Jasonb13 Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 Hi all... Ok. I've been meaning to do this for a good while now. And I *think* I'm finally going to start it. I built this kit back in '96. Straight out of the box, brush painted one colour all over the hull, no gloss coats, and the fibre optic lights only lit a pin hole in each window, not the whole window. It was still easily the most impressive model I'd made at that time. The finished build eventually died and is long gone. But last year I found another one and bought it. It's been on my mind since then, and I think I'm finally biting the bullet to start it. Obviously, I'd like to do a better job of it this time! I've spent the last few days doing research, there are lots of excellent builds of this out there, though most of them are the later, clear plastic, kits, which helps with the lighting of the windows. I have some box pics etc. but am struggling to find a new Photo Hosting site (preferably a free one!) so I'll keep them until I find one. I do have a basic plan, but it's liable to change. I've ordered the 4 Tone "Generations" masks, so I'll be painting the Aztec scheme. I've also ordered replacement decals from Jt-Graphics, as the kit decals look very suspect at this stage. And I've ordered the Green Strawberry PE set, which will add some nice detail, and cover the trenches I have to cut for the wiring up to the pylons, So the first part of my plan is to throw money at the problem! Next, the windows. I want to have them lit full-length, not just pinpoints of light from the fibre optics. Current thinking is to drill out the windows that will be lit and fill them with Kyrstal Klear. However, they'll need to be drilled before painting/assembly obviously, but the Krystal Klear will need to be added *after* painting, so that might be a little awkward to do. And I have to decide is I'll still use the kit light sources/fibre optics, of if I'll go for LEDs inside instead. I've no experience of LEDs, but nearly all online builds are using them. Firstly though, I need to strip primer off the kit (I bought it second hand) and I also need to sand it all down, removing the raised panel lines depicting the Aztec pattern, as the masks will sit much better with a smooth surface. Of course, I want to remove the panel lines, but not the other detail (lifeboats etc.). So that will be fun. This thread really is the first step though, and sure now I have to start work, as I'm writing about it! I'll post pictures as soon as I can figure out how... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted October 9, 2022 Author Share Posted October 9, 2022 Ok, so I'm not saying it's been months since I was at the bench, and I'm not saying middle age is taking its toll, but I only just remembered that I moved to Google Photos near the end of my last build! So here are some pics... The Box... The Saucers (you can see in the second pic that the outside is primed, and the inside isn't) ... The rest of the main parts... The clear parts and a few other bits and pieces... The Fibre Optics, battery box, wiring and reflective material... Old decals... Some of the Instructions... The decal instructions and some of the paint scheme (two tone) ... And the wiring map... More than enough to be going on with, eh? 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermo245 Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 Fantastic stuff Jason. Will pull up a chair for this one 🍿 Make it so! Dermot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted October 10, 2022 Author Share Posted October 10, 2022 Well, I've officially started, and already have a sense of how long this is going to take! I have to sand off the raised panel line details from the parts. These lines are meant to represent the Aztec scheme on the surface, but that's going to be painted anyhow, and the lines themselves, while adding detail, aren't subtle. In fact, scale-wise, they'd be the equivalent of raised sections about 1.4 metres high. Anyhow, they need to go as they'll only get in the way of the paint masks for spraying the Aztec pattern. It's taken me nearly an hour to do one half of one nacelle, so clearly this is going to take a while. Here's how it looks now, with a non-sanded one for reference... The black blobs are some superglue that I'll sand off, just covering a few slight dips in the plastic. Apart from the black dots it is at least looking a lot smoother! Just three more nacelles, two pylons, the underside of the ship, the upper hull, the rear of the neck, and the two saucers to go! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermo245 Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 Just think of the workout your upper arms are geting! 😬 #KeepOnSanding 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted October 12, 2022 Author Share Posted October 12, 2022 Not much of an interesting update... Now have the first lower nacelle sanded. It was a little more awkward due to the corners/angles involved. I did a lot more scrapping with the scalpel with this one, which of course led to a lot of small, statically charged pieces of plastic... And then sanded it down as best I could, with some more black super glue for filler in a couple of small sections.... So, one Nacelle done, a lot more to do. I'm trying to come up with some sort of faster/tidier way of doing this, but no luck so far! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted October 15, 2022 Author Share Posted October 15, 2022 Another bit of an update. Firstly, I got these today, they'll be needed... With those new sanding sticks, I got working on the other lower nacelle tonight, and it's now done... A far more interesting update (not that that would be too hard) is that these arrived.... Now, that's a *lot* of masks, but of course I *had* to go with the 4 colour ones, the 2 colour ones wouldn't do, oh no! So that's going to be a lot of fun at some stage in the future... Anyhow, the new sanding sticks worked well, so I'll get the final nacelle done soon, and then it's on to slightly more interesting parts. Some sections will be very awkward, as I want to get rid of the raised lines, but not the other detail that I want to keep. But we'll see how that goes when I get there. I'm also looking into LED sets, but the only ones I can find seem to have Navigation lights that are basically a LED tower bulb sticking on the top and bottom of the left and right side of the saucer. They look very out of place and far too big, and it seems weird that someone would even think they would be acceptable. So, I'll continue to look and see what I can find... 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted October 16, 2022 Author Share Posted October 16, 2022 Not an update that needs a pic (how many sanded nacelles do you need to see?) but the last nacelle half is sanded. So that's the nacelles done. That leaves me with 5 (larger) parts left, the upper and lower saucers, the back of the "neck" (the sides of the neck don't have any raised detail) the top of the rear and the lower rear/pylons. Most of the lower rear/pylons doesn't have any windows, but the rest do, and that's detail I don't want to sand away. There are also raised phaser banks and barely raised lifeboats. The phaser banks I *think* need to be sanded off (they'll be replaced by PE), and the lifeboats are really only there to show me where to put the decals that cover them. But it's going to take some very careful sanding to get rid of the raised detail and keep the rest. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenrikChaves Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 Following the topic. I have the very same kit in my stash, and must confess that the wiring intimidates me. Very interested in this build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted October 23, 2022 Author Share Posted October 23, 2022 The kit wiring isn't too bad actually, though my thoughts on that might change if I go with LEDS instead. The only issue with the kit lighting really is the Fibre Optics give pinpoints of light (which look really cool!) but the windows are long rectangles, so the Fibre Optics won't light the whole window. Hence me looking into other options. I have managed a little more on this, have started sanding the upper half of the "tail"/pylons... It's a little rough. I'm not too worried about the phaser banks and other sections (Transporter arrays maybe?) still being a little raised, as they'll be covered by PE and Decals respectively. And the panel lines near the front of the Pylons are recessed, not raised. They'll also be replaced by PE, as that section is where you cut out space to run the wires up to the Nacelles. I haven't done that yet, as I don't know what wires I'll be running yet. I need to get my light system finalised first. Speaking of PE, the PE set also arrived... Looks nice! You can see the two wide pieces in the lower PE Sheet, these replace those recessed panels on the front of the pylons. The Phaser Bank PE looks nicely detailed, but it needs to be curved along its length, so that might be interesting to do well. So, that only leaves me waiting for the replacement decals (already ordered) and what to do with the lights. I've found a few LED Lighting kits, but as I've said, the Nav lights in those kits are far too toy-like. I have tried another site, with a different set, but they're out of stock. And yet another site haven't responded. So, no progress there. I could still use the kit lights and figure out how to light the windows fully using the Fibre Optics, but so far I don't have that sussed out. Once I have some windows drilled I can do some tests. Speaking of drilling windows, I still have to figure out how to paint the model with them all drilled out, will I need to mask them to stop the paint going inside, or are the windows skinny enough for it not to matter? AND I need to figure out do I fill them with Krystal Klear *after* the paint is done, to give them 'glass'. Lots to ponder! I can see what they brought out the clear plastic kit. More to follow... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted October 27, 2022 Author Share Posted October 27, 2022 A little bit of a sanding update... Firstly, I got a few rough bits filled and sanded on the rear of the tail (for want of a better word!) and here's how it looks now... And then I decided to try the upper hull. I couldn't just sand away at this, as I wanted to keep the windows so I didn't want to smooth them out. Thankfully, there weren't as many raised lines, still a few alright, but less than on the nacelles for example. So I used a sharp scalpel to scrape away as much as I could, and only then used the sanding sticks. I got rid of most of the grey primer on it too. Here's how it looks... That's not too bad. Not perfect by any means, but it could be worse! It might need some more sanding when primed, but that's a while away yet. That seems to have given me the technique to use when I'm trying to keep detail (windows/lifeboats etc.) - use the knife first to get rid of as much of the raised detail as I can, so then I can use the sanding sticks sparingly. What I have left to do now is the lower side of the "tail" (which also includes the lower hull - which has windows/lifeboats), and the rear of the "neck" and the two saucer sections. So, progress is being made, slowly! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted November 7, 2022 Author Share Posted November 7, 2022 A quick update, as I'm slowly working away with this. I now have the lower hull/tail sanded... And the "rear neck" is also sanded... The top half of the "neck" doesn't need to be sanded, as it'll be attached to the lower saucer. I was wondering if I should leave the few recessed panel lines alone, or fill them in. In the end I've decided to leave them alone, I can decide in future if I'll put a panel line wash in them or not. Some of these parts aren't as smooth as I'd like, with some 'shadows' of the raised lines still there. I need to decide if I'm happy with that or need to work on it some more. Apart from that, the upper and lower saucers await! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby No Mac Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 *pulls up a pew with the Riker manoeuvre* Ahh, takes me back, I had the earlier boxing, sans lighting, in the early 90s. Likewise, it was also brush painted in various Humbrol enamels and I could never settle on something that looked right. Looking forward to seeing how this build turns out. Gotta love the big D! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FG2Si Posted November 19, 2022 Share Posted November 19, 2022 Nice to see all these Enterprise D re-builds. I have one I did with a locally made conversion kit that turned it into the refit D from "All Good Things". It's still at my folks somewhere so I'll try to remember to grab some pics of it next time I'm there. Carl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted November 25, 2022 Share Posted November 25, 2022 This is a great project, I'll pull up a seat for the rest James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby No Mac Posted November 25, 2022 Share Posted November 25, 2022 15 minutes ago, 81-er said: I'll pull up a seat for the rest 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted November 25, 2022 Author Share Posted November 25, 2022 Thanks everyone! Unfortunately, I haven't got to the Saucers yet, with real life getting in the way. I'm also struggling to find a 3rd party LED lighting set that will work for me, so that's slowing me down a little. I'll update again as soon as I can! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted November 25, 2022 Share Posted November 25, 2022 2 hours ago, Bobby No Mac said: Ah, cinematic legend born from a back injury! 27 minutes ago, Jasonb13 said: Thanks everyone! Unfortunately, I haven't got to the Saucers yet, with real life getting in the way. I'm also struggling to find a 3rd party LED lighting set that will work for me, so that's slowing me down a little. I'll update again as soon as I can! Have you considered putting your own together, or modifying one that's close to what you want? James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil5208 Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 Nice work so far, I made this kit back in 1995/6. Trying to cut the slots for the power to go into the nacelles wasn't fun and there wasn't any aftermarket back then ether but it looked good when light up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyfed0_0 Posted May 15, 2023 Share Posted May 15, 2023 I've just completed the 1:1000 Enterprise Refit and the 1:2500 Enterprise D and did these before the big reveale in Picard S3 Ep 9 "Vox" where the Enterprise D is displayed since its destruction at Veridian 3. Anyway,got me thinking, time to get my version of this set out and make a start on it. Wondering how things have been going of late? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted May 24, 2023 Author Share Posted May 24, 2023 It's going nowhere of late. All that sanding wore down my modelling mojo and I ended up not building anything for ages! I finally got back modelling about a month or two ago, but haven't gone back to this yet. I'm sure I will eventually though! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyfed0_0 Posted May 26, 2023 Share Posted May 26, 2023 On 10/9/2022 at 1:15 PM, Jasonb13 said: Ok, so I'm not saying it's been months since I was at the bench, and I'm not saying middle age is taking its toll, but I only just remembered that I moved to Google Photos near the end of my last build! So here are some pics... The Box... The Saucers (you can see in the second pic that the outside is primed, and the inside isn't) ... The rest of the main parts... The clear parts and a few other bits and pieces... The Fibre Optics, battery box, wiring and reflective material... Old decals... Some of the Instructions... The decal instructions and some of the paint scheme (two tone) ... And the wiring map... More than enough to be going on with, eh? Hi Jason, I'm starting out doing my model but I'm not 100% I've got all the instructions, wondering if it is possible to photo the instructions please? Just want to make sure I've got All the paper work in place before starting. I've got sheets 1 and 2 of 3 Thanks Dyf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted May 26, 2023 Share Posted May 26, 2023 The Scalemates page on this kit doesn't have the instructions for the fibre optic version, but it does have them for the regular version James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonb13 Posted May 26, 2023 Author Share Posted May 26, 2023 3 hours ago, dyfed0_0 said: Hi Jason, I'm starting out doing my model but I'm not 100% I've got all the instructions, wondering if it is possible to photo the instructions please? Just want to make sure I've got All the paper work in place before starting. I've got sheets 1 and 2 of 3 Thanks Dyf Hi Dyf, No worries, I'll take pics when I'm home over the weekend and post them up here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyfed0_0 Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 On 5/26/2023 at 1:11 PM, Jasonb13 said: Hi Dyf, No worries, I'll take pics when I'm home over the weekend and post them up here. Hi Jason, Really appreciate it, I am not 100% but I think I am missing one. Since we both have the same model and I see you thought about using LED's instead of the the incandesant bulbs which to me, makes sense. Ive been looking the same way ive bought the LED's and been playing on the breadboard ive got but not sure of the resistors. Im doing them in series rather than parallel, and Ive got 120 ohms resisters for white and blue and 150 ohms for the red ones. I suspect that they reduce as they add up but not sure, did you work it out? Cheers Dyf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now