# Building AMT's Klingon D7 Battle Cruiser



## Prologic9 (Dec 4, 2009)

So my next project on the *Road to the 350-E®* is AMT's original Klingon Battlecruiser. 

I'm very familiar with the original studio model and was pretty excited to get this kit as I consider it a real piece of Trek history. Many modelers know the filming miniature was built by AMT and that this kit is a mechanical copy of that master. Which makes it the only accurate kit AMT ever produced. (bazinga!)

However... I was not prepared for just how accurate it is. The molds capture far more subtlety than I expected. The finesse and character of hand crafted form is reproduced here excelently , nearly 5 decades after they were created. Which isn't to say it's perfect. The kit was poorly engineered and lots of stuff suffers for it. But we'll get to that.

Before anything else I documented everything with photos and 2D scans of the kit parts. This is just for reference purposes to use for 3D modeling. Looks kinds cool though.


The kit comes with a few icky chrome pieces, including the old engine detailing that's no longer needed. This was accurate to the 'Roddenberry Model,' but Round 2 has altered the molds to reflect the filming version.
If you look closely you can see the reflection of me committing murder!

I read bleach would remove the chrome, but it didn't touch it. I gave it a couple of coats of Easy-Off and it was gone in minutes. 


The newly supplied stand is much too short for my taste. It includes a ball-socket so you can move the model but it seems too loose. You can also mount the model directly to the pole, which makes it all the shorter.


Parts.


A particularly ugly piece of engineering. Right now I plan to throw these bits out, fill the areas where they're suppose to go, and then use some styrene strips to recreate the detail.


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## Prologic9 (Dec 4, 2009)

Here's some eye candy. My last 3D model of the D7 (I've built it 3-4 times now, and hopefully with the model as a reference can build a truly accurate one).

I plan to light the windows and scratch build the impulse engines seen here;


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## Edge (Sep 5, 2003)

I really like the 3d model! 

You can always replace the stand rod with appropriate sized brass tubing.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

I prefer to hang 'em from the ceiling, when possible.


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Just in case you don't already know those impulse engines were not on the original filming model of the D-7 and are there for inaccurate depending on who you ask.


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

irishtrek said:


> Just in case you don't already know those impulse engines were not on the original filming model of the D-7 and are there for inaccurate depending on who you ask.


True. But maybe he's building a remastered version.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Trekkriffic said:


> True. But maybe he's building a remastered version.


I would.


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## Prologic9 (Dec 4, 2009)

Well, it's not a 'remastered version,' it's just my version up there in the picture. I built the 3D version with this kit in mind and at first considered a 'found item' approach, but then I realized I'd have to find something... Then I thought about using the engines from a TMP Battlecruiser model, but found out they had no detail on them at all. 

I'm not sure what I'll be doing for them now, I could order some resin engines that JT-graphics sells for the TMP model, but they list a 4-6 week wait and I'll be done by then.

Anyways, today's problems. So it turns out R2 were missing the molds for the jagged detail pieces that fit in the sides of the bridge platform. Their solution was to alter the molds to just have the detail as part of the platform itself. This did not turn out well...

Simply put, the whole area is too low. The upper wall is too large, and there's no wall at all on the bottom, the opening extends all the way down to the beveled edge of the platform. The stair-steps are also too short, and when the two halves are together there's a bad gap where they fall short up top.

My first thought (after considering the trouble to rework the areas) was to try and find an old '91 kit on ebay. You can get these for > $10 if you're careful, but there was nothing available at the moment for less than $30.

So I had to go to work. I scratch built a sample replacement for the stair-step piece from wood-- it was just what I had on hand. It doesn't look too bad, but I'll build the final ones from styrene when I get some supplies.


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

For the impulse detail you could aways try and find an audio cassette holder molded in clear with ridges and cut pieces from it.


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## Hunch (Apr 6, 2003)

irishtrek said:


> For the impulse detail you could aways try and find an audio cassette holder molded in clear with ridges and cut pieces from it.


Funny, I've used that for things myself!


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## Prologic9 (Dec 4, 2009)

Fixing the neck. Still can't believe they made this a separate piece. I sanded off the raised detailing which was innacurate anyways, and I'll have to reapply it with some styrene stripes.


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## starmanmm (Mar 19, 2000)

Nice project.


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

Prologic9 said:


> My first thought (after considering the trouble to rework the areas) was to try and find an old '91 kit on ebay. You can get these for > $10 if you're careful, but there was nothing available at the moment for less than $30.


The original 1968 issue had clear green parts for the stairstep pieces, but at some point those were replaced with flat, textured rectangular "windows." Both versions were inaccurate, as the filming miniature had the zigzag inserts painted to match the rest of the hull.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Well, the '68 version had a light in the forward section, hence the clear parts.


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## charonjr (Mar 27, 2000)

I was under the impression that the stairstep was covered with mylar.


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## Prologic9 (Dec 4, 2009)

scotpens said:


> The original 1968 issue had clear green parts for the stairstep pieces, but at some point those were replaced with flat, textured rectangular "windows." Both versions were inaccurate, as the filming miniature had the zigzag inserts painted to match the rest of the hull.


Well, I don't think what color they were molded in makes them inaccurate. I've never seen the 'window' version though. 

It's easy to look at builds of the old versions and see they were physically accurate to the model. I caught this too late but Round2's changes also got the number of 'stair steps' wrong. (It's possible they were wrong originally too, I'm not certain)

My fixes didn't turn out so great. It's not awful but it will definitely be a sore spot on the model. Actually I think I'm just going to have to try and rework them again. Only I've made it harder by gluing everything together...


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## Prologic9 (Dec 4, 2009)

charonjr said:


> I was under the impression that the stairstep was covered with mylar.


Only the stripes at the base of the neck had mylar on them. It seems likely the area was painted silver though (matching the other 'grills' on the model).


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## Prologic9 (Dec 4, 2009)

I find it amusing that one half of the nacelles have guide pegs in them, while the other half _don't got no holes._


This piece reminds me of the Transformers, and how the original toys transformed in ways that made sense. And then when Michael Bay made that movie he decided they would separate into thousands of pieces with no rhyme or reason to any of it.




Finished the base of the neck. It's not as clean as I'd like but it's pretty accurate. I can live with that.


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## charonjr (Mar 27, 2000)

having no holes actually helps with lining up the pods. you have to actually trim the pins a bit to allow a tight fit.

One thing about the stairstep, the 1/1000 has 6 panes, not 5. IIRC, that's accurate. I'll have to verify with the pics I have.


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

Love your CG model.

I'd like to do one myself.

Didn't think of scanning parts like that.
Great idea. 
Hope you don't mind me borrowing the idea in the future.


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## Prologic9 (Dec 4, 2009)

Big-gap update. 

Lot of trial and error before I got here. I tried some paint that didn't work and had to be removed. I tried using some metalizer for the gray areas, and then I wanted to mist the regular gray on top so the metallic would just sort of ghost through. Didn't work, although it could I think. It mostly didn't work because my top coat wasn't thin enough. 

I went over to Atomic City looking for color suggestions and they say testors plain gray works but it does not, too dark. I had to mix in some white until I was comfortable with it. I'm not a fan of their suggestions for the green either, and this is just Model Master Pale Green.


I dropped the lighting (and subsequently the impulse engines) because the model was too small for me to make the window masks. Some laser cut ones would work I'm sure. Not a huge deal, as much as I like the subject I'm getting very tired of these old kits and all their problems.

I'm going to finish things up soon, but I do plan to try some weathering later when I get some supplies for it.


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

One suggestion on the green color that seems pretty close to the filming miniature is Krylon "Celery". It's an enamel spray paint. Most of those who've used it recommend spraying it over a white base but you may be able to get away with spraying it over the pale green you've got on there now. 
Just a suggestion.


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Yeah, that pale green is too pronounced, it should be more subtle.
It's still a good looking build.


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## JediPuju (Oct 12, 2009)

I love the texture you have given your 3d model, it looks great! Are you going to try and recreate that in your build?


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

Prologic,

Did you ever finish this build? I just got the reissued kit myself and was looking for build threads when I found this one.


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