My Another 1/350 TOS Enterprise Build Thread

[trekriffic]

Well my fellow Addicts, I guess it's about time I started one of my own 1/350 TOS Enterprise build threads.
First impressions of the kit... well... it's like one of my old grilfriends used to say to me years ago.. "God, this thing is BIG!"

Seriously folks, it's the biggest model I've ever worked on, such a sheer joy that it just so happens to be my favorite starship of ALL TIME!
I'm taking all steps necessary to knock my own socks off with this one.

So far I've gotten the upper and lower saucer gridlines filled and sanded using Perfect Plastic Putty. I've sprayed the inside of the two halves with flat black, silver, and flat white in that order. Once I've made a template of where the gridlines go (in case I want to redraw them in pencil) I'll spray with Dupli-color surface filler sandable primer and see if I need to do any more filling. I'm fairly optimistic I got'er smooth as a Vulcan baby's behind though so keep your fingers crossed for me guys.

Here's what I did this past weekend...

Before I can prime the lower saucer I wanted to take care of that business of the three lower saucer portholes that were molded too far back along the rim on the wrong side of the radial gridline...

I took some Tamiya tape and poked holes where the current ports were to make a template. Then I placed the template further foward along the arc of the lower rim, overlapping the hole closest o the bow which I kept. So I was only drilling out two new holes on each side:



The new holes after drilling and filing:




I inserted one of the window inserts into the new hole locations:



Fit was just right:



The old holes were filled with some clear acrylic rod followed by Perfect Plastic Putty (hereafter referrred to as PPP):



After the PPP dried (about 15 minutes on a nice warm day) I sanded everything nice and smooth:



I did the same thing on the opposite side of the saucer so I saw no need to take any pictures of it.


Next... working on the power jack and plug to the lower secondary hull...

I paid a trip to Fry's Electronics and bought a 4-pin Miini-DIN plug and matching panel jack to use for powering 2 electrical circuits inside the model-one for lights and the other for the bussard motors...

The lower mounting rod support part that inserts into a slot in the lower front of the secondary hull was modified to remove the support tube and insert a larger diameter section of Evergreen tubing. The Evergree tubing inner diameter fit the Mini-DIN plug from the new mounting tube perfectly:



The power plug dry fit onto an aluminum tube. Inside is a second smaller brass tube glued into the inside of the plug's plastic backshell and the aluminum tube. Four wires for the two circuits willl pass thru the brass tube and down into the aluminum tube which will fit into the base. This should give the support tube much more strength and rigidity than it would have otherwise:



The lower secondary hull mounting point was modified to accomodate the new panel jack. I was amazed at how well it fit. All I did was carve out some slots in the plastic support framing so the metal panel jack base would fit:



The panel jack had pins that stuck up higher than was planned when the kit was designed which meant I had to create new brackets to provided clearance for the PC lighting board to slide into place:



Looking thru the mounting tube in the underside of the ship at the 4-pin Mimi-DIN jack:



Dry fit with the mounting tube plugged into the secondary hull. Once the ship is assembled and the mounting points have been glued in and reiniforced with epoxy putty for stiffening it should balance front to back just fine:



Next up... those bussards... they task me... they task me... :

Previously, over in the Tips and Trcks thread over on HobbyTalk (please don't hit me guys for mentioning the dreaded HT here), I'd posted about my version of the system JHauser came up with for quieting the bussard motors using brass axles inside of ball bearings mounted inside the tunnel of part 42 and isolating the motors from the plastic of the nacelles using foam padding to reduce motor vibration and noise. Work progressed on this as I took some time over the weekend to tweak a few things with the bearings inside the tunnel. One thing was to cut a small piece of Evergreen tubing and insert it between the bearings so they would maintain their positions at the front and back of the tunnel. Even though they fit like a glove, the process of inserting the drive axles tended to force them forward or backward so the spacer would take care of that issue. I took a piece of plastic tubing a little larger than the inside diameter of the tunnel and after cutting it to the exact distance between the two bearings I cut out a small longitudinal section of the tubing, test fitting until it slid inside the tunnel under spring tension:



The rear bearing was then inserted into the tunnel:



Subsequently the bearings were sealed into the tunnel in part 42 with a homemade styrene "washer" glued on the back side of the part so the bearing wouldn't pop out of the tunnel when inserting the spinner drive axle. Sorry, no photo of this, so you'll have to use your own imagination!

Next I had a brilliant idea; or, what might be a brilliant idea if it works...

I'm going to redo the LEDs on the round lighting kit bussard circuit board to lengthen their legs so they will fit up and thru the "towers" in part 142 and inside of the colored plastic teardrop shaped inserts provided with the lighting kit which I will be hollowing out. This will involve either snipping or desoldering the legs of the existing PC board LEDs and replacing them with lights I bought online from Lighthouse LEDs. The new lights are ultrabright-wide angle-diffused LEDs in various colors-they even had pink! So I should get a LOT more light inside the domes than otherwise. Another thing I wanted to do was create a way to bounce the light around under the spinning fan dome and onto the inside surface of the outer bussard dome which is where I got this next idea using faceted chrome plated plastic buttons I'd bought at the craft store for use on another project:



The buttons fit perfectly in the center of part 142 between the light towers:



So... I drilled, routed, and filed a hole in the center of each button:



It press fit onto the spinner shaft easily:



Test fitting with the mirror button in position under the spinner and LEDs:



I'm hoping once I have the lights modified and lit, and the spinner going, the facets will bounce light from the LEDs above them as the spinner rotates. That's the plan anyway. You know, based on whether I place the button right side up (convex) or upside down (concave) on the spinner shaft I may get a different light effect. This may be one of my best ideas ever... or not... :-\

The last thing I did this weekend was cut off the tops of the taller LED towers on part 142 and widen the openings so the 3mm LEDs can pass completely thru:



Then I sprayed the part with Testors gloss silver:



I also bought a sheet of color changing foil paper they sell at Michaels craftstore. It has little stars and comets on a dark blue background that shift from gold to blue to red as you tilt the paper in the light. Man is this stuff reflective! I plan on making discs with holes cut out to fit the spacing of the light towers so I can attach the paper to the face of part 142 under the LEDs. It might be overkill but every little bit helps if it gets me an effect close to what we saw on TV back in the day! Dontcha just love experimentation! Man that's the stuff right there!

Thanks for reading along. More to come soon! ;D

 

[Quaralane]

Looks like this one is going to get a lot of work before it's done

 

[CREATIVE DYNAMIC LLC]

Excellent modifications… you really know your subject well!

 

[Grendels]

Going at this with your usual attention to detail. Thank you for sharing!

 

[trekriffic]

Thanks for the comments guys!

Spent some time on this at lunch today...

The inner surfaces of the bussard spinners were painted with a brush using Tamiya Transparent Orange acrylic:



The spinners were set aside to dry after being stuck to some two sided foam tape to keep them upright:



I found the trick to getting an even coating using this paint was to always keep the spinners facing straight up so the paint always runs down towards the center to pool around the shaft. There is a little brush skill involved for sure. After the first coat dried I went back and gave 'em a second coat.

The fan blades for the spinners were heated on the stove until the brass turned red. This made them soft and pliable so they won't spring off the spinners when attaching them.
After they cooled I placed them on a piece of granite tile and cut them from the fret using a curved xacto knife:



The fret tabs needed to be filed off using a pair of PE pliers and a cheap Harbor Freight diamond file. The blades were very soft after heating and care had to be taken to align the edge of the blade with the edge of the plier jaws with the offending tab sticking out. This allowed precise filing without the danger of harming the blade itself. Then you just file along the edge of the plier's jaw until the tab goes bye-bye:



The cleaned up fan blades were stuck to two-way tape and painted with Testors Aluminum enamel:



Prior to spraying with black paint for light blocking, I masked off the gluing surfaces of the dorsal halves:



The black was followed by silver and white spray paint.

I have the transparent bridge included with the Polar Lights lighting kit along with ParaGrafix's PE set. The PE set includes tiny brass railings to replace the kit railings which are just undefined curved plastic curbs along the perimeter of the sunken floor. I decided it would be easier to just cut the center section of the floor out of the kit bridge (which is opaque making it easier to see what I'm doing than the clear part) and then make the modifications needed to accomodate the PE railings. I also went a step further and sliced out the captain's chair, the navigation console, and the two chairs where Sulu and Chekov sat in order to accurize them:



I actually am finding it easier to modify the existing parts than scratching entirely new ones. Once I've made the mods and glued in the railings I'll carve out the clear floor from the transparent bridge and transplant this one into it. Before that though I'll finish the PE for the bridge screens and control panels which I'll paint and decal.
I'll also be removing the rest of the chairs from the kit bridge at each station and adding a piece of brass wire to the undersides so they stand up on their bases rather than just being triangular bits attached flush to the floor. These will replace the clear "chairs" from the lighting kit bridge which I'll cut off.
One other nice touch with the PE set is the inclusion of decals for the station controls and the overhead screens; the kit includes decals for the overhead screens but not the stations. There are also tiny 1/350 scale brass figures you can paint and position how you like; I may use them but only if I can figure out a way to make them more three dimensional.

The last thing I did today was to fill in the engraved "hatches" on the rear of the B-C deck part with PPP. I think someone in another thread mentioned that the kit decals did not align with the engraved lines so I decided to go with modifying the plastic rather than the decals:



That's it for this update. More to come!

;D

 

[Quaralane]

Interesting to watch this unfold

 

[Grendels]

Going to town on this, it is very informative!

 

[trekriffic]

Thanks guys!

Quick update on the bussard spinners...

After 2 coats of transparent orange this is how they look held up to the light:



At lunch I attached the fan blades.

Gorillla Super Glue was applied to the fan blade slots. I used Tamiya tape to mask off the center hub and the sides of the slots. This helped keep any stray CA from getting on areas where I didn't want it:



The fan blades were very soft and easily maintained the curvature of the dome making gluing a snap:



After attaching the first blade I glued the next one to the opposite side to keep from messing with the first one while the CA dried:



After all the blades were on I brushed on a coat of Future clear acrylic coating:



The finished spinner after a few coats of Dullcote:



The PE set included round covers for the center of the hubs but I think that would make them too dark so I don't plan on using them. I did paint the hubs with transparent orange however. We'll see how they look once I get the lights in and the outer dome frosted and in place. I can always add the covers later.

Thanks for reading!

 

[trekriffic]

Update... Been workin' on the bridge and the saucer halves mostly...

The command pod, or whatever you call the center section of the bridge with the command chair and helm/nav console needed some work so I cut the chair and console free from the raised platform and went to work.
Here's how it looked after some cutting, filing, and sanding:



After some light grey, black, medium gray, and red paint:





The chairs were cut loose and brass wire added to make a base.
This was very delicate and tedious work considering the chairs are about the size of the end of a pencil:



Since taking this pic I abandoned the idea of gluing little L-shaped pieces of wire to make the legs. Just too much work and they just didn't look quite right. I'll probably just glue tiny bits of wire to the floor in an "x" configuration around the holes I drilled to insert the chairs.
I'll do the same for every chair on the bridge.

Here's the bridge after adding decals, PE consoles and display panels:



Still need to glue the center section in. I also need to finish painting the chairs before gluing them in. The railings are PE too and look nice the way they are but I'll probably modify them too. I used the clear part from the lighting kit for the surrounding upper level consoles; they light up from behind and underneath as does the main viewscreen! I used the grey opaque kit part for the center command section. It was much easier to modify grey plastic than it would have been working with a clear part where it would be hard to see what your xacto knife and file were doing.

After the first shot of primer, the gridlines were still visible on the saucer halves so I slapped on more PPP.
Needless to say, I went at it with gusto and renewed fervor:



I sanded away for hours using 150, 180, and 400 grit sandpaper:



Upper saucer after sanding (cough! cough!). You should have seen the clouds of putty dust I blew away as I sanded:



The upper and lower sauce halves after priming. I held my breath and... this time...NO DAMN GRIDLINES!





And the B-C deck got another puttying, sanding, and priming. No hatch grooves now!



Thank GOD! I have now exited the offramp from the gridline highway to hell...

 

[ModelMakerMike]

Wow, very impressive bridge work!
Keep it coming this baby is gonna make warp 9 easily!

;D ;D ;D

 

[Grendels]

I know removing those grid line was a chore. But it will be much better in the end for that effort.

 

[Quaralane]

Great work so far.
Lots of tiny work with that bridge

 

[trekriffic]

Quick update on the bridge...

I decided to make the bridge railings 3 dimensional rather than flat like the PE.
Here's a pic of the set to show what I was shooting for:



To do this I needed to turn the flat PE railing legs 90 degrees so...

First, I sliced slots into the short walls around the circumference of the bridge center section using a #11 blade.
Then I cut the legs off the PE railings and glued them into the slots at an angle leaning inward.
Talk about tedious work with a magnifier and tweezers!
Once the CA dried I dotted the tops of the legs with CA and very carefully placed strips of Evergreen strip on top to form the rails themselves:



Once all the railings were in I painted the legs black and the rails Italian Red.

Here's a pic of the center section with the completed railings installed into the outer ring:



There was a good sizes gap between the two sections which I filled with AVES Apoxy Sculpt.
Once it's dry I'll do whatever cleanup is needed before touching up the upper level floor with Gunship Grey.
Then I'll finish painting the 9 chairs and placing them into the floor at each station.

I'll take a pic when it's done with LEDs in place behind the upper display screens and the main viewer so you guys can see how it looks lit up all pretty.

 

[Quaralane]

Wow......
Excellent detail for something so.....tiny

 

[ModelMakerMike]

WOW, really incredible work for that itty bitty size!!
;D

 

[trekriffic]

Saturday's update... a tale of horror and redemption... kind of...

So this morning I decided to set up and take some pics with my "studio" lights (the ones with the reflectors I got at Loews) of the finished bridge.
Just need to add some figures:







After taking the last pic I got up for a minute and when I came back I noticed something so horrible... so horendous... I wanted to shoot myself with a phaser! And not on stun either!

I had left the hot lights on too long and too close to the bridge and it had caused it to soften and warp.

Arrrrrrgggggh!

The bridge was now oval instead of round.

Holy crap! If I wasn't so afraid of cracking the concrete I would have beaten my head against the garage floor.

8 hours of work was circling the drain of my own stupidity (sob)...

Frantic, I grabbed it up and noticed all the putty had softened and cracked off in spots around the center section and the it just came free in my hand when I pressed it from below. Two of the railings had broken free as well. The outer walls were warped but while it was stil warm I was able to get it back to basically close to round. There was only minor buckling in one of the ion pods.... er.. I mean, one of the overhead PE display panels has bent slightly; luckily, I was able to press it back down and flatten it.
It could be fixed but the center section... not good news... I tried reheating it but it was no good. It just wasn't going back to round even putting it in my hobby vice and heating it with a heat gun only caused it to bow in the center making matters worse.

You can imagine my disgust at myself as I tossed both pieces into the trash and contemplated just building the ship without the bridge.
After all, at least I had photos of the work I'd done. I could just glue the dome onto B-C deck housing and leave it at that.
Nobody would even know....
except me...
I would know.
Still upset with myself I glanced around my worktable and noticed something sitting quietly off to one side in a dish with some odds and ends. It was the clear center section of the clear bridge which I had removed when I used the kit section instead. There it was just staring at me coyly. It was intact except for some roughness around the rim from the xacto saw. Yes! So I took it, kissed it, primed it with Tamiya surface primer, and painted it up.
I didn't have the energy to make all the same mods I'd made originally but I was able to fake it pretty good. The hand rails were solid clear plastic so I painted the short wall at their base and the legs black. Then I painted the red railings on top. In between I left the light grey primer. Here's how it looked:



Not bad, not bad.

Then I squeezed it into the outer ring and glued it in with CA before filling the gaps with AVES like before. I lost 3 of the chairs so made 3 new ones from scratch. I think they look better than the old ones in fact.
To give the impression of the handrails being open between the legs I painted the gaps between the legs dark grey to match the color of the carpet on the upper bridge level when viewed fromm the lower level. On the other side I left the gaps painted light grey to match the lower carpet color. So when you view the rails from the lower level it gives the illusion that you are seeing the darker grey carpet thru the rails and vice versa when looking down from the upper level. It's a very convicing illusion.

Here's the new bridge:



All things considered it was a decent save I think. Once it's inside the hull and lit up I think it will look fine.

Thanks for reading about my moment of horror and how I was able to salvage something presentable from the wreckage.

 

[trekriffic]

Sunday's update...

Decided to work on the photo-etch crew figures. These are sooooo small. Kirk, Sulu, the Navigator, and Scotty had to be cut from the fret before painting since I needed to bend their legs and arms using tweezers and PE pliers and didn't want to mar the paint in the process.

Here's a pic of what would end up being the wee Sulu figure after I bent his arms down and bent him at the waist. Both the helmsman and navigator had to have their legs amputated to fit into their seats unfortunately. Poor Sulu:



I used foam tape to hold the seated figures still while I painted them:



Some of the figures I left on the fret to paint. Left to right here are a redshirt, Spock, McCoy, and Rand:



The figures were glued onto the bridge using Elmer's clear glue. I liked it better than CA because it's easier to remove the figures if I want to reposition them. Also less messy:









Next thing is to work on how to light it. I have a few ideas.

 

[Papermodder]

Sorry for your little disaster, but good recovery.
The bridge is looking fine.
On going forward, I think it would be a good idea to invest in a couple of cool lamps to prevent an accident in the future.

Here are the 55W Cool Lamps I have.



Good luck Trekriffic.

Jim

 

[trekriffic]

Yes. I have some of those. They just don't give me the brightness I need though.

 

[Grendels]

Nice work on the bridge no matter what your lighting is.