# More DeBoer



## Disillusionist (Apr 19, 2003)

Well, after a couple of months of model building inactivity due to job overtime, I've finally managed to make a small amount of progress on the big refit. I pulled the camera out to celebrate this evening, and I thought I'd share the results with all of you. I still have a long way to go (haven't even started azteking yet), but I'll get there eventually. Enjoy.

Matt


side view
beneath 
closer 
in the dark
bridge (very unfinished)

edited to add one more pic


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## pacal (Jun 23, 2003)

That looks sweeeeeeeeet!



pacal


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

I really wanted one of those... but when I tried to order one I was told the molds had gone bad just a month earlier and they were no longer available. 

I haven't seen pics of one that really knocked me out... have you read the threads on pearlescent paints used on the film miniature?


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## Disillusionist (Apr 19, 2003)

drewid142 said:


> I really wanted one of those... but when I tried to order one I was told the molds had gone bad just a month earlier and they were no longer available.
> 
> I haven't seen pics of one that really knocked me out... have you read the threads on pearlescent paints used on the film miniature?



Oh yeah, I've read all of the pearlescent painting threads. I intend to use pearls, I just have to get to that point!


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## Captain-Raveers (Mar 20, 2002)

Nice job man! Now you just gotta tackle the PL Refit 1701 when it comes out...by the way won't the PL Refit be just a tad bit smaller than DeBoer Enterprise?

Trent


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## Disillusionist (Apr 19, 2003)

The Deboer kit is roughly 46 inches long. That puts it at just over a foot longer than the upcoming PL kit. I'm not sure what that translates to as far as saucer diameter is concerned.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Gorgeous!


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Simply wow.


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## Steve Roberts (Sep 4, 2002)

Man ... you can get sooo close to that. What a great "scale" impression. 

Beautiful.

Steve


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## chuckman (Nov 25, 2003)

mmmmmmmm, purty, even in its unfinished state.


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## grantf (Feb 2, 2004)

Lighting technique pretty please?


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## pacal (Jun 23, 2003)

Good point, what did you use to get the even lighting in the nacelles? LED's? Lightsheet? Other?


pacal


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## uss_columbia (Jul 15, 2003)

Sweet! It inspires me to want to get mine out and work on it. (But I have way too many other projects ahead of it.)


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## uss_columbia (Jul 15, 2003)

drewid142 said:


> I really wanted one of those... but when I tried to order one I was told the molds had gone bad just a month earlier and they were no longer available.
> 
> I haven't seen pics of one that really knocked me out... have you read the threads on pearlescent paints used on the film miniature?



I got what was probably the very last one Dennis made (unless some people talked him into one or two more). I would consider selling it, since I can admit to myself that I'll probably never get to it. Mine is untouched (well, okay, I did touch it, but that's all). PM me or email if interested.


Paul


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## Stimpson J. Cat (Nov 11, 2003)

Thats is just simply awesome! I've been building models for 30 years but this past year switched to Star Trek modeling. Imagine my suprise to see such a big beautiful Refit kit!!!! Sadly, it sounds like from this thread that, I learned of them too late.  Anyway that is a great build. I hope to see pics of it completed.


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## Captain-Raveers (Mar 20, 2002)

Hey J. Cat just think the PL Refit Enterprise will be out in a month or so hopefully and it'l be just as a good of a build up as the DeBoer.  But yeah Disillusionist your build up of that is quite impressive. Can't (well can) wait to see her fully finished with decals and painted. 

Trent


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## starmanmm (Mar 19, 2000)

Now that is something to be proud of!! :thumbsup: 


Great model you have there!!!


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## SgtofMarines (Jun 22, 2004)

*Wow*

She's beautiful....


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## nutsnbolts (Apr 8, 2004)

Scotty would be proud. Indeed at that scale , suspension of disbelief can be achieved. AND your gonna 'pearl' it? OMG. That's gonna be a helluva job. Please keep posting the pix !! I just canna get enuff...


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## Nova Designs (Oct 10, 2000)

That looks simply incredible! Even without the final paint the ship looks so smooth and solid and HUGE! The lighting is really great too.


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## Prince of Styrene II (Feb 28, 2000)

Just  
Simply, freaking


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## grantf (Feb 2, 2004)

grantf said:


> Lighting technique pretty please?


umm.. please?


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

He has trained ferrets with flashlight living inside the model. I betcha!


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## nutsnbolts (Apr 8, 2004)

Awwwwww, that's nice. Can we have pix of the ferrets then? They're not wearing little Starfleet uniforms are they ? Awwwwww...


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## Disillusionist (Apr 19, 2003)

grantf said:


> umm.. please?


Sorry I took so long to answer your question. I've been away from the computer for a couple of days. Ok, here's how the lighting works. The ferrets hold the flashlights in their teeth. A small electric shock is applied to the ferret's tails, thus causing them to jump suddenly and flick the switches on the flashlights. This, of course, is timed to match the strobes and nav lights on the studio model!......also, a few ccfls and white led's have been added to to help out a little, not too many though. That would make the ferrets angry. And we all know how nasty angry ferrets can be.

Disclaimer: No ferrets were permanantly harmed in the making of this model :devil:


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## Otto69 (Jan 2, 2004)

I still want to see SOMEONE post pictures of ferrets in starfleet uniforms .


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## grantf (Feb 2, 2004)

thanks, do they sell ferrets at radio shack? and don't they smell just a little?


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

awww... go on... tell the guy how you lit it for real! There's a bunch of us waiting to read it!


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## Prince of Styrene II (Feb 28, 2000)

grantf said:


> thanks, do they sell ferrets at radio shack? and don't they smell just a little?


Only if you don't have 'em "descented". I had a couple of the little buggers not too long ago. Cute as hell & a fun mix between puppies, kittens & a two year old kid. :freak: 
No Starfleet uniforms for my fuzzies, though.


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## Disillusionist (Apr 19, 2003)

drewid142 said:


> awww... go on... tell the guy how you lit it for real! There's a bunch of us waiting to read it!


Thanks for all of the kind words guys. That really helps keep me motivated to finish this beast of a model. Heres a brief overview of the lighting.

There are five 4 inch ccfts in the saucer, 3 more in the secondary hull. These give all of the windows a nice even white glow. The inner warp grills are lit by 12 inch blue ccfts (the kind you get at the computer store) They look much better in person than in pictures as the camera tends to over expose them a bit. Behind the deflector dish is an old flashlight reflector, a fourth ccft shines through that. The dish also is removable giving some access to the wiring inside.

All of the floodlights, like on the front of the nacelles, are white led's. In places where it wasn't convenient to use an led directly, I used fiberoptic to get the light where I wanted it. The navigation and formation lights are all led's, each of these is driven by a 555 timer circuit. A blue led sits under the impulse "crystal", and red ones for the impulse engines. I accidentally ended up with a cool effect in the impulse engines by forgetting to isolate the red leds from the rest of the lighting behind. When the red led's are turned off, the blue lighting from the crystal behind shines through them combined with some of the white internal lighting. Now the engines shine red, or blue-white. Just like in the first movie. two rectangular leds are used inside the photon tubes.

Most of the wiring inside is done in parallel so I don't need to worry about everything going out if one led would happen to fail. The internal lighting, the warp drive, impulse engines, nav/formation lights, and photon tubes are all on separate circuits so the they can be switched on and off independently. All of those ccft's are quite power hungry, the ship pulls over 3.5 Amps at 12 Volts with everything on! However, heat doesn't seem to be much of a problem, the outer surface barely gets warm to the touch.

So there you have it in a nutshell. I would expect that most of this would transfer quite well over to the PL kit. In fact it will probably be easier to light in some respects, especially the secondary hull as it won't come pre-assembled as the Deboer kit does. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a few of those kits as much as the rest of you!


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## Steve Roberts (Sep 4, 2002)

You know, if any of the lights are overpowering the others in a photo, the bright ones can be switched off partway through the exposure ...

... if you're on a tripod, of course.

Steve


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## Disillusionist (Apr 19, 2003)

Steve Roberts said:


> You know, if any of the lights are overpowering the others in a photo, the bright ones can be switched off partway through the exposure ...
> 
> ... if you're on a tripod, of course.
> 
> Steve


Yeah, that's one of the things I'd like to play with eventually. Maybe when it's all done.


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## Dr. Brad (Oct 5, 1999)

Like every one else here, I can't wait to see how this turns out. It looks great. Make sure you post pics when it's done!

Brad.


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## Johnnyb1 (Oct 14, 2004)

*Deboer Enterprise*

Nice job. I just joined this group. I'm actually working on the same kit from Deboer. I've got all of the aztec painting done on the saucer sections and I'm now working on the paneling of the Engineering section. I would post some pics but don't know how. If some one here could give me some direction it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, John.


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

Is nobody going to help this man post some pictures? I don't know how folks get past the very small size restrictions... but you can just use the manage attachments button

click the post reply button... you may need to sign in... then go down the page to the manage attachments and upload your pictures... if they don't show up they may be too big... try reducing the size, or if you can reduce the compression quality you can get them down in size... hopefully someone more knowlagable will chime in 'kuz I want to see your pictures!


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## uss_columbia (Jul 15, 2003)

Johnny: if you can email the pictures to me, I can host them on a web server for you. You can then include them in your post (inline or via links).

(email to paul1 at vpi dot biz)


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## razorwyre1 (Jan 28, 2004)

alternativly, i'll gladly phoptoshop them down to a managable size for posting and e-mailing.

[email protected]
[email protected]


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## veedubb67 (Jul 11, 2003)

Disillusionist said:


> All of those ccft's are quite power hungry, the ship pulls over 3.5 Amps at 12 Volts with everything on!


12 Volts? Holy Crap! I'll bet that car battery looks kinda funny mounted underneath the ship! (New Federation cloaking device)


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## Johnnyb1 (Oct 14, 2004)

Thanks everyone. I'll send the pics tonight so they can be posted.


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

*another Enterprise*

Hi guys

I just found this forum. Good work on the lighting there!

I am also building an Enterprise for a friend of mine. Here are some photos:
DeBoer Enterprise at Ketzer.com 

I will ad more photos soon.

Tim


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## justinleighty (Jan 13, 2003)

Tim, welcome to the forums, and keep us updated. Since I won't ever have one of these babies, I love to see the way others do theirs. There's a lot of experience around here, too; If you need tips on how others have tackled certain problems, you're likely to get lots of friendly suggestions.


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## Disillusionist (Apr 19, 2003)

I'm glad to see other Deboer builders surfacing. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's progress and comparing notes. I just need to get off of my rear end and get busy again on mine.


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

The only problem with the model I am seeing at this time is that the secondary hull is slightly curved. That means the pylons going up to the engines are slightly off, which means the left engine is higher than the right engine.

And I will be out of town all of November. So there may not be an update til some time in December.

Tim


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## Warped9 (Sep 12, 2003)

I was struck dumb and speechless upon seeing your pics. Fantastic! It looks more than good enough to shoot a movie.

:thumbsup:


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## Disillusionist (Apr 19, 2003)

Well, this thread has given me the kick in the butt I needed. I actually went out to the shop and worked on the big E for a couple of hours last night. I have a question though. What's the general consensus as to the proper color of the ribbed area around the impulse crystal for the Refit (not the A)? Should it be a blue/grey, or engine green? I'm beginning to think it would have been much easier to just build the A since there are more color references available. :freak: 

Matt


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## Warped9 (Sep 12, 2003)

Can't answer you about colour. But please stick with the TMP 1701 and not the "A"nemic 1701.


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## Johnnyb1 (Oct 14, 2004)

Paul (USS Columbia) was kind enough to post some pics of my Deboer Enterprise. Heres the link....http://vpinc.biz/~pjh/images/jb57/


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## justinleighty (Jan 13, 2003)

Nice!


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## capt Locknar (Dec 29, 2002)

Nice. Makes me wish I could have gotten one before the molds went, just for collectability.


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## Disillusionist (Apr 19, 2003)

She's looking good Johnny! :thumbsup: Seeing that aztec pattern sends shivers up my spine and makes wish I was at home right now painting one on mine! Are you planning on lighting her up as well?


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## Johnnyb1 (Oct 14, 2004)

I sure am. I've already purchased all of the lighting necessary. I'll be starting it this week.


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

just added some new pictures:
http://www.ketzer.com/enterprise/index.html

Tim


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## Rogue1 (Jan 3, 2000)

Ouch! That impulse piece must have made you drop a deuce!


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Very very nice !!! :thumbsup:


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## capt Locknar (Dec 29, 2002)

Well thanks to the graces of God I will be aquiring one of these beauties through someone who will be selling me there's. I thank this person through the bottom of my heart as he is willing to do it on a payment plan for me as well. I can't wait to pay it off. Although I may never finish it as I plan to keep it for the collectability purposes but ya never know. The new house we got has the room to display it in and it would make a nice center peice in the Den. And its big enough to make a nice weather vane on the roof too if its assembled strong enough. Wouldn't that make nice impressive weather vane on top of the house lol. (just kidding I would never sacrifice the model to such extremes.) but it would look nice mounted on a pedestal in the front yard for all the school kids to awe and ooh at as they walked home from school too lol.


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## Disillusionist (Apr 19, 2003)

Looks great, Tim! Mine is ,for the most part, ready for aztecing. However, wth the rapid approach of winter and the difficulties it brings for heating my shop, coupled with the fact that my job has become all-consuming, I might have to wait and finish it this spring. Slowly, but surely, it will get there!


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Wow! Great looking kit so far! Keep us posted!


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Disillusionist said:


> Looks great, Tim! Mine is ,for the most part, ready for aztecing. However, wth the rapid approach of winter and the difficulties it brings for heating my shop, coupled with the fact that my job has become all-consuming, I might have to wait and finish it this spring. Slowly, but surely, it will get there!


Just make sure you bring it, yourself and your Purty Lady to WonderFest so we can all Oooh & Aaah! the thing, m'kay? :thumbsup: 

- - - - - - 

Jeffrey Griffin
Griffworks Shipyards
 
* * * * * *

Star Trek Scale Modeling WebRing


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## Nova Designs (Oct 10, 2000)

Whoa awesome stuff guys!


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## Disillusionist (Apr 19, 2003)

Griffworks said:


> Just make sure you bring it, yourself and your Purty Lady to WonderFest so we can all Oooh & Aaah! the thing, m'kay? :thumbsup:
> 
> - - - - - -
> 
> ...



You betcha'! My intentions are to bring both ladies to Wonderfest! :wave:


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## capt Locknar (Dec 29, 2002)

wow with all the talk and all the photo's and everything I am redoing my budget yet again to get mine paid off a bit sooner just so I can see what all the hype is on this kit. It sounds fantastic and can't wait to see her.


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

Happy New Year everybody!

The model is now painted white. 
Unfortunately, I will not have tome to work on it til April... :-(

http://www.ketzer.com/enterprise/index.html

Tim


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## Frittz (Jan 3, 2005)

Man, anyone else out there have one of these to sell.  
I'd snatch it up in a second.

Very nice models guys.


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## capt Locknar (Dec 29, 2002)

They aren't cheap models, I think they originally went for 1695.00 each just so ya know.


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## Frittz (Jan 3, 2005)

Oh I realize that. They are just so gorgeous. The scale is perfect for photography. I hope the Polar lights kit is equally as worthy.


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## capt Locknar (Dec 29, 2002)

Well thanks to a very gracious friend for being so patient with my payments.

MY DEBOER IS ON ITS WAY AND SHOULD BE HERE FRIDAYYYYYY

WOOOOHOOOOO


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## capt Locknar (Dec 29, 2002)

For those interested I talked to Dennis at Deboer hulls today.
Dennis mentioned that come march there will be a few more Enterprise Kits available. He also mentioned that the Reliant Kit will be available in March and will run 2000-2100 dollars. There is also a Shuttle Bay detail Kit available for the Enterprise now priced at 100.00 each.


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

I am working on the Enterprise again. I should have new photos up of the finished model in about 2 weeks.

Tim


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## Stimpson J. Cat (Nov 11, 2003)

Cool beans!


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Looking very much forward to it !
Thanks ! :thumbsup:


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

sorry guys, no pictures yet, still working on it. Got some problems with the decals. Other than that, it is done.

Tim


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Okee doke ! :thumbsup:


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## Alkalilake (May 13, 2005)

*Deboer error!*

I'll live with it because I have no choice, but the chiller grilles that are supposed to light up purple on the Deboer kit are wrong. There's only four grilles, not five like there's supposed to be. The recessed area's are supposed to light up, right, not the raised sections? Check Disillusionist's model since his is already lit against a scene from the movie. 
Deboer
http://users.adelphia.net/~edison711/shop5.jpg
Movie
http://img151.echo.cx/img151/145/1701dock1rv.jpg


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## capt Locknar (Dec 29, 2002)

It looks to me as if the raised parts are supposed to light up based on the width of the lighted parts in the second image. If thats the case then My grill inserts have the 5 raised parts like it should. However according the PL Refit Kit thats sitting here next to it, there should be 6 rasied ribs on the grill inserts.


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## Alkalilake (May 13, 2005)

Our kits are wrong. Look at this screen capture and you'll see the thinner recessed lines are supposed to be lit and there's 5 of them.


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## Warped9 (Sep 12, 2003)

Disillusionist said:


> Well, after a couple of months of model building inactivity due to job overtime, I've finally managed to make a small amount of progress on the big refit. I pulled the camera out to celebrate this evening, and I thought I'd share the results with all of you. I still have a long way to go (haven't even started azteking yet), but I'll get there eventually. Enjoy.
> 
> Matt
> 
> ...


I'm late coming to this thread, but that is just gorgeous!

So when is the new movie coming out?


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## klgonsneedbotox (Jun 8, 2005)

Very, very, very nice!!! 

If you don't mind me asking, what is your base color? I have been contemplating using a flat white or an ultra flat white. I'm thinking the ultra white (very bright white, like the color you use on the trim and baseboards in a house) might be too much for the base color. But your's looks pretty bright and I think it looks great.


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## Disillusionist (Apr 19, 2003)

Well, actually all of that paint has been stripped off and redone due to adhesion problems (luckily, now solved). But, the new white matches the old pretty closely. This time around I used MR. Base White 1000. And I must say, it worked splendidly. I'll try to get some new pictures posted soon.

The raised areas are lit on my grills, be that right or wrong, I'm not too worried about it. Plus, Andy Probert didn't catch it while looking at the model in person, so I don't think I'm going to get too concerned about it 

I'm not sure how much I'd trust that screen grab, Dave. It looks to me like that might be the CG'd ship from the special edition dvd. Which isn't known for it's accuracy when compared to the original model. But, I might be wrong. That does seem to happen a lot


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## Nova Designs (Oct 10, 2000)

Disillusionist said:


> I'm not sure how much I'd trust that screen grab, Dave. It looks to me like that might be the CG'd ship from the special edition dvd. Which isn't known for it's accuracy when compared to the original model. But, I might be wrong. That does seem to happen a lot



Nope, that's the real model.


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## 1701ALover (Apr 29, 2004)

Johnnyb1 said:


> Paul (USS Columbia) was kind enough to post some pics of my Deboer Enterprise. Heres the link....http://vpinc.biz/~pjh/images/jb57/


This link is dead...are ya gonna fix it so people can see it?


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## uss_columbia (Jul 15, 2003)

^^ sorry about that. The files are still there, but the domain name has expired.
Use this one instead:Johnnyb1's Enterprise pictures


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## Alkalilake (May 13, 2005)

uss_columbia said:


> ^^ sorry about that. The files are still there, but the domain name has expired.
> Use this one instead:Johnnyb1's Enterprise pictures



Uh, I'm at a loss to figure out what's going on here. You've started to paint it BEFORE assembly? Is this going to be lit? I'm confused.


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## dan1701d (Jun 9, 2004)

Awesome work, those deboers are massive, cool though. hope my PL version looks half as good when I am donr in a few years, LOL.


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

*bad decals*

Has anybody here applied the decals to the model yet? I noticed the Federations logo on the right side of the ship is upside down (not flipped from the one on the other side). The ENTERPRISE decal for the rear of the ship, under the shuttle bay, is missing. Also, the 8 yellow "triangles" for the saucer section are WAY too big (I painted them on).

edit: The long "United Federation of Planets" decal does not fit between the side door and the windows on thé saucer section. It is too long.

Tim


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## Alkalilake (May 13, 2005)

Here's the housing that's going on the inside of my nacelle. It's a couple layers of clear blue and purple acetate and frosted clear styrene. The housing has 10 holes in the bottom for the new 360 degree phosphorescent leds I have on order. I'll post a picture of it lit when they come in. I know this is a bit of overkill but what the hell, nothing good on TV and I saw Batman already.... :freak:


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## dan1701d (Jun 9, 2004)

Looking good, cant wait to see that lit up, and never heard of those LED's where can I check them out?


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## Alkalilake (May 13, 2005)

Top of the page. Cheap too. They look funny when you get them because they are frosted yellow. But they light up white. I was going to do the ccft deal in my Enterprise, but now with these I can keep it solidstate like I planned.
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=LEDS


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

Here a two photos of the finished model.
















They are not on my website yet. I will update my website next week.

Tim


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## capt Locknar (Dec 29, 2002)

Just Plain AWESOME Work tim. 

I just discovered I won't be able to build mine for a while. The new house we moved into doesn't have central air or window air conditioners and the material these are made of doesn't do the heat here very well. My Grill insert started sagging and only 1 inch of it was hanging off the side of the desk. I now have it taped to a peice of wood to straighten out and then I am taking the monster to the basement, its the coolest part of the house but only one room and very small room at that. Ohhhh The Painnnnn.

Great work though. The Paint Job is just awesome


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Holy Crap! That's beautiful. Brings a tear to me eye.


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## Alkalilake (May 13, 2005)

Adjectives fail me. :thumbsup:


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## Steven Coffey (Jan 5, 2005)

WOW man that is perfect! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## Disillusionist (Apr 19, 2003)

I'm pretty much speechless here. :thumbsup: Now I really can't wait to finish mine!!


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## uss_columbia (Jul 15, 2003)

Ketzer, that thing is absolutely gorgeous!


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## dan1701d (Jun 9, 2004)

Thanks Alk, for LED info, and Tim, that looks awesome, just WOW!!!


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

Thanks.

There's a LARGE photo of the model at 
http://www.ketzer.com/images/NCC-1707-A.jpg

Tim


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## Alkalilake (May 13, 2005)

More pictures please. This kind of thing is really inspiring to us Deboer builders, as well as everyone else I am sure. That's the nicest one I have ever seen. Like I said, adjectives fail me.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Ketzer.com said:


> Here a two photos of the finished model.
> 
> *PICS REMOVED*
> 
> ...


Whoa, dude! Great job there, man.


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

Here are 32 pictures of the finished model. I will add more soon. 

http://www.ketzer.com/enterprise/enterprise_images.html

Tim


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## klgonsneedbotox (Jun 8, 2005)

FANTASTIC STUFF!!!

Your aztec paneling looks very, very nice! (OK, I looked at more pics...it's the best I have seen!!!!) What colors did you use?

Curious also as to what color you used on the phaser emitters and around the bridge (pale gold?)

Anyway...you should be proud of your work...it's EXCELLENT!

Thanks for the pics!!!!


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## cinc2020 (May 10, 2004)

*Great work*

Tim,

That is fantastic work! The best model of this thing I've seen so far.

I also would like to know what colors you selected...

Phil


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## Alkalilake (May 13, 2005)

Yes, please painting details, colors, layers, etc. Also, is there no clear plastic or epoxy or anything in the arboritum? (Trying not to drool on my keyboard.)


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## NCC1701-A (Apr 19, 2005)

I agree, out of all the models I have seen of this ship, this rendition is without a doubt the closest thing I have seen to an accurate copy of the filming model.

Just one little note, the spots are not very bright, if lighting is the issue, okay then, buy the insignia lighting and such isn't that bright. Also the warp drive seems a little too bright.

I still like it though.


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## 1701ALover (Apr 29, 2004)

HOLY GOD!!!! What an absolutely stunning piece! The paintjob is absolutely meticulous...I'd have torn out ever single hair on my whole body going nuts painting that! Detail-nut that I am, however, I do have three comments about the lighting: 1) The deflector dish on the -A was ALWAYS blue, never pale yellow (as it appears in the photographs.) 2) I don't know if it's just the way they photographed, or what, but all of the "blinky" lights look red or amber in all of the pics. ALL of these should be WHITE, except for the port and starboard ones on the saucer: these should be red (S) and green (P). 3) I noticed what appeared to be a gap along the upper seam of the forward rim of the saucer...there appeared to be some light bleed along that part in a couple of pics.

Those three points aside, it's a spectacular model, and you are to be greatly commended. The Botanical Garden windows and the details inside them are to die for!


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## Alkalilake (May 13, 2005)

I'm betting this was a commission and the alterations were done to satisfy a customer. My Deboer has a few variations already because I want it that way and it will look cool. To each his own.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Ketzer, I hope you don't mind that I copied all the pics for reference--that baby is stunning!

That being said, you might want to tone the lights down just a bit or make them adjustable so that you can have the proper lighting for the model depending on the ambient light levels you display it in.

In any case, keep on Trekkin'! You are the man!


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

Thanks for the compliments.
Of course you can use the images as reference. 

The yellow dish can be removed and colored gels can be added from behind.
The blinking lights are yellow because I could not find white LEDs in the right diameter that have a wide enough light cone angle.

I have taken photos of the model with different exposures, with and without lights. So I can digitally create the image I want. i.e. dim certain lights and even create the spot lights on the fuselage.
The photos on my website are not altered. They are exactly the way the camera took them. (ok, I did paint out the stand, but that is all I did to the photos) 

I will post more pictures of the model in the making (a full making of, actually) but it may be another week or so.

Tim


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## capt Locknar (Dec 29, 2002)

Nice Damn job there tim. I just discovered on mine that the only parts that were sagging were the clear engine grills. I have them taped to some wood now to straighten them. None of the other parts really sag because of the fiberglass cloth thank god. This heat here is killing some of my models. I guess I can finish work on mine just have to keep the grills taped the wood till ready.

Great job though


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## uss_columbia (Jul 15, 2003)

I look forward to seeing your "making of," Tim.


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## Johnnyb1 (Oct 14, 2004)

*More Deboer*

If anyone is interested I'm selling my Deboer kit. You can email me at [email protected]. Also comes with light sheet and many other lights.


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## fubarcar (Jan 16, 2005)

Great work tim... superb! (what an understatement!).

However, I'm curious....

Is the upper saucer section actually a loose fit that also includes the impulse section?

I noticed the seams and wondered if bulb/LED maintenance was the order of the day.

One other thing....
It is said that "The camera never lies", but what is your 1st hand interpretation between the pictures taken and the actual model as she appears to your eye? Over/Under exposure? Too much blue... etc.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated,

Steve.


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

The upper saucer section including the impulse piece does come off. (in case an LED fries. Which should not happen, but you never know. The guy I built it for is free to glue the saucer shut.) Also, we will be adding that officers lounge at back of the bridge at some point.

The 32 photos on my images page were not altered. No color correction. I merely painted out the stand.

The photos were taken using a tripod and just one natural lightsource (a window) I did not have a lightkit. I did use some styrofoam boards to add (bounce) some fill light.
The pictures were all exposed for at least a couple seconds to get a greater depth of field. In a few photos with long exposures I turned off ALL of the lighting of the model for a certain amount of time (a few seconds) to not overexpose the warp engines. 
I also took several pictures from each view with and without lights in order to be able to later mix images in Photoshop allowing me to adjust the lighting. But I have not done that yet.
There are couple photos in which the blinking LEDs are off. Those photos were taken in the one second the blinking LEDs are off, which should give you an idea how the model looks "live".

I used a Canon 350D, by the way.

I am too busy to write the "making of", but I just uploaded some new photos of the model in the making: http://www.ketzer.com/enterprise/enterprise_images.html

Tim


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## CaptDistraction (Feb 1, 2005)

what lens were you shooting with? Looks pretty good on DoF


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

I am using the lens that came with the camera, 18mm-55mm

Tim


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## CaptDistraction (Feb 1, 2005)

very good. I've been messing with a 50mm 1.8, and the same 18-55. I might try taking shots with a telephoto on a tripod stopped down so I can get the whole model in focus.


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## fubarcar (Jan 16, 2005)

Ketzer.com said:


> The 32 photos on my images page were not altered. No color correction. I merely painted out the stand.
> 
> The photos were taken using a tripod and just one natural lightsource (a window) I did not have a lightkit. I did use some styrofoam boards to add (bounce) some fill light.
> The pictures were all exposed for at least a couple seconds to get a greater depth of field. In a few photos with long exposures I turned off ALL of the lighting of the model for a certain amount of time (a few seconds) to not overexpose the warp engines.
> ...


Thanks Tim, this is a really useful springboard on the photographic front. I only wish I had your hardware! The exposure what-when-and-for-how-long is very helpful though. Thankyou.


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## dan1701d (Jun 9, 2004)

My God, that truely is beautiful, just WOW, she looks great in those pics, can we say better than studio version, hehe.


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## Roguepink (Sep 18, 2003)

First rate work. Absolutely beautiful. I hope I can make my P.L. kits look as good, but I think you have the best looking Enterprise kit I've ever seen.


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## jgoldsack (Apr 26, 2004)

That is just awsome work. I have followed many of your projects (especially your falcon) but I am very impressed with this one. I showed it to my wife and she was convinced it was a rendered image.

I can only hope to do half as good a job on mine... which I am getting such an itching to do, but I don't have the moeny to get the stuff I need to actually do it...


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

I added a few more pages to the "making of" and a lot more photos. 
I will add more to the "making of" at a later point.

Enterprise model 

Tim


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## cinc2020 (May 10, 2004)

*Wonderful...*

Tim,

You really did a professional job on that Enterprise - well done!

Your selection of colors is particularly excellent - can you share with us what colors you used where?

Many thanks.


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## Prowler901 (Jun 27, 2005)

I must agree. Color selection is excellent. I really like the visual effect of your paint work. A spectacular job there! Thanks for sharing your work with us 

Regards,
Todd


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

I used Tamiya paints. Basically a lot of white with minimal amounts of tan, grey, pearl and blue. 
The only off the shelf colors I used were white, black and a dark blue for the engine grills. All the other shades were mixed.

Tim


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## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

God that looks Great. How were the templates created?


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## cinc2020 (May 10, 2004)

Thanks Tim. You sound like an artist - we can paint anything with just a handful of basic colors. 

I'll take that approach as well, as that's no doubt the best way to achieve subtle variations...


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

I created the templates for the aztec pattern in photoshop (will be downloadable from my site soon)

The templates for the panels I cut out of pieces of masking tape.

Tim


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## jgoldsack (Apr 26, 2004)

Ketzer.com said:


> I created the templates for the aztec pattern in photoshop (will be downloadable from my site soon)
> 
> The templates for the panels I cut out of pieces of masking tape.
> 
> Tim



Ooo... more templates!

I like... will they be scaleable to the PL refit, or DeBoer specific size?


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## Ketzer.com (Oct 20, 2004)

They will only fit the Deboer. I seriously doubt that the lines on the PL are an exact scaled down version of the Deboer. Besides, I think someone is already offering templates for the PL.

edit: you can now download the aztec templates I made. On my site at:
Ketzer.com 
all the way at the bottom of the page

Tim


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