DS9 reissue from Round 2

[Psylow]

Anyone plan on doing the ds9 reissue? http://round2models.com/models/amt/deepspace9

I would love to have this model and I will probably go ahead and order it but my skills are below beginner. I would love to see a walkthrough or video diary on it.

 

[Just Mike]

They're molding it in clear so instead of the $20 it would have normally cost, it'll be somewhere in the $50~range. Other than the Defiant, I doubt they did any retooling of the kit itself.

The build is pretty straightforward; the halves of the pylons and rings go together, the central core goes together in pieces and then you deal with the small stuff like the docking ports and the antenna farm on the top of the ops tower and the weapon sail batteries. That's essentially it.

 

[Psylow]

If I wanted a DS9 model what kit would you recommend?

 

[greyphantom1000]

if thats the case id rather just buy a defiant model

They're molding it in clear so instead of the $20 it would have normally cost, it'll be somewhere in the $50~range. Other than the Defiant, I doubt they did any retooling of the kit itself.

The build is pretty straightforward; the halves of the pylons and rings go together, the central core goes together in pieces and then you deal with the small stuff like the docking ports and the antenna farm on the top of the ops tower and the weapon sail batteries. That's essentially it.

 

[Just Mike]

If I wanted a DS9 model what kit would you recommend?

It's the only DS9 kit on the market. If you don't want the clear version, there are the original releases on eBay which can run pretty high.

As for the Defiant, I'd wait until Round 2 makes an announcement regarding that one. The original kit was a piece of junk and while it resembled the USS Ben Sisko's Motherf***ing Pimp Hand, it has numerous flaws and issues. Not worth the price you'd pay for it thinking Round 2 will retool the whole thing or at least the trouble spots.

Round 2 DS9 in clear - no
Original issue DS9 - yes

Original Defiant - no
Round 2 Defiant - wait and see.

 

[Ziz]

They're doing it in clear for the people that want to light it. Paint the whole thing as if it was normal color plastic then just drill through the paint until you hit clear plastic.

Aside from the rising cost of plastic since the original issue of the kit 20 years ago, it would cost you the same difference or more to get enough fiber optics to do it and you'd still have to drill all the window holes anyway.

 

[Just Mike]

Good points all, Ziz.

Somehow, after you said that, I'm much less upset at having to spend a little more.

 

[noc5659]

unless they have corrected all the flaws of the original i will not be wasting my money on it. i trashed my ds9 kit after spending a couple of months working on it. it is an exercise in sanity when dealing with those seams.

 

[Just Mike]

Hmmm, I'm normally pretty bad at seams but got them all out alright. How are you joining the parts?

 

[Quaralane]

Truth be told, the original version kit CAN be built up nice and presentable. I did both it, and the old fiber optic one back in the day.
Both took work, yes. But they can be done without a slew of aftermarket addons.

Me, I'm mostly waiting for reviews of the upcoming clear kit. I miss having her in the collection.
That said, I would still avoid the old Defiant kit.

 

[Igard]

That said, I would still avoid the old Defiant kit.

I still have nightmares!!

 

[Ziz]

The main trick to building it properly is getting the big ring just right. Glue matching top and bottom halves together. When they're ready, work on a large flat surface so you can work all three pieces at the same time.

Lay down either a large piece of art board or tape a bunch of sheets of printer paper together. You want to cover the area the ring takes up so you're looking at something on the order of 24" square. Draw a crosshairs on your work surface large enough to span the diameter of the ring - 16 inches. Use a string, pencil and thumbtack to make an assortment of concentric circles, each about 1/4" smaller than the last, until you have about two to inches worth of circles from 15" to 17" diameter. Last, use a protractor to draw diagonal lines out from the center at 120 and 240 degrees.

Now lay out your three ring sections. Have some .010 x .060 Evergreen or Plastruct strip handy. Between sanding off kit part material and shimming with the strip plastic, keep working the ring until it perfectly aligns with the circles and 0/120/240 lines. As you find the ideal position for each piece, masking tape it down to your work surface.

When you've got everything perfect, dab glue on the joints to lock them in. Let sit for at least a full day, more if possible.