My Polar Lights TOS Enterprise Build-up

[Albertese]

I've been working on Polar Lights 1:1000 scale TOS Enterprise kit. I thought it might be fun to show some pics to the rest of the class. I am taking a few liberties with the ship, mostly in how I plan to paint it. The model's construction is finished except for the various tubes that are meant for the engine pods and the navigational deflector which will be added after the painting is complete.


So, here we go:


Here's the ship from the top. You can see how I shimed out the width of the nacelles. Also, one of the liberties I am taking is the addition of "In a Mirror Darkly" type phaser positions. I made these out of pin heads:


I wasn't happy with the parts match of the ring around the deflector cowling so I resculpted it out of epoxy putty. You can also see pin head phasers:


Here's the aft end, around the hanger bay doors. I wasn't happy with the facing directly under the doors so I built it out with a strip of styrene. You can also see how I puttied around the navigational beacon and added pin heads as phaser emplacements. Also there's a small feature I sculpted out of epoxy puty to represent a grommet or something I think I see on various pics of the studio model:


I tried to frost the clear domes with 600 grit sandpaper but I wasn't happy with the results so I took it to work and hit the parts with the sandblaster! 25 micron silica beads at 30 PSI made for a nice even effect. You can also see how much putty is needed to square up the boxes inder the domes:


I've gotten as far as priming the model. Here are a couple pics of what she looks like right now. Notice the forward end of the warp engines are masked off:

 

[KirkTrekModeler]

Looks good, that's a heck of a start.

 

[Albertese]

Thanks! Now I'm off to continue painting. I feel that the paint job is really what makes or breaks a Star Trek model. More pics coming soon!

 

[KirkTrekModeler]

Albertese said:
Thanks! Now I'm off to continue painting. I feel that the paint job is really what makes or breaks a Star Trek model. More pics coming soon!

Definately, painting, detailing and decals, but you can't forget the seams. You can have a beautifully painted model, but if the seams are evident, it just screams unfinished.

 

[Griffworks]

Excellent work, thus far. Curious to know what colors you'll use in it's painting. Also, what's her name going to be?

Oh, very nicely done on the forward nacelle domes. :thumbsup:

 

[Albertese]

I'm trying to make the hull appear paneled, sort of like the Defiant from IaMD. I want the final look to be very subtle, really almost not visible from a distance. The main color is (IIRC) polly scale lettering gray and will applied in four layers (1) straight, (2) tinted with Model Master pale green, (3) tinted with Model Master Intermediate Blue, and (4) tinted with Model master Aluminum. Once all four layers are on I will over-spray it all with a layer of some either bluish or greenish grey. I havn't decided if I want it to look like the studio model (greeninsh) or as it appeared on screen after being photographed in front of a blue screen (bluish). Other details are painted in light gray or intermediate blue. The forward panels of the Engineering hull with be a little warmer grays and there will be a darker ring on the top of the saucer which will be a bit greener than the rest of the ship.

Anyway, it's hard to explain what I mean exactly. I'm a little farther than this, but here's a pic of step two as described above:



Hopefully I'll be able to get a lot farther on this this weekend. Wish me luck!

Oh, and this girl is the Enterprise, baby! It just doesn't seem right to have all this 1:1000 stuff in the pipe without 1701 to photograph it with!

 

[Griffworks]

Luck!

 

[Albertese]

For the two of you who seem interested in this, I'm still working on it, but my computer has got a virus which is causing me a great deal of frustration. (I'm posting this from my buddy's mac) So untill that gets sorted out, no more pics.
Hopefully I'll be able to show the rest of this project soon.

 

[Q2UnME]

There's more than two following along, but some of us are in lurker mode. Nicely done. Warp engines look really good; like how the sandblasting frosted the nacelle caps perfectly. As for color, I hope it turns out the way you like. I went with "concrete" mixed like described over a CultTVman's website page on "What color is the Enterprise?". I've seen the Grey Lady several times over the last 30 years and the "concrete" color they describe is spot on with the "untouched" top side of the saucer section.

Looking forward to more pictures; sorry to hear about the computer bug. They can be a real pain in the ass.

Nice job!

Q2UnME

 

[Albertese]

Hey Q2! Thanks for tuning in! Yeah, I'm familiar with that article on Cult's site. The final paneling effect I've come up with looks really good to my eye. Very subtle. I used to have the "concrete" chip from Wal-Mart but I lost it and this part of Oregon doesn't have many Wal-Marts where I can conveniently get another. Oh well. I decided to go for a little more of an "on-screen" look anyhow and I've been shooting for a more blue color than a green-grey.

Hopefully I'll have more pics soon. Stay Tuned!

 

[Griffworks]

Kewelness. I look foreward to seeing what you've done thus far, as I'm sure the other guy who's still with us does.