I would like to get 1) people's opinions on the panel lines, and 2) any information that I may not have seen about them. Obviously, this is somewhat aimed at tech fandom.
I was at the Smithsonian Air and Space building on the day that it opened (concurrent with a Trek convention in Washington). I saw it in all its damaged glory, with a missing sensor dish and silver duct tape applied to damaged areas. I did not see panel lines, but the lines I later saw were very light, likely in pencil, in it may be that from the viewing distance from which I saw it they were not that obvious. the paint was very much gray, with possibly a tinge of green.
The first "refurb" that I aware of involved replacing the sensor dish (it was more of a sensor bowl), and I'm guessing that they touched up damaged areas. At least, the duct tape was gone. The nacelle cap motors were not working, but the caps were lit. The viewing area was the same, so same notes on the panel lines.
Of course, Franz Josef put obvious panel lines on his drawings...but only on top of the saucer. When they did the first "real" refurb that I'm aware was,I think, in the 90s. I can't recall the name of the guy who did it, but I met him. He said that the panel lines were obvious, and that he thought that they were always "meant" to be visible, and that the cameras/lenses/filmstocks of the time just didn't pick them up.
They moved the model to the gift shop some time around this period, possibly right after the refurb. It was more or less on eye level, and you could get within a couple of feet of it. One could definitely see the lines, as he had emphasized them. However, I could see panel lines, which, again, looked to be in pencil. Since he had clearly changed the paint (Cthulhu green, as I referred to it), and added rust streaks, I assumed at the time that those lines were his additions, since the Cthulhu green would have covered what was there before..
My interpretation of the panel lines was thhat Datin had used them during assembly, to do some things as determine where to drill holes or place decals. Somewhere along the way they became "part of the design," I'm guessing with Franz Josef.
I was at the Smithsonian Air and Space building on the day that it opened (concurrent with a Trek convention in Washington). I saw it in all its damaged glory, with a missing sensor dish and silver duct tape applied to damaged areas. I did not see panel lines, but the lines I later saw were very light, likely in pencil, in it may be that from the viewing distance from which I saw it they were not that obvious. the paint was very much gray, with possibly a tinge of green.
The first "refurb" that I aware of involved replacing the sensor dish (it was more of a sensor bowl), and I'm guessing that they touched up damaged areas. At least, the duct tape was gone. The nacelle cap motors were not working, but the caps were lit. The viewing area was the same, so same notes on the panel lines.
Of course, Franz Josef put obvious panel lines on his drawings...but only on top of the saucer. When they did the first "real" refurb that I'm aware was,I think, in the 90s. I can't recall the name of the guy who did it, but I met him. He said that the panel lines were obvious, and that he thought that they were always "meant" to be visible, and that the cameras/lenses/filmstocks of the time just didn't pick them up.
They moved the model to the gift shop some time around this period, possibly right after the refurb. It was more or less on eye level, and you could get within a couple of feet of it. One could definitely see the lines, as he had emphasized them. However, I could see panel lines, which, again, looked to be in pencil. Since he had clearly changed the paint (Cthulhu green, as I referred to it), and added rust streaks, I assumed at the time that those lines were his additions, since the Cthulhu green would have covered what was there before..
My interpretation of the panel lines was thhat Datin had used them during assembly, to do some things as determine where to drill holes or place decals. Somewhere along the way they became "part of the design," I'm guessing with Franz Josef.
Sadly, I missed the light up show.... I didn'y know this was an event!
