There and back again; One fan's 1701 obsession...

[Chrisisall]

In my tiny tot years, I loved the Enterprise on TOS, I made my parents get me one AMT model after another as every year I seemed more able to get those damned pylons just a little bit straighter.
In my teens I discovered the use-a-whole-roll-of-scotch-tape method of securing them while the glue set. And the fun of turning older Enterprise models into Constellations. I also visited the Smithsonian Institution, and actually SAW my great girl suspended from the ceiling, all flat light gray & smooth as I had had it burned into my cortex from TV.
In my twenties I marveled at the majestic grandness of the Refit Enterprise, and after the shock of a differently designed deflector dish & warp nacelles wore off, it became my #1 starship of choice- decidedly more detailed and graceful than my first interstellar Constitution-Class love. Making models of it ensued. But many less in number, as I was a far better craftsman by then.
By my fourties, I had witnessed Enterprise-D (okay, I bought a die-cast of it), Voyager (seeing on TV seemed enough), and Enterprise-E (you'd have to pay me to make a model of THAT one).
BUT.
Later in my fourth decade on this rock I discovered TOS-Remastered with NEW FX replacing old 60's opticals.
And there she was, as she'd always actually been and as I'd never actually seen her due to the technological limitations of the day.
Today, the original Enterprise is STILL my favourite of all. My appreciation for the Refit is still there, though diminished a bit when I realize how amazing the Original E could have looked on the Big Screen had they chosen to go that way.
And I'm making models again (well, repainting Art Asylum replicas mostly, but I did make a Polar lights 1/1000 E kit with my Son, surprising how easily the pylons on THAT one went on right, heh heh*).

Baby, I'm back!

Anyone have any stories of your love for Enterprise, and how it may have evolved through the years?




*this post was not meant to be, nor should it be interpreted as a ad for AMT/ERTL, Art asylum, Polar Lights, or any of their respective subsidiaries.
Or, are THEY the subsidiaries?
Whatever...

 

[plynch]

I love the grace of those pylons flying back when the ship is seen from the front.

IIRC GR and Jeffries intentionally incorporated male (cylinder) and female (circle) archetypal shapes in the design.

I love your AMT model memories, b/c the warp engines were the bane of my existence. My first kit had only rectangular holes as opposed to the later sockets in the secondary hull. One kit I glued the pylons in and turned the whole thing upside down, with them supporting the sec. hull as they dried. I think that kind of worked best. I can remember one time taking away the supports when I thought the engines had dried, just to see them wilt slowly due to too much, still-wet glue.

I was mad.

AND that stupid, little stand they gave you -- I never got that thing to work, either.

But I love the E. My sons have my 1979 TMP cutaway poster above their bunk beds.

 

[Chrisisall]

My sons have my 1979 TMP cutaway poster above their bunk beds.

My 11 year old Son want to build a 5 foot scratch model of TOS Enterprise with removable sections so you can see the interior decks & stuff.


Buddha help me....

 

[Dayton Ward]

Yep, the original is still my favorite

I also visited the Smithsonian Institution, and actually SAW my great girl suspended from the ceiling, all flat light gray & smooth as I had had it burned into my cortex from TV.

I saw the model at the Smithsonian for the first time in 1986. Since then, I've probably seen it eight or nine times during visits to D.C. It's like an old friend I try to drop in on whenever I'm in town.

Some pics I took at the Smithsonian....

Some info on the restorations over the years

Smithsonian: X-Ray Analysis of the Starship Enterprise

That last link has a couple of really nice pics of the model from when it was hanging in different areas of the museum.

 

[Nardpuncher]

I like that the ship is distinctive in its design. There's nothing like it. Well, except for lots of other Trek ships, but you know what I mean.

 

[Shaw]

...

I'm not sure I'd qualify that as an obsession.


Oh... and I also sort of like the Enterprise.

 

[Chrisisall]

I'm not sure I'd qualify that as an obsession.

Tell that to my Wife...

 

[Shaw]

I'm not sure I'd qualify that as an obsession.

Tell that to my Wife...

Actually, I think it would be more convincing if my wife told that to your wife.

 

[Chrisisall]

I'm not sure I'd qualify that as an obsession.

Tell that to my Wife...

Actually, I think it would be more convincing if my wife told that to your wife.

Could we make that happen, LOL???

Also, my Son is learning Klingon.
And he has a REALLY big phaser....

She's surrounded.

 

[Dayton Ward]

^ That is simply The. Coolest. Thing. Ever.

 

[Chrisisall]

^ That is simply The. Coolest. Thing. Ever.

In my art class, we were supposed to take a real object and blow it up 5 to 10 times normal size in cardboard. I picked a phaser, being me.
Now that I got my A on it, I can paint it!

AND, my Son just pointed out that the angle of the pylons on my Art Asylum E puts the nacelles slightly too far apart (by about 5mm)!!!! The Polar Lights model, however, is perfect.
Now I gotta fix the former, or make a new latter that lights up!!!

 

[Chrisisall]

And yeah, this is the way she looked when I saw her (first & only time, so far...):

My OWN photo is so dim I dare not even post it.

 

[Dayton Ward]

^ Can it be any worse than the pix from my crappy little 110 camera?

 

[Chrisisall]

^ Can it be any worse than the pix from my crappy little 110 camera?

Ohhhhh yes.

 

[Chrisisall]

t it!

AND, my Son just pointed out that the angle of the pylons on my Art Asylum E puts the nacelles slightly too far apart (by about 5mm)!!!!

Success!!
Patience, tape & a hairdryer were all I needed. I gently coaxed the nacelles into the correct position with well-placed HEAT!!!!!
I'm kinda surprised it was that easy, honestly.

 

[Warped9]

Everyone struggled with those pylons. I certainly did and built numerous ones.

I remember being enthralled with the TMP refit when I first saw it, but since I returned to the original as my absolute favourite. It looks good from so many angles. It has only the lighting it needs which is something I've not been that crazy about with the refit.

If I have an obsession is that I like to see it photographed a little more realistically. And I'd have LOVED to have seen it as it should be on the big screen. But that movie hasn't yet been made.

 

[Chrisisall]

I remember being enthralled with the TMP refit when I first saw it, but since I returned to the original as my absolute favourite. It looks good from so many angles. It has only the lighting it needs which is something I've [not-?] been that crazy about with the refit.

In 1979 I LOVED all the external lighting on the Refit- it was so cool.
But I failed to wonder back then why it was at all necessary. Starlight is all that is necessary for a good visual confirmation of a ship with advanced visual detection equipment, beacons identify the ship to other Federation wessles, sensors 'see' a ship that isn't intentionally cloaked anyway, and running lights are there for all other purposes.

If I have an obsession is that I like to see it photographed a little more realistically. And I'd have LOVED to have seen it as it should be on the big screen. But that movie hasn't yet been made.

And likely won't, unless a retro Director of a future flick demands model work at some point.

 

[Warped9]

^^ I wonder. IF someone had a good large scale model perhaps like the scratchbuilt ones I've heard of on the order of about 60" or so, with good lighting and photography could they not fashion something of what we're discussing?

Indeed, could it also be fashioned with devoted cgi work?

 

[Chrisisall]

^^ I wonder. IF someone had a good large scale model perhaps like the scratchbuilt ones I've heard of on the order of about 60" or so, with good lighting and photography could they not fashion something of what we're discussing?

Of course.

Indeed, could it also be fashioned with devoted cgi work?

More expensive IMO due to the man hours, but it *could* be done. I guess.
My ultimate pick would be shooting a model & green-screening the CGI backgrounds. A good blend that would have weight & still be not TOO expensive to achieve. They did it in Zathura & to a lesser extent in Independence Day...

 

[RandyS]

That's great. he found a Star Trek artifact while visiting the Land of the Giants.