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1/350 P/L TOS Enterprise


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Tell you what Bill, you get the regular kit that runs for a little over a hundred dollars and I'll send you the parts I didn't use for the first or second pilot model if you want them.

Paul

Hey Paul, I appreciate the offer. Even at a little over $100, while a good price I'm sure, I don't know if I could justify getting one anytime soon. Perhaps in the future. I do love the look of this kit though. Seems like they nailed it, even if they put engraved lines. I think that's a good compromise as opposed to not having anything and putting raised (gasp) lines.

Bill

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Trust me Bill, You're gonna kick yourself if you do not get one of these kits. If you have the refit 1/350, then it's almost mandatory that you get one of these. It's a dream to work on, and it builds up to what I personally believe is the BEST model ever of the Starship USS Enterprise. The debate over whatever anyone else thinks of the panel lines or lack thereof, what the actual color is or anything else that people are debating over about the Enterprise, is moot. This is the one to have. I have the additional parts if you want them.

Paul

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The 11ft model as it sits today was not painted that way during production of the series. However, the top of the saucer was never touched during that last restoration in 1990. It still has the original paint and weathering on it (other than the bridge B/C deck) because they were forbidden to touch it. And YES, there are grid lines on it. And NO, you're not gonna see them via the resolution of a TV screen, but they are there. They are very lightly penciled in grid lines added after the first pilot to increase detail. They do not match what was done to the rest of the model in regards to the over-weathering application done to the ship during the 1990 restoration efforts. The head of that team has been taking it in the chops for over 2 decades now for what he did to that icon. There have been calls to have it re-done correctly, especialy since the model is starting to show some damage.

As far as this 1/350 kit goes, it's the most comprehensive model ever made to represent the Starship Enterprise, and I even have a Custom Replicas 5.5 ft Enterprise kit in my hobbyroom!

It's a must have!

Tracy

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However, to be clear, my understanding is that the grid lines are speculated to be shield grid energy projectors, not regular construction panel lines.

According to Star Trek Blueprints of the Enterprise (actually marked as the USS Constitution), the lines are the "deflector shield grid". But as I wrote before, those blueprints depict a hybrid of the 11 foot model and the AMT kit.

If this is the case, visible grid lines might be appropriate. That is just what I have heard mentioned...not claiming it is canon or anything. Or, if you don't like that answer, they could be part of the warp drive system, projecting an electromagnetic field to insulate the ship somehow from warp effects...or make it part of them....or, the panels could be expansion joints to enable the ship to cope with the huge thermal variations it might experience in space. Take your pick. Clearly there was some thought given to grid lines in the design for whatever reason.
Yeah, but those grid lines were designed into the AMT kit, not the 11 foot model. And if you want to make a bigger model of the AMT kit, or what is depicted in the Star Trek Blueprints, or the Star Fleet Technical Manual, then have fun. And if you want to do that accurately, then saw off the Bridge and B and C decks from the Polar Lights kit, and rebuild them to shape of the old "long box" AMT kit. (If you want to make a 350 scale USS Constellation as seen on TV, then you actually will need to do that, because Roddenberry filmed an AMT Enterprise model!)

I have been working off and on building a model of a "Class I Destroyer" from the Technical Manual, and to do that right, I had to get an ancient beat up "long box" AMT Enterprise kit off of Ebay, because the Technical Manual clearly patterned it off of that old kit. It WILL have grid lines, because they are there in the book. My 350 scale Enterprise will be a replica of the 11 foot model, and it WON'T have grid lines, because they ain't on the 11 foot model.

There are indications that the original producers wanted to do a little more to enhance the visual effect of the model, but just did not have it in the budget, or maybe they ran out of time or were pressed with other aspects of the show's production.
Roddenberry sank some serious money into making improvements to the 11 foot model. If he wanted grid lines, that would have been chicken feed.
I am not sure yet how I am going to build mine. The new remastered looks great and even though it is not super high end CGI, IMO the overall look is better than the original filming model footage.
If your aim is to make a model of the remastered CGI Enterprise, then grid lines are not wrong. Edited by Rocky
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According to STAR TREK BLUEPRINTS of the Enterprise (actually marked as the USS Constitution), the lines are the "deflector shield grid". But as I wrote before, those blueprints depict a hybrid of the 11 foot model and the AMT kit.

Yeah, but those grid lines were designed into the AMT kit, not the 11 foot model. And if you want to make a bigger model of the AMT kit, or what is depicted in the blueprints, or the Star Fleet Technical Manual, then have fun. And if you want to do that accurately, then saw off the Bridge and B and C decks from the Polar Lights kit, and rebuild them to shape of the old "long box" AMT kit. (If you want to make a 350 scale USS Constellation as seen on TV, then you actually will need to do that, because Roddenberry filmed an AMT Enterprse model!)

I have been working off and on building a model of a "Class I Destroyer" from the Technical Manual, and to do that right, I had to get an ancient beat up "long box" AMT Enterprise kit off of Ebay, because the Technical Manual clearly patterned it off of that old kit. It WILL have grid lines, because they are there in the book. My 350 scale Enterprise will be a replica of the 11 foot model, and it WON'T have grid lines, because they ain't on the 11 foot model.

Roddenberry sank some serious money into making improvements to the 11 foot model. If he wanted grid lines, that would have been chicken feed.

If your aim is to make a model of the remastered CGI Enterprise, then grid lines are not wrong.

Rocky, did you not see the other thread I started on this....the one with the pic showing the grid lines on the original filming model? Maybe I should have posted it here, but since this thread was getting kind of long, I started a new thread.

Edited by DutyCat
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Rocky, go to DutyCats new thread on gridlines. It did have penciled in grid lines on it. One of the best shots showing this is there. The way you see it there is the way it was during filming. The restoration team was forbidden to alter the top saucer's surface in any way other than fix the decals.

Tracy

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The 11ft model as it sits today was not painted that way during production of the series. However, the top of the saucer was never touched during that last restoration in 1990. It still has the original paint and weathering on it (other than the bridge B/C deck) because they were forbidden to touch it. And YES, there are grid lines on it. And NO, you're not gonna see them via the resolution of a TV screen, but they are there. They are very lightly penciled in grid lines added after the first pilot to increase detail.

Clearly, I am going to need a wooden stake to kill that gridwork.

The second pilot 11 foot model:

USSEnterprisemodel2ndpilot01.jpg

Now closer:

USSEnterprisemodel2ndpilot02.jpg

I still don't see lines....

The King has no clothes, nor gridwork.

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Ok, I was interested when I saw the great SonyKen's post, but now, I want to pry...

I am getting the gist of what this thread is about, but to those who grew up with Star Trek, but never really went crazy over it....I was too much into Star Wars collecting...

What's a brother got to do to get one of these? I registered on the site, but I did not see the offer you guys have been getting. Please teach me, oh, ARC GODS!

Many Thanks,

Hillbilly Jim

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Jim,

If you are interested in the Premier Edition (best value), please let me know. I just checked the Auto World website and I can still put one in my shopping cart and go to check out with it. Please let me know if I need to try and order one for you because I can bring it woth me when I come to Disney in a couple of weeks and save you the shipping. PM inbound.

Best Regards,

Ken Bailey

(SonyKen)

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I checked a little while ago as well at Auto World and was surprised they still have some Premiere Edtions left and was going to make the same offer but I guess Ken beat me to it and a bonus of free shipping.

On a side note, my Deluxe Accessory Sets did arrive yesterday, haven't had a chance to open them yet but obviously there are places shipping them now. Now I just have to do my best to not start another Enterprise for the lighting kit before I finish the 2nd pilot/Mirror universe Enterprise I already have all spread over my hobby space.

KiowaFixer

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My lighting kit shows up at the LHS tomorrow, then I can begin. I'm still pondering getting the Paragraphix photo etch set though as I am considering having a fully lit bridge in my model and using the etched panels as light blockers.

I was considering doing a pilot 1 or 2 version, but my first one is going to be a series version of the ship since it has the most lights and the spinning bussards. After that, assuming I've got the space, a pilot two version will likely be next.

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Jim,

I just wanted to drop you a note and let you know that Auto World allowed me to place the order for another of the kits. I did receive an order confirmation via email, but don't get too excited yet. It usually takes them two days to process the order and get it shipped out. If they are indeed sold out as stated earlier in this thread, then it may take them that same two days to get back with me with the bad news that they are out of stock and do a refund for the order to my credit card. I will be in touch.

I just read your post and here is what I am going to do with my two kits. One will be built box stock with none of the add-ons, as this one will be going on display in the man cave. The other will be loaded down with all the goodies available except for the "other starships" decals and the weathering decals. This kit just begs to be lit up and I like the looks of the photo-etched set that is available. I really want to do a full detailed shuttle bay all lit up. The one going in the man cave will probably be a 2nd pilot version as I like the nacelle end caps that look like a nuclear pile. I am like Jay my "model contest" one is going to be series production and fully lit up.

With that said, I am anxious to see how many of these babies that I will be seeing at model contests over the next few years.

Best Regards,

Ken Bailey

(SonyKen)

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Ok, now that I have one coming to me. Talk to me, Oh creators of the miracle. What necessities should I procure with said kit?

Well, that will entirely depend on which version of the ship you wish to build. If you plan to do up a series version lit and the like with spinning bussard collectors with motors to produce the effect, Round 2's lighting kit is probably the best way to go. If you instead plan to light a Pilot 1 or Pilot 2 version of the ship, it might be better to either do the lighting on your own or wait for a couple of the firms to do a less expensive lighting kit since there were no lights in the warp engines on the pilot versions of the ship (and the pilot 1 ship from "The Cage" had no internal lights at all in it). BTW, if you get the standard version of the kit, it does NOT include the pilot version parts, but the pilot parts and decals are being sold separately. And if you want to perhaps do a hybrid of details, the bussard collectors on the pilot parts are molded in clear if you decide you want spinning motorized nacelle lights in your pilot version of the ship.

Round 2 also does a Deluxe accessory kit which includes the lighting kit, photo etch for the nacelles and weathering decals. Even though I likely won't use everything in it, I went ahead and ordered the deluxe kit anyway as it does save a little money over buying stuff separately. The weathering decals I don't really plan to use (some I might though), but I decided to get them as reference anyway to give me some ideas for how to approach some of the streaks seen on the ship.

Round 2 is also doing registry decals, if you want to do a different ship from Enterprise (such as the Constellation, Lexington, Exeter etc...). It also has Mirror Universe decals.

The only aftermarket item to come out for the kit to date from a different source other than Polar Lights/Round 2 is a photoetch set from Paragraphics. It includes primarily etch for the bridge, shuttle bay and little tiny figures to stick either on those items or place behind the windows to produce shadows when the lights are on. I believe Aztek Dummy is also going to do an aztek template mask set for the model if you want to do the subtle aztek that appeared on the Defiant in the two part Enterprise episode "In a Mirror Darkly".

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Aztek Dummy does have one product out for it already, a set of window masks. I ordered some the other day from CultTVMan. I wasn't real worried about masking the rectangle windows it was the all the round stuff I was dreading, but the masking set seemed to have them all covered, no pun intended.

KiowaFixer

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Aztek Dummy does have one product out for it already, a set of window masks. I ordered some the other day from CultTVMan. I wasn't real worried about masking the rectangle windows it was the all the round stuff I was dreading, but the masking set seemed to have them all covered, no pun intended.

KiowaFixer

Waldron Prodects punch and die sets makes great round masks when used with the 3M brand blue painter's masking tape. :thumbsup:/>

Best Regards,

Ken Bailey

(SonyKen)

Edited by SonyKen
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Thank You Ken. Yeah I know that punch and die set is out there but it just is that one modeling tool I keep forgetting to purchase.

As for the Aztek Dummy Enterprise window masks over at CultTVMan, they are now showing has having a waiting list, could of swore they showed as in stock when I did my order the other night.

KiowaFixer

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  • 2 weeks later...

Aztek Dummy window masks did arrive and they sure do help make quick work of the windows. In the same box from CultTVMan was the Round 2/Polar Lights Registry Decals and some of ParaGrafix Easy LED strips.

I know I said I wasn't going to mess with the lighted Enterprise till I finished the first one but I couldn't help it. I played around for a while and it looks like I could easily fit a seperate second circuit into the warp nacelles for the optional "nacelle vents" lighting. Instead of having 3 seperate sets of 3 LEDs as you would get with Polar Lights lighting kit causing "hot spots" as described in ModelManTom's video on You Tube, you could install a continuous run of 15 or 18 LEDs in both nacelles with just one 24 inch/60 cm strip of Paragrafix LEDs. One way or another you would have to provide seperate power just for those LED strips but the way it looks that could be as simple as a 9 volt battery in the base. Also I just checked and was able to easily run 4 22 gauge wires through the provided metal rod for the base, so getting power up into the ship for both the Polar Lights lighting kit and the extra LED strips shouldn't be any problem. On the plus side you could have an on/off switch for the nacelle lights that are not TV accurate, if someone gives you a hard time about it, and you can keep all of the lights in the saucer section of the Polar Lights lighting kit, some of which must be eliminated by the instructions if you use the lighting kits nacelle lights.

Just tossing an idea out there. Someone correct me if the electrical math and measurements don't work out, I was half asleep when messing with the stuff after work the other night.

KiowaFixer

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok, so who is going to make an aftermarket kit to replace the bridge, B, and C decks, so we can build the USS Constellation and make it look just like the AMT kit that it was? Somehow it seems perverse to copy the AMT kit, but that was what was on screen. And BTW, the AMT kit that is still out wasn't the one that was used, so that kit isn't really correct either.

And to get it right, we have to fill in the Polar Lights grid lines too...

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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't recommend using super glue to fill in the gridwork. Two applications weren't enough to fill the lines, but I had to sand forever to get rid of all the glue on the surface, which was where most of it ended up.

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