This is the 1/1400 AMT Yamaguchi kit christened the U.S.S. Excalibur. The kit was molded in clear styrene; GOW bulbs were provided for illumination. The instructions said to paint the exterior and scrape away paint from the windows allowing the light to shine thru. I used another method; however, as I thought this might give you a "scratched up window" look. It would also be hard to get the frames on each window identical to the one next to it; the ends have to be perfectly round and how do you get that by scraping without a lot of work. My technique employed round needle files, denatured alcohol, rubbing alcohol, and microbrushes. I spun the microbrush between my fingers in each window slot to get the rounded shape I needed. Finally a dab of future was brushed on each window for crystal clarity.
In addition to the windows, the build presented a few other challenges primary of which was good light blocking. Also, the clear plastic was very brittle necessitating a few minor repairs to the saucer rim whenever I bumped it against the workbench while painting !
I went with a silver blue metallic finish on my ship. Never could stand that pastel "baby boy's room" look they gave the Enterprise C.
In addition to the windows, the build presented a few other challenges primary of which was good light blocking. Also, the clear plastic was very brittle necessitating a few minor repairs to the saucer rim whenever I bumped it against the workbench while painting !
I went with a silver blue metallic finish on my ship. Never could stand that pastel "baby boy's room" look they gave the Enterprise C.
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