My 1/350 TOS Enterprise Build--- WIP
- Thread starter trekriffic
- Start date
trekriffic
Sr Member
Thanks sir!
Update for this morning...
Last night I glued the lower saucer to the neck. Will need to fill the joint gap with AVES next:
IMG_4673 by trekriffic, on Flickr
I also sprayed the upper saucer with another shot of the custom hull color. This morning I wet sanded with sanding films before giving it the third and last coat of paint:
IMG_4665 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The rust ring is sufficiently muted now I think. And the gridlines are veeeery subtle.
Last edited:
trekriffic
Sr Member
Update for today...
Today was airbrush Saturday with temops around 80 degrees and low humidity.
Nacelles...
These were actually airbrushed yesterday. They are about 95% dry but still just a little bit sticky. I almost had a heart attack Friday evening when one of them took a header off my workbench. I'd stood them straight up on end to dry and after about a half hour I closed the garage door. That caused enough vibration to cause one nacelle to take a swan dive headfirst making a half rotation before bouncing off the cement floor. All I could do was stand transfixed from about 10 feet away with my mouth agape.
I imagined it landing on the bussard dome and cracking. Fortunately it landed on the open end where I will eventually attach the endcap; then it bounced up at an angle and hit the side of my workbench before landing flat on the floor. Heart in my throat I picked it up by the masked over bussard and the pylon wiring and inspected the damage. Thankfully I had just swept the floor so there wasn't any dust or debris to stick to the paint.
There was a tiny smudge on one flux constrictor at the front and one on the rear. It was dry enough that I was able to smooth over the divots with a moistened fingertip; I'll still need to touch it up with a little more hull color but it could have been so much worse.
Removing the tape from the dome showed no damage. I hooked up the power and the motor and lights operated fine.
Maybe it was dumb luck or maybe the modelling gods took pity on me; whatever it was, I had just escaped disaster.
After that I got smart and leaned them against my hanging drawer cabinet to finish drying:
IMG_4679 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Nacelle trench screens were sprayed with Tamiya Bare Metal Silver:
IMG_4684 by trekriffic, on Flickr
End caps, Impulse engine accelerator, Trench insert, and Pylon screens were sprayed with MM Medium Gray mixed with a little Voodoo Gray to lighten it up a little. I'd already gone with a lighter hull color than the kit recommends so I needed to lighten up the acccent color too or the contrast would be too much for my taste:
IMG_4685 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The Bridge/B-C deck module was sprayed hull color:
IMG_4682 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The reactor control loops were sprayed hull color followed by a brushing of Voodoo Gray at the ends of the loops. I'll probably go back with the airbrush and recoat the Voodoo Gray. I also need to mask the intercoolers on top of the nacelles and paint the ends with the same color.
IMG_4686 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The secondary hull was sprayed with hull color. I also sprayed the joints between the secondary hull and neck and between the neck and the lower saucer. I masked the leading edge with it's Hellblau color first though:
IMG_4681 by trekriffic, on Flickr
That's it for now. It will probably take a few days to finish drying enough for me to do the next thing which is to attach the upper saucer and bridge module to the lower saucer. Then I'll be ready to attach the nacelles.
Tomorrow I plan to spend some time working on the base wiring and paint.
Thanks for reading.
Today was airbrush Saturday with temops around 80 degrees and low humidity.
Nacelles...
These were actually airbrushed yesterday. They are about 95% dry but still just a little bit sticky. I almost had a heart attack Friday evening when one of them took a header off my workbench. I'd stood them straight up on end to dry and after about a half hour I closed the garage door. That caused enough vibration to cause one nacelle to take a swan dive headfirst making a half rotation before bouncing off the cement floor. All I could do was stand transfixed from about 10 feet away with my mouth agape.
I imagined it landing on the bussard dome and cracking. Fortunately it landed on the open end where I will eventually attach the endcap; then it bounced up at an angle and hit the side of my workbench before landing flat on the floor. Heart in my throat I picked it up by the masked over bussard and the pylon wiring and inspected the damage. Thankfully I had just swept the floor so there wasn't any dust or debris to stick to the paint.
There was a tiny smudge on one flux constrictor at the front and one on the rear. It was dry enough that I was able to smooth over the divots with a moistened fingertip; I'll still need to touch it up with a little more hull color but it could have been so much worse.
Removing the tape from the dome showed no damage. I hooked up the power and the motor and lights operated fine.
Maybe it was dumb luck or maybe the modelling gods took pity on me; whatever it was, I had just escaped disaster.
After that I got smart and leaned them against my hanging drawer cabinet to finish drying:
IMG_4679 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Nacelle trench screens were sprayed with Tamiya Bare Metal Silver:
IMG_4684 by trekriffic, on Flickr
End caps, Impulse engine accelerator, Trench insert, and Pylon screens were sprayed with MM Medium Gray mixed with a little Voodoo Gray to lighten it up a little. I'd already gone with a lighter hull color than the kit recommends so I needed to lighten up the acccent color too or the contrast would be too much for my taste:
IMG_4685 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The Bridge/B-C deck module was sprayed hull color:
IMG_4682 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The reactor control loops were sprayed hull color followed by a brushing of Voodoo Gray at the ends of the loops. I'll probably go back with the airbrush and recoat the Voodoo Gray. I also need to mask the intercoolers on top of the nacelles and paint the ends with the same color.
IMG_4686 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The secondary hull was sprayed with hull color. I also sprayed the joints between the secondary hull and neck and between the neck and the lower saucer. I masked the leading edge with it's Hellblau color first though:
IMG_4681 by trekriffic, on Flickr
That's it for now. It will probably take a few days to finish drying enough for me to do the next thing which is to attach the upper saucer and bridge module to the lower saucer. Then I'll be ready to attach the nacelles.
Tomorrow I plan to spend some time working on the base wiring and paint.
Thanks for reading.
trekriffic
Sr Member
Sunday update...
Not a lot accomplished I'm afraid. Got involved in another project at my neighbor's-this time with her car.
Anyway, today was dome day...
I took some thin adhesive-backed foil strips and laid them on the inside of the lower saucer dome lined up where the external engraved lines are.
I also laid a disc in the center to block light from hitting the "ion pod" or whatever they called that little nipple in the center of the dome:
IMG_4696 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Holding the dome under my worklight made for a nice subtle pie slice effect:
IMG_4706 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Speaking of the "ion pod" I took some thin brass rod and drilled a small hole into some Evergreen plastic rod to make the sensor shaft:
IMG_4689 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The finished pod. A hole was drilled into the clear kit part then the sensor shaft was glued in with CA.
Being made of brass the shaft is quite strong and should never snap off:
IMG_4695 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The pod has gotten a coat of hull color. After it dries, the shaft will be painted silver with a red tip.
The other dome I worked on was the one over the shuttle bay. I taped off off most of the dome leaving a narrow band around the bottom rim.
I brushed on some Mr Surfacer 500 followed by the hull color:
IMG_4709 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Nothing was done on the stand but my neighbor's car is running fine now! Oh and I got some yardwork done in the backyard.
Thanks again for any comments!
Not a lot accomplished I'm afraid. Got involved in another project at my neighbor's-this time with her car.
Anyway, today was dome day...
I took some thin adhesive-backed foil strips and laid them on the inside of the lower saucer dome lined up where the external engraved lines are.
I also laid a disc in the center to block light from hitting the "ion pod" or whatever they called that little nipple in the center of the dome:
IMG_4696 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Holding the dome under my worklight made for a nice subtle pie slice effect:
IMG_4706 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Speaking of the "ion pod" I took some thin brass rod and drilled a small hole into some Evergreen plastic rod to make the sensor shaft:
IMG_4689 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The finished pod. A hole was drilled into the clear kit part then the sensor shaft was glued in with CA.
Being made of brass the shaft is quite strong and should never snap off:
IMG_4695 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The pod has gotten a coat of hull color. After it dries, the shaft will be painted silver with a red tip.
The other dome I worked on was the one over the shuttle bay. I taped off off most of the dome leaving a narrow band around the bottom rim.
I brushed on some Mr Surfacer 500 followed by the hull color:
IMG_4709 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Nothing was done on the stand but my neighbor's car is running fine now! Oh and I got some yardwork done in the backyard.
Thanks again for any comments!
trekriffic
Sr Member
Glued the upper saucer to the lower today at lunch using Testors cement. Clamped up to dry:
IMG_4710 by trekriffic, on Flickr
After an hour clamps were removed and I found some areas on the rim where the Testors cement didn't hold. I was afraid of this as by the time I finished coating the mating surfaces some of the glue had partially dried. I used Ambroid ProWeld liquid cement to seal the breaches injecting it between the saucer halves using a disposable hypodermic syringe my father-in-law had given me. It did the trick. Then I clamped it up and left to dry again:
IMG_4713 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4710 by trekriffic, on Flickr
After an hour clamps were removed and I found some areas on the rim where the Testors cement didn't hold. I was afraid of this as by the time I finished coating the mating surfaces some of the glue had partially dried. I used Ambroid ProWeld liquid cement to seal the breaches injecting it between the saucer halves using a disposable hypodermic syringe my father-in-law had given me. It did the trick. Then I clamped it up and left to dry again:
IMG_4713 by trekriffic, on Flickr
trekriffic
Sr Member
So Tuedsday night I masked off aroud the rim just under the seam and over the windows. Then I spatula'd on some PPP:
IMG_4714 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Wednesday morning I sanded off the PPP:
IMG_4715 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4717 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Since taking these pics I've given the rim a brushing of Mr Surfacer 1000 which pointed out a few tiny divots. These were filled with more PPP before another sanding. I then brushed on some of the basecoat. I don't see any divots now and the seam is gone. I'll hold off airbrushing until I get the nacelles attached and the last of the puttying is done. Then I need to wire up the base and plug the model into the stand and check for light leaks. Any leaks will get a brushing of Mr Surfacer which should do the trick as thick as it is. Then she'll get a once over with the airbrush with the hull color and any touchups on the accent colors especially the impulse engines. There are some small areas I need to touch up on the secondary hull too.
IMG_4714 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Wednesday morning I sanded off the PPP:
IMG_4715 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4717 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Since taking these pics I've given the rim a brushing of Mr Surfacer 1000 which pointed out a few tiny divots. These were filled with more PPP before another sanding. I then brushed on some of the basecoat. I don't see any divots now and the seam is gone. I'll hold off airbrushing until I get the nacelles attached and the last of the puttying is done. Then I need to wire up the base and plug the model into the stand and check for light leaks. Any leaks will get a brushing of Mr Surfacer which should do the trick as thick as it is. Then she'll get a once over with the airbrush with the hull color and any touchups on the accent colors especially the impulse engines. There are some small areas I need to touch up on the secondary hull too.
trekriffic
Sr Member
Lunchtime progress...
The wires to the nacelles were trimmed, soldered, and sealed with heatshrink. Then I glued the nacelles to the pylons and set upside on a selection of mostly Star Trek (original series) books and TV Guides to dry per the kit instructions:
IMG_4718 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4719 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The wires to the nacelles were trimmed, soldered, and sealed with heatshrink. Then I glued the nacelles to the pylons and set upside on a selection of mostly Star Trek (original series) books and TV Guides to dry per the kit instructions:
IMG_4718 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4719 by trekriffic, on Flickr
trekriffic
Sr Member
Pish Tosh! No Next Gen in this build!
trekriffic
Sr Member
Playing around with the base some more...
In an homage to the original filming stand...
Original Filming Stand by trekriffic, on Flickr
... and in an effort to increase strength and rigidity I cut some aluminum tubes and epoxied them to the base of the stand for some additional bracing:
IMG_4723 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Test with the model mounted to the stand. Ah yes, the perfect balance point just like the original:
IMG_4724 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Now I have to decide if I should paint the support tube with it's new bracing black like I had originally intended or a shade of blue like the filming stand. I've already decided to paint the base of the stand and it's framing silver. There will be some black showing thru inside the frames on the front and back sides and the top to simulate open space around the light panel decals from the refit kit.
In an homage to the original filming stand...
Original Filming Stand by trekriffic, on Flickr
... and in an effort to increase strength and rigidity I cut some aluminum tubes and epoxied them to the base of the stand for some additional bracing:
IMG_4723 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Test with the model mounted to the stand. Ah yes, the perfect balance point just like the original:
IMG_4724 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Now I have to decide if I should paint the support tube with it's new bracing black like I had originally intended or a shade of blue like the filming stand. I've already decided to paint the base of the stand and it's framing silver. There will be some black showing thru inside the frames on the front and back sides and the top to simulate open space around the light panel decals from the refit kit.
trekriffic
Sr Member
I think I agree now that I've given it some thought. At first, I thought it might be neat as an homage to the stand; but, then I thought, this build really isn't about the stand, it's about the Enterprise! I think what I might do is go with a dark blue. Anything too bright and it would detract from the model. Also, I'm worried that, in camera, the model might take on a blue cast from the stand.
trekriffic
Sr Member
Weekend update...
Saturday I plugged all the remaining wire harneses into the main PC board and hooked it up to the wires from the power jack in the underbelly.
Then I poked the wires back inside the secondary hul so the the board coudl slide into the new brackets I had made earlier. It slid in just fine.
Then for the moment of truth; I tested the light and motor circuits using my just acquired 12V X 2A power adapter from Modeman Tom's store and...
OMG! Horrors!
The board started to smoke!
Yikes!
Just kidding...
Everything worked perfectly as planned.
Today I'll finish painting the sanded saucer rim with "concrete".
Yesterday I finished touching up the nacelles where I had filled in the small sinkholes next to the inboard trench-two on top and two on the bottom side of each trench. They were so minor I had considered just living with them but "they tasked me" so I filled them with PPP before sanding smooth; or what I thought was smooth. The hull color went on nice but you could still see the border of the putty just barely on two of the sinkholes so I had to sand again and respray at about 9 PM last night after getting home from a family BBQ. Call me anal but I wanted to finish the nacelle paint touch ups yesterday so they would be dry by this morning. I also hit a few spots on the secondary hull where the paint had gotten marred by my efforts to remove some dried stray bits of AVES putty.
All sinkoles are now gone and the nacelles and secondary hull are nice and smooth.
Oh... and I also sprayed the deflector dish and rings with Alclad copper, painted the base with Krylon Stainless Steel, glued the "warp balls" into the rear endcaps, glued the screens into the nacelle trench covers. and finished painting the "ion pod" for the lower saucer dome.
Sunday I spent painting the saucer rim and working on the stand. Stainless Steel areas were masked off (took me about 5 hours to finsih the masking) and areas inside the floodlight frames were sprayed with Testors Gloss Black enamel.
Here are some pics of Saturday's progress...
IMG_4732 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4731 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4736 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4737 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4733 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4739 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4740 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Please note the accent color of the parts in the second to last photo are not as bluish as they appear in the photo. I adjusted the pic for brightness to darken it a little which accentuated the bluish nature of Model Master Medium Gray. In person, they are much more gray than blue.
Thanks for reading!
Saturday I plugged all the remaining wire harneses into the main PC board and hooked it up to the wires from the power jack in the underbelly.
Then I poked the wires back inside the secondary hul so the the board coudl slide into the new brackets I had made earlier. It slid in just fine.
Then for the moment of truth; I tested the light and motor circuits using my just acquired 12V X 2A power adapter from Modeman Tom's store and...
OMG! Horrors!
The board started to smoke!
Yikes!
Just kidding...
Everything worked perfectly as planned.
Today I'll finish painting the sanded saucer rim with "concrete".
Yesterday I finished touching up the nacelles where I had filled in the small sinkholes next to the inboard trench-two on top and two on the bottom side of each trench. They were so minor I had considered just living with them but "they tasked me" so I filled them with PPP before sanding smooth; or what I thought was smooth. The hull color went on nice but you could still see the border of the putty just barely on two of the sinkholes so I had to sand again and respray at about 9 PM last night after getting home from a family BBQ. Call me anal but I wanted to finish the nacelle paint touch ups yesterday so they would be dry by this morning. I also hit a few spots on the secondary hull where the paint had gotten marred by my efforts to remove some dried stray bits of AVES putty.
All sinkoles are now gone and the nacelles and secondary hull are nice and smooth.
Oh... and I also sprayed the deflector dish and rings with Alclad copper, painted the base with Krylon Stainless Steel, glued the "warp balls" into the rear endcaps, glued the screens into the nacelle trench covers. and finished painting the "ion pod" for the lower saucer dome.
Sunday I spent painting the saucer rim and working on the stand. Stainless Steel areas were masked off (took me about 5 hours to finsih the masking) and areas inside the floodlight frames were sprayed with Testors Gloss Black enamel.
Here are some pics of Saturday's progress...
IMG_4732 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4731 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4736 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4737 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4733 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4739 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4740 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Please note the accent color of the parts in the second to last photo are not as bluish as they appear in the photo. I adjusted the pic for brightness to darken it a little which accentuated the bluish nature of Model Master Medium Gray. In person, they are much more gray than blue.
Thanks for reading!
trekriffic
Sr Member
Slow progress..
I modified the stand by adding a thick rubber washer with a thinner nylon washer underneath it to top of the neck right up against the bottom of the hull. I glued them in place using Devcon 5-minute epoxy and they are sure on there for good. The model doesn't rock back and forth so much now on the narrow neck:
IMG_4741 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The base after I removed the masking tape and retouched some of the
black areas with a brush. I sprayed with Testors Gloss Black and for brushing I decanted it from the spray can. I had no significant bleed under the tape
onto the stainless steel areas luckily.
IMG_4742 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Finally finished touching up the saucer rim:
IMG_4744 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Look Spock! No seams!
IMG_4745 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4746 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The stand was re-masked and the display tube and legs were airbrushed with Testors Dark Blue enamel:
IMG_4748 by trekriffic, on Flickr
More later!
- - - Updated - - -
So with the stand having dried overnight I spent my lunch hour soldering the wires leading up the neck to the Enterprise's lights and motors. I still need to finish wiring up the spotlights on each corner of the stand but couldn't resist posting a few pics of the ship on the stand with lights on.
The stand has two lit rocker switches and one other non-lit switch in the center for the spots. The switch on the left is for lights, the one on the right is for the motors. Everything runs off a 2 amp power adapter so there's plenty of juice.
IMG_4771 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The impulse engines in their original series mode:
IMG_4758 by trekriffic, on Flickr
And lit up like the remastered version:
IMG_4757 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The Enterprise with lights on. Still have a lot to do of course:
IMG_4752 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4764 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Thanks for any comments!
I modified the stand by adding a thick rubber washer with a thinner nylon washer underneath it to top of the neck right up against the bottom of the hull. I glued them in place using Devcon 5-minute epoxy and they are sure on there for good. The model doesn't rock back and forth so much now on the narrow neck:
IMG_4741 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The base after I removed the masking tape and retouched some of the
black areas with a brush. I sprayed with Testors Gloss Black and for brushing I decanted it from the spray can. I had no significant bleed under the tape
onto the stainless steel areas luckily.
IMG_4742 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Finally finished touching up the saucer rim:
IMG_4744 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Look Spock! No seams!
IMG_4745 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4746 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The stand was re-masked and the display tube and legs were airbrushed with Testors Dark Blue enamel:
IMG_4748 by trekriffic, on Flickr
More later!
- - - Updated - - -
So with the stand having dried overnight I spent my lunch hour soldering the wires leading up the neck to the Enterprise's lights and motors. I still need to finish wiring up the spotlights on each corner of the stand but couldn't resist posting a few pics of the ship on the stand with lights on.
The stand has two lit rocker switches and one other non-lit switch in the center for the spots. The switch on the left is for lights, the one on the right is for the motors. Everything runs off a 2 amp power adapter so there's plenty of juice.
IMG_4771 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The impulse engines in their original series mode:
IMG_4758 by trekriffic, on Flickr
And lit up like the remastered version:
IMG_4757 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The Enterprise with lights on. Still have a lot to do of course:
IMG_4752 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4764 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Thanks for any comments!
trekriffic
Sr Member
Thanks!
Yes, I still have to remove the masking tape from the windows. But I might do some weathering first.
trekriffic
Sr Member
New updates...
The hangar bay dome. It has this sort of blue-greenish glow to it. Very much like the on screen look I think:
IMG_4786 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The lower sensor dome. I think the ribbing looks about right. Visible but not too dark. I still need to attach the "nipple" or "ion pod" in the center:
IMG_4782 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Nothing new but just had to show a couple of up close shots of the bussard dome. The first one is stationary and the second is a still of it in motion:
IMG_4790 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4793 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Before I went to bed last night I took these pics with the spotlights on. I like the effect...
IMG_4801 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4799 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4800 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The hangar bay sans Galileo:
IMG_4818 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4817 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Today I'll decal the stand and mount it to it's beachwood base.
Then I'll mount the deflector rings and dish and the endcaps to the Enterprise.
The hangar bay dome. It has this sort of blue-greenish glow to it. Very much like the on screen look I think:
IMG_4786 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The lower sensor dome. I think the ribbing looks about right. Visible but not too dark. I still need to attach the "nipple" or "ion pod" in the center:
IMG_4782 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Nothing new but just had to show a couple of up close shots of the bussard dome. The first one is stationary and the second is a still of it in motion:
IMG_4790 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4793 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Before I went to bed last night I took these pics with the spotlights on. I like the effect...
IMG_4801 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4799 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4800 by trekriffic, on Flickr
The hangar bay sans Galileo:
IMG_4818 by trekriffic, on Flickr
IMG_4817 by trekriffic, on Flickr
Today I'll decal the stand and mount it to it's beachwood base.
Then I'll mount the deflector rings and dish and the endcaps to the Enterprise.
glenthornetms
Member
I don't post much on this forum, but I just had to chime in and say that your build is beautiful. The lighting is just great..amazing. I'll go back to lurking now 
trekriffic
Sr Member
I don't post much on this forum, but I just had to chime in and say that your build is beautiful. The lighting is just great..amazing. I'll go back to lurking now
Thanks so much glen. Come back and comment anytime!
