# Star Trek Polar Lights 1/350 NCC-1701A Help



## KMehaffy (Jun 2, 2013)

OK .. first off .. THANK YOU for having this forum up! What a place! And now .. on with the thread...

Haven't built a model in 30 years, give or take .. so I am sure I will come off as a total newb here .. lol. I was browsing about Ebay, looking at stuff on a day off work .. and I come across this gigantic starship Enterprise 1701-A.

OK .. couldn't help it .. I bought it! What a monster this must be! Well, the project is beset with issues from the onset, as UPS delivered the model to God only knows where, and it now appears lost in space instead of Star Trek ( seller is working with me on a UPS claim). 

Blessing or curse? A bit of each as it gives me time to research this beast, and get everything in line. So I've been watching trekmodelers vids on assembly (thank you!), and much to my wifes displeasure, it resulted in purchasing even more stuff ... (airbrush kit w/compressor, paints etc etc...). I also bought several smaller model starships to practice on before I try and tackle the beast!

So I get down to setting up lighting. Now I am no electronics whiz, but I heard of trekmodelers kits .. I figure thats the way to go! Except .. he's not taking orders now. So there are 2 main things I need some help with ..

1. Where to find a nice (not a wallet buster) lighting kit
2. Aztec theme

WHen I was building models .. there was no such thing as aztec decaling! Is it something you paint on with a kit, or sticker type decals? I'd prefer to airbrush it .. but I am sure I will not be painting those little devils one by one. So is there a kit for that? And if not, are the decals quality stuff? Wont go peeling off?


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## jaws62666 (Mar 25, 2009)

This isnt Kurt from ARI in Texas is it


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## KMehaffy (Jun 2, 2013)

No ...My name is Keven, live in Iowa


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## jaws62666 (Mar 25, 2009)

KMehaffy said:


> No ...My namee is Keven, live in Iowa


Cool welcome aboard. Most light kitsrun $150 but are well worth it. Mine came out great because of the light kit


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I just bought this kit yesterday. For $80 at Hobbytown I couldn't pass it up. The kit itself is oddly fairly simple. Some of the detail molded in place here is actually separate on smaller Enterprise kits. OOTB it looks pretty nice though and it should not present too much trouble to build. Masking around some of the molded on detail on the warp engines will be the hardest part. For a 3 foot model they really could have made some of the details there separate. 

The kit supplied Aztec decals seem quite nice. Polar Lights decals are good although the similar AMT decals are not as well done. Odd since both companies are owned by Round 2 and make Trek kits.

If you follow the kit instructions for painting and decal application, the water-slide decals will be pretty permanent. This is the Polar Lights 1/1000 kit with the kit supplied decals.





Granted the model is fairly small, but you get the idea of how the decals work. I thought they were pretty simple to use too. I used Tamiya TS spray Pearl White spray paint as a base.

They do make painting masks for the Aztec pattern. I have not used these so I can not comment on how easy they are to use. They do not seem "hard" just time consuming. I suppose cost may be a factor. Since the kit comes with the decals, you can build the model OOTB. Otherwise you may have to fork over some $$ for a complete mask set, and then all the associated paints, etc. 

You may want to try the 1/1000 refit kit to see how you like the decals?

I made my own lights for the AMT 1/650 TOS Enterprise. It was super easy and CHEAP. The whole thing only ran me about $20. The lights in the Refit are relatively simple and you don't have the warp engine bussards to deal with.


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## KMehaffy (Jun 2, 2013)

Nice model! Checked out their site .. didn't see any light kits


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Who's site? I made my own lights. I suppose you could also use the Polar Lights TOS set with some modifications.


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

This set will light all of the windows. You'll still need to get one of the blinker circuits for the running lights. http://www.culttvmanshop.com/Large-Spaceship-Light-kit-from-Paragrafix_p_2581.html


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## Captnwedge (Jun 2, 2013)

*Newb as well*

We are both in the same boat. It's been about 30 years for me as well. I am currently trying to build the Imperial Star Destroyer with fiber optics and it is a challenge. I don't know how to use the extra bulbs and wire them up because the instructions don't tell you. Then I will try to tackle the Enterprise model. I built one already and messed it all up so I have to try it again. Good luck.:thumbsup:


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## Sparky (Feb 21, 2004)

Some possible blinker circuits:

http://www.dlmparts.com/electronics.html


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## charonjr (Mar 27, 2000)

Please note that the 1:350 Refit from Polar Lights/Round 2 only has the Aztec decals in the Re-issued kit. The re-issue also has a dome stand with a metal rod to support the model. It goes for about $70. The first issue had no Aztec decals.


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## Garbaron (Apr 23, 2004)

Welcome KMehaffy  

First off, yes the 1/350 Refit is BIG. The "3 feet" do not sound to be much, but people are always blown away once they open the box. At least I have not read a WIP or seen a video where people did not comment on the unexpected size of the model. 

You are using the delay of your shipment quite well since research is the alpha and omega to a build, a Refit / Ent-A in particular. People here are right when they say the model comes together rather easily. That is until you want the nasty seams where two parts come together to disappear. That's when the fun part starts. Adding a lighting set will complicate things since you need to create holes and trenches to house the wiring and electronics. This will cause fit issues. There are plenty of areas on that kit where space is scarce. 

Keep in mind the #1 rule: once glue comes on nothing fits anymore. It's so true  

You don't really need a lighting kit to light a model. It saves time but usually pumps up investment. If you know how to solder a resistor to an LED you are good to go. Resistor calculators are out there if you don't know how determine the voltage and resistor size. There are plenty of flasher boards (DLM, Trekmodeler) available you can use for the blinker and flasher lights. 

Painting the Aztec, as opposed to using the decals, is a lot more time consuming. AztecDummy provides template masks, however only the saucer main Aztec is accurate, other Aztec shapes are his own only loosely based on the real patterns. There are other templates available, like from OrbitalDrydock, but those have their own issues. In any event it will take you at a couple of weeks to paint the Aztec in a two color version. Doing the original four interference color aka "pearl Aztec" variant of the original TMP model will take even longer. Returning to the hobby and if you chose to paint the Aztec I suggest a two color variant: hull color white, Aztec color off white. 

If you want to "wallpaper" the model, meaning you want to use the Aztec decals, you better practice with the smaller 1/1000 Refit that comes with Aztec decals too to learn how to apply them on the curved hull of the ship. 

Guess that's enough for starters. 

And so you know where I am standing at with this kit. I build the lighting on my Refit myself and also went through the trouble of painting the four color "pearl Aztec". I am almost done with the ship, just some touchups and final clear coat to seal in the decals. 

This is her: 

 

To see the above in motion click this

You can find a complete build report -here-


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

charonjr said:


> Please note that the 1:350 Refit from Polar Lights/Round 2 only has the Aztec decals in the Re-issued kit. The re-issue also has a dome stand with a metal rod to support the model. It goes for about $70. The first issue had no Aztec decals.


The reissue has the Drydock stand

The new TOS ship has the dome stand.

Yes the reissue has the Aztec decals but AMT also sells them separately along with a set for their smaller Reliant

I was thinking of using the lighting set up from the smaller old AMT Enterprise that has blinking lights, etc. and just lengthening the wires to fit the bigger kit.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

djnick66 said:


> The reissue has the Drydock stand.


... with a single metal rod instead of the clear-plastic-rod cradle.


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