# Aztec pattern on original TV Series Enterprise



## FAA (Mar 26, 2013)

Holiday Cheers to all !

I wife just gave my the blu ray TV series remastered and i noticed something interesting.

The TV series does not show any Aztec pattern on the Enterprise 1701.

Is this correct ?

If so, why do i see so many Aztec pattern kits out there in the market (decals and masks) ?

Is that just for aesthetics and personal preferences.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

The aztec pattern was first used on the movie refit Enterprise... then the Next generation Enterprise D, then every other gorram ship. The aztec pattern is the bane of my Trek model making existence, frankly. I've long ago decided to make the ships the way I see them in the movies as opposed to the way I can examine them in studio model shots.:thumbsup:
And welcome, btw!


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## FAA (Mar 26, 2013)

So for my 1/350 TOS Enterprise, if i am to stick to the TV appearance, there was no Aztec pattern.

Thanks for the input. :thumbsup:


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## Calamus (Jun 8, 2011)

Well IMO 

On the original TOS Enterprise studio model there were absolutely no raised or recessed panel lines or aztecs. They were not needed and would not have been seen on the ancient low resolution TV of the day anyway.

That said, there are aztecs and panel lines on the NX-01 Enterprise and every other federation model out there. So the question is does it make sense for every other ship to have them and the TOS E not to?

If you want to you can build one very close to the studio model and even get rid of the panel lines as a few of the very talented modelers here on this forum have done, if you chose to be faithful to all the rest of the Enterprise models out there and you want that look then by all means do it.

I plan to build this version in the near future - with just a hint of aztecs - http://deg3d.biz/splash_TOS.5_E/TOS.5_E.html


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Calamus said:


> Well IMO
> 
> 
> I plan to build this version in the near future - with just a hint of aztecs - http://deg3d.biz/splash_TOS.5_E/TOS.5_E.html


That's very nice. I like the hint of panel lines. Just not the repeated Aztec pattern, or the pink & yellow panels.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

FAA said:


> Holiday Cheers to all !
> 
> I wife just gave my the blu ray TV series remastered and i noticed something interesting.
> 
> ...


That's a complicated subject.

Let me say first that the original TV f/x TOS filming miniatures definitely didn't have aztecing.

On the Remastered Episodes there are aztec patterns seen on some episodes and not on others.

There are people here who know far more about this then I do, and could probably give you much more info on this if you want to know more.

But as I understand it - 

there were several CGI incarnations of the TOS 1701 used during the production of the Remastered TOS series.

They supposedly went into far much more detail then necessary in creating the first version of the CGI TOS E, 
more detail then necessary even for HD purposes, which actually was causing them some headaches 
when it came to rendering some f/x shots.

Even so, I do not believe the early version contained aztecing.

They tweaked and supposedly even simplified the CGI model later, 
maybe even more then once.

I don't know all the details or the timeline of all the tweaks,
but I have seen some Remastered Episodes that included aztecing,

not to mention lighted impulse engines - which never appeared in
the original f/x though it is clear that the production model's impulse
engines were built to be lit in some fashion.

Personally I believe it's all a matter of your own preference if you
intend to use any of these sources of info to build a model of the
old gray lady.

For instance I'm planning on making a 1/600th TOS E and eventually
a 1/350th, both matching the model as "perceived" on TV 

- with the possible exception that I plan on using a shade of 
gray a little darker then the "perceived" original TV f/x gray,

and a little lighter then the actual filming miniature was painted.

Plus I do not plan on including the heavy three streaks on the 
primary hull that I believe were made to resemble re-entry burn
marks.

Though technically visible in some shots onscreen, they were barely
visible, and you almost had to have still slides or one of the 8 x 10 
still prints that were widely available at conventions in the '70's to
ever notice them in the original f/x.

I want my next Enterprises to look like the Enterprise as she was when she
sailed out of spacedock after being refitted from the way she looked when she was Christopher Pike's ship.

Everything fresh and new the way the Motion Picture 1701 Refit looked, 
all ready for Kirk to take command, just an earlier incarnation of the production version.

But again, that's my own personal preference.

Your mileage may vary.

There is no wrong answer here.

Build her to your liking, it will be your model! :thumbsup:


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

One small other issue, FAA.

Assuming you are considering building a model to match the
original TV f/x - give or take a detail or painting issue here or there,

There is another detail I had never noticed until R2's 1/350th TOS E came out.

On the underside of the hull, where the triangular two "patches" are,
on the original filming miniature when they were still in production,
pre-restoration in other words,

the saucer's underside gridlines crossed over the two triangular patches!

I was quite surprised. But Gary Kerr indeed proved this to be so.
In fact, the image he used to prove it I have had a color poster
of for over 30 years but in all that time had never noticed that
detail, muchless noticed it while watching TOSeries, even when
watching it on DVD prior to remastering.

So I also plan on deviating from the original filming miniature in
that way as well and fill in the gridlines where they cross into
the triangular patches under the saucer.

Again, a personal choice. But one you will eventually come across
if you build an R2 1/350th TOS E.


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## DCH10664 (Jul 16, 2012)

Chrisisall said:


> The aztec pattern was first used on the movie refit Enterprise... then the Next generation Enterprise D, then every other gorram ship. The aztec pattern is the bane of my Trek model making existence, frankly. I've long ago decided to make the ships the way I see them in the movies as opposed to the way I can examine them in studio model shots.:thumbsup:
> And welcome, btw!


I have to agree with Chrisisall. I paint my models to match my memory of them as I seen them on the show. Quite often this may not be what the studio model was. But it's MY model. And I want it to look like MY memories of it.
If you prefer a model that is an exact replica of the studio model, then that's fine. I just prefer my models match my memories.

One good example is the Airwolf helicopter. Many people will argue all day about the exact color. But what I remember is a black and white helicopter. And when I get around to building it. Those will be my colors.


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## FAA (Mar 26, 2013)

Thanks for great points and input Chuck.

So far, season one, on the remastered Blu-rays that i have, no aztec patterns are apparent. I will see if Season 3 had the patterns.

Regarding the triangular patches, I will have to give that some thought.

This model definitely has some thought "requirements" before starting. :thumbsup:

I am going to look into that detail further.

Thank you very much for you excellent and detailed inputs and points.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

DCH10664 said:


> One good example is the Airwolf helicopter. Many people will argue all day about the exact color. But what I remember is a black and white helicopter. And when I get around to building it. Those will be my colors.


I've seen construction shots of it that back what I saw on TV. It's just a light touch off true black.:thumbsup: That's what my next one will be. My last was with a hint of olive green. Never again.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

The remastered CGI effects are retcon territory, and should be ignored completely. If you want to build the TOS E as the original model appeared on the original show, it was a single smooth gray color with no aztecking or panel lines. The production version (after the two pilots) had faint grid lines penciled on the saucer. 

That's it, full stop, no ifs ands or buts.


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

John P said:


> The remastered CGI effects are retcon territory, and should be ignored completely. If you want to build the TOS E as the original model appeared on the original show, it was a single smooth gray color with no aztecking or panel lines. The production version (after the two pilots) had faint grid lines penciled on the saucer.
> 
> That's it, full stop, no ifs ands or buts.


Yep. That's the truth alright.


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## Mark2000 (Oct 13, 2013)

Calamus said:


> Well IMO
> 
> That said, there are aztecs and panel lines on the NX-01 Enterprise and every other federation model out there. So the question is does it make sense for every other ship to have them and the TOS E not to?


I think it's perfectly reasonable to ignore Enterprise as it ignored the Original Series.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

John P said:


> The remastered CGI effects are retcon territory, and should be ignored completely.


Cue music: 
IT'S MY STARSHIP,
AND I'LL P'LINE IF I WANT TO,
P'LINE IF I WANT TO...

:lol:


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## Krel (Jun 7, 2000)

John P said:


> The remastered CGI effects are retcon territory, and should be ignored completely. If you want to build the TOS E as the original model appeared on the original show, it was a single smooth gray color with no aztecking or panel lines. The production version (after the two pilots) had faint grid lines penciled on the saucer.
> 
> That's it, full stop, no ifs ands or buts.


I have read that Matt Jefferies even had a problem with the penciled grid lines. He felt that at that scale, the only way you would see panel or grid lines, is if you were very close to the hull. Closer than you would film the model.

David.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Krel said:


> I have read that Matt Jefferies even had a problem with the penciled grid lines. He felt that at that scale, the only way you would see panel or grid lines, is if you were very close to the hull. Closer than you would film the model.


Thanks David, that's a very good point. A very good one.:thumbsup:


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

Chrisisall said:


> The aztec pattern was first used on the movie refit Enterprise... then the Next generation Enterprise D, then every other gorram ship.!


For some reason the Voyager had no aztecing at all- looks fine that way too...
I need to check, but IIRC Excelsior and the Enterprise E did not have the classic Aztec pattern- more of a random scattering of squares (lighter and darker) on hull colors.

I hate the Aztecing pattern- when subtle it is OK (gloss/flat white like on the Bandai kit), but I am not going to spend more tile painting squares than I do building the kit itself. With masks and wallpaper decals costing as much as the kit does in the first place (in most cases), I just don't want to fool with them.


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## Nektu (Aug 15, 2001)

I really do like that Deg3D rendering of the ship... just shows how cool the ship would have looked in JJ's world. I have tried valiantly to like the new design, and be open minded. Failed, miserably. This is the way the ship should look, to me.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

John P said:


> The remastered CGI effects are retcon territory, and should be ignored completely. If you want to build the TOS E as the original model appeared on the original show, it was a single smooth gray color with no aztecking or panel lines. The production version (after the two pilots) had faint grid lines penciled on the saucer.
> 
> That's it, full stop, no ifs ands or buts.


Agreed. That's the way I like to see her.

Though I might go the non-purist route and light the impulse engines, and skip the gridlines(fill in) on the triangular saucer patches.


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## Fernando Mureb (Nov 12, 2006)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> Agreed. That's the way I like to see her.
> 
> Though I might go the non-purist route and light the impulse engines, and skip the gridlines(fill in) on the triangular saucer patches.


I second that. 

I like the grid lines on the TMP E-Refit, which is my preferred version of the Enterprise (calm down TOS radicals, for it wins TOS E just by a nose :thumbsup. Being so, nothing more natural than have them on my TOS E.

As for the naceles, I am going to instal a separated circuit for that specific lighting, so that I can show the big, beautiful lady in two versions.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Fernando Mureb said:


> Being so, nothing more natural than have them on my TOS E.


You like the remastered/redone FX on the original series, I take it?

I do.:thumbsup:


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Well, maybe we should go back to first cases here.

I think it's important to remember that the so-called aztec pattern was invented as an art direction choice, not out of any desire for mechanical or construction purpose. If memory serves, some of the deco on the Star Trek the Motion Picture Enterprise (hereafter 'refit') was designed by Andrew Probert, and was meant to 'call out' some of the internal features of the ship, such as the darker marking along the interconnecting dorsal aligned with the matter/antimatter intermix chamber, similar markings along the spine of the engineering hull and up along the pylons to the warp nacelles. The painting of the Refit was somewhat a reaction/rejection of what was the new standard of the day, the 'dump a box of model parts on a surface' school of detailing. 

The aztec pattern was a way to vary the layers of tinted pearlescent paints, which were meant to interact with the stage lighting and make the ship just shine like nothing ever seen before. It was meant to be seen in motion on a very large screen. Honestly, if you didn't see ST:TMP on a big screen back in 1979 you've never really seen the Refit as it was meant to be seen. Sparkling like a diamond it was. Home video and still pictures somewhat defeat the effect. The aztecing is not meant to be called attention to, or so I believe. 

Anyway, the whole purpose of the aztec styling was to break up large bland flat surfaces and make the ship 'interesting' visually. I thought it worked very well on the big screen. We all, back then, thought of the effect as if the ship was so rushed out of spacedock all they had time for was to stencil on the needed identification markings and not the final coats of 'space paint'. YMMV. 

The effect became further corrupted (again, IMHO) when it was used on the Enterprise-D in Star Trek The Next Generation. Now it's more like a kind of 'space camouflage', not really serving much purpose. There's no shine, no pearl effect. 

It's my position that since the whole aztec pattern thing was meant to be a purely visual effect on a very large model meant to be seen on a very large screen, it's rather overdone and obvious to employ it on any of the kits. To do it RIGHT would involve color gradients so subtle it would be washed out in any photography. One could create much more interesting effects by using random sprays of white and off-white (grays, blues, silvers, whatever YOUR 'correct' Enterprise color may be) over a slightly contrasting shade. 

But I know I'm very much in the minority in this. There is an obsession in some to attempt to re-create EXACTLY the painting of the Refit (but not so much as to damage and re-apply paint in some areas!  ) because their vision of the Enterprise is to make a model of the filming miniature as seen on the stage, not the Enterprise of the imagination that's a real ship flying in space. And more power to anyone who builds what they want to build. 

But aztecing on the ORIGINAL Enterprise? Oh, no f'ing way. Sorry. No. Not for me at least.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Well-said. Paul Olsen wanted an opalescent effect. The image of the ship on the lower half of Paul's page looks about right to my memory.

Here's what I'll attempt to go for:
Refit: shimmery opalescent. Subtle shades, semi-gloss.
TOS: weathered concrete.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

SteveR said:


> Well-said. Paul Olsen wanted an opalescent effect. The image of the ship on the lower half of Paul's page looks about right to my memory.
> 
> Here's what I'll attempt to go for:
> Refit: shimmery opalescent. Subtle shades, semi-gloss.
> TOS: weathered concrete.


Sounds good to me. And I really need to get off my arse and order that book.


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## BWolfe (Sep 24, 2013)

When I finally do get my hands on the 1:350 Original Enterprise I will paint it as close as I can possibly manage to the original 11 ft model, no panel lines other than the faint gridlines that were penciled in on the original model and no aztecing


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

FAA said:


> Thanks for great points and input Chuck.
> 
> So far, season one, on the remastered Blu-rays that i have, no aztec patterns are apparent. I will see if Season 3 had the patterns.



Check out the episode "Obsession."

Saw it Saturday night on cable.

I didn't catch the first 10 minutes or so,
but aztecing is definitely noticible on that one.


I do recall their being more pronounced views of the
aztecing - particularly on the saucer in other episodes, 
though I couldn't specifically name the more pronounced 
examples.

I have some real life stuff going on right now or I'd
try to check for you, 

but then that would leave you no excuse to sit in front
of your TV and burn hours and hours of Trek into your
brain!


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## Fernando Mureb (Nov 12, 2006)

Chrisisall said:


> You like the remastered/redone FX on the original series, I take it?
> 
> I do.:thumbsup:


Yes, I liked it. But what I meant was that I am not going to eliminate the grid lines, except where they cross the triangular saucer patches. No aztecs on my TOS E, nor weathering.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Steve H said:


> But I know I'm very much in the minority in this. There is an obsession in some to attempt to re-create EXACTLY the painting of the Refit because their vision of the Enterprise is to make a model of the filming miniature as seen on the stage, not the Enterprise of the imagination that's a real ship flying in space.


That's a totally valid way to go, just not the way _*I'll*_ ever go...


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## Fernando Mureb (Nov 12, 2006)

A real ship entirely built in space, panel by panel, wouldn't be painted at all, would it?


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Fernando Mureb said:


> A real ship entirely built in space, panel by panel, wouldn't be painted at all, would it?


No, the panels would be titanium-barillium plasma plated, I'd think.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Fernando Mureb said:


> A real ship entirely built in space, panel by panel, wouldn't be painted at all, would it?


Interesting question, isn't it?

Paint, applied to vehicles on Earth, exists not only for appearance, but as protection from sun, salt, water and other corroding events. 

Corrosion isn't much of an issue in space (at least as far as I know. There is some micrometeoroid erosion and abrasion but one assumes the normal shields blocks most of that) but thermal control can be an issue, as well as identification. Even 'bare metal' aircraft sometimes had a clearcoat. 

And there is some vanity is involved. If someone, some group or nation or agency is building a starship, they're just not going to be satisfied with bare metal and other materials all mismatched and patchwork-looking. 

Buuut we really won't know what's needed until we build stuff and go places.


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