JMChladek Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 (edited) Sorry about the other posting, but a database error popped up when I hit "post" and I was unable to see if it went through (and couldn't get into the forum after that for awhile either). Looks like just the title posted, but nothing else. If a moderator can get rid of that other "phantom" posting it would be most appreciated. Anyway, I am calling this an unofficial entry since I started and pretty well finished work on it before I was a member of Britmodeler. But, by a strange coincidence, I did start after the GB start date (early October) and finished it up a couple weeks ago. I decided to post it here instead of "Ready for Inspection" since it might provide some inspiration to some of you guys out there. Who knows, maybe I was getting a telepathic signal from somebody. When the TOS episode "The Doomsday Machine" was filmed in 1967, AMT (also issued by Aurora) had just issued the brand new 18" Enterprise kit and the production crew got ahold of one to turn into the trashed USS Constellation. The original 1966 vintage tooling (which I call the long box kit since it was first issued in a bigger package) was issued with relatively minor modifications until about 1974 when the molds were almost completely worn out. Demand for the kit remained high, so AMT tooled up a brand new kit in 1975 and that one we continue to see to this day (what I refer to as the "small box" tooling). I documented many of the changes for an article I wrote for CultTVman.com about 10 years ago (I have to update it a little). So, fast forwarding to 2011, I had a couple of the long box kits lying around and decided to build one up as a replica of the Constellation production model used in the episode. There were many changes made to the model when AMT retooled it. Some changes improved its fit, others reduced its accuracy. But to do a proper Constellation, I decided it best to start with a long box version, specifically one from 1973--74 which I got for pretty cheap since the later long box kits don't sell for as much as the ones with lights (or the Aurora ones). Except for the kit itself, the only other things I used were styrene bits for the damage (round, half round, quarter round, I-beam and square shape), plasti-card for the decks, aluminum foil and pieces of mangled and stretched sprue from the original plastic parts trees in the kit itself. Damage to the original kit plastic was accomplished with a cordless Dremel moto-tool and various engraving and cutting bits. I was working from several screen captures I found online and tried my best to replicate the damage shapes as seen in them, while adding a little bit here and there to let the model stand up to closer scrutiny. The primary paint shade was Tamiya IJN Grey mixed with about 30% white to match research I had on the TOS Enterprise studio model color. The rest of the paints I used were a combination of Floquil, Tamiya and Testors paints. Decals I used were a combination of aftermarket ones, kit decals from a Round 2 AMT reissue and some custom printed ALPS decals. Burn marks were done with an airbrush and with ground up pastel chalks applied with microbrushes. Anyway, here is the result: For the display stand, I took a screen capture of the Doomsday maw and used it to cut a piece of plasticard to the proper shape and on that I applied an ALPS decal of the image. The 3D maw was sculpted with Milliput, conforming roughly to the shape seen in the image. The dedication plaque decal comes from the new Revell of Germany TOS Enterprise kit. You can see the rest of my photos here: http://s92.photobucket.com/albums/l31/JMCh...0Constellation/ I've got some work in progress pictures, but I have yet to upload them. For this one, I was mostly documenting it on Youtube in a series of videos (eight parts in all). You can find it if you look for "18" USS Constellation Project" or the name "JMChladek". If you've got access to an Aurora kit or one of the long box AMT versions, this is a pretty fun project to do. And best of all, the model is "screen accurate" in terms of its details if built as the Constellation, so there is no need for aftermarket resin bits. Anyway, enjoy! Edited January 28, 2012 by JMChladek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azgaron Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Excellent build! Looks awesome! Cheers, Håkan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Nice work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basosz Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 OMG that is fantastic !! VERY well done sir ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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