# AMT 18" TOS Enterprise



## crowe-t

Hey guys, here's my first build thread here at Hobbytalk. 

I know the big Polar Lights 1/350 TOS Enterprise is popular now but here is a build I've been planning on doing for a while now. It's based on the Round 2 re-issue of the old AMT 18" TOS Enterprise. 

I'm attempting to make it resemble the 11 ft. studio model a bit more. 

I'm using a set of the Casimiro blueprints sized to this model as reference as well as screen shots and various pictures I've found. 

I started by cutting off the B/C deck structure and replaced it with a resin part from DLM. The resin B/C deck part is about 4 mm too short so I cut it apart and added four 1 mm pieces of styrene sheet and re-shaped the back a bit. 


















The hanger bay door part isn't the correct shape so I cut one of the kit's bussard domes in half and scribed in the dividing lines. 


















I glued in some 1 mm styrene strips on the inside of the secondary hull's seams for some added support. It didn't seem to be sturdy enough without them.


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## crowe-t

Here's some work I did so far on the secondary hull. I matched the secondary hull against the blueprints and it's approximately 1/16" too short between the dorsal and the pylons so I lengthened it. The profile of the kit's dorsal is actually dead on to the blueprints, except it's 2 mm shorter. 


























I combined the kit's deflector housing with one from JT-Graphics. The 3 forks on the JT part are a bit too large and squared off so I cut off the front and attached it to the kit's housing.


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## crowe-t

I'm working on correcting the nacelles' taper. I'll be using JT-Graphics resin Bussard Domes and end caps from Federation Models. The end caps are from the 1/650 Surya kit Federation Models sells. The Surya kit has nacelles with the correct taper so I used the end caps as a guide.

In both pictures below the nacelle with the added taper is on top. The bottom pictures shows a mock-up with the bussard domes and end caps in place. The end caps on the bottom nacelle are from JT-Graphics which are larger to match the out of box nacelles. I placed them on the nacelle for reference.

I cut out triangular sections(running the full length) from each of the nacelle halves. I then added more taper to the halves by bending the plastic a bit more as it gets to the end. With a bit of sanding they are nice and round and are starting to look the part. 

Well that's all for today. I do have some more work completed and will post when I take more pictures.


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## MadCap Romanian

Wow! This is really amazing! I build a lot of 18"er's, but I haven't gone this "Deep" into them before. Thanx for the awesome pics!


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## redline hunter

Whoa! Great "tweaking"!


I had to do similar interior seam reinforcing on my AMT refit. Also had to add extra reinforcement to the custom stand mounting area.



Doug


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## Trekkriffic

WoW! That's a lot of work you've done on this old kit. One suggestion would be the extend the lip of the fantail in front of the hangar doors. 3/32" or so should do it.


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## GT350R_Modeler

Awesome! Don't know if I'd have gone to all that trouble. Very well done sir.


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## crowe-t

Thanks guys for the compliments!

Tekkriffic, I actually already added a .5 mm strip on the lip of the fantail in front of the hanger doors but thanks for pointing that out. I have to take some more progress pictures and post them later today.

Mike.


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## Trekkriffic

crowe-t said:


> Thanks guys for the compliments!
> 
> Tekkriffic, I actually already added a .5 mm strip on the lip of the fantail in front of the hanger doors but thanks for pointing that out. I have to take some more progress pictures and post them later today.
> 
> Mike.


Ahhh! I kinda wondered if you'd have caught that already. You seem very thorough in your approcah to accurizing this old bird.

BTW, for future reference, DLM makes a replacement for the defelector ring housing. CultTVMan sells it for $9.95 here:

http://www.culttvmanshop.com/18-Starship-Deflector-Mount-from-Dons-Light-and-Magic_p_1437.html

Personally, I'd have gone that route as those rings are a lot of work to fix yourself.


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## crowe-t

I saw that deflector housing in Cultvman's site but I already had the JT-Graphics part and didn't want to spend more money.

Here are some more progress pictures. I cut down the size of the deflector forks. While the forks on the kit's part aren't as large as the one's on the JT-Graphics part, they are still a bit too large.


























Below are some pictures of the saucer. The DLM B/C deck structure is attached and the contour of the saucer's edge has been re-shaped.


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## crowe-t

Here are some more pictures showing the bottom of the saucer. I filled in the 3 dimples and sanded off the raised rings. When I originally scribed the 3 rings, the location of the inner and middle one didn't appear right so I filled those and re-scribed them. I've been sanding for what seems like days now, and I think the bottom's contour is almost done. I removed the sharp inner edge and am trying to give the bottom a more correct look. Given the shape of the kit's bottom it won't be exact but should look OK when done. 


























I'm using the Round 2 dome base and what's funny is it looks like it is about the same size, proportionally to the model as the dome base that comes with the 1/350 kit.


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## crowe-t

The first picture shows the 2 mm's I added to the top of the dorsal to achieve the correct height. I also started re-shaping the rear edge of the dorsal which is too pointed on the kit.


















I narrowed the nacelle pylons and added some styrene strips on the inside to strengthen them. I left 2 channels inside each pylon that'll have 1/16" brass rod epoxied in to also help add some strength.

That's all for now. I'll post some more soon.

Mike.


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## Trekkriffic

I really looking forward to seeing your finished build. It should really be something special.


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## MadCap Romanian

This is great! Even if I never build a model as fully corrected and detailed as this, it does give me some great new ideas to do something with the older kits to make them look nicer!


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## beeblebrox

crowe-t said:


> I cut out triangular sections(running the full length) from each of the nacelle halves. I then added more taper to the halves by bending the plastic a bit more as it gets to the end. With a bit of sanding they are nice and round and are starting to look the part.


After all my years of building that one, this is one of those "why didn't I think of that?" moments. Amazing job of t**d polishing. :thumbsup:


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## StarshipClass

Yeah, great job of transforming a blah kit into one that's very close to the original special effects model! Can't wait to see how it all turns out!


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## publiusr

Great work.


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## crowe-t

Thanks everyone for all the nice words!

Here's a small update. I added some pieces of styrene and re-shaped the curved areas on either side of the hanger doors. 

























The saucer is attached and I started shaping the front of the secondary hull. It's still quite a bit rough but getting there.


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## Chrisisall

This is one of THE finest bits of accurizing I've ever seen. That and that the Enterprise is my favourite ship ever makes this labour of love a total pleasure to watch! Thanks so much for sharing, and I can't wait for the end result!!!


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## Dave in RI

It truly is a labor of love and one I can personally attest to, as I'm doing pretty much the same thing with my AMT Enterprise kit. Crowe-t, I really like what you're doing by tapering the nacelles and adding length to the secondary hull; two things I did not do with mine. Your assembly is just about where I am, though I have been working on mine off-and-on for the last couple of years.


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## whiskeyrat

Already looks great! This thread will be my guide for my next 18"er. Awesome job!


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## beeblebrox

As suggested before, I have perhaps grown to hate this kit in the last 40 years. Damn you sir, for making me consider doing one again!


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## Zombie_61

MadCap Romanian said:


> ...Even if I never build a model as fully corrected and detailed as this...





Chrisisall said:


> This is one of THE finest bits of accurizing I've ever seen...


Folks, you ain't seen _*nuthin'*_ yet! The next time you have several hours to spare, take a look at Mike's build thread on the ARC Forums in which he shows the proper way to super-detail a Revell 1/144 scale Shuttle Stack (specifically STS-133) over the course of 2-1/4 _years_. His commitment to a project and attention to detail are second to none, and he has more than adequate skills to turn an average kit into a real show-stopper! Buckle up and enjoy the ride.

BTW, hi Mike, it's your buddy Al! :wave:


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## crowe-t

Thanks everyone for your support!

Al - It's great to see you here buddy!  I'm not going to go as in depth on this one as I did my shuttle stack. This kit doesn't have the amount of details as that build. I'm also not going to be lighting this kit either. I don't have any experience with lighting at all but hopefully it'll build up nicely.


Here's another small update. I worked on the nacelle pylons and epoxied in some 1/16" brass rod for mounting and support. Today I did a quick mock up with the nacelles taped on to get an idea of where I'm at. Here are some pictures.


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## Warped9

This is lookin' good. One thing that's always been nice about this kit is it's a nice size. Not too big and not too small.


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## Trekkriffic

Warped9 said:


> This is lookin' good. One thing that's always been nice about this kit is it's a nice size. Not too big and not too small.


I agree. In fact, if I had a choice between the 1/350 Enterprise and an ACCURATE 18 inch kit with all the lights and engine motors, I would probably go more for the 18 inch kit simply because it'd be so much easier to find room to display it.


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## crowe-t

Thanks guys!

I couldn't agree with you more about the size of this kit. I have a 1/350 TOS Enterprise but I currently don't have the room to display it. I had hopes for the Revell TOS E but it got a lot of things wrong and those gridlines are like valleys. The PL 1/350's gridlines are hardly noticeable in comparison. 

I know this kit is inaccurate but it's basically the original so I wanted to see what I can make of it.


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## Chrisisall

crowe-t said:


> I wanted to see what I can make of it.


No, you are a natural teacher, and you're TEACHING us how to make a perfect 18-incher! Thanks!:thumbsup:


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## Trekkriffic

Tell ya what...I like your build so much...I'll trade ya straight up... This build for my 18 inch, lit, motorized Miarecki-prise...it's even got a lit shuttle bay with a mini-Galileo!


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## Chrisisall

Silly silly British man.


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## Trekkriffic

Chrisisall said:


> Silly silly British man.


British? Who you talkin' to Willis?


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## Chrisisall

Trekkriffic said:


> British? Who you talkin' to Willis?


It's a quote from Buffy's last episode....:tongue:


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## Trekkriffic

Chrisisall said:


> It's a quote from Buffy's last episode....:tongue:


Ahhh! OK.Sorry.Never watched the show.


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## crowe-t

Chrisisall said:


> No, you are a natural teacher, and you're TEACHING us how to make a perfect 18-incher! Thanks!:thumbsup:


Thanks Chrisisall for the nice words. I'm sure it's not perfect, however I'm having fun with this old classic.


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## crowe-t

Trekkriffic said:


> Tell ya what...I like your build so much...I'll trade ya straight up... This build for my 18 inch, lit, motorized Miarecki-prise...it's even got a lit shuttle bay with a mini-Galileo!


WOW, that's a beautiful build as is all your Trek builds!:thumbsup:

I'm sure you wouldn't trade this one.


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## Zombie_61

crowe-t said:


> Al - It's great to see you here buddy!


Likewise, my friend! This forum is one of the reasons I haven't been over at ARC as much lately. So many forums, so little time...

You're right about the lack of detail (compared to the Revell Shuttle kit, that is); most of the detail on this ship is in the paintwork and decals. Still, I'm looking forward to seeing your improvements!


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## crowe-t

It's been a few days but it's time for another update. I continued sanding the bottom of the saucer's contour some more. I think I'm real close now. I applied some more primer and will finish the sanding after the primer is cured. 


















I attached the Nacelle Pylons. I made a template from the Casimiro blueprints for the angles and used epoxy to attach them to the secondary hull. The epoxy dripped down through the holes I drilled in the secondary hull and glued the brass rods in place. I was planning on using a long stick to get some epoxy inside but got lucky and it dripped down into the hull where I needed it to be. The pylons are nice and solid.


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## Trekkriffic

Gosk! You've reproduced the warp plasma conduits using brass rod! Outstanding!


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## clactonite

Outstanding!


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## Nova Designs

I did something similar with square brass tubing, but I didn't cut the nacelles off of the pylons, nice work!


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## crowe-t

Trekkriffic said:


> Gosk! You've reproduced the warp plasma conduits using brass rod! Outstanding!


Yeah, that's what I meant to do, reproduce the warp plasma conduits. :lol:



clactonite said:


> Outstanding!


Thanks for the compliment! 



Nova Designs said:


> I did something similar with square brass tubing, but I didn't cut the nacelles off of the pylons, nice work!


Thanks Nova! 

I already drilled some holes in the nacelles for the new mounting locations. The nacelles need a bit of cleaning up and some details added and they'll be ready to attach.


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## Chrisisall

crow-t, you really *LIKE *the Enterprise. I can tell.


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## crowe-t

Chrisisall, I do really *LIKE* the Enterprise. I also really like the size of the 18" AMT kit. I'm not crazy about the Revell TOS Enterprise which has way too many deep grid lines and some of the shapes(saucer, secondary hull) aren't accurately shaped. The 18" AMT kit is a classic so I studied it and came up with some ideas to make it more closely resemble the 11 foot studio model.

Mike


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## Trekkriffic

I'm having a much easier time with my 1/650 TOS Klingon battle cruiser considering AMT produced the kit the studio model was based off of so it is inherently much more accurate to start with. Maybe you and I could collaborate on some composites featuring our two ships facing off when they are done? Just a thought.


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## crowe-t

Trekkriffic said:


> I'm having a much easier time with my 1/650 TOS Klingon battle cruiser considering AMT produced the kit the studio model was based off of so it is inherently much more accurate to start with. Maybe you and I could collaborate on some composites featuring our two ships facing off when they are done? Just a thought.


I never built or had the AMT TOS Klingon battle cruiser but know it's fairly accurate. 

I'd like very much to collaborate on some composites of our 2 ships together. 

BTW, I just found your build thread and you are doing an amazing job so far!

Mike.


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## Trekkriffic

crowe-t said:


> I never built or had the AMT TOS Klingon battle cruiser but know it's fairly accurate.
> 
> I'd like very much to collaborate on some composites of our 2 ships together.
> 
> How far along is your build?
> 
> Mike.


I'm almost done with gluing the subassemblies together. By this weekend she should be finish sanded and primed.


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## crowe-t

Trekkriffic said:


> I'm almost done with gluing the subassemblies together. By this weekend she should be finish sanded and primed.


You beat me to the punch. I edited my reply after I found your build thread. 

I still have a while more to go on the Enterprise before it's ready for primer but I'm getting there.


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## crowe-t

Here's another small update. It's been a while. 

I reduced the size of the Federation Models 'Intercoolers'. They are a bit too high and long.



The nacelle vents I got from Federation Models stick out too much. I cut some material off so they sit closer to the nacelle.

The one of the left is the first attempt and the one on the right is how they look now. Also added the trapezoid shapes to the ends of the nacelle inner grills.




I cut out a ring of 1.5 mm styrene sheet to add to the front of the secondary hull. After all the sanding to get the 3 hull parts to line up it was a bit shorter. 

It's still quite a bit rough but is coming along. 




The kit's linear accelerator, or whatever it's called, needs a bit of re-shaping. I'm in the ballpark now but it'll need a bit more work to look the part.



Lastly, below shows one of the triangles I scribed into the saucer's bottom. I drew on some quick grid lines to line these up. 



Well, this is it for now. I'll hopefully have another update soon with the nacelles attached.


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## crowe-t

Here's some more progress pictures.

The clear piece that sits above the bridge on the DLM part is a bit too flat. I cut the top off one of the inner dome parts from a Polar Lights 1/1000 TOS E kit. It's placed on for the picture.





I made the beacon above the hanger deck from the end of a piece of sprue.



I attached the nacelles today. I used some regular liquid model glue to get an idea of how they should line up. I still have to make a couple of adjustments and then I'll use epoxy inside on the brass rods.


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## Chrisisall

I am.... amazed....


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## Gregatron

Just goes to show that the 'ol AMT still can be a real winner with a little love and care.


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## Trekkriffic

Still workin' on this eh? This is truly an inspirational build.


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## Prowler901

This is some amazing work. I can really appreciate the amount of time, effort, and skill that you are putting in to this kit.


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## djnick66

Excellent work !


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## Captain Han Solo

Excellent.


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## crowe-t

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the kind words.

Well, I'm slowly chipping away at this one. The end caps and Bussard Collectors are glued in place on the nacelles. The clear domes are just placed on for the pictures. 

I still have to work on the linear accelerator, finish adding the beacons and refine everything before it's ready for paint. 

Here's some pictures of the progress.


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## Trekkriffic

crowe-t said:


> Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the kind words.
> 
> Well, I'm slowly chipping away at this one. The end caps and Bussard Collectors are glued in place on the nacelles. The clear domes are just placed on for the pictures.
> 
> I still have to work on the linear accelerator, finish adding the beacons and refine everything before it's ready for paint.


Will you hurry up! I have a friend who'd like to meet her...


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## Chrisisall

crowe-t said:


> Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the kind words.
> Here's some pictures of the progress.


I can't tell how much I admire, empathise with and appreciate this build!!! This is the apex of accurization in our modeling world. I NEED new wallpaper for my computer as well, and I will make a picture of your finished work IT, if that's okay.:thumbsup:


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## crowe-t

Trekkriffic said:


> Will you hurry up! I have a friend who'd like to meet her...


Considering I only started this build a couple of months ago I think it's going relatively quick. I've had to modify just about every part to get it to more closely resemble the 11 foot filming model. I think I'm in the ball park with it, although given the limitations of the kit's plastic some areas are close enough. 

I'm looking forward to our 2 meeting up in battle! 



Chrisisall said:


> I can't tell how much I admire, empathise with and appreciate this build!!! This is the apex of accurization in our modeling world. I NEED new wallpaper for my computer as well, and I will make a picture of your finished work IT, if that's okay.:thumbsup:


It's been fun attempting to re-create the look of the 11 footer using this kit. I've made a few mistakes along the way but so far I'm pretty happy with it.

I just hope I can pull off the paint job. I'm going to attempt to draw on the saucer grid and then spray a thinned base coat over it to tone it down. I'm not so good with Photoshop-ing in cool backgrounds but will try and take some nice pictures. Not sure if they'll do as wallpaper but I'll share any pictures I take with you.


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## Zombie_61

crowe-t said:


>


The thing that floors me is how perfectly aligned the warp engines are in these two photos. _On an AMT kit???_ Now _that's_ the mark of a real craftsman! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## djnick66

Yeah hurry it up !!



Great work so far. How did you rescribe the saucer parts. i want to tone down the raised lines on my old kit by sanding them off and rescribing them. But, doing the circular part bothers me even with a circle cutter. 

I notice the glow reissue kit has a smooth saucer again, which is nice.


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## crowe-t

djnick66 said:


> Yeah hurry it up !!
> 
> 
> 
> Great work so far. How did you rescribe the saucer parts. i want to tone down the raised lines on my old kit by sanding them off and rescribing them. But, doing the circular part bothers me even with a circle cutter.
> 
> I notice the glow reissue kit has a smooth saucer again, which is nice.


I used a compass cutter to scribe the 3 rings on the saucer's bottom and used Dymo embossing tape for scribing the triangles.

The kit I'm using is a Round 2 re-sissue that also doesn't have the raised grid lines. It definitely saves time not having to sand the grid off.


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## publiusr

Great work.


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## crowe-t

Thanks for the kind words! 

Here's an update on the progress so far.

I made the beacons for the saucer's edge using sprue ends from a Polar Lights 1/1000 TOS E kit. The 2 larger ones that go on the top and the bottom edge will be attached after all the painting is complete. This will cut down on masking and they should look better this way. I attached some pegs to the beacons and drilled holes in the saucer. The pegs will be cut down for installation. I left them longer for painting. I also added a small piece of tubing to the bottom of the bridge dome so it now plugs into the opening. The dome will also be attached after the painting. 

The smaller beacons I made using 1 mm & 1.2 MM Evergreen rods. I drilled holes in the saucer's edge and the rear of the secondary hull and glued them in place. I still have to add the smaller beacons to the sides of the bridge and the tops of the bussard collector housings.






The intercoolers and impulse deck are also attached. Both of these are from Federation Models. 





Just a few more small details and a lot more sanding :lol: and it'll be ready for some paint.


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## Gregatron

Gorgeous.


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## Chrisisall

Gregatron said:


> Gorgeous.


:thumbsup:


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## Trekkriffic

Hurry up! I can't wait to see it finished! Awesome work! 
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## crowe-t

Thanks guys for the vote of confidence! It's much appreciated. 

Trekkriffic, I'm close to the painting stage but I just want it to be right and not rush it. This build has taken quite a bit of thought and sanding:lol: to make it resemble the 11 foot studio model. 

I am, however going to be replacing the Intercoolers with a set from JT-Graphics that are accurate to the 11 foot model and beautifully cast. The set I attached from Federation Models don't look right,in person, and aren't well cast. I already had them so I tried using them but they will be changed out in a few days.


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## J_Indy

Great work on this. You and djnick66 are doing good stuff. :thumbsup:

One of the things I have noticed incidentally is (generally) the amount of patience exhibited by model builders, especially when it comes to "enhancing/correcting" a kit that is sometimes comically misshapen from the original mold.

Although I bought a 1/350 kit, it has been 10-15+ years since gluing anything together. The paint, glue, tools, putty etc, etc actually add up to quite a bit of $ when starting from scratch. Even the 1 tube of Testors I had in an almost buried TOS 22" cutaway box was completely dried up! I did find an X-Acto handle in there (but only a dull blade).

So I figured I should try building the 22" first rather than just ruin the 1/350 - since the 22" is so bad to begin with I can't really screw it up much more than it is. At least I bought the DLM parts for it way back when before the degree of the inaccuracies discouraged me from putting it together.

Seeing as how I lack the patience I've seen others exhibit here, it may get smashed before it gets built.


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## djnick66

Great work so far. More patience than I have. The cool thing with modeling is that 3 people can build the same kit and do totally different things with it. I have the 22" kit... its no better or worse than a lot of other kits. Go for it...


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## Fozzie

djnick66 said:


> The cool thing with modeling is that 3 people can build the same kit and do totally different things with it.


So true! That is one of the aspects of this hobby that I find so fascinating.

(And it has caused me--on _hundreds _of occasions--to slap my forehead and say: "Why didn't I think of that?")


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## Zombie_61

Fozzie said:


> So true! That is one of the aspects of this hobby that I find so fascinating.
> 
> (And it has caused me--on _hundreds _of occasions--to slap my forehead and say: "Why didn't I think of that?")


That's one of the good things about a forum like this--wait for others to build a particular kit, see what they come up with, then steal all of their good ideas.


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## djnick66

What is cool too is that a 50 year old kit can still generate so much interest and quality work. With all the hype about how "bad" this kit is, more people have had builds of the AMT stuff than, say , the new Revell kits. I can't say I have seen anyone build the Revell TOS ship.


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## J_Indy

djnick66 said:


> What is cool too is that a 50 year old kit can still generate so much interest and quality work. With all the hype about how "bad" this kit is, more people have had builds of the AMT stuff than, say , the new Revell kits. I can't say I have seen anyone build the Revell TOS ship.


The Revell TOS kit may just be harder to get.

While the Revell has the benefit of all the windows cut out already, there is something about the underside of the saucer that isn't shaped right - it looks too pointed.

I think that throws off a major aesthetic - something that you notice immediately - at least when viewed in profile. That is something that is a lot harder to correct because of the curvature of the piece.


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## djnick66

Perhaps but its not like the AMT kit is really well shaped either. It's just people keep building the old AMT kit over and over (I am not complaining). The AMT kit is cool.

I got my Revell kit off eBay.


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## Heero Kasshu

Not to hijack your thread, but I do love the old AMT Kit, but the Revell one is I think much nicer in a lot of ways. Since some of the board hasn't seen a built version I present mine.

I did fill in the gridlines and I got this:



I also added lights as you can see, and a sound board in the base that plays the opening theme, red alert, photons, transporter, etc.

Even with all those bells and whistles, The old kit can be nice too with a little elbow grease


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## djnick66

Cool work. That is the first Revell kit I have seen built. And the AMT kit looks great too.


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## publiusr

Great build of the Revell. I have a soft spot in my heart for the AMT still.


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## Gary7

Check this out. http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=394760


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## Chrisisall

Saw it. It's awesome in its simple grace.


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## crowe-t

Well, it's been a while since my last update so I thought it was time to get back to this.

I replaced the Federation Models' Intercoolers with a set from JT-Graphics. The JT-Graphics Intercoolers are beautifully cast and are very accurate to the studio model. I'm much happier with these.




I also added the ribbed details to the fronts of the deflector forks. 



The Round 2 Dome base didn't feel as sturdy with this model as I thought it would be. Maybe due to the fact that I used epoxy and a few resin parts which added some weight. I glued in styrene reinforcement pieces on the bottom of the base sort of how the large Round 2 dome base is made. This made a big difference and now the ship stays straight.


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## harristotle

This is such an awesome build! :thumbsup:


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## djnick66

VERY good additions.


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## Landru

Hey there Mike! (SJM) Been a while eh! Loving your attention to detail on this build (as usual!) really can't wait to see more. Will you be painting the globes on the back ends of the nacelles with your base coat? (as they were on the 11er) Or gloss white as they looked on the TV screen to us kids way back when .. 


Starting to get back into the plastic world again - just repaired my airbrush..I'll be assaulting that BOP in no time!


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## crowe-t

Thanks for all the compliments!

Scott - It's great running into you here. I'll be painting the globes the hull color. I always thought they were white but since I found they are the hull color I'll go with that. 

I hope to see your BOP build here soon.

Mike.


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## Trekkriffic

For my 18 incher I painted the balls hull color but gave them an overspray with Testors gloss pearlescent clearcoat. I like the slightly metallic sheen it gave them.


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## djnick66

I airbrushed the globes on my kit gloss white and added some clear orange shading around the edge to make it look like it was illuminated. Worked for me... I also used the kit parts just because I was too cheap to buy new ones.


----------



## Maritain

Wow is that coming along very nicely. Its looking like a proper starship!


----------



## publiusr

A great build. No biggie on the exiting kit parts--there is something to be said to do a build accurate to the model--as in a modification to Achernar or something.


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks guys! 

I was working on it today and will post pictures in a day or so. I'll post a picture of the linear accelerator which is now more correctly shaped to the 11 footer. I also decided to use the DLM bridge dome instead of the one I made from the PL 1/1000 inner dome.


----------



## crowe-t

I managed to get some more work done! 

The Federation Models' Control Reactors are attached.




Here is the 'new' bridge dome. The bridge dome included with the DLM B/C deck looked a bit too flat. I originally made a new dome using the Nacelle inner 'fan' part from a Polar Lights 1/1000 TOS Enterprise kit. It looked a bit on the small side so I made a new one. I used an outer Nacelle dome from the PL 1/1000 TOS E kit and it's now the right size.




Here's the Linear Accelerator. I applied some more putty to the area around it so it still looks a bit rough but I finally got the shape right.


----------



## Chrisisall

Still lovin' it!


----------



## Landru

bridge looks great!


----------



## publiusr

Wow--I can't wait to see more.


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks Guys!

I actually had a small mishap attempting to adjust one of the Intercoolers and broke it. Jeff at JT-Graphics sent me out a replacement and an extra one, which just arrived in the mail today. I'll get it attached and finish the sanding this week and it's on to paint.


----------



## Carl_G

What did you use to fill the gap when you installed the replacement bridge on the saucer? Mine has a sort of little "dip" where the resin meets the styrene all around the replacement bridge no matter how much I putty and sand... I want it to look all seamless and pretty, like yours.


----------



## crowe-t

Carl,

Do you mean the where the resin B/C deck meets the saucer's styrene? 

I used Gap Filling Super Glue(CA) to attached the Resin B/C deck part and it pretty much filled in the gap. I then applied a small amount of Squadron white putty around the seam and sanded it.

Mike.


----------



## Carl_G

crowe-t said:


> Carl,
> 
> Do you mean the where the resin B/C deck meets the saucer's styrene?
> 
> I used Gap Filling Super Glue(CA) to attached the Resin B/C deck part and it pretty much filled in the gap. I them applied a small amount of Squadron white putty around the seam and sanded it.
> 
> Mike.


Exactly, thanks for the quick response. 
I picked up a tube of squadron putty the other day, so I'll give it a try -- fingers crossed!


----------



## J_Indy

I am currently (slowly) working on a 22" cutaway with the same-but-larger DLM part and used Aves Epoxysculpt as a filler around the B/C deck/hull seam. It works well if you:

1) wet the epoxy sculpt after filling out the seam and smooth it with your finger, feeling for how well it blends.
2) start sanding about 3 hrs after applying it - before it is fully cured (a tip from Zombie). Once cured it is harder than the surrounding plastic and is more difficult to sand flush.
3) any final fine-tuning was done with a bit of Tamiya putty.

For me it worked well because the cutaway has to have the 2 sides joined too, so the epoxy also helps to add strength.


----------



## Zombie_61

J_Indy said:


> ...2) start sanding about 3 hrs after applying it - before it is fully cured (a tip from Zombie). Once cured it is harder than the surrounding plastic and is more difficult to sand flush...


You're welcome. :lol:


----------



## Trekkriffic

Zombie_61 said:


> You're welcome. :lol:





J_Indy said:


> I am currently (slowly) working on a 22" cutaway with the same-but-larger DLM part and used Aves Epoxysculpt as a filler around the B/C deck/hull seam. It works well if you... start sanding about 3 hrs after applying it - before it is fully cured (a tip from Zombie). Once cured it is harder than the surrounding plastic and is more difficult to sand flush.


Yeap. I used AVES yesterday to fill in the saucer seam in spots on my 1/350 TOS Enterprise. It's great to work with since you can smooth it with water (saliva in my case). Went back after about 3 hours and sanded it before it was completely cured. Worked like a dream. I used Perfect Plastic Putty after that applying it with a spatula tool like cake frosting all around the edge. I'll sand it today.


----------



## crowe-t

I'm finally back to working on this.  


I was getting this all ready to paint and I noticed a problem. The areas where the nacelle pylons attach to the secondary hull and the front and rear of the dorsal split. This had happened a couple of times over the past weeks so I first tried melting in small pieces of styrene with liquid styrene glue. That didn't work so I then dug these areas out and applied some CA. The CA was too hard and also split. Last night I cut these areas out with a razor saw and applied epoxy. The epoxy worked and it even feels more solid then before. Today I applied some primer and will be ready to start painting in a couple of days. Below are a some pictures showing the areas I cut out before the epoxy was applied. I'll post more pictures soon showing the painting progress.


----------



## MadCap Romanian

Looking great!


----------



## WarpCore Breach

Stress cracks... yeah, those really show up on this model. 

I've taken to installing a brass rod in the pylons right down to the "plug" of the nacelle struts and I sort of hollowed out the plug itself to install a brass strip for reinforcement in a couple of cases.

Not really had the issue with the saucer very often as shown in the pics.


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks guys! 

I did install 2 brass rods in each pylon that extend down to the bottom of the secondary hull and up into the nacelles. I think part of the problem is that I narrowed the pylons and there was room in the 'plug' of the secondary hull. The epoxy I applied in the areas I cut out with the razor saw seems to have solved the problem, I hope. 

I mixed up some paint for the hull color today and will start painting in a day or so.


----------



## Trek Ace

I've always used large paper clips to reinforce the pylons. Place one in each strut, at the base where it connects to the fuselage, with either CA or epoxy (NOT styrene cement), and the result is that it will prevent the 'twist' from occurring that causes the dreaded 'nacelle sag'.










Even the models that were built decades ago show no sign of sag using this method.


----------



## MadCap Romanian

I don't think I've ever experienced this "Nacelle Sag" problem. How can you tell if one of your old 18"ers are suffereing the "Sag"? I still have my first one from 25+ years ago and I don't notice anything unusual. My Dad has his ship from 40+ years ago and there's nothing on it either. None of these kits have brass rods installed or anything like that. They are just right out of the box builds.


----------



## crowe-t

On this particular build I narrowed the pylons and changed the angle and attachment points to the nacelles to more closely match the 11 footer. Since they are narrower they don't plug in to the secondary hull so I had to reinforce them with the brass rods. It ended up being much stronger then the original AMT kit's design and I can actually pick up the model by either one of the nacelles. They don't move at all.

Here are 2 pictures(posted earlier in this thread) showing the modifications done to the pylons.


----------



## StarshipClass

crowe-t said:


> I was getting this all ready to paint and I noticed a problem. The areas where the nacelle pylons attach to the secondary hull and the front and rear of the dorsal split. This had happened a couple of times over the past weeks so I first tried melting in small pieces of styrene with liquid styrene glue. That didn't work so I then dug these areas out and applied some CA. The CA was too hard and also split. Last night I cut these areas out with a razor saw and applied epoxy. The epoxy worked and it even feels more solid then before. Today I applied some primer and will be ready to start painting in a couple of days. Below are a some pictures showing the areas I cut out before the epoxy was applied. I'll post more pictures soon showing the painting progress.


Every kit I built back in the 1970's has always come apart has come apart on the secondary hull. It has always been the weak point of this model kit. It is the nexus of the other parts and needs to be sturdy but is designed to be anything but. The only luck I've had to fix the problem is to, early on in the process, liberally apply epoxy putty inside the secondary hull to heavily reinforce it. 

You seem to have taken the bull by the horns and put a good fix on it. :thumbsup:


----------



## J_Indy

Funny how people working on these old E kits end up with similar solutions... 

I had to figure out the same problem on my 22" cutaway while still leave spaces for wiring to light it.

I think I'll be going with this unless I come up with something better - kind of the same approach.

To correct one of the many flaws, I had to cut the nacelles from the pylons since they insert too high into the engines, so I'll have to mend it back later.


----------



## StarshipClass

J_Indy said:


> Funny how people working on these old E kits end up with similar solutions...
> 
> I had to figure out the same problem on my 22" cutaway while still leave spaces for wiring to light it.
> 
> I think I'll be going with this unless I come up with something better - kind of the same approach.
> 
> To correct one of the many flaws, I had to cut the nacelles from the pylons since they insert too high into the engines, so I'll have to mend it back later.


Ah! Most excellent! Killing two birds with one stone there. :thumbsup:


----------



## crowe-t

J_Indy said:


> Funny how people working on these old E kits end up with similar solutions...
> 
> I had to figure out the same problem on my 22" cutaway while still leave spaces for wiring to light it.
> 
> I think I'll be going with this unless I come up with something better - kind of the same approach.
> 
> To correct one of the many flaws, I had to cut the nacelles from the pylons since they insert too high into the engines, so I'll have to mend it back later.


So the pylons mount too high on the nacelles on the 22" kit too? I thought this was only a problem with the 18" kit.


----------



## J_Indy

crowe-t said:


> So the pylons mount too high on the nacelles on the 22" kit too? I thought this was only a problem with the 18" kit.


Nah - the 22" has a misshapen neck pylon that is too short too. So when you extend the neck closer to the length it should be, the nacelles are too low relative to the saucer. So I have to cut them off the pylons and move the insertion point closer to the bottom of the engine to lift them higher.

I have a 1/350, but after decades of not building a kit, I figured if I'm going to ruin something, this one is it (can't make it worse).  I'm using it as a guinea pig to try and:

1) get some skills
2) collect some tools (beyond my X-Acto with the dull blade I started with).

If I can manage to turn this turd into a....polished turd, I'm calling it a success...  

Your build starting with the 18" kit is awesome - if only AMT had taken the care that you are now to make it like that.


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks guys!

I started painting the base hull color on. It's a custom mix of Tamiya XF-12 JN Grey, XF-19 Sky Grey & XF-2 Flat White. I have to mix some more and give it a few more coats but so far it's coming along nicely. 







Here's a picture of the Round 2 dome base. When I was applying the white primer I forgot to cover it and it was hit with a mist.  It sort of looks like a star field so I might leave it as is and chalk it up to a happy accident.


----------



## Trekkriffic

crowe-t said:


> Here's a picture of the Round 2 dome base. When I was applying the white primer I forgot to cover it and it was hit with a mist.  It sort of looks like a star field so I might leave it as is and chalk it up to a happy accident.


That color looks right on man. How cool is the base though? Serendipity for sure!:thumbsup:


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks Steve! I like the color much more then JN Grey lightened with white. JN Grey just looks too green to my eyes. This color I'm using is somewhere in between the Master Replicas TOS E hull color and the WalMart Concrete color chip. It's also a shade or two lighter which works better for this small scale. 

When my wife saw the base she thought it looked like a star field and suggested I go with it. Good advice for sure!

Mike.


----------



## Chrisisall

Wowzza all around.


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks Chrisisall! I'm pretty happy with the hull color. It looks neutral but has green/blue shift in different lighting.


----------



## Prowler901

WOW!!! Talk about turning a sow's ear into a silk purse! That is not even the same model anymore, Mike. I love the base too. Classy! :thumbsup:


----------



## harristotle

Looking good! 

And definitely keep the base as is :thumbsup:


----------



## Gregatron

Gorgeous!


----------



## Zombie_61

crowe-t said:


> ...Here's a picture of the Round 2 dome base. When I was applying the white primer I forgot to cover it and it was hit with a mist.  It sort of looks like a star field so I might leave it as is and chalk it up to a happy accident...


I'd definitely leave it as-is, except I'd give it a coat or two of Dullcote just to minimize the reflections.

As for the ship, terrific work as always Mike! You never disappoint. :thumbsup:


----------



## MadCap Romanian

You guys never answered my last post..page 8!


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks a lot guys! 

MadCap, This is the first 18" Enterprise kit I ever built and I didn't attached the nacelles as per the kit's instructions due to the modifications I made to them. Maybe one of the guys here who have one built box stock can elaborate on the nacelle sag issue.


----------



## Trekkriffic

crowe-t said:


> Thanks a lot guys!
> 
> MadCap, This is the first 18" Enterprise kit I ever built and I didn't attached the nacelles as per the kit's instructions due to the modifications I made to them. Maybe one of the guys here who have one built box stock can elaborate on the nacelle sag issue.


When I built my last 18 incher I ran wires for bussard lights and motors up two lengths of rectangular brass tubing epoxied side by side inside of each pylon and sandwhiched between the tabs that fit into the boxes in the secondary hull. I also reinforced the spine of the secondary hull with a strip of brass bar glued with 5 minute epoxy and epoxy putty across the seam between the hull halves. And to further prevent any hull flexing I glued a half round piece of thick styrene sheet into the secondary hull across the gap between the two boxes that the pylon tabs insert into. Have had no sag of any kind in 8 years. The pylons are so strong you can hold the model up by one nacelle with no fear of breakage.


----------



## MadCap Romanian

Kool! 

Usually I back the seam with Evergreen Strip Styrene. Plastic to plastic contact. 

I haven't tried to pick the model up by the pylon though. Does it really need that much strength?


----------



## Trekkriffic

MadCap Romanian said:


> I haven't tried to pick the model up by the pylon though. Does it really need that much strength?


Probably not. I just mentioned that to illustrate how strong the seam was.


----------



## Rocky1775

*Saucer edge*



crowe-t said:


> Below are some pictures of the saucer. The DLM B/C deck structure is attached and the contour of the saucer's edge has been re-shaped.


How did you reshape the saucer edge? Is there enough plastic to just file it down, or did you cut off the rim and rebuild it?

Btw, great work!


----------



## TonyT

Fabulous build!!


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks guys!

Rocky1775 - I glued strips of 1.5 mm styrene inside the saucer's edge and then used a razor saw to sort of scrape down the outer edge. I finished the edge using a sanding stick and sand paper. I later glued some more styrene strips on the inside to be safe but it only needs about 1.5 mm glued in. There's plenty of plastic on the kit's saucer.


----------



## crowe-t

I painted the STAR TREK logo and USS Enterprise 1701 on the dome base yesterday and sprayed some Testors Acryl Semi Gloss clear on today. The lettering is painted with Polly Scale UP Armour Yellow. 

A member on Sci Fi Model Action's forum, HDATX, made the paint masks for me.


----------



## Trekkriffic

crowe-t said:


> I painted the STAR TREK logo and USS Enterprise 1701 on the dome base yesterday and sprayed some Testors Acryl Semi Gloss clear on today. The lettering is painted with Polly Scale UP Armour Yellow.
> 
> A member on Sci Fi Model Action's forum, HDATX, made the paint masks for me.


*Out...STAND...ing! *


----------



## MadCap Romanian

Looks just like a CBS TV night in 1966!

Please hurry up and paint your model! I'm dying to see the finished project!

(I probably shouldn't say "Rush it", but I am anxious!):thumbsup:


----------



## crowe-t

Trekkriffic, Thanks for the compliment!  It means a lot coming from you.

MadCap Romanian, Believe me I can't wait to see this one painted. I keep running into roadblocks with this one. I actually started painting it and then noticed a problem where the nacelle pylons attach to the secondary hull. In the next couple of days I'll be finishing that area and then resume painting. I can't wait to start the weathering, that's when the model takes on it's character.


----------



## Shado1980

MadCap Romanian said:


> Looks just like a CBS TV night in 1966!
> 
> Please hurry up and paint your model! I'm dying to see the finished project!
> 
> (I probably shouldn't say "Rush it", but I am anxious!):thumbsup:


Don't you mean NBC TV 

Seriously, this is a cool build. Makes me want to pick up another AMT Enterprise and give this another shot. I built up one as the Constellation a coupla years ago, but wasn't happy with the finished result.


----------



## Trekkriffic

Looking forward to seeing you tackle the weathering. I have one of these kits up on the top shelf in my stash. It's the tin box edition. I got it mostly for the box but I'm tempted to build it now after seeing your work. The plastic is such a lovely shade of light blue... seems a shame to paint over it. Didn't the Enterprise have a blue tint to it in some of the scenes? Hmmmm...


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks for the compliments!

The pylons to secondary hull connection is proving to be an obstacle. The epoxy keeps separating from the plastic, due to the slight flex in that area. 

I've had to re-think this and I started on a fix today. I glued a small 90 degree angled piece of plastic to one side (I cut off of a piece from the parts box) of where the pylon attaches to the secondary hull. If this goes well I'll continue with this and glue the other 3 pieces at the base of the pylons. So far I'm keeping my fingers crossed this works. 

Photobucket's website is currently running maintenance so I'm unable to upload pictures. I'll post some pictures in a day or so. If this works I just have to re-apply putty around the secondary hull and pylons, spray some primer and I can then get back to the painting.


----------



## crowe-t

Here are some pictures of the pylon fix as promised. I cut the angled pieces from a part of an Airfix 1/144 Space Shuttle stack stand I had left over. 

I cut out a section of the bottom of the nacelle pylon and chiseled away part of the secondary hull to fit the angled piece in. This way there is no seam at the base of the pylons. Today I finished the inner side of the port pylon as well as both sides of the starboard pylon. I'll finish shaping these areas tomorrow and apply some putty so I can clean it all up and get ready to resume the painting.


----------



## crowe-t

I started shaping the base of the pylons. I'll try and get it done tomorrow so I can spray some primer and get back to the painting.


----------



## MadCap Romanian

Don't forget to cross-sand!


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks MadCap!

I got it sorted out and finally sprayed on the hull color today. 

I'll wait a day or 2 and then pencil on the saucer grid. After that I'll spray some of the hull color over the grid to tone it way down.


----------



## Chrisisall

Looking good!


----------



## Trekkriffic

Boy that stand really looks great with it. Pardon my brain freeze but did you say you were lighting it?


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks guys!

Trekkriffic - No I'm not lighting this.


----------



## crowe-t

Here's the start of the saucer grid. I cut a thin strip from .010" styrene to use as a guide and drew them on with a pencil. I printed out the Casimiro blueprint I sized to the saucer and used it as a guide for the placement of the radial lines. The grid will be sprayed over with the hull color so they will look very subtle. I don't want them to stand out.


----------



## crowe-t

The grid is done, well sort of. :lol: It will be pre-shaded and sprayed over with the hull color. Below are a couple of pictures.


----------



## Trekkriffic

Are you planning to draw panel lines on the secondary hull and nacelles for consistency?


----------



## crowe-t

I'm attempting to go for the look of the studio model with the grid only on the saucer. The grid will be toned down with the base color so it should blend in nicely.


----------



## MadCap Romanian

Looking great! I scribed some grid lines into a FJ version of this ship. That was a tough day indeed!


----------



## crowe-t

It's been a tough couple of days with this. I pre shaded the grid with a darker version of the hull color but I don't think it was dark enough. Well it didn't come out the way I wanted so I sprayed the hull color on and re-drew the pencilled grid on(again) tonight. I'll attempt to complete the grid tomorrow.


----------



## Trekkriffic

Interesting. I've never been much of a fan of preshading the actual grid. All I wanted was for the thin pencil lines to be barely visible under the hull color. For preshading on my 1/1000 I darkened the concavity on the underside of the saucer but that was about it. That and the rust ring of course.


----------



## crowe-t

I've never used the pre-shading technique before so I figured this would be a good opportunity to give it a try. My first attempt didn't turn out so well. The pre-shade color I used wasn't dark enough and I didn't do such a good job of spraying the hull color over it.

I darkened the pre-shade color, which is a darker version of the hull color.

Below are pictures of the top results. I may spray on a couple more light mist coats of the hull color but for now I want to sleep on it. I have to say I really like the effect pre-shading gives.


----------



## Trekkriffic

You know... that actually does look pretty cool.


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks Trek! 

I finished the pre-shading of the grid on the bottom of the saucer today. I did spray on a couple of light mist coats of the base color over the saucer's top and feel it blends better.

Here are some pictures.


----------



## Trekkriffic

Oh Yeah. That's nice. Subtle.


----------



## Chrisisall

Trekkriffic said:


> Oh Yeah. That's nice. Subtle.


I concur.


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks guys! Now it's on to painting the darker details and the weathering...


----------



## crowe-t

Here's a small update. I started painting the darker details(linear accelerator, impulse engine deck and the nacelle end caps). I have to do some touch up on the impulse engine deck but the rest came out nice. I used Tamiya XF-66 Light Gray which is more of a medium gray and even resembles Testors Medium Gray. I wasn't sure about this color but so far I like it.

The 'balls' at the end of the nacelles are painted the hull color. I was going to lighten them but with the dark end caps and when the weathering is applied they should look lighter then the hull. The 'ball's won't have any weathering.


----------



## Chrisisall

You are an artist, sir.


----------



## crowe-t

Well, not quite but I appreciate that!

For some reason the tape wasn't right where the impulse deck meets the saucer but I'll take care of that tomorrow.


----------



## Chrisisall

crowe-t said:


> Well, not quite but I appreciate that!


Your love of the subject makes you so.


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks Chrisisall!

I got some more painting done today. I misted some of the darker color I used to pre-shade the saucer grid onto the triangles on the underside of the saucer.

The last picture shows a piece of paper with some Testors MM Acryl Neutral Gray sprayed on it. I'll be re-spraying the linear accelerator/impulse engines and the nacelle end caps with the Testors Neutral Gray. It's slightly lighter in shade then the Tamiya Light Gray I used and I feel it looks better. The Tamiya Light Gray has a blue tint, at least to my eyes, that I'm not too crazy about.


----------



## crowe-t

Today I sprayed the Testors MM Acryl Neutral Gray onto the linear
accelerator/impulse engines and the nacelle end caps. I think it looks much better with this color.


----------



## Chrisisall

This is epic.


----------



## Trekkriffic

This is the fun part. It's together, puttying and sanding is done, and you are laying on colors.


----------



## nightspore

crowe-t said:


> Today I sprayed the Testors MM Acryl Neutral Gray onto the linear
> accelerator/impulse engines and the nacelle end caps. I think it looks much better with this color.


I agree.


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks everyone! Yeah the darker Tamiya color I used looked OK until I sprayed it on. I think I made the right choice changing colors.

Trekkriffic - The sanding isn't done yet. I noticed a hairline split on the front of the starboard (nacelle) pylon so I'll be gluing that tonight and sanding, again. Otherwise I'm having fun seeing this come together with the colors.


----------



## J_Indy

This is a fantastic piece of work, but I have a question that I already answered for myself, but wonder what your take on it is...

On the TOS E the impulse engines had (I believe) 2 wrap-around sections port and starboard that is obvious because of the flat middle section on top/bottom between the two wrap-arounds.

On the production version (don't know about the pilot versions) these had dimples throughout the surface that would cast small shadows in the indentations, making the part appear to the eye darker than the actual color.

Do you plan to darken those surfaces slightly to produce a visual illusion of that dimpling, or leave it a uniform color?

I already decided I would like to darken mine a bit, but was wondering if you will be adding depth-illusion in your choice of colors when you paint certain areas.

Great job, BTW... :thumbsup:


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks J Indy! I haven't really thought about any of this yet. I might lightly apply some darker pastel chalk to the wrap-around sections but haven't decided yet. Now that you mentioned it, you got me thinking about doing that.


----------



## crowe-t

I painted the face of the 'Flux Chillers'/Nacelle rear vents or whatever they are called :lol:, Testors Neutral Gray. I also painted the area under the front of the port nacelle a darker version of the hull color. I'm in the process of fixing the starboard pylon so I'll paint this area after the pylon is re-painted.


----------



## harristotle

Looking good :thumbsup:


----------



## starseeker

I'm really loving this project! All your corrections made me wonder: I've collected so many blueprints of the E over they years, how do they compare? I hope I don't offend anyone by posting a very quick and dirty comparison of the Sinclair, Casmiro, and Shaw profiles here:

http://s1004.photobucket.com/user/j...rintsCompared_zps111a5d84.jpg.html?sort=6&o=0

Click on lower right magnifying glass to "enlarge", then click on lower right magnifying glass again to properly enlarge, 

Given the limitations of any kinds of measurements, and then of drafting, and then of any kind of manipulation one does to a drawing to view it on a computer, I'd say largely that there are virtually no statistically "real" differences between any of them, except the nacelle pylon width, nacelle end shape, and underside of saucer. I know it's a poor illustration, but everything else between the three sources lines up very closely. If I had to choose a reference to go with, because each builds on the other, and because new information comes to light all the time, and because we've all seen what a meticulous researcher he is, I'd go with Shaw's, tho' (except for the pylon width, etc.) all seem close enough.


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks Starseeker!

I went with the Casimiro plans because they were the first ones I found online. I've seen the Sinclair plans, and other plans out there and they are all so very close with some slight exceptions, as you described above. The only 100% accurate plans out there are Gary Kerr's. 

Steve Neill scratch built a 5.5 foot long TOS Enterprise a couple of years ago, and I think he said he used the Sinclair plans. His build, visually, looks dead on to the studio model. At least to my eyes it does. 

I'm sure either the Casimiro or the Sinclair plans or Shaw's plans are more then close enough to the proportions of the 11 footer. Especially working with these old kits. 

For this build I'm doing I could have drew my own set of plans with a crayon and it would have improved it. :lol: This old AMT kit is close in some areas, in fact it's closer then I ever would have imagined it to be. However more or even most of the areas are way off. This kit does have it's limitations as to how much can be modified using it's parts. In order to get the curvature of the saucer's bottom 100% spot on it would have had to have been scratch built. I'm sure what I did on the lower saucer isn't 100% dead on but I think it looks much more like the 11 footer then how it was molded. I did have to make a couple of compromises along the way to make it appear to be more accurate.


----------



## Shaw

starseeker said:


> ...
> 
> If I had to choose a reference to go with, because each builds on the other, and because new information comes to light all the time, and because we've all seen what a meticulous researcher he is, I'd go with Shaw's, tho' (except for the pylon width, etc.) all seem close enough.


Wow… Thanks!

Steve Neill used Gary Kerr's plans for his build, but provided a copy of Sinclair's plans with the kits he made (because Gary's plans aren't supposed to be publicly available).

A little over a year ago someone over at the RPF started a scratch built 5.5 foot model. We discussed what he would need to make as accurate a model as possible and what I ended up doing was providing him notes on which things to follow from Sinclair and which to follow from Casimiro (similar to these notes I made back in 2007), with the main thing from my research being the primary hull contours. I was going to give him the reverse engineered hull graphics, but the project seems to be on hold right now.

He did get as far as to build the top and bottom primary hull masters (here), which was cool to see. I hope he finishes the model cause it was off to a great start.

Every time I think about putting all my notes together into a complete set of plans, it gets hard to stay motivated enough to complete them when both Sinclair's and Casimiro's plans are out there and I'm not sure I'd be adding enough unique new information to justify another set of Enterprise plans. I might do it as a documentation of the 11 foot model as a model, that would be sort of different enough that it might be of interest to people.

But yeah, I'm loving this project too! Even unfinished, *crowe-t*'s model has set a new standard by which all other attempts at an accurate 18" Enterprise will be measured. Truly a thing of beauty.


----------



## starseeker

Wow, Shaw, your link in the other link to: 

http://www.modelermagic.com/?p=8672

has some incredible photos! I've got maybe a third of these images from I have no idea where. The rest of these photos have some great information.

I, for one, would love to see whatever you do, for whatever audience you think is most receptive, of whatever subject you choose. Meticulous. 

As is this build.


----------



## crowe-t

Shaw, I remember from one of Steve Neill's videos he mentioned the Sinclair plans but it's been a while since I watched those. It's no wonder Steve's 5.5 foot Enterprise looks correct, Gary's plans are the most accurate.

Thanks for the compliments on my build! 

Mike.


----------



## crowe-t

After a few days break I taped off the area under the front of the Starboard nacelle and the grills in the nacelle trenches. In a day or so I'll tape off the grills and spray on the darker Testors Neutral Gray in the trenches.

The grilles are painted with a mix of Tamiya X-11 Chrome Silver and X-10 Gun Metal. I wanted to tone the brightness of the silver down a bit with the Gun Metal.


----------



## Chrisisall

Coming along very nicely.


----------



## harristotle

Nice work, especially doing your own paint masks :thumbsup:


----------



## Chrisisall

harristotle said:


> Nice work, especially doing your own paint masks :thumbsup:


That's creative ambition!


----------



## OzyMandias

Beautiful work! Your dedication to detail is astounding.


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the nice comments! 

I did some more masking today. I taped off the areas around the grills that'll be painted Testors MM Acryl Neutral Gray.


----------



## crowe-t

I finished painting the Testors Neutral Gray in the nacelle trenches. Next I'll paint the leading edge of the dorsal a blue-green shade.


----------



## Trekkriffic

Very neat. What's that speck though on the port nacelle screen?


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks! 

If you're referring to the area towards the front of the rear screen, it's quite frankly something I missed.  Maybe a build up of glue?! I might file that down and do some touch up on that.


----------



## Maritain

That's mighty fine mask'en going on there! Looks good!


----------



## Trekkriffic

crowe-t said:


> Thanks!
> 
> If you're referring to the area towards the front of the rear screen, it's quite frankly something I missed.  Maybe a build up of glue?! I might file that down and do some touch up on that.


It's amazing what the camera picks up isn't it? I've found that, knowing I will be taking digital images of my models, it forces me to correct even the tiniest flaws. I know that, even though the naked eye may miss it, the camera sure won't. Nice job on the masking by the way.


----------



## Chrisisall

Seconded.


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks for the compliments! I actually enjoy the masking.

That flaw didn't really show in person but does stick out like a sore thumb in the picture. I already filed it down and will do some touch up with the airbrush tomorrow. It'll blend better with the airbrush then a paint brush.


----------



## crowe-t

Just a small update today! I painted the leading edge of the dorsal. I mixed Testors MM Acryl US Navy Blue Gray, Pale Green and some Flat White. It's my own version of Hellblau. :lol: The color sort of looks turquoise... kind of green and kind of blue. I was hoping for it to be a bit more subtle but so far I like the result. Any suggestions or comments are more then welcome.


----------



## Chrisisall

Just a _tad_ more subtle would be my suggestion.


----------



## crowe-t

The pictures are making it pop a bit. I'll sleep on it and see how it looks in daylight tomorrow but so far I'm liking it.


----------



## Trekkriffic

crowe-t said:


> The pictures are making it pop a bit. I'll sleep on it and see how it looks in daylight tomorrow but so far I'm liking it.


That looks a lot like the leading edge on my 1/350 scale Enterprise.


----------



## Chrisisall

crowe-t said:


> The pictures are making it pop a bit.


If that's the case (as I know it can be) then it's perfect.


----------



## crowe-t

Trekkriffic said:


> That looks a lot like the leading edge on my 1/350 scale Enterprise.


I just went back through your build thread and looked at your 1/350's dorsal. You're right, it does look a lot like it, which is a very good thing. You did an amazing job on your 1/350. 



Chrisisall said:


> If that's the case (as I know it can be) then it's perfect.


Thanks! 

To tone it down I'd have to either add more white to the mixture or maybe spray some hull color over it. However I kind of like how it looks now so I might just leave it as is.


----------



## crowe-t

I very slightly toned down the blue-green color on the leading edge of the dorsal with some of the hull color. It doesn't show too much in the picture but in person it looks toned down. Now I'm on to brush painting the small beacons and then I'll start the weathering. More to come...


----------



## Chrisisall

Love the updates!
This was the first model I ever slaved over to get right back in the Seventies...


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks Chrisisall! This is the first AMT 18" Enterprise I'm building. After this the 1/350 will seem easy. :lol:

I'm still on the fence regarding painting the ends of the intercoolers & control reactors a lighter shade of gray. Since they are attached and the model is painted I'm not sure if I want to attempt painting them. I might try painting one of the ends to see how clean I can make it look. They are small at this scale and not easy to mask so I'd rather not do a bad job of it. 

In the mean time I started applying the pastels to the saucer. The funny thing is the rust ring looks quite a bit more subtle in person. As soon as I snap a picture it pops. I'll try taking some better pictures in daylight tomorrow. Maybe it's the inside lighting that's reacting with the camera lens that's bringing out the rust color.

I also applied some dark gray pastel chalk around the base of the B/C deck structure and the base of the bridge. On the bottom I applied some darker bands with dark gray and green pastels.


----------



## crowe-t

Here are some pictures taken today in daylight. This is how the rust ring appears in person. Maybe it was the fluorescent lighting making the ring pop on the pictures last night.


----------



## clactonite

That is a great paint job, subtle but very effective!


----------



## crowe-t

clactonite said:


> That is a great paint job, subtle but very effective!


Thanks, I appreciate that!


----------



## crowe-t

Today I tested painting the ends of a spare intercooler I had laying around and it worked out nicely. I went ahead and painted the ends of the intercoolers and control reators with Testors MM Acryl Light Gray FS36494. This color blends nice with the hull color and looks the part.


----------



## Zombie_61

Y'know Mike, I haven't posted in this thread much because there are only so many times that I can compliment your work before it gets boring for everyone but you. But I wanted to chime in here to say how much I like the "rust ring" effect you achieved, and the shading around the Bridge/B/C deck superstructure. In my opinion subtlety is important at this scale when you're dealing with painted/chalk details, and you've certainly mastered that skill. Flawless work as usual, my friend! :thumbsup:

Al


----------



## crowe-t

Hey Al, thanks for the nice compliments, it means a lot coming from you!  

Mike.


----------



## crowe-t

Here's a small 'weathering' update! I used mostly dark gray and brown pastels with a small bit of green. While the studio model does have quite a bit of green weathering I find it looks a bit odd on this small scale kit so I chose to go with more of the dark gray. This is still a work in progress... 

I took these pictures under fluorescent lighting so it's making the rust ring pop, again.


----------



## Chrisisall

Snowmen background? 
Oh my...


----------



## Landru

OK, had to post over here too, A-mazing! If it was viable I would have you build one of these modified babies for me too!! 

This is totally the bigger 1/350 kit aint it~:freak:


----------



## crowe-t

Chrisisall said:


> Snowmen background?
> Oh my...
> 
> Captain Picard sings "Let it Snow!" - YouTube


That video is priceless!



Landru said:


> OK, had to post over here too, A-mazing! If it was viable I would have you build one of these modified babies for me too!!
> 
> This is totally the bigger 1/350 kit aint it~:freak:


Thanks Scott!


----------



## TonyT

That video was too cool!!


----------



## Chrisisall

TonyT said:


> That video was too cool!!


Not as cool as this build!


----------



## TonyT

That is true! Awesome build!!


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks guys!

I finished the weathering with the pastel chalks and started applying the decals. This kit I'm building is the Round 2 release and comes with an excellent decal sheet. The decals are the ones from the Polar Lights 1/1000 kit that are scaled up for this kit which is a very good thing. 

I separated the saucer's _U.S.S. ENTERPRISE/NCC-1701_ decal into pieces. The _U.S.S. ENTERPRISE_ seemed to sit a bit too close to the _NCC-1701_ and the _U.S.S._ was spaced apart too much. I used the 2 _S's_ from the _I.S.S._ decal since the dots are spaced more accurately. Other then these issues they look fairly accurate.

I attached some pictured showing the progress of the decals and a couple showing some of the weathering. Although with the Future Floor polish applied the weathering isn't showing too well in the pictures from the glare.


----------



## Chrisisall

To quote Ahnunt: "Dis is gedding bettah by da minute."


----------



## OzyMandias

Wow! The weathering is superb! As Al said earlier, subtle shading is the key at this scale and you have absolutely nailed it. Well done!


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks for the compliments!  I tried to keep the weathering subtle for the scale. I feel it looks better this way.

Today I continued applying the decals. I still have to apply the other curved red stripe at the rear of the lower saucer. I had to apply some more Future in that areas so I'll take care of that tomorrow. Below are some pictures of the progress today.


----------



## Chrisisall

Great!


----------



## Trekkriffic

Aye. She's a beautiful lady and doesn't need a lot of makeup (weathering) to look good!


----------



## Chrisisall

Trekkriffic said:


> Aye. She's a beautiful lady


...and we love her...


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks Guys! I'm still slowly applying decals. I'll post some pictures soon.

Merry Christmas!

Mike.


----------



## MadCap Romanian

I haven't checked here in a while...glad I did! This ship looks FANTASTIC!


----------



## publiusr

Nice finishing.


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks for the compliments!  However I had a major setback with this build back in January. The clear coat must have been a bad batch and it was a disaster. I had to soak the whole model in Super Clean and remove all the paint and decals. After that I had to fix some of the putty and and couple of other small problems and I sort of needed to step away from this one for a bit.

I recently got it all sorted out and hit it with some primer and started painting the copper deflector dish area. The weather has been a bit humid here so I've been waiting for a couple of clear days to continue painting again.

It's funny that this thread has been brought up again because I would have made a new post within about a week. 

I'll be posting pictures soon.

Mike.


----------



## WOI

How can tell a good batch of clear coat from the bad?


----------



## Landru

^Paint a beautifully painted model with it, then wait and see.. 

Can't wait Mike, good to hear you're still around!

SJM.


----------



## crowe-t

Landru said:


> ^Paint a beautifully painted model with it, then wait and see..
> 
> Can't wait Mike, good to hear you're still around!
> 
> SJM.


That's exactly correct! Otherwise it's hard to tell if the paint is OK. I did do some tests with the new bottles of clear and it seem OK.

Yeah, Scott I'm still around. I just had to step back from this one for a bit but I'm determined to get it done.

Mike.


----------



## eagledocf15

*We are all interested in this build*

I hope you all let us see what you are doing.
I wish I had seen what the clear problem was and the work you have done since. Looks like a fantastic build!!!!!! Keep us all up to date and Best Wishes!


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks eagledocf15! 

The clear I used was Testors Acryl flat with some semi gloss added to cut down on the chalkiness. I found that Testors Flat clear Acryl is very chalky and adding some semi gloss will cut that down. However after the clear cured it took on a white haze and didn't really cure properly. I never had this happen before. 

I also don't use Testors Dullcote lacquer because lacquer does yellow over time so I like to stick with clear acrylics. 

I had used Polly Scale acrylic clear and a couple of other models and in my opinion is superior to Testors Acryl clear. Polly Scale flat didn't get chalky and it was totally clear. If you compare a bottle of Testors clear Acryl to Polly Scale clear, the Acryl has a very slight yellow tint where as Polly Scale is pure milky white. I noticed when Acryl is sprayed over white or a light color it will very slightly tint it. 

Unfortunately Testors discontinued Polly Scale but the good news is Testors Create FX acrylic clears are basically Polly Scale re-branded. I compared a bottle of Create FX clear to Polly Scale and it smells and looks the same and also sprays the same. Much better then Testors Acryl.

I started painting the hull color but the weather here got hot and humid so I've been waiting for a dryer days to continue. I hope to get some more painting done in the next few days and I will post pictures.

Thanks,

Mike.


----------



## Fiver

Holy Chrome!

This is absolutely the BEST build thread on the AMT original E kit I've ever seen! Your work is absolutely inspiring! So sorry you've had set backs...I know they happen (every modeler does) but that doesn't make it any less frustrating. I totally get having to step back and reconnoiter for a while. I've been looking at all of the aftermarket add on parts for years but this is the first practical build I've run across that not only uses them but modifies them accordingly. I now know a lot more about what to get and what to avoid.

I've got several version of this kit (it's been modified over the decades) including a couple of the very early ones available in the late 60's (the kit was largely retooled in the mid 70's to address structural weakness) and from my own observations, the early versions were a bit more accurate to the filming miniature (There used to be a great article on the original CultTVman site about the history of the kit but I don't know if it has migrated to his current site). This is not to say it wouldn't require as much modifying to get it accurate but it might have been a little less work.  I've always planed on building several versions; one of the original kit "as is" just as an homage, one of the retooled kit for comparison and then one as accurate to the filming miniature as possible. Now I'm truly inspired to do it!

Very fine work, sir! Thank you so much for posting it and I'm looking forward to the finished model.

Rock on!

Fiver


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks a bunch Fiver!  I put a lot of work and research into this one and can't wait to get it finished. The heat and high humidity are working against me at the moment. As soon as the weather dries up a bit I'll have some pictures to post.

The early, original, version of the 18" Enterprise was slightly more accurate to the filming model but would still require as many modifications as the later edition. In fact it will require more. The dorsal(neck) of the early, original tool is set back too far and would require removing and repositioning. I also found the dorsal on the later tool to have a more accurate profile. I didn't want to do all this to an early kit when so many more of the later tooled kits are available.

So far I got the main hull color applied and it just needs another coat or 2. I'll be sure to post some progress pictures real soon.

Thanks,

Mike.


----------



## Chrisisall

Yo GO girl!


----------



## crowe-t

Chrisisall said:


> Yo GO girl!


:lol:


----------



## crowe-t

Here are the pictures I promised. The weather held out so I was able to get the base hull color sprayed on. I'll try and pencil the grid on the saucer and get some hull color sprayed over the top in a few days.


----------



## whiskeyrat

Looking great crowe-t! 

Gonna start on that 1/537 Reliant next?


----------



## crowe-t

whiskeyrat said:


> Looking great crowe-t!
> 
> Gonna start on that 1/537 Reliant next?


Hey thanks, I appreciate that! 

I can't wait to see more work on your 1/537 Reliant. You've done some incredible modifications on it so far.

Mike.


----------



## crowe-t

I applied the saucer grid. This time I sprayed more hull color over the pencilled grid and pre-shading to tone it down a bit more. When I was spraying the clear on back in January it brought out the darker colors so this should do the trick. I think it looks a bit more TOS now.


----------



## Fozzie

That came out great!

Nice job documenting what you did. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Kremin

Great look but how do you get this effect on the grid lines? 


Wanting to use it on a kit bash


----------



## crowe-t

Kremin said:


> Great look but how do you get this effect on the grid lines?
> 
> 
> Wanting to use it on a kit bash


Hey thanks! 

To get this effect I used masking tape to mask off each grid line, then I drew along the tape using my airbrush with a slightly darker gray paint than the base coat. After that I just hit some areas all over with some very light shots of the darker gray paint. When this was complete I sprayed over the entire saucer with the 'lighter' hull color to tone and blend it all. The pictures I posted above are in the order of the process.


----------



## Trekkriffic

Really nice job on the gridlines. I warrant it required a certain degree of intrepidity and manual legerdemain.


----------



## crowe-t

Yeah, there was a little trickery involved. 

Today I sprayed a bit more hull color on top. When the clear coat is applied the grid will pop a bit so I want to be ready for that so it's not too obvious.


----------



## crowe-t

I made some more progress with the painting. 

Below are some pictures showing the masked areas. I also made a template out of .3 mm styrene sheet for the 3 small lights that go on both sides of the bottom of the saucer. When I painted it the 1st time I used the kit's decals for these 3 lights which are too small. 

Another thing I changed is the saucer's bow light. Last time I used the kit's decal which is a dark gray color. This time I masked the bow light and painted it white with a few drops of the hull color added to tone it down. This way it blends in but still looks like a light.

The nacelle's grills are painted Tamiya Chrome Silver with a few drops of Gunmetal added. The saucer's triangles and the areas under the front of the nacelles are painted with a mixture of Tamiya paints( 3 parts JN Grey & 2 parts Sky Grey).


----------



## Maritain

Looking good!!!!


----------



## Trekkriffic

You make this old lady shine!


----------



## crowe-t

I appreciate the nice comments guys! 

I've been battling the heat and humidity here but did manage to get the rest of the details painted.

I used the same colors as before. The darker grey details are painted with Testors Acryl Neutral Gray. The grills in the nacelle trenches are Tamiya X-11 Chrome Silver with a few drops of X-10 Gun Metal added. The Gun Metal was supposed to tone the silver down but it doesn't look any different. I'll just use some pastel chalk to tone them down a bit. 

For the leading edge of the dorsal I mixed Testors MM Acryl US Navy Blue Gray, Pale Green and some Flat White and then after it was dry I toned it down with some of the hull color. The lighting is making it look more toned down then it is and when the clear is applied it will pop a bit more too.

Next I'll tackle the rust ring and weathering before applying the decals.

Thanks for looking. 

Mike.


----------



## crowe-t

Here's a small update! I added the rust ring on the top of the saucer with pastel chalk. I actually finished the rest of the weathering on the ship but didn't get to take pictures. I'll take some tomorrow. 

Mike.


----------



## KUROK

Super clean work!


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks KUROK! 

Here's the pictures showing some of the weathering which was done with pastel chalks. 

I also painted the light gray color on the ends of the intercoolers and control reactors. I used Testors Acryl Flat White with a few drops of Neutral Gray added. The last time I used Testors Acryl Light Gray but it had a slight blue color shift and didn't look like the Voodoo Gray color so this time I mixed a color.


----------



## Trekkriffic

Your weathering reminds me of my 1/350's weathering with even a touch more subtlety which is fine for this scale.


----------



## crowe-t

Trekkriffic said:


> Your weathering reminds me of my 1/350's weathering with even a touch more subtlety which is fine for this scale.


I'll take this as a big compliment!  I really like what you did with your 1/350.

I did the weathering basically the same as the first time only a bit more subtle. I followed the '91 restoration pictures as well as various other TOS E pictures I've collected over the years. I used dark gray and rust pastels with just a touch of green thrown in. I didn't want to over use the green, I feel it looks a bit unrealistic. 

This second time around I made a few minor changes. The first change I made was to tone down the saucer's grid a bit more since it became a bit too obvious with the clear applied. This time I made the beacon above the hanger bay doors removable. It's much easier then taping it.

While I wait for the Future I sprayed on the ship to dry overnight, here are some pictures of some of the other details. 

Below are a couple of pictures showing the bussard domes and the hanger bay beacon. 

For the inner domes I painted pieces of 1 mm masking tape silver, for the fan blades, and sprayed some clear stop light red and white on the insides.

The outer domes were painted Tamiya Clear Orange on the inside and frosted on both the inside and outside with Testors Acryl Flat Clear. Testors Acryl flat clear actually dries very chalky so it really added to the effect.


----------



## Zombie_61

crowe-t said:


> ...I used dark gay...














Sorry, I couldn't resist. 

Nice work as usual Mike! As always, I'm looking forward to seeing your continued progress! :thumbsup:


----------



## crowe-t

Zombie_61 said:


> Sorry, I couldn't resist.
> 
> Nice work as usual Mike! As always, I'm looking forward to seeing your continued progress! :thumbsup:


Thanks Al. 

BTW, thanks for finding that typo above. I just fixed it.

Mike.


----------



## Landru

Oh my indeed, Mike. I agree with the 1/350 statement


----------



## Trekkriffic

Landru said:


> Oh my indeed, Mike. I agree with the 1/350 statement


I mean check it out for comparison...


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks guys!

Trekkriffic, Like you, I used the '91 restoration pictures and attempted to follow the patterns on the top of the saucer. I also used very little green weathering, which I never remembered seeing on screen. Your 1/350 is the best I've seen and it's a nice compliment that you think my weathering resembles yours. 

Below are a couple of pictures I took while applying decals. The decals I'm using are the set from Round 2. They are mostly accurate, however the clear film doesn't totally disappear when the setting solution us applied. Round 2's decals tend to be a bit thick. 

Like the first time I did this, I separated the *U.S.S* and *ENTERPRISE* decal since the U.S.S. is spaced too far apart. I used the center *.S.* from the *I.S.S.* decal due to the 2 dots being more correctly spaced.

This time I decided to cut each of the *NCC-1701* letters (and dash) from the clear decal film and place them on individually. This solved some problems. Now there is no clear decal film to deal with in this larger area and I was able to correctly space the letters and numbers on the grid. 

Mike.


----------



## Maritain

She sure is pretty!!!


----------



## Trekkriffic

Maritain said:


> She sure is pretty!!!


Yes. A beautiful lady to be sure.


----------



## crowe-t

Here it is all finished!


----------



## Trekkriffic

Wow! The base is just outstanding... oh... and the ship looks good too!


----------



## robn1

I've been looking at this last set of pics wondering "Why'd he build the 1/350 without lights?", I totally forgot this is the AMT! Awesome job :thumbsup:


----------



## Trekkriffic

Seriously this is breathtaking considering the inaccuracies of the kit. Probably the best build I've ever seen of the TOS Enterprise from this kit. 
Makes me want to break out my unbuilt kit in the tin collector's box and give it a go. Still, I don't think I could surpass this build (heeh hee... I could add lights).


----------



## Chrisisall

Just excellent. Awesome. It was a long road, but well travelled. 
All I ask is more pics...:thumbsup:


----------



## Gregatron

Finally! Outstanding work, man. 

If I didn't already know, going in, I wouldn't even guess that it had started out as a 1/650 AMT kit.


----------



## KUROK

That is one classic old kit, and you got the most out of it for sure!


----------



## crowe-t

Thanks guys for all the kind words and support you've given along the way!  

This one was a fun and sometimes stressful build but it eventually came together. I was almost ready to throw in the towel back in January with the paint disaster but I knew deep down I'd get back to finish her up. 

In a weird sort of way the paint came out looking more like what I had in mind this second time around. I wish I didn't have to re-paint it but all in all I'm happier with the results. I liked the way the saucer's grid looked the first time but it was too obvious for this scale and didn't quite look TOS to me. This time I toned the grid effect down and it allowed the weathering to take center stage on the saucer. I also took a different approach to the decals this time and eliminated more of the clear film which resulted in not having to spray additional Future over the decals to hide the edges. 

I'm happy this one is completed and I'll take some more pictures in a few days in front of a black background and post them.

Thanks again everyone,

Mike.


----------



## Zombie_61

Zombie_61 said:


> Folks, you ain't seen _*nuthin'*_ yet!


I hate to say "I told you so!", but... 

Brilliant results as expected Mike! I don't think the AMT kit has _ever_ looked this good before!


----------



## crowe-t

Zombie_61 said:


> I hate to say "I told you so!", but...
> 
> Brilliant results as expected Mike! I don't think the AMT kit has _ever_ looked this good before!


Thanks Al, I appreciate that!

Mike.


----------



## crowe-t

I was having some fun and decided to take some pictures of the AMT Enterprise with a Polar Lights 1/1000 2nd Pilot Enterprise I built a while ago. 

The Pilot Enterprise is painted with a Tamiya mix of 3 parts XF-12 J.N. Grey and 1 part XF-2 Flat White. I feel the color of the AMT Enterprise looks better. It still has a green color shift but appears more gray looking. J.N. Grey with just some white added still looks too green to me.


----------



## Gregatron

Yeah, I agree. The AMT looks a bit more subtle, with just a hint of green.


As you well know, my preferred choice for 1/1000 scale is Gull Gray. I have to wonder how good or bad that color would look on the larger AMT kit.


----------



## crowe-t

My attempt to find the 'right' color to use became a quest. I used a WalMart Concrete color chip, a sample that was matched to the Master Replicas TOS Enterprise and had access to one of Gary Kerr's actual color chips as a starting point.

Since JN Grey is close out out of the bottle I decided to use it as the base. I tried mixing it with different grays and found mixing in XF-19 Sky Grey brought it the closest. Gary's hull color is almost an exact match to WalMart Concrete and the Master Replicas color is a bit more neutral with just a slight green color shift. The color I mixed is right in the ballpark of Gary's color, it's very close, maybe just a hair or 2 more neutral. I use a syringe I got from the Vet's office and was able to replicate the color exactly a few times. It's not exactly an out of bottle color but I can easily make it so for the foreseeable future it's my go to TOS Enterprise hull color.


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## Maritain

Just plain incredible, a beauty for sure!


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## whiskeyrat

Mike your hard work on this one shows in every detail. Fantastic paint job, I've never seen this old kit look so good! Excellent work!


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## crowe-t

Thanks Maritain and whiskeyrat! The paint job came out better the second time around. The first time I used Testors Acryl clear and it must have been a bad bottle. It fogged up and appeared very chalky despite adding Semi-gloss to the flat. I also noticed, having used Testors Acryl clear before, that it also has a very slight yellow tint when coats build up. 

This second time around I used Testors CreateFX acrylic clear as the final clear coat. Testors CreateFX is now my clear coat of choice. It sprays great and always dries clear with no discoloration. My guess is that CreateFX is actually PollyScale acrylic clear re-branded. It smells, sprays and looks the same as PollyScale. 

In the past when I put a bottle of Testors Acryl clear next to a bottle of PollyScale acrylic clear, the Acryl had a slight brown color where as the PollyScale looked milky white. The Testors acrylic clears look milky in the bottle but are actually clear. The clear in the bottle of CreateFX looks identical to the PollyScale. I highly recommend the CreateFX clears.


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## crowe-t

I finally got around to taking some shots with a black back ground.


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## RossW

Beautiful!


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## Chrisisall

All that hard work paid off so very well...:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## spock62

The best build of this kit I've seen to date. :thumbsup:


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## Fozzie

Truly gorgeous!


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## Gregatron

Outstanding. Can't even tell that it came from the good 'old AMT kit.


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## Landru

Mike, said it before, say it again, best 18er I've ever seen!

SJM


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## crowe-t

Thanks guys!  I really appreciate all the kind words.

Mike.


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## Y3a

That is a very excellent job Sir!


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## Chrisisall

crowe-t said:


> Thanks guys!  I really appreciate all the kind words.


Pay us back with more photos.


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## crowe-t

Here's a couple more!


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## Chrisisall

Gorgeous.


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## Zombie_61

These are the voyages...


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## Landru

Aw man!


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## crowe-t

Zombie_61 said:


> These are the voyages...


WOW!!!! Al, that's absolutely wonderful of you for posting this. I can't thank you enough.

BTW, PM sent.

Thanks,

Mike.


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## Chrisisall

Well done, Z.


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## Zombie_61

crowe-t said:


> WOW!!!! Al, that's absolutely wonderful of you for posting this. I can't thank you enough.
> 
> BTW, PM sent.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mike.


You're welcome, my friend. PM replied to. :wave:



Chrisisall said:


> Well done, Z.


Thank you. My Photoshop "skills" are strictly amateur hour, but they get the job done...sometimes.


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## crowe-t

Zombie_61 said:


> You're welcome, my friend. PM replied to. :wave:
> 
> Thank you. My Photoshop "skills" are strictly amateur hour, but they get the job done...sometimes.


You did a great job on the picture, much better then what I could have come up with.


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## Trekkriffic

Ooh! Ooh! lemme try one in Paint...

The Corbomite Maneuver by trekriffic, on Flickr


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## crowe-t

Trekkriffic said:


> Ooh! Ooh! lemme try one in Paint...
> 
> The Corbomite Maneuver by trekriffic, on Flickr


Thanks Trekkriffic, Fantastic job! What a great episode that is.


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## Trekkriffic

Give us an angle from under the saucer like this one crowe-t...

https://flic.kr/p/eM6WM4


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## Landru

I love the Corbimite shot, one of my favourite episodes.


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## crowe-t

Trekkriffic said:


> Give us an angle from under the saucer like this one crowe-t...
> 
> https://flic.kr/p/eM6WM4


When I get some free time I'll set up and take a few more pictures and post them.


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## crowe-t

Look what I just received in the mail, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Modeller, Volume 36.


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## SteveR

Zombie_61 said:


> These are the voyages...


The old girl never looked so good! Nice job! :thumbsup:


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## starseeker

So? They unearthed a wonderful color picture of the 12' miniature from somewhere, and stuck it on their front cover. It's about time some of these great old photos that must exist out there somewhere started surfacing. Have to admit: the old girl never looked so good. If only the Smithsonian people could have captured that magic.


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## spocks beard

WOW! That is OUTSTANDING work on the AMT kit.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Over the years i have built a lot of those kits, And would never have gone the length of acuracy as you have.

Sorry to hear you were not too much on the Tamiya light gray.
I used that particular AS-18 spray as the hull color for my 1/350th scale TOS ENTERPRISE..But to each his own.(Everyone has their own prefferance.)

Again, That is some award winning work!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Chrisisall

crowe-t said:


> Look what I just received in the mail, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Modeller, Volume 36.


Excellent!!!:thumbsup:


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## crowe-t

starseeker said:


> So? They unearthed a wonderful color picture of the 12' miniature from somewhere, and stuck it on their front cover. It's about time some of these great old photos that must exist out there somewhere started surfacing. Have to admit: the old girl never looked so good. If only the Smithsonian people could have captured that magic.


I assume you are joking since that's my AMT Enterprise on the cover. I wrote an article for Vol. 36 which arrived today so I posted it here. Thanks a bunch for the compliment. 



spocks beard said:


> WOW! That is OUTSTANDING work on the AMT kit.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
> Over the years i have built a lot of those kits, And would never have gone the length of acuracy as you have.
> 
> Sorry to hear you were not too much on the Tamiya light gray.
> I used that particular AS-18 spray as the hull color for my 1/350th scale TOS ENTERPRISE..But to each his own.(Everyone has their own prefferance.)
> 
> Again, That is some award winning work!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:


Thanks spocks beard for the kind words! 

The Tamiya Light Gray I didn't use was XF-66 Light Gray Acrylic for the Linear Accelerator and the Nacelle end caps. I chose to use Testors Acryl Neutral Gray instead. I've never used AS-18 so I'm not familiar with it.


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## crowe-t

SteveR said:


> The old girl never looked so good! Nice job! :thumbsup:





Chrisisall said:


> Excellent!!!:thumbsup:


Thanks!


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## Zombie_61

crowe-t said:


> Look what I just received in the mail, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Modeller, Volume 36.


Well done, and congratulations my friend! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## crowe-t

Zombie_61 said:


> Well done, and congratulations my friend! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


Thanks Al!


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## starseeker

Indeed, I've saved your whole thread as a pdf and hope to use it someday as a guide to my own re-build. Even in my most optimistic reveries, I don't imagine it could come anywhere close to as beautiful job you did with yours. I believe at one time the AMT E was the biggest selling model kit in the world. Think of that. And yours is the nicest looking example ever seen. Think of that. Thanks you for the inspiration and the illustration. Talk about raising the bar.


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## crowe-t

starseeker said:


> Indeed, I've saved your whole thread as a pdf and hope to use it someday as a guide to my own re-build. Even in my most optimistic reveries, I don't imagine it could come anywhere close to as beautiful job you did with yours. I believe at one time the AMT E was the biggest selling model kit in the world. Think of that. And yours is the nicest looking example ever seen. Think of that. Thanks you for the inspiration and the illustration. Talk about raising the bar.


Thanks so much for the nice compliments! I had a great time building and planning this one and am happy with the results.

Mike.


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## spocks beard

crowe-t said:


> I assume you are joking since that's my AMT Enterprise on the cover. I wrote an article for Vol. 36 which arrived today so I posted it here. Thanks a bunch for the compliment.
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks spocks beard for the kind words!
> 
> The Tamiya Light Gray I didn't use was XF-66 Light Gray Acrylic for the Linear Accelerator and the Nacelle end caps. I chose to use Testors Acryl Neutral Gray instead. I've never used AS-18 so I'm not familiar with it.


Sorry, AS-18 Tamiya light gray is a nice shade for the hull of the Enterprise especially the 1/350 scale & Has a slight greenish tint to it, So if you ever do another Enterprise you may like, Since i read you are not much on some other gray's with too much blue to the spectrum.

regardless, You nailed it anyway! Again, BEAUTIFUL JOB:thumbsup:


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## crowe-t

spocks beard said:


> Sorry, AS-18 Tamiya light gray is a nice shade for the hull of the Enterprise especially the 1/350 scale & Has a slight greenish tint to it, So if you ever do another Enterprise you may like, Since i read you are not much on some other gray's with too much blue to the spectrum.
> 
> regardless, You nailed it anyway! Again, BEAUTIFUL JOB:thumbsup:


I may give TS-18 Tamiya Light Gray a try in the future. However for this project I wanted to use acrylic paint so I started with Tamaiya XF-12 JN Grey and worked from there. My mix is a nice shade of gray with a light green color shift. I feel it really captures the look of both the WalMart Concrete color chip and Gary Kerr's hull color sample. It even looks like the Master Replicas color only a bit lighter in shade.

Thanks again for the compliments!


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## spocks beard

crowe-t said:


> I may give TS-18 Tamiya Light Gray a try in the future. However for this project I wanted to use acrylic paint so I started with Tamaiya XF-12 JN Grey and worked from there. My mix is a nice shade of gray with a light green color shift. I feel it really captures the look of both the WalMart Concrete color chip and Gary Kerr's hull color sample. It even looks like the Master Replicas color only a bit lighter in shade.
> 
> Thanks again for the compliments!


Ah it's my mistake.

In my haste looking at the in progress photo's, I neglected to read all of the paint details. Due to not reading all of the thread, I did not realise you were working with Acrilic.
SORRY.

Will definately take more time reading over the actual details of your fantastic build.:thumbsup:

And you definately nailed the look/Finish of the studio model with your paint choices.


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