1/350 TOS Enterprise "Blasphemer's Edition"
- Thread starter modelerdave
- Start date
modelerdave
Sr Member
I've been doing a lot of fine tuning of the hangar bay and nacelle pylons to get them to fit, but visually there aren't really any design changes to show. It's just messing with the sizes by a few millimeters here and there. I think the final versions are on the printer right now so fingers crossed!
I have been grinding out a lot of plastic. Some from the saucer beneath the new cargo doors I cut out. I wanted the doors to be closer to the upper surface of the hull. I may add another piece of styrene to bring it up a little closer to the top but if I can't get the cut right, this will be fine.
I also started carving back behind the windows of the B and C decks. I'm hoping to get them thin enough that I can use resin without having to worry nearly as much about bubbles. If that doesn't work, I'll make them thin enough that the backlit film can be used by itself.
Uncarved side.
Carved side. Probably will still grind out a little more but I need to be careful not to grind out too much.
I have been grinding out a lot of plastic. Some from the saucer beneath the new cargo doors I cut out. I wanted the doors to be closer to the upper surface of the hull. I may add another piece of styrene to bring it up a little closer to the top but if I can't get the cut right, this will be fine.
I also started carving back behind the windows of the B and C decks. I'm hoping to get them thin enough that I can use resin without having to worry nearly as much about bubbles. If that doesn't work, I'll make them thin enough that the backlit film can be used by itself.
Uncarved side.
Carved side. Probably will still grind out a little more but I need to be careful not to grind out too much.
JNordgren42
Sr Member
Looking great! I was afraid to start carving on my refit, but the extra test mule piece and a little intestinal fortitude won the day. 
modelerdave
Sr Member
I made a first attempt on a spare part, but it went pretty well and since I needed to figure out something for the B & C deck windows I figured I might as well just bite the bullet and go.Looking great! I was afraid to start carving on my refit, but the extra test mule piece and a little intestinal fortitude won the day.
modelerdave
Sr Member
More progress. I feel a little bit stalled even though I know I'm doing a lot of testing and refinement of all the customizations I'm doing for this thing.
The revised pylon sheaths are finally done and printed. I won't work on them for a while but it's good knowing they're finished and fit correctly.
Got the wee shuttlecraft completed.
And yes the front windows light up.
A test of the fiber optic lighting for the scanners that will replace the three round windows at the front of the saucer.
I add four super-small LEDs to the bridge area to provide light from above. It's looks kind of off to me to have the lights coming just from below. Also, now that I ground out about two-thirds of the plastic behind the windows, the kit window inserts fit! I may use them on this section because the clear acetate really doesn't want to stay in place along that curve and I'm worried about them popping off over time.
A quick test of the lighting (the under lighting is from a flashlight). I think I have the upper lights stepped down to 5 volts here, because at 12 volts they're way too bright. I will probably step them down to three volts for the final, but I'll have to do some more testing.
I'm also testing inserting actual 3D printed hallways behind the secondary hull windows. I've done some test prints and they seem to work pretty well. I've been grinding out the plastic around the secondary hull windows as well, which is tedious and takes a lot of time. Hence the feeling of slow progress.
I've also finished the revised landing lights for the hangar bay. I really wish I could have done the waterfall LEDs but no such luck.
Thanks!
The revised pylon sheaths are finally done and printed. I won't work on them for a while but it's good knowing they're finished and fit correctly.
Got the wee shuttlecraft completed.
And yes the front windows light up.
A test of the fiber optic lighting for the scanners that will replace the three round windows at the front of the saucer.
I add four super-small LEDs to the bridge area to provide light from above. It's looks kind of off to me to have the lights coming just from below. Also, now that I ground out about two-thirds of the plastic behind the windows, the kit window inserts fit! I may use them on this section because the clear acetate really doesn't want to stay in place along that curve and I'm worried about them popping off over time.
A quick test of the lighting (the under lighting is from a flashlight). I think I have the upper lights stepped down to 5 volts here, because at 12 volts they're way too bright. I will probably step them down to three volts for the final, but I'll have to do some more testing.
I'm also testing inserting actual 3D printed hallways behind the secondary hull windows. I've done some test prints and they seem to work pretty well. I've been grinding out the plastic around the secondary hull windows as well, which is tedious and takes a lot of time. Hence the feeling of slow progress.
I've also finished the revised landing lights for the hangar bay. I really wish I could have done the waterfall LEDs but no such luck.
Thanks!
modelerdave
Sr Member
From the "I can't ever leave well enough alone" department...
Fiddling with adding rooms to the hangar bay. I've also test printed some corridors for the interiors of the secondary hull and they are promising. My biggest issue remains what to use for the windows. Experiments continue.
Fiddling with adding rooms to the hangar bay. I've also test printed some corridors for the interiors of the secondary hull and they are promising. My biggest issue remains what to use for the windows. Experiments continue.
real9thdoctor
Active Member
Lol. You sound just like how I am with my scratchbuilt Diaclone base and the Lego spaceship I've been tinkering with lately. I think its "Finally Done", then a couple days later there I am adding more stuff or reqorking finished stuff lol.
modelerdave
Sr Member
Going to do my own thing with the Bussard collectors as well.
I have the photoetch for the fan blades but I want to do something that looks more like this, which is a reimagined Enterprise from a great artist named Hunter G. I think I'll try to do the fan blades with vinyl. We'll see how it goes!
I have the photoetch for the fan blades but I want to do something that looks more like this, which is a reimagined Enterprise from a great artist named Hunter G. I think I'll try to do the fan blades with vinyl. We'll see how it goes!
JNordgren42
Sr Member
I really like those bussards. I think with careful design using a semi-translucent white resin you could print a diffuser that would give you a similar effect. Basically varying the thickness of the inside of the diffuser to give a varying transmission of the light. It would probably take a fair bit of experimentation and refinement, but it might be worth it to get those interesting transitions.
modelerdave
Sr Member
Those are good ideas! My tradeoff is going to be spinning fan blades vs. the bright center spot on the rendering. There's no way with a motor in the housing to position an LED over the center. I think your idea about diffusion might help focus some of the light toward the center. I'm planning on painting a very light blended shadow edge where the domes connect the nacelles to help recreate the render look also. But yeah, I'll be experimenting a lot. This whole thing has been an experiment. I haven't actually finished a single section yet!
real9thdoctor
Active Member
Another thing you can do too is something the modelmakers did for the 11 ft model when the lit bussards were added, taking small pieces of mirrors and attaching them in between the lightsto reflect and direct light around to help even and diffuse the light. I did similar with my 350 E by using a combination of spraying high sheen silver on the motor/led mounts, then using small cut up bits of chrome/mirrored sticker sheets from Toyhax Transformer sticker sheets, slightly crumpling them before putting them in to bounce and direct light.Those are good ideas! My tradeoff is going to be spinning fan blades vs. the bright center spot on the rendering. There's no way with a motor in the housing to position an LED over the center. I think your idea about diffusion might help focus some of the light toward the center. I'm planning on painting a very light blended shadow edge where the domes connect the nacelles to help recreate the render look also. But yeah, I'll be experimenting a lot. This whole thing has been an experiment. I haven't actually finished a single section yet!
Then I lightly sprayed the inner domes transparent orange, and sprayed the inner surface of the outer domes lightly with clear frost. Unfortunatley due to how badly warped the fans were, my directing of the light towards the center was wasted as I had to break and rebuild the fan center posts and then had to fill in the top of them which resulted in a dark spot in the center.
If I had just bought replacements from Shapeways or direct from PL, I am sure the result would've close to that render.
modelerdave
Sr Member
That's a bummer. Did you use the Polar Lights lighting kit with the fan motors? I bought sturdier motors with metal posts for this. I'm hoping I can isolate them enough to (a) keep them completely centered with no wobble, and (b) minimize the sound as much as possible.
real9thdoctor
Active Member
Yeah. The posted were super warped, one was bent and the other was slightly twisted at the fan section such that it would have made the motor bind up.
Good idea. I know some modelers have packed foam around the motorsto help sound, but I didn't wanna risk causing them to overheat. They barely get air as it is. But the sound isn't that bad IMO.
modelerdave
Sr Member
Ongoing modifications to the A, B, and C decks.
I filled in the panel lines for the two hatches on the rear slope since they are incorrectly sized for the decals. I may or may not use the decals but one way or another I wanted them gone. I may do my own version of the hatches. TBD (like so much of this build!).
I also drilled a hole to add a strobe light above the turbolift housing. The giant red lights that stick out from the side of the bridge will be gone. I filled them in and sanded them smooth, then drilled much smaller holes that I will fill with red fiber optics. Much more in scale and to my taste.
My ongoing issues with the windows. The area behind the two filled windows in this picture have had about 3/4ths of the hull ground out behind them. You can see this by comparing the far left rectangular window (you can see how deep the hull plastic extends behind it) and the carved out one next to it. The left window that's been filled was done with Micro Krystal Klear. It looks pretty great! But I want to put some combination of actual rooms and hallways and/or slide film to create depth behind them, and even though it looks really clear from this angle, when you put something behind it, the view is very distorted and wavy. No go.
The other filled window was done with "ultra clear" resin. It's fine if you're not going to have anything behind it, but for my use again this was a non-starter. If I were just going to frost these a bit from the inside and light them like the studio model, either one of these would be great. I'd probably use the Krystal Klear just because it's easier to put on and remove if you make a goof. But for my use case these don't work, so I'm going to have to go with clear acetate, which I've used before on my 1/72 scale 2001 Orion space clipper. But they need a flat surface to adhere to, so that means I have to remove a lot of material behind the windows to create the correct adhesion surface.
The damn lower saucer windows. This shows how much I have to grind out to get to the correct thickness for the frames. It looks really good from the outside but this is a long and tedious process.
A shot of one of the test corridors that will go behind the secondary hull windows. I'm not sure if I will paint them or insert slide film into them on the back wall. This one is too deep. I have others that have been reduced by a few millimeters. And I have different lengths as well.
This is a redesigned impulse engine power conduit, or whatever the hell it is. This again follows the Hunter G. reimagined Enterprise design. I am going to add fiber optic lights outside the cargo hatches. TBD if they will be static or strobes.
I also got rid of the giant round light at the front of the saucer. Another round of sanding and rescribing the grid line and this should be good to go.
I filled in the panel lines for the two hatches on the rear slope since they are incorrectly sized for the decals. I may or may not use the decals but one way or another I wanted them gone. I may do my own version of the hatches. TBD (like so much of this build!).
I also drilled a hole to add a strobe light above the turbolift housing. The giant red lights that stick out from the side of the bridge will be gone. I filled them in and sanded them smooth, then drilled much smaller holes that I will fill with red fiber optics. Much more in scale and to my taste.
My ongoing issues with the windows. The area behind the two filled windows in this picture have had about 3/4ths of the hull ground out behind them. You can see this by comparing the far left rectangular window (you can see how deep the hull plastic extends behind it) and the carved out one next to it. The left window that's been filled was done with Micro Krystal Klear. It looks pretty great! But I want to put some combination of actual rooms and hallways and/or slide film to create depth behind them, and even though it looks really clear from this angle, when you put something behind it, the view is very distorted and wavy. No go.
The other filled window was done with "ultra clear" resin. It's fine if you're not going to have anything behind it, but for my use again this was a non-starter. If I were just going to frost these a bit from the inside and light them like the studio model, either one of these would be great. I'd probably use the Krystal Klear just because it's easier to put on and remove if you make a goof. But for my use case these don't work, so I'm going to have to go with clear acetate, which I've used before on my 1/72 scale 2001 Orion space clipper. But they need a flat surface to adhere to, so that means I have to remove a lot of material behind the windows to create the correct adhesion surface.
The damn lower saucer windows. This shows how much I have to grind out to get to the correct thickness for the frames. It looks really good from the outside but this is a long and tedious process.
A shot of one of the test corridors that will go behind the secondary hull windows. I'm not sure if I will paint them or insert slide film into them on the back wall. This one is too deep. I have others that have been reduced by a few millimeters. And I have different lengths as well.
This is a redesigned impulse engine power conduit, or whatever the hell it is. This again follows the Hunter G. reimagined Enterprise design. I am going to add fiber optic lights outside the cargo hatches. TBD if they will be static or strobes.
I also got rid of the giant round light at the front of the saucer. Another round of sanding and rescribing the grid line and this should be good to go.
My 1/350 still boxed—at some point in time—I can see curved iPhone screen material coming—it has to be…
Merriman did a good teardrop secondary hull
Any idea on puttying a bit of a teardrop curve on the ventral side of the secondary hull?
I don’t think anyone has done that at 1/350.
Last edited:
modelerdave
Sr Member
That link doesn't work, and I'm not sure I understand what you mean by a teardrop curve on the ventral side. But no, I don't have plans for that. I am adding a cutout to the lower secondary hull for an actual cargo hatch though.
modelerdave
Sr Member
Apologies for the long delay. I've been working on this constantly but there's been very little to show. Grinding out the hull behind the windows, sanding, and an endless parade of printing 3D tests for rooms and corridors. Which, alas, are really not going to work the way I wanted, so they are going to go by the wayside.
But I did get the bridge mounted into the kit part. Lit up it looks really good but I have it covered now for painting so pics will have to wait a bit for that. However, I did make a few decisions.
Some things to note on the bridge and B and C decks:
But I did get the bridge mounted into the kit part. Lit up it looks really good but I have it covered now for painting so pics will have to wait a bit for that. However, I did make a few decisions.
- I'll be using Tamiya Fine Gray primer as the base coat for the kit
- Tamiya Sky Gray will be the primary accent/aztec color
- Tamiya Light Gray will be a third (and sparingly used) aztec color
Some things to note on the bridge and B and C decks:
- I filled in the large red light openings on the left and right sides of the bridge because I think those lights are stupidly large. I redrilled them for 0.5mm fiber optic which you can see sticking out. They are lit with a red LED but will be more in scale, or at least more preferable to my eye.
- I've filled and sanded the two hatches along the rear slope of the part. I may add some red pin striping of some kind but almost certainly won't be using the kit decals.
- I will be adding a double-flash strobe to the top of the turbo lift housing. The hole is drilled out for the fiber optic, I just haven't inserted it yet.
- The windows are made with Micro Krystal Klear. That ended up being the best solution after an interminable amount of experimentation. I do have slide films mounted inside that I glued to very thin pieces of styrene to make it easier to attach them and also create some separation from the windows to provide a real sense of space.
modelerdave
Sr Member
Getting my Silhouette Cameo 4 up and running now. Masking for the deflector housing. I wanted this to sort of look like a circuit board. The rest of the ship will have a slightly different aztec scheme. I like how this came out.
With the masks...
...and after painting. I will probably put another layer of fewer panels over this. Some lighter, some darker. And they'll have different finishes (matt or gloss) to give it specular highlighting.
Some shots of the bridge. It's really hard to get my phone to focus on the interior. Looks much better in person. It's sitting on a flashlight so it's brighter than the final will be when the LEDs are a few inches away from the actual bridge. The windows are black because they have vinyl masking on them.
With the masks...
...and after painting. I will probably put another layer of fewer panels over this. Some lighter, some darker. And they'll have different finishes (matt or gloss) to give it specular highlighting.
Some shots of the bridge. It's really hard to get my phone to focus on the interior. Looks much better in person. It's sitting on a flashlight so it's brighter than the final will be when the LEDs are a few inches away from the actual bridge. The windows are black because they have vinyl masking on them.
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