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USS Saber - NCC-1873


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With the Defiant done and off terrorizing the Dominion, I've brought another ship into the yard.  This one being the Sentinel class USS Saber, designed by Admiral Buck on RI and made by Ugh Models - before the CnD blew apart the shipyard...

 

I already did some work on her before she was shifted to Shelf o'limbo for a time. Saucer is in place and the struts are in. Now, I'm just smoothing the joins and using PPP to fill in the window cavities. I'll use some window decals to replace them.

 

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And the decal sheet.

 

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I've decided not to use the options provided, but print the name SABER in Airborn font on some clear decal sheet.

 

And just a bit of trivia, she is not being named after the edged weapon, but the character of Saber from the anime Fate/Stay Knight.😉

 

 

 

Edited by Thom216
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On 6/12/2019 at 7:42 AM, RACETRACK said:

what  a beautiful ship. Love it.

Admiral Buck makes some beautiful ships... You should check out his work on Resin Illuminati.

 

On 6/13/2019 at 8:21 AM, Tomjw said:

This is awesome. How do you buy from Ugh! Their internet shop seems difficult to find.

 

Cheers,

 

Tom

 

Unfortunately, Ugh models received a Cease and Desist (CnD) and had to stop selling their Star Trek line. Which seems stupid as these ships are privately designed and are not canon at all. I managed to get a few before they had to stop, and this is one of them.

Their store site is still up here,

https://www.fpkclub.com/ugh-models/?page_id=204

 

And their Facebook is here,

https://www.facebook.com/UGHModels/

 

 

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23 hours ago, Thom216 said:

 

 

Admiral Buck makes some beautiful ships... You should check out his work on Resin Illuminati.

 

 

Unfortunately, Ugh models received a Cease and Desist (CnD) and had to stop selling their Star Trek line. Which seems stupid as these ships are privately designed and are not canon at all. I managed to get a few before they had to stop, and this is one of them.

Their store site is still up here,

https://www.fpkclub.com/ugh-models/?page_id=204

 

And their Facebook is here,

https://www.facebook.com/UGHModels/

 

 

Thanks Thom. I agree the CnD does seem stupid.

 

Cheers,

 

Tom

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Smoothing out the windows went pretty easy, and the window decals from PNT came in pretty quick.

 

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I've been going back and forth over the panel lines on the engineering hull, whether to re-engrave some bad ones, cover them with thin styrene cut to match each 'panel,' or just smooth them out. I've decided to just smooth them out. I'll fill them with PPP and sand them flush, TOS smoothie-style and then move on.

 

Model on!

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Some more progress! Finally got the sides smoothed out after a few applications of PPP. There are still some spots to clean up, but I'm generally happy with it. I'll need to use a finer grit to smooth it out a little more, but hopefully I'll be able to move on quickly from here.

 

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On the other one, I'll definitely do this before the nacelle struts and saucer are attached!

 

Model on!

 

 

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Alright, I hope I'm close to paint now. There are still a few spots to hit, such as the crease between the saucer and the main hull, always the toughest spots to hit for me. And the phaser banks, which suffered from some overzealous sanding and lost detail. I took them off and will replace them with some small nail heads before paint.

 

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Model on, Dudes!

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So, I happen to have a whole bunch of pins that will suit my needs, and the size of the phaser emitters that were sanded off, They are just about perfect.

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I used scotch tape and a pencil to mark where the holes should go, and even measured out a pair for the front of the saucer.

 

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I used a cutting wheel in a dremel to cut the heads off a pair and placed them in to see how they would look.

 

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They sit a little proud of the surface, but I'll counter-sink the holes so the bottom edges sit flush.

 

I was looking into resin rivets instead, such as what is offered by Archer Transfers, but none on offer are large enough to replace the lost detail. But, I am happy with the way it looks.

 

Model on!

Edited by Thom216
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Alright, all six are in place. I glued them in with Micro Kristal Klear, as I could see myself making a big mess with the CA. Each pin has a little shaft remaining going into the resin.

 

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With those done, I moved onto the nacelles. Since I am painting them off the model, I needed a way to hold them, so I drilled some holes in the strut slots for toothpics.

 

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Then using the now headless pins, I pinned the end caps on. The kit does come with two rectangular resin bars that are meant to help align them, but pencil-marking them and then pinning worked just fine.

 

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Unfortunately, the join is quite messy, so the end caps needed to go on before paint.

 

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I'll hit them tomorrow and neaten that join up, then see about reinstating some lines on the saucer that are beginning to disappear. Perhaps too many primer coats...🤔

 

Model on!

Edited by Thom216
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Another lil update. I decided to replace the fantail shuttle door. The kit's detail there was a little rough, and the door sections looked a bit too large to me.

 

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So I raided the Styrene Stash for some louvered/corrugated plastic. Using Scotch tape, I traced the opening onto that and cut the shape out.

 

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After sanding it to shape, I then glued it in with CA, and I'm calling it good!

 

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Model on!

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My, Grandma, what big teeth you have... 😁

 

Seriously, that looks good. I suppose it'll lose a bit of impact when painted, but it certainly is an improvement on the original doors. Nice work.

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Hah! I didn't notice the grin-like visage until now. 😄

 

And you are correct, she did lose a bit of 'impact' after a coat of Alclad primer/microfiller.

 

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Yup, that big grin has blended in a bit!

 

Once dry I shall sand that coat smooth and then cover that with a gloss coat. After, will come the first layer of color.

 

Until then, I shall call her Black Beauty!

 

Model on!

Edited by Thom216
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Thank you!

Most ladies look good in black, but this one is destined for a white(ish) dress...

 

The first color to go down after the black was Model Master light gray. Once that was dry, I masked with Tamiya tape, and then mixed some MM white in with the light gray and laid down that color.

 

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I encountered a little trouble taking off the masks. A little paint peel on one nacelle and a big patch under the saucer.

 

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I'll have to reverse mask and repaint those spots. Once that's all dry, I'll give it a light sanding to knock down the roughness and then get onto detail painting.

 

Model on!

 

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The peeling is a recurring monster on this build for me.

 

Since those pics were taken, a full sanding was done and a repaint accomplished. The colors are now reversed, though still remaining lighter as befitting a Star Fleet ship. Contrast is toned down as well.

 

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And wait for it now. Heeeer's paint peal!!

 

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😡

 

I tell yeah, that just broke my heart... On the plus side, it is far smaller than the last occurrence, though this is in two (no three) spots. Just for 'fun' I flicked those spots with a hobby knife and watched whole section peel up. Plus side of that? Less sanding. Yeah! Still have to redo that whole central section on the underside of the saucer anyway though.

 

But, I'm giving it a couple days rest. Back to work tomorrow anyway.

 

Model on!

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After some picking and sanding, the effected area was cleaned up and repainted. I still need to do the arc of square panels on the inner edge as well as the RSC quads, and start on the sensor dish.

 

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While that was drying I turned to the nacelles. They got a copper ring around the front and a shot of silver and then clear blue over the radiator panels.

 

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There's a little clean up to do in there - plus a partial fingerprint to take care of... But after that, I'll do the spires that go under the domes and the end caps.

 

More updates acomin'

 

Model on!

 

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Today I got the ghost stripes on the side painted on, as well as the dark panels on the bottom side of the saucer.

 

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And for me, a few steps forward means a few back as well...

 

Had some more paint peel on a nearly completed nacelle. Peeled almost all the way around the circumference... Gobsmackit!

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Also a tiny spot once again on the underside of the saucer. For there, I foresee a few pieces of styrene being cut to some useful shapes and glued over that to cover it. I'm done with major sanding - unless the entire paint peels off the whole thing... Maybe I shouldn't be tempting fate...

 

But, the nacelle damage was cleaned up and repainted.

 

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That nacelle is now a little darker at the front when compared to the other, but I kind of like that now. I imagine she's needed a new nacelle at some point in her career, and the paint was just slightly off.

 

Making progress though, despite the back-steps. Model on!

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This looks great so far. ... Im sure you know what you're doing with the paint and all. I cant help wonder if you base surface is to smooth and thats whats causing your issues with peeling. If it were my build id key the surface somehow, maybe use 1500 grit. Dry sanding the surface to leave a rougher texture for the paint to bite into ? Just my thoughts here and if you tell me to take a jump in a lake i would understand. 

 

Dennis

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No jumping required! 😜

 

And that may be a possibility. This is really the first resin model I've built, so it is new territory for me. One thing I didn't do, and may be the answer to the peel problem, is that I did not wash the parts...  I've never done that with plastic kits and never had a paint problem, but resin is a whole different medium. Although, I've still had paint peel on areas that have been thoroughly sanded, which you would think would remove any mold release residue anyway.

 

One thing I can do is detack the tape as much as possible, to make sure that the stickiness of the tape does not overpower the adhesion of the paint to the model.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Alright, after some touch-ups and sand-downs, I'm calling main paint as done! Woot woot!!

Might still need a little attention here and there, but she'll be getting a gloss coat in prep for decals. Still need to do the bussards, also have to make the new NCC registry # and name, but she's coming together!

 

Put the phaser banks back in place and painted those.

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Did the impulse engines with a silver Molotow pen, clear red and then masked before Tamiya German Gray.

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Showing off her profile!

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During a test flight, she needed to intercept the 'Fighting' Falcon, which had somehow slipped from her yard...

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Up under the saucer, and I still need to do her sensor dish.

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A look at the can...

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And from above.

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Still more work to do, but the list is getting shorter every (other) day.

 

Model on!

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On 7/31/2019 at 4:14 AM, Tomjw said:

Superb work. A beautifully neat paint job. Can't wait to see her with decals on.

 

Cheers,

 

Tom

Thank you! As with anything though, the painter always knows where the rough spots are!😉

 

A little further along and we're onto the last pics before decals! It's always a special time when those red bussard domes are added to a Star Trek ship.

 

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Model on!

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