to run the bulky power cables up to the nacelles' lighting motors was the port side detailing wiped out to make room for them."
Interesting comment at the bottom of the page made by someone called "Nowhereman10" - it appears that he claims that the port side of the ship was actually finished up until the second pilot and was then "altered" when they added the lighting cables. Has anyone heard this story?
Nowhereman10: "Interesting that you bring up the ruined port side of the model, because it wasn't always that way. If you can find the photos, which are *extremely* rare, you will see that up until the Second Pilot version of the port side of the model's stardrive was still intact. Only when the Production version alterations were done and the need to run the bulky power cables up to the nacelles' lighting motors was the port side detailing wiped out to make room for them."
Easy enough to verify/dispute. The port side NEVER had the "box" which brackets the housing for the sensor dish nor the indent aft of it, through which the pennant decal runs. If you see a photo which looks like the port side of the model and it has this feature, then it's not the port side at all: it's the starboard side with the reversed decals that's been flopped optically. Likewise, under each nacelle's nose there are those rectangular details, and there are only two: one at each bottom centerline and one to the starboard of those. They never put on port side equivalents.
I'd challenge that guy to produce such a "rare" photo.
I'd challenge that guy to produce such a "rare" photo.
Last edited:
Complete rubbish; the miniature was built to be filmed from one side only. They did have reverse decals that they put on a few times and filmed if to make it appear that the miniature's other side but that was it. As Maurice stated; the sensor dish support was never competed and neither were the details on the inside of the engine nacelle that was not seen on camera. This guy is confused and wrong.
Nice!
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=960926837253437
Oh, this is marvelous. It sounds like the Enterprise is in good hands.
This is an excellent thread. A couple notes:
The registry lettering on the 3-foot model not only shows the white/silvery borders, the letters appear to be slightly raised from the surface of the hull.
As for renovation vs. restoration: This is of course a problem that confronts all preservationists, whether of paintings, buildings or -- ahem -- starships. The question before us, I think, is whether we want the best possible model of the Enterprise, or the best possible display of an important artifact from a filmed television production.
For myself, I want to see what the TV crew worked with. I'm more than happy with seeing the port-side wiring and all of that. If I may make a humble recommendation to the Smithsonian, which apparently is reading this thread:
We all need context. Put it back into the condition it was in when last filmed, using period materials, and then also recreate the blue-screen background and studio lighting. (Note to purists: that way we also get the blue-spill.) Present it in its original setting. Let us admit that it's a studio model, and see it that way, and celebrate the wonderful illusion that was created by skilled artisans half a century ago.
P.S. Has anyone ever attempted a model of the filming model? That is, bookshelf sized, but showing the port wiring, the original stand the model sat on, etc.?
The registry lettering on the 3-foot model not only shows the white/silvery borders, the letters appear to be slightly raised from the surface of the hull.
As for renovation vs. restoration: This is of course a problem that confronts all preservationists, whether of paintings, buildings or -- ahem -- starships. The question before us, I think, is whether we want the best possible model of the Enterprise, or the best possible display of an important artifact from a filmed television production.
For myself, I want to see what the TV crew worked with. I'm more than happy with seeing the port-side wiring and all of that. If I may make a humble recommendation to the Smithsonian, which apparently is reading this thread:
We all need context. Put it back into the condition it was in when last filmed, using period materials, and then also recreate the blue-screen background and studio lighting. (Note to purists: that way we also get the blue-spill.) Present it in its original setting. Let us admit that it's a studio model, and see it that way, and celebrate the wonderful illusion that was created by skilled artisans half a century ago.
P.S. Has anyone ever attempted a model of the filming model? That is, bookshelf sized, but showing the port wiring, the original stand the model sat on, etc.?
Ooh, that's a clever idea. Does it come with a miniature Howard Anderson?
I have seen the 1/1000 Polar Lights model done up as the shooting model, in a blue screen setting with model cameras. I can't swear the modeler rendered the left side as blank, though. Nor can I remember who did it or where to find a pic. I'll check over at Starship Modeler and see if it's there.
You'd have to go the extra mile to make the various port side features.
Last edited:
