1/350 TOS Enterprise "Blasphemer's Edition"

[JNordgren42]

Looking fantastic! I actually kind of like the graininess on the deflector dish, it gives it a lot of character.

For the windows, have you tried UV cure clear resin? There is a green transparent tape you can get to cover the openings that the resin won't stick to. I you can put the tape over the exterior surface of the opening and get a perfectly flush result. And the UV cure resin gives you time to get in the opening with a needle and work any bubbles out. Also you can use a large gauge syringe needle for application that can help bubbles from forming in the first place. It's what I'm planning on using for my 350 Refit.

 

[modelerdave]

Looking fantastic! I actually kind of like the graininess on the deflector dish, it gives it a lot of character.

For the windows, have you tried UV cure clear resin? There is a green transparent tape you can get to cover the openings that the resin won't stick to. I you can put the tape over the exterior surface of the opening and get a perfectly flush result. And the UV cure resin gives you time to get in the opening with a needle and work any bubbles out. Also you can use a large gauge syringe needle for application that can help bubbles from forming in the first place. It's what I'm planning on using for my 350 Refit.

Thanks! The windows are a source of frustration. I think for the neck and secondary hull the kit inserts will be fine, but the B and C deck inserts simply will not fit without a noticeable gap, plus they have divots in the clear parts that are visible when you look in. If I were just going to have them lightly frosted on the inside and lit white I think they would be fine, but I want to have film inserts behind them that show rooms and hallways, so they need to be super clear.

So far I've tried:

1. Ultra clear UV resin
   1. taped on the inside, applied from the outside
   2. tapes on the outside, applied from the inside
2. Clear acetate
3. Micr Krystal Klear

The clear acetate is the easiest and clearest, but it can only sit flush with the inside of the hull, so there's really no point since the window films will do the same thing.

With every other process i've tried (and I've used both small and medium gauge application needles for the resin), I am getting bubbles that I simply can't get rid of no matter how much a try with a needle, or long I let them "breathe" so the bubbles rise to the surface before i cure them, which I do slowly. There are always bubbles.

I first applied the Micro Krystal Clear straight into the hole with a toothpick, which works pretty well but it shrinks and then there's kind of a bow to it and some distortion. I just tried using tape on the outside of the hull and applying the Krystal Klear from the inside to see if I could make it more flush. Guess what? If you use a lot of Krystal Klear it gets bubbles too! Ugh. So I tried a thin layer that I think is mostly bubble free, but even if that works I may need to add a second coat.

 

[JNordgren42]

Ah, that may be where the difference lies. I'm thinning the back side of the hull at all of the portholes to get a better in scale appearance so my application of resin is also much thinner as a result. I did a quick test on the spare bottom hull shell meant for the 1701-A and it worked pretty well. The only issue I have to deal with is the thinner bonding area makes the resin much easier to pop out accidentally (which is why I don't have a picture of my test ). My next test will be to try and put down a second layer of resin in the cavity after the first layer has cured. This should give it more bonding area and hopefully prevent them from popping out. I need to finish up my Valkyrie, then I'm digging back into the Big E.

 

[JNordgren42]

I just had a thought. If you're willing to thin out the walls of your E, and are still having troubles with resin, then the acetate or transparency not being flush won't quite as noticeable. Depending on how brave you're willing to get with the thinning, it could probably look pretty great.

 

[jake88]

 

[modelerdave]

Ah, that may be where the difference lies. I'm thinning the back side of the hull at all of the portholes to get a better in scale appearance so my application of resin is also much thinner as a result. I did a quick test on the spare bottom hull shell meant for the 1701-A and it worked pretty well. The only issue I have to deal with is the thinner bonding area makes the resin much easier to pop out accidentally (which is why I don't have a picture of my test ). My next test will be to try and put down a second layer of resin in the cavity after the first layer has cured. This should give it more bonding area and hopefully prevent them from popping out. I need to finish up my Valkyrie, then I'm digging back into the Big E.

View attachment 1909575

The rectangular windows on the TOS E are a lot larger than the mostly porthole windows on the refit. That's another issue, I think. Though when I get around to my refit I will probably do what you did here and thin them out.

The

 

[modelerdave]

I just had a thought. If you're willing to thin out the walls of your E, and are still having troubles with resin, then the acetate or transparency not being flush won't quite as noticeable. Depending on how brave you're willing to get with the thinning, it could probably look pretty great.

I may try that. I'm very nervous about doing it on the weird curve of the B and C decks. The inside of the window wells have a really odd angle.

 

[modelerdave]

JNordgren42 Would you mind posting a picture of which tool you used to grind out the material behind your windows? Is it the round-headed knurling tip or something else? I'm very impressed with how evenly you've dug out the recess. Mine always end up looking like a rough cave floor!

 

[hoggworks]

Continuing...

Here's a test cutout of the cargo door (or whatever it is—it's not labeled on any blueprints I can find) on the smooth hull. I just wanted to make sure I could cut through the thick plastic in the shape I wanted. This isn't cleaned up or straightened. I may slightly modify the shape to remove the two beveled corners on the inner side, since they were really hard to make the same size.

Design iteration 1 of the spine cover. This is pretty close to fitting after I did a test print. i'm hoping iteration 2 will work.

The design of the phaser turrets and the final prints, which are 10mm across. I will have three on the upper saucer, three on the lower, probably one on the bottom of the secondary hull, and the single one at the rear of the spine cover. I'm not sure I can make these work with the Tena Controls phaser board but I'll see what I can do with fiber optics.

First design test of the deflector dish and needle. The needle is fine. The deflector is warped and I decided to modify the design. The kits parts are shown for reference.

Deflector needle design.

Redesigned deflector. I'm much happier with it. This is straight from the printer. It needs some sanding but should work as a final design.

Incredible work!

 

[modelerdave]

Incredible work!

Thanks! We'll see how it all turns out (or doesn't) in the end!

 

[JNordgren42]

JNordgren42 Would you mind posting a picture of which tool you used to grind out the material behind your windows? Is it the round-headed knurling tip or something else? I'm very impressed with how evenly you've dug out the recess. Mine always end up looking like a rough cave floor!

There are a couple I use, primarily just a flat griding stone, I have a couple of different diameters. My rotary tool also came with one that is tapered, but still has a flat tip, that one works really well too. And I just got one of the Dspiae micro reciprocating sanders. I haven't had a chance to use it on the E yet, but it works amazingly to thin down the stepped edges on landing gear doors.

 

[modelerdave]

There are a couple I use, primarily just a flat griding stone, I have a couple of different diameters. My rotary tool also came with one that is tapered, but still has a flat tip, that one works really well too. And I just got one of the Dspiae micro reciprocating sanders. I haven't had a chance to use it on the E yet, but it works amazingly to thin down the stepped edges on landing gear doors.

View attachment 1909748

Thanks, that helps. I have the Dspiae grinding tools and a few other lower-powered tools that should get the job done. I don't want to use a Dremel because I'm worried about inadvertently grinding through the hull.

 

[JNordgren42]

Thanks, that helps. I have the Dspiae grinding tools and a few other lower-powered tools that should get the job done. I don't want to use a Dremel because I'm worried about inadvertently grinding through the hull.

I found that it's critical to go slow and not let heat build up too much. It's nice that the Refit has two bottom parts for the 1701 & 1701-A, it has allowed me to practice a lot of things before I move on to the actual parts I'm using. I also plan to use it as a test mule when I get around to painting the aztec pattern.

 

[modelerdave]

I spent most of the day yesterday redesigning the hangar bay. The kit one has terrible detail and is also a terrible fit. I have a Shapeways redesign but it has terrible seam lines and I had no real way of putting windows in the observation blisters near the front. I also broke a bunch of the window bars when trying to sand the stupid thing so there's that.

It's not a crazy redesign because of (a) space limitations and (b( my rudimentary design abilities. But it should work.

Here's the design and a test print. The tiny spars across the ceiling broke when trying to remove the supports, and I need to make a few of the light holes a little larger, but other than that this is mostly done.

 

[real9thdoctor]

I spent most of the day yesterday redesigning the hangar bay. The kit one has terrible detail and is also a terrible fit. I have a Shapeways redesign but it has terrible seam lines and I had no real way of putting windows in the observation blisters near the front. I also broke a bunch of the window bars when trying to sand the stupid thing so there's that.

It's not a crazy redesign because of (a) space limitations and (b( my rudimentary design abilities. But it should work.

Here's the design and a test print. The tiny spars across the ceiling broke when trying to remove the supports, and I need to make a few of the light holes a little larger, but other than that this is mostly done.

I bought the same bay from Shapeways, and while it didn't break on me I discovered it was slightly larger than the kit part, and so I couldn't fit it without carving away areas in the secondary hull, which I was not willing to do. Since I'd added a shuttle and people, my GF suggested I just have it sitting on the base as a separate display.

I also recall I had issues getting primer and paint to stick to the plastic.

 

[modelerdave]

I bought the same bay from Shapeways, and while it didn't break on me I discovered it was slightly larger than the kit part, and so I couldn't fit it without carving away areas in the secondary hull, which I was not willing to do. Since I'd added a shuttle and people, my GF suggested I just have it sitting on the base as a separate display.

I also recall I had issues getting primer and paint to stick to the plastic.View attachment 1910032

Yep, that's the one! I was trying to sand away the horizontal layer lines when I broke some of the window frames and completely knocked out one of the observation blisters in the front. I didn't bother with the blisters on my version since I couldn't think of a good way to insert window "glass."

Yours looks really good! It's a shame you couldn't make it fit.

 

[real9thdoctor]

Yep, that's the one! I was trying to sand away the horizontal layer lines when I broke some of the window frames and completely knocked out one of the observation blisters in the front. I didn't bother with the blisters on my version since I couldn't think of a good way to insert window "glass."

Yours looks really good! It's a shame you couldn't make it fit.

Yeah, I saw I did have a small hole broken open on the left side, I think I was from trying to get it to fit, and it broke a piece off when I was trying to get the hull sides around it. Though I honestly don't really remember for certain.

And thanks. I used micro Kristal clear to fill in the pod windows on the ends.

 

[Analyzer]

I had no real way of putting windows in the observation blisters near the front.

You can use something like this Testors canopy glue/clear "cement"

It goes on milky white, but dries clear and can be used to fill in things like small porthole windows and stuff

I recently used it to create "light fixture coverings" in my Razor Crest after cutting out the plastic for the LEDS

 

[Analyzer]

Nevermind, missed your earlier post about Micro Krystal Klear. Basically works the same way

 

[modelerdave]

Nevermind, missed your earlier post about Micro Krystal Klear. Basically works the same way

I probably should have said, I couldn't figure out a way to put windows into the blisters that I would find acceptable. The fact that they're closest objects to anyone looking into the hangar bay gave me a lot of pause, which is why I deleted them from my redesign.