USS Stingray NCC-1911

[Thom216]

Albright, I started this project a few weeks ago, seeing as I have so many incompletes anyway, so why not add to the list? 

While looking through the WonderFest galleries I came across a pic of a 1/350 single nacelle destroyer, and it suddenly looked cool enough to do, and seeing as I have a couple of excess 1/1000 Enterprise-A kits, I thought, 'why not?'

 

So I took it out and started butchering! First was marking out where I wanted to cut the saucer.

 

There are a few blurry pics....

 

Then I hacked into those.

 

I'm adding a resin lower hull sensor and deflectors, so that needed to be marked out.

Either that, or I am praying to my Incan deity.

 

Though, clearly, I should have done a better job of fitting the part...

 

Clean up for later. then the halves were joined. I also put some sprue spacers in to keep the structure rigid while it was being worked on. 

 

I forgot to pull the RCS quads from the cut out sections, so I had to go back in and add those.

 

And then skinning time!

 

The opening in the center will be closed as well, but I still need to make the shuttle bay doors that will go there.

 

And jumping around, I moved to the mounting rod. It will be going up through the nacelle, the neck and anchored into the saucer.

The white tube will make the anchor point, the large brass will be the sleeve going the hull and the smaller will be the actual mounting rod.

 

I have since cut off the torpedo bay, as the original cut on the bottom was uneven, and leaving it just left the whole thing looking too 'tall.' 

 

And current state of play with a little test fit of parts to see how it all looks together.

 

The nacelle being used is not from the Enterprise kit, but from the Reliant kit. Its parts are already set to be mounted from under the saucer, and the Enterprise nacelles will be best used with the Reliant kitbash I have planned.

Next I'll be cutting and adding the torpedo bay to the bow and making new airlock doors in the neck, as well as changing the trailing profile of the neck with some added plastic.

 

More to come!

Thom

Edited July 31, 2022 by Thom216

[xebec]

Very cool Thom- I admire someone who's ready to go after a kit with a razor saw. I'll be following along here. 

[Thom216]

A wee update.

Since I removed the torpedo housing from the neck, I cut and moved the launchers to the bow of the saucer.

 

Then, once again because I took off the torpedo housing, I had to make some new airlocks for the neck. I stated by matching a small drill with the kit molded airlock and drilling a hole straight through, Then I found some spru thin enough, from the 1/1000 Yamato kit, smoothed the end and pressed it in keeping it just slightly recessed. And voila! New airlocks!

 

After that, I moved onto changing the profile of the neck. I decided to make it longer so I cut two pieces of styrne to rough shape, glued them together and sanded to shape.

 

You'll also notice the two bits of styrene glued to the mating area of the neck. When I added spru spacers into the saucer this mucked up the alignment between the saucer and the neck. Test fits showed a wonky nacelle as a result with a butt-high attitude. But those little spacers have solved the problem. When I glue the neck to the saucer I'll plate that area over as cover up. 

 

The alignment looks good to my eye now!

 

More to follow!

Thom

Edited August 7, 2022 by Thom216

[Thom216]

Just a bit of an update. I added another peg to the base of the neck, which is helping to 'lock' the parts together. Without glue at the moment and it is sitting together pretty well.

[Thom216]

Closed up the big holes!

 

First I had to use Tamiya tape to map out the dimensions, then transferred that to a blank piece of styrene, It was a bit small, so that was traced then onto two new pieces, which were good fits.

Then the rectangles for the shuttle bays were framed and cut out, after making sure that they were level for each panel.

 

The apertures were then cleaned up with sanding and some swipes of Tamiya Extra Thin to melt the plastic 'fuzzies.'

 

The doors are corrugated styrene, the thinnest lines I could find in my plastic stash, and were placed in vertically for sideways moving doors.

 

Then of course, they were offered up and accepted. Fits a little fiddly with extra top and bottom, but that was planned for and will be sanded down. A little PPP with clean the joins on the sides.

 

I'll get those neatened up and then finally see about faring in the saucer mounted sensor dish.

 

More. To. Come.

 

T.h.o.m.