One-Stop 11' TOS Enterprise Reference Thread: NCC-1701, No Bloody A...

[Shaw]

The model will be repainted (other than the saucer top) to match as closely as is possible the model's final appearance in 1969.

Gosh, I hope that isn't an exact quote... that is what Ed Miarecki said about the 1992 paint job.

The Enterprise last went before the cameras during the second season of TOS... so on film the last new footage was from late 1967. Every shot of the 11 foot model in the third season was from previously shot stock footage from the first two seasons and the pilots.

 

[WinstonWolf359]

The quote was more along the lines of "last filmed appearance..." Essentially, they want to match the original level of weathering and match the color of the saucer as it currently appears. Seeing it outside of the glass box it had been in makes it starkly apparent how different the green tone is between the saucer top and the rest of the ship's 1991 paint.

 

[asalaw]

Yeah, Malcom Collum mentioned that since the painting was done inside Miarecki's shop, the lighting conditions could have thrown off the color match. Inside the conservation lab, with the white walls and white lighting, the mismatch was glaring. I asked Dr. Weitekamp during her lecture Q&A if they had tried tracking down the original FX camera negatives (not the dupe negs used in the HD remastering), and she wasn't sure if they still existed or whether they'd be a lot of help color-wise.

I thought about it some more -- after all, you've got that big-ass Ultimatte blue screen in the back as your color reference -- but then there's the issue of the lighting on the model.

First, it may not be the same color values as the light on the blue screen -- those are completely separate lighting setups, carefully flagged off to keep either one from spilling on the other. And they still got lots of blue spill on the model, as all those shots of the model with big grainy voids show.

Second, there was a lot of light on the model so they could stop down to maintain depth of field, which became more critical the closer the camera got to the model. And that would wash out the lighter values of the paint as well as lighten the darker values. Maybe you could digitally recover that color information on a Da Vinci or something, maybe not.

In other words, even if you found them and pulled really good frames from them, a 100% color match is not a slam-dunk.

 

[WinstonWolf359]

I also wonder if the 1960s paint is yellowing at a different rate from the 1991 paint. They might have been a closer match 25 years ago. That wouldn't explain the heavy weathering, of course, but I was really surprised by how stark the difference is in overall hue.

 

[CessnaDriver]

Close ups show the top of the saucer paint has lots of cracks.
Just leave it? do they plan on some kind of stabilization or attempt to paint in the cracks?

As for the undetailed side, it's not that undetailed really. Seems to me you could put removable light weight
parts on held by magnets or even velcro, and faux windows, of course the wiring will have to be concealed but since they
are tearing her down all that might be possible rerouting things. Enough to make it more presentable, but nothing permanent I guess is what I would suggest.

 

[asalaw]

I asked, and they're still chewing on that one. But they're not going to paint in the cracks or anything like that. The saucer top is the only remaining original paint, and beyond hopefully stabilizing it, they don't want to touch it. It's a very old artifact and it's aging, and that's how those things look. Nobody ever suggests filling in the paint cracks on the Mona Lisa...

 

[WinstonWolf359]

I can also say that to the naked eye, the crazing of the paint on the saucer top isn't really noticeable, it's really only that black light shot that shows it looking severe.

Being able to get THAT close to the model really shows off just how beautiful and nuanced the paint is on the saucer. It's a shame that none of that shading or detail ever showed up on film.

 

[asalaw]

Yeah. It would today because of the way models can be shot and the sensitivity of digital now, but ironically the model's in no condition for that anymore. Also, when they originally painted the model, they were probably expecting some washout, and compensated with more intense coloring.

 

[jayroth]

With regard to the lighting in Miarecki's shop, I find that idea far too generous. He clearly had a heavy hand with regard to his weathering/destruction of the original paint. As a former pro model maker, not to mention a lifelong Star Trek fan, I find his work on the Enterprise to be reprehensible. Just my opinion...

 

[asalaw]

Well, what Collum was referring to viz. the lighting in the shop was the color mismatch, not the overall quality of the weathering. When the model was in the gift shop, you couldn't tell that the saucer paint tones didn't match the bridge and the rest of the model. But at Udvar-Hazy, it just jumped right out at you. The lighting in the gift shop was very dim and warm, but in the conservation lab, it was white as white gets. Perfect lighting in there for what they do. So I think it's plausible that if EM's lighting was too dim or the wrong color temp, that nobody caught the color issue. No question, the original paint on the saucer is a much warmer green hue than EM put on the rest of the model.

 

[BrianM]

Pics from the NASM Jan 24, 2015 Open House

Below are the links to my picture pages. Over 200 photos from every angle I could get. Including the port side thanks to Chief Conservator Malcom Collum who was kind enough to shoot for me. There are some repetitions, sorry but I was maneuvering in front of a large crowd. I took a couple shots of the crowd. Again they underestimated the popularity of this exhibit. The counter at the door told me 801 per hour...

Photo Page #1

Photo Page #2

Or if you like to download them all in a zip file at full resolution. ZIP File

Please comment and dissect what you see in this public forum. I've already spotted some things I did not know where there. :confused

 

[Midnightprowler]

Guys, thanks for sharing. I gotta think, that the original paint, especially if they used a clear over it, would yellow and darken over 50 years.

 

[asalaw]

Re: Pics from the NASM Jan 24, 2015 Open House

Below are the links to my picture pages. Over 200 photos from every angle I could get. Including the port side thanks to Chief Conservator Malcom Collum who was kind enough to shoot for me. There are some repetitions, sorry but I was maneuvering in front of a large crowd. I took a couple shots of the crowd. Again they underestimated the popularity of this exhibit. The counter at the door told me 801 per hour...

Photo Page #1

Photo Page #2

Or if you like to download them all in a zip file at full resolution. ZIP File

Please comment and dissect what you see in this public forum. I've already spotted some things I did not know where there. :confused

Crap!!!!

I wont be home till 9:30, and I have to get up at 6:30, and NOW he posts the Crown Jewels!!!

 

[TimeyWimey]

Re: Pics from the NASM Jan 24, 2015 Open House

Below are the links to my picture pages. Over 200 photos from every angle I could get. Including the port side thanks to Chief Conservator Malcom Collum who was kind enough to shoot for me. There are some repetitions, sorry but I was maneuvering in front of a large crowd. I took a couple shots of the crowd. Again they underestimated the popularity of this exhibit. The counter at the door told me 801 per hour...

Photo Page #1

Photo Page #2

Or if you like to download them all in a zip file at full resolution. ZIP File

Please comment and dissect what you see in this public forum. I've already spotted some things I did not know where there. :confused

These are fantastic. All I can say, seeing these very clear images, is what in the world was he thinking with all those panel lines and shading? It looks horrible! Regardless of authenticity, it's ugly!

 

[asalaw]

Re: Pics from the NASM Jan 24, 2015 Open House

Below are the links to my picture pages. Over 200 photos from every angle I could get. Including the port side thanks to Chief Conservator Malcom Collum who was kind enough to shoot for me. There are some repetitions, sorry but I was maneuvering in front of a large crowd. I took a couple shots of the crowd. Again they underestimated the popularity of this exhibit. The counter at the door told me 801 per hour...

Photo Page #1

Photo Page #2

Or if you like to download them all in a zip file at full resolution. ZIP File

Please comment and dissect what you see in this public forum. I've already spotted some things I did not know where there. :confused

OK Brian, your links are on the index post now! WOOHOO!!!

Not sure there's any point putting up my own gift shop photos anymore -- which I'm fine with, because it would be at least another week or two before I can come up for air long enough anyway...

 

[asalaw]

So suddenly we're SWIMMING in reference pictures, and TrekCore hasn't even posted their stuff yet! Yay!

 

[Treadwell]

tracking down the original FX camera negatives

Historically, pretty much only ILM has ever saved that kind of thing long after project completion. But the place to look would be the remaining assets for the shops that did compositing for Desilu and Paramount, such as the Anderson Co. I recall an anecdote about someone locating the original transporter sparkle element that was still in storage at one such shop by the time it was needed again for TNG's "Relics", so I'm not about to say "never". But...

 

[asalaw]

Heard back from Malcolm Collum. He gave me permission to post the video of him shooting the port side with Brian's camera, so I'll try to get that done tonight.

 

[BlobVanDam]

Re: Pics from the NASM Jan 24, 2015 Open House

Below are the links to my picture pages. Over 200 photos from every angle I could get. Including the port side thanks to Chief Conservator Malcom Collum who was kind enough to shoot for me. There are some repetitions, sorry but I was maneuvering in front of a large crowd. I took a couple shots of the crowd. Again they underestimated the popularity of this exhibit. The counter at the door told me 801 per hour...

Photo Page #1

Photo Page #2

Or if you like to download them all in a zip file at full resolution. ZIP File

Please comment and dissect what you see in this public forum. I've already spotted some things I did not know where there. :confused

Wow, thanks a lot for sharing these! They're fantastic. You can never have too much reference material for such an iconic model as the original Enterprise herself.

There are so many photos there, I decided to take a crack at photogrammetry, which I've never been able to get working before. Several hours later, it spat this model out. I might play around with it and see if I can get it more accurate, and will post the model if anyone's interested.

 

[greatwazoo42]

Thank you for this thread.