USS Enterprise Model -- AMT

[NTRPRZ]

Does anyone know what molds were used for the Enterprise model in the recent re-issue using the original box art? Were they the original molds, with the lighting and green sensor domes, or a more recent set?

I doubt they're the originals (probably retooled to a less accurate later version). I just don't want to spend the cash for what otherwise would be essentially a box.

 

[Green Shirt]

I thought I remember hearing that the latest mold was used.

 

[Rÿcher]

There is one major, MAJOR exception: The dreaded raised panel lines are gone on the saucer top.

 

[QuasarVM]

There is one major, MAJOR exception: The dreaded raised panel lines are gone on the saucer top.

Ugh. I hated those gridlines...and those 3 dimples on the bottom of the saucer....

 

[USS Kongo]

I can confirm that the dimples on the bottom of the saucer are still there. But they can be removed by being filled in with putty.

Sean

 

[QuasarVM]

I can confirm that the dimples on the bottom of the saucer are still there. But they can be removed by being filled in with putty.

Sean

Yah...been there, done that...I just don't understand why they are there at all...

 

[Ziz]

Those basic molds have been copied and re-tooled a number of times over the past 40 years. Every time, there are some changes, some subtle, some not so much. If you just want an E of that size to build, get the most current one. If you're looking for a specific version for collector or historical reasons, hit Ebay.

 

[Forbin]

Si, it's basically whatever the latest set of existing molds are.

On the bright side, the new decal sheet is quite awesome. It' basically the Polar Lights decal sheet enlarged and with the names of all 12 ships added. The decals sheet is the same size as the box!

 

[Captain Robert April]

Seeing how much aftermarket decals can run, it's not a bad deal for the money.

Still wish they'd fixed a few more screw-ups, though. At least I could understand why the deflector shield grid was there, but where in the hell did those three dents come from?

 

[Redfern]

...but where in the hell did those three dents come from?

I know they are not screen accurate, but I let the forward one be the photon torpedo launch tube and the side "pips" be airlock hatches (not for travel pods as in TMP, but more akin to the spacesuit egress Spock and Kirk exited in the same flick).

How and why they were included on the AMT kit, I have no idea. But with a lil' imagination, they don't have to be the "abomination" some fans make them out to be.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Warped9]

Seeing how much aftermarket decals can run, it's not a bad deal for the money.

Still wish they'd fixed a few more screw-ups, though. At least I could understand why the deflector shield grid was there, but where in the hell did those three dents come from?

Agreed.

I would love a TOS E in this scale, and I'm terribly disappointed that they just didn't fix more things on the model. As such I just can't see myself buying this reissue.

Sad in a way because in some ways I'd like to.

 

[Captain Robert April]

It's still a fun model to build. Just not all that accurate.

I might still pick up a few, to fill out my pre-Constitution fleet (the advantage being that I don't have to change much of anything, except to bring it a little closer to the way the kit was pre-'76 (which is why I prefer getting an older kit cheap and building that). Like I said, the decal sheet alone is worth the price.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Still wish they'd fixed a few more screw-ups, though. At least I could understand why the deflector shield grid was there, but where in the hell did those three dents come from?

Back in the day, models weren't made to be 100% accurate. Didn't Matt Jeffries design the model kit version? Decisions were probably made to add more detail on the kit for appearance's sake.

As a kid, I never noticed that it was "wrong" especially since I could never get the nacelles on straight.

Still, having said that, I always hated the grid lines. The lines have been plaguing fans of the shot over and over as even most of the recent repros still had them. Thank God the AA version was smooth.

The dimples on the bottom never bugged me. I just figured those were the phaser arrays. One to shoot forward, then the other two port and starboard. The photos came out of there as well.

I do remember hating it when AMT changed the satellite dish and the rear nacelle caps. It was a lot easier to paint the smooth caps than it was to get the revised caps with the globes all even.

 

[Psion]

Still wish they'd fixed a few more screw-ups, though. At least I could understand why the deflector shield grid was there, but where in the hell did those three dents come from?

I recall seeing those same dimples in the construction photos of the Phase II Enterprise. They'd have been official if the series had aired.

 

[Captain Robert April]

They were in a test model, but that's only because it was a modified AMT model. The big model they were building didn't have them.

 

[Green Shirt]

...but where in the hell did those three dents come from?

I know they are not screen accurate, but I let the forward one be the photon torpedo launch tube and the side "pips" be airlock hatches (not for travel pods as in TMP, but more akin to the spacesuit egress Spock and Kirk exited in the same flick).

How and why they were included on the AMT kit, I have no idea. But with a lil' imagination, they don't have to be the "abomination" some fans make them out to be.

Sincerely,

Bill

They can be explained away with a little imagination, if one doesn't feel like filling them in. At least the AMT version doesn't say "copyright Paramount Pictures" on the saucer.

 

[JDF]

Still wish they'd fixed a few more screw-ups, though. At least I could understand why the deflector shield grid was there, but where in the hell did those three dents come from?

Back in the day, models weren't made to be 100% accurate. Didn't Matt Jeffries design the model kit version? Decisions were probably made to add more detail on the kit for appearance's sake.

No, Jefferies didn't directly design the kit version. AMT took his 3-view drawing and did their own tooling based on them. Although, Roddenberry and Jefferies did approve a mockup, it's possible that some more changes occured before kit production began.

However, AMT did build the Klingon filming model directly from Jefferies drawings, and they scaled it down a bit for the commercial kit version. I've always thought that the photo of the Klingon model on the original box is actually the filming model with it's strange purple, grey and green color scheme and missing details that were added to the kit.

BTW, there is rumor that a larger (1/350 scale, or there-abouts), "filming-model-accurate" version of the TOS Enterprise will be coming from RC2 later in 2010. That's too long of a wait for me. I want it now.

 

[Captain Robert April]

Oh, it's not a rumor, they are planning a 1/350 TOS E. They're just not far enough along in the development stage to make a definite announcement yet, so technically, it's still considered tentative.

 

[Warped9]

Oh, it's not a rumor, they are planning a 1/350 TOS E.

 

[ACE]

Here is a link to a model forum that compares the re-release box art to the original:

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=241052