The One I Have Been Waiting for

So I am gonna try to finish the 3 ship set. The ships are built, but need painting and such. I am contemplating a new base too, as I am not a fan of the kit base as its warped and not stable. Also you really gotta force the ships onto their posts.20211030_104339.jpg

And yes, I modified the BOP and D-7. I had Gundam parts that kinda fit the TOS/TMP style so detailed them with those parts. And I found the clear nav domes from the base kit are perfect ion engine fronts.
 

Attachments

  • 20211030_104200.jpg
    20211030_104200.jpg
    121.7 KB · Views: 1
Last edited:
Found out JT Graphics makes a decal set for thae 3 ship kit, which includes windows for all three. Gonna email em maybe tomorrow and see if they can do me up a set. I guess they can't produce alot right now as its a one man operation and he has a regular job that is taking time away from this business.

Anyhow, been painting the ships up.20211030_204647.jpg20211030_204659.jpg20211030_204709.jpg20211030_204718.jpg20211030_204723.jpg

And yes, the studio model of the BOP was silver. I have seen photos online from the filming of Balance Of Terror. The lights washed out the silver and it looked grey. The bussards on its ion engines also faintly glowed green.
 
Gonna take a few coats to cover the D-7 well, as I hafta brush paint it. Its now got like 3 coats of each color on, and I forsee at least one more plus touch ups. And got prelim painting on Enteprise's deflector.20211030_230049.jpg20211030_230120.jpg20211030_230129.jpg
 
I wish PL would make one in 1/350 scale to go with my Enterprise. There's a garage kit in that scale but I cannot find one anywhere, and the last production run of it I know of was 2015.

And since it's vacuform for the main hull... well, let's just say that former Youtuber ModelManTom had a VERY bad time building it. I don't think he ever even finished it due to all the problems he had with it.
 
I wish PL would make one in 1/350 scale to go with my Enterprise. There's a garage kit in that scale but I cannot find one anywhere, and the last production run of it I know of was 2015.

And since it's vacuform for the main hull... well, let's just say that former Youtuber ModelManTom had a VERY bad time building it. I don't think he ever even finished it due to all the problems he had with it.
I’ve come to consider the old AMT Romulan Bird of Prey as being close to 1/350 scale.
When I was a kid I thought it was the same scale as the old AMT Enterprise (1/650 scale) but I always thought it looked too large next to the Enterprise. Next to my 1/350 Enterprise though it looks just right, almost as wide and long as the Enterprise’s saucer.
 
I’ve come to consider the old AMT Romulan Bird of Prey as being close to 1/350 scale.
When I was a kid I thought it was the same scale as the old AMT Enterprise (1/650 scale) but I always thought it looked too large next to the Enterprise. Next to my 1/350 Enterprise though it looks just right, almost as wide and long as the Enterprise’s saucer.
Hmmm... I think there are a few of those on Evilbay. Gonna look into that. Thanks!
 
I’ve come to consider the old AMT Romulan Bird of Prey as being close to 1/350 scale.
When I was a kid I thought it was the same scale as the old AMT Enterprise (1/650 scale) but I always thought it looked too large next to the Enterprise. Next to my 1/350 Enterprise though it looks just right, almost as wide and long as the Enterprise’s saucer.
Btw, found a few options for it. Apparently I will have to make a fair amount of mods to make it more accurate though. And may try to light it.
 
Btw, found a few options for it. Apparently I will have to make a fair amount of mods to make it more accurate though. And may try to light it.
The AMT RBOP was one of the most extensive modification projects I ever undertook. So many things to fix to make it even close to accurate to the miniature. I think I spent about 6 months working on it. Of course, I did add my own lighting system that required drilling and filing out all the square and round windows before framing them with brass tubing, just like the studio model:

12349297033_083fbba538_c.jpg
Romulan Bird of Prey by AMT WIP by Steve J, on Flickr

One thing I added that the studio model didn’t have was a shuttle bay and tiny scoutship:

11971098343_1dea03a96e_c.jpg
Romulan Bird-of-Prey by Steve J, on Flickr

Lots of work but worth the effort.
 
Last edited:
The AMT RBOP was one of the most extensive modification projects I ever undertook. So many things to fix to make it even close to accurate to the miniature. I think I spent about 6 months working on it. Of course, I did add my own lighting system that required drilling and filing out all the square and round windows before framing them with brass tubing, just like the studio model:

View attachment 88644
Romulan Bird of Prey by AMT WIP by Steve J, on Flickr

One thing I added that the studio model didn’t have was a shuttle bay and tiny scoutship:

View attachment 88643
Romulan Bird-of-Prey by Steve J, on Flickr

Lots of work but worth the effort.
I will absolutely be cutting out the windows and sensor ports, though I will NOT be making the edging for them. That is work I don't think I currently have the means to do even if I wanted to do that. So my build won't be totally accurate then.:)

In all seriousness, while I won't begrudge anyone who puts that detail in, for me personally I'd go insane trying to do that.
 
Been tinkering with a new base for the 3 ship set...

Got a 8 inch diameter round plaque for a new base. I decided that I wanted to have rods supporting the ships rather than the weird angled + crossection arms, so found the right size sprue from the big E kit. Cut it to length and sanded off all flash. Will sand it down more once I have two more made up.20211106_140014.jpg
I then marked where I want the rods to go on the base, approximating the layout as on the kit base. I then FINALLY got to use my mini drill press for the first time since my Youtube channel! I used 3 bits, 7/64, 1/8, and 9/64 respectively since I suck at conversions and couldn't tell for sure which was the closest to the sprue(9/64 was). 20211106_135227.jpg20211106_135341.jpg
After drilling the holes finally the right size, the first rod test fit perfectly.20211106_135533.jpg

Two more rods to make. Gotta decide on if I wanna pare down the ends to go in the ships, or round out the holes in the ships.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top