# Battle Damaged Refit



## Exarkun63 (Oct 12, 2005)

I'm planning on turning one of my 1/350 Refit Enterprises into either the battle-damaged original from Star Trek 2 or the "A" from Star Trek 6. I could use any and all suggestions on how to get that battle-damaged "look" on the hulls without having to take it out back and hit it with phasers and photon torpedoes. No matter how much fun that would be.


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## justinleighty (Jan 13, 2003)

A wood-burner or soldering iron works wonders for that stuff, if you follow it with sanding down the plastic that melts outward.


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## Exarkun63 (Oct 12, 2005)

Thanks, I appreciate the help. I'll practice on a piece I'm not using to get the hang of it.


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## justinleighty (Jan 13, 2003)

If you want to try something more subtle, take a paper clip (make sure you have something to insulate your hand!), straighten it out and hold one end over a flame, then use it to melt/cut the plastic. 

Whichever method you choose, make sure to have good ventillation; melting styrene is bad stuff.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Melting it never looks right. Take a Dremel tool with a wire brush and grind the plastic out from the inside. This thins it down to scale hull-plate thickness, and creates really cool jagged edges.


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## ThomasModels (Mar 8, 2000)

Good God you guys!

There's this 'stuff' called paint that was first created about 30,000 years ago. The chemistry has changed and improved over the past 20 years and get this, you can still get the stuff!

I think Chris White uses it (unless he's also using a wood burner and red hot pokers!). I tried some of that paint stuff here:
http://www.thomasmodels.com/kongoprime2.html


The mark on the saucer rim aft and the 'hits' on the top streaking back are painted on. Small dabs of light gray in the middle of the black hit mark insinuate some sort of detail inside:




The same applied here. The burned hit marks were painted on next to physical holes to exagerate the damage:










Good luck with it!


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

OMG, Thomas! I thought that was just a backdrop they're using over at the Starship Exeter website for a scene in their new episode! I never imagined it was "real"! Now I REALLY can't wait to see the rest of "The Tressaurian Intersection"!


Thanks!

Larry

:thumbsup: 

P.S. - www.starshipexeter.com


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## justinleighty (Jan 13, 2003)

ThomasModels said:


> Good God you guys!
> 
> There's this 'stuff' called paint that was first created about 30,000 years ago. The chemistry has changed and improved over the past 20 years and get this, you can still get the stuff!
> 
> I think Chris White uses it (unless he's also using a wood burner and red hot pokers!).


Well, thanks for that, smart alec. I have yet to find a good way to paint a three-dimensional gash into plastic, however, and I'm guessing you didn't use paint to remove parts of the models you showed there.

Of COURSE you use paint for the burn marks, but to actually damage the plastic I stand by my suggestions. And since he's talking about STII, where the damage clearly went through the hull in at least two places, paint won't sufficiently replicate the damage.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Come on now! Thomas is not a smart alec. He just speaks his mind, and tells it the way it is.


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## CaptFrank (Jan 29, 2005)

Hey, Thomas!
What happened to the _*KONGO*_?
A little problem docking in *Spacedock*?  

Excellent work, by the way! :thumbsup:


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## Nosirrag (Apr 26, 2005)

No holes were ever made the the model of the E used to film the movies. Some plastic panels were glued on a paint effects were used.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Thomas is such a show-off! Always humiliating us with his incredibly cool work!


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## Exarkun63 (Oct 12, 2005)

Ok. wood burners, soldering irons, and paint. All great ideas. I knew this was the right place. Way back when Kahn was first shown in theaters, I couldn't read enough on the behind the scenes stuff. Got a paperback book on the making of Star Trek 2. And they actually did do some damage to the Enterprise for the "can opener" sequence. Of course, it was a larger scale model of just the torpedo bay and engineering section (for the close-up) with some fireworks display to go along with the phaser effects. Stuff way beyond my modeling abilities. 
All of you guys are giving me a great amount of help and ideas. And Thomas, thanks for the great pics of the Kongo. That really helps me visualize it all. Both my son and myself were blown away by them.


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## Storvick (Jan 21, 2003)

I saw a show on one of those Discovery channels where the guys of ILM stated they used sparklers on spaceships to show battle damage. There might be something you could try.


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## Trekfreak (Mar 26, 2005)

CaptFrank said:


> Hey, Thomas!
> What happened to the _*KONGO*_?
> A little problem docking in *Spacedock*?
> 
> Excellent work, by the way! :thumbsup:


I could make a wild guess on what happened to the Kongo.
Counselor Troi was at the wheel wasn't she?
First she trashes Enterprise D then totals Enterprise E
and now the Kongo. Is there no end to her madness!?
Troi just stick to fixing peoples heads and let the pros fly the ships, OK!


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

What happened to the Kongo? That's the question of the week! Go to www.starshipexeter.com and check out the teaser for their incredible new episode, "The Tressaurian Intersection". We'll find out the circumstances of the wreck of the Kongo as they post more parts of the story.


Larry


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## justinleighty (Jan 13, 2003)

Nosirrag said:


> No holes were ever made the the model of the E used to film the movies. Some plastic panels were glued on a paint effects were used.


Actually, as Exarkun63 said above, there was a large, close-up model of the torpedo area and the upper engineering hull made. This model was made of wax and was physically damaged to create the phaser fire effects in Star Trek II (watch the extras on the Director's Edition DVD set). So there was no physical damage done to the model used in long shots, but there was physical damage to the model used in close-up shots.


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## Mitchellmania (Feb 14, 2002)

Looks great!!!


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## GLU Sniffah (Apr 15, 2005)

Not only can you use paint, but you can diffuse the paint effects somewhat by either using pastel chalks or plain old charcoal applied with small brushes and/or cotton swabs and then fixed with dullcoat.

I used that technique on my 1/2500 Ertlprize.

The damaged areas were cut using a Dremel. I also used guitar wire and bits of tin foil and sheet styrene for the fuselage/structural supports and torn deck plating.


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## Roguepink (Sep 18, 2003)

Women drivers. Ugh.


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## capt Locknar (Dec 29, 2002)

One thing I always used was Stick Matches. Lay them on the hull where you want the damage to occur and light them and blow them out real quick. This simulates charred blaster spots real good. My digi cam isn't that good or I would post a pic of a reliant I did that with.


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