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Drawings of AMT 18" Enterprise Model?

I've been following this project on Federation Reference, but I never have registered yet so i haven't been posting over there. Great work though.

--Alex
 
aridas sofia said:
And yet, with some careful building it can be a perfect representation of Constellation. ;)
Click to expand...

But only if it's a kit produced before 1976. The placement of the nacelle struts is different in the later molds (hell, the entire shape of the upper secondary hull is different), and there's really no way to correct that.
 
Captain Robert April said:
aridas sofia said:
And yet, with some careful building it can be a perfect representation of Constellation. ;)
Click to expand...

But only if it's a kit produced before 1976.
Click to expand...

The discussion is about Shaw's plans of the 1966 kit. :confused:

Shaw said:
...And it should be noted (for those who haven't been following my project) that this isn't the Round 2 18" Enterprise model, this is based on the original AMT 18" model from 1966. The 18" models produced after about 1975 (including those currently in stores) have some significant differences, so these drawings wouldn't make a good reference for them (which is why I haven't added much to this thread).
Click to expand...
 
publiusr said:
Really nice photos here, for you long box big game hunters

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=320865&page=2
Click to expand...

Merciful Mogg! Is that really what it appears to be? The original version of the kit, the one with translucent nacelle domes intended for illumination?!

That's the "holy grail" of Trek kits! I honestly believed I'd never see one of these original releases. Brother, I'm saving those snapshots to several backup media!

Sincerely,

Bill
 
Strictly speaking, the amber dome version is not the original issue, it's the second release. The original 1966 version only had lights in the saucer domes.

But yeah, it's a definite grail kit.
 
I think I've got one of the older kits lying buried around the apartment somewhere? Not sure which one it is/was but seems I remember it had no half-spheres on the aft end caps? I'll hafta see if I can do some spring cleaning and find it.
 
Captain Robert April said:
Strictly speaking, the amber dome version is not the original issue, it's the second release. The original 1966 version only had lights in the saucer domes.
Click to expand...

You guys obviously know the history of this kit more intimately than I do; I won't question that. Just making sure I understand this correctly.

  • The initial release illuminated the dorsal and ventral sensor domes, nothing else, right?
  • A second release introduced translucent nacelle domes that were illuminated in addition to the sensor arrays, right?
  • Then a third release dropped the idea of illuminating the engines (and thus casting thoses pieces in opaque plastic again), but kept the illuminated sensors, right?
  • A fourth release dropped the internal electrics, but kept the translucent green pieces for the sensors and the original "peg in loop" mounting system for the pylons (which was the first version of the kit I bought in 1973).
  • Another release experimented with another pylon mounting system, a semi-circle "bulkhead" (positioned 'roughly" where the back wall of the shuttlebay was located) which interlocked with "slotted" tabs at the base of the pylons (my second kit).
  • Finally, the major revision which introduced the stern mounted nacelle hemispheres, the smaller and less accurate nav' deflector, the "fatter" B/C deck module, etc.
Have I got that straight?

Sincerely,

Bill
 
One point of contention with the otherwise brilliant article linked above.

What Mr. Chladek calls LB6 (late long box, with the slotted nacelle strut setup), I contend is actually the first short box issue, put out shortly before the major redux of the molds that got us the kit we've got today. I've only seen it in the short box, both back in the day and in the one I just got from eBay this past week and am fiddling with presently.

I'll go further and state, in my semi-humble opinion, that it's the best version of the 18 incher produced, as it still has the most accurate detailing, best grade of plastic, and the slotted disc arrangement for the nacelle struts actually holds them straight and corrects the drooping nacelle issue of the previous edition. Frankly, what they did in the redo of the molds was a bit of a crime against this model line.
 
Redfern said:
Captain Robert April said:
Strictly speaking, the amber dome version is not the original issue, it's the second release. The original 1966 version only had lights in the saucer domes.
Click to expand...

You guys obviously know the history of this kit more intimately than I do; I won't question that. Just making sure I understand this correctly.

  • The initial release illuminated the dorsal and ventral sensor domes, nothing else, right?
  • A second release introduced translucent nacelle domes that were illuminated in addition to the sensor arrays, right?
  • Then a third release dropped the idea of illuminating the engines (and thus casting thoses pieces in opaque plastic again), but kept the illuminated sensors, right?
  • A fourth release dropped the internal electrics, but kept the translucent green pieces for the sensors and the original "peg in loop" mounting system for the pylons (which was the first version of the kit I bought in 1973).
  • Another release experimented with another pylon mounting system, a semi-circle "bulkhead" (positioned 'roughly" where the back wall of the shuttlebay was located) which interlocked with "slotted" tabs at the base of the pylons (my second kit).
  • Finally, the major revision which introduced the stern mounted nacelle hemispheres, the smaller and less accurate nav' deflector, the "fatter" B/C deck module, etc.
Have I got that straight?

Sincerely,

Bill
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's pretty much the sequence, although I think when they dropped the lighted Bussards, they dropped the lighting altogether. That's also when they changed the decal sheet.

A note about the second release: Some of them had red Bussards instead of amber (probably another version of the "chase kits" molded in a different color, done purely for counting purposes in the factory and nothing to do with making a kit more "collectible", or possibly made on a day when they were out of amber plastic, take your pick).

So, if you're looking for an Extra-Holy Grail kit, there ya go.
 
Thanks for the corrections. Oh, I'm not actually trying to track down and purchase a "grail" kit. I'm satisfied with seeing snapshots of this near "mythical" kit, just some decent evidence said kit really existed. I had read about it for years; fans with whom I've chatted claimed to have owned it, but later "lost" it or whatever. So I began to have my doubts.

These snaps are the first I've personally seen that demonstrate the "fabled" illuminated kit was really produced. And they have satisfied my curiosity.

Sincerely,

Bill
 
Now I seem to remember some doors extra vents in the impulse drive, similar to the vents we see in FJs blueprints. Now there are two main vents later, but I swore there were raised extra vents or something on the impulse piece. But that was years ago...
 
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