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I'm at the painting stage of my AMT Enterprise, but am at a loss for colors. What's the overall color? I was thinking Light Gray, but wanted to make sure. Also, is there a place to go that shows some good details? I know the engine nacelles have some silver, or so I think. I've got the PNT decals ready to put on as soon as it's painted. Thanks for any help.

Edited by Darren Roberts
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Darren, Read this article in the link I attached below. It's an article that describes the color of the original Enterprise studio model. It states the color is a neutral gray with a hint of green. If you are looking to go studio accurate then this is of help. You may also want to go with a screen accurate look which sometimes appears as a more cold looking blue-gray.

http://culttvman.com/main/?p=7718

Please post pictures of your build so far.

Mike.

Edited by crowe-t
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I have, in the past used RLM 65 Licht BlauGrau as overall hull color on Federation Starship models. It looks pretty good to me. It is a very light grey, with just a hint of a bluish tint to it.

It seems to work equally well as a Federation Starship hull color, or for the underside of a Bf 109. :woot.gif:

-Kevin in Indy

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Welcome to the wonderful world of "what color is the Enterprise" Darren. Paul pretty much nailed it in the CultTVman article if you want to get exact. Of course, it will depend on if you want to scale effect the color or not or just go full strength. Given that the full size model was rather large, it may look a little dark on an 18" Enterprise model. Or you could just go with a color I already know you have (Flat Gull Gray, needed for almost any gray over white F-14 Tomcat model) and add a little white to tone it down. I did that with a test shot of the 1/1000 Polar Lights Enterprise many years ago and the results looked good enough to my eye for a small scale model as the Enterprise does seem to have at least a hint of a warm tint to its gray shade.

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I'm at the painting stage of my AMT Enterprise, but am at a loss for colors. What's the overall color? I was thinking Light Gray, but wanted to make sure. Also, is there a place to go that shows some good details? I no the engine nacelles have some silver, or so I think. I've got the PNT decals ready to put on as soon as it's painted. Thanks for any help.

http://www.modelermagic.com/?p=15430

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Not sure which Enterprise you're doing, but Light Ghost Grey is generally considered accurate for the TOS variant. The Refit was various shades or white/perl.

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Thanks for all the help, guys. I may be completely off base, but I was looking at using Light Gray from MM Acryl. In looking at the show (what a great excuse to spend time watching!), it looked like a very light gray. I originally thought that Light Ghost Gray would be a good match, especially after looking at the culttvman site. But when I sprayed it, it looked too dark. Maybe if I lighten it up with some white? I also thought about Gull Gray, like Jay said. Maybe I'll shoot some on the nacelle and see what it looks like. Why can't this be as easy as painting Tomcats?!? :lol:

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I've always used 36440 Light Gull Grey on my TOS ships. For some, it looks a bit on the dark side, but it looks right to *me,* which is what's important. That, and I have ample 36440 laying around all the time, anyway...

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According to the Star Trek Technical Manual, they talk about a overall color of Platnum. Which is Flat White mixed with a few drops of Flat Aluminum. I have been using that and it has the light gray appearance on film. Just a suggestion.

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The best discussions are the discussion with no agreed-on answer. I've done the AMT Enterprise in Light Ghost. It's not the right color and it's definitely too dark. You notice most when you look at the pennants/registries. I've painted several ships MM Light Gray. It's too light, and it's not quite gray enough. Light gull gray is too yellow. I used Tamiya JN Gray and white in 4:1 ratio, which is slightly different from Newitt's recommendation. In Model Master, I like but haven't used FS 34159,36440, 17875,in a 2:8:20 or 2:9:20 ratio. For that combo, Newitt recommends 46081 grills. If you just wanted a single color Model Master Aircraft Gray or Model Master Flat Interior Gray are ok. Actually, Flat Interior Gray is really close.

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I have some of the Starcraft solid resin Star Trek kits and they talk about a color called 'concrete'. It is available at Wal Mart in spray cans. I looked at it and it is WAY too dark. Especially on the small kits like that. It looks like MM Neutral Gray. This one of those things where if it looks good to you, then it is right!

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Oh Lord, the Newitt article again. Those paint chips are not the actual hull colors. Just close matches as Newitt explains in his article. The restoration team stripped the 11' modle down to its original medium for the first time EVER back in 1990. I have the article here right in front of me... On the wood surface of the turned secondary hull "in pencile" was written GM Gray 4539L. It's not made anymore, but any local autobody/paint store can special mix it for you. The base color of the Enterprise at the Smithsonian under all that terrible weathering IS GM Gray 4539L.

A close friend of mine built the 5.5ft Custom Replicas kit with this mix. I will do the same when I build mine.

http://www.modelermagic.com/?p=5536

But if you want a good match without mixing a spending $$$ on a special batch, I suggest Concrete. Floquil Model Railroad paints have a nice product. My TOS erra ships, I use Flat White with a touch of Silver and a dab of Pale Green.

22" build

http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv122/Tracy_Mann/Star%20Trek/?action=view&current=scan0001.jpg

Copernicus based on 18" Enterprise kit.(Base color before paneling)

http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv122/Tracy_Mann/Copernicus/?action=view&current=2BaseHullColor.jpg

It's just an 18" kit. Pick a nice medium gray you like, scale it down with a little white, and GO FOR IT!

Good luck on your project.

Tracy

Edited by Vidar_710
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No, You can't find it on-line. The article is from the old Sci-Fi Modelers Magazine. Doug Drexler also posted Newitt's article on his site, but added the GM Gray to the swatches Newitt had.

Note the color displayed in the foreground.

http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/09/07/what-color-is-the-tos-enterprise/

Tracy

Edited by Vidar_710
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  • 6 months later...

I am about to spray mine Camouflage Grey, FS36622. You want a very light grey.

I didn't like it. If anything, it is a bit on the dark side, but it has a beige look to it. I'm going to try a mixture of light ghost grey and white. I don't doubt that the studio model was darker, but "reality" for me is what appeared on the tv screen. I saw a pale grey Enterprise. Edited by Rocky
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Uhhh, that is NOT the 18" classic Enterprise kit.

As for a recent color I tried, my USS Constellation used Tamiya XF-12 JN grey mixed with about 30% white. The result was a color that is VERY close to studio model color based on the Newitt notes. It will likely be the shade I end up using on my 1/350 TOS E when the kit comes out (maybe slightly darker).

connie8.jpg

Edited by Jay Chladek
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The forthcoming 1:350 TOS Enterprise from Round 2 will include color call-outs using new research. Maybe wait until then?

Well, Gary Kerr is doing the paint research on it, but even he is starting with the Newitt notes for some aspects while combining them with his own research based on his personal observations of the 11 foot model (and I think he "may" have gotten a paint sample off of it). We were exchanging some emails about my Tamiya shade and he is supposed to have the color chips he came up with at Wonderfest next weekend on display with the test shots at the Round 2 booth. So, I'll take my Tamiya XF-12 based color chips (I mixed five shades and sprayed them over white and black basecoats, then gloss coated half of them and flat coated the other half) to see how close I got.

Even with all that research, what color one paints their Enterprise model is still going to be a judgement call. A full strength color on an 11 foot model may be a little dark on something only 1/4 the size. Plus, not every paint brand is available everywhere either.

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